A massive flash flood has killed at least 160 people across Nepal and Tibet after a torrent of water, mud and debris tore through the Himalayan border region on Wednesday, sweeping away villages, roads, bridges and power facilities.

Nepal Police said 157 bodies have been recovered, while Chinese authorities have confirmed another three deaths at Gyirong Port in Tibet. Hundreds more remain unaccounted for on both sides of the border.

Hundreds missing

The Nepal Tourism Board said 403 travelers remain out of contact, including 341 foreign nationals and 62 Nepalis. They include 133 Indians, 47 Americans, 34 Australians, 33 Britons, 24 Canadians and 19 Malaysians, as well as citizens of more than 20 other countries. Four Russians are also among those unaccounted for.

❗️ More Horrifying Footage Shows Gigantic Mudslide Engulfing China’s Gyirong Region - WARNING: Distressing 📹

‘Major casualties’ are feared after infrastructure was completely obliterated in the major border crossing between China and Nepal. (Xinhua) https://t.co/lct3g9fOIc pic.twitter.com/M1NzVj0Naq

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Officials have stressed that being out of contact does not necessarily mean the travelers were caught in the flood, as roads, electricity and communications have been wiped out across parts of the mountainous region. Many were pilgrims traveling toward Mount Kailash in Tibet, while Nepali trekkers were heading toward Gosaikunda Lake ahead of the Janai Purnima festival.

Flood’s fury caught on camera

Videos show the flood’s fury as it swept aside everything that stood in its way, including hydropower projects, bridges, roads and houses. Buildings were swallowed by muddy water and vehicles tossed through the debris as residents fled with little warning.

⚠️ Extremely Distressing Footage Shows Mudslide Sweeping Up Fleeing Citizens, Cars, & Buildings On China-Nepal Border

Viewer discretion.

📹 @mcudirector https://t.co/RV9HxrYyP4 pic.twitter.com/pFtKSs5v42

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Floodwaters surged through the Bhote Koshi River at around 9am local time, causing widespread destruction in the Syapru Besi and Timure areas of Rasuwa district before racing downstream into the Trishuli River.

The speed of the surge was extraordinary. The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said the Trishuli rose by as much as nine meters in just 30 minutes at one monitoring station, while another recorded a seven-meter rise over roughly the same period.

❗Nepal Floods: At Least 7 Dead, Security Personnel Missing 🇳🇵

The worst-hit areas include Timure and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa, where floodwaters have swept away homes, bridges and parts of a key road towards the China border, according to The Kathmandu Post.

Nine Armed Police… https://t.co/OGz6YNAMPx pic.twitter.com/XRGgZGxHj7

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Authorities have warned people along riverbanks in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan to remain on higher ground. Several flood-monitoring stations were themselves damaged or swept away.

Infrastructure wiped out

At least 19 motorable bridges and nearly 40km of roads have been swept away, cutting off communities and crippling access to the worst-hit areas.

A sudden massive flood swept through northern Nepal this morning, causing extensive damage in Timure and Syafrubesi areas of Rasuwa district after the Bhote Koshi River surged around 9 am, reportedly from the direction of Tibet.

Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police… pic.twitter.com/P78X3328dX

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) August 26, 2026

Nepal’s electricity network also took a major hit. Eleven hydropower projects and one solar facility were affected, knocking 431.1MW of generating capacity off the national grid. Transmission lines and substations were damaged, while electricity was completely cut in Rasuwa and disrupted in several neighboring districts.

Trishuli Bazaar After The Floods 🇳🇵

The river has redrawn the landscape.

Drone footage shows entire rows of riverside homes gone, leaving behind a barren expanse of mud, debris and scattered structures.

📹 Social Media https://t.co/RV9HxrYyP4 pic.twitter.com/0rToqQpbPU

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Rescue operations have been complicated by destroyed roads, deep mud, high water and difficult Himalayan terrain. Nepal has mobilized the army, police and helicopters, while at least 28 police officers are themselves among those still missing.

What triggered the disaster?

Initial reports pointed to an earthquake, but the US Geological Survey later said the seismic event was actually a massive glacial collapse and debris flow that caused catastrophic impacts downstream. ICIMOD believes an ice-rock avalanche crashed into the Lhende Khola and may have temporarily blocked the river before unleashing the devastating surge, although the precise sequence remains under investigation.

Authorities in Nepal report villages washed away by a massive flash flood in a region bordering Tibet. Roads, bridges, and power projects were damaged across the Himalayan area. pic.twitter.com/LUquf3vWNP

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 26, 2026

The danger may not be over. ICIMOD has warned that a blockage remains lodged upstream, posing a threat of another sudden flood, with evacuation orders issued around Gyirong Port.

The Lhende Khola has now flooded twice in just 14 months. The same border region was hit by another devastating flash flood last August, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed and nine people were killed.

China races to find missing

Chinese authorities said three people were killed and 265 remained missing after a mudslide originating on the Nepalese side struck Gyirong Port in Tibet. The figures were preliminary and the identities and nationalities of those killed have not been disclosed.

The torrent devastated the border crossing, burying buildings in debris and washing out sections of road. Xinhua reported that rescuers initially struggled to reach the core disaster zone as raging water, rain and completely destroyed roadbeds blocked access.

President Xi Jinping ordered rescuers to make every possible effort to find the missing, evacuate those at risk and prevent secondary disasters. Tibet activated its highest Level-I natural-disaster response, while Beijing launched a national Level-II emergency response and sent hundreds of firefighters, troops, engineers and other rescue personnel to the region.

Beijing reinforced the operation early Thursday by dispatching an additional 111-member China Rescue Team with detection, communications and lifesaving equipment. A PLA Y-20 military transport aircraft was also sent to Tibet carrying a Western Theater Command team to coordinate joint rescue operations.

China has also allocated 120 million yuan ($16.8 million) in central disaster-relief funds and another 100 million yuan for emergency infrastructure restoration.

New Delhi launches emergency response

Nepal has asked both India and China for help with rescue operations. The Bhote Koshi feeds into the Trishuli River, which eventually flows into India as the Gandak, prompting authorities downstream to closely monitor rising water levels.

India has put vulnerable areas in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on alert and begun sending emergency assistance to Nepal. An Indian Air Force C-130J carrying around 10 tonnes of shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps and medicines departed for Kathmandu on Wednesday night.

The shipment followed a phone call between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Balendra Shah, during which Modi offered “all possible humanitarian assistance.” India said additional transport aircraft and helicopters were being prepared for relief and evacuation operations.

India and China agreed to continue to seek a political settlement of their border dispute in talks between top officials held in Beijing on Tuesday.

Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the designated special representatives for the border talks mechanism, “had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the India-China boundary question, and agreed to continue their work in seeking a political settlement of the boundary question in the context of their overall and long-term interests,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It said the two sides expressed satisfaction at the steady resumption of people-to-people and cross-border exchanges, including the ongoing Kailash Manasarovar pilgrimage and resumption of border trade through the Himalayan passes.

The special representatives noted the progress made in implementing the consensus reached between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in October 2024, and again in Tianjin, China in August 2025 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

ICYMI: Doval, Wang Yi Hold 25th Round Of India-China Boundary Talks

New Delhi and Beijing agreed to continue working towards a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable” settlement of their boundary question, while stressing the importance of maintaining peace along the border.… pic.twitter.com/L0jbSFQcjd

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Kazan was the first formal bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi in four years, since a skirmish in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas in 2020 left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers dead.

At Kazan, Modi and Xi agreed to use the special representatives mechanism and foreign minister dialogues to seek solutions to the border question and maintain peace in border areas.

Doval and Wang also discussed bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest, as the two neighbors prepare for this year’s SCO summit next week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and the BRICS summit next month in New Delhi.

Xi is expected to attend the BRICS meeting with a large delegation, according to reports.

Doval also called on Chinese Vice President Han Zheng before the special representative talks.

Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday on the border issue between the two countries and improving relations.

”We are meeting in keeping with the guidance of our leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, who have given clear and positive direction to our relationship, both at the highest and working levels,” Doval said in his remarks, reports said. “I am happy that, over the past year, our relationship has been steadily returning to normalcy.”

Doval noted that the talks are “particularly important against the backdrop of the BRICS Summit.” The summit will be held in New Delhi next month and Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly attend.

The two officials are the designated special representatives for the border talks mechanism, which was established in 2003. It is the main channel for negotiations between the two countries on the border issue and communication on issues of mutual interest.

Doval, who is on a two-day visit to China, met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Monday and discussed ways to strengthen peace in the border areas and improve economic, political, and multilateral relations, the Indian Embassy said in an X post.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held the 25th round of Special Representatives’ talks on the India-China boundary question with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.

During his visit, NSA Doval also met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, with discussions focusing on… pic.twitter.com/QyEcnOaYN3

— DD News (@DDNewslive) August 25, 2026

Ahead of the talks, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated that “peace and tranquility” along the border areas are a prerequisite for good relations with China.

Relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors froze after a skirmish between their troops in the Ladakh region of their common Himalayan border in 2020, which left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers dead.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi next month with a 400-strong delegation, Reuters reported, citing three unnamed sources.

Xi’s participation in the summit, which Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend, has not been officially confirmed yet. India, which holds the rotating chair of the BRICS group, has engaged in intense diplomacy ahead of the summit.

Germany’s Porsche has signed a $1.5 billion deal with India’s largest IT services company as the luxury carmaker looks to leverage AI to make itself more competitive in a fast-changing industry. 

It gives Bengaluru-based Tata Consultancy Services, which employs close to 595,000 people, a foothold in the European automotive industry as it changes focus from the traditional headcount-based outsourcing model to one defined by measurable results and productivity targets.

The 5-year strategic partnership with Porsche will go into effect once TCS completes the acquisition of Porsche’s IT consulting business, MHP, for €320 million ($373 million). 

It is a win-win for two companies from two industries that are swiftly being upended by artificial intelligence. 

The automotive industry is among the most disrupted by digital technology as cars increasingly become software on wheels, and with AI accelerating the evolution of technologies like self-driving through systems that learn from real-world data.

TCS will establish a dedicated AI Mobility Centre of Excellence for Porsche, to apply AI across engineering, manufacturing, operations, and customer experience as the car maker doubles down on its core business by shedding MHP – part of its ‘Sportwagenschmiede 35’ strategy, which aims to improve profitability and cash flow. 

Porsche recorded about $40 billion in revenue in FY2025.

TCS will “industrialize AI at scale for Porsche,” said the IT firm’s CEO K. Krithivasan.

AI has also become a major source of worry for Indian IT consultancy companies, which have built a multi-billion global success story, with margins coming under pressure as clients demand increased productivity from AI deployments.

