Mumbai: Mumbai witnessed a cool start to Saturday, with clear skies, mild winter winds and relatively low humidity offering residents a welcome break from the city’s usual heat. However, the relief was short-lived as a noticeable blanket of smog gradually spread across the skyline, reducing visibility and once again drawing attention to Mumbai’s worsening air pollution problem.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast a largely comfortable day for the financial capital, predicting bright weather conditions with temperatures expected to range between 18°C and 33°C. While the weather remained favourable, deteriorating air quality quickly emerged as the city’s main concern, overshadowing the pleasant morning.

According to data from air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 128 in the early hours, placing it in the ‘poor’ category. Though this reflected a marginal improvement compared to the hazardous levels recorded in late November and early December, the air continued to pose health risks.

Multiple factors are contributing to Mumbai’s declining air quality. Large-scale infrastructure projects, including metro rail corridors, flyover construction, coastal road extensions and extensive road-widening work, are ongoing across the city. These activities have significantly increased dust emissions. Additionally, aggressive private real estate development and rising vehicular pollution during peak traffic hours have further worsened air conditions, especially along major arterial roads and busy junctions.

Several parts of the city emerged as pollution hotspots on Saturday. The Wadala Truck Terminal recorded an alarming AQI of 293, while Chembur reported an AQI of 230, both categorised as ‘unhealthy’ and capable of affecting even healthy individuals. Colaba registered an AQI of 190, placing it in the ‘poor’ category. Malad and Deonar followed closely, recording AQI levels of 187 and 180 respectively.

Suburban areas showed relatively better air quality but remained far from safe. Govandi recorded an AQI of 68, while Andheri West and Jogeshwari reported readings of 72 and 73, all falling under the ‘moderate’ category. However, other western suburbs such as Kandivali East and Goregaon slipped back into the ‘moderate’ zone, with AQI levels of 75 and 78.

For reference, AQI values between 0 and 50 are considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘moderate’, 101–150 ‘poor’, 151–200 ‘unhealthy’, and readings above 200 are deemed ‘hazardous’. With pollution levels fluctuating despite favourable weather, experts stress the need for stricter dust control measures and sustainable traffic management to prevent further deterioration of Mumbai’s air quality.

Noida, Dec 19: Panic gripped Noida in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar district, as several prominent educational institutions received threatening emails warning of bomb blasts in their premises.

The e-mail bomb threat, received by the Step by Step School in Sector-126, triggered an alarm in the school administration, leading to the evacuation of children and teachers, followed by heightened security checks.

The police teams rushed to the campus after they were informed about a bomb threat by the school administration. Police reached the spot, cordoned off the school premises and carried out a thorough search operation; however, nothing suspicious was found. Bomb disposal squad and dog squad were brought in to scan the classrooms, corridors, basement, playgrounds and other sensitive areas.

As no mysterious objects or explosive materials were recovered during the search, the police eventually declared it to be a hoax call.

The latest episode of bomb threats in Noida and other NCR schools marks a continuation of the disturbing trend of hoax threats, seen in the past few months, targeting educational institutions – primarily schools.

Apart from the Step by Step School, the two other schools that are reported to have received hoax threat calls include Amity School and Shiv Nadar School. The simultaneous threats via email to the city’s three prestigious schools created an atmosphere of fear and trepidation among the administration as well as parents.

Meanwhile, the police have launched a detailed probe into the incident, activating its cyber cell to identify the source and sender of the hoax email. An investigation is underway to locate the IP address from which the threatening email was sent, and also to determine whether it was an act of mischief or an organised conspiracy.

The Noida Police have also appealed to the school authorities and the public at large, not to take any suspicious information lightly, but also not to pay attention to rumours and hearsay. Parents as well as the general public have been urged to immediately report any visible threat or suspicious activity to the police.

New Delhi, Dec 19: India’s benchmark index Nifty is expected to touch 29,094 in one year based on long‑term valuation averages and earnings durability, a report said on Friday.

Wealth management firm PL Wealth said in the report that India enters the end of 2025 from a position of relative macro strength with record‑low inflation, a dovish monetary stance, resilient domestic demand and improved corporate earnings visibility.

“In the near term, large-cap stocks remain preferred due to their earnings stability and strong balance sheets, while selective exposure to high-quality mid-cap names is being added as visibility improves,” the wealth management firm cited its strategy.

Over the next 6 to 24 months, the earnings cycle is expected to broaden across consumption, financials, capex-linked sectors and select industrials, supported by benign inflation, lower interest rates and sustained domestic liquidity.

“India’s current macro configuration is among the most constructive we have seen in over a decade,” said Inderbir Singh Jolly, CEO, PL Wealth Management.

While global uncertainties will continue to create short-term volatility, India’s structural strengths—policy reform, financialisaton of savings and improving corporate balance sheets—position it well for sustained long-term growth, Inderbir added.

RBI’s 25 basis‑point cut to a 5.25 per cent policy repo rate lowered its CPI inflation projections and upgraded GDP growth estimates, signalling confidence in the sustainability of domestic demand, the report said.

The firm also noted FY26 GDP growth projection of 7.3 per cent underpinned by robust infrastructure spending, resilient consumption and key policy measures such as GST rationalisation and income-tax cuts.

The FY26 September quarter earnings season delivered broad-based strength, with several sectors—including hospitals, capital goods, cement, electronics manufacturing services, ports, NBFCs and telecom—reporting double-digit growth in EBITDA and profits.

The firm noted that Nifty earnings per share estimates for FY26–FY28 imply an earnings CAGR of nearly 14 per cent. Domestic institutional investors have anchored markets with record net inflows of over Rs 6.8 trillion year‑to‑date.