Editors Pick
In a major revision to military recruitment rules, the Union Cabinet has lengthened the service period of Agniveers from four to six years, offering the 75% cohort previously slated for civilian discharge an additional two-year engagement and a subsequent route to regular military enrollment. Announced by CDS General N.S. Raja Subramani just ahead of the first batch’s retirement dates, the overhaul also reverses recruitment stages by putting written tests ahead of physical trials.
Celebrated British actor Sir Patrick Stewart has passed away at the age of 86. Rising from a childhood marked by domestic hardship and going completely bald by age 19, Stewart built a formidable career with the Royal Shakespeare Company before capturing global stardom as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor X in the X-Men franchise. Knighted in 2010, the Yorkshire-born legend proved that classical discipline and character can redefine modern popular culture.
Septuagenarian CPI(M) whole-timer Bipul Dasgupta has emerged as the face of peaceful resistance in West Bengal after standing ground with folded hands against a mob attempting to tear down a Left book stall in Nagerbazar during Durga Puja. The incident, set against a broader ideological row over the festival’s nomenclature, drew widespread condemnation from civil society as well as senior saffron figures including State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta and the RSS, prompting a large solidarity march from Kolkata’s College Street on October 29.
Congress Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “no longer the PM he once was”, questioning his confidence and policies in recent years. Addressing the Lok Sabha, Priyanka Gandhi fired shots at the BJP over their negligence of people’s problems.
Triggering a war of words between the ruling BJP and the main Opposition Congress, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his Rajya Sabha counterpart Mallikarjun Kharge were not invited to the official dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu for Russian President Vladimir Putin at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Parliament on Thursday approved a bill to levy a higher excise duty on tobacco and related products once the GST compensation cess ends, with the Rajya Sabha returning the legislation to Lok Sabha.
Facing flak over its order to mobile companies to preload the Sanchar Saathi app, the government on Tuesday sought to downplay the controversy as the Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said mobile users who do not want to use the app can delete it from their phones. Notwithstanding the minister’s assertion, tech experts raise doubt about whether the app, which critics fear could be used for “snooping”, can be uninstalled or deleted.
“Parliament is not a place for drama; it is a place for delivery,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday in his customary remarks ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament. “For some time now, our Parliament is being used either as a warm-up arena for elections or as an outlet for frustration after defeat,” Mr. Modi went on to allege, referring to the Opposition.
Virat Kohli’s stupendous 52nd ODI hundred, Kuldeep Yadav’s left-arm wrist spin trickery and Harshit Rana’s pace laced India’s tense 17-run win over South Africa in the first match of the three-match series here on Sunday.
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