FEATURE STORY
Sonia Gandhi has long occupied the centre of Indian politics while revealing little about herself. She has been most ubiquitous and elusive for three decades.
Ladakh’s newly created districts have finally received their own Autonomous Hill Development Councils—an institutional shift expected to bring governance and development closer to every remote corner of the Himalayan region. Until now, decentralised administration in Ladakh functioned only through the two principal councils based in Leh and Kargil. “With the extension of this framework to all seven districts, Ladakh enters a new phase of grassroots empowerment,” said an official.
Several states, part of phase three of Special Intensive Revision of voter list, have pushed forward dates from 11 to 28 days to publish their respective final electoral rolls citing various reasons.
Setting aside decades of fierce regional hostility, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has signaled readiness to cooperate with the CPI(M) and Congress on national platforms ahead of a crucial INDIA bloc meeting on September 30. Speaking in Serampore following an attack on MLA Kunal Ghosh’s vehicle in Hooghly, Banerjee called for a unified front to seek the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged mass electoral roll deletions.
Dalal Street suffered another severe beating on Monday, September 28, as benchmark indices sank to their lowest levels since April. The BSE Sensex plunged 1,124.02 points to hit a fresh 52-week low of 72,716.23, while the Nifty 50 broke below key support to settle at 22,780.25. A confluence of surging Brent crude above $106, US 10-year Treasury yields crossing 5.2%, and geopolitical deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz sparked aggressive foreign institutional selling, wiping out ₹5 lakh crore within the first 70 minutes of trade.
The Indian women’s kabaddi team captured gold at the Asian Games after edging out perennial rivals Iran 37-34 in a thrilling final. Showcasing tactical discipline and crucial defensive stops in the dying moments, the defending champions weathered late pressure to retain their continental supremacy and celebrate with a spirited victory lap.