MUMBAI: Torrent Power is buying L&T’s coal-fired power plant in Punjab in a Rs 6,889-crore enterprise value deal, marking its entry into northern India’s fast-growing power market. The acquisition includes Rs 3,661 crore in upfront cash, while Torrent will also take on Rs 3,228 crore of Nabha Power’s debt.Nabha Power runs a 1,400MW thermal plant in Rajpura, Punjab, and supplies all its electricity to the state’s power corporation under a long-term 25-year power purchase agreement. In FY25, the company reported revenue of Rs 4,422 crore and an operating profit of Rs 1,153 crore.The transaction, which is subject to clearance from the Competition Commission of India, is expected to close by the end of June. Once completed, Torrent Power’s total operational capacity will rise to 6.4GW from 5GW.Torrent Power chairman Samir Mehta said the acquisition signals the company’s entry into the “high-growth power market of northern India”. The deal would be “value accretive from day one”, boosting both revenue and profitability, he added.The acquisition comes as power producers ramp up coal-based capacity to meet India’s rising electricity demand. Built with Japanese technology, Nabha Power is among the country’s top-performing thermal plants. It posted a plant availability factor of 95.4% in FY25 – the second-highest among large thermal power plants in India.Strategically located in a power-deficit region, the plant plays a critical role in meeting demand and also offers scope for additional earnings through ancillary services. For L&T, the divestment is part of a broader strategy. Chairman and MD S N Subrahmanyan said the move aligns with the company’s objective of unlocking value and sharpening focus on its core businesses.

KOPPAL: A local court here has sentenced three men to death in connection with the gang rape of an Israeli tourist and an Indian woman, and the murder of a tourist from Odisha near Sanapura Lake in Gangavathi taluk on March 6 last year.The crime scene was about 25km from the Unesco World Heritage Site of Hampi. The incident had sparked widespread outrage. Observing that the crime fell under the “rarest of rare” category, the court held that prosecution had proven the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

Israeli, Homestay Owner Assaulted, Odia Tourist Killed

Pronouncing the quantum of punishment, Judge Sadananda Nagappa Nayaka of the first additional district and sessions court awarded capital punishment to the three convicts – Mallesh alias Handimalla, 22, Sai alias Chaitanya Sai, 21, and Sharanappa alias Sharanabasavaraj, 30, from Sai Nagar, Gangavathi. The court had, on Feb 6, found the three accused guilty and reserved its order on sentencing. The Indian woman, 29, a homestay owner, was brutally assaulted, strangled and then gang-raped. The 27-year-old Israeli woman tourist was also gang-raped.Bibash Nayak, 26, a tour guide from Odisha who was accompanying the women, along with two other male tourists, was killed in the attack. The assailants robbed the survivors, stealing two mobile phones and Rs 9,500 in cash before fleeing the scene. According to police, the victims – two women and three men, who had met at a homestay near Hampi – were stargazing near Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal when the suspects, allegedly intoxicated, attacked them. Superintendent of police Ram L Arasiddi said: “Two of the accused were arrested within 24 hours of the crime. We had gathered 101 witnesses and 84 articles for DNA testing. It was a challenging and sensitive case.” Bibhash’s cousin thanks govt“We hail the court verdict. It was delivered in less than a year,” said Firoz Kumar Pradhan, a cousin of Bibash. “We thank Karnataka govt for taking the case seriously and police for filing the chargesheet and completing the probe quickly,” Firoz said. Bibhash Nayak, 29, was a travel enthusiast.

