India will participate in talks with several countries convened by the United Kingdom on reopening transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

“The UK side has invited several countries, which also include India, for talks on the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry’s spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly press briefing. “From our side, the foreign secretary [Vikram Misri] is attending the meeting.”

The United States is not among the countries attending the meeting, which came after President Donald Trump said that securing the waterway is not his country’s responsibility, Al Jazeera reported.

The meeting of foreign ministers is expected to be followed by “working-level meetings” of officials to hammer out details, the news outlet reported.

On Thursday, Jaiswal also said that India is in touch with Iran and other countries in the region to ensure safe and unimpeded transit for its ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

#WATCH | Delhi: MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "The UK side has invited several countries, which also include India, for talks on the Strait of Hormuz. From our side, the Foreign Secretary is attending the meeting this evening..."

He further says, "We are in touch with… pic.twitter.com/1rKIZmK2Ge

— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2026

“Though this conversation that we have had over the last several days, we have had six Indian ships which have been able to safely cross the Strait of Hormuz and we continue to be in touch with relevant parties,” Jaiswal added.

Energy supplies to India have been disrupted since the conflict in West Asia broke out. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global petroleum liquids supply passes, for most commercial ships.

This has affected LPG supplies in India. The country imports about 60% of its LPG demand, most of it from Gulf countries.

On Wednesday, the price of commercial LPG was increased by Rs 195.5 amid a surge in global energy prices triggered by the conflict. In Delhi, a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder is now priced at Rs 2,078.5.

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s actions posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Also read:

• Why the LPG crisis is reviving pandemic fears among migrant workers

• India’s push for clean cooking fuel goes up in smoke

Sugar-free products with sugar. ‘Real’ juices with artificial ingredients. Misleading food ads are fuelling a public health crisis in India. Help Scroll expose the systemic failure. Support our investigation.

The Supreme Court directed that central forces be deployed to provide security to judicial officers helping complete the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal. A bench issued the order after taking note of seven judicial officers allegedly being gheraoed for hours in Malda district a day earlier.

They were reportedly held by a mob protesting against the alleged mass deletion of voters during the revision exercise. The officers were released after midnight following the intervention of the Calcutta High Court chief justice.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party had paid “some traitors to provoke” voters, and urged people to remain calm. The Trinamool Congress claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was at fault for the incident. Read on.

Millions of Bengalis may lose their vote. Not over citizenship but due to clerical errors, writes Shoaib Daniyal

The Aam Aadmi Party wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat seeking the removal of MP Raghav Chadha as its deputy leader in the Upper House. The party recommended MP Ashok Mittal as his replacement.

The move came against the backdrop of Chadha’s absence from recent party activities. He also did not publicly react after a Delhi court in February cleared former Chief Minister and party chief Arvind Kejriwal, and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the Delhi excise policy case. Read on.

Five of the richest families in India saw their wealth increase by 400% between 2019 and 2025, a study titled Wealth Tracker India 2026 said. It also noted that a progressive wealth tax imposed on the top 1,688 ultra-rich Indians can generate more than Rs 10 lakh crore for welfare.

The study released by non-profit organisation Centre for Financial Accountability and Tax The Top campaign categorised the ultra-rich as those who hold a net worth of more than Rs 1,000 crore. The share of the bottom 50% in the country’s wealth stagnated at 6.4% by 2024, it added

“India is witnessing inequality at levels that are comparable to colonial times,” it added. “The country’s richest 1% control over 40% of the national wealth.” Read on.

The Chhattisgarh High Court convicted Amit Jogi, son of former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, in a murder case from 2003. He was directed to surrender before the court within three weeks.

Amit Jogi was accused of conspiring to murder the Nationalist Congress Party’s Ramvatar Jaggi ahead of a massive rally by the party in Raipur. Jaggi was shot dead in Raipur on June 4, 2003, when Ajit Jogi was the chief minister of Chhattisgarh.

On May 31, 2007, a trial court had convicted 28 persons for the murder, but had acquitted Amit Jogi. The Central Bureau of Investigation had challenged the acquittal, but the High Court had rejected the plea on the grounds of delay.

The CBI then moved the Supreme Court, which directed the High Court to consider its application afresh. Read on.

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The Union government on Thursday announced a full customs duty exemption on about 40 petrochemical products until June 30, amid supply disruptions due to the conflict in West Asia.

“This measure has been taken as a temporary and targeted relief in order to ensure continued availability of critical petrochemical inputs for domestic industry, reduce cost pressures on downstream sectors, and safeguard supply stability in the country,” stated the Ministry of Finance.

Among the products for which exemptions were announced are polypropylene, polystyrene, polyols, polybutadiene, styrene butadiene and anhydrous ammonia, according to a notification on Wednesday.

Although India produces some of the petrochemical products locally using liquefied petroleum gas and ethane, it is a net importer of such derivatives, reported Reuters.

Soon after the conflict broke out, the Union government had invoked the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, directing domestic oil refiners to prioritise the production of LPG.

The Centre had on March 4 told all oil refining companies in India to “ensure that propane and butane streams produced, recovered, fractionated or otherwise available with them are utilised for production of LPG”.

This had come amid disruptions in energy supplies to India since the conflict in West Asia broke out on February 28.

Iran has effectively blocked the strategic Strait of Hormuz for most international commercial vessels. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

India imports about 80%-85% of the LPG that it consumes and is the world’s second-largest LPG importer after China.

The March 4 order had put pressure on petrochemical producers, who are grappling with constrained availability of the feedstock, rising ⁠prices ​and higher premiums, according to Reuters.

The exemption granted on Thursday is expected to benefit sectors that depend on petrochemical feedstock and intermediates, including plastics, packaging, textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automotive components and other manufacturing segments.

The conflict in West Asia began after Israel and the United States launched a joint operation to “degrade the capabilities” of the Iranian government. Tehran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeting major cities in other Gulf countries and some ships.

While Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

The Chhattisgarh High Court on Thursday convicted Amit Jogi, the son of former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, in a 2003 murder case.

He was directed to surrender before the court within three weeks.

The case pertains to the killing of Nationalist Congress Party treasurer Ramvatar Jaggi, who was shot dead in Raipur on June 4, 2003, when Ajit Jogi was the chief minister of Chhattisgarh.

Amit Jogi was accused of conspiring the murder ahead of a massive rally by the NCP, which was said to have been posing a challenge to the incumbent Congress government.

On May 31, 2007, a trial court convicted 28 persons for the murder, reported The Telegraph. Amit Jogi was acquitted.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had challenged the acquittal in 2011. However, the High Court had rejected the application on the grounds of delay.

Appeals by the Chhattisgarh government and Satish Jaggi, son of Ramavtar Jaggi, were also rejected.

The investigation agency then moved the Supreme Court against the order, according to PTI. In November, the top court referred the case back to the High Court, directing it to consider the CBI’s application afresh.

The top court had held that although the CBI filed the application after a significant delay, it was equally true that “the charges against respondent Amit Jogi were very grave, involving a conspiracy to murder a member of a rival political party”, reported PTI.

On Thursday, a division bench of Chhattisgarh High Court’s Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Arvind Kumar Verma set aside Amit Jogi’s acquittal and directed him to surrender.

Following this, Amit Jogi, the chief of the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh, stated on social media that “a grave injustice” had been meted out to him.

“Today, the Honourable High Court allowed the CBI’s appeal against me in a mere 40 minutes, without granting me an opportunity to be heard,” he said.

Amit Jogi added: “I am saddened that a person whom the court had acquitted has been convicted without even a single opportunity for a hearing.”

प्रिय मित्रों और शुभचिंतकों 🙏

आज माननीय उच्च न्यायालय ने मेरे विरुद्ध CBI की अपील को मात्र 40 मिनट में स्वीकार कर लिया- बिना सुनवाई का अवसर दिए।

मुझे खेद है कि जिस व्यक्ति को अदालत ने दोषमुक्त किया था, उसे बिना सुनवाई का एक भी अवसर दिए दोषी करार दिया गया। यह अप्रत्याशित है।… pic.twitter.com/t70pLdLTJ7

— 𝐀𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐀𝐣𝐢𝐭 𝐉𝐨𝐠𝐢 (@AmitJogi) April 2, 2026

He said this was “unprecedented” and that he was “fully confident” of receiving justice from the Supreme Court.

“I have complete faith in the justice system,” he said. “I am moving forward with complete peace, faith, and patience.”

On the other hand, Satish Jaggi said that “truth has prevailed” with the judgement, reported PTI.

“My faith in the judiciary has been vindicated,” he said. “Truth has prevailed and my father has finally received justice.”

Five of the richest families in India saw their wealth increase by 400% between 2019 and 2025, said a study published on Wednesday.

The study, titled Wealth Tracker India 2026 and released by non-profit organisation Centre for Financial Accountability and Tax The Top campaign, also noted that a progressive wealth tax imposed on the top 1,688 ultra-rich individuals in the country could generate more than Rs 10 lakh crore for welfare.

It categorised the ultra-rich as those who hold a net worth of more than Rs 1,000 crore.

The study said that the share of the bottom 50% in the country’s wealth stagnated at 6.4% by 2024.

“India is witnessing inequality at levels that are comparable to colonial times,” it added. “The country’s richest 1% control over 40% of the national wealth.”

The study said that the cumulative wealth of the ultra-rich in the country has surpassed Rs 166 lakh crore, which is nearly 50% of India’s Gross Domestic Product.

It argued that a 2%-6% progressive tax on the 1,688 ultra-rich families possessing over Rs 1,000 in wealth and an additional one-third inheritance tax imposed on them could enable the country to spend Rs 10.6 lakh crore annually on welfare schemes.

The benefits could include immediately increasing health and education spending by 1% each of the GDP and providing Rs 12,000 per month as a pension to the elderly, it added.

The study noted that Reliance Industries chairperson Mukesh Ambani’s wealth increased by 153% from 2019 to 2025. It said that if a 2% wealth tax had been collected from him during this period, it would have generated enough resources to provide free laptops to all Class 10 students for three years.

Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani’s wealth increased by 625% in the same period, it said, adding that a 2% tax on his wealth could fund two full years of primary healthcare for the entire country. It could also provide for free air purifiers to nearly eight crore families most affected by pollution, it added.

“‎These findings expose the claim by the government that no resources are available to increase its investments on welfare,” the organisation and campaign stated in a press release. “While the government cuts the taxes for the corporations, it is deeply disturbing that today hard working individuals are paying more taxes than the big corporations.”

The release added that the Union government had written off Rs 19.6 lakh crore of loans in the last 11 years.

Anirban Bhattacharya, the campaigns director at Centre for Financial Accountability, said that “there were two Indias today”.

“One of the handful at the top whose wealth has been soaring by lakhs of crores,” he said. “And another India that is indebted, precariously employed, and largely from marginalised sections struggling to make their ends meet.”

Bhattacharya added that the wider this gap, the further the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution recedes.

Raj Shekhar, a part of the Tax The Top campaign, said that it is the need of the hour to put a wealth tax on “these super rich to generate the resources we need to strengthen public services and address the inequality that threatens democracy”.

Jacob Joshy, a researcher of the Wealth Tracker India 2026 report, noted that although a wealth tax is no “magic bullet”, it can secure basic rights for the poor.

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the deployment of central forces to provide security to judicial officers helping complete the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, reported Bar and Bench.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi passed the order after taking note of seven judicial officers having been allegedly gheraoed for hours on Wednesday.

Commenting on the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party was plotting to spark unrest in the state, so that it could impose President’s Rule.

Judicial officers gheraoed

The officers, including three women, were allegedly held hostage in Malda district’s Kaliachak by persons protesting against the alleged mass deletion of voters during the revision of electoral rolls, according to The Telegraph.

Stones were thrown at their vehicles when the judicial officers were travelling to their residence, reported Live Law.

They were released from the mob after midnight following the intervention of the Calcutta High Court chief justice.

Visual from West Bengal where judicial officers came under attack while being rescued by security forces following protests in Malda over SIR deletions. pic.twitter.com/4tZidfgVT2

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) April 2, 2026

On Thursday, the bench said that the incident was a “brazen attempt not only to browbeat judicial officers, but also challenges authority of this court, Bar and Bench reported.

“It was not a routine incident but appears to be a calculated, motivated move to demoralise the judicial officers and stop the ongoing process of adjudicating of objections in left out cases,” the court observed.

The court added that it would not allow anyone to interfere “and take law in their hands in order to create psychological attack on the mind of judicial officers”.

It also described the incident as an “abdication of duty” by the West Bengal government.

Kant remarked that he had “never seen such a polarised state”, and that politics was reflected even in the compliance of court orders, Live Law reported.

The state administration currently reports to the Election Commission as the Model Code of Conduct took effect on March 15, when the schedule for the Assembly polls was announced.

Citing a communication from the High Court chief justice, the Supreme Court noted that no action had been taken to release the judicial officers until 8.30 pm on Wednesday.

The court also described as “highly deplorable” the manner in which the state chief secretary, the director general of police, the superintendent of police and the district collector reacted to the situation, reported Live Law.

The officers were issued show-cause notices to explain why action should not be taken against them. They were also directed to be present for the hearing of the matter on April 6.

The Trinamool Congress government in the state told the court that the officers had been appointed by the Election Commission ahead of the polls.

The polls will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The votes will be counted on May 4.

CM urges protestors not to fall for ‘provocations’

Later on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party had paid “some traitors to provoke” voters, and urged people to remain calm, The Indian Express reported.

Addressing an election rally in Murshidabad district, she said the protests and gherao of judicial officers were part of the BJP’s “game plan”.

“[The BJP does not] want elections,” The Indian Express quoted Banerjee as claiming. “They want President’s Rule. Do you want that? Or do you want a peaceful election through which Trinamool Congress comes back to power? If you trust me, then don’t fall for any provocation.”

The Trinamool Congress had earlier alleged that the “unfortunate incident” in Kaliachak was a result of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission’s “dirty conspiracy”.

“They removed and transferred experienced state government officials and senior police officers who knew every corner of Bengal like the back of their hand,” the party said. “In their place, they imposed central officers who have zero understanding of our geography, demography or ground reality.”

It added that the “outsiders” are ill-equipped to handle situations in West Bengal and that the BJP was “using this isolated incident to malign the entire state and paint Bengal as lawless”.

It also claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was at fault for the incident.

The TMC demanded that Shah should resign “for repeatedly failing in his duty to protect the people, for weakening law and order, and for playing politics with Bengal’s peace”.

.@BJP4India and @ECISVEEP are playing with fire, and yesterday’s unfortunate incident in Malda is the direct result of their dirty conspiracy.

They removed and transferred experienced State Government officials and senior police officers who knew every corner of Bengal like the… pic.twitter.com/XJ4qpYX8fX

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 2, 2026

West Bengal is among the 12 states and Union Territories where the special intensive revision of the electoral roll was undertaken.

On February 28, the Election Commission published the final electoral roll for West Bengal, showing that more than 61 lakh voters had been excluded.

However, the process continued with about 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases remaining under adjudication based on their objections to their exclusions from the draft rolls published in December.

On February 20, the Supreme Court ordered that judicial officers of the rank of district judge or additional district judge be appointed to help complete the revision exercise in the state amid a tussle between the Trinamool Congress government and the Election Commission.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had moved the Supreme Court against the exercise, raising concerns that voter roll revision poses an immediate and irreversible risk of mass disenfranchisement of eligible electors in the Assembly elections. She sought the court’s direction that the elections be conducted on the basis of the existing electoral rolls prepared last year.

The Election Commission has published several supplementary voter list following adjudications. The High Court informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that more than 47 lakh of the 60 lakh objections had been disposed of as of Tuesday, PTI reported.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat seeking the removal of MP Raghav Chadha as its deputy leader in the Upper House, PTI reported.

The party recommended MP Ashok Mittal as his replacement.

The move came against the backdrop of Chadha’s absence from recent party activities. He also did not publicly react after a Delhi court in February cleared former Chief Minister and party chief Arvind Kejriwal, and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the Delhi excise policy case.

He was also not present at a press conference addressed by Kejriwal at the party office, or at a “jan sabha” held at Jantar Mantar where the AAP chief criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party, India Today reported.

This is not the first time that Chadha has been accused of being distant from party affairs. When Kejriwal was arrested ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Chadha said that he was recovering from eye surgery in the United Kingdom, which delayed his response.

The move to replace Chadha also came three days after the MP praised the government-run Udaan Yatri cafe at Mumbai airport in Maharashtra, where a BJP-led alliance is in power.

Chadha, 37, is a member of the party’s Political Affairs Committee, its highest decision-making body, and has also served as its national treasurer. He has played a role in coordinating the opposition INDIA bloc and is currently the party’s Punjab co-incharge.

He entered the Rajya Sabha after being elevated during his tenure as a Delhi MLA, becoming one of the youngest members of the Upper House. In 2023, he was appointed the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Sanjay Singh.

The Aam Aadmi Party currently has 10 members in the Rajya Sabha, including seven from Punjab and three from Delhi.

The municipal body in Arunachal Pradesh’s Itanagar on Tuesday directed eateries to rename themselves by removing references to specific meats, including pork, beef, chicken and mutton.

Including the types of meat in names of hotels and restaurants is “inappropriate and inconsistent with prevailing norms and sensitivities concerning animal welfare and public decency”, said the Itanagar Municipal Corporation.

It said in an order that several eateries had obtained trade licences using “business nomenclature specifically referring to particular animal meats”.

Invoking provisions under the 2019 Arunachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act and other bye-laws, the civic body said that licences issued to eateries with names referring to a specific animal must be changed to a “general and appropriate business nomenclature”.

It directed the owners of the eateries to change their signboards and promotional materials in line with the revised guidelines within 10 days to avoid legal action.

The order also said that no new trade licences would be issued to eateries with names that refer to any type of meat.

Social media platform X has told the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that recent orders to block profiles “excessively and disproportionately restrict the account holder’s rights”, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

It added that this is concerning “as the account holder will be unable to use X in India permanently”.

The remarks were made in an objection letter written by X to the ministry on March 19, urging it to review an order directing the platform to block 12 accounts, including a parody account “Dr Nimo Yadav”, Live Law reported.

