Ensure peace, freedom of navigation, PM urges Iran

In the first top-level meeting between Iran and India since the beginning of the war on Iran in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Kyr-gyzstan's Bishkek and urged him to ensure peace and stability in West Asia and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Baltic Way - Gandhi's imprint on Baltic freedom

August 23, 2026, marked the 37th anniversary of the Baltic Way, the historic 1989 human chain that became a watershed moment in the Gandhian-inspired Singing Revolution in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, culminating in the restoration of Baltic independence in 1990-91.

Deadly span

India's power infrastructure is emerging as a big threat to vultures

Whereas for many decades the chief concern about vulture safety was centered on chemical threats, the threat of electrocution posed by India's expanding power infrastructure may supersede it. In the 1990s, India's vultures suffered one of the world's worst population crashes, nosediving 99.5% by 2007 from a high of around four crore in the 1980s; the white-rumped, Indian, and slenderbilled vultures were nearly wiped out.

The broken promise of right to work

• The Supreme Court's recent observations have revived the Constituent Assembly-era debate over whether the right to work should be a fundamental right or remain under the directive principles

PM calls for 'end of war' at meeting with Putin

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek and said the world "must move from endless war to end of war for the benefit of humanity".

India rejects Hague court's Indus Waters Treaty ruling, says it has no jurisdiction

Hours after the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague said the Indus Waters Treaty remains "fully in force" and called on India to "observe its obligations", the External Affairs Ministry rejected this, saying that the "very establishment of this alleged arbitral body" was a "grave violation" of the treaty.

Jharkhand, Bihar sign pact on Sone water sharing

Bihar and Jharkhand signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sharing Sone river water on Monday.

Navy commissions INS Nipun for advanced operations

The Indian Navy commissioned INS Nipun on Monday at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. It is the second Diving Support Vessel (DSV) of the Nistar class and will significantly enhance the Navy's capabilities in deep-sea diving, underwater intervention, and submarine rescue. 

According to the Ministry of Defence, INS Nipun is a specialist platform built to undertake complex underwater operations. The vessel was indigenously designed and built by the HSL in Visakhapatnam. Its induction marks another step towards self-reliance in defence shipbuilding.

India's GDP growth at 7.8% in Q1, slower than last quarter but quicker than last year

The growth in India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at 7.8% in the April-June 2026 quarter (Q1 FY27), quicker than the 6.9% recorded in Q1 of last year, but slower than the 8.6% of the January-March 2026 quarter.

Govt. notifies ₹1.3 lakh-crore semicon scheme's phase two

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technolo-gy notified the second phase of the India Semi-conductor Mission (ISM 2.0), targeting a broad range of sops for the electronics manufacturing sector. ISM 2.0 has an outlay of ₹1.28 lakh crore, with all 'pillars' of categories being fungible insofar as the share of investments they may get under the scheme.

Magsaysay honour for Myanmar activist, Singapore lawyer, Bangladeshi aid giver

A Singaporean diplomat who led adoption of UN oceans treaty, a Myanmar activist who put his freedom on the line for democracy, and a former Bangladeshi teacher who brought compassion to the poor were named on Monday as the winners of this year's Ramon Magsaysay Awards.