Mepco bill

In a written question in the Rajya Sabha earlier this year, an MP highlighted that 27% of students in government schools are paying fees — including admission, tuition, examination and development charges — and sought a response from the Ministry of Education. The MP’s claim was based on the findings of the Comprehensive Modular Survey: … Read more

With just a few hours left for the kick off of the FIFA semi-finals, the four teams who are going to fight it out — France, Spain, Argentina and England — have all justified their billing as the top four teams in both the Elo ratings and FIFA rankings before the tournament commenced.  Their rankings … Read more

Can India’s official statistics detect large-scale undocumented migration? Undocumented migrants may evade law, but can they evade the Census? If millions of them are living in India, they must appear somewhere in the country’s official statistics. Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju told Parliament that “As per available inputs, there are around 20 million … Read more

(1) FIFA World Cup enters the semi-finals Over the last week, the round of 16 stage in the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition came to an end, leaving eight teams in the game. Prominent football countries like Brazil, Portugal and Mexico were eliminated, along with the U.S., Egypt, and Colombia. The quarterfinals stage followed, eliminating … Read more

Voters show their identity cards as they wait in queues to cast their votes at a polling station during assembly polls at Kangpokpi in Senapati district in the 2022 Assembly elections | Photo Credit: Maneesh T _11795@Chennai An analysis of constituency-wise deletions during the enumeration phase of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls … Read more

The business end of the FIFA World Cup is well underway with the Round of 16 concluding and the Round of 8 (quarterfinals being finalised). While some of the all-time favourites such as Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands are out of the reckoning, a few of the usual suspects – defending champion Argentina, last World … Read more

The conflict in West Asia has once again reminded the world of an uncomfortable truth — severe energy dependency is a structural vulnerability, not a temporary inconvenience. For emerging economies such as India, which imports more than 85% of its crude oil requirements, such events can quickly test energy security and economic resilience. Over the past … Read more

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrive to attend a joint press conference in New Delhi, India, May 26, 2026 | Photo Credit: ADNAN ABIDI Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was in New Delhi for the 16th … Read more

After the first month of this year’s monsoon ended in a massive 40% deficit, the India Meteorological Department has forecast that rainfall in July will also be “below normal” or less than 94% of what is usual for the month.  “Below-normal rainfall can pose significant challenges for agriculture, water resources, hydropower generation, ecosystem sustainability, and drinking water … Read more

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who spoke emphatically about the State’s economic growth at his government’s Industry Leaders Roadshow in Bengaluru on June 24, highlighted how the State has become “revenue surplus in the last six years,” while shedding its image of being a “BIMARU” State — an uncomplimentary term used to refer to … Read more

A migrant Agricultural worker prepares paddy seedlings for transplantation in a field at Thenkurussi in Palakkad on Thursday, July 2, 2026. The erratic progress of the Southwest monsoon across Kerala has heightened concerns over agricultural operations in Palakkad district. | Photo Credit: K K Mustafah After the first month of this year’s monsoon ended in … Read more

This analysis explores that apparent contradiction by examining the collapse in women’s education and labour-force participation, the rise of women-led enterprises, and the financial and structural challenges these businesses continue to face. Presentation and editing: Devyanshi Bihani Camera: Thamodharan B. Published – July 03, 2026 04:45 pm IST

Labourers working under MNREGA near Farhatabad in Kalaburagi district in Karnataka | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), which completely overhauls the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), came into force on July 1, despite serious concerns raised by many States. One … Read more

Children watch from atop a promontory overlooking shelters for people displaced by war, as smoke billows in the background near the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on June 19, 2026. | Photo Credit: EYAD BABA What began as a response to the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, … Read more

(1) Fire in Lucknow building: at least 14 killed At least 14 were killed in a fire that broke out in a three-storey building in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on Monday last week (June 22, 2026). The building housed a pet shop and clinic, an IT office, a gaming centre and a coaching centre on its … Read more

In the wake of the milk adulteration incident in Rajahmundry, Food Safety officials conducted inspections across various milk booths, collecting milk samples to check whether quality and safety standards are being maintained, in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 | Photo Credit: RAJU V Two suspected cases of food poisoning reported this month, one at … Read more

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