India’s International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), the global initiative spearheaded by India to focus concerted international attention on the conservation of seven big cat species — tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, puma, jaguar, and snow leopard — is set to hold its inaugural summit in New Delhi from June 1 to 3, 2026, with representatives from…
The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, notified in supersession of the 2016 Rules and brought into effect from April 1, 2026, represent India’s most ambitious attempt at reforming urban and rural waste governance since the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched in 2014. The Rules seek to improve source segregation, regulate bulk waste generators, promote scientific…
On May 5, 2026, Apple Inc. agreed to pay 250 million dollars to settle a class action lawsuit in the United States over misleading advertising of its AI-powered Siri assistant. Apple had marketed the iPhone 16 in September 2024 with bold claims that Siri had been fundamentally reinvented — capable of understanding context across apps,…
The state visit of Vietnamese President Tô Lâm to India from May 5 to 7, 2026, marked a qualitative leap in bilateral relations with the formal elevation of ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The visit yielded a wide range of agreements spanning defence, technology, finance, energy, and critical minerals, signalling that the India-Vietnam…
On May 12, 2026, the fifth meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Kartavya Bhavan, was convened to assess India’s economic resilience in the face of the escalating West Asia conflict. The government assured that India holds 60 days of crude oil reserves, 60 days of natural…
On May 12, 2026, the Union government officially notified that from July 1, 2026, all rules, notifications, schemes, orders, and guidelines made under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) will stand repealed. In their place, the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G Act,…