Bengal electorate shrinks 12% as 27 lakh out after judicial reviews

Over 27 lakh West Bengal voters who were put under adjudication were excluded from the electoral rolls following the completion of the judicial reviews on Tuesday, with over a quarter of such deletions occur-ring in two Muslim-dominated districts.

Supreme Court begins review of 2018 Sabarimala judgment

Justice B.V. Nagarathna, the sole woman judge in the Supreme Court and part of the Constitution Bench hearing a reference spurred by a 2018 judgment upholding the right of women of menstruating age to enter the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala, said on Tuesday that social ills can-not be branded and passed off as 'essential religious practices'.

Delimitation, women's reservation, political dynamics

Implementing women's reservation without waiting for the Census or delimitation exercise could undermine representation and the intended reforms

Limits of neutrality in addressing caste

The interim stay by the Supreme Court on the UGC Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulation, 2026, as reported by the Supreme Court Observer, arrives at a pivotal moment. These regulations emerged from Abeda Salim Tadvi v Union of India, a pending case before the Supreme Court concerning caste-based discrimination and student suicides in higher educational institutions. The case highlights institutional failures in creating an equal and inclusive learning space.

On India's updated climate pledges

India's climate policies are best understood in the context of its structural constraints as a lower middle-income developing country, which shape its choices for climate action.

The country has implemented several decarbonisation initiatives, including electric vehicles, deployment of non-fossil fuel power sources, and technologies such as green hydrogen.

However, India needs room for further large-scale growth in manufacturing and industry, which must be factored in alongside the future costs of its climate commitments.

Talking peace: why mediation still matters in a world at war

Mediation has deep historical roots, with one of the earliest recorded instances dating back nearly 4000 years, when the Sumerian king Mesilim mediated a dispute between the city-states of Lagash and Umma. Despite its long history, mediation remains a complex process, and scholars have offered diverse perspectives on its dynamics. One of the most influential contributions is by Jacob Bercovitch, who developed the Contingency Model of mediation. 

War, waivers, trade pact likely to be on Misri's U.S. agenda

Amid tensions over U.S. President Donald Trump's latest threats against Iran and the deadline for a deal set to end, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Washington on Tuesday for a three-day visit from April 8. Officials said the vi-sit was scheduled in advance and was expected to review the India-U.S. bilateral ties.

Fast breeder nuclear reactor at Kalpakkam takes 'critical' leap forward

Marking a significant step forward in India's nuclear power programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via a post on social media platform X late on Monday said that the prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Chennai, had achieved "criticality". This means that the nuclear reaction in the reactor had become safely self-sustaining, and was on its way to being able to produce electricity.

Making sense of the science in Project Hail Mary and its alien world

For the alien's planet, dubbed Erid, author Andy Weir decided that the atmosphere would be composed of ammonia and that the planet would have a very strong magnetic field

Rocky and his compatriots would have an environment suitable for living, albeit a very hot (210 °C) and high-pressure one

This is also why it is a miracle that Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is not instantly killed when Rocky breaks out of his enclosure to save him