India

NEW DELHI: Government is set to roll out a pilot for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or ‘digital food currency’ under the free ration scheme to a limited number of beneficiaries in Chandigarh, Puducherry and three districts of Gujarat next month. Under this, beneficiaries will receive monthly digital food coupons directly into an RBI-enabled digital…

NEW DELHI: Coal will continue to play a central role in India’s energy mix as the country works towards tripling its per capita energy consumption over the next 20 years, Union Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said on Thursday.He was speaking during a panel discussion on the third day of India Energy Week 2026.“Coal is…

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Thursday put on hold the controversial UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, taking serious exception to several of its provisions and saying that these could fuel societal division and have a dangerous impact on the goal of a casteless society.A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant…

New Delhi: Placing before Supreme Court the videos and the transcripts of his alleged inflammatory speech and interview which were termed as anti-national and became grounds for his detention under National Security Act, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk told Court on Thursday that he was misquoted and edited videos were circulated by “certain IT cell” which…

Court Rejects Bhushan’s Idea On Illegals New Delhi: Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission to implement in Tamil Nadu the court directed procedure for submission of documents by voters flagged under ‘logical discrepancy’ category during Special Intensive Revision of West Bengal electoral rolls, prompting the EC to request the SC to extend it…

In 35% Of Cases, Toll Debited Sans Vehicles At Plaza New Delhi: NHAI has refunded toll charges in 17.7 lakh cases between Jan and Dec 2025 for incorrect deductions and in nearly 35% of these cases, the vehicles were not at the toll plaza when the user fee was debited from FASTag wallet.Considering that such…

New Delhi: As Republic Day celebrations drew to a close with the Beating Retreat ceremony, Vijay Chowk reverberated with three of composer AR Rahman’s iconic songs – Oscar-winning ‘Jai ho’, ‘Bharat humko jaan se pyaara hai’ and ‘Ma tujhe salaam’.Earlier this month, when asked about his absence from Hindi-film music during an interview with BBC…

New Delhi: SC agreed and suggested to states to take legislative measures to protect domestic helps from exploitation, but refused to issue a direction for the adoption of minimum wages, apprehending that it would make families wary of taking their services because of the fear of being dragged to court by workers’ unions, reports Dhananjay…

NEW DELHI: With demand for imported coking coal—an essential input for the steel industry—continuing to rise despite large domestic reserves, the govt on Thursday notified coking coal as a “critical and strategic mineral” to accelerate exploration and mining activities, including those involving deep-seated deposits.The decision was made on the recommendations of the High-Level Committee on…

NEW DELHI: Comptroller and Auditor General K Sanjay Murthy on Thursday raised his concern on excessive regulatory burdens that impede the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and slow down industrial growth.“MSMEs-related reforms need to cut across multiple departments and levels of government — Centre, state, and local bodies,” Murthy said, and added…