May 16, 2026
41 articles published on this date
BRICS CGETI in Gandhinagar: Intra-Bloc Trade Hits USD 1.17 Trillion, GIFT City on Display
The 2nd Meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Trade and Economic Issues (CGETI) for 2026 was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on May 15, 2026, under India's...
Operation RAGEPILL: India's First-Ever Seizure of Captagon by the NCB
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), acting on intelligence from a foreign drug law enforcement agency, dismantled an international drug trafficking network...
Government Hikes Silver Import Duty and Curbs Imports to Arrest Rupee Slide
The central government raised import duties on gold and silver from 6% to 15% effective May 13, 2026, comprising a 10% Basic Customs Duty (BCD) and a 5%...
NEET-UG in Crisis: Institutional Failure, the Case for Reform, and the Decentralisation Debate
The National Testing Agency cancelled NEET-UG 2026 on May 12 — nine days after it was conducted on May 3 for 22.79 lakh candidates — following confirmation...
India Invites Dutch Firms to Design and Manufacture at CEO Roundtable
During an official bilateral visit to the Netherlands, a CEO roundtable was co-hosted by both Prime Ministers along with the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade...
Pilot Programme to Link Out-of-School Adolescents with Open Schooling: Scale, Framework, and Constitutional Basis
The Union Ministry of Education convened a high-level meeting on May 16, 2026, chaired by the Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy...
Chola-Era Anaimangalam Copper Plates Repatriated from Leiden University After 164 Years
The Chola-era Anaimangalam Copper Plates, held by Leiden University in the Netherlands since 1862, were formally handed over to India at a ceremony in The...
NEET-UG Paper Leak: CBI Arrests NTA-Appointed Expert, Exposing Insider Threat in Examination Security
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a botany teacher from Pune, in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak —...
Leiden Plates Return: A 14-Year Diplomatic Effort for India's Cultural Heritage
The return of the 11th-century Anaimangalam Chola copper plates by the Netherlands marks the culmination of a diplomatic effort initiated in 2012 — spanning...
Three Thermal Power Sites Shortlisted for Nuclear Power Plants: India's 100 GWe Nuclear Target
Three decommissioned or ageing thermal (coal-based) power station sites have been shortlisted for setting up new nuclear power plants, as part of India's...
Netherlands Returns 11th-Century Chola-Era Copper Plates to India: Anaimangalam Plates Repatriated After 300 Years
The Netherlands formally returned the Anaimangalam copper plates — approximately 1,000-year-old artefacts from the Chola dynasty — to India during an...
CBI Arrests Pune Professor in NEET-UG Paper Leak; Exam Cancelled and Rescheduled
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a senior botany professor from Pune — who had been appointed as a domain expert by the National Testing...
Netherlands Returns 11th-Century Chola Copper Plates to India After 14-Year Diplomatic Effort
During an official bilateral visit, the Dutch government formally returned a set of 11th-century Chola copper plates that had been held by Leiden University...
India's Rejection of IWT Arbitration: The Legal Architecture Explained
India rejected the 15 May 2026 award of the so-called Court of Arbitration on the Indus Waters Treaty, describing the tribunal as 'illegally constituted'...
Tata Electronics–ASML MoU: India's First Semiconductor Fab Advances at Dholera
Tata Electronics and ASML (Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment company) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on May 16, 2026 to advance the...
India Rejects Arbitration Tribunal's Pondage Award on the Indus Waters Treaty
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague issued an award on May 15, 2026, concerning maximum pondage limits on western rivers under the Indus...
Iran Announces Mechanism to Collect Transit Fees in the Strait of Hormuz
A senior Iranian lawmaker and Chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee announced that Iran will unveil a mechanism to...
BRICS Evolving with New Members but Geopolitical Differences Will Take Time to Resolve
Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, attending the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, acknowledged that BRICS is evolving with its new and...
Taiwan Reaffirms Sovereignty Amid US Pressure: The Cross-Strait Diplomatic Crisis
Taiwan's Presidential Office formally stated that 'The Republic of China is a sovereign, independent democratic country; this is self-evident,' hours after...
BRICS Foreign Ministers Reaffirm Two-State Solution for Palestine at New Delhi Meeting
The BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting, hosted by India in New Delhi under its 2026 chairship, concluded on 15 May 2026 after two days of deliberations. The...