X said that the blocking order issued on March 18 failed to comply with Section 69A of the 2000 Information Technology Act. The provision allows the government to send removal orders to social media platforms if the content is deemed a threat to national security, sovereignty or public order.

The objection letter was disclosed in an affidavit filed by X in the Delhi High Court on March 30.

It is part of a petition filed on March 24 by Prateek Sharma, who operates the “Dr Nimo Yadav” account, against the blocking order, Live Law reported. Sharma sought directions to the ministry and X to stop withholding the account.

The petition also asked for directions to ensure that any censorship on social media is carried out in line with the IT Act and its rules, The Indian Express reported.

In the affidavit, X said that the Dr Nimo Yadav account had been blocked on the orders of the ministry for allegedly controversial posts and defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Live Law reported.

Timeline of events

The affidavit submitted by X in the court showed that the ministry had convened a virtual meeting with authorised representatives of the social media platform on March 13 to examine blocking requests made by nodal officers under the 2009 Information Technology Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access to Information by Public Rules, The Indian Express reported.

At this meeting, the ministry provided a list of at least 16 accounts on which posts were purportedly made that warranted blocking under Section 69A of the IT Act, the newspaper reported. The meeting was also convened to hear the user who had hosted the content and the intermediary.

After the meeting, the ministry on March 18 directed X to block 12 accounts “within one hour” of receiving the order.

While the platform compiled with the order and withheld the accounts, it wrote an objection letter to the ministry on March 19.

What the objection letter said

In its March 19 letter to the ministry, X said that a majority of the content in each of the 12 accounts did not “appear to fall within the grounds specified under section 69A”, adding that the blocking orders are “not proportionate”, The Indian Express reported.

“This account-level blocking, as opposed to post-level blocking, is disproportionate and does not constitute the ‘least intrusive measure’ as mandated under law,” the newspaper quoted the social media platform as saying.

It also requested that “appropriate orders” be passed for unblocking the 12 accounts.

X also noted that it “verily believes” that “no opportunity of hearing has been granted” to any of the 12 account holders, adding that the evidence shared with respect to these accounts “does not violate the grounds of section 69A [of the IT Act]”, The Indian Express reported.

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday held as maintainable a petition challenging Bharatiya Janata Party MP Suresh Gopi’s poll victory during the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Thrissur, Bar and Bench reported.

This means that the petition can be heard on its merits.

Justice Kauser Edappagath rejected the Union minister’s preliminary objections seeking dismissal of the petition, ruling that they “must fail” and that the election petition “is not liable to be dismissed” at the outset.

However, the court struck off one allegation related to the distribution of shade umbrellas to vegetable vendors, stating that this specific claim would not form part of the trial.

It added that Gopi would face trial “for the other corrupt practices alleged in the petition”, Bar and Bench reported.

The petition was filed by Binoy AS, an All India Youth Federation leader and voter from Thrissur. He sought that the actor’s election be declared void under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

The petitioner alleged that Gopi, his election agent and associates engaged in “corrupt practices”, including invoking religious sentiments, using religious imagery in campaign material and promising monetary or other benefits to influence voters during the election campaign.

The petition contains references to campaign materials, including flex boards depicting Gopi alongside images of Hindu deities Krishna and Radha as well as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, along with messaging invoking religious appeals, Live Law reported.

It also includes claims that BJP leaders, in speeches, urged voters to make electoral choices based on religious considerations.

There are likely to be significant health consequences following the legal changes made by the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, which was notified on Monday.

The act removes the statutory recognition of a self-perceived gender identity. It also makes identity certification contingent on the recommendation of a medical board and subject to approval by the district magistrate. The definition of “transgender person” has now been narrowed, while requiring medical institutions to share details of surgeries with authorities.

The amendments do not repeal healthcare guarantees of the 2019 act, but risk reducing their use.

The earlier legal framework supported self-identification: The Supreme Court in 2014 recognised self-identified gender as part of personal autonomy and dignity. The 2020 Rules for the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, also allowed certification through an affidavit without medical or physical examination.

Section 15 of the 2019 Act had included healthcare obligations for transgender persons.

But the latest amendments shift recognition away from declaration and towards validation. Access to healthcare may now increasingly depend on navigating medical and administrative systems that many transgender persons already experience as exclusionary.

Research continues to describe stigma and discrimination from healthcare providers, facilities designed for binary gender use, poor provider preparedness, reduced care-seeking, high mental health burdens and implementation gaps even under existing law.

Now, the new amendments are likely to have five kinds of health system effects on affecting access and utilisation.

ट्रांसजेंडर अधिकार संशोधन विधेयक 2026 इस समुदाय को समाज के बीच सम्मान, गरिमा,आत्मविश्वास और पूर्ण अधिकार सुनिश्चित करने का कार्य करेगा। pic.twitter.com/UaJqgexHyk

— Dr. Virendra Kumar (@Drvirendrakum13) March 28, 2026

The first is pathologisation. By shifting recognition from self-declaration to medical board recommendation and administrative approval, the amendment revives a medicalised understanding of gender identity. It recasts identity as something to be externally authenticated.

It may advance the idea that gender diversity is a pathology needing diagnosis. In practice, this may increase reliance on non-supportive healthcare systems and reduce engagement with formal healthcare.

The second is bureaucratic access. Under the current Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise-linked welfare architecture for transgender people, a transgender certificate is the gateway to many health benefits. The certificate is mandatory for welfare measures under the SMILE scheme, including insurance, transition-related care, and access to these healthcare-related services through empanelled, or government-endorsed, hospitals and clinics.

If certification becomes more difficult or slower, it may reduce access to insurance, subsidised treatment and welfare support. A model requiring access to medical boards headed by senior doctors will favour those able to travel, navigate procedures and sustain institutional contact. Those in rural areas, lower-income households or already alienated from formal healthcare are likely to face higher barriers. Discrimination, documentation gaps and hostile or unfamiliar facilities reduce health-seeking behaviour and discourage the use of formal services.

The third is administrative deterrence, including delay and harassment. Procedural details are unclear, but the new law adds checkpoints: medical board recommendation, district magistrate scrutiny and the possible involvement of additional experts. Even without explicit requirements for physical examination, more layers of review typically create greater scope for questioning, demands for documents, informal judgment and delays.

Such deterrence has downstream effects. Where institutions are experienced as hostile, people delay or avoid care, as seen in the contexts of caste and gender. Heightened gatekeeping may push some toward informal care, self-medication or unregulated transition pathways.

Right to idenitfy as trans is conditional upon medical verification and administrative approva: TNM

Transgender, queer groups oppose amendment bill, demand immediate withdrawal NOW. #RejectTransBill2026 pic.twitter.com/HwqrNXnyaW

— sukoon 🌺 (@meow_bhau) March 24, 2026

The fourth is privacy and confidentiality. The new provision requiring medical institutions to share details of surgeries with officials makes the state privy to sensitive information. The uncertainty of confidentiality may deter care-seeking due to fear of disclosure to family members, employers, landlords or officials.

The fifth is exclusion by definition. The amended definition narrows eligibility and excludes persons with “different sexual orientations and self-perceived sexual identities”. This may reduce who can claim legal recognition, protection and certification-linked benefits. In health systems, this affects eligibility for schemes, hospital records, referrals, ward placement and insurance processing. Uncertainty over eligibility can also disrupt continuity of care.

There are also significant mental health implications. Research describes high burdens of mental ill-health among transgender persons, like depression, suicidality and substance use, with stigma and discrimination becoming barriers to care and drivers of poorer wellbeing. A law requiring medical and administrative validation of identity may intensify distress, fear and mistrust of institutions, and worsen mental health.

There are also broader public health implications, including for HIV care. Evidence shows that transgender people have a disproportionately high vulnerability to HIV and other sexual health risks. The National AIDS Control Organisation identifies stigma, discrimination and transphobia as major barriers to accessing care.

More broadly, barriers to documentation, discrimination and institutional exclusion could reduce access to treatment and weaken prevention.

Finally, the 2019 framework was already unevenly implemented. Researchers have documented gaps in service providers’ knowledge of transgender health needs, service delivery and institutional inclusion despite formal guarantees. Ruling in a 2025 case, the Supreme Court had taken note of the challenges in implementing the 2019 act.

Adding further layers of certification and discretion to this system is unlikely to improve access for the most vulnerable.

Much will depend on the subsequent rules, but the direction set by the act is towards greater gatekeeping that will have consequences on HIV prevention and treatment, mental healthcare, sexual and reproductive services, routine outpatient care and continuity of care.

Rishiraj Bhagawati is a public health researcher based in Bengaluru.

The police in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district arrested 10 persons for allegedly spreading rumours about an alleged shortage in fuel and liquefied petroleum gas, PTI reported on Thursday.

All 10 of them were released after completing legal formalities.

The arrests came amid disruptions in energy supplies to India since the conflict in West Asia broke out on February 28. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global petroleum liquids supply passes, for most commercial ships.

This has affected LPG supplies in India. The country imports about 60% of its LPG demand, most of it from Gulf countries.

However, the Union government has repeatedly said that there is no shortage of LPG in the country.

In Bhilwara, Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Singh said that several persons had been spreading rumours about an alleged energy shortage, “though there is nothing like that”, The Indian Express reported.

“The administration and the government have continuously clarified that there is no dearth anywhere,” he said, adding that the public should not be misled.

Preventive action has been taken against persons spreading rumours by arresting them, Singh said.

“We are constantly monitoring social media; lawful action will be taken against all those indulging in such acts,” he said. “And if they violate the rules, a case will be filed too”.

In a statement, the police alleged that the persons accused in the matter were spreading false and misleading information on social media to “mislead the public and create an atmosphere of fear” in society, and “increase views and followers” on the platform, the newspaper reported.

Unidentified police officers told PTI that 10 social media accounts spreading misinformation about the situation to gain followers had been identified and action had been taken against them.

All of them were made to delete the videos before they were released, the officers added.

Among those arrested were the persons behind “Berozgaar Boyzz”, a page on the social media platform Instagram that has more than 1.4 million followers, The Indian Express reported.

The arrests were made from several police station areas on Tuesday, according to PTI.

The police also released videos in which the persons accused in the matter apologised for their actions.

In one of them, a person is heard saying that he had made the videos with comedic intent, The Indian Express reported. Another said that uploading such a video was a mistake, adding that there was no shortage of gas in Bhilwara.

The conflict in West Asia began after Israel and the United States launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Also read:

• Why the LPG crisis is reviving pandemic fears among migrant workers

• India’s push for clean cooking fuel goes up in smoke

Coffee farmer Vanthala Raju was 21 when he applied to get his rights over forest land recognised in 2014. It took two years for an official to acknowledge his application, four more for processing. Throughout this period, he faced harassment from authorities.

Changing climate has affected harvests, says Raju, an arts graduate who grows coffee on nine acres. Erratic rains and extreme rainfall events alongside increasing heat have increased work and reduced output and quality.

When it pours, the buds retain moisture and the resultant crop could rot. In cases of extreme rainfall, they just fall to the ground. Heat dries up the buds, and they wilt, turning useless.

Raju is not alone. Climate change is affecting coffee harvests across the world, leading to declining yields and quality, and rising prices.

A new analysis by Climate Central released on February 18 shows that 25 coffee-growing countries – accounting for about 97% of global coffee production – experienced more “coffee-harming heat” during the past five years because of climate change.

On average, India saw 30 additional days of such heat. Kerala saw 65 additional days, the highest increase. Andhra Pradesh saw fewer additional days (34), but had the highest overall days with temperatures above 30 degrees celsius at 257.

The area suitable for coffee farming may decrease by 50% by 2050 without adequate adaptation, the analysis says. Arabica coffee plants (which account for about 60%-70% of the global supply) are more sensitive to heat than robusta varieties. Even cooler temperatures in the 25-30 degrees celsius range are suboptimal for arabica growth.

IndiaSpend has reached out to the chairman and deputy director of research at India’s Coffee Board, and the director of research at the Central Coffee Research Institute in Chikkamagaluru for comment. We will update this story when we receive a response.

India is the sixth largest coffee exporter in the world. Kodagu or Coorg district, located in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, has been facing the impacts of climate change since the last three decades, as IndiaSpend reported in October 2023. The coffee plant has become more susceptible to pests and has witnessed a decline in production, we had reported.

World Bank data suggest that arabica and robusta prices have almost doubled from 2023 to 2025.

IndiaSpend met coffee farmers at varying levels of operations and socioeconomic conditions. While temperatures have impacted yield, those following natural farming practices are seeing better quality and output, and resilience to a pest that was recorded in the valley for the first time in 2025.

Coffee, pepper and debt

Baram is a small hamlet of about 250 people, 75-km away from Araku – off the highway that connects Rajahmundry and Vizianagaram. Raju is clad in shorts and a polo. His chin is bandaged due to a fracture from a fall in the bathroom.

Raju belongs to the Kodu community, a particularly vulnerable tribal group, and has lived in Baram all his life. He has two children – a son in residential school in class six, and a daughter in the primary school about 2 km away.

A three-room house with a low ceiling, his house is sparsely furnished – a single cot, a study table and one LED bulb in the living room, a few utensils and a cookstove in the kitchen. Adjacent to these is a storeroom, holding supplies, and produce yet unsold – he showed a bag of fresh pepper pods.

His wife applied to be a teacher, but did not get selected. Today, she is helping a neighbour pour concrete for a slab – an activity which draws help from many in the community.

Settling into a plastic chair in front of his house, the scent of drying turmeric wafting across the narrow lane between the row of houses and the forest, Raju narrates his experience with coffee.

This last harvest, Raju sold about three tonnes of coffee cherries to Naandi Foundation, two more tonnes to the AP Girijan Cooperative Corporation and some rejected stock in the open market. Growing coffee is labour-intensive, and the community works on each other’s farms to reduce labour costs.

Apart from coffee, Raju also grows pepper, the vines of which climb up the shade trees. On his ancestral land, he grows turmeric, ginger, some vegetables and subsistence paddy.

He estimates that he made about Rs 3 lakh in this crop over four years. His family has incurred a debt of about Rs 3 lakh on children’s education and construction expenses.

On his plantation, Raju demonstrates how mulching is done to protect the moisture in the roots, how stems that have wilted or have not borne flowers are to be broken off, lest they consume the nutrients that the productive parts need. And how to identify flowers that will go on to the next stage and those that will wilt.

Unlike in most of the world where coffee is grown under the sun, in these parts, coffee is shade-grown. Primarily, the government distributed silver oak saplings because they grow fast and have a hard bark, on which pepper vines can climb.

Raju’s village eschewed silver oak. The elders believed that the species attracts more thunder and lightning. So they grow coffee under the share of natural forests and fruit trees.

Now, the government is looking to add five types of trees to improve diversity, offer additional sources of income for the Adivasis, and keep them occupied on the farm throughout the year, so they also care for the coffee plants diligently.

Several organisations are involved in supporting Araku’s coffee growers, such as Walmart Foundation, Smart AP Foundation and Ayekart.

Naandi Foundation has enlisted European companies to provide 17 varieties of trees, including fruit-bearing and timber trees, in exchange for carbon credits. The farmers sell fruit such as guava, lemon, and other citrus fruits in local markets. This has ensured they earn an income throughout the year.

Raju prides on the fact that they use completely organic methods and has not seen any pest in his farm or those of his neighbours.

The 20-year arc

Manoj Kumar is the founding chief executive officer of Naandi Foundation. He is leading projects in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh spanning the areas of healthcare, maternal mortality, child development and regenerative agriculture. The last of them is a technique perfected in the Araku region, on which Kumar spent 20 years helping small-holder farmers grow coffee.

The district has a population of about one million, 83% belonging to Scheduled Tribes. Coffee was introduced by the British in the late 19th century and subsequently spread to the Araku valley.

In the 1980s, the government handed over plantations to the Adivasis – at two acres per family – mainly to check rampant deforestation under podu cultivation, a slash and burn method of farming.

In the face of multiple challenges, Kumar realised that the tribal communities needed a sustainable livelihood from the forests. “On a whim and a fancy and ignorance, when some farmers asked me if they can grow coffee, I said yes, without knowing how to grow coffee,” he says.

Back in 2004, Naandi Foundation started their work around coffee with 1,000 farmers in about 800 acres. Today, they work through the Small and Marginal Tribal Farmer Mutually Aided Cooperative Society with about 100,000 farmers across roughly 100,000 acres, about 38% of the 260,000 acres estimated to be under coffee cultivation in the region. They have spent about Rs 300 crore in the last 25 years on their initiatives in the region, Kumar says.

Back in 2005-’06, the coffee cherry used to be sold for as little as Rs 2 a kilogram, mostly to moneylenders, he explains. For context, 6 kg of cherries make 1 kg of clean coffee or parchment, which is then roasted, ground and sold. (See image below.) The best the farmers could make was Rs 20 per kg.

“Naandi bought cherries at Rs 30 per kg [which is Rs 180 per kg of parchment],” Kumar says. At the time, procurement in the Western Ghats was done at around Rs 90 per kg of parchment. Having bought at these rates and incurring additional costs, “I couldn’t frankly sell it at Rs 180,” Kumar says.

So they did two things: scaled up production by roping in more farmers, and set up a central processing unit. They registered a company called Araku Originals Private Limited, mandated to procure and sell the produce. In 2015, they entered retail sales, started selling online, B2B and set up cafès in Paris, Mumbai and Bengaluru. This company is still not profitable, Kumar says.

This last year, Naandi procured coffee at an effective price of Rs 420-Rs 840 per kg of parchment, compared to the GCC’s Rs 270, and the Rs 200 in the open market.

Biology of resilience

Vinod Hegde, head of quality production warehousing, started his work with coffee about 20 years ago in Kodaikanal, where he met David Hogg, the regenerative agriculture specialist who spent 55 of his 75 years in India. In 2011, Hegde moved to Araku, following Hogg.

The processing unit is currently idle, as the processing for the latest harvest is complete. The coffee is stored in their godown, in stacks of 40-kg bags.