The Nifty IT index, a benchmark for Indian IT stocks, is down nearly 20% from the beginning of the year, compared to just 7% for the broader Nifty 50 – an indication of how investors view Indian IT’s prospects.

TCS recorded $30 billion revenue in the financial year ended March, and analysts expect MHP to add 3% to its top line.

In short, TCS gets Porsche’s technology transformation business, MHP’s automotive expertise, and a platform to grab more business from global auto manufacturers.

The US sanctioned four Indian companies on Monday for allegedly trading in Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

The additions came as the Treasury Department launched “an unprecedented, whole-of-government, economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers” called Operation Economic Outcast.

The sanctioned companies include Sadashiva Overseas, PP Softtech, and Prakrutees Infra Impex, which are accused of importing shipments of Iranian oil and oil products; and Portease Partners, a customs broker accused of facilitating the shipments.

Two partners of Portease – Indrismiya Asharafmiya Shekh and Harish Ramchandra Rangi – were also added to the list.

Bilateral trade between India and Iran is currently at around $1.6 billion, with $1.25 billion coming from Indian exports of goods exempted on humanitarian grounds, such as agricultural staples and medicine.

The Treasury said the designations will intensify pressure on networks that sustain the regime’s malign activities and fund its attacks across the Middle East.

Iran has largely blocked commercial shipping via the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s energy previously passed, following the US-Israeli attack against Iran earlier this year.

Nearly two dozen former cricket captains from around the world have appealed to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to provide proper medical treatment for the country’s former prime minister and one of cricket’s all-time greats, Imran Khan, as directed by Pakistan’s top court.

Twenty-two cricketers, including Indian legends Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, made the appeal in a letter on Sunday after Khan was rushed back to jail early Friday morning following a brief checkup in a government-run hospital in Islamabad.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court had ordered that Khan be moved to the private Shifa hospital in the capital and be kept there until September 16, and that a medical board that includes his physician sister Uzma Khan be formed to examine his health issues.

Khan was, however, rushed to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) from a Rawalpindi jail under heavy security just after midnight on Thursday, past the deadline given by the court, and whisked back early Friday morning after a few hours.

The cricketers, who also include India’s Dilip Vengsarkar, Sri Lanka's Arjuna Ranatunga, Clive Lloyd, Greg Chappell, Allan Border, and Alastair Cook, appealed that Khan be allowed visits from family members, as directed by the court, and any treatment recommended by the court be provided without delay. 

No Pakistani cricketer joined the appeal.

In February, 14 former cricketers – also including Kapil, Gavaskar, and Chappel – had written to Sharif, seeking more “humane” treatment for Khan.

Prime Minister Sharif on Saturday formed an inquiry committee, headed by a bureaucrat, to probe why Khan was not administered a heart diagnostic test previously recommended by doctors at the government-run hospital.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has also repeated its demand to move him to the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad without any delay.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, attributing the recent growth in bilateral trade turnover amid a hostile geopolitical environment directly to Modi’s “close personal attention” to relations between the two nations.

“I am pleased to note that our trade turnover has grown this year,” Putin told Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar at a Kremlin meeting. “While it decreased slightly last year, it is rising this year, and this is due in part – and perhaps above all – to the efforts of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, who gives the development of Russian-Indian relations close personal attention.”

Jaishankar had earlier co-chaired the 27th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Moscow. Manturov noted in his opening remarks that bilateral trade turnover between India and Russia grew 8% in the first half of the year.

The increase comes as the two traditional friends deepen their ties amid Western attempts to isolate Russia and squeeze it economically, and as India resists finalizing a trade deal with an unpredictable US administration that has used tariffs and sanctions to enforce its geopolitical agenda.

❗📹 Putin Credits PM Modi For Growing Russia-India Trade 🇷🇺🇮🇳

“Perhaps primarily, the merit of the Prime Minister,” the Russian President said of the rise in bilateral trade, while welcoming EAM Jaishankar to Moscow.

“Your visit today underscores the level of relations that… pic.twitter.com/bXWr4YoTkP

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 24, 2026

”I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes to Mr. Modi,” Putin said, adding “I hope to see him soon, as we planned, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”

Modi and Putin are slated to attend the SCO Heads of State Council summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, next week.

Jaishankar delivered a personal message to the Russian president from Modi, who said he looks forward to their meeting at Bishkek. Modi also extended an invitation for Putin to attend the upcoming BRICS summit, scheduled for September 12-13 in New Delhi, to anchor their regular annual bilateral exchanges.

”We are doing everything to resolve this issue for Indian farmers and agriculture; we are increasing these supplies and are ready to continue doing so,” he said. “All other issues related to nuclear energy, cooperation in high-tech fields, and other areas are on the agenda, and they are all progressing quite confidently.”

Bilateral trade turnover between India and Russia grew 8% in the first half of the year, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in Moscow on Monday, adding that both exports and imports showed expansion.

“Our goal is not only to increase the volume of trade turnover, but also to diversify its structure,” Manturov said at the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, which he is co-hosting with visiting Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar.

India and Russia are pursuing a bilateral trade target of $100 billion to be reached by 2030, which was set by President Vladimir Putin in December when he visited New Delhi.

Jaishankar said bilateral trade has increased more than fourfold in the last four years, from around $13 billion in 2021-22 to over $60 billion in 2025-26. He also noted, however, that the rapid expansion has increased the trade imbalance. The Indian foreign minister said progress on market access, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, and strengthening payment mechanisms will be critical in addressing the imbalance.

Manturov said the free trade agreement (FTA) that the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union has been negotiating with India since August last year will be a new driver for sustainable trade growth. “Its preparation is in an active stage and it is important to maintain a high pace of negotiations,” he added.

❗️🇮🇳-EAEU FTA Preparations in 'Active Stage' - 🇷🇺 Deputy PM Manturov

Interaction between business circles must be intensified, with INNOPROM India expected to be integral to the process, he adds. pic.twitter.com/10grT9CfW0

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 24, 2026

He underscored the competitive advantages of the Northern Sea Route, noting that state-backed Rosatom is discussing mutually beneficial formats for cooperation on the Arctic route. “The use of this Arctic route will reduce transport costs for economic operators,” Manturov said. India, which has shown keen interest in the route amid global shipping disruptions, plans to send its first cargo ship along the passage next year.

❗️ ‘Regular High-Level Dialogue Lays Foundation for Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership Between 🇷🇺-🇮🇳’ – Russian Deputy PM Manturov

Regular dialogue also provides additional impetus to work on developing practical cooperation on ‘trade, economic and humanitarian ties,’… https://t.co/i9kK5bvimm pic.twitter.com/2wsUcukE8b

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 24, 2026

Manturov also stressed the need to improve mutual access of goods alongside “an expansion of direct contacts between the business circles of our countries.” He emphasized the need to stimulate business participation in exhibitions and fairs, and highlighted the international industrial exhibition ‘INNOPROM. India’, which will be held for the first time in New Delhi on the eve of the BRICS summit next month.

In his speech, Manturov highlighted a raft of areas where cooperation with India is deepening – from industrial cooperation, for its role in “ensuring the technological sovereignty of our countries” to space, in particular, “in manned spaceflight, rocket engines, and satellite navigation.”

Manturov noted the cooperation in energy security – with India now the second largest importer of Russian crude – and underscored joint investment projects for the extraction and processing of hydrocarbons.

He added that the successful experience of cooperation on the Kudankulam nuclear power plant project could be a basis for building new power plants across India, including small-scale reactors.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is in Russia for high-level talks as the two countries prepare for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India next month and step up bilateral cooperation amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Jaishankar is discussing trade and defense cooperation in Moscow, where he and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov are co-chairing the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) on Monday.

“The India-Russia partnership has consistently demonstrated resilience and adaptability,” Jaishankar said in his opening remarks at the event. “Even amidst a complex international landscape our engagement has continued to deepen, reflecting the mutual interest and confidence that define our bilateral partnership.”

The Indian foreign minister will also discuss regional and global issues with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The IRIGC‑TEC is one of the pillars of the India‑Russia Intergovernmental Commission (IRIGC), a mechanism to monitor bilateral progress across trade and economic cooperation, which was established in 1992. The relationship between the two traditional friends, which endured through the Cold War, has deepened as Western countries have tried to use economic and trade levers to isolate Russia and punish countries friendly to Moscow.

❗️🇮🇳 EAM Jaishankar Shares Friendly Greetings With 🇷🇺 President Putin In Moscow pic.twitter.com/1WRdZKv7bY

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 24, 2026

India-Russia partnership shows resilience even in 'complex international landscape': Jaishankar

The ties still rock-solid pic.twitter.com/xV7hK9VbcD

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) August 24, 2026

Putin is set to visit India for the BRICS summit to be held under India’s rotating presidency on September 12-13 in New Delhi. The two countries set a bilateral trade target of $100 billion to be reached by 2030 during the Russian leader’s last visit to India in December.

India-Russia bilateral trade has boomed since then, with India now the second largest importer of Russian oil. However, the threat of steep US tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, under a new sanctions bill that has cleared the US Senate, looms over New Delhi. India has consistently maintained that its purchases of Russian oil are driven by energy security concerns and ensuring affordable energy for its 1.4 billion population.

New Delhi and Moscow are also expected to discuss a possible sale of Russia’s advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Su-57. In June, Putin noted in a Q&A session with global news agencies that Russia offered the plane to India as a joint project. “We are ready to supply India with this aircraft, to keep developing it,” he said. “We don’t have any issues or limitations. The same goes for air defense systems.”

The flurry of activity in bilateral relations could be capped by another visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia this year. Modi last visited Russia in 2024.

Meanwhile, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is in Beijing for the 25th round of talks between the special representatives on the boundary issue between the two countries, where he will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Doval’s visit also comes ahead of a possible visit to India next month by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the BRICS summit. The summit is shaping up to be a major forum where the heads of the emerging economies are expected to discuss common issues that impact developing countries amid trade tariffs and sanctions.

People-to-people ties between India and Russia have been one of the core strengths of the relationship, Indian Ambassador to Moscow Vinay Kumar said at the four-day annual ‘India Day 2026’ festival in central Moscow.

The event, which started Thursday, is a major crowd puller that brings together hundreds of artists and artisans. Last year, over 2 million people attended.

“With technology and the creative economy, all of this is gaining more ground,” Kumar said.

He cited the countries’ cooperation in culture, academies, dance, drama, and music, and noted the “great enthusiasm” of the crowd. “On a working day, thousands of people enjoy Indian music… and see the vibrancy it generates.”

Addressing the burgeoning cooperation between the two nations, the envoy highlighted some of the key drivers they are focusing on to achieve their $100 billion bilateral trade target, which was set when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited New Delhi in December.

📹 Just How Popular is Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy in Russia? See For Yourself...

