Centre notifies guidelines to boost electric car production

The Centre on Monday notified the guidelines to promote domestic manufacturing of electric cars, significantly lowering import duty for foreign manufacturers which pledge to invest in domestic electric vehicle production.

NGT asks firm to give details of cargo in sunken vessel

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stated that the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) that owned the Liberia-flagged container vessel MSC Elsa 3 that sank off the Kochi coast on May 25, is expected to clarify on the contents of the hazardous cargo in 13 of the 640 containers.

Transgender couple to be named as 'parents' in child birth record, says HC

The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the Koz-hikode Corporation to issue a new birth certificate for a child born to the State's first transgender parents, terming them "parents" instead of "father" and "mother" in the certificate.

Misinformation a bigger threat than COVID-19 uptick

The reported cases of COVID-19 in India have risen from less than a few a day to a few 100 a day since mid-May 2025. Wastewater surveillance data from Indian cities have also reported an increased SARS-CoV-2 viral load. All this has resulted in heightened media and public attention because of the COVID-19 experience in 2020-21. A similar uptick in COVID-19 cases has also been reported from some other countries and regions of the world which includes Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea. Is there a new variant circulating? Are there reasons to worry?

The current uptick in cases is being linked to the most common SARS-CoV-2 variant currently circulating, JN.1, a descendent of the Omicron variant (BA.1.529). Omicron has been the last variant of concern of SARS-CoV-2, first reported in November 2021. Since then, even though a few sub-variants or sub-lineages of Omicron have emerged, there has not been any new variant of concern, in any part of the world.

Monsoon woes

The southwest monsoon has made a torrential entry and, expectedly, has wreaked considerable havoc. While the monsoon's advent from Kerala, and its subsequent journey northwards, is a cause for celebration, given its association with the economy, this is only one branch of the monsoon the Arabian Sea branch. A day or two after its onset over Kerala, and sometimes simultaneously, the Bay of Bengal branch of the monsoon makes its way from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and enters the northeastern States first before bringing in rains to the eastern States. Frequently, however, this eastern onset is accompanied by destruction from floods and landslides. This year has been one such instance.

Strengthening the U.S.-India subsea cable agenda

Bilateral commercial engagement between India and the United States is accelerating across multiple fronts, not limited to an imminent trade agreement. The two administrations are working closely on strategic sectors, with a shared understanding of the need to diversify and derisk technology supply chains in an increasingly volatile world. This includes efforts to finesse the Technology for Resilient, Open and Unified Security and Trust (TRUST) framework the spiritual successor to the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, or ICET.

India's strategic arc must leave Pakistan behind

The Indo-Pacific is the central geopolitical theatre of the Asian century. The global order is fragmenting as the U.S. recalibrates its strategic focus, and it is often said that Asia must assume responsibility for its own future. Robust guardrails for peace, not only among the great powers but also to contain peripheral disrupters, are required. A major task is to recalibrate the India-China-Pakistan triangle where India and China must assume the role of stabilizers, while Pakistan must be managed as a strategic irritant, not a geopolitical peer.

The India-Pakistan relationship has dominated South Asian security discourse for decades now. This 'dyad' is the inheritance of history, not a reflection of strategic parity. The global architecture today demands that India reframe itself - not as Pakistan's rival, but as a source of Indo-Pacific stability. Shifts in both strategy and narrative are required here: where Pakistan is engaged functionally but never allowed to shape India's broader posture.

Civilisation and its discontents

Civilisation and culture are deeply entwined in the identity of any society and attempts to reinterpret or regulate them often invite political consequences. Over the past fortnight, this became clear when political parties in Tamil Nadu put up a resistance on two fronts one regarding the State's ancient civilisation and the other, its financial practices.

Why has net FDI inflow plummeted?

The RBI Bulletin (May 2025) provides foreign direct investment (FDI) figures for the fiscal year 2024-25. Two contrasting narratives have emerged from it. Focusing on the headline number, government sources and many media outlets have reported that India received an unprecedented $81 billion of gross inflows. Looking closer at the same data, others have highlighted the plummeting of net FDI at $353 million. The government and economists monitor these flows as a barometer of the investment climate.

How is President's Rule imposed?

What does Article 356 of the Constitution stipulate? How have different Governors dealt with dissolving Legislative Assemblies after President's Rule has been invoked? When did the Supreme Court first intervene in the decision of the Union government to impose President's rule?

What would a French nuclear umbrella mean for Europe?

On May 14, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France is "open to dialogue" on potentially stationing its nuclear weapons in other European countries. This development occurred amid security concerns in Europe due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

How Japan's new AI Act fosters an innovation-first ecosystem

In May 2025, Japan enacted a landmark piece of legislation the Act on the Promotion of Research, Development and Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence-Related Technologies – with a clear ambition: to make AI the foundation of Japan's economic revival and digital leadership. This law does more than set policy direction; it marks a philosophical departure from the dominant regulatory approaches shaping the global AI landscape. At a time when major regions like the European Union are moving toward risk-based regimes, Japan's AI law signals a pivot toward coordination, and voluntary responsibility.

India, Paraguay can strengthen trade ties: PM

India and Paraguay can partner in expanding regional commerce in Latin America, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

Centre calls for proposals to set up de-addiction centres in 'gap' districts

The Union government has invited proposals to set up District De-Addiction Centres (DDACs) in 291 "gap" districts identified by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment across 30 States and Union Territories in the country as part of its National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction.

Health facilities not fully prepared for diabetes, hypertension care: study

Public primary health centres (PHCs) are better prepared for diabetes and hypertension care than sub-centres, community health centres (CHCs), and subdistrict hospitals, a study undertaken by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (ICMR-NCDIR), Bengaluru has found.

Border tension, inflation drag May PMI to three-month low

The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at a three-month low of 57.6, although this was higher than the long-term average for the sector of 54.1.

Aerospace should be kept outside trade wars'

Air traveller numbers globally will not grow to the previously projected figure of 5.22 billion and may stop at 4.99 billion as trade tensions have dented consumer confidence, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Monday. Its chief, Willie Walsh, also warned that if aerospace was not kept outside trade wars, the slow supply of aircraft since the COVID-19 pan-demic could worsen.

'Implement revised local sourcing norms for wind turbines swiftly'

As India plans to have 500 GW non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, wind energy is expected to contribute a fifth of that target. Yet, with only 4% of its 1.1 TW (Tera Watt) wind potential tapped, the sector's true challenge lies not in potential, but in execution J.P. Chalasani, CEO, Suzlon Group, one of India's largest renewable energy firms, told The Hindu.