Mepco bill

The Taliban’s draconian restrictions over the past five years have led to Afghan women facing an unprecedented rollback of rights and freedoms. As universities and many formal workplaces become inaccessible, growing numbers of women are turning to small-scale entrepreneurship as one of the few remaining avenues to earn a livelihood and retain a measure of … Read more

(1) Ammonia leaks from factory, kills at least eight Ammonia gas leaked from a seafood processing plant in Tiruvallur district on Sunday last week (June 21, 2026), killing at least eight people and over 60 being admitted for treatment. According to a bulletin, 77 individuals were affected by the leak. Routine industrial operations exposed workers … Read more

CHENNAI, 14/03/2017 : For Tamil Nadu Desk : An electricity pylon tower carries high voltage power lines, the picture taken at Redhills in Chennai. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam | Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B The grim financial health of the Tamil Nadu government has been accentuated by the plight of State Public Sector Undertakings (SPSUs), … Read more

After releasing the “Kerala’s Fiscal Health — A Status Report” (white paper), which raised serious concerns over the State’s rising debt burden while strongly criticising the previous Left government for alleged fiscal mismanagement, the new United Democratic Front (UDF) government on Thursday presented its maiden budget. The budget estimates the debt-to-GSDP ratio to come down … Read more

A drone view shows members of military engineering teams working at the site where, according to local authorities, an Iranian missile fell in the countryside near Damascus, Syria, on June 9, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters The U.S. and Israel sent a barrage of missiles towards Iran on February 28, 2026 after disagreements over Iran’s … Read more

According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2024, 95.4% of all live births in India now take place in a medical institution, whereas in 2019, the figure was 82.8%. The National Health Mission, Janani Suraksha Yojana, and other public health programmes and incentives have evidently delivered results. In India, deliveries take place in … Read more

(1) U.S. and Iran agree terms to a peace deal The U.S. and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to end the war that lasted for over a 100 days. With the deal slated to be signed on Friday (June 19) in Switzerland, Tehran and Washington are set to reach a nuclear peace agreement, lift … Read more

Less than 10% of Indian respondents said they would prefer to have three, four or more children | Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B On May 16, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced a one-time incentive of ₹30,000 for the third child and ₹40,000 for the fourth. He said that these incentives were a … Read more

Technopreneur Elon Musk’s affinity for superlatives is well-known, particularly when it comes to selling his business ideas. It was therefore not a coincidence that his company SpaceX’s stock market debut on June 12, 2026 was laden with superlatives. Mr. Musk, who already holds the record for being the planet’s richest person, became the first trillionaire … Read more

Flames erupt in Vizag steel plant after molten iron spilt while being moved in a bucket by a crane, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Monday, June 8, 2026 | Photo Credit: – The death toll from the explosion at the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (RINL-VSP) on June 8, rose to nine on Wednesday. Following … Read more

Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Panama City, Panama – May 26, 2026 People pose for a picture with a giant replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy on the Cinta Costera REUTERS/Enea Lebrun TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY | Photo Credit: Enea Lebrun On June 11, the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City … Read more

A woman Banking Business Correspondent handing over the payments under Old Age Pension (OAP) in Tiruchi District in 2017 | Photo Credit: SRINATH M The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) — the Government of India’s flagship cash assistance scheme for the elderly under its National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) — is in … Read more

Of the 20 IITs, nine reported staff vacancies exceeding 35%. | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA Over 15 lakh students appeared for the high-stakes Joint Entrance Examination this year to secure a seat in the country’s premier technical institutions. The competition has always been gruelling, particularly for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), with roughly … Read more

(1) Cockroach Janta Party calls for Education Minister’s resignation The Cockroach Janta Party, an online movement that gained pace earlier this year, held a protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday last week (June 6, 2026) calling for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for lapses in examinations and recruitment tests. Activist Sonam … Read more

Vector illustration – Startup | Photo Credit: akindo The Indian startup economy has truly come of age in the 10 years since Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the clarion call during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2015, to make India the “Number 1” country in startups, and thereby sowed the seeds of significant … Read more

