GST process reforms pin hope on data, tech to ensure compliance

The GST Council's meeting on Thursday will take up the second half of the reform exercise that was kicked off with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate cuts announced in September 2025. Officials said the process reforms on the agenda will cement the indirect tax regime for the next half a decade or so and "systems built on technology and good quality data" can help ensure correct behaviour from businesses without "onerous compliance".

As RBI rate hike looms, a move beyond 25 bps seems a minor possibility

The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) began its three-day meeting on Monday. And while most economists are predicting that a 25-basis-point increase in the policy repo rate to 5.5% will be announced on Wednesday, talk has emerged that a larger hike could be possible.

New bilateral treaty investment model to soon get Cabinet nod: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said a new template for bilateral investment treaties is ready and is expected to get Cabinet approval soon in a bid to make it more investor-friendly.

Create fear in miscreants: SC on crime against women

Underlining the need to prevent crimes against women and not just arrest the accused after an offence is committed, to ensure that the National Capital Territory remains safe even during late hours, the Supreme Court Monday asked the Delhi Police to put in place a 24-hour monitoring cell for continued surveillance in vulnerable areas. 

India-US trade talks have hit a plateau, says Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the India-US trade deal talks have hit a plateau, beyond which "giving or taking might be very, very difficult". This comes days after United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said that signing the deal is not "imminent" as both countries have identified a "universe of items that are sticking points". 

India, Switzerland to strengthen ties in defence, nuclear energy sectors

India and Switzerland signed pacts on mobility that will ease granting longer-duration visas and the exchange of young professionals and agreed to strengthen cooperation in defence and nuclear energy sectors, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Swiss President Guy Parmelin on Monday. 

From India to Global South, a Gujarat water-governance model

New Delhi recently hosted the ninth edition of the India International Water Week under the theme of climate-resilient water management. The talk focused as much on what India has achieved in the last decade as on what comes next-keeping water supply sustainable, using water more efficiently, and treating used water as both an environmental and economic resource. 

How scientists used light to control brain cells

The Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for 2026 was jointly awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their discovery of an alga protein that reacts to light and its use as a switch to study the functions of nerve cells.

Their explorations led to the creation of a new field of study called optogenetics, which may finally help scientists understand how the brain forms memories, feelings and behaviours.

House privileges vs free speech: The question before Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will begin hearing a long-pending reference on the scope of legislative privileges, special powers and immunities enjoyed by Parliament and state legislatures to protect their functioning, and whether they can be invoked against citizens, journalists and others for breaching the privileges of the House.