The PRESS Pad

Denmark has officially brought an end to one of the world’s oldest postal traditions, discontinuing nationwide letter delivery after nearly 400 years , as digital communication renders physical mail financially unviable. The country’s state-run postal service PostNord  delivered its final letters this week , making Denmark the first country in the world to fully phase out traditional letter delivery . Letter Volumes Collapse by Over 90% According to PostNord, the decision fol

Unprecedented demand highlights global appeal of expanded 48-team World Cup across US, Canada and Mexico The world’s biggest sporting event has shattered all previous benchmarks even before a ball has been kicked. FIFA  has confirmed that it has received more than 150 million ticket requests  for the 2026 FIFA World Cup , marking the highest ticket demand in the tournament’s history. The record-breaking surge comes while the Random Selection Draw ticketing phase  is only half

Bangladesh's three-time Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was the first female PM of the country. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia , Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister , passed away early Tuesday (December 30, 2025) morning in Dhaka after a prolonged illness. She was 80 years old . The BNP confirmed her death in an official Facebook post, stating: “Our beloved leader is no longer with us. She passed away at 6:

Historic flag hoisting in Andaman and Nicobar Islands symbolised India’s first liberation from colonial rule; PM Modi recalls Netaji’s courage on 82nd anniversary One of the most defining moments of India’s freedom struggle unfolded on this day 82 years ago, when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose hoisted the Indian National Flag at Port Blair on December 30, 1943 , declaring the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as the first Indian territory freed from British colonial rule . The historic

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)  on Monday released its annual Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2024–25 , highlighting the continued resilience of the Indian banking sector, supported by strong balance sheet growth, improving asset quality, robust profitability, and healthy capital buffers. At the same time, the report flagged a sharp rise in the value of bank frauds , even as the number of fraud cases declined during the year, underlining emerging risks amid

The United States has proposed security guarantees lasting 15 years for Ukraine  as part of a broader peace plan aimed at ending the ongoing war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy  announced after a high-level meeting with US President Donald Trump  in Florida. Speaking after their meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence , Zelenskyy said the proposed guarantees would require approval from the US Congress  and other partner parliaments. He added that while Uk

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal  on Sunday announced that 100 per cent of Australian tariff lines will become zero-duty for Indian exports from January 1 , marking a significant milestone in bilateral trade relations between India and Australia. The announcement was made on the third anniversary of the India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) , which came into force in December 2022. According to the Minister, the agreement has deliver

The Supreme Court of India has stayed the implementation of its own earlier directions  concerning the definition of the Aravalli Hills and Aravalli mountain range, citing the need for further expert clarification  on issues with significant environmental implications. A vacation Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant , along with Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.G. Masih , ordered that the directions issued by the apex court on November 20, 2025 , along wit

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah  on Sunday (December 28, 2025) said that India is set to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027 , reflecting the country’s rapid economic expansion over the past decade. Addressing the Yuva Business Maha Sammelan–2025 , organised by the Vishwa Umiya Foundation  at Vishwa Umiya Dham in Ahmedabad , the minister said India’s GDP has already reached $4.19 trillion  and is moving steadily towards the $5 trillion economy miles

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  on Sunday, December 21, 2025 , laid the foundation stone of a ₹10,601-crore brownfield ammonia-urea fertiliser plant  at Namrup in Dibrugarh district of Assam . The upcoming project will be developed by the Assam Valley Fertiliser and Chemical Company Ltd (AVFCCL)  and will have an annual urea production capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes . The plant is scheduled to be commissioned by 2030 . Key Details of the Namrup Fertiliser Project AVFCCL wa

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj  will organise a two-day national celebration titled “PESA Mahotsav: Utsav Lok Sanskriti Ka”  on December 23 and 24, 2025 , in Visakhapatnam , Andhra Pradesh, to commemorate the enactment of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) . PESA Day  is observed annually on December 24 , marking the anniversary of the landmark legislation that empowers tribal self-governance in Scheduled Areas. Inauguration and Participation The M

The Second World Meditation Day  is being observed today, highlighting the growing global recognition of meditation as a tool for mental health, inner balance, and overall well-being. The observance follows a resolution adopted last year by the United Nations General Assembly , which proclaimed 21 December  as World Meditation Day . The date was deliberately chosen to coincide with the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere , a time traditionally associated with reflectio

Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant  has underscored the need to make court judgments accessible to citizens in their respective regional languages , stating that all constitutional institutions must function in the true spirit of the Constitution. Speaking at the 33rd annual programme of the Hindi Seva Nidhi Trust  in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh , the Chief Justice said there is a growing expectation that constitutional provisions related to language  should be implemented u

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  on Saturday (December 20, 2025) inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for National Highway projects valued at approximately ₹3,200 crore  in West Bengal , marking a significant push to road infrastructure in the state. The Prime Minister inaugurated the four-laning of the 66.7-kilometre Barajaguli–Krishnanagar stretch of National Highway-34  in Nadia district . In addition, he laid the foundation stone for the four-laning of the 17.6-kilometr

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  on Saturday (December 20, 2025) inaugurated the newly constructed terminal building of the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport  in Guwahati, marking a major boost to Assam’s aviation infrastructure and connectivity. On the occasion, the Prime Minister also unveiled an 80-foot statue of Assam’s first Chief Minister, Gopinath Bardoloi , installed outside the new terminal complex. The modern terminal, spread across nearly 1.4 lakh squa

The Union Government has opened the process of public consultation for the Union Budget 2026–27 , inviting citizens to share their ideas and suggestions ahead of its presentation in February. This initiative is aimed at ensuring that the upcoming budget reflects the expectations, priorities, and aspirations of the people , while also supporting inclusive economic growth and long-term national development . Members of the public, including stakeholders from various sectors, ca

India’s quiet withdrawal from the Ayni airbase — its only overseas military base — ends a two-decade-long strategic chapter that gave New Delhi a rare military foothold in Central Asia. In a significant geopolitical development, India has officially concluded its operations at the Ayni airbase in Tajikistan , marking the end of its only full-fledged overseas military base . The move, which was quietly carried out in 2022 , came after the expiration of a bilateral agreement  w

Global childhood obesity reaches 9.4% — surpassing underweight (9.2%) for the first time; 1 in 20 under-fives and 1 in 5 adolescents are overweight, as obesity among 5–19-year-olds triples since 2000. In 2025 , the world reached a historic and alarming milestone — for the first time , the prevalence of obesity among school-aged children and adolescents  has surpassed that of underweight . According to the UNICEF report “Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Childr

Rail Neer bottled water gets cheaper for passengers as Indian Railways slashes prices to ₹14 for 1-litre and ₹9 for 500 ml from September...

Muzaffarpur’s chess prodigy, Marium Fatima, has scripted history by becoming Bihar’s first-ever Woman FIDE Master (WFM), a prestigious...