RT India's karaoke booth at 'India Day 2026' saw many 🇮🇳 and 🇷🇺 participants singing to Mithun Chakraborty's famous track from the 80s. https://t.co/K55UuPkEEY pic.twitter.com/TjN2tRwvEu

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 21, 2026

Kumar noted energy and minerals, metals, education and tourism have been key areas of cooperation amid Western attempts to isolate Russia economically.

India is the second-largest importer of crude from Russia, and Indian companies, especially state-owned ones, have recently reached out to Russian entities to source Indian rare earths, coal, and minerals from the country, as New Delhi seeks to secure its supply chains amid the geopolitical tensions.

Kumar said India and Russia have stepped up engagements in the run-up to the BRICS summit, which will be held in New Delhi next month. “The summit will be successful, and the Indian Presidency’s agenda will help to take cooperation to the next level.”

Putin is expected to attend the event as the bloc of emerging economies seek to assert their voice and economic heft amid Western coercion on geopolitical issues.

Russia has opened its first national pavilion in the western Indian city of Navi Mumbai, as Moscow tries to prise open the huge market for its consumer goods amid Western attempts to squeeze its economy.

The ‘Made in Russia’ pavilion, launched by the Russian Export Center (REC), opened Friday in the Belapur Central Business District of Navi Mumbai, the twin city to India’s financial capital Mumbai.

The pavilion will feature products from Russian producers like Makfa, United Confectioners, Tatspirtprom, Miratorg, Afanasy Private Brewery, Fame Label, Wild Siberia, Stashevskoye Bio, and others.

Russian Consul General in Mumbai Ivan Fetisov called it “a landmark event for Russian-Indian relations.”

He said it will enable Russian manufacturers to directly access the vast Indian market, adding “we are moving toward the ambitious goal of increasing trade turnover between our countries to $100 billion.”

India-Russia bilateral trade is now at about $60 billion, but is skewed by the high volume of oil India imports; non-commodity goods make up only about 10% of Russian exports to India.

REC Managing Director Konstantin Evstyukhin called it “the first stage in deploying comprehensive infrastructure in India for promoting Russian goods.”

“We have begun creating a full-fledged ecosystem for domestic manufacturers to enter one of the world’s most promising markets,” he said, adding “national stores at the largest marketplaces” and “network of branded retail outlets” under the ‘Made in Russia’ brand will follow.

Similar pavilions are already operating in China, Vietnam, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.

Two commercial ships were hijacked in two separate incidents this week, reviving the specter of piracy off the coast of the Horn of Africa and nearby. The region has seen several attacks on commercial shipping amid the current Middle East conflict.

The Eritrea-flagged MT Sibu 1, an oil products tanker, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen on Thursday. The ship had a crew of 20, including 16 Indians.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Thursday that the ship was boarded by six armed men, who diverted it toward Somalia. The tanker had been sanctioned by the US last year for allegedly transporting Iranian petroleum products.

UKMTO WARNING 118-26 UPDATE 001

Click here to view the full product⤵️ https://t.co/TA6cqIqsyJ#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/fBRghwkqpJ

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) August 20, 2026

The Cameroon-flagged MV Lutuf, which was carrying weapons for a Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu, was taken off the coast of Somalia’s Puntland region on Monday. Its 10-member crew includes six Indians.

The pirates took the vessel, owned by Polar Movement Shipping, toward the region’s Nugaal coast, a Somali official was quoted by news reports as saying. The status of the ship and its cargo is not immediately clear. Indian and Turkish authorities have not issued any statement.

India is the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers, with 311,936 Indian maritime professionals working in the global shipping industry. 

This disproportionately exposes Indian nationals to attacks on commercial shipping. Ten Indian seafarers have died in attacks on ships since the start of the Middle East conflict, which was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

India’s federal ministers are being ranked on their social media activity as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government goes all out to connect with the country’s youth, after student protests last month gave a nasty surprise to a government and party that once dominated online narratives.

The rankings, based on the performance data for the ministers’ social media accounts, were shared at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Modi on Wednesday, reports said. The data, and the review’s results, were not shared publicly. 

Local media reports said the exercise was not a mere counting of followers. Rather, the activity of the ministers across social media platforms Instagram, X, and Facebook between May 1 and August 15 was reviewed, with the aim to assess the quality and reach of communications. Some reports said LinkedIn posts were also included in the review.

Metrics such as frequency of posts, engagement, likes, and the interactions generated across the platforms were used for the grading, with the ministers being presented with a scorecard. Modi reportedly came up top in the review.

Modi, 75, has about 107 million followers on X, where he has posted regularly on policy initiatives by his government, development schemes, and even congratulatory messages to the citizens and foreign leaders. 

Young people aged 15-29, or Gen Z, make up about 28% of India’s 1.4 billion population. They are particularly active on Meta’s Instagram, where reels, short videos, and visual storytelling, rather than text, are key to getting eyeballs. TikTok, a rival platform which is immensely popular among the youth, is banned in India.

As the protests intensified last month, Modi himself posted a selfie message to the students on Instagram, and directed his ministers to post more on the platform to reach the young audience.

The shakeup in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday has brought changes to its organizational hierarchy, raising some eyebrows. 

The shuffle, effected by BJP National President Nitin Nabin, is being explained away as the result of a new party leader bringing in his own team. However, a closer look shows the imprint of recent events as the organization struggles to connect with the youth in the world’s largest democracy.

What changed

Nabin replaced four of the party’s general secretaries and brought in two more new faces to fill existing vacancies. These are formidable positions in the BJP, ranking directly below its president and responsible for key decisions.

He also replaced the head of the party’s powerful IT and Social Media Cell, Amit Malviya, as well as the president of the youth wing, Tejasvi Surya.

Also shown the door were the heads of the party’s farmers’ wing, the scheduled tribes and scheduled castes wings, and the minority wing.

Malviya and Surya fell to youth anger

At least a couple of the big exits can be attributed to the student protests last month over leaks of questions for a national medical entrance test – the biggest challenge Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has faced so far.  

The government responded to the protests with brutal police violence, stoking public anger – before it caved and sacked Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The BJP’s IT cell was overwhelmed as netizens attacked the party, the government, and even Modi. Amit Malavia, the party’s social media czar since 2015, found his tool-kit had come up short.

Attempts to deflect from the main issue – for instance, by focusing on the traffic congestion caused by the protests – fell flat. He faced fierce counterattacks online, even from those usually sympathetic to the BJP.

Tejasvi Surya, a young lawmaker from the southern IT hub city of Bengaluru, had won praise for organizing the government’s health response in his constituency during the Covid-19 pandemic. But he, too, failed to rally the youth behind the party as the protests intensified.

As the public’s mood soured, Modi went on Instagram with a selfie message to the protesting students – rather than his favorite platform X. He advised his ministers to also go on the Meta social media network to promote the work of their ministries among the country’s youth. 

This clear realization of a lack of a connection with Gen Z and Gen Alpha Indians, who weren’t reached via the methods, channels, and faces the party had come to rely on, seems to have sealed the fates of Malviya and Surya.

Trusted hands brought in

Replacing Malviya is Deepak Mhaske, another BJP veteran who has spent 15 years in the party’s IT and social media cell.

He has led social media campaigns in states like Bihar, West Bengal, and his home state of Chhattisgarh, where the BJP has recorded strong victories. 

A lawmaker from Modi’s home state of Gujarat, Hemang Joshi, has replaced Surya. 

The party also reached out to the old guard to stabilize the situation as public discontent persists over several issues. 

Among those issues is the rollout of petrol cut with 20% ethanol, called E20, which has led to complaints about damage to engine components and loss of mileage in older vehicles trending on social media. 

The salaried middle class is angry about the faster escalation into higher income tax slabs. 

Widespread corruption and poor quality road construction (as was evident from showpiece highways crumbling under heavy rains) have added to public discontent.

One of the people brought in as a general secretary by Nabin is Smriti Irani, who was a trusted member of Modi’s inner circle when she was made one of the youngest cabinet ministers in 2014.

Irani is well known to Indians as the star actor in one of the most popular daily soap operas on television, ‘Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,’ which translates as “because every mother-in-law was once a daughter-in-law.”

Another notable inclusion in the party hierarchy is Piyush Goyal, the federal trade minister, who has articulated India’s positions to the public as New Delhi drives a hard bargain with Washington over a trade deal. Goyal, the son of a long-time BJP treasurer, has been brought in as – no surprises – the party’s treasurer.

Meeting the youth where they are

The BJP seems to have been guided by the thinking that fresh but trusted faces can help it regain trust among the country’s youth. It hopes to do so by meeting them in the social media spaces they prefer, and speaking using their lingo – as lawmakers like Surya have done in parliament. 

How that works out will be seen when a number of big states, including Modi’s Gujarat, go to the polls next year.  

Pakistan on Wednesday summoned the top US diplomat in Islamabad to lodge a “strong demarche” over remarks made by Washington’s ambassador in New Delhi that Jammu and Kashmir is an “important part of India.” 

Sergio Gor, who is also the US special envoy to South and Central Asia, made the comments in Srinagar, the part of Kashmir administered by India, on Wednesday. Gor, a close confidant and former business partner of US President Donald Trump, is on a two-day trip to India’s Jammu and Kashmir state and the federally administered Ladakh region.

“Kashmir is an important part of India,” Gor told reporters after meeting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. “It is an incredibly beautiful place.” 

India and Pakistan, which gained independence when Britain partitioned its colonial territories in South Asia in 1947, have competing claims on Kashmir.

Hours after the comments, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker – the top US envoy in Islamabad – and lodged a protest over Gor’s “factually incorrect remarks” and “irresponsible statement.”

“It was underscored that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory, awaiting final disposition in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan clashed briefly with missiles and drones last year after 26 people were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-backed terror groups. 

Trump has, in return, called Munir “my favorite field marshal.” Islamabad has also been acting as a mediator to end the Mideast war, which was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Indian authorities on Thursday used a bulldozer to remove temporary structures, traffic bollards, and barricades outside the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, in an apparent retaliatory action after Pakistan carried out a similar drive outside the Indian mission in Islamabad on Monday.

India has finalized the paperwork to start constructing a hospital in the West Bank, Palestine’s ambassador to New Delhi has said. But he added that it is Gaza that badly needs the artificial limb facility that his government has discussed with New Delhi about building.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh said that there are more than 5,000 amputees in Gaza who are desperately in need of artificial limbs.

India said last month that it will build three major projects in Palestine, which include a specialty hospital, an artificial limb fitment center, and a vocational training institute.

Gaza is currently under Israeli occupation following the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023. 

”I’m sure India will be with us in Gaza the day after the war,” Shawesh  said. He added that some 20,000 Palestinians are in need of medical evacuation in Gaza, but that Israel is allowing only small groups of 5-10 to be moved.

