Social Issues
Education, health, poverty, gender and welfare schemes
Unemployment at 4.8% in Oct-Dec, but share of salaried jobs down again
India's unemployment rate declined to 4.8% in October-December 2025, down from 5.2% in the previous quarter (July-September 2025), according to the Ministry ...
On flagship skill PMKVY scheme blacklist: Empty centres, claims, counter-claims, few takers
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship blacklisted 178 Training Partners (TPs) and Training Centres (TCs) under PMKVY 4.0 in October 2025 for...
J&K unemployment hits 6.7%, nearly double the national average – and job seekers have paid ₹48 crore in application fees
Jammu and Kashmir's unemployment rate stands at 6.7% — nearly double the national average of 3.5% — according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023...
Fresh violence erupts in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, internet suspended for 5 days
Fresh violence erupted in Manipur's Ukhrul district on February 10, 2026, following an alleged assault on a member of the Tangkhul Naga community. Armed grou...
Why farmer unions have called for a strike against US-India trade deal framework
Multiple farmer unions and trade unions have announced a nationwide strike (Bharat Bandh) on February 12, 2026, protesting the India-US interim trade deal fr...
Unemployment rate declined in urban and rural India during Oct-Dec quarter
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) quarterly bulletin for October-December 2025 reported a decline in unemployment rates: rural unemployment fell to 4.0...
Flexi jobs aligning with labour code’s social security norms: ISF report
The Flexi Employment Social Impact Report 2025, released by the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), found that 82% of flexi workers in India are in assignments...
The taekwondo teacher tasked with healing India's troubled state
Yumnam Khemchand Singh, a BJP legislator from the Singjamei constituency, was sworn in as Chief Minister of Manipur on February 4, 2026, ending over a year o...
National cyber norms for academia: Securing India's campus innovation
India's schools, colleges, and universities face an average of over 8,000 cyberattacks per week — more than twice the global average of 3,574 weekly attacks,...
India must rationalise food stocks, adopt local strategic reserves: Pingali
Prabhu Pingali, Director of the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition at Cornell University, has called for a fundamental reimagining of India...
Unemployment rate eases to 4.8% during Oct-Dec
India's unemployment rate eased to 4.8% in the October-December 2025 quarter (Q3 FY26), down from 5.3% in Q2 FY26 — a three-quarter low — according to the Pe...
All India Institute of Ayurveda Signs MoU with General Insurance Council to Provide Cashless Treatment Facility under 32 Insurance Companies
The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi — an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Ayush — signed a Common Empanelment MoU with the Genera...
Unemployment falls slightly to 6.7% in Oct-Dec quarter: Govt survey
The National Statistics Office (NSO) released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin for October-December 2024, showing the urban unemplo...
Top I-T firms earmark Labour Code costs, less than 3% of payroll
Major Indian IT services companies have set aside provisions for increased payroll costs arising from the implementation of India's four Labour Codes, with e...
Kuki-Zo-Hmar peace deal in final stage, on lines of Nagaland pact
The peace deal between the Centre and Kuki-Zo-Hmar armed groups in Manipur has entered its final stage, with an understanding reached on feasible terms. The ...
Villagers flee, houses and govt quarters burnt down as violence rocks Manipur’s Ukhrul district
Fresh ethnic violence erupted in Manipur's Ukhrul district on 8-9 February 2026, with clashes between Tangkhul Naga and Kuki communities in and around Litan ...
RBI plans KCC revamp with 6-year tenure and higher loan limits ahead
The Reserve Bank of India has released draft norms proposing a comprehensive revamp of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) framework, extending the card validity per...
Industrial Relations Code must balance job security in the AI era
An analysis has highlighted the need for the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 to be recalibrated to balance job security concerns arising from AI-driven autom...
27 deaths later, Meghalaya orders massive crackdown on rat-hole mines
Following the explosion that killed 27 miners in an illegal rat-hole mine at Mynsyngat village, East Jaintia Hills, on 5 February 2026, the Meghalaya governm...
27 die in Meghalaya: What is rat-hole mining, why it continues despite ban
At least 27 miners were killed and 9 injured in an explosion at an illegal rat-hole coal mine in Mynsyngat village, Thangsko area, East Jaintia Hills distric...