Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi has stirred controversy by suggesting that members of the "upper castes" should handle the tribal affairs portfolio. Gopi, an actor-turned-politician, argued that true progress in tribal welfare would only be achieved under the leadership of individuals from "upper castes." His comments have been met with widespread criticism, including from CPI state secretary Benoy Viswam and prominent tribal leader C K Janu.
Bharatiya Janata Party's National Democratic Alliance partners have got five cabinet ministerial berths in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as against none in the outgoing government, given the party's dependence on allies for a majority in the Lok Sabha.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
The 2.5 tonne air-to-surface missile has a range of around 300 km, and it will significantly enhance the IAF's combat capability, military officials said.
Ahead of Republic Day, the Indian Army announced on Thursday the addition of two new features to this year's parade: battlefield surveillance systems and a Defebce Research and Development Organisation tableau showcasing Pralay, short-range ballistic missiles.
After lagging behind the broader market over the past three and six months, defence sector stocks have regained ground, reversing their performance from the past month. Concerns about slowing order inflows, execution hurdles, supply chain disruptions, and high valuations had weighed on the sector.
'This strike has certainly enhanced your image.' 'Otherwise, people would have called you a damp squib, capable of doing nothing except talking big.'
'There's something called deterrence by punishment.' 'That means you hit in a manner calculated to raise costs and consequences for Pakistan, so that the next time it attempts a Pahalgam-like attack, it has to think ten times.'
The unique BrahMos weapon system on numerous occasions has established its supremacy in the world of supersonic cruise missile, a statement by the BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia, said.
It was for the first time that the missile, capable of travelling at speeds of up to Mach 3.0, or three times the speed of sound, was tested with indigenously developed 'seeker' technology.
The Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly-elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia.
Indo-Russian joint venture firm BrahMos Aerospace on Monday said it is developing a smaller version of the 290-km supersonic cruise missile for enabling its deployment on submarines and smaller fighter aircraft such as MiG 29K.
The Narendra Modi government will purchase all farm produce at minimum support price, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
"These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the central government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on August 23," it said.
The Supreme Court has sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh Police regarding allegations that Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, influenced witnesses in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The court directed the Lakhimpur Kheri superintendent of police to file the report after a complaint was made by advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the complainants. Bhushan claimed to have an audio recording of an attempt to influence witnesses and alleged that Mishra attended a public meeting in violation of his bail conditions. Mishra, through his lawyer, denied the allegations and stated that he was being targeted unnecessarily. The court has also asked for the authenticity of the material presented to be verified.
Pakistan has rejected India's action over the March 9 accidental firing of a supersonic BrahMos missile that landed in its territory as "totally unsatisfactory, deficient and inadequate" and reiterated its demand for a joint probe into the incident.
The supersonic anti-ship cruise missile was jointly developed by India and Russia.
Aiming to retain power at the Centre for the third time in a row, the Bharatiya Janata Party while banking heavily on its sitting MPs on Saturday released the first list of 51 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections.
The successful test will result in huge savings of replacement cost of missiles held in the inventory of the Indian Armed Forces.
India on Saturday successfully test-fired its 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the navy's newest destroyer INS Kolkata.
India's Navy has commissioned its new Russian-made guided missile frigate, INS Tushil, in the Russian coastal city of Kaliningrad. The ship, part of a $2.5 billion deal for four stealth frigates, is expected to significantly enhance the Indian Navy's capabilities in the Indian Ocean. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and other senior Indian officials. Singh described the commissioning as a testament to India's growing maritime strength and a milestone in its long-standing ties with Russia. The INS Tushil, an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6, boasts advanced stealth features and stability characteristics, and incorporates 26% indigenous content thanks to collaboration with Indian naval specialists and Severnoye Design Bureau.
India's rich cultural diversity, military prowess, economic progress and the strides it has taken in sectors, such as science and technology, were on full display at the 76th Republic-Day celebrations on Kartavya Path on Sunday, in the presence of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
The integration of BrahMos with the Su-30MKI make the Indian Air Force the only air force in the world in procession of a supersonic cruise missile system.
