May 2026

Two technology stories from May 10, 2026 carry profound national security implications. First, India has successfully tested an advanced Agni missile equipped with Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology from APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha, placing India among a select group of global powers — the United States, Russia, China, France, and the…

The ongoing military standoff between the United States and Iran in and around the Strait of Hormuz has escalated dramatically in May 2026, with U.S. fighter jets firing on and disabling two Iranian-flagged tankers accused of challenging America’s naval blockade of Iran’s ports, followed by Iranian retaliatory strikes. The fragile ceasefire that had briefly held,…

The political drama unfolding in Tamil Nadu following the 2026 Assembly elections has once again brought to the forefront one of India’s most contentious constitutional questions: what exactly are the limits of a Governor’s discretion when no single party commands an outright majority in a state legislature? The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-turned-politician…

A comprehensive decadal analysis of India’s school education system by NITI Aayog, titled “School Education System in India — Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement,” has revealed a paradox at the heart of India’s education story: while near-universal access to primary schooling has been achieved, the system fails catastrophically at retaining students through…

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), one of the world’s largest employment guarantee programmes, saw sharp contraction in scale and reach during 2025-26, according to a report by NREGA Sangharsh Morcha and LibTech India. Total person-days of work generated fell by 21.5 percent — from 268.44 crore in 2024-25 to 210.73 crore…

India has sent over 1,137 diplomatic notes (notes verbale) and 456 consolidated reminders to Bangladesh since September 2020 regarding the repatriation of suspected illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, without receiving “an actionable response,” according to an External Affairs Ministry diplomatic document reviewed by The Hindu. This disclosure came in a note verbale sent on April 30, hours…

India’s three oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum — are collectively losing approximately ₹30,000 crore every month on the sale of petrol, diesel, and LPG, as they maintain stable retail fuel prices even as crude oil costs have spiralled past $100 per barrel. The trigger is the escalating conflict…

Operation Sindoor, launched at 1:05 a.m. on May 7, 2025, and its subsequent escalation phases through May 10, has emerged as one of the most consequential military and constitutional events in post-independence India. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, addressing the Joint Commanders’ Conference in Jaipur, described the operation as a defining example of India’s “swift, precise,…

The first phase of India’s Census 2027, formally the House Listing and Housing Operations, was launched on Thursday by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow under the theme “Hamari Janaganana, Hamara Vikas” (Our Census, Our Development), even as the Centre reported that over 92 lakh households across 23 States and Union Territories had…

The Rajasthan High Court’s April 2026 ruling, based on the report of a commission of advocates and civil society members constituted in March 2025, has declared social boycotts and diktats issued by caste panchayats (khap panchayats) unconstitutional, holding them to be in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of…