At the beginning of the season in October, Hegde says, Naandi conducts an annual general meeting and announces the procurement prices. If market prices rise, they pay a bonus, but if the market falls, farmers still receive what was announced in that meeting.

Procurement is done at the villages, and different grades of coffee are put together in batches for processing. The grades are determined based on terroir mapping, a process similar to the landscape study conducted by wineries.

Several steps in the processing are attuned to preserving quality, Hegde explains. For instance, drying is done on racks that do not touch the ground – lest the soil’s aroma enters the coffee. Women turn the beans multiple times to ensure they are sun-dried – something that can be achieved through industrial fans. A majority of the employment is given to women during the processing, Hegde explains. “And we pay men and women the same.”

Hogg, Hegde and their team formulated probiotics and inoculants from the soil and plants – which helped fix micronutrients. They developed what Kumar calls an “army” of over 4,000 farmer trainers who helped take the techniques to the larger region.

Buridi Sundaramma of Gondivalasa village in Araku grows coffee on three acres. “Naandi taught us how to plant the saplings, how to prune and remove dried stems, mulching, etc.”

“When planting, we separate the top and lower soil strata, dig 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep pits, add top soil layer with compost and plant the sapling,” Sundaramma, who belongs to the Kodu community, explains.

“This process resulted in this region having no pest attack of any kind till date for these 100,000 farmers,” Kumar says. Studies have shown that even in adjacent plots, yield drops from pest attacks are lower where climate-resilient practices are being employed, explained Sri Pooja Tirumani, a civil servant who heads operations at the Integrated Tribal Development Agency, Paderu.

These methods have ensured that there is a five-degree difference in temperature between the coffee estates and the peripheries, Kumar says. The only thing they are unable to control for is the erratic rains – delayed or unseasonal rain, both of which affect yield.

Abutting the five-acre processing unit is what locals called wasteland. But using these very techniques, the team grew a patch of vegetables.

Pests

“In the Agency area, so far, we have not seen a large-scale yield drop, but it is a mix of factors,” explains Tirumani. Project officer is a catch-all designation for monitoring health, education, constitutional safeguards and protections, planning and implementation, and a range of administrative duties in the region. Integrated Tribal Development Agencies were created in the 1970s and 1980s as additional institutions for delivery of public goods and services to Scheduled Tribes.

“Kerala and Karnataka see yield drops because productivity has already peaked there but here, coffee cultivation is mostly ‘uncared for’,” she explains. “The tribals [here] are not very invested in making it a high-yielding crop. It is mostly a sustenance mode of farming.”

But climate change has led to an increase in incidence of pests, she explains. While the coffee berry borer has been a prominent pest in the Niligris and other coffee plantations in the last 20-30 years, Araku and Koraput areas had never seen this, she adds.

“And 2025 is the first year where we've been affected with coffee berry borer.” Other borers like the white stem borer, which were prevalent in small numbers, are also seeing an increase. “The reproduction rate and fertility of these pests increases in warmer and humid conditions,” she explains.

The coffee berry borer was suspected to have entered Araku because of movement of plant material by Naandi Foundation. Hegde said they do not re-use jute bags. Each bag in their warehouse is tagged with a QR code that enables them, he says, to track as far back as individual farmers. And they have submitted this evidence to the district authorities.

Income gap

Sundaramma has been growing coffee for about 25 years now. On her three acres in Gondivalasa, she got 1,600 kg of cherry this harvest, which converts to about 530 kg of parchment. She sold some in the open market at Rs 270 per kg, while to Naandi, she sold cherries at Rs 70 per kg, which gives her an effective price of Rs 420 per kg of parchment.

They also have fruit trees such as lemon, jamun, guava, custard apple, and ramphal (red custard apple), etc. In all, she made Rs 1.7 lakh from coffee. She estimates that they spent about Rs 30,000 on labour.

“The remaining money we end up spending in one day – on children’s fees, on the health of cattle, etc,” she says. The family has a debt of Rs 1 lakh, taken for children’s education. “The debt has been increasing,” she explains.

Sundaramma’s elder son is preparing for entrance exams for banking sector jobs, a daughter is preparing for teacher recruitment, and another son is pursuing his bachelor’s degree. Sundaramma and her husband are both illiterate, and were engaged in podu cultivation earlier.

“It would help if the government helps us with farming implements and shade trees,” Sundaramma says.

Buridi Samba is 35 and grows coffee on just under an acre of land. Last year, he earned about Rs 1 lakh, including about Rs 15,000 just from lemon.

“Over 72,000 people make a net profit of over Rs 1 lakh [annually], even from the tiniest portion of land,” Kumar says. “Now, in many families, the father and son have separate plots. And so we have double lakhpatis.”

As of 2022-’23, the Paderu Agency area had about 218,000 coffee farmers cultivating about 227,000 acres, the Girijan Cooperative Corporation data show. Put together, they grew about 71,000 tonnes of fruit that year – that is, on average, 313 kg per acre. Of this, about 3,500 tonnes (5%) had been procured from 2,200 farmers (1%). Procurement is yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, data show.

Naandi procured 2,000 tonnes of fruit of the highest quality, Kumar says. “We've been increasing the price every single year. Only then will I get that quality.”

IndiaSpend reached out to the GCC and the district collector for latest data on procurement and number of farmers. We will update this story when we receive a response.

The divide

While people are indeed earning, which is a leg up from subsistence slash and burn farming, governments need to create markets and make the Adivasis custodians of the value chain, says Ramarao Dora, convenor of the Adivasi Joint Action Committee.

Dora is an Adivasi leader and former visual journalist. His living room is filled with memorabilia. In a room that doubles up as a study, there is a desktop computer and a printer, where he is working on pamphlets for a yatra to be undertaken later in the week. There is a large speaker, the kind you see at parties, for the protests and the meets that are routine for a leader.

“Why is the ITDA or GCC not able to create the market that became possible for a Naandi Foundation? Authorities are not taking an interest, and do not want to create a sustainable market here primarily,” he says.

“We request the government to not see adivasis as growers of coffee and pepper,” Dora says. “When we do not create the right market here, in future, there will be a monopoly or syndicates – buying whatever quantity or price they dictate.”

More people are now growing coffee and pepper in the region. “If all farmers move to coffee and pepper, in the absence of a market, the system will crash,” he explains, citing the example of farmers across the country discarding tomatoes when prices crash.

They have had this experience with turmeric and other forest produce, for which the market has disappeared. “People came from outside and made profits, but tribals do not know what is the market for it. Now, the GCC is not buying any forest produce,” he adds.

Coffee grown in these areas is of much better quality and tastes better, he says, adding that governments should create farmer organisations/societies, get them to procure, establish processing units in the region and create market systems. ITDA or similar organisations should not remain as mediators, he cautions.

Missing value addition

Lankela Visweswara Rao is 41, an IT engineer by education, having graduated just before the global financial crisis. He could have found a relatively high-paying job and led a cushy life, but chose to come back to his village and take over his father’s coffee plantations, he says. This was 20 years ago.

Rao belongs to the Bhagata community. His mother Chittamma is the sarpanch in Paderu’s Minumuluru. Today, she is handling the harvest and sale of pepper. His wife has a PhD in botany and horticulture, and teaches at the degree college in Paderu. Does she give him suggestions and tips? Rao is quick to smile. She is more academic, he explains.

Today, Rao holds eight acres, four of which he added this year. In the last harvest, he was able to make 3,600 kg of cherry, or 600 kg parchment. He is vice chairman of a farmer-producer organisation – Paderu Farmer Producer Company Limited – with 370 members. The collective markets and sells coffee and pepper together.

“We never saw temperatures over 24 degrees celsius, now we are seeing more than 30oC,” says Rao, seated in the sarpanch’s residence. Inside the office room, there’s the familiar smell of turmeric.

“Rates have been better since the past year – about Rs 400 per kg,” he says. “Earlier, we used to get, for instance, about Rs 200 per kg during Covid.” Rao earned Rs 2.5 lakh from coffee harvests, but says that his expenditure on labour has increased. They get the crop processed privately at a cost.

“In Kerala or Karnataka, where we are taken for study tours by the Coffee Board, we see that farmers there do packing, labelling and sell coffee on their own plantations,” he says. In Rao’s office are unbranded packets of turmeric and filter coffee.

“Processing units are being set up in non-tribal areas such as near Narsipatnam,” Rao says. “The government should help us market better and create value addition,” he says.

“Usually, coffee undergoes two levels of processing,” explains Tirumani, the project officer at ITDA. “The first level where it turns into parchment is very good to do at this altitude. But when hulling is done and when it is cured and roasted, it is better to be at a lower altitude. That's why it is being put up in Narsipatnam.” The government will set up two more processing units for primary processing in the region, which will be run by tribal societies, with ITDA overseeing finances, Tirumani says.

Rao’s plantation is accessible through the entrance of the Minumuluru waterfall, and he leads the way adjoining paddy fields, on the concrete enclosure of a nala. A woman is washing clothes on the way, and Rao, the sarpanch’s son, is concerned that errant tourists who seek quiet spaces in the forests for revelry will cause her nuisance. He advises her to go home soon.

The plantation is different from Raju’s in one key detail: the silver oak trees. The trouble with silver oak is that its leaves do not decompose well. So, it is practically unusable for mulching.

“This time of the year, all the leaves fall, and shade is lost. In the natural forest, there is cover 365 days a year,” he says. So, why are they sticking to silver oak? “We don’t have the heart to chop them,” he smiles.

Scaling up

The extent of land under coffee cultivation is unclear. “Currently, it is 260,000 acres, of which about 210,000 acres are active. 50,000 acres are dormant or they're not being cared for,” Tirumani says, adding that some land is not captured in the statistics because people do not report cultivation, fearing backlash.

“We are planning to take up a complete mapping through GCC and AP forest development corporation and ITDA. And we are expecting that maybe by next year's season, we'll have a complete account,” she explains.

The yield is about 300 to 500 kg per acre – about a third of the 1,500 kg in the Western Ghats, Tirumani says. And the extent of land is also smaller.

“ITDA Paderu area has been doing coffee expansion. We’re going for 100,000 additional acres. And we’re also doing rejuvenation – we are putting more coffee plantations in 75,000 acres. We are trying to make it more climate-resilient,” she adds.

Araku holds the potential to triple yields in three-four years, Tirumani says. “Our primary focus is on the upcoming 100,000 acres being developed from scratch. This will be developed in the most scientific manner and productivity can be enhanced immediately.”

Increasing yield will also depend on the farmer going to the fields regularly. That is also a reason for encouraging mixed shared plantation, she says, so that “throughout the year they have some or other reason to go to the field so that they can cater to the needs of the coffee also”.

Secondly, they are trying to streamline procurement. She points to instances of cheating such through manipulating the scales or weighing machines, or predatory lending practices.

Starting this year, the administration has registered all traders – and this registration will be mandatory for transporting produce from next year, she explains. About 80% of traders have already registered. This allows for close monitoring to avoid cheating, and helps traceability to avoid pest entry, she explained.

In addition, the government is going to build a 200-acre coffee park for experiential tourism, for which a request for proposals has been floated. “Tourists can get an entire plantation tour, and can experience cupping, roasting – giving them a holistic coffee experience,” she explains.

“Araku does not have the early mover’s advantage, but can capture specialty coffee,” she adds.

Replication question

Can Naandi Foundation’s model of farming be replicated? Delegations from Kerala and Odisha have visited about five years ago, but they end up replicating the processing, Kumar says. “The magic is not in my central processing unit or my roasting and packaging; it is what the farmer does with the farm.”

Kumar says Naandi Foundation is willing to share the recipes and probiotics for replication. They cost about Rs 2,000-3,000 per acre, about a tenth of the cost of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, he adds.

“That’s what farmers of Araku can offer to the rest of the world – a combination of biodiversity, mulching, preserving soil moisture, which can, using life science and biology, thwart the effects of climate change. “But I want to tell you there is no shortcut. It's tremendous hard work.”

Naandi Foundation is using the same agricultural practices working with farmers to grow mango in Uttar Pradesh’s Shravasti, Kumar says. Shravasti is among India’s poorest districts, as we reported earlier. They are also working in three districts in Punjab and one in Maharashtra.

In Kerala’s Wayanad, the government is developing a carbon-neutral coffee park to ensure best practices in the natural utilisation of the soil strata and measures aimed at carbon neutrality are made, says APM. Mohammed Hanish, principal secretary for industries and education in Kerala and the state’s representative on the Coffee Board.

The park also focuses on remunerative prices for farmers. With the support of academics from Europe, the government has been studying and helping farmers with climate-resilience, he adds.

Back in Gondivalasa, Hegde bought some lemon from Sundaramma’s plantation. A few hours earlier, at lunch, the restaurant 20 minutes away did not have lemons and was using essence, just as the state’s tourism department hotel served coffee from outside the valley – an indication of the distance yet to be scaled.

Karthik Madhavapeddi is Managing Editor, IndiaSpend. Over the last decade, he has led journalism projects on air pollution, crime, public health, and fact-checking, that went on to win national and international awards, including the Data Journalism Award 2019 given by the Global Editors Network. He is based in Hyderabad.

This article first appeared on IndiaSpend, a data-driven and public-interest journalism non-profit.

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United States Donald Trump claimed that Iran’s “new regime president” has asked for a ceasefire. It was not immediately clear who Trump was referring to, as the current Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has held the post since July 2024.

Trump described the Iranian president as “much less radicalised and far more intelligent than his predecessors”. However, he said the US would consider the request only once the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear”.

Trump warned that until that happens, the US was “blasting Iran into oblivion, or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages”.

However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps asserted that the Strait of Hormuz is “firmly and dominantly” under its control and “will not be opened to the enemies of this nation by the ridiculous displays of the US President”. Read on.

The price of commercial liquefied petroleum gas was increased by Rs 195.5 amid a surge in global energy prices triggered by the conflict in West Asia. In Delhi, a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 2,078.5.

The rate of domestic cooking LPG, last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2-kg cylinder on March 7, remained unchanged. It costs Rs 913 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum revise the prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel and LPG on the first day of each month based on international benchmarks and the exchange rate.

Energy supplies to India have been disrupted since the conflict in West Asia broke out on February 28, due to Iran having blocked the strategically crucially Strait of Hormuz. Read more.

The Union government limited the increase in the rate of aviation turbine fuel for domestic airlines to 25%. Foreign routes will pay for the full increase in rates consistent with what they pay globally, the petroleum ministry said.

The development came after an increase in the prices of jet fuel notified earlier in the day amid disruption of energy supplies caused by the conflict in West Asia.

The aviation turbine fuel price list published by Indian Oil, the country’s largest public sector oil marketing company, initially showed an increase of about 115% on Wednesday for some categories of flights.

Later in the day, the petroleum ministry said that while prices for domestic markets had been expected to rise by over 100%, only a “partial and staggered” increase of 25% had been implemented. Read on.

The Lok Sabha passed a bill recognising Amaravati as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress supported the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Amendment Bill, while the YSR Congress Party opposed it.

The Congress said it supports Amaravati as the permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh, but also called for the state to be given special status.

BJP MP Chief Minister Ramesh said that an earlier proposal by the YSR Congress to declare three cities as capitals was “illogical and irrational”, and that the new bill would “ensure that no one will play with the capital of Andhra Pradesh”.

The YSR Congress said that promises to those who gave up their land, such as free developed plots and a housing scheme, had not been met. It argued that the proposed law would have no meaning unless farmers’ interests were protected. Read more.

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Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey issued an unconditional public apology on Wednesday following criticism about his remarks on former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.

“Biju Babu has always been and will remain a towering statesman for us,” Dubey said on social media. “If my statement has hurt anyone’s sentiments, I unconditionally apologise.”

On March 27, Dubey had alleged that Patnaik, who was Odisha’s chief minister during the 1962 war with China, acted as a link between the United States government, the Central Intelligence Agency and Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister at the time.

Dubey also claimed that Patnaik helped the Central Intelligence Agency operate U-2 reconnaissance aircraft from Charbatia air base in Odisha, which he said hosted US military presence from 1963 to 1979.

His comments drew widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum.

Biju Patnaik’s son and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik said Dubey needed “mental [health] doctors’ attention for making such outrageous remarks”, PTI reported.

Biju Janata Dal MP Sasmit Patra resigned from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, which Dubey heads, in protest, The Wire reported.

Other MPs from the party also staged walkout in the Rajya Sabha in protest on Monday.

The BJP’s national vice president Baijayant Panda described his party colleague’s comments as “fantastical and patently ludicrous” and called attacks on Patnaik “unworthy, uninformed and totally unacceptable”.

In his apology, Dubey clarified that his remarks had been misinterpreted, particularly regarding Patnaik. He said the comments were part of his personal view on the Nehru-Gandhi family and that his “thoughts on Nehru ji were misconstrued as being about Biju Babu”.

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill recognising Amaravati as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh.

The Telugu Desam Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which are the key members of the ruling alliance in Andhra Pradesh, supported the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Amendment Bill, PTI reported. The Congress also supported the bill, but called for the state to be given special status.

The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress, the opposition in the state, opposed the bill. It argued that the proposed law would be meaningless unless farmers’ interests are protected and a clear timeline is set for giving them compensation for land acquired from them, according to PTI.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore, who initiated the debate on the bill, was quoted as saying by PTI: “Let Amaravati develop like Bangalore, Chennai or Hyderabad. Let Vishakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kurnool also develop. We support Amaravati as the permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh.”

Telugu Desam Party MP and Union minister Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani also urged the House to pass the bill unanimously, saying it would ensure a permanent capital for Andhra Pradesh.

BJP MP CM Ramesh criticised a previous proposal by the YSR Congress Party to declare three cities as capitals of Andhra Pradesh, calling it “illogical and irrational”, PTI reported. The previous Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government had in 2020 proposed making Vishakhapatnam as the executive capital, Amaravati as the legislative capital and Kurnool as the judicial capital.

“This bill will ensure that no one will play with the capital of Andhra Pradesh,” Ramesh said on Wednesday, according to PTI. “We want a permanent capital for Andhra Pradesh and then there will be revenue and the state will flourish.”

