An Indian government bill to expand state and parliamentary assemblies failed to pass in parliament on Friday, falling short of the votes needed, a rare legislative defeat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The bill was directly tied to the implementation of a women's reservation policy that would set aside one-third of seats for women in India's legislatures. Without the assembly expansion, the timeline for that quota mechanism is effectively stalled. The women's reservation law, already on the books, is contingent on a delimitation exercise, a redrawing of constituency boundaries, which the expansion bill was designed to accelerate. Friday's vote failure means that process cannot move forward on the proposed schedule, leaving the quota's activation date uncertain. Modi's government commands a strong parliamentary presence, making the defeat notable as a signal of either coalition friction or opposition coordination. Observers will watch whether the government reintroduces the bill in a subsequent session or pursues an alternative path to trigger delimitation.
India's Expenditure Finance Committee has cleared a Rs 1.25 lakh crore outlay for India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, up 64 percent from ISM 1.0's Rs 76,000 crore. The proposal now goes to the Cabinet, as two chip plants begin commercial output and a third, CG Semi, is set to open July 4, 2026.
The Supreme Court blocked Trump from firing Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, preserving the Fed's independence from presidential removal power. A separate ruling the same day gave Trump broader authority to dismiss leaders of other independent federal agencies.
The US Supreme Court has blocked President Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, who faced unproven mortgage fraud allegations. The ruling preserves Fed independence for now and keeps a politically charged removal case alive in the courts.
The US Supreme Court, splitting along ideological lines, has allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
