The government introduced the SHANTI Act, 2025, to support the mission and open the sector to private participation.
Andhra Pradesh is spearheading an ambitious initiative to establish a fully integrated beach sand minerals, rare earth, and titanium ecosystem, aiming to attract over 50,000 crore in investments over the next decade. This move is part of India's broader strategy to reduce its reliance on China for strategic minerals and permanent magnets, with the state preparing a comprehensive rare earth policy and planning specialised industrial clusters.
US President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that Tehran has consented to long-term, comprehensive monitoring of its nuclear infrastructure. Concurrently, Washington will ease shipping constraints in the Strait of Hormuz and release bound financial concessions, subject to stringent American oversight.
The United States and Iran are scheduled to hold their initial round of talks in Switzerland on Friday, following a ceasefire agreement virtually signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Tedros said that the war in the Middle East has reached a perilous stage with strikes reportedly hitting the Natanz Enrichment Complex in Iran, and the Israeli city of Dimona, where a nuclear facility is located.
All five Indian teenagers who competed at the International Physics Olympiad 2026 won gold medals; thanks to their achievement, India shared the world No 1 ranking with China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea and Taiwan.
The Bill is likely to pave the way for amending two existing legislations -- the Atomic Energy Act 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010.
United States President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have virtually signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and begin a 60-day negotiation process on sanctions and Iran's nuclear programme.
The US military carried out 'self-defence strikes' targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats near the Strait of Hormuz, even as President Trump announced progress in ceasefire negotiations, stating Iran's enriched uranium will be 'turned over' or destroyed.
The Centre has notified the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) with an outlay of Rs 7,280 crore. The initiative is targeting to reduce dependence on China for critical inputs and secure supply chains for EVs, electronics, aerospace and green energy.
Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir held talks with Iranian leaders in Tehran to help resolve the conflict between the US and Iran, following a recent ceasefire agreement.
Former Central Command chief David H Petraeus suggests the US and Iran are likely to extend their ceasefire beyond the initial two-week period, citing willingness from both sides to continue negotiations.
The winter session of Parliament is set to begin with the government prioritizing its reforms agenda, including a bill to open the civil nuclear sector to private players. The opposition is expected to raise concerns about electoral roll revisions and air pollution.
If one has to compare the tenures of the two prime ministers one must credit Nehru with laying the foundations on which Modi is building a grand edifice, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
China and Russia on Sunday strongly condemned the United States air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, with China calling it a serious violation of the United Nations Charter that heightens tensions in West Asia, and Russia terming the strikes 'irresponsible' and asserting that they grossly violate international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions.
The last rites of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Shivraj Patil were performed with full state honours in his home district, Latur, in Maharashtra on Saturday, with many top leaders in attendance.
Global nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said there was no radiation leak or release from any nuclear facility in Pakistan during the country's recent military conflict with India.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
A fire erupted in Russia's Kursk Nuclear Power Plant on Sunday after Ukraine launched a drone attack at one of Russia's biggest nuclear power plants, damaging a transformer and causing a fall in the output of one of its reactors by 50 per cent, Anadolu Agency reported, citing the plant's press service.
Major foreign mining and refining companies have assured the Indian government that they will have sufficient stocks of rare-earth oxides to supply to the winning bidders under the country's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for indigenous manufacturing of rare-earth permanent magnets (REPMs), Business Standard has learnt.
The Centre has proposed allowing captive mine owners to sell minerals in the open market after meeting the requirement of their linked end-use plants, as part of a broader overhaul of mineral concession rules aimed at easing operational restrictions and encouraging deeper mineral exploration.
Within days of India approaching International Atomic Energy Agency for country-specific safeguards for nuclear power plants, the ministry issued advertisements in newspapers explaining what the uranium extracted energy can do to the nation's energy security. Energy-hungry India has a huge unmet power demand and the heavily subsidised diesel is being used as fuel to generate electricity.
The government plans to establish a fully indigenous manufacturing ecosystem with an annual production capacity of up to 6,000 tonnes. The scheme is expected to run for seven years, according to official documents.
It would be the prime minister's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump became president for a second term.
'We remain in touch with the Chinese side, in Beijing as well as in Delhi, to bring predictability in the supply chain.'
'If the BJP detoxifies the nuclear liability law, it will bring economic, environmental and, most of all, strategic benefits.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this Budget promise is met soon -- ideally, before Mr Modi heads to his first meeting with Trump 2.0,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
India on Tuesday said cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear technology is an important pillar of the multifaceted cooperation with Russia, which offered help in building small tropical nuclear power stations.
Here is the complete list of ministers in Modi 3.0 and their portfolios:
T N Seshan believed that toughness at every level is needed to keep the flock under him strictly duty bound, recalls Dr K S Parthasarathy, former secretary, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
Union minister Jitendra Singh assured the members of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that there is better nuclear safety in India as compared to many other countries and there are enough safeguards in the Indian nuclear plants.
Nehru's faith in science and technology, his genuine respect for Bhabha, and their burning ambition worked synergistically to place India on the nuclear map of the world. Atomic energy developed and prospered because of Nehru's vision fulfilled by Bhabha's mission, recalls K S Parthasarathy, former secretary of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, on the occasion of India's first prime minister's 119th birthday today.
India and the International Atomic Energy Agency will hold negotiations in New Delhi on Saturday on the proposed Safeguards Agreement.
Although the credit for acquiring the technological skill must be given to India's outstanding nuclear scientists, the decision to go nuclear was a political one that entailed clarity of vision, courage and resolve, points out Rup Narayan Das.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for enhancing trade and investment ties between their countries and committed to further deepening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed a full spectrum of bilateral relations, including key global and regional issues, and stressed the urgent need for reform in the United Nations Security Council. The leaders also underscored their commitment to ensuring the global AI sector can drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
'Mrs Gandhi had nothing to do in the day-to-day working of Dr Singh's government.' 'People say Mrs Gandhi's office used to give orders, which is nonsense.'
In a step towards diversifying its resource base and securing green energy minerals, India is poised to launch its first-ever offshore mineral auction in the first quarter of 2024, announced Union Minister of Mines Pralhad Joshi during the launch event of the National Geoscience Data Repository portal. The government plans to hold auctions in March, offering 10-15 blocks for bidding. Meanwhile, the ministry of mines is currently developing rules and regulations for offshore mining.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
Rediff.com takes a look at the revamped Cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:
Latest satellite images issued by United States company Maxar revealed that Russian forces are getting ready for a massive offensive in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.
'Modi knows the people here are opposed to this project, but he is using the might of government to push this port down our throats.'