However, the YSR Congress Party’s PV Midhun Reddy said that the state government had acquired 34,000 acres of land for making Amaravati the capital. He said that the government had promised those who gave up their land, free developed plots, a housing scheme and free education for children, but alleged that nothing had been given to them yet, according to PTI.

“They are not bothered about farmers,” Reddy was quoted as saying by the news agency. “Give a specific date, a specific timeline – when the plots will be given to the farmers. Incorporate all these points in the bill, otherwise there is no meaning.”

Also read: They gave up farmland for new Andhra capital. Now they are crippled with uncertainty

The Delhi High Court recently criticised actor Richa Chadha, a journalist and several media platforms for amplifying unverified allegations of sexual misconduct against a man who was travelling on an IndiGo flight on March 11, Live Law reported on Wednesday.

Justice Vikas Mahajan observed that such actions amounted to “digital vigilantism” and public shaming that could cause “incalculable harm” to the petitioner’s reputation.

On March 11, a woman journalist travelling on a Delhi to Mumbai IndiGo flight, accused a co-passenger of inappropriately touching her. Shortly after landing, she posted the allegations on social media, disclosing the man’s identity, photograph and professional details.

The post was widely shared and picked up by several media outlets, while Chadha reposted it with the remark “make him famous”.

However, the man has denied the allegations, claiming that he had remained seated throughout the flight and was asleep prior to landing. He subsequently filed a defamation suit before the High Court, Bar and Bench reported.

The court observed that the endorsing and amplifying of unverified allegations, especially by a public figure, went beyond the realm of free expression.

The court said a public figure bears a legal and moral responsibility to verify facts before amplifying serious accusations.

It also took note that Chadha had deleted the post and said it expected her not to aggravate the matter further.

The court further criticised the journalist for posting the allegations on social media before filing a first information report, describing it as an “overhasty public disclosure” that appeared to sensationalise the issue, and subject the man to a “trial by public opinion” rather than pursuing legal remedies, Live Law reported.

It held that revealing the identity and photograph of the accused before the commencement of a formal investigation prima facie violated his “fundamental right to live with dignity and have fair trial”.

The court also directed media organisations to remove the allegedly defamatory content and restrained the defendants from publishing similar material until the next hearing, Bar and Bench reported.

Sugar-free products that contain sugar. ‘Natural’ fruit juices made of artificial ingredients. Energy drinks with hazardous compositions. Unproven remedies claiming to control diabetes. Health drinks for children loaded with excess sugar.

These products have one thing in common: their advertisements were flagged as misleading by India’s food safety regulator. And almost none of them were ever acted upon.

Scroll has accessed the food safety regulator’s internal database of 170 advertisements identified as deceptive and likely in violation of the law. Our analysis reveals a serious failure of enforcement at a moment when ultra-processed foods high in sugar and fat are fuelling a rapid rise in chronic diseases across the country, threatening your health and that of millions of other Indians.

This is India’s first systematic investigation into food advertising regulation.

Help us take it from the database to the ground.

Fund this investigation by clicking here.

Three men allegedly publicly molested and attempted to rape a 20-year-old woman in Bihar’s Nalanda district, The New Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

The offence, which took place on March 26, came to light after a video recorded by one of the suspects was widely shared on social media on Tuesday.

Two of the men accused in the matter – Ashok Yadav and Matlu Mahto alias Navneet Kumar Narottam – have been arrested. The third man, Ravikant Kumar, is absconding, The New Indian Express reported.

The station house officer at the Noorsarai police station in the Nalanda district told the newspaper that the woman was molested on the evening of March 26 when she was on her way to a grocery shop. She lives in the village with her in-laws, while her husband works in Maharashtra.

In her complaint, filed a day after the incident, the woman alleged that the men dragged her on the road, groped her and attempted to rape her, India Today reported.

They also tore her clothes and filmed the incident, she alleged.

Following the complaint, the police registered a first information report under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to molestation, outraging the modesty of a woman, attempt to rape and intimidating the victim. The accused also face charges under provisions of the Information Technology Act.

A Special Investigation Team has been formed to probe the case.

The Union government on Wednesday limited the increase in the price of aviation turbine fuel for domestic airlines to 25%.

This came after an increase in the prices of jet fuel notified earlier in the day amid disruption of energy supplies caused by the conflict in West Asia.

The aviation turbine fuel price list published by Indian Oil, the country’s largest public sector oil marketing company, initially showed an increase of about 115% on Wednesday for some categories of flights, CNBC-TV18 reported.

Shortly after the initial reporting about the spike in the rates, the petroleum ministry said that while the prices of aviation turbine fuel for the domestic markets had been expected to increase by more than 100%, amid the “extraordinary situation” in the global energy market, “only a partial and staggered increase of 25% (only Rs 15/litre) to the airlines” had been implemented.

The cap will insulate the domestic travel costs from the substantial increase in international prices, the ministry said. The decision was taken by state-owned oil marketing companies in consultation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, it added.

“Foreign routes will pay for the full increase in ATF prices consistent with what they pay in other parts of the world,” the statement added.

State-owned Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum revise the prices of aviation turbine fuel and liquefied petroleum gas on the first day of every month based on international benchmarks and the exchange rate.

With the revised rates, jet fuel in Delhi will cost Rs 1.04 lakh per kilolitre instead of Rs 96,638 in March. In Mumbai, the price will increase to Rs 98,247 from Rs 90,451, according to Indian Oil’s listing.

Aviation turbine fuel prices vary across the country because of differences in levies charged by the states.

ATF prices in India were deregulated in 2001 and are revised on monthly basis based on a formula of international benchmarks. Due to the closure of Strait of Hormuz and extraordinary situation in global energy markets, price of ATF for domestic markets was expected to increase by…

— Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas #MoPNG (@PetroleumMin) April 1, 2026

The price cap announced on Wednesday came as energy supplies to India have been disrupted since the conflict in West Asia broke out on February 28.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

Global oil prices have increased significantly because of the disruptions. On Wednesday, the benchmark Brent crude was trading at $105 per barrel. It was at $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.

The conflict in West Asia began after Israel and the United States launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

A group of retired civil servants and former diplomats on Tuesday expressed concerns about a recent order issued by Assam’s special chief secretary for environment deploying about 1,600 personnel of the state’s forest protection force for duties related to the upcoming Assembly elections.

Citing a March 26 report by NorthEast Now about the deployment, the former bureaucrats said in an open letter to the state administration that the decision to depute Assam Forest Protection Force personnel for polling duty directly contravened legal and administrative norms.

The order was issued on March 19, according to the news portal.

Assam will hold the elections on April 9 and the votes will be counted on May 4. The state administration has been reporting to the Election Commission since the Model Code of Conduct took effect on March 15.

The guidelines of the Election Commission state that territorial forest forces and serving forest officials, including senior officers of the Indian Forest Service, are not to be requisitioned or deployed for duties relating to elections, said the Constitutional Conduct Group.

“These instructions [of the poll panel] are designed to ensure that critical ecological protection and forest governance functions are not put at risk during elections,” it said, adding that the group was “alarmed to find that the guidelines have been violated” by senior officials of the state government.

The deployment of the Assam Forest Protection Force personnel is “particularly alarming given the need to protect Assam’s globally significant wildlife, and its endangered species”.

Constant vigilance by trained forest protection forces is critical to prevent poaching and habitat encroachments in protected areas such as the Kaziranga National Park, the group added.

“Other important wildlife such as elephants and tigers will also be left unprotected, and at the mercy of poachers, if the forest field staff is deployed for election duties,” the former bureaucrats said. “Diverting such a large number of AFPF personnel at this time will inevitably weaken on-ground protection mechanisms and increase the vulnerability of precious wildlife to organised wildlife crime.”

They added that the Supreme Court had in 2024 recognised the specialised and essential character of forest-related work, and had “categorically exempted forest officials and forest department vehicles” from being deployed for election duties.

“Any administrative action inconsistent with this directive is a serious violation of the Supreme Court’s directions and exposes the state government to potential judicial scrutiny for non-compliance with binding orders,” the group said, adding that it sets a troubling precedent that “disregards both statutory safeguards and institutional integrity”.

The retired bureaucrats urged the state’s chief secretary to withdraw the order.

The 40 signatories to the letter include Punjab’s former Director General of Police Julio Ribeiro, Delhi’s former Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, former Indian ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhaya, and former Indian Administrative Service officer and activist Harsh Mander.

The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday said that an “above-normal” number of heatwave days are likely in parts of eastern, central, northwestern and southeast peninsula India between April and June this year.

In a monthly forecast, the weather department added that maximum temperatures are likely to be “normal to below normal” in the remaining regions of the country.

“During the season, above-normal minimum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country except some regions of Maharashtra and Telangana where normal to below normal minimum temperatures are likely,” it added.

The department also noted that the monthly maximum temperatures in April are likely to be normal to below normal in several areas.

However, above-normal maximum temperatures are expected in several parts of eastern and northeastern India, and some areas of northwestern India and the southern peninsula, it added.

The India Meteorological Department further said that above-normal monthly minimum temperatures are most likely in most parts of India, except for some isolated pockets in the southern peninsula, where normal minimum temperatures are expected in April.

“During April 2026, above-normal heatwave days are likely over many parts of coastal areas of Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh and isolated regions of Gujarat Maharashtra and Karnataka,” it added.

The weather department further said that the rainfall in April, averaged over the country as a whole, is most likely to be above normal, exceeding 112% of the long period average.

The long period average is the measure of the mean rainfall during the four-month monsoon season over the last 50 years.

“Normal to above-normal rainfall is likely over most parts of the country except northeast India,” the press release said. “Below-normal rainfall is expected over many parts of northeastern India.”

Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the India Meteorological Department, said that western disturbances are expected to continue affecting several parts of the country in April, The Indian Express reported.

“In addition, thunderstorms, above-average rainfall and the prevalence of cloudy sky conditions will keep the maximum temperatures range between normal and below this summer season,” Mohapatra added.

Also read: India’s summer forecast is a warning that extreme heat can affect democracy

Central trade unions have called for a national strike on April 1 demanding that the four labour codes passed in November be repealed. Worker unions and worker rights organisations have raised concerns about how the new labour codes, which are likely to come into effect in April, will further dilute their rights. In the midst of this struggle are the broader ramifications of the US-Israel war on Iran, which have affected workers all over India.

The life and death battle being waged by workers in industry and corporations in Haryana’s Panipat illustrates what is at stake for basic labour rights and dignity.

Workers at the Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s Panipat Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, the largest public sector undertaking in the country, have been protesting since late February.

On February 24, two workers of the Indian Oil Corporation died in an industrial accident, say news reports. As they lay bleeding, fighting to stay alive, the management allegedly took some time calling an ambulance to take them to a hospital. The third worker survived but his leg was amputated.

Angered by this perceived indifference, but also years of injustice, around 30,000 to 40,000 workers went on strike on February 26.

In a report, the portal Counterview said that jammers blocking internet access have stopped images and information about the strike from spreading beyond the refinery gates. The police were deployed at the refinery where they lathicharged some workers and Central Industrial Security Force personnel fired into the air after violence during the protests, according to The Hindu.

Counterview said a fact-finding team noted that a first information report had been registered against 2,500 unidentified workers, but no proceedings have been initiated against the management or contractors for the negligence that caused the accident.

The Indian Oil refinery at Panipat has been operational since 1998 and currently employs over 50,000 workers across various units, said the Counterview report. It is among the largest integrated refineries in South Asia but nearly all workers are on contractual arrangements even though their work is essential and continuous.

Workers told reporters that they work for 12 hours a day but are paid for eight hours and given just two days of leave a month. The new labour codes, rather than address such shortcomings, make the Contract Labour Act infructuous. Corporations and undertakings can now employ workers on a fixed term employment basis, which makes contract labour legal

While the war continues in West Asia, workers in India suffer.

Panipat’s textile industry is grappling with a slowdown since the US-Israel war on Iran. Local industry officials told Apparel Resources India the latest conflict has disrupted orders in the pipeline and slowed down new orders.

Panipat’s home furnishing exports amounted to $927 million in 2021, with the US accounting for one of its biggest markets, followed by European countries, said the report by Apparel Resources India. Israel imports textiles worth $59.9 million-$83.8 million each year from Panipat, and though trading with Iran is limited, regional disturbances have caused logistical issues. US tariffs, the report noted, had already complicated matters, reducing business and leading to losses.

But what was not was that the closure of 300 textile factories have left at least 35,000 workers without jobs – most of them are migrant workers who have returned home to their villages, as pointed out by a report in Financial World. The report said that the shortage of gas supply has affected operations in the industrial sectors of Panipat, Rohtak and Ambala.

The current government has often resisted people fighting for their rights and instead emphasised the importance of duty. Here, it is important to remember that one of the fundamental duties is to uphold the ideals of the Indian Constitution.

Those ideals are also in the Directive Principles of State Policy, which say it is the duty of the government to ensure that workers have just and humane conditions of work and with living wages. On April 1, workers and farmers will come out in all their strength and voice their demands, assert their rights just to survive.

Nandita Haksar is the author of How Robots Stole Our Jobs: Struggles of Suzuki Workers in the age of AI (Aakar, 2026).

The price of commercial liquefied petroleum gas was increased by Rs 195.5 on Wednesday amid a surge in global energy prices triggered by the conflict in West Asia, PTI reported.

In Delhi, a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder is now priced at Rs 2,078.5.

The rates were last increased by Rs 114.5 per 19-kg cylinder on March 1, the news agency reported.

The rate of domestic cooking LPG, last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2-kg cylinder on March 7, remained unchanged. It costs Rs 913 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, PTI reported.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum revise the prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel and LPG on the first day of every month based on international benchmarks and the exchange rate.

Energy supplies to India have been disrupted since the conflict in West Asia broke out on February 28. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global petroleum liquids supply passes, for most commercial ships.

This has affected LPG supplies in India. The country imports about 60% of its LPG demand, most of it from Gulf countries.

Global oil prices have also increased significantly since the disruptions. On Wednesday, the benchmark Brent crude fell to $105 per barrel from what was about $115 a day earlier. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.

The Union government has been appealing to consumers to switch to piped natural gas if it is available in their areas, so as to take some pressure off LPG supplies. It has also offered additional commercial LPG allocation to states if they undertake measures to ease the expansion of the PNG network.

On Sunday, the Union government made an ad hoc allocation of Public Distribution System kerosene to states and Union Territories for household use as a 60-day emergency measure to ease pressure on LPG. The kerosene can be used for cooking and lighting needs.

The allocation includes the 21 states and Union Territories that had previously been declared Public Distribution System Superior Kerosene Oil-free.

The conflict in West Asia began after Israel and the United States launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Also read:

• Why the LPG crisis is reviving pandemic fears among migrant workers
• India’s push for clean cooking fuel goes up in smoke

These days, A Shaji is only able to speak to her husband for a few minutes at a time. Each time he calls, she asks him to try and call her again the following day. But even as she does, she knows that it will be at least two days before she hears from him.

Shaji’s husband Ravi Kumar is one of around 600 Indian fishermen stuck in Iran, unable to return because of the ongoing war. Most are from Kanyakumari, in Tamil Nadu, while some are from neighbouring districts such as Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram.

Kumar is currently living with 12 other fishermen in a rented accommodation – he has been working in Iran for five years. He is the only one in the group with a SIM card. Shaji explained that since the war started, the fishermen have been facing troubles with the WiFi connection in their home, and have been unable to make WhatsApp calls from their own phones.

“All the 12 use the same SIM card to call their families and let them know how they are,” Shaji said. “The calls also depend on whether he can recharge, and how much money they have to do that.”

The uncertainty about when the war will end has left Shaji feeling scared and anxious. “Sometimes, the newspapers say it is ending soon, sometimes they say it will go on for long,” she said.

Struggle to access food and medicine

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on several locations in Iran – the country’s “Supreme Leader” Ali Hosseini Khamenei was killed on the very first day of the strikes. Since then, the war has raged on, and its effects have been felt across the world: it has led to an energy crisis and an economic slowdown, and has severely affected global supply chains.

According to India’s ministry of external affairs, 1,043 Indian nationals, including 717 students, have been brought back from Iran to India.

However, Shaji said she has seen “no attempts from the government to bring back the fishermen” from Tamil Nadu. Father John Churchil, a priest and the general secretary of the South Asian Fishermen Fraternity, echoed this observation. “The government had shown little concern for the fishermen” so far, he noted.

“About 450 fishermen who are stuck in Iran are from Kanyakumari,” Churchil said. “Many of them are stuck on their boats. Even if their area is attacked, they have nowhere to run.”

He added, “The sea is not a safe place for them to reside either during the day or night. They should at least have a place where they can reside when a war is raging on.”

Churchil noted that many of the fishermen are struggling to find food and medical supplies. “They don't have food in the boat because the employers provide them with rations only when they go fishing,” he said.

Better earnings

Fishermen from Kanyakumari have travelled to Gulf countries in search of a livelihood for a few decades now. While they worked in countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia through most of these years, fishermen who have worked in Iran said that they had begun migrating there as well more recently, in the last decade or so.

“When people from Kerala and Tamil Nadu started to find jobs in the Gulf, they noticed that not much fishing happened there,” Churchil said. “They told people there that fishermen from Kanyakumari were experts in deep sea fishing.”

He added, “People there were not as skilled at it as our people were, so employers chose to hire people from Kanyakumari.”

Sahaya Ansel, a 38-year-old fisherman, began working as a fisherman in Saudi Arabia in 2011 after a friend told him about job opportunities in the country. After this, he worked for a brief stint in Bahrain, and in 2016 moved to Iran.

Ansel has been in Kanyakumari for the last three months – he was supposed to return to Iran on March 3, but cancelled his plans after the violence escalated. While Ansel sympathises with his colleagues who are stuck in Iran, he hopes to return there for work after the war ends. He explained that this is because he cannot make a comparable income in Kanyakumari.

In Iran, fishermen typically go on fishing trips that last between eight and ten days, he explained, for which they can earn as much as Rs 50,000. “In India, we cannot even imagine making that much in ten days,” he said.

