Social Issues
Education, health, poverty, gender and welfare schemes
1,000 Indians still in Iran; 23,000 students in Gulf could not appear in CBSE exams: External Affairs Ministry
As of mid-March 2026, approximately 1,000 Indian nationals remain in Iran amid the ongoing 2026 Iran-Israel war, with evacuation efforts continuing under Ope...
How Maharashtra Legislature cleared the Freedom of Religion Bill, and why most of the opposition parties did not oppose it
The Maharashtra Legislature cleared the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026, making Maharashtra the 13th state in India to enact legislation against f...
Tribal Affairs Minister meets Vietnam counterpart to discuss Memorandum of Cooperation
India's Tribal Affairs Minister met his Vietnamese counterpart to discuss a draft Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) focused on tribal and indigenous community ...
67% of India's unemployed youth are graduates: Report
The State of Working India 2026 report, released by Azim Premji University, reveals that 67% of unemployed Indians aged 20–29 are graduates — up sharply from...
Govt plans to delink women's quota from delimitation exercise
The Central Government is actively consulting Opposition leaders on amending the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 — the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam ...
Centre signs MoUs with MP, Rajasthan to implement Jal Jeevan Mission Phase 2
The Centre signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0, following the U...
‘Violates federal character of Constitution’: Parliament panel spars over VBSA Bill that could redraw India’s higher education map
The 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025 has become divided, with Opposition member...
Protect constitutional right to self-identification of gender identity, urge committee
A committee — including members of the Tamil Nadu Trans and Intersex Welfare Board and civil society organisations — urged protection of the constitutional r...
SC urges govt to bring in law on paternity leave
On March 17, 2026, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court (Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan) delivered judgment in *Hamsaanandini Nanduri v. Union of...
India's cheap weight-loss drugs could reshape global obesity fight
The patent on semaglutide — the active ingredient in blockbuster obesity and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy — expired in India on March 20, 2026, triggeri...
LPG crunch pushes PM POSHAN kitchens back to firewood, burdening women workers
Government schools running the PM POSHAN (mid-day meal) scheme across multiple states are reverting to firewood and alternative solid fuels for cooking, as a...
Watch: Why is Maharashtra’s Freedom of Religion Bill so controversial?
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passed the Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 on March 16, 2026, making it one of the most stringent anti-conversion laws in...
HPV vaccination drive gathers pace, 3 lakh girls covered in two weeks
Approximately 3 lakh girls aged 14 years have been vaccinated under India's nationwide HPV vaccination campaign within just two weeks of its launch on 28 Feb...
Ayushman Bharat crosses 43 crore cards, digital health records surge
India's flagship health insurance programme has crossed the milestone of 43.18 crore Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY cards created as of early 2026, covering the bott...
Woman entitled to maternity leave even if child isn't biological: SC
In a landmark ruling delivered on March 17, 2026, a Supreme Court bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan struck down Section 60(4) of the Code on ...
Climate change could drive millions globally into physical inactivity by 2050: Lancet study
A peer-reviewed modelling study published in The Lancet Global Health (March 2026) found that rising temperatures driven by climate change could significantl...
UGC-like funding mechanism to be adopted under Shiksha Adhishthan: Education Ministry
The Ministry of Education clarified before a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) will adopt a UGC-l...
Kharge seeks meet as govt moves to delink women's quota from census
The central government is preparing a constitutional amendment to delink the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Constitution 106th Amendment...
Maharashtra legislature passes Freedom of Religion Bill to check conversions through coercion, fraud
The Maharashtra legislature passed the Freedom of Religion Bill 2026, which prohibits religious conversions carried out through coercion, fraud, allurement, ...
Amid confusion over internal reservation, Karnataka SC/ST commission holds deliberations
The Karnataka State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes convened deliberations with senior officials, former Karnataka Public Service Commis...