Shawesh said that Palestine backs India’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2028-2029, a day after Indian diplomat Sripriya Ranganathan visited Ramallah in the West Bank and met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin.

”There is no ceasefire in Gaza, even with the declaration that had been (made) many months ago, Israel did not stop killing the Palestinian people,” Shawesh pointed out in an exclusive interview with RT India. 

The envoy painted a dire picture of Gaza. “My home, my father’s home, where I was born, has been destroyed. Gaza is destroyed,” he said, adding that 95% of the people there have been displaced and are living in shelters and tents.  

US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, after holding talks with Hamas leaders, in an effort to revive a Gaza peace plan.

However, Israeli Defense Forces said on Tuesday that it had hit a meeting of Hamas commanders in Gaza City; the Hamas-run civil defense agency said six people were killed and 14 wounded in the attack.

He alleged that children were specifically targeted by Israeli forces. The UN panel reported that Israel had killed 20,000 Palestinian children.

BRICS countries have opposed the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), calling it “unilateral, punitive, discriminatory, and protectionist.”

The meeting of the bloc’s environmental and climate ministers in New Delhi, chaired by Indian Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, expressed concern on Monday that the measures specifically undermine efforts by developing countries “aimed at addressing the adverse impacts of climate change.”

The BRICS group of emerging and developing economies includes the original members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Indonesia.

The EU mechanism, which came into effect on January 1, aims to reduce “carbon leakages” through a certificate-based pricing system. In effect, it puts a carbon price on emissions-intensive goods entering the 27-nation EU bloc.

Importers have to buy certificates matching the weekly carbon price of the EU Emissions Trading System, with deductions allowed for any carbon prices already paid in the goods’ country of origin.

Addressed the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting, welcoming Ministers and Delegates and reaffirming the importance of aligning policy, technology and public participation towards building a sustainable planet following a “humanity first“ approach.@BricsIndia2026 pic.twitter.com/YC8CKLpz5t

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) August 18, 2026

The CBAM’s professed aim – to ensure foreign goods face a carbon cost equal to products made inside the EU – puts producers in developing countries at a disadvantage. It imposes extra carbon costs on the key exports of developing countries and reduces their price competitiveness in European markets.

Producers in the Global South are forced to undertake costly tracking of factory emissions to sell to the EU, while it reduces overall market opportunities for carbon-intensive emerging economies – which in effect are forced to pay for the historical high emissions of Western developed nations.

The higher carbon costs make Indian exports of steel, aluminum, and cement to the EU less competitive. New Delhi has raced to create a domestic carbon trading framework and mechanism to keep the value of the carbon savings within the country instead of ending up as EU taxes.

The BRICS statement noted that the EU carbon border tax was “not in line with international law.”

India had in 2024 labelled the proposed CBAM as unfair and detrimental to domestic market costs.

Registration has opened for the first International Trade Fair INNOPROM. India, which will take place in New Delhi from September 9 to 11, 2026, organizers said. The event will be held at the Bharat Mandapam Exhibition Center ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, and participants can register through the fair’s official website.

INNOPROM. India is being positioned as an international platform to strengthen trade and industrial ties between Russian and Indian companies. The exhibition will cover 10,000 square meters and bring together representatives of industry from both countries to present technological solutions and products. It is organized by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The event comes at a time of rapidly growing economic ties between the two countries. Over the past five years, Russia-India trade has increased nearly sevenfold, reaching more than $60 billion by the end of 2025. The first edition of INNOPROM in India is intended to expand business contacts and open new directions for industrial cooperation.

Among the Indian exhibitors are the SRB industrial and engineering group, National Mineral Development Corporation, and Steel Authority of India Limited, representing mining and metallurgy. ITC will present food products and everyday consumer goods, while Nicco Cables and Global Gases Group will showcase solutions for the energy sector. Monte Carlo will represent the textile industry, and Central Electronics Limited will focus on renewable energy and digital infrastructure. The exhibition is curated by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Russian participants will include Rostec, Rusal, Rosatom, TMH, the Russian Export Center, the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies, UMG, Natzproektstroy, PhosAgro, Arnest Unirus, Sber, and Alfa-Bank, among others. Regional collective exhibitions are also planned, with companies from Moscow, the Krasnodar Territory, Tatarstan, and the Chelyabinsk Region. The National Centre RUSSIA will present a cultural zone and a collective stand.

The fair will focus on engineering, chemicals, digital technologies, mining and extraction technologies, human-centric technologies, and trade development.

Russian exhibitors are expected to present a broad range of products, including a mock-up of a nuclear power plant with a VVER-1200 reactor, composite gas storage and transport products, master alloys and powders made from rare and rare-earth metals, models of modern Russian aircraft and helicopters, large-scale construction machinery such as a tracked excavator and a backhoe loader, automated storage systems, industrial and collaborative robots, an intelligent transportation management system, and Russia’s national product marking system. Medical and optical equipment will also be displayed, along with other innovative technologies.

Organizers say the launch of INNOPROM in India marks another stage in the trade fair’s international expansion and a new step in strengthening industrial cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi.

A 15-year-old student became India’s sole representative on a recent scientific exploration of the North Pole, beating thousands of others to earn a place in one of the world’s most exclusive expeditions for school students held in Russia.

Lucky Rawat, from the town of Chakrata in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, completed the ten-day voyage to the top of the world on August 15.

Students from 22 countries, including China and Bangladesh, undertook the Arctic voyage on board the Russian nuclear icebreaker ‘50 Let Pobedy,’ which means ‘50 years of victory.’

They covered Murmansk, the geographic North Pole, and Franz Josef Land to become the 200th surface-vessel expedition to the North Pole.

Unlike the South Pole, the North Pole sits atop shifting sea ice on the Arctic Ocean. Rawat, who is familiar with the Himalayan snow, called the Arctic snow “just different.”

“It was hard like a rock plate and grained like sand at the same time,” he told RT India upon his return. “Its seamless white color gave it an endless ice sheet look.”

He described the expedition as a “learning experience.”

“From the first flight to boarding the ship… it taught me that boundaries are just some lines on a map.

“Me learning a Russian song and representing my whole team of international students in the closing ceremony was unexpected.”

Rosatom’s ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ Expedition Launches World’s First Stratospheric Platform in the Arctic

Tests on the reusable platform were a success, confirming the feasibility of establishing stable radio comms using readily available radio equipment in polar regions, the… https://t.co/AdG8c0G2t5 pic.twitter.com/c9mycOlhmv

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 13, 2026

The program, called the ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ was organized by Russian state-owned giant Rosatom.

Russia has eight nuclear-powered icebreakers, which are owned and operated by Rosatom, making it the only country in the world with such a fleet.

Only one student was selected from a country for the expedition. Rawat, who is trained in judo, cleared the online exam from his home, and created a video to earn his place on the team.

Students in the exploration team worked with scientists on experiments, including the launch of a radiosonde – a weather instrument package attached to a balloon – from the North Pole, and the world’s first recoverable stratospheric monitoring platform for the Arctic.

The data from the platform will help improve communications along the Northern Sea Route and advance the creation of an independent Arctic monitoring system that is not tied to data from foreign satellites, the Murmansk Arctic University was quoted as saying in a statement by Tass.

Rawat was effusive in his praise for the Russian people, calling them “very hospitable.”

“They did know a few things about Indian culture and Indian cinema, and of course, the spicy Indian food,” he recalled. “They knew some Hindi words, such as ‘namaste’ and ‘dhanyawad,’ and would say them to me in a very cute accent.”

“The Icebreaker of Knowledge project is living proof that true science knows no borders,” said Alexey Zhirukhin, a member of the international jury and Arctic Ambassador. “We are opening the Arctic to children from across the globe, showing them Russia’s unique technologies and the breathtaking beauty of the North Pole.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday outlined the country’s achievements and priorities for future growth as the world’s largest democracy marked its 80th Independence Day.

Addressing the nation after hoisting the Indian national flag at Delhi’s iconic Red Fort, Modi cited India’s rapid economic growth from being one of the ‘Fragile Five’ economies in 2013 to a $4.15 trillion, fast-growing major economy, and said the country is emerging in the eyes of the world as a widely accepted and respected nation.

The ‘Fragile Five’, was a term for Türkiye, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Indonesia, which were overly dependent on unpredictable foreign investments and large current account deficits to fuel their economic growth.

“Our country is not going to move forward with small dreams,” Modi said, noting the country rises through the “strength of its dreams, its resolutions, and its capabilities.”

📹🇮🇳 ‘We Can No Longer Move Forward With Small Dreams’: Modi’s Big Message From Red Fort

The prime minister urged Indians to “dream big,” saying a nation rises through the strength of its dreams, resolve and capabilities. https://t.co/F71jMC9sPT pic.twitter.com/GgzxMjxJmL

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 15, 2026

Fuel for growth

Listing India’s achievements in the last 12 years since his Bharatiya Janata Party came to power, Modi said the country’s defense production has increased fourfold, electronic manufacturing has increased sevenfold, and digital transactions have increased 100 times.

This, however, raises the demands for energy security, Modi acknowledged, stating that the South Asian nation will need electricity “on a very large scale.”

The Indian leader reiterated the country’s target of achieving a capacity of 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047 and highlighted the need for accelerating offshore exploration to find oil and gas that could replace imported energy that makes the national economy vulnerable to external shocks.

⚛️ AI Needs Power, PM Modi Wants Nuclear To Bring It

Pointing to GPUs, AI and data centres, Modi said, “Energy security is the need of our times,” adding that India will need electricity “on a very large scale” and is targeting 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047.

The SHANTI Act,… https://t.co/dIK8Pogw5h pic.twitter.com/Ihr51lv9xx

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 15, 2026

New Delhi in December 2025 passed the SHANTI Act (the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act), which modernizes India’s nuclear framework and opens the door to greater private sector participation in India’s nuclear energy industry, which has been lacking so far.

The country currently operates 24 nuclear power reactors across seven different sites with a total installed capacity of 8.78 GW. This includes Russia-built Kudankulam designed to house six VVER-1000 reactors with a total planned capacity of 6,000 MW. Units 1 and 2 were connected to the national grid in 2013 and 2016, respectively, while units 3, 4, 5, and 6 are at different stages of implementation and construction.

Overall, India currently has ten reactor units with a combined capacity of 8,000 MW are under construction, while pre-project activities for ten additional reactors are also underway.

Focus on self-relaence

“It is our conviction that India must not be dependent on other countries. We must become self-reliant,” Modi stated, calling for strengthening the country’s capabilities and protecting national interests.

