Chief Ministers and several leaders from Northeastern states expressed profound grief over the sudden demise of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash on Wednesday morning.

Terming the 66-year-old leader a seasoned public servant, the Chief Ministers said that Pawar devoted his life to public service and the welfare of the people.

 A team of Indian and US researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based technique to detect diabetes without the traditional blood tests.

The technique can detect whether a person has high blood sugar by taking a high-resolution photo of the retina (back of the eye).

The study, published in the Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics journal, showed that AI can spot tiny warning signs in the eye’s blood vessels that are invisible to the human eye, which can differentiate people with and without diabetes without a finger-prick blood test.

The government's capex (capital expenditure) may cross Rs 12 lakh crore in the forthcoming Union Budget for 2026-27, which would represent an increase of around 10 per cent over the corresponding figure of the previous financial year, according to an SBI report released on Wednesday.

This would enable the government to step up investments in big-ticket infrastructure projects in the highways, railways, ports and power sectors to boost growth and jobs in the economy.

India’s strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal value rose 42 per cent (year-on-year) to $113 billion in 2025, a new report showed on Wednesday.

The growth was driven primarily by robust domestic dealmaking, which accounted for 60 per cent of total deal value, alongside a sharp increase in inbound activity, up more than 300 per cent year on year. Foreign investors continued to target financial services and technology assets, according to Bain & Company in its report.

The report notes that India’s M&A activity was supported by stable macroeconomic fundamentals, favourable demographics, and cost competitiveness, contributing to increased domestic consolidation and inbound interest. Outbound deal value also rose 83 per cent (on-year) to $24 billion.

Lack of awareness on timely treatment is fuelling mental health disorders in young Indian adults, said health experts on Wednesday.

Speaking at the 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS 2026), leading mental health experts noted that the excess use of digital devices may further drive mental disorders.

Gold and silver prices continue to scale record highs on Wednesday, amid strong buying demand, weakening dollar, and rising geopolitical tensions, raising safe haven demand.

MCX gold February futures rose 2.97 per cent to Rs 1,62,387 per 10 grams around 11.30 am. Meanwhile, MCX silver March futures rose 6.21 per cent to Rs 3,78,401 per kg.

International markets also saw gold and silver touching records as caution grew due to ongoing policy uncertainty, fresh tariff threats, and criticism of the Federal Reserve from the US administration.

India’s defence tech ecosystem recorded $247 million in funding in 2025, its highest annual inflow till date despite a lower number of deals, a report said on Wednesday.

The report from data intelligence platform Tracxn said total all‑time equity funding for the sector stood at $711 million across 232 rounds, and that annual funding rose from $5 million in 2016 to a peak of $247 million in 2025, the report said.

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday notified key amendments to the New Drugs and Clinical Trials (NDCT) Rules, 2019, which will help reduce drug development timelines, as well as strengthen the clinical research and pharmaceutical development ecosystem.

The amendments are aimed at simplifying regulatory processes, reducing approval timelines, and promoting ease of doing business.

Due to the impact of successive active western disturbances, several districts of Rajasthan witnessed rain and hailstorms, disrupting normal life and causing damage to crops in many areas.

Districts affected by the inclement weather on Tuesday included Jaipur, Sikar, Churu, Alwar, Khairthal-Tijara, Kota, Tonk, Dausa, Baran, Sawai Madhopur, Bhilwara, and Jhalawar.

Meteorological officials said that during the past 24 hours, light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning was recorded at isolated places in eastern Rajasthan.

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar used social media to mark 15 years of his 'personal favorite' film "Dil Toh Baccha Hai ji," starring Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, and Omi Vaidya in the lead.

Reflecting on the fun journey of bringing the story to life on screen, Bhandarkar penned a celebratory note on his X, "Cheers to 15 years of the delightful & heartwarming film #DilTohBacchaHaiji! It’s a personal favorite of mine, and I simply can’t get enough of its fun-filled journey and lovely soundtrack. (sic)"

Eighteen schools in Chandigarh on Wednesday received bomb-threat emails, causing widespread panic among the police and local administration.

As the schools, both public and private, received the email in the morning, the police were informed. An alert was issued from the police control room within minutes.

Upon receiving the information, the bomb detection team, the operations cell, and the local police station personnel reached the spot and began searching all school premises.

