02 March 2026

Coconut Promotion Scheme 2026: India’s position as the world’s largest producer and consumer of coconuts is at a structural inflection point driven not by market failure but by ecological crisis. The 2026-27 Union Budget’s announcement of a “Coconut Promotion Scheme,” aimed at improving productivity through seedling distribution and garden rejuvenation, has been welcomed by the…

India’s Gaganyaan programme — the country’s first human spaceflight mission — represents the most technologically complex and life-critical undertaking in ISRO’s history. While media attention has largely focused on the launch vehicle (LVM3-M) and crew selection, the most scientifically demanding phase of any crewed space mission is atmospheric re-entry: the controlled return of the Crew…

The University Grants Commission’s 2026 Regulation on “Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions” has triggered a significant constitutional controversy that has reached the Supreme Court of India. The regulation — designed to address caste, gender, and religion-based discrimination in higher educational institutions — mandates swift grievance redress, strict accountability timelines, and severe institutional consequences…

India’s demographic dividend — the brief historical window during which the working-age population constitutes the highest proportion of the total population — is estimated to last only until 2040. This 14-year window represents both an extraordinary economic opportunity and a profound governance challenge. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), launched in 2015 as India’s…

The 16th Finance Commission has submitted its recommendations covering the fiscal transfer period 2026-31, and it has immediately attracted significant intellectual and political scrutiny. Writing in The Hindu, former RBI Governor and Twelfth Finance Commission Chairman C. Rangarajan, and D.K. Srivastava, Chief Policy Adviser at EY India and former Member of the Twelfth Finance Commission,…

The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation on February 28, 2026 has shattered the fragile equilibrium of West Asian geopolitics and triggered the most dangerous regional escalation since the 2003 Iraq War. Iran has retaliated with ballistic missiles and drone attacks targeting Israeli cities, American military bases…