Govt plan: Keep south share unchanged in LS, list each state's new count in 'schedule'

The Government will most likely bring on Thursday a 'schedule' in Parliament to clearly specify the number of Lok Sabha seats for each state, and this will show that the percentage share of each state in the Lok Sabha's total strength is the same as it is now, top sources said.

A 'schedule' is an additional section to a legislation that provides detailed information supporting its text.

SC: You cannot hollow out religion in name of social welfare, reform

The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that religion should not be hollowed out in the name of social reform, as it continued to examine constitutional questions arising out of its September 2018 judgment striking down age restrictions on the entry of women into the Sabarimala hill shrine.

Houselisting operations for Census 2027 begins today

From Thursday, field operations for the houselisting and housing Census -the first phase of the Census of India 2027-will begin in NDMC and Delhi Cantonment areas, with enumerators undertaking a door-to-door survey to collect basic information on house-holds, officials said.

The process follows a voluntary self-enumeration phase that concluded on Wednesday, in which individuals had to submit details online.

Samrat takes charge as Bihar CM; Cabinet rejig after May 4

Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday took over as the first BJP chief minister of Bihar with two deputies from JD(U) - Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. A Cabinet expansion is likely to take place after results are announced for West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Assembly elections on May 4. 

Bills tabled today seek to amend Constitution's seven key Articles

The Three new Bills scheduled to be tabled in the Lok Sabha Thursday contain amendments to seven key Articles of the Constitution, The Indian Express has learnt. The amendments are related to Articles 55, 81, 82, 170, 330, 332 and 334A.

According to sources, these broadly fall under sections pertaining to the Executive - most specifically to the election of the President and Vice President-to the composition of legislatures, including the Parliament and Assemblies, and to 'Special Provisions' relating to certain classes which provide for reservation for SCs and STs.

Wang Yi, Lavrov to attend BRICS meet on May 14-15

Amid the shaky ceasefire between Iran and the US and negotiations in Islamabad to reach a deal to end the war entered a deadlock, India is likely to host the BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting on May 14-15, sources said on Wednesday, which is expected to be attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Depending on the conflict's situation, Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi might join the meeting in May-either in person or virtually.

India calls for unimpeded, safe maritime transport

Calling the attacks on merchant shipping "completely unacceptable", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underlined India's "strong commitment to safe and unimpeded transit passage of maritime shipping". This was a reference to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

He participated in the AZEC Plus Asia Zero Emission -Community- meeting convened by Japan to discuss supply chain disruptions in the energy markets.

Putin will attend BRICS summit in India: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin will "definitely" take part in the BRICS summit in India later this year, TASS news agency reported on Wednesday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. There are no official dates for the summit so far, but TASS earlier cited a source in the Indian government as saying it is scheduled for September 12-13. 

Chhattisgarh: Framework for UCC to be drafted after consulting public, experts

The Chhattisgarh Cabinet has initiated the process to adopt a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) by approving a high-level committee, headed by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, to prepare a draft of the UCC framework.

In workers' protests, a test of labour reforms

Strengthening enforcement mechanisms is the most critical priority. A persistent challenge in India's labour market is the weak enforcement of regulations, especially in the informal sector.

A new world order needs a credible architect. India must claim that role

When India remains passive as expletive-laden threats fly and violations of the UN Charter multiply, it risks losing the very credibility that makes it a leader of the Global South. It is time for a proactive, principled diplomacy.

For agri growth in volatile world, look beyond farm gate

India's agriculture economy is valued at around $600 billion and could cross $1 trillion over the next decade if value-added processing and market linkages scale.

March trade deficit eases to $21 bn; goods export grew by 1% in FY26

The Goods trade deficit in March eased marginally to $20.67 billion in March compared to $21.69 billion during last year, driven by a sharp decline in imports of petroleum products as well as exports of rice, gems & jewellery and electronic goods to the West Asia region, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry showed. While India's goods exports in March slipped by 7.4% to $38.92 billion compared to $42.05 billion in March last year, imports declined 6.9% to $59.59 billion compared to $63.74 billion, data showed.

Plastic bags to playing cards: WPI inflation hits 3-year high

India's Wholesale inflation in March jumped to the highest in over three years as the West Asia war propelled crude petroleum prices almost 50% higher from February, with prices of common everyday plastic items, such as playing cards and plastic bags, seeing the sharpest sequential rise since the early months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

Gor, Puri discuss strengthening India-US energy partnership

A day after the phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, US Ambassador Sergio Gor met Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Wednesday to discuss strengthening energy ties.

Israel strikes South Lebanon after truce talks in US

Israeli Strikes rocked southern Lebanon overnight and into Wednesday, a day after a first round of historic talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington. Smoke rose over the coastal city of Tyre, underscoring the fragility of diplomatic efforts.

The twin moves that will reshape Indian democracy

Parliament's Budget Session is reconvening today for three days to decide on giving effect to two landmark Constitutional changes that will reshape Indian democracy.

The first is a Constitutional amendment to increase the number of seats in Lok Sabha to up to 850 from the present 543. Accompanying it will be a Bill to constitute a Delimitation Commission to carve out the new Parliamentary constituencies.