“India possesses a stable political mandate, a stable government, a vibrant democracy, a robust judiciary, and guiding all of us is the Constitution of India,” Modi said. He also noted that the youth are the “biggest beneficiaries” of India’s development, and said his government will run free online coaching networks for competitive exams for students. The move comes weeks after student-led unrest rocked the country’s capital and led to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Celebrating friendship

India achieved independence from British rule on August 15, 1947, through largely non-violent means and beginning the end of Western colonial rule over the world. Independence Day celebrations were held across the country, in state capitals and various offices.

In Moscow, Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar raised the tricolor at the Indian Embassy as the Indian national anthem was sung. In a symbolic move, a group of Russian and Indian motorcyclists rode across the city to celebrate the decades of close ties, marked by cooperation and trust.

🇮🇳 Tricolour Goes Up In Moscow As Indian Embassy Marks Independence Day

India’s Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar hoisted the National Flag at the embassy as Independence Day celebrations brought together the Indian community in Moscow.

He also read a passage from the President… https://t.co/WE13aT72aW pic.twitter.com/edLPHQfUe7

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 15, 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated India on the occasion, saying ties with New Delhi continue to develop under the two countries’ “special and privileged strategic partnership.”

Moscow’s ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, assured New Delhi in his Independence Day message that Russia’s support “remains the same today and will continue tomorrow as well” amid the West’s attempts to coerce India into isolating its traditional friend. “Jai Hind. Long live the friendship of Russia-India,” Alipov added.

🧵 🇷🇺-🇮🇳 The Unbreakable Bond: Momentous Milestones in the Russia-India Partnership

📜 The Age of Discovery:

Decades before Vasco da Gama arrived, the Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin was already exploring Indian lands.

In 1469, he reached the west coast of India, in… https://t.co/zEUGPJilEN pic.twitter.com/3pc9t3tRG2

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 15, 2026

India and Russia maintain what both describe as a special and privileged strategic partnership, grounded in decades of defense cooperation, energy trade, and diplomatic alignment. Trade turnover between the two countries has grown rapidly since 2023, driven largely by India’s imports of Russian crude and other energy resources despite Western pressure on New Delhi to reduce engagement with Moscow. The strategic cooperation program adopted by the leaders of the two countries in December last year set a course for achieving $100 billion in trade turnover by 2030.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an overture to win over India’s youth on Saturday, as he led 80th Independence Day celebrations of the world’s largest democracy. 

Addressing the nation after hoisting the national flag at the historic Red Fort in Delhi, he noted that the “biggest beneficiaries” of India’s development will be the youth. 

Modi announced that his government would set up free online coaching networks for various competitive examinations, leveraging India’s robust digital public infrastructure and freeing families from the heavy financial burden they incur from sending their children to private coaching institutes.

The government will also train 11 million young people in artificial intelligence skills to prepare them for the new jobs that are opening up.

India, the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, also has the world’s largest youth population, with the average age around 29. 

#WATCH | Delhi: From the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "The race for coaching classes has become a massive burden for our middle-class families. Every parent feels that if they don't send their child to a coaching class, they aren't considered a… pic.twitter.com/Qq74edZTl2

— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2026

The country recently saw widespread youth protests over the leaks of the questions for a national medical entrance test, ultimately forcing the then federal education minister to resign. The fiasco, and the police violence against the protesting students in the national capital and other cities, stoked anger in the country, especially among the middle class. 

The prime minister’s online coaching initiative would be a blow to the country’s thriving private coaching networks, some of which have been blamed for the exam scams in recent years. The industry is valued at up to $15 billion.

India achieved independence from British rule on August 15, 1947 through largely non-violent means. Most of Britain’s other colonial possessions and those of other European powers would follow suit in the coming decades.

India has expanded a pilot scheme that uses Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to transfer welfare payments to two federally administered territories, as it races ahead with testing the digital rupee among a wider audience.

The digital rupee for direct-benefit-transfers initiative was launched in the Union Territories of Chandigarh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli on Friday. It aims to cut out middlemen from government-run beneficiary schemes, leveraging the digital rupee’s traceability and transparency.

Those receiving the digital money in their wallets can purchase foodgrains from recognized merchants through a secure, traceable, and real-time digital payment mechanism – eliminating the leakages and corruption that have long bedeviled welfare schemes in the country.

The proof-of-concept pilot was earlier rolled out in federally administered Puducherry, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.

The RBI governor said on Tuesday that all BRICS nations are discussing linking their payment systems and CBDCs as they explore ways to reduce the costs and increase the speed of cross-border payments.

BRICS members China, India, Russia, and Brazil have already implemented pilot rollouts of CBDCs.

Russia’s Arctic region of Arkhangelsk is in talks with India on leveraging the economic potential of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a top local official has said.

“For India, the NSR is truly beginning to take on a new dimension,” the governor of Arkhangelsk Region, Aleksandr Tsybulsky, told RT India on the sidelines of the ‘Arctic – Regions’ Forum, where India is a key partner.

India plans to send its first cargo ship along the NSR, also called the Arctic route, next year, a top official attending the forum said on Thursday, adding that New Delhi sees “huge possibilities” in the route.

The options being discussed between India and Arkhangelsk include those “from building ships for India at shipyards in the Arkhangelsk region, to using our port facilities to deliver cargo from India and to export cargo to India, and technological options such as placing and locating production around the ports of the Arkhangelsk Region,” Tsybulsky said.

Located on Russia’s Arctic coast, the city of the same name sits on the Northern Dvina River and is a major cargo hub linked to the NSR.

‘For India, the NSR is Truly Beginning to Take On a New Dimension’ - Alexander Tsybulsky, Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region

Tsybulsky revealed that the parties are discussing a range of opportunities at the ‘Arctic-Regions’ forum in Arkhangelsk.

‘From building ships for India… https://t.co/rZnUnYfZQc pic.twitter.com/nv3Hz7vFQe

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 13, 2026

The NSR is a 5,600-km sea passage that runs through Russia’s Arctic waters. It is covered by thick ice for most part of the year, but climate change and receding sea ice are widening the annual window for navigation. Still, specialized ice-strengthened ships are required to navigate the NSR. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said separately that Moscow was seeing “growing interest” from countries including China and India, wishing to engage in exploiting the economic opportunities offered by the NSR.

Russia is investing heavily in the infrastructure of the Arctic route, and Moscow is happy with the attention the effort is getting from its global partners, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said at the forum, Interfax reported.

“We can see that our Chinese and Indian colleagues are the most enthusiastic,” he said.

“We very much hope that we will be able to use our Arctic resources both in our own interests and in the interests of… our partners, which will make us and them stronger in the increasingly competitive global economic and political environment,” said Grushko, adding “the Arctic as a region should remain a zone of low tensions, and we are doing everything to keep it this way.”

A new US report that includes India among the countries allegedly helping China to evade steep American tariffs has added another wrinkle to India-US relations.

The White House report, titled ‘The Great Transshipment Scam’, flagged over 40 US trading partners, including India, for aiding Chinese tariff evasion by operating a “shadow trans-shipment network.”

The concern raised in the report is about the practice of a country facing steep US tariffs sending its goods through a third country that faces lower tariffs – which Washington calls “illegal transshipment.”

The report by Peter Navarro, the top trade adviser to US President Donald Trump and a known India-baiter, said “India’s Pune-Gujarat-Chennai production belt absorbs pumps and compressors… affecting industrial supply chains in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus.”

“A Chinese pump that leaves Pune as Indian is a pump not machined in Cincinnati, Dayton or Columbus,” Navarro told reporters on Thursday.

India is included in the first group, along with Canada, the EU, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan.

New Delhi has not yet responded to the report.

The US has used sweeping sanctions and tariffs as it tries to bend the world to comply with its geopolitical, technological, and economic goals. China exports face an average of 23.2% US tariffs, while India faces 10% tariffs on about 70% of its exports to the US.

Navarro’s report adds another pressure point to the tense dynamic between Washington and New Delhi. “Countries that relabel or reroute tariffed goods to evade U.S. law should face immediate interdiction, penalty tariffs, sanctions, and potential loss of market access,” it warned.

The report gave a wide range for the annual value of the transshipped goods, from $40 billion to $303 billion, based on the methodology and definition used. The Customs and Border Protection agency, it said, is using an AI architecture that fuses “anomaly detection, link analysis, capacity validation, and mirrored-flow verification” to detect such practices.

India is planning to send its first cargo ship on the Arctic route running along Russia’s northern coast next year, as it seeks to deepen trade with Moscow outside of Western sanctions and without disruptions via the Suez Canal.

The 5,600 km Arctic route, or Northern Sea Route (NSR), runs off Russia’s Arctic coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe. Climate change and receding sea ice open up the route seasonally – but conditions are harsh, requiring specialized ice-breakers to keep channels open.

“In 2027, we are planning to have the first pilot vessel running through the Northern Sea Route,” the joint secretary in the Indian Shipping Ministry, S. Venkatesapathy, told the Arctic-Regions Forum in Arkhangelsk on Thursday. 

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said New Delhi was showing active interest in the NSR. He said Moscow is seeing “growing interest from countries” about the Arctic route, naming India and China among those talking to Moscow.

Venkatesapathy, who is leading the Indian delegation to the two-day forum, said the Chennai-Vladivostok corridor – also known as the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) – has seen a 70% jump in cargo movement, and there is a “humongous possibility” to extend this success to the NSR.

“We are seeing huge possibilities, not only for the EMC but also for the NSR,” the official said, adding two MOUs were signed last year for the development of the routes. He said India found the routes appealing because of their shorter distances, safety, and commercial viability.

India and Russia have set a bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030, and Russian oil now makes up more than half of New Delhi’s imports – making the Arctic route a key trade link for the two countries.

For India, the Arctic route can save up to 40% in distance and about two weeks in travel time to most European ports, compared to the traditional route through the Suez Canal. The Suez route has become dangerous for commercial shipping due to the Mideast conflict.

Russia has invested heavily in developing the NSR’s infrastructure, and in 2023, Moscow struck a deal with Dubai-based DP Word to develop container shipping along the Arctic route. Container traffic has risen as Chinese companies have seized the opportunity offered by the NSR. While 23 voyages were completed last year, some 30 are already planned for this year.

Cargo volumes along the route have exceeded 37 million tons over the past two years, and it is expected to reach 20 million tons by 2030.

Cargo movement between Russia and China through the NSR has already exceeded five million tons this year, the director of the Department for the Development of the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic at Rosatom, Azamat Khochuev, told RT on the sidelines of the Arctic-Regions forum.

The state-owned conglomerate, with its fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, is Russia’s designated operator and coordinator of the NSR.

India is among the countries showing active interest in the Northern Sea Route (NSR), Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, as fast-growing economies in Asia and beyond seek to develop trade with Russia amid Western sanctions.

“We see growing interest from countries wishing to engage with us on this front,” Putin said regarding the Arctic shipping route. “These partners include, above all, our friends China, India, and other nations who are actively discussing these matters with us.”

