Policy & Government

The Union Cabinet has extended the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-III deadline to March 2028 for plain areas and March 2029 for mountainous regions, raising the total outlay to Rs 83,977 crore. The revised program targets improved rural market access and lower transport costs, with direct implications for

India's Cabinet has approved a Rs 13,800-crore sovereign maritime fund to provide insurance cover for Indian-flagged vessels. The fund creates a state-backed risk pool, reducing reliance on foreign commercial underwriters whose terms can tighten during geopolitical disruptions. Coverage scope and deployment timelines

India's Cabinet cleared a 2% Dearness Allowance hike for central government employees and pensioners, raising take-home pay amid elevated living costs. The adjustment increases the government's wage outlay and puts more disposable income in the hands of a large federal workforce.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanded the government apply the Women's Reservation Act of 2023 to the current Lok Sabha strength, without waiting for delimitation. The move challenges the law's built-in activation condition and pressures the ruling coalition on women's representation ahead of future elections.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's plan to build a Space City and satellite launch facility on Hope Island, Kakinada Bay, faces pushback over risks to conserved bird species and residents. The island carries a Moderate Damage Risk Zone-III (MSK VII) classification under India's National Centre for Sustainable Coastal

The 131st Constitution Amendment Bill failed in the Lok Sabha, leaving women's 33 percent political reservation tied to the completion of a Census and delimitation process under the 2023 Women's Reservation Act. The defeat removes the government's proposed shortcut and restores the original sequencing with no confirmed

President Trump signed an executive order directing the FDA to expedite psychedelic drug access through breakthrough designation and right-to-try pathways. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said three priority review vouchers for serotonin 2a agonists will be issued next week, with broader agency decisions expected this

Irdai has held the mandatory reinsurance cession rate at 4% for FY27, requiring all general insurers to channel that share of premiums to GIC Re. The decision protects GIC Re's guaranteed premium base despite the entry of new domestic rivals Jio-Allianz Re and Valueattics Re, who must compete for discretionary business

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge declared the United Opposition defeated a bid to harm the Constitution, with CPI's D. Raja calling it a setback for the Modi government's political map redrawing under women's reservation. The opposition framing targets mechanism and timing rather than the reservation principle

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India's Supreme Court threatened paramilitary deployment in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary if Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan fail to curb illegal sand mining. The warning bypasses state enforcement discretion, potentially tightening regional sand supply and lifting aggregate prices. The three

A 64-year-old man in Singapore was jailed for molesting his two granddaughters, aged eight to ten, using mobile games as a pretext to approach them. The case involves a direct abuse of familial trust against young children. No further appeal details were reported.

The European Commission proposed on April 16 that Google share anonymised search data, including queries, clicks, and rankings, with rival search engines and AI services under the Digital Markets Act. The move could structurally weaken Google's search moat as AI and search converge, with pricing capped at incremental

Telangana Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari has ordered a real-time EV charging infrastructure dashboard and directed the Energy Department to draft a policy mandating charger installations in apartment basements. The move extends state EV infrastructure planning into private residential buildings, shifting compliance

The Delhi High Court ruled that share buy-backs represent capital reduction, not asset acquisition, because extinguished shares cannot qualify as 'property received.' The decision directly alters how buy-back transactions are taxed under Indian law, favoring companies contesting asset-acquisition characterizations by

PNGRB has opened bidding for nine LPG pipeline projects covering 2,500 km, with four already in active tender and total investment estimated at Rs 12,500 crore. The pipelines will connect refineries and import terminals to bottling plants, replacing bulk road tanker transport. PNGRB's stated goal is to eliminate bulk

PM Narendra Modi appealed to all Lok Sabha members to support amendments to the Women's Reservation Act, urging them to vote on conscience. The bill, if passed, would reserve legislative seats for women, marking a significant shift in India's parliamentary composition.

India's central government has authorized 15 banks, including SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and Bank of India, to import gold and silver from April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2029. The multi-year license window provides import continuity for the country's dominant bullion supply channel, directly affecting domestic pricing

India launched the AI Governance and Economic Group, chaired by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, to centralize AI policymaking across ministries. The body will align regulatory frameworks, assess job displacement risks, and guide AI deployment over the next decade. Its formation coincides with tightened IT rules mandating

Amnesty International has urged MeitY to withdraw India's draft 2026 IT Amendment Rules, warning they would extend government content oversight to ordinary social media users and tie platform safe harbour status to compliance with executive directives. The rules also mandate open-ended data retention, conflicting with