The Delhi government has cancelled over 45,000 ration cards and is considering using artificial intelligence to identify ineligible beneficiaries in its public distribution system.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at multiple locations in West Bengal as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged Public Distribution System (PDS) scam.
The government plans to expand its central bank digital currency (CBDC)-based food subsidy programme to Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu by June, following its implementation on a pilot basis in Gujarat and Puducherry, official sources said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for gifting 'Melody' toffees to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, calling it a 'gimmick' while India faces an 'economic storm'. He accused Modi of prioritising public relations over addressing the struggles of farmers, labourers, and youth, a sentiment echoed by other Congress leaders.
Authorities in Patiala, India, seized 45 domestic LPG cylinders from eateries, restaurants, and hotels during a special drive to check the misuse of cooking gas cylinders.
As Iran heads into crucial peace talks with the United States of America, here are the six men who decide the Islamic Republic's course.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the Congress party for its alleged inaction in addressing Maoist violence during its long rule, while highlighting the Modi government's success in nearly eradicating Maoists from Bastar, Chhattisgarh.
'Global uncertainty is something which definitely occupies the minds of officials when we are preparing for the Budget.'
The study of the Targeted Public Distribution System, which covered 18 states, held that though the offtake per household has shown improvement yet only about 57 per cent of the below the poverty line households are covered. The information was given by minister of state for finance Pawan Kumar Bansal in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Based on evaluation studies and feedback received from states, a nine point action plan has been jointly formulated.
The Indian government has expressed its disagreement with the IMF staff's 'baseline' assumption that the 50 per cent US tariffs on its goods exports 'would remain in place indefinitely', based on which the staff pegged the country's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent this year, and pared its 2026-27 projection by 20 basis points to 6.2 per cent.
'Trump had done a deal with the current regime minus Maduro. The current regime is giving Trump entry into Venezuelan oil. They are obeying him and doing whatever he says.' 'They are happy because they have saved their heads by sacrificing only two, Maduro and his wife. Thousands of Venezuelan military leaders would have been jailed or killed in American action had Maduro stayed in power.'
What is ailing India's Public Distribution System (PDS)? "Corruption" is the one and only answer to that question.
Goldman Sachs is bullish about Indian aerospace and defence, preferring private companies over public sector units (PSUs) as the country ramps up its export target for the sector to Rs 50,000 crore by FY29 from Rs 23,600 crore last year. The American investment bank's top 'buy' recommendations include Solar Industries, Bharat Electronics, Data Patterns and PTC Industries, while Bharat Dynamics is rated 'sell'.
China displayed a range of new weapons at a military parade, including laser weapons, nuclear ballistic missiles, giant underwater drones, and fifth-generation aircraft.
'Government officials use Gmail and ordinary phones without basic security consciousness.' 'Interoperability, especially in joint exercises with countries like the US, worries me.' 'It often means we open our systems to them, but they don't reciprocate.' 'They could have kill switches in their systems and might even be able to affect ours.'
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
After a slew of programmes to facilitate electric-vehicle (EV) adoption in India, the NITI Aayog has said the government has done enough on incentives and now it's time to take the programme a step further with "strong signals" through regulations and mandates.
Food subsidy is provided by the Centre in the budget of the Department of food and public distribution to meet the difference between the economic cost of foodgrains and their sales realisation at central issue prices.
'The Bhashini Mission has delivered a working technology at large scale, which is as good as or better than the one with MNC tech giants.'
Some UTs to start from April 1 and other transfers to be launched from January.
On the complaint of shortage of foodgrain, the minister said lifting of foodgrain by states/Union Territories under TPDS and other welfare schemes has been less than the allocation made to them.
The fiscal deficit, estimated at 4.6 per cent of the gross domestic product, is expected to be around 5.6 per cent, mainly on account of factors like subdued revenue collection, poor disinvestment receipts, high global commodity prices and increasing subsidy bill.
As part of steps to control inflation and augment availability of essential commodities, the government is considering re-allocating wheat in place of rice for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and other welfare schemes.
Food security for all was a poll promise from the ruling Congress party before this year's general elections.
India might be heading towards a "serious livelihood crisis" as the situation seems to be worse this time for the working class amid the COVID crisis and local restrictions by states already add up to something close to a nationwide lockdown, according to noted economist Jean Dreze. In an interview to PTI, he also said the government's target to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 was never a "feasible target" and was just to pander to the "super-power ambitions" of the Indian elite. About the impact of the second wave of COVID on the Indian economy, the eminent economist said the situation today is not very different from what it was around this time last year as far as working people are concerned.
In a pump and dump operation, fraudsters artificially inflate the price of a stock by spreading misleading or false information, creating a frenzy among unsuspecting retail investors.
The working group on food and public distribution constituted under the chairmanship of Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is likely to recommend using the numbers effectively for streamlining PDS.
The move is to align affordable housing finance flows to the increase in property costs and inflation, says Raghu Mohan.
While data can empower communities, it reinforces identities, making local politics more caste-centric, with decisions increasingly contested on the grounds of representation.
Such dynamics could lead to shifting alliances and, in the worst case, local governance getting paralysed as each group demands proportional power-sharing, explain Amitabh Kundu and Mehebub Rahaman.
AI-driven and deepfake-enabled cyberattacks are anticipated to become increasingly prevalent in 2025 with sectors like healthcare and finance most prone targets, according to a recent report. The India Cyber Threat Report 2025 by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and Seqrite, spotlighted the evolving tactics of cybercriminals and the rise of AI-driven attacks as a major concern. "Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be used to develop highly sophisticated phishing campaigns utilising deepfake technology and personalised attack vectors, making them harder to detect.
The IEO, which has been entrusted to assess public programmes, has found that 57 per cent of the subsidised foodgrains distributed in Delhi, do not reach the target group with close to 36 per cent siphoned off the supply chain.
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.
The government's decision to put on hold even limited cuts in ration shop entitlements spells trouble for any future attempts to target subsidies.
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