Putin, who is visiting Russia’s Far East and Sakhalin Region to oversee naval drills, was speaking to Pacific Fleet personnel aboard the missile cruiser Varyag. He said the interest from partner countries has grown following Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict, and that cooperation on the NSR would follow international maritime law.

India is a key partner in the Arctic – Regions Forum, being held on August 13-14 in the city of Arkhangelsk in northern Russia.

India one of the key countries showing growing interest in cooperation on Northern Sea Route: Putin

Putin warns of rising artificial tensions in the Arctic as interest in the Northern Sea Route grows, while stressing that cooperation remains within international maritime law. pic.twitter.com/Yrx0LllhZb

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) August 12, 2026

With the 10,380-km Chennai-Vladivostok corridor, also called the Eastern Maritime Corridor, operational since 2024, India and Russia have speeded up cooperation on the NSR as they seek to reach their $100 billion bilateral trade target.

Last month, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Rosatom – the designated operator and coordinator of the NSR – has been instructed to sign a memorandum with India on maritime cargo transportation along the Arctic route.

The state-owned conglomerate manages Russia’s unique fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, essential for keeping the Arctic shipping lane navigable.

Russia is investing heavily in the 5,600-km NSR – which runs through the Arctic Ocean off the country’s northern coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe – to turn it into a major shipping lane.

India and Russia formalized the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Support (RELOS) pact during Putin’s visit to New Delhi in December. The pact offers India access to ports along the NSR, from Vladivostok to Murmansk.

In June, the Russian minister for the development of the Far East and the Arctic, Aleksey Chekunkov, said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian business community are interested in developing trade ties with the Russian Far East.

Indian shipyards are in talks to build non-nuclear icebreaker ships to navigate the harsh icy waters.

BRICS countries are working on setting up a grain exchange, backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, that could challenge the hegemony of Western commodity exchanges over global agricultural trading and prices.

Russia presented the framework of the BRICS Grain Exchange at a meeting last week of the bloc’s economy and trade ministers in Jaipur, India, touting it as a “unified digital trading platform where producers and buyers of agricultural crops could deal with one another directly.”

Russia’s Union of Grain Exporters and Producers, which first proposed the establishment of the exchange in 2023, has estimated that trading of agricultural and related products could eventually exceed $1 trillion. Putin backed the initiative in 2024 and said it could eventually evolve into a full-fledged commodity exchange.

“The BRICS Grain Exchange is an opportunity for our countries to determine the fair value of their products themselves,” Russian Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Ilyichev said in a statement.

Russia Unveils BRICS Grain Exchange Blueprint in Jaipur

RT India dives a little deeper into the agri-trade model and why it matters 📹 pic.twitter.com/C866legEYh

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 11, 2026

BRICS countries contribute about 42% of the global agricultural and food output, and are home to more than two-thirds of the world’s small and marginal farmers.

However, global trading and price discovery in agricultural commodities is dominated by Western futures exchanges such as the Chicago Board of Trade and Euronext.

The BRICS ministers discussed their respective positions on the exchange and readiness to implement the initiative. India, which holds the BRICS presidency this year, is hosting the group’s annual summit on September 12-13.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has said it will ensure the safety of a prospective rail route linking Russia to India, which would give Moscow access to the Indian Ocean.

“Yes. Afghanistan is in a vital geographical location. This project will create employment in Afghanistan,” a spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Economy, Abdul Rahman Habib, told RT India’s head of news, Runjhun Sharma, in a rare interview. “We support such projects.”

The full interview will be aired soon.

The Russia-India rail route was mooted by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who said last week that Moscow wants a rail link to the Indian Ocean to reduce risks from maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. 

Khusnullin had said any options providing access to India would be acceptable, and suggested that routes could be explored through Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. 

The Taliban has largely brought peace to Afghanistan since taking power in Kabul following the withdrawal of US forces in 2021 after 20 years of war. 

Moscow and the Taliban government signed a military cooperation pact in May, aimed at strengthening Russia’s influence in Central Asia.

India is the second-largest buyer of Russian crude oil, which has to transit the Bab-el-Mandeb chokepoint on the Red Sea and pass through the conflict zone around the Strait of Hormuz and Oman.

US trade adviser Peter Navarro, whose uncouth and culturally insensitive remarks have often irked India, has claimed that he was “firebombed” online amid the backlash over his comments last year.

Navarro, who has acted as US President Donald Trump’s attack dog, invited the blowback after he repeatedly hurled insults at India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he tried to pressure New Delhi.

“I actually got firebombed by the Indian continent on the internet with all sorts of nasty little attacks,” Navarro told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “And all I would say is, don’t do that.”

The Trump aide repeatedly labelled India an “oil money laundromat” of the Kremlin and the “maharajah of tariffs” as Washington’s frustration mounted over its inability to isolate Russia and coerce India into finalizing a trade deal. He even called the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war,” as he tried to shame New Delhi into stopping its Russian energy purchases.

India, the world’s most populous nation, has maintained that its energy purchases are driven by economic considerations and the need to secure reliable supplies for its 1.4 billion people.

New Delhi has also held back on signing a trade deal with Washington despite months of negotiations and the threat of steep tariffs from the Trump administration.

His criticism of Modi for “getting in bed” with leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping was also viewed as personal and crude.

On Tuesday, Navarro suggested that he was the aggrieved party. “That’s not how we resolve problems here in America,” he told reporters.

He also struck a different tone about India-US relations, responding to a question by saying: “The [US] president and your [Indian] prime minister have a very good working relationship… They are going to work that out amongst themselves, and it’s not for me to get between that.”

India has its work cut out in responding effectively to the Mecca pact signed last week between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and nuclear-armed neighbor Pakistan, an international relations expert has said.

The pact between the three Sunni Muslim countries has created a new “worrisome reality” for India, Robinder Nath Sachdev told RT India on Tuesday.

He noted that while there is not much clarity on whether the treaty envisages a collective defense on the lines of NATO’s Article 5 commitment, it still gives nuclear-armed Pakistan an edge if hostilities break out with India. The two South Asian nations briefly clashed last year with missiles and drones, following a terrorist attack in Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad.

Riyadh could provide money and military assets to its new treaty partner in this situation, even if it doesn’t take part in the conflict directly, Sachdev, the president of the independent think tank Imagindia Institute, said.

The key, he said, is for India to look inside and “estimate what all we need to do, shift in order to counter this new reality, which is a worrisome reality.”

The country has to “go deeper and wider” with existing partners and new partners, he said, adding that the question should be “how much… further can we progress down a mutual, stronger partnership?

The bottom line, he said, is “much more work has to be done in India within the country” as it addresses the Mecca pact.

Sachdev said India will have to de-hyphenate its economic partnership with Saudi Arabia from the security relations that Riyadh has developed with Islamabad. “That would be one relationship which India… needs to address and nurture.”

BRICS nations are discussing linking their payment systems and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as they explore ways to reduce the costs and increase the speed of cross-border payments, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Tuesday.

Last week, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said New Delhi prefers trade settlements in national currencies to a unified monetary system, or a BRICS currency, which has been touted as an alternative to the US dollar.

The Indian central bank chief said on Monday that “cross-border payments is an area of interest for all of us, including the BRICS, because we ⁠feel there is a lot of scope for reducing cost.” He added that various options are being discussed, including CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) and linkages of fast payment systems.

The RBI proposed that a plan to link the CBDCs of BRICS countries to make cross-border trade and tourism payments easier be included on the agenda of the group’s 2026 summit, Reuters reported in January, citing sources. India, which hosts the BRICS presidency this year, is hosting the summit September 12-13.

China, India, Russia, and Brazil have already implemented pilot rollouts of CBDCs.
The BRICS countries generate around 40% of the world’s GDP, surpassing that of the G7 group of developed nations.

An alternative payment system that connects these countries would challenge the SWIFT messaging system, which has been weaponized by the West to keep targeted nations out of global payment networks through sanctions and banking bans.

India is reviving the production of Russian Su-30MKI multi-role fighter jets, which form the backbone of the Indian Air Force.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will produce 12 new fighter jets at its Nashik facility for the Indian Air Force, at a cost of $1.3 billion, the Economic Times reported.

The IAF currently operates about 260 Su-30MKIs, and the new aircraft will replace those lost in accidents over the years.

HAL’s Nashik plant has traditionally produced Russian fighter aircraft under license, and also makes India’s own Light Combat Aircraft. It stopped producing MKIs in 2020-21, when all the planes contracted from Russia had been delivered.

The new planes will feature more than 50% indigenous components, and will be incorporated with the IAF’s Super Sukhoi upgrades.

Over the years, India has rolled out upgrades to the Su-30MKI’s avionics and electronic suite, making the jet more capable and lethal. The IAF also has incorporated the BrahMos-A, an air-launched version of the supersonic Russian-Indian cruise missile, into the platform.

A US judge has dismissed criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani after President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) said it had decided to abandon the fraud and bribery case.

The charges, filed in 2024 by justice officials under then-President Joe Biden, alleged Adani had agreed to bribe Indian officials to secure a solar contract, and then misled US investors by reassuring them about his company’s anti-corruption practices.

Adani Group has denied wrongdoing and Adani never appeared in US court to respond to the charges.

Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter told the Brooklyn-based district judge, Nicholas Garaufis, in May, that the DOJ would not pursue the case as it was primarily foreign, hard to prove, and not consistent with the agency’s priorities.

Adani had promised to invest $10 billion in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs, just before the charges were unsealed. However, his lawyer Robert Giuffra, who is also a personal attorney of President Donald Trump, told justice officials that the investment could not be made while the case was proceeding, Reuters said in May citing a source.

But he criticized McCotter for deciding to drop the charges without inputs from the prosecutors or agents who investigated the case.

“I welcome the US court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process,” Adani posted on X after the case was dismissed. “Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.”

Gautam Adani became Asia’s richest man in June, ahead of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son.

I welcome the US court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process.

Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.

My deepest gratitude to those who never lost faith in us, in the system and in…

— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) August 10, 2026

He hails from Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the two have a close association. Adani’s infrastructure and ports businesses grew during Modi’s tenure as the chief minister of the state.

Earlier this year Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, agreed to pay $18 million in fines to settle a civil case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Indian warships escorted two crude oil tankers through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait amid the recent attacks that have struck commercial ships around the shipping chokepoint in the Red Sea.

The INS Trishul, a guided missile frigate, and the INS Aditya, a combat logistics ship, escorted the MT Compass and the MT Thalatta “to safely transit the high-risk area through #BabelMandeb strait” over Sunday and Monday, the Navy’s Western Naval Command posted on X.

The strait is a vital maritime gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez canal. Last week, an India-flagged cargo vessel, the MSV Faize Noore Oliya, sank near the Yemen coast after it was struck by a projectile.