Insider Threat and Examination Integrity: CBI's NEET-UG 2026 Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a Pune-based botany teacher — appointed by the National Testing Agency as a subject-matter expert and...
Indus Waters Treaty Arbitration Award Issued; India's Abeyance Posture Holds
On 15 May 2026, the Court of Arbitration constituted under the Indus Waters Treaty issued an award related to the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric...
US Strategic Ambiguity on Taiwan: Washington's Post-Beijing Warning
Following a US presidential state visit to Beijing — the first such visit since 2017 — Washington publicly warned against any formal declaration of...
Legal Framework Behind the Chola Plates Repatriation: How Colonial-Era Artefacts Return Home
The Netherlands' return of the Anaimangalam Chola copper plates — held at Leiden University for over 300 years — illustrates the complex legal and...
NTA's Accountability Deficit: Why Doctors' Bodies Want Parliament to Create a Statutory Testing Authority
Following the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 after a confirmed paper leak, the United Doctors Front (UDF) filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court under...
Andhra Pradesh Announces Financial Incentives for Third and Fourth Children to Reverse Demographic Decline
The Andhra Pradesh government announced financial incentives of ₹30,000 for the birth of a third child and ₹40,000 for the birth of a fourth child, as part...
Key Economic Signals: MSP Hike for Kharif 2026-27, Sugar Export Ban, and Government Austerity
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved an increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 kharif crops for the marketing season 2026-27...
Russia-China Strategic Partnership: Putin's Beijing Visit and the Shifting Power Axis
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit China from May 19–20, 2026, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping — the visit coming days...
European Nations Negotiate with Iran for Hormuz Transit Amid Fragile Ceasefire
Several European nations are reported to be in diplomatic talks with Iran to secure transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping....
Pakistan's Mediating Role in US-Iran Diplomatic Efforts
Pakistan's Interior Minister arrived in Tehran on an official two-day visit, continuing the country's active role as a back-channel mediator between the...
Examination Security Architecture: Why NTA's Paper-Based Chain of Custody Failed NEET-UG 2026
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) filed a petition in the Supreme Court on May 13, 2026, arguing that the National Testing Agency is...
Chola Dynasty Copper Plates Returned by Netherlands After 300 Years
The Netherlands formally returned 21 copper plates dating to the 11th-century Chola dynasty to India during a state visit, marking one of the most...
Supreme Court: Heinousness of Crime Cannot Be Sole Ground to Deny Premature Release
The Supreme Court of India, in Rohit Chaturvedi v. State of Uttarakhand & Ors. (2026 INSC 490), ruled that the heinousness or gravity of a crime cannot, by...
Manipur Ethnic Violence: Kuki-Zo Demands, President's Rule, and Constitutional Governance in Conflict Zones
Kuki-Zo tribal organisations, led by Kuki Inpi Manipur (the apex body of Kuki tribes), held mass rallies and protests across Kuki-Zo inhabited hill...
Parliamentary Standing Committee Attendance at 53%: PAC Data Reveals Accountability Gap
Data compiled by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed that Members of Parliament attended, on average, only 53% of meetings held by the 16...
Oil Price Shock from US-Iran War Widens India's CAD and Pushes Inflation Higher
Experts have warned that the continued oil price shock stemming from the US-Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is simultaneously widening...
Government Imposes Import Restrictions on Silver, Requires DGFT Licences
The government reclassified silver imports from the 'free' category to the 'restricted' category under India's import policy, effective immediately...
India Rejects Indus Waters Treaty Arbitration Award, Calls Court Illegally Constituted
The Ministry of External Affairs rejected the latest award issued on 15 May 2026 by the Court of Arbitration convened under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)...
One Nation, One Election: JPC Reviews Simultaneous Polls Framework
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) overseeing the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024...
Rising Crude Oil and Gold Imports Threaten to Widen India's Trade Deficit and CAD
Analysts have warned that the twin pressures of elevated crude oil prices — driven by the ongoing US-Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz —...
India's April exports jump 13.8%, trade gap widens to 3-month high
India's merchandise exports in April 2026 rose 13.78% year-on-year to $43.56 billion (from $38.28 billion in April 2025), marking a five-month high in...