Energy to rare earth to Fiji port: Quad bid to counter China rise in Indo-Pacific

Unveiling Regional initiatives for energy security and critical minerals, Foreign Ministers of the Quad nations Tues-day agreed to launch an Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Corporation, expand maritime domain awareness and enhance port infrastructure in Fiji.

These moves by the Quad, comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia, come at a time when China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific are on the rise, and ongoing conflicts, most recently in West Asia, are disrupting supply chains and hurting economies.

Panel set up to study demographic changes - causes & consequences

The Government on Tuesday constituted a High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) under the Ministry of Home Affairs "to undertake scientific study of the nature, causes and consequences of such demographic changes occurring across the country and to recommend appropriate policy, administrative and legal measures". 

Anti-drone systems along border within six months: Shah in Bikaner

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said anti-drone systems will be deployed along the international border within the next six months, underlining the need to view the BSF's traditional role "from a new dimension".

Amid China concerns, India & US ink pact to secure critical minerals supply

India and the US signed a bilateral "critical minerals framework" on Tuesday, as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio before the latter wrapped up his four-day visit. This is significant since there are legitimate concerns over China's export curbs on rare earth which are crucial for global technology supply chains in the manufacturing of cars to phones, missiles to planes. 

Vedanta's Odisha mine project gets expert panel nod for green clearance

Vedanta Limited's bauxite mine project, proposed on a hilltop straddling Kalahandi and Rayagada districts in Odisha, has received environmental clearance recommendation from an expert panel of the Union Environment Ministry. The project, proposed to mine high-grade bauxite reserves of 311 million tonnes, will be spread over 1,549 hectares and requires diversion of 709.72 hectares of forest land.

In new world, with US, India has the cards. It must play them confidently

Unlike the US, the Indian elite has little social intimacy or political familiarity with Russia or China. There is only the G-to-G relationship and the coded diplo-speak associated with it. 

India First can converge with America First

Against the backdrop of an uneasy phase in India-US relations over the past year or so, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to India signalled reassurance to New Delhi that Washington remains committed to a long-term strategic partnership. He sought to convey that recent US actions (related to tariffs and visas, for instance) were not aimed at India, but were part of a broader effort to rebalance US trade and modernise the American immigration system. 

Bigger RBI dividend, smaller fiscal comfort zone

The RBI has approved the largest-ever dividend (yet slightly short of expectations) of Rs 2.87 lakh to the government, which will cover roughly 20 per cent of the latter's deficits -a timely transfer given that the government is supporting a larger fuel and fertiliser subsidy bill. One can evaluate the transfer from legal, monetary/fiscal policy, and political economy perspectives. 

In warming India, local data monitoring is key

While heat waves are not new to India, rising baseline temperatures are increasing their frequency and severity.

Heat wave frequency in India has been rising since 1961, with projections indicating a rise of 12 to 18 days under continued warming trajectories.

Will critical minerals treaty with US bring investments?

Months After the US announced India's inclusion into Pax Silica, a Washington-led initiative to counter China's dominance in new age sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), India and the US on Tuesday signed a bilateral India-US Critical Minerals Framework.

It focusses on securing the supply, mining, and processing of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

Adani inaugurates world's largest battery storage outside China

Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), India's largest renewable energy company, has commissioned a cumulative 3.37 Gigawatt-hour (GWh) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), the world's largest single-location battery storage deployment outside China.

The deployment includes the 1.37 GWh capacity commissioned in March 2026, taking AGEL's total operational BESS capacity at Khavda, Gujarat to 3.37 GWh.