US slaps sanctions on top 2 Russian oil firms to push Moscow into peace talks

US President Donald Trump hit Russia's two biggest oil companies with sanctions in a sharp policy shift on Moscow's war in Ukraine, prompting global oil prices to rise by 5% Thursday and India to consider cutting Russian imports.

Capital ready for its first spell of artificial rain after successful trial: CM

Delhi is set to see its first-ever artificial rain through cloud seeding between October 28 and 30, if the weather conditions permit, said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday as the government carried out a "successful seeding trial flight".

India against unilateral sanctions, but likely to limit Russian oil imports

The US and the EU's latest round of sanctions on Russia goes against Delhi's policy position on sanctions that have been imposed unilaterally and that impact India's economic interests and energy security. Delhi has been buying oil from Russia due to economic rea-sons and cushioning the impact of crude prices on its consumers.

The collapse of sincerity

We often worry about misinformation or motivated belief. But a glance at social-media conflicts suggests something subtler. What leads us to think others are insincere is not that they are misinformed, but that what matters to them does not align with what matters to us. The atrocity, the injustice, the outrage that consumes me may not move you. But because you do not share my hierarchy of salience, I take you to be morally insincere. 'Whataboutery' is often simply this salience mismatch at work. The result is that no one can sincerely profess to fight injustice as such; each of us appears to fight for our own tribe. Perhaps tribalism is the only sincerity left to us.

AN INSTITUTION BUILDER

He was nominated as a member of the Viceregal Council, and the Indian Association of Lahore gave him a reception. Replying to the address, Sir Syed said, 'It was my earnest and sincere desire that I should faithfully serve my nation. All of us, whether Hindus or Mahomedans, live on one soil, are governed by the same rule, have the same resources of our advantage and equally share the hardship of a famine.

Jobs crisis is governance crisis

Public sector vacancies affect service delivery -from education to civil aviation, railways and healthcare. They also hurt national security.

PF reforms enable social security

The Global Challenges of financing pensions arise from ageing but reflect individual pathologies: Europe needs to invest more, America needs to save more, and China needs to consume more. India needs all three, and well-designed pensions will enhance public finances, accelerate the creation of formal non-farm jobs, and deepen domestic investment pools. Recent changes by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) represent a bold shift from control to trust, enabling future pension reform, especially in balance portability, employee choice, and NPS competition, facilitating lifetime, Aadhaar-linked Citizen Social Security Accounts (CSSA).

They Compromise a safety net 

There is concern that households require liquidity especially in times of financial stress.

There are more transparent ways to achieve that goal.

Liquidity challenges can be addressed through instruments such as unemployment insurance.

2006 Act restores livelihoods, dignity of forest communities, Govt tells SC

In a strong defence of the landmark Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MOTA) before the Supreme Court has sharply rebutted a plea that challenged the legal validity of the 2012 Rules, made under the law. The Indian Express has learnt.

Judiciary both guardian & moral conscience of Constitution: CJI

The Supreme Court, "by recognising the right of voters to exercise the None of the Above (NOTA) option... has reinforced that the electorate must have meaningful choice and the ability to express dissent, thereby strengthening both the democratic process and the constitutional guarantee of informed and empowered citizen participation", Chief Justice of India B R Gavai said Thursday.

'Courts deepen democracy when they act to empower powerless'

Courts "Deepen" democracy when they "act to empower the powerless, grounded in constitutional text and moral clarity", Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant said Thursday.

India's reliance on imported crude oil creeps up further on demand growth

Growing Demand for fuel and other petroleum products amid stagnant domestic crude oil output led to India's reliance on imported oil inching up further in the first half of the current financial year ending March (FY26). Latest data released by the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) shows that India's oil import dependency was 88.4 per cent in April-September, up from 87.9 per cent in the corresponding period of the last financial year. For the full FY25, reliance on imported oil was at 88.2 per cent, a full-year record.

Gold slips from record highs: A pause or an end to the frenzied rally?

After a blistering rally that pushed it to record highs, gold has now fallen for the third day running amid investors' concerns over an overheating market. So, is it the end of this incredible valuation surge, which has driven up the yellow metal over 60 per cent this year?

The growing menace of deepfakes & how govt seeks to counter it with Al content labelling

In an attempt to check the "growing misuse of synthetically generated information, including deepfakes," the Centre has proposed draft rules that require mandatory labelling of Al-generated content on social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram. The social media platforms will be required to seek a declaration from users on whether the uploaded content is "synthetically generated information".

RBI flags geopolitical risks as key threat to cross-border payments

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that geopolitical risks including sanctions and restrictions on financial systems-have emerged as major factors shaping the future of cross-border payments.

China's consumption problem, and why there is no easy fix

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) gathered in Beijing for its annual meeting from Monday to Thursday during which the recommendations of the committee to formulate the 15th Five-Year Plan, that will run from 2026 to 2030, were adopted.

China GDP: twin takeaways

China Registered a year-on-year GDP growth rate of 5.4% in the first quarter (January to March) of 2025, and 5.2% in the second quarter (April to June). On Monday, official data published for the third quarter (July to September) showed a growth rate of 4.8%.

Graft, factions: behind purges of CCP officials

Apart from new economic data from China, the country's politics, too, has seen important recent announcements. Before the Fourth Plenum policy meeting began on Monday, nine top Chinese officials were expelled from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last Friday after an inquiry.

'Sanctuary' status for forests of Saranda: why this matters, case before SC

The Verdant Sal forests of Saranda, a biodiversity hotspot on the border of Jharkhand and Odisha, will finally be accorded the status of a wildlife sanctuary.

The Supreme Court (SC) on October 10 directed the Jharkhand government to notify a forested area of 314 sq km as a new wildlife sanctuary; the state government last week sought a 60 sq km exemption.