Author: Newscope Newsdesk
In a major boost for the ease of doing business, the GST Council has approved landmark compliance reforms that eliminate direct arrest powers for tax officials and raise the threshold for criminal prosecution to ₹5 crore. Chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the 57th Council meeting also slashed general penalty ceilings to ₹10,000, set up a committee to resolve genuine input tax credit disputes, and established an annual-only rate review cycle beginning April 1, 2027.
The Ministry of External Affairs has strongly condemned a projectile attack on the Panama-flagged commercial vessel MT On Peace near the Strait of Hormuz, which left 11 Indian seafarers injured. Following a rapid emergency evacuation by Omani authorities to medical facilities in Khasab, New Delhi warned that persistent assaults on commercial shipping pose a severe threat to international sea lines of communication and called for an immediate end to maritime hostilities.
The United States has expanded its B-1/B-2 visa bond program to 50 nations, requiring travelers from designated jurisdictions to post financial surety deposits of up to $20,000 to curb overstays. While regional neighbors including Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan are subject to the mandate, India has been excluded from the list, allowing Indian business and leisure travelers to continue utilizing standard consular processing channels without financial guarantees.
India recorded 3,832 new child leprosy cases in 2025–26, exceeding the National Leprosy Eradication Programme’s target of 2,000 cases by over 91 percent. With 37 children already presenting with Grade-2 disabilities at diagnosis, public health experts have flagged persistent community transmission and delayed diagnosis as critical challenges facing the country’s roadmap to interrupt disease transmission at the district level by 2027.
India’s Neeraj Chauhan secured a historic bronze medal in the men’s individual recurve event at the Asian Games on Saturday, defeating teammate Dhiraj Bommadevara 6-4 in a high-stakes all-Indian playoff in Nagoya. The landmark win makes Chauhan only the second Indian man after Tarundeep Rai to claim an individual recurve medal at the continental showpiece, sealing a stellar nine-medal haul for India’s archery contingent.
India’s Lovlina Borgohain scripted history at the Asian Games by capturing the women’s 75kg gold medal with a commanding 5-0 unanimous decision victory over China’s Ziyi Bao. Utilizing superior reach and counter-punching precision across three intense rounds, the Olympic medallist neutralized Bao’s aggressive onslaught to end India’s 12-year wait for an Asian Games women’s boxing title.
The Indian men’s hockey team stormed into the Asian Games final on Thursday with a pulsating 4-3 semifinal victory over traditional rivals Pakistan in Kakamigahara, Japan. Led by captain Harmanpreet Singh’s early two-goal blitz, the defending champions weathered a fierce second-half comeback from Pakistan before executing a decisive circle penetration seconds ahead of the hooter to keep their gold-medal defense intact.
India’s compound archers completed a clean sweep at the 2026 Asian Games, capturing all three team gold medals in sensational fashion. The mixed pair edged South Korea 20-19 in a dramatic shoot-off to secure a historic Los Angeles 2028 Olympic quota, while the women’s squad matched the 238 world record to down China, and the men’s trio pulled off a late comeback against their rivals to cap an unbeaten campaign.
A major controversy has hit the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Karnataka after more than 4,000 Form-7 deletion requests were systematically filed against minority voters in Assembly segments such as Babaleshwar and Bhalki. With local names allegedly forged on pre-printed forms and opposition parties alleging a calculated conspiracy to disenfranchise voters, the Chief Electoral Officer’s office has stepped in to halt arbitrary purges and enforce rigorous on-ground verification.
Massive student unrest erupted at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara following allegations of a sexual assault on campus, leading to clashes, vehicle arson, and a blockade on National Highway-44. The Punjab administration deployed over 2,000 police personnel, formed an SIT to investigate the claims, and ordered mobile data curbs, while the university suspended regular classes for 10 days and dismissed the assault reports as baseless rumors.