In the three months he has been in India, he has only managed to earn a total of Rs 20,000 from his fishing trips. “In these three months, I could have managed to earn at least a lakh in Iran,” he said.

Churchil explained that a key reason for the fishermen’s higher earnings is because in Iran, they fish in smaller water bodies that yield better catches. By contrast, in India, they have to travel far to fish, and typically land smaller catches – even those have been dwindling in recent decades. He added that fish is also sold for much higher prices in Iran than in India.

When Cyril Raj first set foot in Dubai in 2013, he assumed that most men he saw were priests because they wore white robes, known as the thwab. “That’s how little I knew about the countries in the Middle East,” he said.

But Raj quickly learnt about the local culture and customs – between 2016 and 2023, he worked in Iran and found it rewarding. “In Iran, we are able to catch a lot of fish,” he said. “There is no limit in these countries for how much and how long we can fish.”

Raj explained that in India, fishermen usually own their boats and have to bear the expenses of their maintenance, and also have to share the profits with others who work on the boat with them. By contrast, in Gulf countries, employers typically own the boats and manage associated costs.

“In the Gulf countries, they get paid once every two or three months and so, since it is a large sum, they have the ability to invest as well,” Raj said.

Better opportunities, work conditions

In India, the fishermen also struggled with poor infrastructure. Churchil explained that though one-third of the population in Kanyakumari were fishermen, there were only four harbours, three run by the government and one a private harbour. “These aren’t sufficient for the number of fishermen here,” he said.

The fishermen’s opportunities in India were also hurt by a shift away from traditional fishing. “The government is more focused on aquaculture and not on actual fishing,” Churchil said. “So nobody is helping the fishermen.”

Ansel also explained that working conditions in general were superior in Iran. In India, “nobody cares what happens when we go off to sea”, he said. “If someone falls sick while at sea, nobody cares.” In Iran, however, “when someone on our boat fell sick, a helicopter was arranged immediately, the navy came and ensured he got help”.

The fisherman said that he didn’t feel too homesick because his colleagues almost always hailed from Kanyakumari or the surrounding districts. “We are always together, while fishing and when we weren’t, so we didn’t feel lonely,” he said.

Still vulnerable to exploitation

But despite the many advantages that fishermen enjoy while working in Gulf countries, Churchil noted, the lack of a support system does leave them vulnerable to exploitation. “Whenever our people have problems, it is not possible for them to go and approach the labour department of that government or our Indian embassy in that particular country,” he said. “It’s because most of their passports will be held by the employer.”

He explained that the fishermen were experiencing this problem acutely in the current scenario of the war. “I held a discussion with an employer regarding the safety of the fishermen, and he said, when he himself is not safe, he won’t be able to provide any support to the fishermen,” he said.

Churchil also noted that many of the fishermen are unable to communicate their needs because they do not speak local languages, such as Persian. He said that it was essential that the Indian government “post a Tamil-speaking person there to address all their needs”.

But, Churchil said, support had not been forthcoming from Indian state or central authorities. “We have voted in Congress MPs but none of them are also showing interest,” the activist said. “The Tamil Nadu elections are coming up. Does the Tamil Nadu government not want everyone to participate in the elections? They also don’t seem to be bothered.”

Anxious families

As strikes continue, Mary Raj is desperate to help her 20-year old son return home. Raj, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym, said her son had made desperate calls to his family asking them to arrange for his return.

“He lives on the boat and he called us and said that he was unable to sleep at night because of the bombs, and that they were running out of food,” she said. “He asked us to somehow bring him back home.”

The family is making every effort they can to help her son return. “We borrowed money and pawned our jewels, at this point we are ready to do anything to bring him back,” she said. “He’s my eldest son, and he’s been without any food or proper shelter.”

Eventually, the family managed to arrange Rs 1.5 lakh to cover his travel. “It is a lot of money for us,” Raj said, adding that they did not have a choice but to raise the funds because they had not received any communication or support from the government.

“I just want him to somehow find a way back home safely,” she said. “No matter how much it costs to travel, I want him to find a way back.”

Churchil said that some fishermen who can afford it are making a two-day trip to Armenia and then finding a way back to India. “It will take six days,” Raj said.

The recent experiences have been harrowing enough to some to outweigh the economic advantages of working in Iran. Shaji, for instance, is certain that she will not let her husband return to the country even after the war ends.

“It doesn’t matter how much he gets paid, we can manage here, I don’t want him to go back,” she said.

The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested a cleric from Bihar for allegedly making objectionable remarks about the mother of Chief Minister Adityanath, The Times of India reported on Tuesday.

Two cases were registered against the cleric, Maulana Abdullah Salim, in Uttar Pradesh. One of the first information reports was filed on March 7 in Balrampur based on a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party chief of the district Ravi Mishra, PTI reported.

Salim allegedly made the remarks about Adityanath’s mother on May 5, 2024, during a social reform and educational awareness conference in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, The Times of India reported. The remarks later surfaced on social media, leading to legal action in Uttar Pradesh.

Mishra claimed that the cleric had also tried to incite Muslims against the law prohibiting cow slaughter, PTI reported. The complaint said that the remarks angered BJP members and Hindus and threatened to disturb social harmony.

Salim has been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace and public mischief, the news agency quoted Superintendent of Police Vikas Kumar as saying.

After his arrest, the cleric admitted that he had made the remarks and apologised for them.

“During the conference, some inappropriate and offensive words came out of my mouth which should not have been spoken,” The Times of India quoted the cleric as saying in a video statement recorded after his detention. “I fold my hands and sincerely apologise for my actions.”

After being brought to Uttar Pradesh, Salim was produced before a local court, which remanded him to judicial custody. He is in a jail in Bahraich.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party was trying to illegally include voters from outside the state in its electoral rolls.

Banerjee alleged that the BJP was doing so by getting thousands of persons from outside the state to file fraudulent Form 6 applications. Through these forms citizens can seek to have their names included in the electoral rolls of a constituency.

“This is an attempt at voter hijacking, the same dirty game BJP successfully played in Maharashtra and Delhi,” the Trinamool Congress chief alleged in a social media post.

Banerjee said she had received credible reports that large numbers of Form 6 applications were submitted by BJP agents in several districts. She alleged that these were not routine applications but a “mischievous ploy to include non-residents in the electoral roll”.

“Such actions, if true, would be illegal, unconstitutional and fundamentally undemocratic, reflecting mala fide intent and ill motive,” the chief minister said in the letter to Kumar. “This is not the standard expected of a constitutional authority.”

Banerjee noted that when the Election Commission published the final electoral roll for West Bengal on February 28, about 60 lakh voters were marked as “doubtful and pending”. These cases were listed as under adjudication, she added.

She claimed that while this adjudication is still in process, the state’s chief electoral officer has “reportedly received nearly 30,000 applications” under Form 6.

“We reasonably apprehend that all these applications under Form 6 would be allowed by the Election Commission without giving appropriate notice in the concerned booths and to all political parties,” the Trinamool Congress chief said.

I have written to the Chief Election Commissioner, raising serious alarm over the grave conspiracy being orchestrated against the democratic rights of the people of Bengal.

BJP agents have been caught red-handed flooding the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal… pic.twitter.com/QYZrj7RqST

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 31, 2026

Banerjee reiterated her concerns at an election rally at Garbeta in Paschim Medinipur district on Tuesday.

“If the BJP tries to squeeze in illegal outstation voters in Bengal’s electoral rolls, then people will resist,” PTI quoted her as saying. “They will not get a single vote of the people of Bengal because they know the saffron party has implemented this trick in states like Bihar and Maharashtra and got away with it because the opposition failed to understand the ploy.”

The chief minister said she did not expect the chief election commissioner to respond to her letter, since “the poll body is shameless in its actions”, PTI reported.

Later in the day, the Trinamool Congress said it has filed a police complaint seeking an investigation into “the illegal mass submission” of applications for inclusion in voters rolls by BJP workers, ANI reported.

The West Bengal Assembly election will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The results will be announced on May 4.

Will probe allegations of bogus voter enrollment: West Bengal CEO

West Bengal Chief Election Commissioner Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Tuesday said that he would examine the closed-circuit television camera footage from his office after the Trinamool Congress alleged that a representative of a BJP leader had submitted a large number of Form 6 applications there to enrol residents of other states as voters, PTI reported.

Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that “about 30,000 Form 6s were submitted to the CEO’s office in six to seven hours today, in clear violation of Supreme Court directives”, the news agency reported.

BJP has perfected the dirty art of voter roll tampering. They did the warm-up in Delhi and Maharashtra. Now they are playing the real match in Bengal.

In Maharashtra, 43,84,814 voters were added in 5 years, and another 40,81,229 were added in just 5 months. In Delhi: 4,16,648… pic.twitter.com/ivRTEt5p6S

— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 31, 2026

Agarwal said that the Election Commission was taking the complaints seriously and would look into the matter.

“I will see where the agency has installed CCTV… I will check what is in the footage and then consider the matter further,” he was quoted as telling a local TV channel.

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The Calcutta High Court dismissed a public interest litigation against the Election Commission’s decision to transfer several officers in poll-bound West Bengal. The court held that it found no evidence of mala fide intent in the orders.

The reshuffles were ordered after the schedule for the Assembly elections was announced on March 15. It included the transfer of the chief secretary, the home secretary and the director general of police, along with several other Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers.

A bench observed that courts cannot interfere with or sit in appeal over the administrative decisions of the poll panel “unless clear arbitrariness, mala fide or violation of statutory provisions is established”. Read on.

At least nine persons were killed and several others injured in a stampede at the Sheetla Mata temple in Bihar’s Nalanda district on Tuesday. Most of those who died are reported to be women.

Nalanda Superintendent of Police Bharat Soni said there was a massive crowd at the temple and that the police had no information that there would be such a rush. Residents complained that there were inadequate crowd control arrangements at the site. The district administration has closed the temple to deal with the situation.

The station house officer of the Deep Nagar police station has been suspended. Read on.

Strikes have hit an Iranian desalination plant on the Strait of Hormuz, rendering it inoperable. The desalination plant is located on the Qeshm island, located in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

It was not immediately clear when the strikes took place. However, reports of the strikes came a day after United States President Donald Trump said that the US military would “obliterate” all of Iran’s electricity plants, oil wells, the Kharg island and “possibly all” desalinisation plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Tehran.

On Tuesday, Trump urged countries that did not support the US-Israeli strikes on Iran to buy American oil and go to the Strait of Hormuz to “just take it”. He singled out Britain and France for being unhelpful in the war in Iran. Read more.

A complaint has been registered against Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane for alleged hate speech at a procession for the Hindu festival of Ram Navami in Mumbai’s Malvani area. A resident filed the complaint at the Malvani police station on Friday, alleging that a speech the Bharatiya Janata Party leader made in the area a day earlier was “provocative, inflammatory and hurtful to Muslims”.

Videos on social media show Rane addressing the Ram Navami procession on Thursday, saying that anyone who looked at the saffron flag with ill intent would have their eyes gouged out and that he would “play marbles” with them.

Rane’s remarks came against the backdrop of tensions after members of the Hindu community attempted to hoist a saffron flag near a mosque in the area. This had allegedly led to a clash on Wednesday night. A video of the clash was widely circulated on social media. Read on.

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In the streets of Bhalaswa, a neighbourhood in north-west Delhi, Rama is known as “cylinder wali madam”. For years, she has facilitated liquefied petroleum gas connections for low-income residents, persuading them to put away their wood and coal-fired stoves and helping them secure subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a government scheme to promote the use of LPG.

For the last two weeks, however, she’s had to watch her efforts come undone as delays hit LPG supplies, triggered by the Israel-Iran conflict thousands of kilometres away.

“The irony is, despite my nickname, I am struggling to secure an LPG cylinder myself,” Rama, a social worker, told Mongabay-India. To manage existing stocks, the government introduced a 25-day booking gap for cylinders in urban areas and 45 days in rural ones.

A panicked surge in demand for cylinders has delayed disbursements to households, particularly in Delhi, Goa, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where 15,000 cylinders were seized after being stockpiled.

In the weeks since US and Israeli forces struck Iran, choking India’s LPG supply, firewood has replaced gas connections in certain restaurants, hostels, and households. Nearly 60% of India’s domestic LPG consumption is imported, 90% of which comes from West Asia.

Chandni, a 32-year-old mother of four from Bhalaswa, and a recipient of the Ujjwala Yojana subsidy, enjoyed an uninterrupted gas supply for a year and a half till a month ago. When her refill never came, she returned to a fuel source that proved – in her opinion – more steady and reliable than LPG: firewood. “I’m tired of running from here to there for gas. To what lengths should I go to get my cylinder refilled when I have four children to take care of?” she asked.

The prices of firewood have doubled in Delhi, costing Rs 20 a kilo compared to Rs 10 before, she said. “Before using LPG, we would stock 30-40 kg of firewood for the week. Since this shortage began, we neither have gas, nor enough firewood. Cylinders are selling for double the price in the black market. Each source of fuel has become more expensive, and we’re scrambling to buy enough wood to get by,” Chandni said.

Bottlenecks in supply

The reach and scale of India’s domestic LPG network is what makes the current scenario challenging. India has around 332 million active domestic LPG connections, of which 104 million are under the Ujjwala Yojana . Most connections are in urban areas, where the impacts of the ongoing crisis are being felt disproportionately.

On March 17, the government put out a statement saying no dry-outs had been reported in LPG distributorships in the country. Two tankers carrying 92,712 million tonnes of LPG – one day’s supply – successfully docked in India after crossing the Strait of Hormuz, but 22 other vessels continue to be stranded in the Persian Gulf.

Even though India has ramped up its LPG production by 38%, the output of this effort is unlikely to bridge the gap. “The yield of LPG from crude processing is relatively low, typically around 1%-4% of crude processed. This means that refineries cannot simply increase LPG output without also increasing production of petrol and diesel. And while India is a net exporter of petroleum products overall, refineries are optimised for a fixed product mix, so processing more crude does not allow India to selectively produce more LPG,” explained Sunil Mani, Policy Advisor at IISD.

Commercial establishments are absorbing the initial shock of the supply crunch. But among urban households, it’s Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries like Chandni that are most vulnerable to falling through the cracks.

Even within Delhi, it’s in the lower-income neighbourhoods like Paharganj where stocks of firewood are flying off the shelves. “In the eight years I’ve worked in this shop, I’ve never seen such a sudden demand for firewood,” said Subhash, a worker at the Giridhar Mal Tara Chand, a small firewood supplier.

In the upscale Lodhi colony, sales haven’t surged as Neelam Maini, a firewood shopkeeper, had hoped. “People must be using electric stoves to get by,” she said.

Keep the stove running

Studies have shown that expanding LPG networks have led to multiple co-benefits, including improved health outcomes for women. In Jharkhand, the adoption of LPG among rural households correlated with higher green cover from 2016 to 2020, suggesting the Ujjwala Yojana had a noticeable effect in promoting “responsible ecosystem stewardship.”

“Unfortunately, it’s the poorest communities who will find it easiest to move back to chulha and firewood, even though it is no longer a behaviour or demand issue,” said Neha Saigal, a consultant with Asar Social Impact Advisors. “If this situation sustains, supply to rural areas, where last-mile delivery was always a problem, may be further weakened. Affordability could price out LPG users in urban areas,” she added.

Around 49% of the population depends on firewood as their primary source of fuel. According to the Forest Survey of India, 85.29 million tonnes of fuel wood are estimated to be removed from the recorded forest areas of the country annually, with the highest quantities reported from Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan.

The Commission for Air Quality Management removed curbs on burning firewood and coal in the National Capital Region as a temporary measure, till LPG supplies are restored.

Shahir Ali, a wholesale firewood supplier from Bhopal, said he’d observed a greater demand for firewood from newer groups of customers – like hostels struggling to feed hundreds of students. “I source my supplies from the Madhya Pradesh forest department’s depot. The situation has left everybody frustrated, and I’m struggling to transport my wood to customers on time.”

Karnataka’s forest minister Eshwar Khandre, on the other hand, issued a stern warning to forest circles within the state instructing them to intensify patrolling to prevent illegal tree cutting in light of the ongoing LPG shortage.

Not all states and regions share this experience, however. “So far as the forest department is concerned, we haven’t experienced any change in the demand or supply for firewood. Auctions are taking place as they were,” said Sanjeev Gaur, Maharashtra’s PCCF for production and management.

In Odisha too, Prem Kumar, an IFS officer and managing director of the Odisha Forest Development Corporation, said there was no increase in demand for firewood, and declined to comment further.

Diversifying sources

Both Mani and Saigal agree that the disruption in LPG supply is an opportunity to invest in alternative sources of domestic fuel. “The most viable pathway is a gradual but decisive shift toward electric cooking, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas where grid infrastructure is relatively stronger,” said Mani.

As of 2021, only 5% of Indian households relied on electric cooking devices, mostly to supplement LPG use.

According to IISD’s report on clean cooking, households from of Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand which switched to biogas reported a 70% decrease in firewood usage. Biogas is produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste. They also reported minimal maintenance challenges and found biogas to be as efficient as LPG, with an identical cooking time.

For both electric cookers and biogas plants to take off, considerable support is needed from the government in terms of subsidies and awareness.

“Diversification does not mean replacing LPG or PNG overnight. It means building a more balanced and shock-resistant cooking energy ecosystem that protects low-income households, supports fiscal stability, and strengthens India’s long-term energy security in an increasingly uncertain global environment,” added Mani.

This article was first published on Mongabay.

Tennis player Leander Paes joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday at the party headquarters in New Delhi, ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.

After his induction, the BJP’s West Bengal unit said on social media: “From global courts to national commitment, another voice backs the call for poriborton [change] in West Bengal.”

After joining the Hindutva party, Paes said that he viewed the decision as an opportunity to serve the nation and contribute to the development of young people, particularly through sports, PTI reported.

Paes was earlier with the Trinamool Congress, having joined the party in 2021 ahead of the Goa Assembly elections.

On Tuesday, the Trinamool Congress said that the BJP had “parachuted” another “bohiragoto”, or outsider, into the state with Paes’ induction into the party.

VIDEO | Delhi: Tennis legend Leander Paes joins BJP.

