India is rapidly embracing the power of agentic artificial intelligence (AI), with over 80 per cent of businesses actively exploring the development of autonomous agents, a new report said on Wednesday.

This shift towards agentic AI signals a significant transformation in how businesses are adopting AI technologies, as they look for ways to streamline operations and increase efficiency, according to a Deloitte’s report.

Agentic AI refers to AI systems that operate independently, making decisions and taking actions with little to no human input. These systems are typically designed to focus on achieving specific goals and can adapt to changing circumstances.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions soared by 42 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the second half of 2024, totalling a remarkable 93.23 billion transactions, a new report said on Wednesday.

India’s digital payments ecosystem continues to experience rapid growth, with significant milestones reached in the second half last year, according to a report by Worldline, a financial service provider.

The total value of UPI transactions also saw a notable increase, rising by 31 per cent to Rs 130.19 trillion.

After eight people died in a blast at an illegal firecracker factory at Patharpratima in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, the role of the local panchayat has come under the scanner of investigating officials.

The blast took place on Monday night. District administration sources said that it had been revealed that the Banik family, at whose residence the illegal firecracker was being run, had secured an ordinary trade license from the local panchayat, which did not come with the permission to run a firecracker manufacturing unit.

Now, questions are being raised about how even that ordinary trade license was granted by the local panchayat, especially in the backdrop of criminal antecedents of one of the two arrested accused in connection with the blast, Chandrakanta Banik.

A 26-year-old hotel staff member was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed hotel building in Myanmar's Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday, five days after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country, according to the State Administration Council's information team.

Two people were trapped under the debris, and rescue teams from the Myanmar Fire Services Department and Turkey successfully pulled one survivor to safety, the information team said.

The operation at the hotel began at around 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, and the man was rescued by approximately 00:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, it said.

Efforts are ongoing to locate and rescue the remaining trapped individuals, news agency reported.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said on Wednesday that the Pakistan Army intruded into the Indian side and also violated the ceasefire by opening fire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.

“The violation took place at 1.10 p.m. on Tuesday, and the Indian troops responded with controlled and calibrated retaliation,” the spokesman said.

The defence spokesman made no mention of any casualties on the Pakistani side of the LoC due to Indian retaliation, but official sources said five enemy soldiers were injured in the explosion and the subsequent firing between the two sides.

There has been a marked improvement in safety in the operations of Indian Railways, with the number of train accidents declining significantly to 81 in financial year 2024-25 from 400 earlier, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Making a comparison with the tenure of earlier railway ministers during the erstwhile UPA regime, Vaishnaw said, "During Lalu Ji’s time, there were around 700 accidents per year, during Mamata Ji's time, there were around 400 accidents, during Kharge Ji's time, there were around 385 accidents.”

Speaking during Question Hour in the Lower House, the minister said that efforts were continuously being made to introduce technological and procedural changes and new training methods, to further reduce rail accidents in the country.

Rohit Sharma, one of the most successful players in the history of the IPL, opened up on how his role has evolved over the years within the Mumbai Indians setup, from adapting to new roles to leading the team to glory. He said a lot has changed since he started, but his passion and desire to win games and trophies for the franchise have never changed.

Rohit has slumped to his worst IPL start since 2020. He has failed to put up his best in the first three games of the ongoing IPL 2025, getting dismissed for a duck in the campaign opener against Chennai Super Kings. He failed again in the game against the Gujarat Titans, which MI lost by 36 runs on Saturday, scoring only 8 runs, followed by a score of 13 in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, where he came as an Impact Sub.

"Since I started, things have obviously changed. I used to bat in the middle order; now, I open the innings. I was the captain; now, I’m not. Some of my teammates from our championship-winning seasons are now in coaching roles. So, roles have changed, a lot has changed, but mindset remains the same.

April 2, 2011 saw one of the greatest chapters of Indian cricket being written as the nation lifted the ODI World Cup for the second time, 28 years after the first, at the Wankhede Stadium.

14 years later, on the anniversary of the famous win, the players of that 2011 WC winning squad still look back on that night in Mumbai fondly and took to social media to celebrate the occasion.

“ON THIS DAY in 2011, India scripted history by winning the ICC Cricket World Cup! I still get goosebumps thinking about that iconic moment when @msdhoni hit that six! But it wasn't just about one person, it was a team effort! Huge appreciation for the entire team's hard work, dedication & perseverance! @GautamGambhir's 97, @sachin_rt's valuable contributions throughout, @YUVSTRONG12 all-round brilliance, @harbhajan_singh 's crucial wickets, @ImZaheer exceptional bowling & the entire support staff! @BCCI We all made India proud! #IndiaWinsWorldCup #2011WorldCup #Cricket #TeamIndia,” read the post by Suresh Raina on X.

Two Maoists have been neutralised in a major encounter near the Kanha Tiger Reserve in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh.

According to police sources, both individuals were women and had been involved in nefarious Maoist activities. A significant cache of weapons was recovered from the location.

The Director General of Police, Kailash Makwana, confirmed the incident on his X handle, stating, “Two female Naxalites were killed in a police-Naxalite encounter this morning under the jurisdiction of Bichhiya police station in Mandla district. Recovered items include an SLR rifle, another rifle, a wireless set, and various daily-use items. The search operation is still underway.”