31-member parliamentary panel to review FCRA Bill

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday adopted a motion referring the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), amid a huge uproar by the Opposition, which demanded that the Bill be withdrawn completely as it was intended to target minority institutions.

Retail inflation hits 19-month high of 4.45% in July

Retail inflation in India rose to a 19-month high of 4.45% in July, driven up by higher food and fuel pric-es, official data released on Wednesday showed.

Resolution to freeze LS seats at 543 gets T.N. Assembly nod

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday passed a re-solution urging the Centre to freeze the number of Lok Sabha seats at the existing 543 and retain the proportion of inter-State distribution of seats.

A timely reset for the Food Security Act

India's food security debate has entered a new phase. Estimates based on India's latest household consumption survey suggest that the share of households unable to afford the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) recommended diet fell from about 52% in 2011-12 to about 25% in 2023-24, affecting 25% of rural and 21% of urban households.

Military transformation, intellectual leadership

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi came away from his first Combined Commanders Conference in 2014, it is common knowledge within the strategic establishment that he was disappointed with the vision placed before him by the combined cohort of tri-service military commanders. His direction to them was to fasttrack reform within the armed forces with an emphasis on improving operational effectiveness by enhancing synergy and concentrating on cutting flab.

How sustainable is India's E20 push?

• The government's target was to produce 10-11 billion litres of ethanol so 20% of petrol used in transport vehicles could come from ethanol produced in India, with the money being funnelled into the Indian economy.

• Vehicles built after this April 2023 were factory-engineered for E20, with ethanol-resistant elastomers, fluorinated fuel lines, upgraded pump seals and recalibrated engine control units.

Supreme Court clarifies scope of police custody under BNSS

The story so far:

The Supreme Court recently held in The State of Andhra Pradesh vs Suda Suresh Veera Venkata Naga Raju that Section 187(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), enlarges the window during which police custody may be sought by the investigating agency. Such custody, under the BNSS is now available in parts, though in aggregate not exceeding 15 days during the first 40 or 60 days of the total permissible period of detention, rather than being confined to the first 15 days of remand alone.

Centre floats tender worth ₹1 lakh crore for 60 planes

The Defence Ministry on Wednesday issued a tender worth around 1 lakh crore for 60 multirole transport aircraft (MTA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), in a major push to replace its ageing fleet of cargo and transport aircraft and ex-pand its strategic airlift capability.

Border with India 'generally stable at the moment': China

T he Defence Minis-try on Wednesday issued a tender worth around 21 lakh crore for 60 multirole transport aircraft (MTA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), in a major push to replace its ageing fleet of cargo and transport aircraft and ex-pand its strategic airlift capability.

Amid Opposition protests, Lok Sabha clears Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill

Amid vocal protests by Opposition members, the Lok Sabha passed a Bill on Wednesday to amend the Mines and Minerals (Deve-lopment and Regulation) Act without a debate.

Both demolition and rehabilitation duties of the govt., says SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday backed an NGO's petition that lakhs of families pay municipal taxes for years, they are provided electricity and water connections, and allowed to convert their properties to free holds only to be thrown out into the streets one fine day by the State after their homes are demolished as illegal structures.

Govt. looking at MDR charge to make UPI self-sustaining

The current UPI set up is financially unthreatens sustainable and critical invest-ments in cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and net-work infrastructure, Standing Committee on Finance informed Parliament on Wednesday. In response, the government said it was currently looking at two ways to move forward with making the UPI platform financially self-sustaining.

Southern African Customs bloc, India revive trade talks

India and the five-member Southern African Customs Union signed terms of refe-rence on Wednesday to start talks on a preferential trade agreement, as New Delhi seeks lower tariffs on exports including cars, pharmaceuticals and industrial machinery.

Kazakhstan, desperate rain, turns to for cloud-seeding

Kazakh authorities are betting on cloud seeding to reduce the impact of drought and water shortages in its southern Turkestan area, the country's leading cotton-growing region