He says, "I want to thank PM Modi, Amit Shah ji and Nitin Nabin. The way BJP family has nurtured me and given me the opportunity. Kiren Rijiju is someone whom I consider my hero and look up to. We have a big opportunity to… pic.twitter.com/mhqi9jWs7v

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 31, 2026

Born in Kolkata in 1973, Paes is one of India’s most accomplished tennis players, with 18 Grand Slam titles across men’s and mixed doubles and a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

He has also received several honours, including the Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2024.

The West Bengal Assembly election will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The results will be announced on May 4.

Strikes have hit an Iranian desalination plant in the Strait of Hormuz, rendering it out of service, AFP quoted local media as saying on Tuesday. It was not immediately when the strikes took place.

On Monday, United States President Donald Trump said that the US military will “obliterate” all of Iran’s electricity plants, oil wells, the Kharg island and “possibly all” desalinisation plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Tehran.

Trump reiterated that Washington was in “serious discussions with a new, and more reasonable, regime” to end the US’ military attacks on Iran.

Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

• A desalination plant on Iran’s Qeshm Island, located in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, was targeted by strikes, the ISNA news agency quoted a health ministry official, Mohsen Farhadi, as saying. He added that the facility is now completely out of service and cannot be repaired in the short term. 
• Trump on Tuesday urged countries that did not support the US-Israeli strikes on Iran to buy American oil and go to the Strait of Hormuz to “just take it”. Trump singled out Britain and France as unhelpful in the month-long war, which has roiled global markets, driven up energy prices and seen Iran effectively close oil tanker traffic through the Strait, Reuters reported. He also criticised France for not allowing planes carrying military supplies to Israel to fly over its territory.
• On Tuesday, Italy refused to allow a United States military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily before flying onwards to West Asia, Reuters quoted an unidentified source as saying. The permission was denied as the US had not sought authorisation and the Italian military leadership had not been consulted, the news agency quoted the newspaper Corriere della Sera as saying.
• The report came a day after Spain closed its airspace to US planes involved in the war in West Asia. Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles on Monday described the conflict as “profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust”, AP reported. The US, Spain and Italy are all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a defence alliance in which countries cooperate on security and military operations.
• The authorities in Dubai said on Tuesday that they have contained a fire onboard a Kuwaiti oil tanker at the city’s port. The vessel had caught fire after it was struck by a drone on Monday. All 24 crew members are safe, it said. While Al Jazeera quoted the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation as having warned that the incident could lead to an oil spill, the Dubai authorities said that there had been no leakage.
• An Iranian parliamentary commission has approved plans to impose tolls on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, AFP quoted the state media as having reported on Monday.
• The plan involves “financial arrangements and rial toll systems” and “implementing the sovereign role of Iran”, and cooperation with Oman on the other side of the strait, AFP quoted the state TV as having reported. It also prohibits US and Israeli vessels “from passing through”, as well as a ban on other countries that have imposed sanctions on Iran.
• India on Monday condemned the attacks on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon. New Delhi urged all parties to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers deployed under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. It added that India had piloted the UN Security Council resolution 2,589 in 2021, which seeks accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.
• The benchmark Brent crude was trading at $114 per barrel on Tuesday. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.
• The average retail ​price of gasoline in the US crossed the $4 per gallon-mark for the first time in more than three years on Monday amid supply disruption caused by the conflict, Reuters reported citing data from price tracking service GasBuddy. Having increased more than a dollar since the war began, the current price point is a psychological barrier for consumers, Reuters quoted analysts as saying. One gallon is 3.7 litres.
• Asia faces the gravest impact of the war in West Asia and is grappling with a major energy crisis, the head of a global maritime analytics firm told AFP. Jean Maynier, president of analytics firm Kpler, said that the continent does not have sufficient energy resources of its own to cover the shortfall.“It will not be enough in China, it will not be enough to cover in big countries like the Philippines or Indonesia,” AFP quoted Maynier as saying. “So it’s a real energy crisis.”

The conflict

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Tehran has also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Also read: Why the US military force won’t open the Strait of Hormuz

A complaint has been filed against Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitesh Rane for alleged hate speech at a procession for the Hindu festival of Ram Navami in Mumbai’s Malvani area, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.

A resident, Shanul Syed, filed the complaint at the Malvani police station on Friday, alleging that a speech Rane delivered in the area a day earlier was “provocative, inflammatory and hurtful to Muslims”.

Videos on social media show Rane addressing the Ram Navami procession on Thursday, saying that anyone who looked at the saffron flag with ill intent would have their eyes gouged out and that he would “play marbles” with them, the newspaper reported.

Rane’s remarks came against the backdrop of tensions after members of the Hindu community attempted to hoist a saffron flag near a mosque in the area. This had allegedly led to a clash on Wednesday night. A video of the clash was widely circulated on social media.

During his speech on Ram Navami, the BJP leader also said that “some people might have forgotten that this is a Hindu Rashtra [Hindu nation]”, Siasat Daily reported.

He added: “This is not anyone’s father’s Pakistan.”

Maharashtra BJP MLA Nitesh Rane made objectionable comments during the grand Ramnavami procession in Mumbai, where he issued a direct threat, stating he would "gouge out the eyes" of anyone who looked at the religion with ill intent.

"Maybe some people might have forgotten that… pic.twitter.com/PFIMTFpFyd

— The Siasat Daily (@TheSiasatDaily) March 27, 2026

The BJP leader has repeatedly made inflammatory statements targeting Muslims.

In November, Rane had demanded that non-Hindus should not be allowed to set up shops at the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Nashik

In July, Rane claimed that the Opposition should ask Muslims to teach Marathi in madrasas and recite the azaan in the language instead of Urdu, adding that “otherwise, all you get from there is a gun”. The azaan, the Muslim call to prayer, is traditionally recited in Arabic, not Urdu.

In June, the BJP leader stirred a controversy after he asked why environmentalists and animal rights activists were not appealing for Bakri Eid to be celebrated “virtually”. Rane claimed that activists “selectively” and only targeted Hindu festivals like Holi and Diwali.

Bakri Eid, also known as Eid-al-Adha, is a Muslim festival that commemorates the spirit of sacrifice. The festival entails the slaughtering of livestock.

At the time, Maharashtra Minority Commission chairperson Pyare Khan had claimed that Rane was making remarks by quoting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ name, which was “not right”. He accused the minister of sowing divisions and targeting Indian Muslims in the name of Pakistan.

In April 2025, Khan had accused Rane of repeatedly engaging in hate speech. His comments came after Rane allegedly urged Hindus to inquire about the religion of shopkeepers before making purchases.

In his complaint on Friday, Syed also referred to previous cases filed against Rane for similar remarks, noting that multiple FIRs had been registered against him in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in recent years.

Of the 12 FIRs registered in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, five were filed in 2024 alone, including two at the Malvani police station, the Hindustan Times reported.

At least nine persons were killed and several others injured in a stampede at the Sheetla Mata temple in Bihar’s Nalanda district on Tuesday, The Hindu quoted Nalanda District Magistrate Kundan Kumar as saying. Most of those who died are reported to be women.

Nalanda Superintendent of Police Bharat Soni said there was a massive crowd at the temple and that the police had no information that there would be such a rush, ANI reported.

Tuesdays typically draw large crowds to the temple in Maghra village, the Hindustan Times reported.

Soni added that hot weather also contributed to the stampede, ANI reported.

“When women were entering the temple premises after taking a holy dip in cold water, they started collapsing due to dehydration and suffocation,” ANI quoted him as saying. “This led to the unfortunate incident.”

The locals complained that there were inadequate crowd control arrangements at the site.

The district administration has closed the temple to manage the situation, The Hindu reported. The state’s chief secretary has been directed to initiate an inquiry, and a Special Investigation Team has been constituted to examine the circumstances leading to the stampede, the newspaper reported.

The station house officer of the Deep Nagar police station has been suspended, the newspaper quoted Soni as saying.

The bodies of those who died have been taken to Bihar Sharif Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examinations, The Times of India reported. Among the deceased identified so far are Rita Devi, Kanti Devi, Rekha Devi, Revanti Febi, Malo Devi and Kinta Devi.

The Bihar government has announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 6 lakh to the families of the deceased, while the Prime Minister’s Office announced Rs 2 lakh for each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

BJP president Nitin Nabin said that if the alliance comes to power, it will provide one free cylinder each during the festivals of Onam and Christmas to poor families. The announcement comes amid LPG shortages in several parts of the country due to the war in West Asia.

At an event in Thiruvananthapuram, Nabin also promised a high-speed rail network connecting the state capital with Kannur and 20,000 litres of free water for every household, PTI reported.

On the Mullaperiyar dam, the BJP said it would ensure “water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala”. The 130-year-old dam has been a point of contention between the two states, with Kerala saying that the dam suffers from structural problems, and Tamil Nadu saying that it is essential for irrigation and drinking water supply to several districts in the state.

The NDA manifesto also said that all women from below poverty line households will be given a Bhakshya Arogya Suraksha Card with a monthly recharge of Rs 2,500, PTI reported. The card will be meant for use at pharmacies and grocery stores.

The manifesto also promised a welfare pension of Rs 3,000 per month to women heads of poor households, widows and senior citizens above 70 years, PTI reported.

Assembly elections in Kerala will take place in a single phase on April 9, and the results will be announced on May 4. The BJP has allied with the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, Kerala Kamaraj Congress, Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy (Thamarakshan faction) and the Twenty20 party for the election.

The NDA will take on the ruling Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front, the main opposition alliance.

The Union government on Monday issued a proposal to send takedown notices to independent news creators for their content on platforms under a draft amendment to the 2021 Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules.

The draft amendments permit the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to recommend issuing blocking orders and requiring creators to apologise or make changes to the content if they are found guilty of grievances received by an inter-departmental committee.

They also expand the role of the inter-departmental committee tasked with overseeing the implementation of the rules, empowering it to scrutinise content even without a complaint and to deal with matters referred to it by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Additionally, the draft amendments note that any advisories to social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and X by the ministry would, if not complied with, affect their safe harbour provision under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.

Removing the status would mean that the platforms would be liable for the content in question.

The proposal seeks to mandate compliance by intermediaries with ministry-issued clarifications, advisories, directions, standard operating procedures, codes of practice and guidelines, as part of due diligence under Section 79.

The fresh proposal came as part of a batch of changes to Part III of the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, which governed professional media organisations till now.

The draft amendments are open for public consultations till April 14.

The proposal seeks to empower the ministry to issue blocking orders to news content posted by users not defined as publishers, and also to intermediaries such as social media companies.

An unidentified government official told The Indian Express that “in effect, the government now can ask companies for information regarding a news creator on their platform and send them blocking orders directly, if these rules are finalised in the current version”.

The official added that the draft amendments clarify this legal position.

Advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation on Monday said that the proposed amendments “signal a decisive turn toward executive-led content control, with profound implications for digital rights, platform liability and democratic accountability”.

It described the proposals as a “massive expansion of unconstitutional censorship and regulatory power”.

Urging the Union government to withdraw the draft amendments, the foundation said that it creates a “sweeping power for the ministry to issue binding instruments that are not anchored in law” such as clarifications, advisories, directions, standard operating procedures, codes of practice and guidelines that intermediaries must comply with as a condition of safe harbour.

“These are not anchored to the rule-making powers of the IT Act, 2000, and provide uncanalised power to MEITY [Ministry of Information and Broadcasting] despite it stating otherwise,” the foundation said.

The advocacy group also expressed concerns about the amendment allowing the inter-departmental committee to scrutinise content even without complaints.

The committee will comprise representatives from the ministries of information and broadcasting, women and child development, law, home affairs, electronics and information technology, external affairs and defence, among others.

The advocacy group said that the committee, which was earlier limited to a three-tier complaint process, “now operates as a free-standing censorship committee that can take up ‘matters’ referred by the executive”.

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation against the Election Commission’s decision to transfer several officers in poll-bound West Bengal, saying that it found no evidence of mala fide intent in the orders, Live Law reported.

The reshuffles were ordered after the schedule for the Assembly elections was announced on March 15. It included the transfer of the chief secretary, the home secretary and the director general of police, along with several other Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers.

A bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen on Tuesday said that there was no evidence of an administrative paralysis after the orders, adding that the replacements had been appointed and that similar or larger reshuffles had taken place in other states where polls are being held, Live Law reported.

The petition had argued that the large-scale reshuffles in West Bengal would disrupt the functioning of the state administration. The petitioner added that the decision amounted to an arbitrary and punitive use of power under Article 324 of the Constitution, Bar and Bench reported.

Article 324 gives the superintendence, direction and control of elections to the Election Commission.

The petitioner also contended that the move undermined principles of federalism.

Dismissing the petition, the court noted that the petitioner had acknowledged the poll panel’s authority to transfer officers to ensure free and fair elections.

The court observed that the admission “leaves no room for any doubt” that the petitioner cannot challenge the Election Commission’s jurisdiction.

It added that courts cannot interfere with or sit in appeal over the administrative decisions of the poll panel “unless clear arbitrariness, mala fide or violation of statutory provisions is established”, Live Law reported.

Addressing concerns that the transfers would paralyse the administration, the court noted that each transferred officer had been replaced, and therefore no administrative vacuum had been created.

“It cannot be said that administrative numb has been created and government will paralyse,” the bench held.

Reiterating that transfers are an incident of service, the court said that individual officers remain free to challenge their transfer orders separately.

In the transfer orders issued on March 16, the Election Commission had directed its immediate implementation and said that those transferred out of their positions should not be posted in any election-related assignment till the completion of the polls.

The orders had triggered a row, with Trinamool Congress MPs walking out of the Rajya Sabha.

The Assembly elections will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29 in the state. The votes will be counted on May 4.

The 2026 Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Amendment Bill risks turning the right to gender identity for transgender persons into an entitlement decided by the state, Bar and Bench quoted the Rajasthan High Court as having observed on Monday.

The bill was cleared by Parliament on March 25 after a motion to refer the proposed legislation to a select parliamentary committee was rejected. It received the presidential assent on Monday.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 13, the legislation will amend the 2019 Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act by redefining who qualifies as a transgender person.

It removes transgender persons’ right to a self-perceived gender identity and limits the scope of the law to those with certain biological or physiological characteristics, intersex variations, or specific socio-cultural identities such as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta.

In the High Court on Monday, a bench of Justices Arun Monga and Yogendra Kumar Purohit noted that the right to self-perceived gender identity guaranteed under the 2019 Act has been taken away by the amendment, Live Law reported.

The amendment “marks a departure from that said constitutional baseline”, the legal news portal quoted Monga as saying. “It is now proposed that legal recognition of gender identity shall be conditioned upon certification, scrutiny or other forms of administrative endorsement,” he added.

The judge observed: “What was recognised by the Supreme Court as an inviolable aspect of personhood now risks being reduced to a contingent, state-mediated entitlement.”

The High Court was hearing a petition filed by a transgender person against a 2023 notification issued by the Rajasthan government declaring transgender persons as Other Backward Class without providing them any separate reservations, Bar and Bench reported.

The petition noted the lack of reservations for transgender persons in educational institutions and government jobs.

The High Court directed the state government to form a committee to identify the extent of marginalisation suffered by transgender persons and to recommend measures, Live Law reported.

The state government was also asked to provide an additional 3% weightage in marks to transgender persons in matters of selection and appointment to state government posts, as well as in admissions to educational institutions.

The bench said that their verdict was based on the foundational premise articulated by the Supreme Court in the 2014 National Legal Services Authority versus Union of India matter that the right to self-identity of gender was an intrinsic aspect of dignity, autonomy and personal liberty under Article 14, Article 15, Article 16 and Article 21 of the Constitution.

While Article 14 guarantees equality before the law, Article 15 prohibits discrimination against citizens on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or the place of birth. Article 16 pertains to equality of opportunity in public employment and Article 21 guarantees the right to protection of life and personal liberty.

“Bottomline being, selfhood is not a matter of concession, it is a matter of right,” Bar and Bench quoted Monga as saying in the judgement.

The new amendment cleared by Parliament takes away this right, the High Court observed.

The bench added that the state has to ensure that the policy, evolved after the court’s directions, preserves the principle of self-identification to the fullest extent possible, while being within the contours of the amended law.

Any policy framework by the state should strive to preserve constitutional guarantees by extending reservations and should have a harmonising approach, the bench said.

“Any framework, be it legislative or executive, the rule of law demands that such measures must withstand scrutiny not merely of legality, but of constitutional conscience,” Live Law quoted the bench as saying. “…The true measure lies in the tangible dismantling of systemic marginalisation that transgender persons continue to endure.”

Provisions of the amendment

The new legislation passed on March 25 will make medical evaluation and certification mandatory for legal gender recognition. It underlines that the authority to permit such transitions is vested in medical professionals operating under a medical board.

The bill also introduces graded punishments based on the severity of offences, increasing the maximum penalty to up to 14 years from what was two years under the 2019 law.

It further specifies that those who have been “compelled” to assume, adopt or outwardly present a transgender identity under “undue influence” will not be covered under the law.

It emphasises that the law is intended to protect a defined class of persons facing “extreme and oppressive” discrimination and not all “persons with various gender identities, self-perceived sex/gender identities or gender fluidities”.

During the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, Opposition members raised concerns that the bill undermines the right to self-identification recognised by the Supreme Court in the 2014 NALSA case.

The judgement had formally created the “third gender” category for transgender persons that recognised them as a socially and economically backward class.

It had issued directions to the government to ensure that the transgender community gets job quotas, admission in educational institutions, health benefits, separate public toilets and a host of other safeguards against discrimination.

Also read: The curious logic of the Transgender Persons Amendment Bill

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday moved the Delhi High Court against the acquittal of Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal in two cases filed against him for not complying with the summonses issued to him in the liquor policy case, PTI reported.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma will hear the matter on Wednesday.

On January 22, a trial court acquitted the former Delhi chief minister in the two cases filed against him for not appearing before the central agency. It held that the Enforcement Directorate had failed to prove that Kejriwal intentionally disobeyed the summonses.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2024. Till then, he had been summoned nine times by the law enforcement agency in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi government’s now-scrapped liquor excise policy.

