Nepal keen to reset India ties: Minister

A month after the devastating Bhotekoshi floods, Nepal Prime Minister Balen Shah will make his first foreign visit since assuming office in March, travelling to New York next week to address the UN General As-sembly and discuss the country's recovery plans, Nepal Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has said.

Serious escalation

The new U.S. law on Russian oil imports carries more legal weight

The U.S. Russia Sanctions Act, now signed into law by President Donald Trump, and its resultant impending tariffs, present a new and substantially different escalation of tensions between the U.S. and India. The law provides the U.S. President the authority to levy tariffs of up to 100% on countries such as India that import large quantities of Russian oil and gas. This is more serious than the penal tariffs that Mr. Trump had levied earlier. 

India's real rate moment, the cost of delay

India is approaching an uncomfortable turning point in monetary policy. With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holding the repo rate at 5.25% while inflation rises, the real policy rate is steadily losing its cushion. Consumer price inflation rose to 4.82% in August, from 4.45% in July, marking the third consecutive month above the RBI's target of 4%. Food inflation is even higher at 5.95%. Core inflation has also risen to around 4.2%, suggesting that price pressures are broadening beyond food.

Missing measure in India's magnet mission

The strategic question is not simply whether India possesses rare-earth resources or whether imports from China can be reduced. The real policy challenge is understanding what happens in between

The paradox of self-reliance: India-China trade dynamics

India is steadily building its manufacturing and export capabili ties. However, that expansion remains deeply embedded in China-centric, importdependent supply chains - creating what may be called the "assembly trap" of self-reliance. Bilateral trade touched $167.6 billion in 2025 but has become asymmetric, with imports from China rising much faster than India's exports. 

The copyright stakes in the EU FTA

Recently, the European Commission formally requested EU member states to approve the signing and conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. Details of the commitments the two partners have accepted in the covered areas, including intellectual property (IP), have also been revealed. The draft IP Chapter includes detailed provisions on copyright that require close examination of their impact on India's digital policy landscape.

What does Tulu's new official language status mean?

The story so far:

Karnataka government, in its Cabinet meeting held in Mangaluru on September 18, decided to accord the additional official (administrative) language status to Tulu, which is commonly spoken in Dakshina Kannada district, southern parts of Udupi district in Karnataka, and northern parts of Kasaragod district in Keralam.

Article 345 of the Constitution allows each State legislature to choose one or more regional languages or Hindi as the official language for its official work. It says: "Subject to the provisions of articles 346 and 347, the Legislature of a State may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the State or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of that State."