Policy & Government

A Karnataka court sentenced Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni and 15 others to life imprisonment for the murder of BJP leader Yogesh Gowda. The CBI, which took over the investigation in 2019 under BJP governance, secured the conviction in a politically charged case. Kulkarni's status as a sitting MLA raises questions about

Peter Mandelson, the UK's former ambassador to Washington, failed a security vetting check over ties to Jeffrey Epstein, with the government stating Prime Minister Keir Starmer was not informed until earlier this week. The disclosure has generated direct calls for Starmer's resignation and scrutiny of the diplomatic

Forty of 47 Democratic senators voted to block a U.S. arms sale of military bulldozers to Israel, a level of intra-party opposition advocates are calling historic. The resolutions failed, so the sale proceeds, but the vote exposes a durable fracture in Democratic support for U.S.-Israel military transfers.

The SEC is seeking public comment on whether to launch a comprehensive review of the Consolidated Audit Trail, potentially reopening a decade-long industry dispute. The move signals regulatory openness to revisiting the database's scope, cost structure, and data security framework. No formal review timeline has been

Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha that delimitation will raise seats for five southern states from 129 to 195, pushing back against fears of reduced southern representation. The reassurance targets Tamil Nadu specifically, where resistance to population-based redistricting has been strongest. Formal delimitation details

Senator Elizabeth Warren is raising conflict-of-interest concerns over Kevin Warsh's financial disclosures as he emerges as a leading candidate for Federal Reserve chair. The scrutiny adds political risk to a nomination already complicated by the Fed's reputational challenges. Senate confirmation hearings will test

Two Americans were sentenced to federal prison for helping North Korea embed fraudulent IT workers inside U.S. companies, generating roughly $5 million routed to Pyongyang. The DOJ action targets domestic facilitators who provided identity cover, exposing U.S. firms to sanctions compliance risk. The case signals escala

India's DPDPA, 2023 and DPDP Rules 2025 are pushing startups toward privacy compliance. IDfy launched Privy and won a government consent management competition in March 2026. An EY report estimates the compliance-as-a-service market at ₹10,000 Cr over three years.

SEBI has signed new inter-agency agreements to enable real-time data sharing and coordinated action against securities market fraud. The agreements tighten the surveillance-to-enforcement pipeline, raising detection risk for market manipulators. No specific partner agencies or implementation timelines were disclosed.

India's Modi government introduced bills Thursday to expand parliament's size and bring forward a one-third women's seat reservation, both tied to a forthcoming delimitation process. The opposition accused the ruling BJP of using the restructuring to engineer electoral advantage. The bills' passage through both chamber

Medicare is considering ending its breakthrough device payment pathway, which currently fast-tracks reimbursement for FDA-designated novel medical devices. Removal would push manufacturers into standard, slower coverage reviews, undermining the commercial case for early-stage medtech innovation. No timeline for a final

Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will revise minimum wages for unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers starting April 1, 2026. The change raises mandatory wage floors across both states, directly affecting payroll costs for manufacturers, contractors, and logistics operators. Employers must update compensation structures

RTI data shows resident doctors at AIIMS Delhi, JIPMER, and AFMC are working up to 135 hours per week. Between 2020 and 2024, 119 UG and PG medicos died by suicide and 1,113 quit their PG courses. The UDF and a Parliamentary Standing Committee are now demanding enforcement of a Clinical Duty Hours Regulation policy.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig told Congress the agency will keep issuing regulations even though he is currently its only sitting commissioner on the five-member body. A solo-commissioner CFTC raises questions about the legal durability of any rules issued and signals potential procedural risk for derivatives market partici

A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended NEET PG reservation, additional marks, and competitive pay for MBBS doctors who serve in rural and remote areas. The proposal aims to correct the chronic urban concentration of medical professionals by attaching postgraduate admission advantages to rural service. Imple

Truck convoys are blocking roads and key infrastructure across the Republic of Ireland in fuel price protests, with demonstrations potentially moving into Northern Ireland. The actions threaten supply chain disruption and are pressing governments in Dublin and Belfast toward a policy response on fuel costs.

Paul Edison Tan received a jail term and caning for molesting a 10-year-old girl at a Singapore cinema. His prior record, which includes organising travel and distributing information to promote commercial sex with minors abroad, was treated as an aggravating factor. The sentence reflects Singapore's deterrent approach

India's demographic divide is converting fertility differences between northern and southern states into compounding fiscal and political pressures. Aging southern states face rising dependency costs and a potential loss of parliamentary seats under post-2026 delimitation, penalizing states that met national fertility

Tamil Nadu's 234 Assembly seats were fixed by the Delimitation Commission using a constitutional rule requiring Assembly totals to be an integral multiple of the state's 39 Lok Sabha seats. The formula, rooted in Article 170 and the Delimitation Commission Act, 1962, constrains any future redistricting exercise to mult

A Sebi working group convened its first meeting to strengthen India's stock lending and borrowing scheme, focusing on custodian-led institutional participation and process digitization. Expanding custodian involvement could unlock idle institutional inventory and improve SLB liquidity, benefiting hedging and short-sell