GDP growth estimated at 7.7% in 2025-26: govt.

The growth in India's gross domestic product (GDP) has been estimated at 7.7% in 2025-26, according to data released by the government on Friday, compared with 7.1% in the previous financial year of 2024-25. GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2025-26 stood at 7.8%.

According to the data re-leased by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the provisional estimates of GDP growth in 2025-26 are slightly higher than the 7.6% growth estimated in February 2026.

Smart border project to have 4-layer security mechanism, says Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the government's proposed technology-driven smart border project will have a four-layer security mechanism to effectively manage the country's borders.

India needs innovative strategies to eliminate TB

New Indian vaccine trial data show meaningful protection against extrapulmonary TB, underscoring the need for targeted vaccination alongside stronger public health strategies.

Rubio fails to win India back for Washington

For nearly a year, strategic experts in India and the United States have warned that worsening bilateral ties could damage a partnership that former U.S. President Joe Biden called the most consequential of the 21st century. They argue that India remains central to America's Indo-Pacific strategy and indispensable to its competition with China in geopolitics, technology, and securing critical supply chains.

Pressure to limit India-Russia ties will hurt global stability, says Putin

Western pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scale back India's engagement with Russia will harm global stability, Russian President Vladimir Putin said late on Thursday at a press conference. "Everyone has under-stood that putting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi (and India) that has the largest population in the world, is detrimental for international relations and for bilateral relations. It doesn't matter where this pressure comes from," he said.

Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal arrives in Delhi, meets National Security Adviser

In a sign of Kathmandu's deepening security dialogue with India, Nepal Fo-reign Minister Shisir Khanal met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval Friday. on

Mr. Khanal is the first Minister from Prime Minis-ter Balen Shah's Cabinet to visit India at an official level, since Nepal's new government was elected in March to replace the interim administration that had taken charge after the September 2025 Gen-Z uprising against former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's government.

Correcting 'discrepancies' is normal practice in statistical exercise, says Census official

An official from the office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) said on Fri-day that that the House Listing Operation is still un-der way in Rajasthan and that the process of Census is multi-pronged.

Island administration plans to introduce polls as in rest of the nation to Nicobarese

The Centrally administered Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Is-lands is planning to introduce elections, as in the rest of India, to the Nicobarese tribal community in the archipelago.

This includes measures such as delimitation of constituencies, preparation of electoral rolls, and reserving seats and positions of leadership for wo-men. It is doing this by introducing draft rules for the conduct of such elections, which provide for ballot paper polls to Village Councils and the constitution of the Island Tribal Councils, that will be re-presenting the Nicobarese communities through electoral constituencies for terms of five years each.

MPC retains repo rate, lowers growth forecast

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday voted unanimously to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 5.25%. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains at 5% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate at 5.50%. The MPC also decided to continue with its neutral stance.

'Our economy is on a strong footing, we are in a far better condition'

India's economic condition is very 'strong, capable and healthy' despite the adverse impact of the West Asia conflict and the global uncertainties, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Gover-nor Sanjay Malhotra said during the post Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting press conference on Friday.

Central bank announces host of measures to attract foreign capital

To attract foreign capital the RBI on Friday announced several measures. For government securities under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR), the RBI said it was expanding the universe of 'specified securities' by including all new issuances of 15, 30 and 40-year tenor G-secs.

Additionally, limits on short-term investments, concentration and individual securities on FPI investment under the General Route are being removed.

Coal India to offer 35 MTS to non-regulated sector

State-owned Coal India informed on Friday that it would be putting on offer 35 million tonnes (MTs) of high gross-calorific value (GCV) under the linkage auction window to be held June 12. The miner underlined the objective was to reduce the import of the high-GCV coal which is primarily consumed by the sponge iron sector.

No LTCG tax on FIIs' govt. bond investments

Government of India (Gol) promulgated an ordinance waiving the 12.5% long term capital gains (LTCG) tax on foreign institutional investments (FII) in government bonds.

The exemption will take effect from April 1, 2026. "Recognising the importance of a competitive tax regime in attracting global capital, the Government decided to rationalise tax treatment on investments by FPIs in Government Securities," it said.

Abrogation of Article 370 was Centre's biggest policy mistake: Omar Abdullah

Seeking the restoration of statehood for Jammu & Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said the abrogation of Article 370 was the biggest policy mis-take made by the Union government. "You have already made it, in 2019," he said, when asked about errors the government could make in the Valley in the next decade.

In India, protection of nature also means safeguarding culture: Jairam

To think you can deforest in Nicobar and manage its ecological impact by doing some compensatory afforestation in Haryana is a bogus argument, Jairam Ra-mesh, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member, said at the session titled 'From the Aravallis to the Nico-bar: at the edge of ecology' at The Hindu Huddle in Bengaluru on Friday.

Envoys stress need for rules-based global order and economic integration

Envoys of the European Union (EU), Australia, and a former Indian Foreign Secretary, who were panel-lists at a session of The Hin-du Huddle, emphasised the need for a rules-based international order and economic integration. In this context, the growing India-EU and India-Australia partnerships were high-lighted as major drivers of future cooperation.

India-China relations have improved to a new level of development: Xu Feihong

India-China relations over the past year have improved from a "reset and fresh start" to a "new level of development", Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said on Friday, calling for accelerated efforts towards a "full normalisation" of relations and to address a "serious deficit of trust".

U.S. sanctions Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Castro family members

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, his wife and three other individuals, in the latest move by the Trump administration to pressure the island's leadership that drew immediate condemnation from Havana.

UN doubles appeal for Lebanon aid to $640 mn amid war

The UN on Friday more than doubled its aid appeal for Lebanon as the country reels from Israel's war against Iran-backed Hezbollah, saying nearly $640 million was needed over six months.