9 March 2026

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) reported that UPI registered 18.5 billion transactions worth ₹20.6 lakh crore in February 2026, a 36% volume growth year-on-year. PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm accounted for 88% of transaction volume. NPCI is also expanding UPI linkage to G20 countries through bilateral payment interoperability agreements.

The Ministry of Power announced that India crossed 300 million smart meter installations under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), reducing Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses from 22% in 2021 to 14.5% in 2026. Smart meters transmit real-time consumption data, enable time-of-day tariffs, and reduce theft in distribution networks.

The Supreme Court issued suo motu directions streamlining the functioning of Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals (MACTs) under Section 165 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Directions include mandatory e-filing of claims, 6-month disposal deadline, integration with Vahan database for vehicle records, and standardised compensation matrices under the Sarla Verma guidelines.

India and Germany signed a EUR 2 billion Green Hydrogen Partnership under the Indo-German Green and Sustainable Development Partnership. The agreement supports electrolyser manufacturing, green ammonia export, and hydrogen storage R&D. Germany's KfW Development Bank will co-finance 40 green hydrogen projects under India's National Green Hydrogen Mission target of 5 MTPA by 2030.

The Ministry of AYUSH released the updated National Formulary of Ayurveda (NFA) 2026, adding 180 new formulations and removing 35 obsolete preparations. The NFA is a statutory document under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The update incorporates quality benchmarks for heavy metal content compliant with WHO guidelines, supporting India's AYUSH product exports worth USD 1.6 billion annually.

The Forest Survey of India (FSI) released the State of Forest Report (SFR) 2025, showing a net increase of 1,513 sq km in forest and tree cover, bringing total cover to 24.62% of India's geographical area. Mangrove cover increased by 11 sq km. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana recorded the highest gains. FSI is under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The Indian Army in collaboration with DRDO conducted a successful trial of the Pinaka Mk-II Extended Range (ER) rocket system with a range of 120 km at the Pokhran Field Firing Range. Pinaka ER is a guided version with GPS/INS navigation achieving circular error probable (CEP) of less than 10 metres. The system is fully indigenous and manufactured by Tata Advanced Systems and L&T Defence.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti announced that Goa, Telangana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Sikkim have achieved 100% Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) coverage under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Nationally, 80% of India's 19.3 crore rural households now have tap water connections, up from 17% at the scheme's launch in August 2019.

UNESCO held a special commemorative session marking the bicentenary of Santiniketan's founding by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore in 1826, later shaped by Rabindranath Tagore into a global centre for arts and education. Santiniketan was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023. The event celebrated Tagore's philosophy of Visva-Bharati (universal brotherhood) in education.

The Ministry of Home Affairs raised the 16th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with specialisation in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threat response. The battalion is stationed in Vadodara and equipped with detection, decontamination, and mass casualty management capabilities. NDRF was constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.