President Murmu grants assent to VB-G RAM G Bill

President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill (VB-G RAM G), 2025, which aims to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, and provide for a new rural jobs programme with a statutory wage employment guarantee of 125 days every financial year for rural households. 

Nicobar tribal concerns on NCST table again, islands council flags 'unanswered concerns'

The Rs 81,000 crore Great Nicobar infrastructure project-planned over 166 sq km and involves diversion of 130 sq km of forest land-will see construction of a transshipment port, an integrated township, a civil and military use airport, a 450 MVA gas and solar power-based plant.

The older representations and grievances, sent to the NCST once again, relate to the impacts the mega project will have on the ancestral lands of the Nicobarese community, who were displaced from their villages during the 2004 Great Tsunami, and the impacts on the particularly vulnerable Shompen tribe. 

Tiger conservation model must be science-based, says Minister

The sixth cycle of the tiger census, known as the All India Tiger Estimation, was officially launched on Sunday, with ground surveys having begun last month.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, who chaired a high-level joint meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Project Elephant Steering Committee at the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, said India's conservation model must increasingly rely on science-based management and international collaboration, noting recent delegations from South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana involved in the cheetah reintroduction program. 

How transfusion safety gaps put thalassaemia patients at HIV risk

Most blood banks use ELISA-tests and not NAAT tests for screening. 

GDP is growing rapidly. Why isn't private capex?

• Private capital expenditure has been stuck at around 12% of GDP for more than a decade.

• For private sector, current facilities are more than enough to meet demand. They also face challenges such as high costs. 

Curbing elephant deaths on tracks needs blend of infra, tech

Use of Al warnings

• The Railways has deployed Al-based early warning systems in multiple places, although these are yet to be adopted widely.

• In a pioneering initiative, the Northeast Frontier Railway in 2023 began using Al-based warning systems to proactively observe wild elephants and safeguard them from train collisions.

• A similar system was introduced in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in 2024. The early results of these initiatives have been promising. 

Delhi & Geneva are shaping an Al future based on trust

Switzerland is honoured to support India's vision for the Al Impact Summit 2026.

Our shared objective is clear: Al must be safe, innovative, open and inclusive. 

In West Asia, India’s diplomacy has delivered dramatic gains

Countries that once viewed India through the prism of Pakistan-such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE-now see New Delhi as a long-term strategic partner. 

Reforming the fertiliser subsidy demands political courage, offers high rewards

A deregulated fertiliser market would spur innovation, improve efficiency, and restore correct price signals for balanced use of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. 

India, too, faces a test in poll-bound Bangladesh

India's responses to Bangladeshi elections, particularly during periods of contested legitimacy, have left a lasting imprint on public opinion in Dhaka that New Delhi's engagement has been tilted toward a single political force-the then-ruling Awami League.