The entire entertainment industry was left shocked as acclaimed singer and composer Arijit Singh announced his retirement from playback singing on Tuesday.

Singer and composer Armaan Malik reacted to Arijit's professional update, saying that the soul is the ultimate guide that helps us navigate through the path of life.

He further said that although this chapter of Arijit's life has concluded, he has an exciting future ahead of him.

Responding to a post put out by actor Allu Arjun on the occasion of their superhit Telugu film 'Happy' completing 20 years, actress Genelia Deshmukh has now told the pan-Indian star that she was proud of all the work that he had been doing in the last 20 years.

In her reply to Allu Arjun, Genelia wrote, "Thank you Dearest @alluarjun. Some films are truly special and 'Happy' was one of those special memories I cherish...So proud of all the work you have been doing in the last 20 years, more power to you."

England striker Tammy Abraham has completed a move back to Aston Villa from Besiktas, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Premier League title contenders.

The 28-year-old returns to English football for the first time since joining Roma in 2021. Abraham had been on loan at Besiktas, but the Turkish club activated their 11 million pounds purchase option from Roma on Monday. It was reported that Villa would pay Besiktas a fee of 21 million euros to secure his transfer, reports.

An internal Amazon Web Services (AWS) email, seemingly sent by mistake referencing “organizational changes,” heightened speculation that US tech giant Amazon may announce another round of layoffs, though employees were already expecting one despite no official announcement.

The message, sent by Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of applied AI solutions at Amazon Web Services (AWS), acknowledged that “changes like this are hard on everyone” and said they were intended to position the vertical for “future success,” according to multiple reports.

Veteran actor Anupam Kher enjoyed an accidental meet-cute with the former Indian cricket captain, and 'Cool Dude' Rohit Sharma.

During the shoot, Anupam entered the wrong vanity, and as fate would have it, he ran into Rohit and his better half, Ritika Sajdeh.

Posting two photos with Rohit and Ritika on his official Instagram handle, Anupam described the meet in his own words, saying, "ACCIDENTAL BUT A GREAT MEETING...Yesterday morning at shooting there were lots of vanity vans parked at the location. By mistake I was ushered into a wrong van. And who do I see? The GREATEST #RohitSharma! My favourite cricketer and his beautiful and hugely supportive wife #Ritika.(sic)"

President Donald Trump said a large US naval force is moving toward the Middle East amid tensions with Iran, adding that Washington hopes military force will not be needed but is prepared if diplomacy fails.

In a radio interview with WABC host Sid Rosenberg, Trump said the deployment was aimed at deterring further escalation and reinforcing US pressure on Tehran. “We have a big armada going over there right now,” Trump said. He described the force as “very powerful” and said it was larger than a recent US deployment linked to operations involving Venezuela.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar and five others died in a plane crash near Baramati on Wednesday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has confirmed that all six passengers on board are dead.

The plane crashed while landing near Baramati. Visuals from the spot show fire and smoke, mangled remains of the plane, and ambulances rushing the injured to nearby hospitals. There were people at the wreckage site trying to extend help in every possible way.

This incident occurred around 9 a.m., an hour after the plane took off from Mumbai.

A sleeper bus carrying passengers caught fire following a road accident in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district early Wednesday morning.

The incident took place around 5:15 a.m. in the Shri Dungargarh area when the bus, travelling from Jaipur to Bikaner, rammed into a stationary trailer, after which it was engulfed in flames.

The bus and all the belongings of the passengers were completely reduced to ashes.

The Indian equity markets posted strong gains on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session after the conclusion of a long-awaited trade deal ‌with the ‌European Union (EU) raised hopes of an economic ‌boost.

As of 9.30 am, Sensex added 545 points, or 0.67 per cent, to reach 82,402, and Nifty gained 183 points, or 0.73 per cent to 25,359.

Main broad-cap indices performed in line with the benchmark indices, as the Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.77 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 surged 1.17 per cent.

A massive snow avalanche struck the Sonamarg tourist resort in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district, but there was no loss of life, said the officials on Wednesday.

Officials said the avalanche hit the Sarbal area of Sonamarg around 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday.

“The avalanche entered some houses and hotels in addition to hitting some parked vehicles in the area. No loss of life has occurred due to the avalanche,” officials said.