🇮🇳⚓#INSTrishul and #INSAditya escorted crude tankers MT Compass and MT Thalatta to safely transit the high-risk area through #BabelMandeb strait on 9 and 10 Aug 2026.#IndianNavy remains committed to securing the safe transit of vital energy cargo and protecting Indian… pic.twitter.com/U2CCXmvh3W

— Western Naval Command (@IN_WNC) August 10, 2026

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia last month blockaded all Saudi Arabian ships and those carrying Saudi oil from transiting through the Red Sea. Last week, the Shiite rebels claimed they had attacked eight Saudi-linked ships since the blockade began.

It is not clear if the ships escorted by the Indian Navy are carrying Saudi oil. The escorts could signal a new willingness from New Delhi to secure its energy supply routes through global conflict zones. 

Saudi Arabia shifted most of its oil exports to the Red Sea after Tehran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, another strategic maritime chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s energy used to transit, following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. But some tankers have been forced to reverse course, or switch off their transponders amid the Houthi blockade.

European navy ships operating under Operation Aspides also provide escorts to commercial vessels in the Red Sea, and the US Navy’s Operation Prosperity Guardian does the same for commercial shipping in the region.

India is unlikely to reduce its Russian oil purchases, despite a new sanctions bill that imposes steep tariffs on Russia’s top oil buyers passing in the US Senate, Indian media reports suggest.

The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which features sanctions targeting Russia’s top oil customers while protecting US allies, passed the US Senate on Friday in an 86-11 vote. India is Russia’s second-largest oil customer, behind China.

The bill, championed by the late senator and backed by President Donald Trump, will allow the Trump administration to impose up to 100% tariffs on imports from the five top buyers of Russian oil.

However, steep tariffs might not be enough to stop India, which shares a long relationship with Russia, with roots in the Cold War.

“India has long-enduring ties with Russia, and its defense and energy relationship is deeply entrenched,” the Hindu Businessline reported, quoting a source. “It cannot simply be given up under external pressure.”

New Delhi did not cut back on its purchases even as the bill advanced through the US Senate, the source reportedly said.

India’s crude imports from Russia jumped to 2.8 million barrels per day and accounted for 55% of purchases in July, as a waiver on US sanctions lapsed the previous month.

“This gives a fair idea about what the government has in mind and its unwillingness to curtail its ties with Moscow,” the source said.

“India has a lot going with the US, including work on a bilateral trade agreement,” the report quoted a second source as saying.

“Imposing high tariffs on Indian goods is not a good idea for the American consumers as well.”

The continuing disruptions to oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz could also harden India’s resolve to keep buying more Russian oil as it seeks to secure energy supplies.

The Graham bill’s stated aim is to squeeze the Russian economy by choking off oil revenues and force President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine conflict.

In June, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar called out Western double standards over Russia sanctions and the use of them according to the needs of the US and Europe. “Let’s not pretend there’s some great principle involved here. I don’t think making this about sanctimony is really warranted,” he told journalists in Finland.

A proposed amendment to India’s foreign funding rules for charities and religious organizations has raised the temperature in India-US relations, with New Delhi’s ambassador to Washington posting a myth-buster on X to counter criticism from a US lawmaker.

In a series of posts on Monday, Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra posted a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations made last week by Republican Congressman Riley Moore. The US lawmaker had claimed that the provisions of India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill, 2026 (FCRA) could allow the government to take over churches and religious charities.

“This is a clear attack against Christians,” Moore said, warning the bill could affect India-US ties.

Kwatra, in his ‘Myth vs. Reality’ posts, directly addressed Moore’s criticism, saying “the Act applies uniformly to all organizations regardless of religion, community or ideology.” 

There are many misunderstandings in the media and in civil society about the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill(FCRA), 2026.
Here is the Myth vs. Reality check.

— Amb Vinay Mohan Kwatra (@AmbVMKwatra) August 10, 2026

A provision in the proposed amendments to the law seeks to establish a “designated authority” that would take over the management of foreign contributions, and assets created using those contributions, if an organization loses its FCRA registration.

“If the organization restores its registration, all assets and unused funds are returned in full,” Kwatra said, adding “where a cancelled association has created property connected to a place of worship, that property goes to another FCRA-registered association of the same faith to ensure continuity of worship.”

The ambassador noted that only about 14,450 non-profits among the total 3 million operating in India have FCRA registration.

India’s regulation of foreign funds is “a sovereign step” that is driven by “national security concerns,” he said.

“FCRA does not stop anyone from accepting foreign charity, research grants or humanitarian aid. It asks three things – register, receive the money through laid down process, report what you did with it,” he posted.

Moore’s allegations have added another element of tension to the India-US relationship, with the US Senate recently passing a bill that gives the administration the authority to slap 100% tariffs on Russia’s top oil customers. India is Russia’s second-largest oil buyer.

The Indian foreign ministry had hit back at Moore on Friday, with spokesman Randhir Jaiswal saying even the US regulates the flow of foreign funds. “Legislative matters concerning India are our internal affairs on which decisions are taken by the Parliament of the country,” he said. 

The Indian government has maintained that the law’s aim is to stop the misuse of foreign funds while allowing legitimate organizations to continue their work. 

US defense sales to India have surged past $22 billion since the initial deal for six Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft was signed in early 2008. Since then, the US has become one of India’s key arms suppliers. However, despite the growth in military sales and bold initiatives such as the 10-Year Framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership, defense-industrial cooperation between the two countries still suffers from a wide gap between ambition and execution.

Washington is keen to sell platforms, many of which have already seen more than 30 years of service in the US armed forces. Most of these deals have been one-way transactions, with little or no transfer of technology. Lockheed Martin’s and Boeing’s Make in India initiatives have largely remained “build-to-print” arrangements, again with minimal or no real technology transfer.

The past two years have seen a growing level of distrust between the world’s largest and oldest democracies. It is becoming clear that the US is not interested in India’s rise as a global power. US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau stated at the last Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi that Washington will not repeat its past approach – read mistake – with China by granting India unfettered market and technology access that could lead to strong commercial competition. Washington wants India to be strong enough only to serve as a bulwark against China, and not to become an independent power center or a technological and economic power.

The high-level goals face hurdles from strict US regulations, differing national priorities, and slow bureaucratic delivery. India wants full technology transfer, local intellectual property ownership, and self-reliance under Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) policy. It also wants to preserve its strategic autonomy. The US, however, sees cutting-edge military hardware as a sensitive national security asset requiring tight oversight. Its International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and export administration regulations complicate the sharing of sensitive technical data. Agreements, initiatives, and declarations are all well and good, but the relationship is still waiting for real industrial breakthroughs that can turn intent into capability.

Most recently, delays in the supply of GE F404 engines for the LCA Mk1A program have angered Indians and pushed public opinion to a low point. The prolonged negotiations over the co-production of GE F414 jet engines have also raised doubts about the scope of critical technology transfer and the extent of Make in India content in sub-components. In addition, the fact that the US continues to court Pakistan remains another thorn in its relationship with New Delhi.

Agreements vs Reality

End of the Cold War, and Washington’s growing interest in taking on China in the Indo-Pacific brought the US closer to India. Since the turn of the century there has been increased activity in security fields with many military industrial and logistics and communication related agreements. The defense relationship is anchored in successive 10-year framework agreements signed in 2005, 2015, and a renewed pact in October 2025, alongside foundational military communication and logistics pacts.

In 2016, the US also accorded India Major Defense Partner Status, placing bilateral trade on par with its closest allies. In 2018, India was designated a Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) country and allowed to buy highly advanced and cutting-edge sensitive technologies from America. The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA, 2018) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA, 2020) were signed to permit secure, encrypted communications and share advanced geospatial and satellite data for navigation and targeting. And there are other documents in place.

In 2023, the two sides unveiled a series of ambitious initiatives aimed at moving Indo-US defense ties beyond the traditional buyer-seller model, reviving hopes that had earlier faltered under the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), launched the same year to deepen cooperation in defense, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, 6G communications, quantum computing, and aerospace, has yet to deliver visible results. Similarly, INDUS-X (the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem), designed to foster collaboration among defense start-ups, investors, and industry, as well as the US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, intended to promote co-development, co-production, and more resilient defense supply chains, now appear to be languishing amid Trump’s policy unpredictability.

Notwithstanding the above, friction between the two countries persists. While the American defense industry is eager to capture opportunities in the growing Indian market – especially as New Delhi continues to import foreign weaponry even while rapidly expanding its domestic manufacturing base – there has been little of the technology transfer that the Indian government has been seeking. The gap between ambition and execution remains the defining challenge in the US-India defense-industrial partnership. If India aspires to be a superpower, it will need to invest far more in defense R&D and build its own intellectual property base.

Russia Factor: India’s Traditional Defense Partner

While expanding defense trade with the US, India has continued its long-standing defense partnership with Russia, which dates back to the 1950s, when the Soviet Union and India grew close and Moscow helped New Delhi build its military-industrial base. Beginning with the MiG-21 program, India went on to manufacture a wide range of Soviet – and later Russian – platforms under license. For decades, the Indian armed forces have been dominated by Russian equipment, today the figure remains large at nearly 60%.

The two countries currently maintain what they describe as a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.” Its key pillars include defense supplies, energy trade, and nuclear technology, supported by annual summit meetings and a shared goal of reaching $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

India has been pressing foreign suppliers to manufacture in India as it is steadily moving away from the buyer-seller model toward the co-development and local production of advanced military equipment, spare parts, and systems – and the Russian example suggests that this model can work well. This approach is also being expanded to support the maintenance and upgrading of India’s vast inventory of Russian-origin platforms, including T-72 and T-90 tanks, fighter jets such as the Su-30MKI, and naval vessels.

The Russian offer of co-development of its latest fifth-generation fighters Sukhoi Su-57 with a make-in-India option and complete transfer of technology remains the most attractive ever, even though Indian officials this week said there is no plan for the purchase of the Su-57 in the near future, with focus being on upgrading the existing Su-30MKI fleet. 

But the ground position is that China has moved the J-20 fifth-generation aircraft next to the Indian border in Tibet and Xinjiang and is also planning to transfer J-35 fifth-generation fighters to Pakistan. China and Pakistan work in a collusive mode: at some point India may be forced to acquire Russian Sukhoi Su-57 as an interim fifth-generation fighter till its own AMCA matures.  

While Russia continues to be a time-tested friend, the relationship – including in defense trade – has faced hurdles stemming from the ongoing Ukraine conflict and the broad Western sanctions that have complicated payments and logistics between the two countries. In general, there is a significant a balance-of-payments issue, as India has been importing large volumes of crude oil from Russia while its own exports remain relatively limited. Russia’s close economic and strategic proximity to China also complicates things.

