5% GST revenue must go to civic bodies, states Karnataka Finance Commission

In a bid to ensure mobilisation of resources for infrastructure development and civic services in urban areas, the Fifth State Fi-nance Commission of Karnataka has recommended that the government ear-mark a minimum of 5% of its total GST revenue generated in cities for urban local bodies, including those under the Greater Bengaluru Authority.

Now, Rajasthan Assembly passes Bill to repeal two-child norm for ULB elections

A day after scrapping the two-child norm for panchayat elections, the Rajas than Assembly on Tuesday passed a Bill for removing the restriction preventing individuals with more than two children from contesting the urban local body (ULB) elections. The provision for disqualification existed in the State for the last three decades.

Chandigarh achieves 99.93% literacy, gets 'fully literate UT. Tag

Chandigarh attained 99.93% literacy rate, thus making it a fully literate Union Territory, said Gu-lab Chand Kataria, the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh. It is the sixth State/U.T. in the country and the second Union Territory to achieve the feat.

Inside China, authority, conflict and strategic challenges

Given China's global position, the prevailing situation within the country demands closer and deeper understanding of events.

Al and the national security calculus

The controversy over Al integration in military systems highlights the need for plurilateral commitments by states to responsible use.

Reevaluating the office of the Speaker

No-confidence motions against the Speaker have been extremely rare in India's parliamentary history

'41%' illusion: a quiet re-engineering of India's fiscal federal landscape

The Union government accepted the Sixteenth Finance Commission's (FC's) recommendation to retain the States' share in the divisible pool at 41%.

A 41% share sounds like continuity. In nominal terms, it is. But the divisible pool is not gross tax revenues.

Cesses and surcharges, levied and retained entirely by the Union, sit outside the pool, and their share has been growing.

'Frame no-fault compensation policy for adverse events post COVID vaccination'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Un-ion government, acting through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to frame a no-fault compensation policy for serious adverse events following COVID-19 vaccinations.

Jal Jeevan mission gets extension up to 2028

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the ex-tension of the Ministry of Jal Shakti's Jal Jeevan pro-gramme to 2028 and provisioned more money to meet its goal of providing a minimum amount of daily potable water to every rural household in the country.

Union Cabinet tweaks 2020 rules to allow Chinese investments

The Union Cabinet has amended its 2020 rules that had placed restrictions on foreign direct investment from countries that shared a land border with India, the government announced on Tuesday.

Govt. invokes Essential Commodities Act for natural gas allocation

Invoking the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has sought diverting natural gas to certain priority sectors with structure.

Strait of Hormuz could be a 'Strait of defeat' for U.S., says Iran's Ali Larijani

Iran's Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani res-ponded to U.S. President Trump's threat of hitting Iran "20 times harder" if the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is stopped, saying the choke-point could be a "Strait of defeat" for the U.S.

Scientists rewire bacteria to build 'designer' proteins on demand

By engineering a protein called a 'nutrient transporter, scientists have found a way to smuggle artificial amino acids into bacterial cells; the feat allows them to manufacture complex designer proteins that can carry drugs to precise locations inside the body or perform multiple different tasks at the same time

Asteroid YR4: no longer a threat

NASA has officially ruled out the possibility of asteroid 2024 YR4 colliding with the moon in 2032. This update settles concerns that first surfaced after the asteroid's discovery in late 2024. For several months, orbital models suggested a small but notable 3.8% to 4.3% chance that the rock would strike the lunar surface on December 22, 2032.