Trump listening, Modi tells G7: Shortage of trust, need to rebuild

Underlining that "mutual trust is the most important strategic asset today" and that the world "suffers from a shortage of trust", Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday told leaders of the G7, including US President Donald Trump, that the "future of our partnerships depends on rebuilding this trust".

India seeks $900-mn steel quota to end UK trade deal logjam

India is pushing for a steel quota in the UK market worth nearly $900 million under the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) signed in July 2025 in a bid to resolve the ongoing row over steel curbs announced by the UK, The Indian Express has

This has delayed implementation of the trade deal even though negotiations were concluded a year ago.

NCR set to get four greenfield 'Namo' cities under Regional Plan 2041

Four Greenfield cities, called "Namo" cities, will be developed in the National Capital Region (NCR) - one each in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan - at a total cost of Rs 5,000 crore over the next five years, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal said on Tuesday.

Strict regulatory oversight on sale of cough syrups

The Union Health Ministry has amended the rules that provided certain sales exemptions to cough syrups.

This comes months after at least 22 children died in MP's Chhindwara district after allegedly consuming Coldrif cough syrup in September last year.

The ministry has amended the rules to remove "syrups ... for cough" from Schedule K-the list of medicines given special exemptions under the drug rules. In this case, it allowed the sale of cough syrups in general stores in small villages.

Great Nicobar project: Zoological Survey to soon seek nod for translocating corals

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) will soon seek a nod from the Department of Environment and Forest, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for translocation of over 16,000 coral colonies that are to be impacted around the Galathea Bay transshipment port site, under Great Nicobar Island (GNI) project.

At G7 meet, Carney invites Modi to visit Canada; both vow to strengthen relations

A Year after they began the reset of ties at the G7 Summit in Canada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, France, on Tuesday. They agreed to strengthen co-operation in defence, information security and energy.

Carney also invited Modi to visit Canada by the end of the year, as the two sides are working on signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

'Like real life, kids need rules for social media use'

• The Indian Express reported this March that the government was not in favour of an outright ban, and was instead considering a more nuanced and graded approach in specifying restrictions for children under 18 years.

• Government sources said that there will be distinct sets of restrictions for those in the 8-12 years age bracket, for 12 to 16-year-olds, and for those aged 16-18 years.

You always needed cough syrup prescription: What's changed & why

The union government has removed cough syrups from the list of medicines that receive certain exemptions in manufacturing and sale, such as availability in general stores in smaller villages. This comes after a spate of recent incidents where children have died after consuming contaminated syrups.

The Union Health Ministry, in a gazette notification, removed the word "syrup" from Schedule K of the Drug Rules.

On US-Iran ceasefire, the mediation question is the wrong one

It is not clear how the Iran-US deal will unfold over the next several months. The announced ceasefire and framework are more of a mechanism to postpone resolving deeper divides that still pose risks. Even if it survives, the deal will be at best a sullen ceasefire, not a peace settlement.

Indian cities need to rethink water future

NITI Aayog's Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) had warned of a dire situation in 2018. While the timelines estimated in the report may not have been accurate, the CWMI's warning - Indian cities are living beyond their hydrological means should have prompted a course correction. Since then, several other studies, including the Jal Shakti Ministry's latest Dynamic Groundwater Resources Assessment, have flagged the oversaturation of aquifers. The problem, however, is that municipal and state-level authorities treat every crisis as an isolated event and very little has been done to address the structural reasons for water shortfall during the dry season.

India's challenge lies in navigating not between West and Rest, but within West

Where many in Delhi's foreign policy community see an irreconcilable contradiction between the pursuit of strategic autonomy and partnership with the West, China demonstrated the art of transcending it-and against far steeper odds. –

How (not) to save the Aravalli range

The Aravalli is old. Older than the Himalaya, older than our arguments, older than our institutions and those who run them. It has survived glaciations, tectonic upheavals, and centuries of illegal mining. It did not, however, anticipate being improved.

Earlier this month, a leading Rajasthan newspaper ran a Sunday "positive" story about a plan by the forest department to plant saplings on rocky forest land through a technique called "double blasting". The hard, stony ground of the Aravallis ground that has been hard and stony for approximately 1.5 billion years and is rather settled in its ways-will be blasted - twice - so that the earth becomes crumbly. And then a plant will be put in the resulting crater. The plant, presumably, will grow. Greenery will ensue. Rajasthan's 5,476 sq km of rocky forest will be transformed. 

Double blasting is an engineering technique for breaking extremely hard rock - the kind that illegal miners have long cast longing looks at. You drill deep, you detonate in controlled stages, the rock fractures, the rubble crumbles. And then (here is the masterstroke) you plant something. The disturbed soil, we are told, will hold moisture longer. The roots will spread. Greenery will flourish where earlier there was only stubborn geological permanence.

Trump: Iran deal to be public soon, it'll rule out n-weapons for Tehran

Details began to emerge on Tuesday of the US and Iran's interim deal to end the war in West Asia, with President Donald Trump saying it will rule out a nuclear weapon for Tehran and a US official saying it allows Iran to sell oil upon signing.

The interim deal is set to extend a tenuous ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Ebola cases in Congo rise to 837, Africa CDC warns of record spread

The Number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased to 837, including 196 deaths, government data showed on Tuesday. The number represented the total number of confirmed cases as of Monday, according to a situation report that documented 29 new cases and four new deaths in the previous 24 hours.

States' development, welfare spending surges 131% in 10 years: CAG

States' aggregate expenditure rose sharply by 131% between 2015-16 and 2024-25, keeping pace with economic growth, as they focused on welfare and development activities, said a CAG report Tuesday.

RBI relaxes ECLGS 5.0 norms

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday allowed banks and other regulated entities to assign a 0% risk weight on 75% of the eligible guaranteed exposure under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0, easing the capital treatment for such loans, it said in a notification.

Gems, jewellery exports in May dip 2.49%

India's gems and jewellery exports declined by 2.49% year-on-year in May to $2,047.89 million (Rs 19,573.96 crore) led by high gold prices and supply constraints, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council said.