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India and Pakistan exchanged lists of civil prisoners, fishermen, and nuclear installations on January 1, 2026, in line with established bilateral agreements aimed at fostering transparency and humanitarian engagement between the two countries.  The twin exchanges, conducted simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad, come amid a largely adversarial bilateral relationship shaped by decades of historical and geopolitical tensions since the 1947 partition. Representational Image: Attari–Wagah Retreat Ceremony. Via: Krishna Rao K As part of the Agreement on Consular Access signed on May 21, 2008, India shared details of 391 civil prisoners and 33 fishermen believed to be Pakistani in its custody, while Pakistan handed over a list containing details of 58 civil prisoners and 199 fishermen believed to be Indian.  The agreement mandates such exchanges on January 1 and July 1 every year and ensures reciprocal consular access, early repatriation upon...

A New Year celebration at one of Europe’s most exclusive ski resorts turned into tragedy in the early hours of January 1, 2026, when a fire tore through a crowded bar in Crans-Montana, killing dozens and injuring over 100 others, according to Swiss police and emergency officials. The incident, which occurred at approximately 1:30 a.m. local time at the Constellation lounge bar, has prompted a state of emergency across the Valais canton, while investigators continue efforts to determine the cause of the blaze. At least 40 have been killed in a deadly fire at Crans-Montana Ski Resort. Via: World Source News The bar, located in the heart of the alpine resort known for its elite clientele and panoramic views stretching from the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc, was filled with partygoers celebrating the arrival of the new year.  Witnesses reported that the fire erupted rapidly after sparklers mounted on champagne bottles came dangerously close to the ceiling, igniting flammable materials above...

In a speech marked by domestic candor and geopolitical urgency, French President Emmanuel Macron used his annual New Year’s address to frame 2025 as a turning point for both France and Europe. He called for a deeper shift toward strategic self-reliance across defense, economic policy, and technological innovation, even as he acknowledged the internal political instability caused by the dissolution of the National Assembly earlier this year. File Photo: Via Albin Kurti Speaking from the Élysée Palace, Macron warned that the current global order, characterized by regional wars, electoral interference, economic decoupling, and climate uncertainty, no longer permits complacency.  He singled out the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with recent attacks and cyber disruptions across Europe, as immediate threats to French and European security. These developments, he said, reinforced the imperative for Europe to “no longer delegate its security and defense to other powers.” M...

India’s Department of Food and Public Distribution oversaw the implementation of sweeping changes in 2025 across procurement, storage, and distribution systems, reaffirming the centrality of the National Food Security Act and associated schemes that serve nearly 80 crore people. As of December, free foodgrains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) were being delivered to about 80 crore beneficiaries, in line with the government's decision to extend free distribution for five years starting January 1, 2024.  Representational Image: Kurnool-Dist Collector inspecting Mid Day Meal The move builds on allocations during the COVID-19 crisis and replaces earlier subsidized pricing under the NFSA, which had capped prices at ₹3/kg for rice, ₹2/kg for wheat, and ₹1/kg for coarse grains. For FY 2025–26, total foodgrain allocations reached 608.16 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) across schemes. Of this, 554.99 LMT was disbursed under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TP...

India’s fiscal operations for the first eight months of the financial year 2025–26 reflect a combination of strong tax mobilisation, strategic disinvestment performance, and capital expenditure acceleration, according to consolidated data released by the Ministry of Finance.  As of end-November 2025, the Government of India has received ₹19.49 lakh crore, amounting to 55.7 percent of the total Budget Estimates for the fiscal year. Of this, ₹13.93 lakh crore was realised as net tax revenue, ₹5.16 lakh crore as non-tax revenue, and ₹38,927 crore through non-debt capital receipts.  Representational Image: Via: Reels on X Tax devolution to state governments during the same period stood at ₹9.36 lakh crore, ₹1.24 lakh crore higher than the corresponding period in the previous year. Total expenditure by the central government amounted to ₹29.25 lakh crore or 57.8 percent of the annual target. Of this, ₹22.67 lakh crore was revenue expenditure, including ₹7.45 lakh crore in interest ...

The Indian Army has reported a year of measured stability and strategic recalibration across the country’s sensitive frontiers in 2025, with progress in disengagement talks along the northern borders with China, improved security across the Northeast, and continuing counter-infiltration operations along the western boundary with Pakistan. According to the Ministry of Defence, the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the northern sector has remained “stable yet sensitive” following the 2024 disengagement agreements in Depsang and Demchok.  File Photo: Spokesperson MoD These breakthroughs contributed to a notable reduction in deployment levels by China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 2025. However, the PLA continues to maintain a combined arms presence of 10 brigade-sized units in both tactical depth and traditional training areas, with no substantial changes observed in their border management posture compared to the previous year. The Indian Army’s deployment ...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman The first quarter of the 21st century is ending with an inward silence that cannot be hidden despite tourists thronging major hotspots. This is a moment that is ripe for reflection, when the land of over a billion should pause, even if briefly, to glance over its shoulder before looking ahead again. Representational Image: INSV Kaundinya on her maiden voyage from Porbandar to Muscat. Via: PM NaMo In these twenty-five years, India has become compressed, elastic and restless. The republic that once imagined itself as a socialist, secular, democratic experiment is now often narrated through a different grammar of scale, speed, and spectacle. The people have changed, politics has consolidated, and the idea of governance has been rewired. India now stands at global forums with postures of pride and of paradox. The arrival of Narendra Modi in 2014 was a culmination of accumulated frustrations, deferred dreams and a desire for strong hands steering the wheel. Wh...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman There is no neat way to say this: the Great Indian Dream is dying. And it’s not being killed in faraway conflict zones, or in newsrooms that peddle noise instead of truth. It is being murdered in back offices of publishing houses and literary circuits, where contracts are torn with a smile, where deadlines are missed with impunity, where one writer's labour of years is discarded over silence, and where reputations are butchered so that the powerful remain unbothered. The very spaces meant to champion creativity are the first to abandon those who try to speak freely, those who refuse to bend, those who dare to write with sincerity. Representational Image: The 1st stamp of independent India shows the Indian Flag, released on 21Nov1947. I have lived through this. I have worked on a book that came from lived experience, research, pain, and a rare kind of stubborn hope. And I have watched that book — like countless others before it — be derailed by a system tha...

Opening the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi delivered a sharply worded and symbolic address, accusing the Election Commission of India of colluding with those in power and enabling systematic voter suppression under the guise of bureaucratic process.  Image Source: Economic Times Screengrab of Sansad TV Without naming the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise directly in his opening remarks, Rahul Gandhi laid the groundwork for a broader critique of institutional erosion and democratic subversion, framing the vote as the fabric binding 1.4 billion Indians in a shared national project. In a speech rich with metaphor but grounded in political accusation, Rahul Gandhi began with a reference to Mahatma Gandhi’s emphasis on khadi, positioning it as a symbol not merely of resistance but of people’s self-expression and unity.  “Khadi is not just a cloth. Khadi is the expression of the people of India,” he said, before drawing a parall...