Centre tightens norms for foreign contributions

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) wanting to N access foreign funds must now stick to a list of activities specified by the Centre, according to the latest amendment to the Rules of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010, notified on Monday. NGOs must now disclose their activities, the geo-graphical scope of their programmes, their web-sites, social media accounts, and publications. They must pay separate fees for each category and State or Union Territory they operate in, as op-posed to the previous single fee for FCRA registrants.

Wang Yi calls for resuming dialogue mechanism

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in talks with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in New Delhi on Monday, called for both sides "to accelerate the resumption of dialogue mechanisms and promote ex-changes" in trade, finance, and other fields, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement early on Tuesday.

IMO announces plan to evacuate vessels stuck in Persian Gulf

International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has announced a plan to evacuate all the ships -and the 11,000 seafarers on them-stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the war in West Asia. "This large-scale operation will be carried out in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, and all other coastal States in the region, the United States, and the maritime industry," he said. 

CAG stresses urgent need for spending reforms in Kerala

Kerala's economy (gross State domestic product (GSDP) in nominal terms) registered a growth of 9.97% in 2024-25, but this growth in the economy did not result in concomitant growth in tax collection, a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on State Finances for the 2024-25 fiscal ta-bled in the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday said.

Evident distress 

As the resolution process of the West Asia crisis drags on, an increasing number of economic metrics are exposing key weaknesses in the Indian economy. Many of these existed before the crisis broke out in late February and are now becoming apparent as the economy faces stress. The latest data on the Index of Eight Core Industries show that these sectors cumulatively grew just 0.5% in May 2026, the second-lowest in 21 months. It would have been easy to pass this off as a war-related impact, but the data also show that the index grew by an almost equal-ly anaemic 1.1% over the course of the entire financial year 2025-26.

Reconnect public health with people's needs

Public health policies, like other public policies, are crucial in determining the overall health of the population and are an important contributor to a nation seeking to reap the benefits of its demographic dividend. One of the major claims of health policies in recent years has been the achievement of universal health coverage (UHC), a novel idea that seeks to ensure that every individual has access to needed health services without suffering financial hardship.

India's next challenge - from invention to global scale

India has never lacked technological vision. Time and again, it has anticipated transformative technologies long before they became mainstream. It has built impressive scientific capabilities, developed indigenous innovations, and demonstrated remarkable ingenuity. Yet, in several critical sectors, it has struggled to convert early technological leadership into globally dominant industries.

India's patchy industrial climate strategy

Balancing industrial growth on the one hand and population-driven consumption demand on the other with national emission reduction objectives requires highly targeted policies.

BRICS can play a key role in tackling terrorism: PM

India's leadership of the BRICS grouping will help in enhancing priorities of the Global South, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Meeting the National Security Advisers of the BRICS member-countries here, Mr. Modi said the grouping can play a vital role in dealing with terrorism, cyber security, and other common challenges.

President presents second set of Padma awards

The Padma awards, one of the highest civilian awards of the country, are conferred in three categories: the Padma Vibhush-an, Padma Bhushan, and the Padma Shri.

In the second civil investiture ceremony at the Ganatantra Mandap of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President presented the Padma Vibhushan to former Supreme Court judge K. T. Thomas for public affairs and to eminent Malayalam journalist P. Narayanan for contribution to literature and education.

Iran-U.S. pact has helped in energy, fertilizer flow: govt.

The signing of a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States on June 17 has had a positive impact on the flow of energy and fertilizers to India, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

India's experience in diabetes care could guide other countries: expert

With four decades of diabetes work under its belt, India now has the ability to show other low- and middle-income countries how integrated, low-cost, and tech-enabled solutions can be deployed on the ground to launch effective interventions, according to an article by Chennai-based diabetologist V. Mohan, published in the leading journal Diabetologia on June 23.

Ban on Telegram stretched meaning of 'information' under the IT Act

The Union government temporarily blocked Tele-gram to protect the sanctity of the NEET (UG) re-test by a single interpretative sleight of hand which com-pressed an entire intermediary platform into an ex-pression: "information". The ban won the endorsement of the Delhi High Court by stretching the meaning of "information" under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. Section 2(1)(v) of the Act had traditionally defined "information" in diminutive units, including data, messages, text, image, sound, voice, codes, computer programme, soft-ware, and databases. The Telegram ban changed that legal interpretation.

El Nino: 111 districts in 12 States of 'primary concern'

Union Agriculture Shivraj Minister Singh Chouhan has held a high level meeting with State Agriculture Ministers and officials on the El Nino situation, that has led to a delay of the south-west monsoon. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Chouhan said the rainfall so far has been around 43% below normal.

RBI tweaks process to onboard MSMES on TReDS platform

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued its final directions on Trade Receivables Discounting System (TREDS) for MSMEs to simplify the system. The banking regulator fixed a minimum net worth of ₹25 crore and certification by a statutory auditor to provide dis-counting services. Entities providing the service have been given a deadline of March 31, 2028 to comply with networth norm. TREDS is an online plat-form which aids small businesses auction invoices or trade receivables to banks and other financial institutions to unlock working capital. The move seeks to aid MSMEs receive custom-er payments as they might face issues in converting trade receivables to cash.

India needs to boost speed of doing business: CII chief

India's reforms process needs to move from solely concentrating on ease-of-doing business to addressing the speed of doing business, new president of the Confederation of Indian Industry R. Mukundan told. He also said he did not see a reason why India should have lower agricultural exports than The Netherlands, which is the world's second-largest agricultural exporter now.

Tehran says it won't permit IAEA inspectors at bombed nuclear sites

Iran said on Tuesday the UN's nuclear watchdog will not be able to inspect key nuclear sites bombed by the U.S. and Israel last year, as the first round of talks to end the war wrapped up in Switzerland. Tehran and Washington have signed a memorandum of understanding to end a war that sowed chaos across West Asia and rattled the global economy, embarking on a 60-day period to settle broader is-sues. Diplomacy on that final deal ramped up on Tuesday, with Iran's leader heading to mediator Pakis-tan, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio setting off on a tour of Gulf allies, and Lebanon and Israel due for direct talks in Washington.

Hungary passes anti-graft measures

Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday approved anti-corruption measures, part of new Prime Minister Pe-ter Magyar's sweeping reform drive and aimed at helping the country get billions of euros in withheld European Union funds.

Sri Lanka decides to appoint military-led dengue monitoring unit amid surge in cases across island

Sri Lanka has decided to appoint a military-led team to monitor the sudden surge in dengue cases across the island, even as hospitals report over-crowding and mounting pressure on the public health system.

Carbon isotopes: clocks of sorts

Scientists studying the comet 31/ATLAS have determined that this interstellar visitor formed an estimated 12 billion years ago in a primordial planetary system, and has a composition unlike anything in our solar system. An evaluation of the chemical make-up of 31/ATLAS, only the third interstellar object ever spotted in the solar system, provided guidance about the physical and chemical conditions in the planetary system where it formed, the researchers said.