September 16, 2026
33 articles published on this date
Delayed Birth and Death Registration Gets Stricter: The 2026 Amendment Explained
The provisions of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2026 come into force on 1 October 2026, tightening the process for registering...
BRICS New Delhi Declaration: The Mechanics and Limits of Local-Currency Trade
The New Delhi Declaration, adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit held in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026, backs deeper cooperation on settling bilateral and...
Semicon India 2026 and Semiconductor Mission Phase 2
Ahead of a major Semicon India industry event, the Union Government held interactions with semiconductor industry representatives to review progress and...
India Rejects Pakistan-China Boundary Commission Over Territory It Does Not Control
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected the operationalisation of a 'Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission,' stating there is no legally...
MMDR Amendment and the States' Share of Mineral Revenue
Recent amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 have renewed debate over how much fiscal control mineral-bearing States...
BRICS 2026 New Delhi Summit: Climate Finance, Trade Protectionism and the Global South Agenda
India hosted the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026, under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and...
The Montreal Protocol: From a Scientific Hypothesis to the World's Most Successful Environmental Treaty
A recent feature revisited the scientific and diplomatic history of the Montreal Protocol, tracing it from an early theoretical hypothesis about ozone...
Karnataka Government Commits to Full Implementation of Article 371(J) for Kalyana Karnataka
The Karnataka state government reaffirmed its commitment to fully implementing Article 371(J) of the Constitution for the development of the Kalyana...
EPFO Wage Ceiling Raised to ₹25,000: Contribution Base and Insurance Cover Recalibrated
The statutory wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) was raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month...
EPFO Wage Ceiling Raised to Rs 25,000: First Revision in 12 Years
The Union Cabinet approved a Ministry of Labour and Employment proposal raising the wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund...
EPFO Wage Ceiling Raised to ₹25,000: Governance, Legal Transition, and the Coverage Debate
The Union Cabinet approved raising the statutory wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from ₹15,000 to...
Manipur's Ethnic Faultline Shifts: Kuki-Zo–Naga Clashes Emerge Alongside the Meitei–Kuki-Zo Conflict
A new state government in Manipur took charge in February 2026, following a period of President's Rule that had been imposed after the previous Chief...
India-New Zealand FTA: Services, Mobility and Customs Provisions Beyond Tariffs
New Zealand's Parliament passed the enabling legislation needed to implement the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), clearing a key procedural...
India Clears First Batch of UK Car Imports Under CETA's Tariff-Rate Quota
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) approved applications from seven of eight companies to import a combined 642 cars from the United Kingdom...
India Weighs Cut in Vegetable Oil Import Duty as Food Inflation Rises
The government is considering lowering the basic customs duty on imported vegetable oils, with officials reportedly weighing a cut of around 5 percentage...
EPFO Wage Ceiling Raised to Rs 25,000, Widening Mandatory Social Security Cover
The Union Cabinet approved raising the wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from Rs 15,000 to Rs...
Heat Stress Cost India $9 per Tonne of CO2 in Lost Labour Productivity in 2025: Social Cost of Carbon Explained
A study published in Nature Climate Change estimated that heat-related labour productivity losses in 2025 amounted to $9 for every tonne of CO2 emitted...
EPFO Wage Ceiling Hike: Governance Structure and India's Social Security Benchmark
The Union Cabinet approved raising the statutory wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from ₹15,000 to...
Government Affirms Domestic Control Over UPI Policy: The Institutional Framework Behind Digital Payments
The Finance Ministry issued a clarification rejecting claims that the decision to introduce a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions above...
EPFO Wage Ceiling Hike: Payroll Cost, Take-Home Pay and Fiscal Burden
The Union Cabinet approved raising the statutory wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from ₹15,000 to...
EPFO Wage Ceiling Raised to ₹25,000: Expanding Mandatory Retirement Coverage
The Union Cabinet approved raising the statutory wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees' Pension Scheme...
India-New Zealand FTA: Treaty-Making Power and Sectoral Gains
New Zealand's Parliament passed legislation to implement the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a required domestic step before the pact can...
UPI Merchant Payments to Attract 0.4% Fee Above ₹2,000 From October 15: How MDR Works
A 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will apply to Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above ₹2,000 from October 15, 2026, ending nearly six years of a...
Defence Ministry's 2025-26 Annual Report Flags Capability Gaps After Operation Sindoor, LAC Troop Trends
The Ministry of Defence's Annual Report for 2025-26 reviews lessons from the May 2025 conflict with Pakistan (Operation Sindoor), including a review of...
India Launches Net Zero Portal and NAPCC Dashboard on World Ozone Day
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched India's Net Zero Portal and the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) Dashboard in...
Tara Coal Block Auction in Chhattisgarh: Why Hasdeo Aranya Is at the Centre of a Forest Rights Debate
The Tara coal block in Chhattisgarh's Hasdeo Aranya (Hasdeo Arand) forest region was put up for auction under the competitive-bidding coal block allocation...
New Zealand Ratifies India Free Trade Agreement: Tariff Elimination and Trade-Pact Architecture
New Zealand's Parliament passed enabling legislation to implement the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement (NZIFTA), clearing the way for the pact to...
India's UPI Gets a Merchant Discount Rate: Ending the Decade of Zero-MDR
A gazette notification was issued mandating a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4% on Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above ₹2,000, effective from...
India's Russian Crude Oil Imports Draw Renewed US Tariff Threat
India's crude oil imports from Russia were valued at approximately USD 40.8 billion in FY26, making Russia India's largest single source of crude oil. A...
India-New Zealand FTA Clears New Zealand Parliament: Tariff Architecture and India's FTA Strategy
New Zealand's Parliament passed the legislation required to implement the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with lawmakers voting 93-29 in...
Antarctic Ozone Hole Crosses Threshold Early Again in 2026: Copernicus
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) reported that the 2026 Antarctic ozone hole crossed the 15 million sq km threshold earlier than the...
US House Advances Russia Sanctions Bill With Secondary Tariffs on India
The US House Rules Committee advanced a procedural resolution (H. Res. 1530) clearing the path for floor consideration of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning...
UPI Merchant Payment Fee Framework: Zero-MDR Regime Ends After Six Years
The government notified a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) merchant payments: a 0.4% charge on person-to-merchant...