MUMBAI: Currency in circulation (CiC) touched a record Rs 40 lakh crore in Jan, rising 11.1% year-on-year, even as its share in the economy declined. The cash-to-GDP ratio eased to around 11.2%, down sharply from the pandemic peak of 14.4% in March 2021, signalling digital payments are financing a growing share of economic activity despite higher absolute cash holdings. In absolute terms, currency holdings have expanded steadily over the past decade. CiC rose from Rs 11.8 lakh crore in March 2013 (12% of GDP) to Rs 16.6 lakh crore in March 2016. Following demonetisation, it fell to Rs 13.4 lakh crore in March 2017 but surged to Rs 28.5 lakh crore in the pandemic-era dash-to-cash by March 2021 (14.4%). While the absolute amount of cash continued to rise, the CiC-GDP ratio moderated to 13.7% in March 2022, 12.4% in March 2023, 11.9% in March 2024 and 11.26% in March 2025, before stabilising around 11-11.2% by Jan 2026.A report by State Bank of India attributed the record cash stock to tax enforcement, low interest rates and shifting household behaviour. Around 18,000 GST notices issued in July 2025 to small vendors based on UPI transaction volumes coincided with spikes in ATM withdrawals in Karnataka, West Bengal and Kerala, indicating a shift back to cash among small traders. Weak deposit growth and lower interest rates have also encouraged precautionary cash savings, while households selling gold and silver to raise liquidity have supported cash holdings and consumption. Digital payments, however, continue to expand rapidly. Data from National Payments Corporation of India show UPI now accounts for about 70-80% of digital payments. Monthly UPI transactions rose from around 140 crore in March 2020 to over 200 crore by Oct 2020 and 355 crore by Aug 2021, valued at Rs 6.4 lakh crore. Record levels were reached in Dec 2025 with 2,163 crore transactions worth nearly Rs 28 lakh crore, followed by 2,170 crore transactions in Jan 2026 – roughly 70 crore transactions a day. Currency denomination trends reinforce the store-of-value role of cash. The Rs 500 note’s share in total currency value rose by 4.4% between April 2025 and Jan 2026. After the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 note, medium denominations gained ground. Small-value notes continued to lose relevance, with the volume share of notes below Rs 20 declining from 36.5% in 2023 to 32.4% in 2025 and their value share edging down from 1.7% to 1.6%. The broad trend suggests a structural shift: more cash is being held in absolute terms, but a declining cash-to-GDP ratio alongside rapid UPI adoption indicates physical currency is increasingly retained for storage, while digital systems handle a rising share of everyday transactions.

Mohsin Naqvi has started to face the heat after Pakistan‘s crashing defeat to India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir has also been upset over the recent loss and has conveyed his concerns to the Pakistan PM, Shehbaz Sharif.

Though Pakistan were given the upper hand over Pakistan, India looked well in control with Ishan Kishan playing the confident hand with the bat. The Indian seamers did the rest with early breakthroughs and then the spinners set the tail apart.

Overall, this led to another humiliating loss for Pakistan, as they are now 8-1 down to India in the ICC T20 World Cup. However, this time the loss has not only affected the Pakistan Cricket Team or the PCB, but has also turned out to be face loss for the nation.

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Asim Munir left disgusted by Pakistan’s recent show against India

Pakistan were crushed by the Indians in the 22 yards as the defending champions of the World Cup once again proved that the difference between the two teams is chalk and cheese, when it comes to quality.

Ahead of the game, Pakistan carried the advantage for the game being played in Colombo and the dominant bunch of spinners who could come in handy against the Indian batters who have struggled in recent years on spinning tracks.

However, nothing such ever happened, as Pakistan never looked even like a competitive side against the Indians. Top Pakistani officials like Asim Munir, who was brought into the context of the game by Mohsin Naqvi himself, have been fuming over them for the loss.

Pakistan’s army leadership did not see this as just a cricket disappointent

According to the report from News18, Pakistan’s top military officials, including Asim Munir, did not mark this loss for Pakistan against India in the ICC T20 World Cup as a mere loss in the game or just a cricket disappointment.

There is a clear perception from him that the team was underprepared for the contest and he is seemingly bothered by it. Expressing his concern, he has conveyed it to the Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The message, as claimed by the report, highlights PCB mishandling of cricket matters, ranging from team preparation issues to unnecessarily combative public statements.

Hence, it is evident that Mohsin Naqvi’s future in the PCB will now be under some scrutiny. The Pakistani government is not ruling out the possibility of replacing Naqvi and easing tensions.

Munir’s equation with Mohsin Naqvi

When the Pakistan government had announced the boycott of the India game, Mohsin Naqvi had unnecessarily invoked Munir, declaring that neither he nor the Government of Pakistan were by any means intimidated. He had then said, “Everyone knows our Field Marshal Asir Munir.”

Earlier reports had claimed that the Army Chief’s name being brought up in a sporting context was not seen as a good move by the Army Chief, as they have a significant influence over civilian affairs. Hence, Naqvi do not have a very good relationship with the Field Marshal Asim Munir.

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