India has expressed concern to the US authorities over the treatment of deportees on a flight that landed on February 5, particularly with respect to the use of shackles, especially on women. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also registered its concerns regarding the need to accommodate the religious sensitivities and food preferences of the deportees. The US side has confirmed that no women or children were restrained on the deportation flights that landed in India on 15th and 16th February, 2025.
'If you are going to make undeserving MLAs as ministers, then why should sincere and hard-working people like us continue?'
'This is what you get when you decide to be someone's slaves'
Ravichandran Ashwin's wife Prithi Narayanan penned a heartfelt tribute for her husband following his recent retirement from international cricket, saying "it is time to set the burden of being you down" and embrace life beyond the game.
India has expressed concerns over a rise in violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, reporting 2,200 cases in Bangladesh and 112 in Pakistan this year. The Indian government has urged both countries to take measures to ensure the safety of minorities and has highlighted the issue at international forums. The government has also stated that it is monitoring the situation closely and has shared its concerns with the respective governments.
Calling out the need for a global consultative approach towards the creation of regulations around artificial intelligence (AI), Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for information technology, said India has taken the lead in framing such regulations. He also stated that these frameworks will be presented by June-July this year. "India has taken the lead in creating this draft paper.
Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the government has asked Apple two questions: whether their devices are safe, and if so the reason for the alert was sent to the Opposition members.
'India has the maths talent, academic institutions, and research institutions to do the next big thing.'
India will showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage on Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26 to mark the 76th Republic Day. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest at the event, which will also see the participation of a marching contingent and a band contingent from Indonesia. The theme of the parade is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on the platinum jubilee of the enactment of the Constitution. The parade will feature a number of cutting-edge defense platforms, including BrahMos, Pinaka and Akash, as well as the Army's Battle Surveillance System 'Sanjay' and DRDO's surface-to-surface tactical missile 'Pralay'.
Today's development follows an unsuccessful test on April 9, when the missile had failed to hit the target.
"The company is roping in academics to develop the requisite technology before going in for designing and developing missiles which can travel at Mach 5 to 7 (five to seven times the speed of sound). It will be BrahMos II version next to the present variants of Mach 2.8 to 3.5," A Sivathanu Pillai MD & CEO of the company told PTI.
Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra, arrested for his alleged role in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, was on Friday remanded in police custody for two days.
India as a sovereign democratic republic completed 75 years of its eventful journey on Sunday, with the stage set at the Kartavya Path in New Delhi for the ceremonial parade during which the country will showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage.
"In conformity and pursuit of operational and strategic surface to surface missile capability development, the second BrahMos unit of Indian Army has been operationalised. The Indian Army unit successfully launched BrahMos missile and destroyed the preselected target in the field firing ranges in Rajasthan," an army spokesperson said in Jaisalmer.
Nishant Agrawal was nabbed in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squads (ATS) at BrahMos' Wardha Road facility, an ATS official said.
The Budget announcement of zero tax for earnings upto Rs 12 lakh per annum and the rejig of tax slabs across the board should prompt more than 90 per cent of individual taxpayers to embrace the new tax regime as compared to the about 75 per cent as of now, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal said. Agrawal also highlighted the government's focus on "non-intrusive" tax administration through enhanced use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and simplified tax processes for common taxpayers. He emphasized the benefits of the new tax regime (NTR), which offers simple calculations and allows taxpayers to file their ITR without professional help. The CBDT chief stated that the Budget provisions related to income tax payment benefit all income earners, not just those earning Rs 12 lakh per annum, creating a positive sentiment in the economy and propelling growth. The department is also harnessing technology, including AI and data analytics, to widen and deepen the tax base, resulting in increased compliance and tax revenue. Agrawal further highlighted the positive impact of data availability and simplified tax processes on compliance rates, citing examples of taxpayers filing revised returns and paying taxes after being prompted by the department's data analysis.