Picture for representation | Photo Credit: Freepik The Indian rupee has lost nearly 12% of its value against the U.S. dollar since May 2025. Several analysts have noted the consistent decline in net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and net Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) flows as a cause. The ebbing of net FDI and FPI flows … Read more

1) D.K. Shivakumar to be new Karnataka Chief Minister After months of speculation and uncertainty, Karnataka is set for a leadership transition on June 3, when D.K. Shivakumar will be sworn in as the State’s new Chief Minister. The eight-time MLA, popularly known as “DKShi”, is regarded as one of the Congress party’s most resourceful … Read more

Gurindervir Singh of Reliance flashing a sheet of paper with ‘Time is 10.10. Not finished yet’ written on it after winning the men’s 100m run at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition 2026 at Birsa Munda stadium (Morabadi) in Ranchi on Satuday, May 23, 2026. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR By the time … Read more

A person’s hands tightly grasp the vertical, weathered metal bars of a rusty prison door or window, emphasizing feelings of confinement and despair in a stark, dimly lit setting. | Photo Credit: Hari Sucahyo While the latest Prison Statistics report released by the National Crime Records Bureau show that the occupancy rate in Indian jails … Read more

The Government RSRM Lying in Hospital in Royapuram has been catering to a large section of pregnant women in and around north Chennai for several years | Photo Credit: RAGU R That women outlive men is a long-established fact that the data on Life Expectancy (LE) at birth have repeatedly shown. However, the healthy-life advantage … Read more

The findings reflect steady gains in maternal and child health, nutrition, women’s empowerment and access to essential services |Image used for representational purpose only | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Use of hygienic methods of menstrual protection among women aged 15-24 years increased from 77.6 per cent in 2019-21 to 79.2 per cent in 2023-24, according … Read more

The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) data has revealed a worrying trend in child nutrition, with a substantial proportion of children aged 6-23 months still not getting an adequate diet despite some improvement witnessed over the previous years. According to the data, the proportion of children in the 6-23-month age group receiving an adequate … Read more

Cardiovascular diseases alone accounted for 32.1% of all deaths in 2022-2024 | Photo Credit: manassanant pamai India’s youth mortality profile is shifting with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) being the cause of 60% of all deaths in the 2022-2024 reporting period, according to the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2024, released this month. This was an … Read more

Women waiting in a queue to cast their votes for the panchayat elections, in Mandi on Tuesday. ANI ANI | Photo Credit: ANI May 1, celebrated globally as International Workers’ Day, traditionally turns attention to wages, rights, and working conditions. Yet, an equally important dimension often goes unnoticed — how India’s workforce participates in politics. … Read more

Lightning streaks across the sky over Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh | Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK Lightning has emerged as the most lethal natural hazard in India, with the number of fatalities rising consistently over the years. A review of reports published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) showed that the country reported a total of … Read more

(1) Fuel prices hiked twice over last week Over the last week, fuel prices were hiked twice: on May 19 and May 23. This was also the third time the prices were hiked in a span of eight days. On May 23, the prices were hiked by an average of 90 paise per litre across … Read more

In rural areas, women participate at 34.6%, which is modest compared with men, yet reflective of their engagement in agriculture and household-related work. | Photo Credit: DANIELRAO The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoS&PI) for January-December 2025, marks a significant methodological milestone. For the first … Read more

Infant Mortality Rate is described as one of the most important indicators of the overall health status of a region. The image is used for representative purposes only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images An infant born in Telangana in 2024 had a significantly better chance of surviving first year than the average child born in … Read more

Rajkot: Polling officials collect electoral material from a distribution centre, ahead of the local body elections, in Rajkot, Gujarat, Saturday, April 25, 2026. | Photo Credit: – In April 2026, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept Gujarat’s local body elections across 9,986 seats spanning four administrative tiers: Municipal Corporations (MCs), Nagarpalikas (NPs), District Panchayats (DPs), … Read more