Talks with Iran laid a 'good foundation' for deal: U.S.

U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance declared on Monday that a "very good foundation" had been laid for negotiations towards a final deal with Iran, after a marathon session of direct talks in Switzerland.

Keir Starmer says he is resigning as U.K. Prime Minister

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that he will step down, acknowledging that the Labour's Parliamentary Party does not see him as the best candidate to lead them into the next general election. The party will set out a timetable for the transition, possibly through a contest, so that a new Premier is in place before September.

Core sector growth slows to 0.5% in May; coal, refinery products down amid crisis

The growth in India's eight core industrial sectors slowed to 0.5% in May 2026, the second lowest in 21 months, official data showed. The data on the Index of Eight Core Industries released by the Minis-try of Commerce and Industry on Monday showed that five out of eight sec-tors contracted in May.

The challenge of India's digital sovereignty

In the modern world, digital infrastructure is the track on which commerce, government, and national security run. Seen in this context, recent reports of Indian closed-circuit television (CCTV) networks being compromised by hostile entities to gain access to information on India's strategic defence assets (April 2026), along with an incident in July 2025, in which Nayara Energy was abruptly denied access to its corporate email, collaboration tools, and cloud-stored data, raise serious concerns about the future of India's digital and technological sovereignty. 

The world that China desires and is shaping

The sheer destructiveness of American foreign policy under United States President Donald Trump is obscuring a quiet but consequential shift in global politics. Mr. Trump's Liberation Day tariffs, the disastrous war against Iran, and systematic alienation of allies and partners have dominated headlines and consumed diplomatic bandwidth. And rightly so. The U.S., architect of the post-war international order, is now taking a machete to the very frameworks it built. But the chaos emanating from Washington is drawing attention away from what China is doing with the space this creates.

Stay with the evidence

Better monitoring of sale of banned drugs is essential

The character of science leans to open-ness: to new evidence and emerging facts. Its ability to be agile to pivot and shift to newer guidelines is therefore absolutely crucial. The Health Ministry's recent ban on 16 Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) drugs comes on the evidence that these drug combinations lack therapeutic justification, are 'deemed irrational or unsafe' and might pose risks to patients. The drugs include dermatological drugs, analgesics and antispasmodics, and antibiotic-based formulations. An FDC is a drug containing two or more active pharmacological ingredients, combined in a fixed ratio in a single dosage. 

Citizens interests and conservation

Environmental protection has rightly be-come a major public policy priority. The Pallikaranai Marshland in Chennai, one of south India's last surviving natural wetlands and a designated Ramsar Site, deserves protection for its role in flood mitigation, groundwater re-charge, and biodiversity conservation. However, restrictions associated with the marshland and its proposed 'Influence Zone' have raised concerns among thousands of lawful landowners, creating a broader public policy challenge involving environmental governance, property rights, and public confidence in regulatory institutions.

Doval hosts NSAs of BRICS nations amid West Asia tensions

Developments in West Asia formed the dominant backdrop as National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval hosted his counter-parts from BRICS grouping in New Delhi for the BRICS

NSAs meeting.

India, Israel discuss expanding defence, industrial relations

India and Israel have dis-cussed ways to further strengthen defence cooperation during the visit of the Major-General Amir Baram (retd), the Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Defence, to India on Monday.

UAE in talks to buy Indian air-defence units, missiles

The Indian government is in talks with the United Arab Emirates to sell some of its flagship defence systems, including the super-sonic cruise missile Brah-Mos, four Indian sources said, as the Gulf nation steps up arms procurement following the war in West Asia.

U.S. notifies sale of support services for helicopters

The U.S. has formally notified the proposed sale of sustainment support ser-vices and related equipment for India's Apache helicopters and M777A2 Ultra-Light Howitzers at an estimated cost of $482.2 million. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which administers the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme of the U.S., issued the arms sales notification in the Federal Register on June 17.

BJP's first Bengal budget sets aside ₹1,280 cr. for developing Sundarbans

In its first budget in West Bengal for financial year 2026-27, the Bharatiya Ja-nata Party (BJP) government focussed on several environmental concerns, including the development of Sundarbans and river erosions. The government has allocated ₹1,280 crore for the development of Sundarbans. "It is an ecologically fragile, very critical from the point of view of climate change and bio-diversity. They are also the home to many people from the marginalised sections. Of the 104 islands, 54 are in-habited. Use of waterways is the most sustainable and eco-friendly option to reach out to the remote is-lands for providing education, health and livelihood related services," said Fi-nance Minister Swapan Dasgupta in his speech.

Unions write to PM against free trade pact with U.S.

Several organisations of farmers, fish workers, poultry traders, winemakers, and trade unions have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the negotiations with the U.S. for a free trade agreement be immediately stopped as the proposals are against the interests of farmers and workers. They have demanded the suspension of all ongoing FTA negotiations and a comprehensive parliamentary and public review of all FTAs. The unions have also sought full transparency in trade negotiations and protection of India's agriculture, retail trade, workers, and rural economy from "corporate-driven" trade deals.

ASI transfers Rakhigarhi skeletons to AnSI for a scientific investigation

Human skeletal remains excavated from the archaeological site of Rakhigarhi in Haryana have been formally handed over by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI), a national research institute under the Union Culture Ministry, for a de-tailed scientific investigation. The transfer, carried out under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) bet-ween the two institutions, is expected to significantly advance multidisciplinary research into one of the most important urban centres of the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation, B.V. Shar-ma, Director of AnSI, said. Rakhigarhi, spread across approximately 550 hectares in Haryana, is widely recognised as the largest known settlement of the Harappan Civilisation. Archaeological excavations have revealed evidence of continuous habitation, from the Early Harappan to the Mature Harappan periods.

Global economic landscape remains fragile: RBI Bulletin

The uncertainties concerning the U.S.-Iran peace agreement could have im-pact on the outlook through international trade, cost pressures, capital flows and commodity prices, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials said in the June edition of the RBI Bulletin which was re-leased on Monday.

"The global economic landscape remains fragile despite some respite gained through the interim U.S.-Iran peace agreement," they said in the State of Economy chapter.

Net FDI jumped to $6.6 bn in April, highest in nearly 5 years

Net FDI rose to $6.6 billion in April 2026, its highest level in nearly five years, driven by a 65% surge in gross inflows, an analysis of official data shows. In other words, the data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Monday shows that the total amount of direct investment that entered the country in April 2026 exceeded the amount leaving it by $6.6 billion. The corresponding figure in March 2026 was $917 million. April's net FDI figure was the highest since May 2021.

U.S. waives sanctions on Iranian oil, ships

With the peace process moving ahead after an interruption, the U.S. Treasury Department has issued a waiver that waives all sanctions for a period of 60 days ending August 21 related to the production, sale, delivery and offloading of Iranian crude oil as well as petroleum pro-ducts. The waiver includes transactions involving vessels that were earlier sanctioned, as per as Treasury Department notification.