The chief minister had skipped all nine summonses.

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the case. However, he remained in jail as he had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the same case in June 2024. He was eventually released from jail in September 2024 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the second matter.

In February, the Enforcement Directorate told the High Court that it will challenge the former chief minister’s acquittal in the cases about him not appearing before the agency after its summonses.

The liquor policy case

The Central Bureau of Investigation had alleged irregularities in the Delhi government’s liquor excise policy, which has since been scrapped. Based on the Central Bureau of Investigation case, the Enforcement Directorate also launched an investigation into allegations of money-laundering.

The policy came into effect in November 2021. It was withdrawn in July 2022 with Vinai Kumar Saxena, the Delhi lieutenant governor at the time, recommending an investigation into the alleged irregularities of the policy.

The two central agencies alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government at the time modified the liquor policy by increasing the commission for wholesalers from 5% to 12%. This allegedly facilitated the receipt of bribes from wholesalers who had a substantial market share and turnover.

The party had denied the allegations.

On February 27, a Delhi court discharged Kejriwal and 22 others accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the liquor policy case. There was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy, the Rouse Avenue Courts had ruled.

Among the other persons discharged in the case was former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manisha Sisodia and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha.

The court criticised the central agency for implicating Kejriwal without any cogent material. It said that the chargesheet had several gaps not supported by any witnesses or statements.

The bench said that it will recommend a departmental inquiry against the Central Bureau of Investigation officials who made a public servant the accused number one in the case.

However, the High Court on March 9 stayed the adverse observations made by the trial court about the Central Bureau of Investigation.

A petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation against the discharge is pending in the High Court.

India is rapidly witnessing an expansion of public policy education that teaches students such subjects as data analysis, impact assessment and policy implementation. The number of policy schools has risen from around 10 in 2016 to over 130 in 2024.

New degrees at public and private institutions, policy labs and consultancy-oriented programmes have emerged with the hope and belief that graduates of these courses will be better equipped to assist in governance.

Yet rather than broadening how public problems are understood, this expansion often reinforces the idea that policy is best approached as a technical exercise, governed by metrics, models and operational optimisation.

This matters because policy education does more than train professionals: it shapes how governance itself is imagined. When public policy is framed primarily as problem-solving rather than political judgement, questions of power, issues of law and social conflict are pushed to the margins.

Such a framing of policy took shape alongside a broader redefinition of the state and governance.

The economic reforms of 1991 reshaped not only India’s economy but its understanding of public policy development. As the country moved away from a developmental state towards market-led growth, the state has been increasingly recast as a regulator and facilitator rather than a provider and employer.

One of the clearest outcomes of this shift is the contraction of formal public sector employment. The government and public sector undertakings were among the few institutions where constitutional commitments, particularly caste-based reservations, could be enforced in a stable manner.

As privatisation, outsourcing and contractual work expanded, this diminished. By 2025, only about 6% of India’s workforce was employed in the public sector.

This indicates more than a labour market shift. It narrowed the channels through which redistribution and social justice had been pursued and reframed public policy around efficiency and performance.

At the same time, the Masters in Business Administration emerged as the emblematic degree of aspiration. Although designed for corporate management, its influence extended into public administration. As the management scholar, Henry Mintzberg warns, business schools often “train the wrong people in the wrong ways with the wrong consequences”. When managerial thinking becomes the language of public policy formation, democratic consensus recedes.

Growth without critical engagement

India now hosts more than a quarter of all public policy schools in Asia. The growth in such institutions reflects rising student demand and institutional investment.

However, the expansion has been shaped less by an engagement with India’s political and historical realities and more by global educational influences and career-oriented market logic. As a result, policy education has been strongly influenced by frameworks rooted in economics and managerial thinking, with limited attention to political theory, law, social analysis or history.

This orientation shapes what is taught – and what is neglected. Students learn to analyse schemes and measure outcomes, but are less encouraged to ask who defines the public interest or how history shapes the access of dominant castes to state resources. Policy is framed as a neutral problem-solving exercise, focusing on technical solutions while downplaying the political forces that shape outcomes.

‘Technocratic neutrality’

A core assumption in contemporary policy education is that better technical tools will produce better policy. However, this is misleading. Technical analysis is never neutral. What is measured, how categories are defined and whose experiences become visible through data are shaped by institutions, history and power. Data often reproduces existing hierarchies.

This framing also alters how policy choices are understood. Decisions about public priorities, risks and trade-offs are presented as technical outcomes rather than political options.

As a result, policy appears to rest on expertise rather than consensus, narrowing democratic scrutiny and privileging dominant interests.

For policy graduates, short-term internships offer only fleeting exposure to lived realities, leaving deeper questions of power and inequality largely unaddressed.

No power analysis

When policy is taught as a neutral science detached from history and power, it produces practitioners fluent in technical solutions but poorly equipped to engage with the foundational ideas of public action.

Most policy curricula remain thinly grounded in political and social theory, constitutional law or history. Graduates are comfortable with data but less prepared to interrogate who sets priorities or why certain voices are marginalised. Terms such as “equity” and “justice” circulate widely, often without the analytical grounding needed to give them substance.

Stripped of context, they risk becoming rhetorical placeholders rather than tools for understanding inequality. What is reproduced is a view of policy as technocratic governance rather than contestation and of inequality as a managerial problem rather than a political and social condition.

This has concrete implications. India’s major policy challenges, from agrarian distress and healthcare inequity to educational exclusion and environmental justice, are embedded in political and socio-economic structures that cannot be understood through analytics platforms and indicators alone.

India’s public policy education is shaped by the managerial logic of liberalisation. As technical expertise displaces deliberative judgement and neutrality masks political choice, the space for democratic disagreement narrows. What is ultimately at stake is how policy-making is imagined and whose knowledge is allowed to shape it.

Vivek ND teaches Political Science in the School of Law, Vidyashilp University, Bengaluru.

The spokesperson of Iran’s Foreign Minister on Monday said that Pakistan’s forums on the West Asia conflict were its own and that Tehran was not involved in them.

“Regional calls to end war are welcome, but remember who started it!” the statement said.

It added that Iran has held no “direct talks” with the United States and had only received “excessive, unreasonable demands via intermediaries”.

Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

• The statement came a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey in Islamabad “for consultations on efforts aimed at de-escalation in the region”. Following the meeting, Dar said Pakistan would be “honoured to host and facilitate meaningful talks” between the US and Iran in the coming days for a “comprehensive and lasting settlement” of the conflict.
• Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, Reuters quoted Defence Minister Margarita Robles as saying on Monday.  “We do not authorise either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran,” the news agency quoted Robles as saying. 
• Spain and the US are both members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a defence alliance in which countries cooperate on security and military operations. Monday’s announcement goes a step further than Spain’s earlier decision to deny the US the use of jointly-operated military bases.
• An Indian citizen was killed in an Iranian missile attack on an electricity power station and a water distillation plant in Kuwait, the country’s government said on Monday. With this incident on Sunday, eight Indians have been killed in the conflict in West Asia so far.
• United States President Donald Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that he wants to “take the oil in Iran” and could seize the country’s export hub of Kharg Island. “To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” he was quoted as having said. The comments came as thousands of US soldiers reached the region over the weekend.
• Trump said that Washington’s indirect talks with Iran through Pakistani “emissaries” was progressing well, the Financial Times reported. He has set an April 6 deadline for Tehran to accept a deal to end the conflict or face US strikes on its energy infrastructure.
• The US president also claimed that there had already been a “regime change” in Tehran as the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other senior officials had been killed when the war started and in subsequent attacks. “The people we’re dealing with are a totally different group of people . . . [They] are very professional,” Trump told the Financial Times.
• On Monday, Trump said that the US military had “taken out” and destroyed “many long sought targets” in Iran, adding that it was a “big day” in the conflict.
• While responding to a reporter’s question about whether Iran had responded to his 15-point ceasefire plan, Trump said on Sunday: “Yeah... They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn’t they?...And just to prove that they’re serious, they gave us all of these [oil] boats.”
• It is unclear which ships Iran was referring to. On Friday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had said on social media that Iran has agreed to allow 20 more Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and that “two ships will cross the strait daily”. This announcement had been reposted by Trump on social media platform Truth Social. 
• The Indian government on Sunday made an ad hoc allocation of Public Distribution System kerosene to states and Union Territories for household use as a 60-day emergency measure to ease pressure on liquefied petroleum gas. The kerosene can be used for cooking and lighting needs. The allocation includes the 21 states and Union Territories that had previously been declared Public Distribution System Superior Kerosene Oil-free.
• The benchmark Brent crude was trading at $115 per barrel on Monday. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.
• Major Asian stock indices also continued their fall on Monday. The Indian stock market had fallen about 1.5% as of 11 am. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1%, South Korea’s Kospi had fallen 2.9% and Japan’s Nikkei 3.2%. The China’s Shanghai Composite had risen 0.09% after opening the session in the negative.
• More than 6,000 persons have been injured in Israel since the war started, the country’s health ministry said on Monday.

The conflict

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Tehran has also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Comedian Pulkit Mani’s video mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for how he interacts with foreign dignitaries had notched 16 million views on Instagram when it was taken down by the platform in mid-March on the orders of the government. Two days later, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee reposted it with a short introduction.

“If you praise Modi, they [the government] will get your films shown on big screens,” he said in the video, which has since been viewed over 36 million times. “But if you show Modi’s reality, even through comedy, they will not let your videos stay on social media.”

In recent weeks, there has been a proliferation of memes, videos and cartoons poking fun at the prime minister, particularly his overtly personalised approach to foreign policy, even as the government has taken down hundreds of social media posts and disabled the accounts of several users for sharing satirical content against it.

Some of the takedown notices have been issued under the Information Technology Act of 2000. Since they do not always specify reasons and give users time to respond before their post is taken down, legal experts have criticised them for being arbitrary.

The use of humour to target the prime minister isn’t just limited to comedians, cartoonists, content creators and journalists. As the ongoing conflict in West Asia has led to a shortage of cooking gas cylinders in India, the Opposition has also latched onto satire.

Youth Congress workers across the Hindi belt hit the streets with pipes and stoves to supposedly harness gas from sewers this month. They claimed to be inspired by a 2018 speech that Modi had made in which he had praised a tea-seller for developing such a technology.

In its online campaigns too, the Congress party has relied on humour, with Supriya Shrinate, its social media chief, claiming that nine AI-generated videos uploaded from Congress accounts had been arbitrarily removed from social media platforms.

“The more posts that this government deletes, the more convinced I am that we are getting under their skin,” Shrinate said.

Puncturing the ‘Vishwaguru’ narrative

The rise in humour targeting Modi’s foreign policy is easily explained by the war in West Asia, argued journalist G Sampath, who has been writing a satirical column for The Hindu since 2017. His most recent piece about India’s foreign policy and Modi’s “strategic use of hugs, medals, photo-ops” elicited considerable attention on social media.

The conflict in West Asia was, in his assessment, making many Indians, who believed that the country’s global stature had risen under Modi, question the “Vishwaguru” narrative.

“Is it really true if India is such an influential power?” he asked. “Are we getting what we want? Are we able to leverage our global stature to get the Indian people what they need at this time?”

Questions such as these were leading to what Sampath called “cognitive dissonance” for many people whose assumptions about India’s standing in the world have been seriously challenged of late.

Satirist Sunil, who goes by the name of Rofl Gandhi on social media and has had several of his posts taken down before, agreed.

“Satire about foreign policy hurts them [the government] so much because this is the one intangible thing for which the poor give them credit,” he said. “If the same poor people start questioning them about the increase in gas prices, they will have nothing left to show.”

Shrinate from the Congress party contended that this reckoning began last May in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims about stopping the war between India and Pakistan put Modi on the spot, she added.

Subsequently, the 50% tariffs imposed on India by the Trump administration further punched holes in the prime minister’s image. “The strongman with a 56-inch chest was not able to do anything,” Shrinate said.

The final straw, Opposition leaders say, was the way the Modi government handled the situation in West Asia. The prime minister visited Israel two days before the country launched strikes on Iran. His opponents contended that this reduced India’s leverage with Iran, making it harder to secure safe passage for Indian ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, causing widespread disruption in gas supply.

“His [Modi’s] foreign policy is all about himself. He goes to countries where he gets medals,” said Shrinate from the Congress. She was referring to the prime minister’s address to the Knesset, the Israeli legislature, last month. Modi became the first recipient of a medal from the speaker of the Knesset during his visit.

Sanjay Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP from the Aam Aadmi Party who took part in street protests making fun of Modi’s gas-from-sewer claim, reasoned that the Opposition had to resort to such gimmicks because the government had stopped listening to it.

“In Parliament, I personally submitted four notices for a discussion on the war in Iran, but they were not accepted,” Singh added. “So what do we do? We have to expose how the government is misleading people.”

Déjà vu?

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson RP Singh acknowledged that on social media his party appeared to be on the backfoot. However, he expressed confidence that things would get better once the gas supply improved. “Already, our ships have started coming in [from the Strait of Hormuz],” he pointed out.

Asked about the censorship of satirical content, Singh insisted that only factually incorrect information meant to “create panic” had been taken down by the government. He said that while the Opposition had the democratic right to communicate its point of view in whatever way it liked, its messaging on the subject of foreign policy had not been effective in the past.

In 2018, the Congress party had mocked the prime minister for “hugplomacy” – his supposed preference for hugging foreign dignitaries to establish familiarity. The criticism did not stick then and Modi came back to power with a bigger mandate in 2019.

But Seema Chishti, editor of The Wire, which had one of its satirical videos on the prime minister taken down in recent weeks, argued that the ground had shifted since then. Drawing an analogy with floods, she said the consequences of Modi’s foreign policy were now becoming apparent to more Indians.

“Earlier, it was the flooding experts who were telling you why it was wrong,” she said. “But now, I can see water trickling in from under my front door so I know it is flooded.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday told the Lok Sabha that India has effectively become free of Maoist violence.

He said the Union government had set March 31 as the deadline to eliminate Maoism and claimed that the target had been achieved.

Shah added that he would inform the country formally after reviewing the situation.

The home minister said that between 2024 and March, 706 Maoists were killed in gunfights. During this period, 2,218 cadres were arrested and 4,839 surrendered, he added.

Shah also claimed that the central leadership, including politburo members, had been wiped out in Telangana, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

In the course of the Union government’s anti-Maoist offensive in 2025, key Maoist leaders like Ganesh Uike and Madvi Hidma have been killed, while others like Vikas Nagpure, alias Anant, and Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Bhupathi, have surrendered.

A report by Malini Subramaniam for Scroll on Hidma’s killing noted that in the Andhra Pradesh village closest to where he was killed, no one heard gunfire.

She had earlier reported that while many of those killed in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region in 2024 were declared by the police to be reward-carrying Maoists, several families dispute the claim. The families claim that the persons killed were civilians.

Civil liberties groups and Opposition parties have also questioned some of these killings, alleging that they constitute “fake encounters”.

Also Read: House numbers, drones, family registers: Bastar villages under web of surveillance

A recent report by the Auditor General of Canada has found that countries with a high risk of fraudulent student visa applications usually have low approval rates, with India being an “important exception”, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

The March 18 audit noted that India’s share of new study permits had fallen sharply to 8.1% by September from 51.6% in 2023.

However, approval rates under the Student Direct Stream, a fast-track programme for countries including India, rose to 98% in 2024 from 61% in 2022.

This was despite internal warnings that the scheme was being targeted by non-genuine applicants. The fast-track feature of the programme was withdrawn by the end of 2024.

The audit on the International Student Program reforms found that “almost all approved applications in the Student Direct Stream originated from India” between 2022 and 2024.

But, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada was slow to act on integrity concerns, including higher rates of fraudulent documents, students not actively pursuing studies and increased asylum claims.

The report also highlighted cases of fraud across applicants, noting that 800 study permits issued between 2018 and 2023 involved false or misleading documents, including claims of attending “non-existent” institutions.

Despite this, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada took limited action and 92% of these applicants were either approved or still awaiting decisions on further immigration applications, the report said.

It added that study permit extensions, which are usually reviewed less strictly, remained a risk due to the high number of existing Indian students.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said that it would apply a renewed risk assessment to extensions from former Student Direct Stream applicants and create alerts for persons of concern in future applications.

It also said that cancelling the fast-track programme was part of a broader plan to diversify Canada’s international student population and reduce over-reliance on a single country.

The report noted that while a tool to verify school acceptance letters had been implemented successfully, other integrity controls were weak.

About 1.5 lakh cases were flagged internally for potential non-compliance in 2023 and 2024, but only 4,000 were investigated due to funding limitations.

Of these, around 1,600 were closed as inconclusive after students failed to respond to immigration authorities.

Ana Gracias and Govind Shirodkar gaze out at the main source of water for agriculture in Chimbel village, North Goa.

Growing up, Shirodkar would swim in Toyyar Lake, nestled between forested hills in an area largely inhabited by Gauda Indigenous communities.

“Our ancestors settled here because of the water body,” he explains. “A canal runs into the village from the lake, carrying water for irrigation. The surrounding hills are [still] used for foraging and other traditional gathering activities.”

The hills are aquifers that feed into the lake and create natural springs in the nearby villages, including Chimbel. The lake supports local farming, recharges wells and groundwater systems in the area, acts as a flood control zone, and sustains wild bird and boar populations.

It is also a “notified wetland”, meaning its use is subject to government regulations. But controversial demarcation of its boundaries allowed construction work to begin on what would have been Goa’s tallest building, as well as a sprawling mall for local art and crafts, on one of its surrounding hills.

The structures will no longer be built following one of the state’s longest and largest peaceful public agitations in recent years – a 44-day action, which ended in early February and included a chain hunger strike. Over 1,000 locals from Chimbel were involved in the push to relocate the projects, says Gracias.

“The government ultimately decided to shift the project, keeping villagers’ sentiments in mind,” Pradip Sarmokadam tells Dialogue Earth. He is the head of nodal agency for the Goa State Wetland Authority, which is responsible for regulating wetlands.

