The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Deputy Director, Registrar of Companies Mumbai for allegedly seeking ₹2 crore bribe for preparing a favourable report for a company under investigation, officials said on Thursday.

Following the registration of the FIR against Deputy Director Sai Shankar Landa on Tuesday, the central agency had conducted a search operation at his premises in Mumbai and his native place in Vishakhapatnam on Wednesday, they said.

With more businesses embracing messaging to engage with their customers, Meta on Thursday announced a slew of new features and programmes including full availability of verified badge - a trust marker- for small businesses to establish credibility and credentials with consumers.

At the WhatsApp Business Summit in Mumbai, Meta also spotlighted Artificial Intelligence tools for enhancing the messaging experience. To start with, Meta will make it easy to activate AI directly from WhatsApp Business app to enable businesses to engage more efficiently with their customers - it has recently started testing this in India, and says early results are exciting.

India will be driving 20% of the world's economic growth in the next decade as it continues its march to become the third largest economy globally, according to G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant.

Home-grown auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors on Thursday hailed the PM e-drive scheme, saying it would help in higher adoption of electric vehicles in the country.

"With continued focused support on 2Ws, 3Ws, e-buses and the thoughtful addition of e-ambulances, the scheme will drive higher EV penetration in the country," Mahindra & Mahindra Managing Director Anish Shah said in a statement.

"With PM e-drive, we foresee India becoming the first country to achieve 100 per cent electrification in this segment by 2030," he added.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme with an allocation of ₹10,900 crore for two years to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the country.

City-based DNA Wellness on Thursday said it will invest ₹200 crore to set up over 100 cervical cancer screening labs across India by 2027.

The company has acquired exclusive rights to conduct the DNA Ploidy Test, a diagnostic tool developed by the British Columbia Cancer Research Agency, Canada, the company said in a statement.

India and China on Thursday discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the civil aviation sector, including resumption of direct flights between the two countries.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam and other senior officials met with representatives from China on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in the national capital.

In a post on X, Naidu said he along with senior officials had a courtesy meeting with a Chinese delegation led by Song Zhiyong.

Domestic steel consumption is likely to witness 9-10 per cent growth the financial year 2024-25, rating agency ICRA said on Thursday.

Kalpataru Projects International on Thursday said the company and its arms secured orders worth ₹2,774 crore.

Kalpataru Projects International Ltd (KPIL), one of the largest Engineering & Construction companies listed in India along with its international subsidiaries have secured new orders or notification of awards of ₹2,774 crore, a company statement said.

The company's consolidated crude steel production was 22.86 LT in the corresponding month of previous fiscal, JSW Steel said in a regulatory filing.

Telecom regulator Trai and the Department of Telecom have jointly disconnected over 1 crore mobile connections to check pesky callers and fraudsters, according to an official statement.

Digital wealth management platform Centricity has raised $20 million (about ₹168 crore) in a seed funding round that valued the firm at $125 million.

The funding round, led by Lightspeed, saw participation from Korean venture capital fund Paramark VC, OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal, NVIDIA MD Vishal Dhupar and family offices of MS Dhoni, NB Ventures, MMG group, and Action Tesa.

"Centricity plans to utilise the fresh capital to expand its operations. The company plans to double its tech development team from 75 to over 150 specialists, focusing on innovations like generative AI-led modules, insure-tech, and broking-tech platforms," a company statement said.

The US and the European Union as part of its dialogue on China have discussed the value of engagement with India in addressing global challenges, including in the maritime sphere, energy and connectivity in the Indo-Pacific.

Discussion on India was part of the two-day 'US-EU Dialogue on China' and the sixth meeting of the 'US-EU High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific', here on September 9 and 10.