Indian Armed Forces brought down a number of these drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means.
Hundreds of residents along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir were evacuated to safer zones after Pakistani shelling following Indian airstrikes on terror targets in Pakistan. The shelling killed 12 people, including four children and two women, and injured over 50. The evacuations come amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead. The government has provided temporary shelter for those evacuated.
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American scientist Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the country's top health research and funding institutions. Bhattacharya, a professor of Health Policy at Stanford University, is known for his research on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. Trump also nominated Jim O'Neill as the deputy secretary of Health and Human Services to work alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has underscored the importance of not equating the victims and perpetrators of terror attacks, highlighting the need for global unity in combating terrorism. Speaking at Raisina Tokyo 2025, Misri expressed appreciation for Japan's support following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, India. He also cautioned against the trend of some Western countries hyphenating India and Pakistan in the context of their recent military confrontation. Misri further outlined India's economic aspirations and its commitment to becoming a factor of stability in a turbulent world.
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.
'They are going to create so many nations within one nation.' 'If you do this exercise without a clear vision, it will have far reaching repercussions. It will end up in disaster and that will be dangerous.'
It is important for India to pay close attention to both the tone and substance of authoritative remarks coming out of Pakistan, explains former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
According to the data released in Patna by Development Commissioner Vivek Singh, the state's total population stood at a little over 13.07 crore, out of which the EBCs (36 per cent) were the largest social segment followed by the OBCs at 27.13 per cent.
A new report, "India Justice Report 2025", highlights the stark gender disparity in India's police force, with less than 1,000 women holding senior positions like Director-Generals and Superintendents of Police. Despite growing awareness about the need for gender diversity in law enforcement, not a single state or Union Territory has met its target for women's representation in the police force. The report also emphasizes the significant challenges faced by the justice system as a whole, including infrastructural deficiencies, overcrowding in prisons, and inadequate staffing levels. The report calls for systemic reforms to address these issues and ensure a more equitable and accessible justice system for all.
'Looking at how quickly the hostilities were escalating, the nuclear threshold did not seem that far.'
'For the first time in this country, perhaps the first time anywhere, we are going to use backwardness index.' 'It is a fundamental shift in the discourse in the country's social justice.'
'The race is now on for Indian IT firms to develop their AI prowess and focus on a software-first approach to services as the people element becomes more complicated with Trump's expected new regulations.'
'Will this near-war, India's strongest military response so far, buy India another seven years of deterrence?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'There's a lot of sense in what Prime Minister Modi did, but the Indian government has to be really prepared for a really sharp escalation spiral.'
Rajbaris are a link to Bengal's rich past, of grand mansions, classical fine dining, and allow guests to be pretend zamindars for those few hours or days that they stay.
'What does Indira Gandhi want from me? At this age, what will I do to her?'
'In 50 seconds, the pilots were fighting drag, trying relight, throttling up and avoiding obstacles.' 'They had neither height nor speed. There was no margin.'
'He is intrigued by the intractability of Kashmir issue. With his interest in dealmaking and peacebrokering, he sees it as an exciting challenge to tackle.'
'Unlike the surgical strikes and the Balakot air strikes across the LoC, we have gone further inside Pakistan and raised the bar of escalation.'
India had better be prepared. Munir could be back at our throats soon, even within the next 12 months, warns Shekhar Gupta.
'I am worried that Pakistan will still feel compelled to take substantive military action beyond this apparent drone activity.' 'If so, the crisis could persist for a while more and dangerous days are still ahead.'
Pakistan's drone strikes and mortar shelling targeted six locations in Jammu, including the densely populated Rehari Colony, leaving one person injured and causing widespread damage. Residents described scenes of devastation and expressed fear, while others voiced defiance and called for action against Pakistan. The attacks, which occurred early Saturday, have been condemned by Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as the "worst targeting of civilians in Jammu city since 1971."
As in-person negotiations between India and the US kickstarted on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected India to strike the first bilateral trade deal to avert President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
'It could take the form of sporadic LoC violation through heavy artillery and mortar fire, focusing on border villages where the Hindu Dogra population is predominant.'
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
'If inner line permit was in place in Meghalaya, the details of the three people who allegedly murdered Raja would have been on record.'
India has surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, shows the latest United Nations data, even as UN projections estimate that the country's population is expected to grow for the next three decades after which it will begin declining.
'Had Haji Pir and/or Skardu been taken, the message would have gone out not just to General Asim Munir and his cohort in the Pakistan army but to the Pakistani people that every terrorist incident in India would lead to substantial loss of territory in PoK.'
The tragedy struck the family on May 7 when they found themselves in the middle of intense Pakistani shelling at their rented accommodation in Poonch which was badly hit by the cross-border shelling.
'Five hours of bombardment by the Pakistanis should not have happened.' 'India should have sent the air force to bomb the Pakistanis where they were raining fire on us.'
India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with immediate effect, accusing Pakistan of breaching the pact by refusing to negotiate modifications and engaging in sustained cross-border terrorism. The decision follows a recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people. Pakistan has rejected India's move, calling it an "act of war."
The mortality-to-incidence ratio for India was 64.47 per cent in 2022, the highest while comparing the top 10 countries with the highest number of cancer incidences.
The earthquake rocked many parts of Thailand including its capital Bangkok, the venue for next week's summit of BIMSTEC regional grouping that is scheduled to be attended by Modi among other leaders.
Bollywood's biggest stars arrived at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai on May 1 to take part in the inaugural edition of World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025.
The government will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including members of the United Nations Security Council, later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
The metro, it seems, is politics-proof -- even if it comes at a high cost.
Naval assets take years to build, and therefore, not only is futuristic force planning essential, but indigenous projects must also be put into the pipeline, technologies developed and contracts for assets signed regularly so that the Indian Navy always remains a future-focussed force, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
A special court in India has reserved its verdict in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, which killed six people and injured over 100. The trial began nearly 17 years after the bombing in the town of Malegaon, located in Maharashtra. The prosecution concluded its final arguments on Saturday, marking the end of the hearings. Seven individuals, including Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and BJP leader Pragya Thakur, are facing charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The verdict is expected to be delivered on May 8th.
'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.'
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