India's rainfall deficit at 35% as monsoon progress stalls

Over a week past the monsoon's normal arrival date, the rain clouds have yet to reach Mumbai, driving India's nationwide monsoon deficit to 35% as of Tuesday. The shortfall in rainfall is concentrated in the regions the monsoon has failed to cover - Maharashtra, the Konkan coast, and the adjoining regions of central India where its -northward progress has been stalled for several days.

World suffers from shortage of trust, PM tells G7 leaders

With a message that trust was in short supply globally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday participated in a session with the Group of Seven (G7) countries and others on "Forging New Partnerships and Rebuilding International Solidarity". In addition to the G7 and India, other partner countries - Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, South Korea - participated in the talks along with the World Bank and African Development Bank. Mr. Modi met U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time since February 2025 at the session.

Four 'Namo' cities, three pollution zones part of 2041 blueprint for NCR

The National Capital Region (NCR) will get four new 'Namo' cities under the pro-posed 'NCR Regional Plan 2041', with one such city each to be developed in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal said on Tuesday.

Centre puts an end to over-the-counter sales of cough syrups

Medicinal syrups, including those used to treat coughs, can no longer be bought without a doctor's prescription, according to a government notification issued on Tuesday.

The notification means that over-the-counter sales of such syrups will no longer be allowed. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notified the change to the Drugs Rules, 1945, which laid out the regulations pertaining to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. It stated that the word 'syrups' should be removed from the list of items that had been exempted from the provisions of the Act.

Reconstitute Aravalis panel, environmental group writes to CJI

The Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan (AVJA), a coalition of environmentalists and activists, wrote to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Tuesday and ex-pressed "grave concerns" over a committee constituted by the Supreme Court to examine the definition of the mountain range and related issues.

Moving from war to deal in a deeply divided region

The much-awaited digitally signed U.S.-Iran deal reflects the reality that Iran has had a strategic win. Reports indicate that it opens up Hormuz Strait unconditionally, halts the war on all fronts including Lebanon, lifts Iranian oil sanctions, unfreezes Iranian assets and commits Iran not to produce nuclear weapons.

Primed to treat

The Kerala story in containing Nipah has lessons for pandemic preparedness

The emergence of a case of the Nipah virus in Kerala and the subsequent control in the State is indicative of two things: first, Kerala's own mix of ecological factors and anthropogenic activity that makes it vulnerable every monsoon season to the possibility of Nipah spreading, the hosts being fruit bats. Second, the fact that there has been just a single case so far is testament to the robustness of the health systems in place in Kerala. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Nipah a priority pathogen, accounting for its lethality, potential to cause out-breaks, even a pandemic.

The long-term implications of the U.S.-Iran deal

Irrespective of largely unaltered borders and an endgame that has barely commenced, the past three years of hostilities have triggered seismic geopolitical changes in West Asia and beyond

Why was Trump's H-1B fee struck down?

What is an H-1B Visa?

The H-1B visa, created by the Immigration Act of 1990, is the backbone of the United States' high-skilled immigration architecture. Building on the broader framework of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), which established the "H" category of temporary worker visas, the 1990 law carved out a distinct H-1B classification for highly educated professionals. It permits U.S. employers to hire foreign nationals in "specialty occupations", which require (i) theoretical and practical application of a body of specialised knowledge and (ii) at least a bachelor's degree in a relevant field, typically in sectors such as technology, engineering, healthcare, research, finance, and higher education. Notably, H-1B workers can generally remain in the U.S. for up to six years and often use the visa as a pathway to permanent residency.

What does Tenth Schedule provide on party mergers?

As many as 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs met the Lok Sabha Sabha Speaker and announced their decision to merge with Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). This has raised issues about the interpretation of Tenth Schedule with respect to merger of political parties.

What is the origin of Tenth Schedule?

The defections of legislators during 1960s and 70s from their parent parties created political instability in many States bringing down elected governments. This prompted the 52nd constitutional amendment to introduce the 'anti-defection' law through the Tenth Schedule in 1985. The Schedule provides that a member of a House of Parliament or State legislature who voluntarily gives up the membership of their 'political party' or votes against the instructions of their party in a House are liable for disqualification from such House. The 'political party' is the entire organisation of a party, while the 'legislature party' is all the members of a political party in a House of Parliament or State legislature.

Modi holds talks with Carney at G7; hopeful of trade deal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the fringes of the G7 Summit in Evian, France. Discussions covered trade, economy, energy, technology and people-to-people ties, according to Mr. Modi. Prior to the meeting, Mr. Modi said he hoped to accept Mr. Carney's invitation to visit Canada before the year ends, and to complete an India-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before then.

SC seeks response from Centre, States on Aadhaar 'misuse'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre and States on a plea alleging misuse of Aadhaar cards issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as proof of citizenship, domicile and residence.

Modi holds bilateral talks with leaders of U.K. and UAE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with U.K. Prime Minis-ter Keir Starmer on the fringes of the G7 Summit in Evian, on Tuesday. The deal, while signed, has not yet been operationalised.

IORA examining Canada's request to be observer

Canada's application to be-come an observer in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) "is being examined" at the 28th meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials being held in New Delhi, Sanjiv Ranjan, IORA's Secretary-General.

U.P., Gujarat, Jharkhand log FY25 revenue surplus: CAG

Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Manipur and 9 other States recorded sur-plus revenue in 2024-25, while the remaining 15 States had a deficit. Eighteen States targeted revenue surplus, three States targeted revenue deficit and seven targeted zero revenue deficit in FY 2024-25, according to a re-port on 'State Finances 2024-25 released by Comptroller and Auditor General of India K. Sanjay Murthy on Tuesday.

Not binary: India can save its forests by winning the war on poverty

Researchers pointed out that when people have fewer livelihood options and depend heavily on forests to survive, the pressure on forest resources automatically increases

The new findings can be used to support conservation by prioritising wildlife corridors patches of forests that form a loose link between protected areas

The findings show how socio-economic conditions and conservation goals need not be in conflict with each other

GRAPES-3: A cosmic-ray tracker

Researchers from Mumbai, Kochi, and Japan used the GRAPES-3 telescope to track how the earth's upper atmosphere temperature and the sun's magnetic field affect muons subatomic particles from space. By analysing 22 years of data, they developed a way to use these measurements to monitor changes in the upper atmosphere in real-time with high accuracy. The findings are to be published in the August issue of Astroparticle Physics.