Tishchenko reaction is the dimerization of two molecules of an aldehyde to produce symmetrical esters. These esters find wide applications in many reactions in organic synthesis. A variant of this reaction, the Evans‐Tishchenko reaction, catalyzed by SmI2 affords 1,3‐anti‐diol monoesters. This chemistry has found wide applications in natural product synthesis as it offers a mild and efficient methodology for the formation of 1,3‐diols stereoselectively. In this review, we mainly focus on recent advancements in the transition metal catalyzed and lanthanide‐actinide catalyzed Tishchenko reactions and their applications in organic synthesis covering literature from 2014 to 2019.

Multi‐component reactions have emerged as a powerful synthetic tactic for modern synthetic organic chemists for performing Diversity Oriented Synthesis. In recent years, with the advent of transition metal‐catalysed multi‐component reactions, rhodium catalysed reactions have proven to be promising candidates for delivering highly functionalized products. This review provides an overview of the rhodium‐catalysed multi‐component reactions leading to the formation of various types of compounds such as carbocycles, heterocycles of different types, spirocompounds, vicinal diols, amino acid derivatives etc.

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A comprehensive evaluation of MW-assisted Kabachnik-Fields reactions (phospha-Mannich condensation) is done to draw the attention of synthetic chemists towards a greener, solvent-free and catalyst-free protocol. The review encompasses the diverse class of α-aminophosphonates and its derivatives synthesized via one-pot three component KF reaction, which finds application in various disciplines of chemistry and covers literature up to 2020.

Recalling the serious hazards imposed by the “ungreen” techniques used over the years, chemists are now expected to adopt synthetic tactics that strictly adhere to the three E's of green chemistry: Environmental, Economical and Energy efficient. Among the various measures undertaken to improve the benignity of a chemical system, top priority has been given for identifying abundant, non‐toxic and non‐flammable greener solvents such as water, replacing detrimental organic solvents. Despite the safer aspects, reactions in aqueous solutions hardly meet the green chemical standards, particularly due to the challenging product isolation and purification techniques. Sharpless's demonstration of, until then almost unknown, “on water” effect was a major breakthrough in the realm of sustainable organic chemistry. Needless to say, integration of homo‐/heterogeneous water‐compatible catalysts under “on water” conditions without deteriorating its efficiency, has also awakened the industrial prospects of the protocol. Among the various transition metals, copper complexes or salts are considered as first line catalysts due to their irrevocable contributions to the synthetic world. Also, due to the water tuneable nature of these catalysts, many copper‐catalysed organic transformations that once required harsh conditions, could now be obtained using clean and safe protocols. This review comprehends the recent advancements in the copper‐catalysed “on water” reactions covering literatures since 2006.