August 15, 2026
34 articles published on this date
Renewed Appeal for Consensus on Women's Reservation After 131st Amendment Bill's Defeat
A renewed appeal for cross-party political consensus was made to operationalise the 33% women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative...
Independence Day Address: Defence Indigenization Push on Drones, Counter-Drones and Hypersonics
In the Independence Day address delivered from the Red Fort, expanding domestic defence production was described as critical to strengthening India's...
NASA Invites ISRO to Join Moon Base Programme at Lunar South Pole
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to participate in its Moon Base...
Government Launches Concessional Foreign Asset Disclosure Scheme for Small Taxpayers
A new voluntary disclosure scheme was rolled out allowing small taxpayers to declare previously undisclosed foreign assets or foreign income at a...
Trump's Hormuz "Territory" Claim and the Law Governing International Straits
The US administration stated that it intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States once the ongoing West Asia conflict concludes....
Myanmar Verifies Over 300,000 Rohingya for Repatriation as Refugee Crisis Enters Ninth Year
Myanmar's authorities verified over 300,000 Rohingya refugees, out of a list of more than 800,000 names submitted by Bangladesh, as former residents of...
SCTIMST Develops Indigenous Coronary Stent "Chitra Core"
The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, has unveiled its first indigenously developed coronary...
CAG Audit Flags Major Gaps in Green India Mission Implementation
A performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that the National Mission for Green India (GIM) achieved only a fraction of its...
Red Sea Shipping Crisis Crosses 1,000 Days: Impact on India's Trade Routes
Disruption to Red Sea shipping routes, which began with attacks on merchant vessels transiting the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, has now persisted for roughly 1,000...
States Push Back on Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill Over Fiscal Federalism Concerns
State-level opposition has emerged in Odisha against the recently passed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, with plans...
Rajasthan Moves Toward a State Uniform Civil Code
The Rajasthan Government announced that it is working toward introducing a state Uniform Civil Code (UCC), describing the move as being 'in the spirit' of...
India's Engineering Services Exports Rise Nearly Eightfold: NITI Aayog Report
A NITI Aayog report titled on regulatory regimes in professional services found that India's engineering services exports rose nearly eightfold over a...
India's Nuclear Energy Roadmap: 100 GW Target by 2047 and Five New Reactors
In the Independence Day address on 15 August 2026, the government reiterated the target of achieving 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, up from about...
The Mountbatten Plan and the Road to the 1947 Partition
The Mountbatten Plan, announced on 3 June 1947 (also called the 'June 3 Plan'), set out the mechanism by which British India would be partitioned into the...
Income Tax Department Launches One-Time Foreign Asset Disclosure Scheme for Small Taxpayers
The Income Tax Department rolled out the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers-Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS), a one-time voluntary disclosure window for small...
Government Cuts Export Levies on Petrol, Diesel and ATF in Fortnightly Review
The export duty (levied as a Special Additional Excise Duty, or SAED) on petrol exports was reduced to nil, down from ₹3.5 per litre. The combined levy on...
How Caste Will Be Recorded in Census 2027's Population Enumeration Phase
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGCCI) notified 40 questions for the household schedule to be used in the second phase (Population...
SHANTI Act Draft Rules: Financial Security Norms for Nuclear Liability
The Department of Atomic Energy released draft rules under the SHANTI Act, 2025 for public and stakeholder consultation The draft rules require nuclear...
From Food Security to Nutrition Security: The Next Policy Challenge for Rural India
A recent report, marking roughly eight decades of India's food-security policy journey, argues that the next phase of reform must shift focus from...
MMDR Amendment Bill 2026: Centre Restricts States' Power to Tax Mineral Rights
Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, amending the parent MMDR Act, 1957. The Bill inserts a new...
India's Critical Minerals Strategy: National Critical Mineral Mission and Global Supply Partnerships
In the Independence Day address on 15 August 2026, the government highlighted efforts to secure critical mineral supplies and deepen international sourcing...
Foreign Assets Disclosure Scheme 2026: One-Time Window Under the Black Money Act
A one-time voluntary disclosure scheme for undisclosed foreign assets and income, targeted at small taxpayers, opens on August 16, 2026, and closes on...
Census 2027 Notifies 40-Question Schedule: Caste Returns After 1931
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGCCI) notified a 40-question household schedule for the population enumeration phase of Census...
Marine Heatwaves: Why the Ocean Is Getting Hotter
A recent report explained the growing frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves, periods of abnormally high sea-surface temperature, and their link to...
Hormuz Strait "Territory" Claim Puts Focus on International Straits Law and India's Energy Security
The US administration stated it would 'soon' declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory once the ongoing conflict with Iran concludes, citing the naval...
Independence Day Address 2026: Government Outlines Seven-Pillar Policy Framework for Viksit Bharat 2047
The 80th Independence Day address from the Red Fort outlined a seven-part policy framework (described as 'Saptdharas'/'Shakti ki Saptadhara') covering...
India's Edible Oil Import Dependence: Why It's a Policy Coordination Problem, Not a Supply Shortage
India's edible oil sector continues to rely on imports for roughly 55–60% of domestic consumption despite being among the world's largest oilseed-producing...
ADNOC Vessel Attacked in Strait of Hormuz: Maritime Security and Law of the Sea
The UAE's state-owned oil and gas company, ADNOC, confirmed that one of its vessels was attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE condemned...
Independence Day 2026 Address: Women's Reservation Implementation Timeline and Left Wing Extremism Policy
In the Independence Day address delivered from the Red Fort, a call was made for political consensus to operationalise the 33% reservation for women in the...
Telangana Electoral Roll Special Intensive Revision: Enumeration Phase and the ERO's Quasi-Judicial Role
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is underway in Telangana, with the enumeration phase reported to have left a very short adjudication...
Strait of Hormuz Blockade and Rising Oil Prices: Energy Security Dimensions
Iran's government reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to shipping until its conditions for ending the ongoing West Asia conflict are...
Foreign Assets Disclosure Window 2026: Structure and the Detection Framework Behind It
A limited, one-time window has opened for taxpayers to disclose specified undisclosed foreign assets and foreign income, running from August 16, 2026 to...
India Sets Nuclear Capacity Target, Five New Reactors Planned as Kalpakkam Breeder Reactor Attains Criticality
India's nuclear power capacity expansion targets and plans for five new nuclear reactors were announced during the 80th Independence Day address from the...
Reliance-Rolls-Royce Partnership for AMCA Combat Engine: India's Fighter Propulsion Push
Reliance Industries Limited and Rolls-Royce announced a strategic intent to partner for the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of an...