Social Issues
Education, health, poverty, gender and welfare schemes
Forest Rights Act supersedes previous court orders: Allahabad High Court on Tharu community rights
The Allahabad High Court, in a judgment dated April 21, 2026, quashed a 2021 order by the District Level Committee (DLC) of Lakhimpur Kheri that had denied f...
Rail corridor for Odisha bauxite mines days after tribal-police clash
On April 7, 2026, violent clashes broke out between tribal villagers and police in Kantamal and nearby villages in Rayagada district, Odisha, when security f...
Govt claims women winning unreserved panchayat seats in ‘significant numbers’
Parliament data tabled in response to a question revealed that women are winning panchayat seats in "significant numbers" even in constituencies not reserved...
India’s urea stock at 4-year low ahead of kharif sowing season
India's urea stocks have fallen to a four-year low as the country approaches the critical kharif sowing season, raising concerns about adequate and timely su...
Bring in law to regulate use of mobile phone by children: panel
A state-level commission in Kerala has recommended that the central government enact a dedicated law to regulate children's use of mobile phones, setting min...
Intensifying extreme heat events raise risks to agri-food systems, says report
A joint report titled *Extreme Heat and Agriculture* released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Meteorologic...
Heat, health, and the gaps in preparedness
India's heat crisis is deepening — recent analysis identifies significant gaps in national preparedness for heat-related illness and mortality, even as tempe...
Will a hypothetical change in rules on women’s entry amount to 'invasion', Supreme Court asks in Sabarimala case
A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India, is hearing review petitions against the landmark 2018 judgment th...
World Earth Day 2026: Telangana’s Chenchu adivasis resist forcible relocation from Amrabad Tiger Reserve
On World Earth Day 2026, the Chenchu adivasis — a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) — intensified their resistance to forced relocation from the co...
Govt overhauls six-decade-old sugarcane law; seeks comments on draft by May 20
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has circulated a draft Sugarcane (Control) Order, 2026, proposing to repeal and replace the Su...
Agriculture exports up 2.8 pc to USD 52.55 bn in 2025-26
India's agricultural and allied product exports reached USD 52.55 billion in FY2025-26, registering a 2.8% growth over the previous year — an all-time high f...
Nearly half of population now covered by health insurance, says govt survey
A government survey — the National Sample Survey (NSS) on Household Social Consumption: Health (75th Round, January–December 2025) — found that approximately...
Digital arrest is a crime against human dignity: CJI
The Chief Justice of India, delivering the 22nd D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture at Bharat Mandapam on "Challenges of Cyber Crime – Role for Police and Judiciary,...
Gig workers social security scheme may have multiple fund managers
The Ministry of Labour and Employment is actively designing the implementation architecture for a social security scheme covering gig and platform workers, w...
How DMK’s resistance to Centre’s proposed delimitation evokes the language debates of 1950s and 60s
The Centre has introduced the Delimitation Bill, 2026 (along with the Constitution 131st Amendment Bill, 2026) to redraw parliamentary and assembly constitue...
Delimitation decoded: What the Centre tried to do, why opposition shot it down & what happens next
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026, receiving 298 votes in favour against the 352 needed (two-thir...
'Factually Abused Quackery': Congress' dig at government FAQs on women's quota bill
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 — which would have expanded Lok Sabha to 850 seats and enabled the delimitation required to activate women's re...
Cong demands implementation of women's quota law on current LS strength, marches to BJP office
Following the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 in Lok Sabha, multiple opposition parties staged protests demanding immediate implement...
NMC draft norms proposes single-state licence for AFMS doctors to practice across country
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued draft amendments to the Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, ...
PM Modi flays Opposition for women's quota bill defeat
The Constitution Amendment Bill aimed at fast-tracking women's reservation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026 ...