The Toyyar Lake action is just one in a wave of recent protests against the threat of development in eco-sensitive parts of Goa. Villagers in nearby Santa Cruz have been demanding clear demarcations of a lake boundary. Meanwhile, residents of Palem-Siridao took to the streets to call for the scrapping of a regulatory amendment they say could enable the development of swathes of land without robust community consultation.

Behind this rampant construction, protestors say, is the desire to accommodate more tourists, settlers and digital nomads in the area, which is famed for its beaches.

Goa’s wetlands are particularly vulnerable to this push for concretisation. The national Wetlands Rules of India’s Environment Act prohibit the conversion of wetlands and the setting up or expanding of industries.

But authorities often fail to enforce these protections. In the case of Toyyar Lake, the relevant authority set boundaries for the wetland area that were significantly smaller than those recommended by a research body.

Unclear boundaries

Across Goa, even when wetlands are notified, authorities do not clearly demarcate their boundaries, and permissions are granted for construction activities close by. But these boundaries are vital to protect the recharge zones for water supplies.

Shirodkar is chairperson of two village-level statutory bodies formed to promote conservation – Chimbel’s committees to manage biodiversity and wetlands.

Both committees were blindsided by the announcement in early 2025 of the proposed tower and mall near Toyyar Lake, he says, noting they were not consulted about the projects. In January of this year, a North Goa court ordered a halt to construction work after Shirodkar filed a petition challenging the validity of the construction permissions granted for the projects. Villagers had begun their peaceful agitation and hunger strikes a few days before the ruling.

Sarmokadam of the Goa State Wetland Authority says the land around the lake where the projects were to be built belongs to the government.

He told Dialogue Earth that, “after following due process and conducting surveys”, the proposed construction sites were determined to fall “well beyond” the 50-metre buffer zone required by Goan state law for wetlands. The buffer zone starts from a water body’s high water mark. They sit within a lake’s wider “zone of influence”, the catchment area in which development is considered likely to harm the functioning of the ecosystem.

Tahir Noronha, a Goa-based architect, planner and PhD researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, has been tracking government records of proposed and completed land conversions. He notes that Goa State Wetland Authority mapped Toyyar Lake’s zone of influence more tightly than the National Institute of Oceanography, which conducts scientific assessments of areas proposed for wetland notification. Dialogue Earth has found the difference in the zones mapped by the two organisations amounts to a 33% decrease in size.

Both mappings were undertaken before the announcement of the construction projects. Noronha points out that the wetland authority has the mandate to adopt NIO’s recommendations in full, in part, or reject them. At Toyyar Lake the discrepancy between the two maps show they were accepted in part, he says.

He adds that a large portion of the land parcel which includes the site of the two projects, was included in NIO’s zone of influence but left out of the map of the Goa State Wetland Authority. According to his assessment, the site of the mall was on the fringe of NIO’s zone of influence, making it difficult to determine with certainty whether the site was in or out of the map, he says.

Noronha says around the same time the recommendations were accepted, the land was transferred to the tourism department that proposed the projects, citing a deed of conveyance Shirodkar obtained via a Right to Information request. In October 2025, the Goa State Wetland Authority issued a clearance document, seen by Dialogue Earth, for the mall stating the site was outside the notified wetland area.

The villagers of Chimbel thought otherwise, insisting the projects were within Toyyar Lake’s zone of influence. They pushed for a new survey to be conducted in late January this year measuring the lake’s zone of influence and features like vegetation cover and sub-surface water flows. Just days after the survey was complete, the government announced the projects would be moved elsewhere.

Sarmokadam notes that under the Wetlands Rules, a zone of influence only covers part of a catchment and not its entirety. “Though activities in the catchment can influence the wetland, this can be mitigated with the right technology to prevent contamination,” he insists.

He adds that despite the wetland authority’s jurisdiction not extending beyond the 50-metre buffer, it “still imposed conditions like proper sewage and waste management, and measures such as groundwater development to offset the area being concretised”.

In North Goa, it is not just Toyyar Lake facing boundary irregularities. Villagers in nearby Santa Cruz are demanding clear demarcation of the zone of influence around the protected Bondvoll Lake before any construction is allowed.

Dialogue Earth found a 77% decrease in the size of the lake’s zone of influence in the official notification for the lake compared to the NIO’s recommendation report. Alongside the demarcation, they are seeking the suspension of construction licences issued without ecological assessment or consultation with local biodiversity management committees.

The government has instructed the Town and Country Planning Department not to permit any construction activity within a 200-metre radius of the lake until the wetland authority clarifies the official status of the zone.

Pushback has been successful in the past, with the lake being designated a wetland in 2022 after sustained public pressure.

Rezoning threat

As more people visit Goa, short holidays turn into extended stays and second homes, incentivising the construction of additional hotels, resorts, villas and residential colonies.

“The biggest crisis in Goa is rampant, indiscriminate construction, with absolutely no regard for the people who live here,” says Noronha.

Section 39A is one thing enabling this construction. This 2024 amendment to Goa’s Town and Country Planning Act allows the chief town planner to modify land-use zoning even for areas marked as not for development, with a 30-day window for public objection.

In February, hundreds of villagers in Palem-Siridao took to the streets to demand the scrapping of the amendment. They claim it is allowing the authorities to rezone over 84,000 square metres in their area as settlement land, permitting construction.

Protestors say the amendment could enable the conversion of Goan orchards, hills and even wetlands, into construction-ready land, all without sufficient community consultation.

Wetlands in Goa are actively being threatened. For instance, rezoning under Section 39A is also being proposed around Savlem and Zuari lakes, respectively a notified wetland and one being proposed for notification.

Section 39A is currently being discussed in Goa’s legislative assembly. In the meantime, the Town and Country Planning Department has reportedly offered to convert over a dozen tracts of land across Goa for settlement use. Among the proposals is an application by a construction company seeking conversion of land partly classified as orchard and natural cover, including a section marked as being not for development, reported the Times of India.

The Goan government has commemorated World Wetlands Day and participated in nationwide wetlands conservation campaigns. Yet its actions suggest different priorities.

As of May 2025, Goa had 34 notified wetlands, according to the Navhind Times, but several ecologically critical areas remain unprotected. One example is Torda Creek in the village of Salvador do Mundo, parts of which fall under CRZ-I, the highest level of protection within India’s coastal regulation framework.

Under a national tourism ministry project, this site has been proposed for development as a tourist promenade. Locals and campaigners fear such concretisation will choke mangroves, disrupt tidal flow and damage the wetland’s natural flood-control functions.

“The proposed beautification is neither sustainable nor eco-friendly,” says Anthony D’Souza, an activist pushing for official wetland notification for the creek with the group Goa Worth A Fight. He fears the project, which estimates tourist footfall in the proposed tourism area that includes Torda Creek to grow from just over 72,000 this year to 111,000 in 2029, does not account for the ecological limits of the land.

Dialogue Earth reached out to the tourism ministry on this matter but received no response.

While talking about the long-term ecological impacts of construction on wetlands in Goa, D’Souza points to the mangroves along the Panaji-Merces highway, which, he says, “have died because highway construction and related concretisation blocked the natural flow between creeks and rivers”.

Noronha notes how India’s Supreme Court compelled state governments to identify and protect wetlands. “If not for this judgment, states would not be required to identify and notify wetlands at all,” he says. “State governments do not necessarily prioritise wetland protection, but they also cannot afford to be in contempt of court.”

There are also larger interests shaping the decisions of the wetland authority, he notes. “Planning is built on assumptions, and almost any decision can be justified through a set of assumptions,” Noronha says. “It is important to view regulatory bodies through a political lens alongside power structures that shape it to understand how decisions emerge.”

Lisann Dias is an independent journalist based in Mumbai and Goa who writes about the climate, environment, development, travel and food. Her work has appeared in publications including The Hindu, The Federal, Mongabay and IndiaSpend.

This article was originally published on Dialogue Earth under the Creative Commons BY NC ND licence.

Mining group Vedanta has moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the proposed takeover of the now-insolvent Jaypee group’s assets by billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani group, Moneycontrol reported on Monday.

The case is expected to come up for hearing in the next couple of weeks, unidentified persons told the news outlet.

The plea was filed days after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal declined to grant an interim stay on the National Company Law Tribunal’s approval of Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan, the Economic Times reported.

The Committee of Creditors had approved the Adani bid, which was subsequently cleared by the National Company Law Tribunal.

The Anil Agarwal-led company, has argued that its offer for Jaiprakash Associates Limited was higher. It has also questioned the fairness and transparency of the bidding process.

On Sunday, in a social media post Agrawal said that his company was declared the highest bidder during the insolvency proceedings and was informed in writing that it had won, before the outcome was later changed.

He added that Vedanta had “no attachment” to the asset and would place the facts through due process.

This morning, I was reading Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad Gita. One thought stayed with me. “Have courage. Stay humble. Do your duty without attachment.” Life tested this.

Some years ago, Shri Jaiprakash Gaur, who built Jaypee Group, came to meet me in London. He had built an… pic.twitter.com/aEPQet0WQH

— Anil Agarwal (@AnilAgarwal_Ved) March 29, 2026

The dispute

The dispute centres on the resolution of Jaiprakash Associates Limited, which entered insolvency in June 2024 after defaulting on loans exceeding Rs 57,000 crore, Economic Times reported.

Competing bids were submitted by Vedanta and Adani Enterprises. Vedanta offered Rs 16,726 crore, higher than Adani Enterprises’ Rs 14,535 crore, Economic Times quoted submissions before the appellate tribunal as having said.

However, the Committee of Creditors approved Adani’s plan, which proposed about Rs 6,000 crore upfront and a faster repayment timeline of around two years, compared to Vedanta’s payout period of up to five years, the news outlet reported.

Moneycontrol reported that Vedanta’s initial bid was Rs 17,000 crore, including roughly Rs 4,000 crore in upfront cash, with the remaining amount payable over six years.

Creditors have maintained that under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, bids are not assessed on value alone but also on factors such as “upfront cash, execution feasibility, and payment timelines”, Economic Times reported.

They also reportedly rejected Vedanta’s revised offer, saying that it was submitted after the bidding deadline and could not be considered without restarting the process.

Jaiprakash Associates holds a significant portfolio, including real estate developments in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida and Greater Noida, infrastructure assets, cement capacity and projects such as Jaypee Greens and the Jaypee International Sports City near the Jewar airport, Economic Times reported.

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Mining company Vedanta moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the proposed takeover of the now-insolvent Jaypee Group’s assets by billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Group. The Anil Agarwal-led company has argued that its offer for Jaiprakash Associates Limited was higher, and questioned the fairness and transparency of the bidding process.

The plea was filed days after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal declined to grant an interim stay on the National Company Law Tribunal’s approval of the resolution plan submitted by Adani Enterprises. The Committee of Creditors had approved the Adani bid, which was subsequently cleared by the National Company Law Tribunal.

Vedanta chairperson Agrawal claimed that his company was declared the highest bidder during the insolvency proceedings and was informed in writing that it had won, before the outcome was later changed. Read on.

The stock market continued to slide amid concerns surrounding the conflict in West Asia and surging energy prices. The benchmark Sensex fell more than 1,600 points, or 2.2%, while the Nifty dropped over 480 points, or 2.1%, at the close.

The value of the Indian rupee improved marginally in early trade after the Reserve Bank of India tightened restrictions on onshore position limits, amid weeks of foreign funds outflow and falling stocks. However, it sank to 94.8 against the United States dollar by the time the session ended, matching the record low it had fallen to on Friday.

The benchmark Brent crude was trading at nearly $115 per barrel. Read on.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned as a member of the state’s Legislative Council after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. Monday was the last day for Kumar to resign as an MLC as he was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16 for the first time.

His current Legislative Council term, the fourth consecutive one, was to end in 2030. Kumar remains the chief minister for now as Article 164(4) of the Constitution permits a person to hold the office for up to six months without being a member of the state legislature.

It has been speculated that he would step down as the chief minister after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. However, it is unclear who will replace him and when. Read on.

As Nitish Kumar quits as Bihar chief minister, what will happen to his politics of social justice, writes Ashwani Kumar

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Pakistan’s forums on the West Asia conflict were its own and that Tehran was not involved. “Regional calls to end war are welcome, but remember who started it!” the statement said.

It added that Iran has had no direct talks with the United States, receiving only “excessive, unreasonable demands via intermediaries”. The remarks came a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey in Islamabad to discuss de-escalation in the region. Read on.

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The Congress on Sunday announced five guarantees for poll-bound Assam, including a promise of “justice for singer Zubeen Garg within 100 days” if voted to power.

Addressing a rally in Naoboicha in Lakhimpur district, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress would investigate who “murdered” the Assamese singer and present the findings within the specified time, The Hindu reported.

Garg died on September 19 during a yacht trip in Singapore, a day before he was scheduled to perform at the North East India Festival there.

On Wednesday, a Singapore coroner’s inquiry ruled that the singer died of accidental drowning.

However, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has repeatedly claimed that the singer’s death was not accidental but was a murder.

Seven persons in India have been arrested in connection with the singer’s death. A Special Investigation Team filed a chargesheet on December 12, accusing four of the seven persons of murder.

On January 14, the authorities in the southeast Asian country said that Garg was “severely intoxicated” and had refused to wear a life jacket when he drowned while swimming in September.

On Wednesday, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said that there was no reason to disagree with the Police Coast Guard’s conclusion after analysing the evidence before him.

In addition to investigating Garg’s death, the Congress on Monday also said that it would provide an “unconditional monthly cash transfer” to women to start or expand businesses.

It announced Rs 25 lakh in cashless health cover for families and a monthly pension of Rs 1,250 for senior citizens.

The Congress also promised land rights for 10 lakh tribal persons, including converting certain land holdings into permanent ownership.

The polls are scheduled to take place in a single phase on April 9. Votes will be counted on May 4 alongside those in West Bengal, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

Also read:

Why musician Zubeen Garg’s death has unleashed a storm of anger in Assam

The stock market continued its slide on Monday amid concerns surrounding the conflict in West Asia and surging energy prices.

The benchmark Sensex fell more than 1,600 points, or 2.2%, while the Nifty dropped over 480 points, or 2.1%, at the close.

Stock markets had begun to slide on March 2 after the conflict began.

The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the market, spiked over 4% on Monday.

Major Asian stock indices also continued their fall on Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.8%, South Korea’s Kospi had fallen 2.9% and Japan’s Nikkei 2.7%. The China’s Shanghai Composite recovered 0.27% by the end of the day after opening the session in the negative.

Rupee slides

The value of the Indian rupee improved marginally on Monday after the Reserve Bank of India tightened restrictions on onshore ​position limits, amid weeks of foreign funds outflow and falling stocks.

The Indian currency was trading at 94.8 against the United States dollar at 6 pm on Monday, matching the record low it had hit at the close of trading on Friday.

On Friday, the Indian central bank directed banks ‌to limit their net open rupee positions in the foreign exchange market at $100 million by the end of each business day, Reuters reported.

Global energy prices

Global oil prices have increased by more than 50% since the conflict began.

The benchmark Brent crude was trading at nearly $115 per barrel on Monday. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.

The US WTI crude was trading at $101 per barrel. The price was $67 per barrel on February 27.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz for most international commercial vessels since the conflict began. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

Follow top updates from the conflict in West Asia here.

Couples in live-in relationships who consider their partnership a “stable union” will be treated as married during Census 2027, according to a response to one of the frequently asked questions published on the self-enumeration portal.

The self-enumeration portal has been opened for persons opting to submit their Census details on their own, instead of providing the information to an enumerator during a household visit. It will be used in both phases of the exercise: the Houselisting and Housing Census and the Population Enumeration.

The first phase, scheduled to begin on Wednesday, involves collecting data about housing conditions and household assets, such as the structure of the house, access to basic and modern amenities, types of vehicles owned, among others.

It will also record the number of persons residing in the household and details of the head of the household, including name, gender, whether they belong to the Scheduled Caste, the Scheduled Tribe or other communities and ownership status.

The second phase, expected to begin in February 2027, will capture demographic information about individuals, including age, gender, education, occupation and other socio-economic details.

The last decennial Census exercise was held in 2011. In 2020, India was set to begin the first phase of the exercise, but it had to be delayed as the coronavirus pandemic hit.

The Telangana Assembly on Sunday passed a bill to deduct the salaries of private and public sector employees deemed to be neglecting and failing to support their parents, The Indian Express reported.

The 2026 Telangana Employees Accountability and Monitoring of Parental Support Bill allows salary deductions of up to 15% or Rs 10,000, whichever is lower. The provision will also be applicable to MLAs and MPs, as well as nominated members and elected representatives of local bodies.

It is unclear if the Legislative Council has cleared it.

Speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that the bill marked an important step toward providing protection for elderly parents, The News Minute reported. The Congress leader added that the proposed legislation is intended to instil fear among persons who have no respect for their parents.

Reddy added that people have forgotten human bonds and emotional ties, and have become immersed in a relentless pursuit of material comforts, financial gain and wealth.

“The rights of parents should be protected by goodwill,” The Indian Express quoted the chief minister as saying. “But the bill makes sure that the law is on the parents’ side when they are neglected.”

In a statement explaining the bill’s objectives, the state government said that instances of neglect of elderly parents are increasing and added that enforceable measures are required to reinforce family responsibility in a changing socio-economic context, The News Minute reported.

Noting that Article 21 of the Constitution asserts that the right to life includes the right to live with dignity, the bill added that parents are an inseparable part of the Indian family system.

“It is therefore considered necessary to provide enforceable norms among employees who neglect their parents and to ensure that every employee acts as a role model in society,” the proposed legislation added.

The bill allows senior citizens neglected by their children to file an application before the district collector, who has been made the designated authority to adjudicate cases, The Indian Express reported.

In their application, the complainants must state their reasons for seeking apportionment and disclose details of their income from all sources.

As per the bill, the district collector has 60 days to decide on the applications after hearing the parents and the children, the newspaper reported.

Subsequently, the authorities are to issue an order about the amount to be deducted, which will be credited to the parents’ bank account. The provision extends not only to biological parents but also to adoptive parents.