FEATURE STORY
In a major setback for the Congress, its Jharkhand Rajya Sabha candidate Pranav Jha lost the election despite the ruling INDIA bloc enjoying a comfortable numerical strength in the Assembly. Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani secured a return to the Upper House with the backing of the BJP. The result triggered allegations of cross-voting within the INDIA bloc.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used a major youth outreach programme in Rajasthan’s Kota on Wednesday to launch a sharp critique of India’s education system, arguing that students and their families are spending enormous amounts on competitive examinations while receiving little assurance of quality education or employment in return.
The Trinamul Congress rebel MPs on Sunday announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
A group of TMC legislators loyal to Mamata Banerjee on Thursday secured a separate room and dedicated speaking time in the West Bengal Assembly after meeting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, party leaders said.
Addressing the critical bottlenecks restricting long-term business scale and personal wealth insulation across eastern India, the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I) hosted its high-profile Financial Awareness Conclave on Friday, June 19, 2026, in Kolkata. The summit—themed “Wealth: Inclusion, Creation, Protection & Growth”—brought together a powerful nexus of regulatory chiefs, institutional lenders, and asset managers to bridge the gap between grassroots credit access and formal capital markets. A cornerstone panel on the “MSME IPO固定 Revolution,” anchored by BSE Regional Head Sandeep More, mapped out rapid pathways for regional small businesses to transition away from traditional high-cost banking credit toward public equities via the BSE SME platform. The strategic highlight of the conclave was a comprehensive address by Mamta Rohit, Executive Director of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Warning delegates that India is entering a phase of rapid demographic aging where less than a third of the elderly population holds a structured safety net, Rohit pitched a multi-tiered retirement blueprint. She strongly advocated for the rapid adoption of the NPS Vatsalya scheme to build early, compound-interest generational wealth for minors, alongside a detailed breakdown of how the newly codified Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) will systematically stabilize post-retirement cash flows for eligible public workforces
Writing a magnificent new chapter in American soccer history, the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) officially punched their ticket to the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stage on Friday afternoon, June 19, 2026, with a commanding 2-0 victory over Australia. Playing before a raucous, sold-out home crowd at Seattle Stadium, head coach Mauricio Pochettino orchestrated a high-energy, possession-heavy tactical masterpiece that limited the Australian Socceroos to minimal offensive traction. The Americans established dynamic control early in the 11th minute when a lethal low cross from Folarin Balogun forced a desperate own goal from Australian defender Cameron Burgess, before 21-year-old Alex Freeman sealed the historic result in the 43rd minute with a sensational, VAR-verified header off a deflected loose ball. What made the performance remarkably significant was that the USMNT executed this clinical triumph without their talismanic captain Christian Pulisic, who sat out with a calf strain—relying instead on the robust central midfield engine of Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie to dictate terms. Backed mathematically by Paraguay’s subsequent win over Türkiye, the Stars and Stripes have won back-to-back World Cup fixtures for the first time since 1930, granting Pochettino the luxury of resting key starters for their final Group D clash at SoFi Stadium.