France and Israel as Emerging Partners

India has been actively expanding partnerships with other nations, especially with Israel and France.

With Israel, the defense relationship has been shifting from a traditional buyer-seller dynamic into a deeper industrial and technological co-production partnership. Guided by high-level strategic frameworks, both nations focus on joint research, artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, and domestic manufacturing under India’s self-reliance goals.

Private and public sector Indian defense firms have formed joint ventures with major Israeli defense corporations, such as Elbit Systems, Rafael, and IAI, to build local capacity for assault rifles, electronic warfare, and communication systems. Recent high-level bilateral talks emphasize integrating next-generation innovations like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and directed-energy laser defense systems. Israeli AESA radars, Helmet Displays, and EW systems are on many Indian aircraft. Through Joint ventures, there is significant absorption of technologies.

India and France share a deeply trusted, time-tested defense partnership anchored by strategic autonomy and a history of reliable technology sharing without political strings. France is also known as the “No-Veto” partner. Paris refused to join Western sanctions after India’s 1998 nuclear tests. Both nations prioritize strategic independence over alignment with other global power blocs. On the other hand, French military hardware carries high unit, lifecycle, and maintenance costs.

Decades of successful deployment of the highly successful Dassault Mirage 2000 to modern Rafale jets, and Scorpene submarines has built trust. Multi-billion-dollar deals, such as past Rafale contracts and massive proposed MRFA rollouts, would certainly strain defense budgets. Proprietary French systems and custom subsystems result in high lifecycle servicing costs. The final proposal for 114 Rafale will actually indicate the local manufacturing and co-development extent. Upfront investments to build domestic production lines (like Safran engine initiatives or Airbus-Tata assembly lines) will be indicative.

No Easy Way Ahead

India and the US have chosen to befriend each other and explore defense deals, joint-ventures, and transfer of technology. The reality, however, is that while Washington is keen to sell platforms, support for defense industrial eco-system building has been less than forthcoming. As India grows towards becoming the world’s third largest economy and military power, the US already sees it as a competitor.

India’s heavy reliance on Russian platforms (like the S-400 and Su-30MKI) also creates operational friction and challenges for secure data integration with US systems.

US has to be conscious of India’s time-tested defense partners in Russia, France, and Israel. Undoubtedly India wants to maintain good relations with a great democracy, and a huge market for Indian goods and services, but it has to be as a respected partner. It cannot be with a “take it or leave it” approach.

The prolonged negotiations with General Electric over the GE F-414 engine for domestic Tejas Mk-2 manufacture and the first two squadrons of AMCA is tiring. It is not whether the engine can be built in India, but how much of design expertise, engineering processes, and manufacturing know-how GE is willing to share of its core technologies. The F-414 program is a clear indicator of the limits that continue to constrain Indo-US defence-industrial cooperation. Washington remains reluctant to share critical technologies with India.

Russia, France, and Israel have comparatively been more forthcoming in technology transfer, Make-in-India, and supporting developing Indian defense industrial base. Having said that, one should keep in mind that India has always refused to enter a formal alliance framework or compromise its independent foreign policy. Looking forward, it will continue pursuing strategic autonomy approach.

India has announced a novel $2.5 billion initiative to scale up production of compressed biogas (CBG) as it looks to shore up energy security and slash reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the wake of the Middle East conflict.

On Thursday, New Delhi approved a 10-year National Circular Bioenergy Scheme to boost CBG production 10-fold, aimed at partially addressing the South Asian nation’s energy supply vulnerabilities. 

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has resulted in supply disruptions that impacted India, which imports 50-60% of its LNG. Qatar used to be India’s primary LNG supplier and the bulk of these shipments passed through the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s energy cargoes were moved before the conflict began.

“India currently imports around 50% of its natural gas requirement, making domestically produced compressed biogas an important alternative, particularly amid geopolitical uncertainties,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters.

CNG and LNG are essentially the same, with CNG being the super-cooled version used for long-distance shipping. India is already drawing up plans to expand its strategic petroleum reserves to include liquified gas.

India has a similar program for blending ethanol with petrol and diesel, to lower import dependence.

New Delhi aims to save a tad over $4 billion in foreign exchange over a decade from FY27 to FY36 through reducing LNG imports. The program is also expected to create an $8 billion local biogas industry.

Social media company Meta and its founder Mark Zuckerberg had to apologize to India following the platform’s unacceptable intervention in the political process of the country, a top government aide has said.

Zuckerberg apologized to an Indian parliamentary panel following the brief removal of a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kanchan Gupta, a senior adviser in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said in the latest episode of the ‘India, Russia, and the World’ podcast that the country’s sovereign rules should prevail over the boardroom rules of big tech companies.

Gupta pointed out that big tech platforms enjoy safe-harbor protection that shields them from criminal liability for anything that appears on their platform “provided they have not engineered it, provided they have no role in it.”

“When the platform intervenes in this manner, this is intervention in a country’s political process, and it is unacceptable,” he said, explaining why Meta officials were summoned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

“This is a violation of the safe harbor clause in (India’s) Information Technology Act. You can’t just do it and say sorry,” he said.

“The whole question is, what prevails,” he asked. “Does the law, sovereign law and sovereign rules of India prevail? Or do the boardroom rules of these big tech companies prevail?”

On the Western media’s coverage of the student protests in India, he said “there is some kind of a system in place which rewards the monsterization of India.”

Gupta admitted that the protests offered “a glimpse into the worldview of… the Gen Z generation,” but said no parallels could be drawn with protests in neighboring Bangladesh and Nepal that toppled governments there.

Gupta described the growing percentage of Gen Zs in India’s electoral politics as a good thing. “It brings with it a certain freshness,” he said. 

“Our politics has been of an accommodative nature… [the politicians] know when to step forward, they know when to stand still, and they know when to step back.”

Gupta said there is some accountability for television and print, but for “digital media, there’s no accountability at all.”

He said Western media needs to revisit its own ethical standards. “I won’t say morals, but at least ethical standards and how each day they violate them and how it ultimately hurts their own credibility.”

He added that “the white West controls the information order” with an inherent bias. “A white man’s paper will always carry greater clout than a black man’s paper or a brown man’s paper.”

He said that India knows how best to run its democracy, saying “we don’t like being preached” to about it.

Russia has floated the idea of building a rail route to India as a hedge against the risks associated with the Strait of Hormuz.

Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin told TASS in an interview that Russia needs to build a rail link to the Indian Ocean to reduce risks from maritime disruptions in the chokepoint. He said any options providing access to India would be acceptable.

India and Russia are traditional friends, with close diplomatic ties that grew through the Cold War and have endured despite Western sanctions on Moscow.

“A rail link to the Indian Ocean should also be explored. Risks related to the Bosphorus and the Strait of Hormuz might require alternative routes,” Khusnullin said.

The Bosphorus, a narrow strait that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, is controlled by Turkey. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has led to attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea, disrupting trade.

The US-Israeli attack on Iran has also largely blocked the strategic Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of the world’s energy previously passed.

India has become the second-largest importer of Russian oil, behind China, as it seeks to secure energy supplies amid the disruptions in the Mideast. India’s crude imports from Russia surged to a record high last month, accounting for 55% of its total crude oil purchases. 

Bilateral trade has also surged, with both countries setting a $100 billion goal by 2030.

New Delhi has also shown active interest in the Northern Sea Route, also called the Arctic route, as it explores alternative trade conduits.

India hopes to gain operational control over two oil blocks in Venezuela by leveraging a new petroleum law, according to reports.

State-owned oil explorer ONGC hopes to sign agreements with the South American nation under the new provision, which grants operational freedom without sanctions risk.

In January, the US kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and prodded Caracas to amend laws allowing private participation while keeping control over production, exports, and investments.

ONGC, through its overseas investment arm ONGC Videsh, holds a ‌40% stake ⁠in ⁠Venezuela’s San Cristobal field. Along with other Indian companies, ONGC also holds an 18% ​stake in the Carabobo-1 project.

“Now we have full freedom to work on the ​Venezuela projects,” ONGC finance director Anupam Agarwal was quoted as saying on a call with analysts. “Earlier, we were restricting our operations there because of the sanctions-related risk.”

Before 2019, India was a major buyer of heavy, sulfur-rich Venezuelan crude oil until US sanctions restricted trade. 

Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, welcomed the participation of Indian companies in the country’s oil and gas sector while on a visit to India in June.

The renewed overseas focus comes as India seeks to diversify its oil and gas supplies amid the conflict in the Middle East, which has led to supply disruptions, and as Washington advances a bill that could see up to 100% tariffs imposed on the top five importers of Russian oil and gas.

Sakhalin-1 was transferred to a new domestic operator by Russia after sweeping Western sanctions following the Ukraine conflict. ONGC made payments into the Sakhalin-1 abandonment fund in rubles using dividends frozen in Russia, to restore its stake.

India’s crude imports from Russia surged to a record high in July, accounting for 55% of its total crude oil purchases.

New Delhi has also directed ONGC to build and fill another strategic petroleum reserve facility, which would expand its reserve capacity by a third.

India is planning to expand its strategic petroleum reserves beyond crude oil, building storage facilities for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a total cost of $42 billion, Reuters has reported citing sources.

The new stockpiles, when full, will cover about two months of crude and LNG demand, and around six weeks of LPG use. The plan to build and fully stock the reserves will take about 10 years.

India imports about half of its LNG requirements and about 60% of its LPG needs, most of it from the Mideast. 

LPG is primarily used for cooking, and recent disruptions in energy supplies due to the conflict in the Middle East triggered a minor panic among household users before the government managed to reassure them and stabilize the situation.

The disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s energy passed before the US-Israeli attack on Iran, exposed India’s energy supply vulnerabilities.

In June, New Delhi directed the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to build and fill another strategic petroleum reserve facility, which would expand its reserve capacity by a third.

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized to an Indian parliamentary panel over child sexual abuse material, deepfake content, and operational errors on its platforms, government sources have told RT India.

Earlier on Wednesday, the head of a parliamentary panel, which had summoned Meta officials after Facebook temporarily blocked a video by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had given the tech boss three days to apologize.

Meta has yet to issue a statement on the apology.

“If Facebook does not take action against those responsible in this matter, the Safe Harbour Clause will be removed,” Nishikant Dubey, a lawmaker from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, said.

Meta had said the incident happened due to a technical glitch.

The blocked video was of Modi addressing students who had protested in Delhi last month – a sensitive issue for the ruling BJP.

The parliamentary panel also warned all social media platforms to comply with India’s Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) rules. Meta was slapped with a notice over violations of the rules by Instagram last month.

The US Senate has voted 86 to 12 in favor of legislation to impose 100% tariffs on India, as well as other nations, for buying Russian oil. When the Senate reconvenes in September, the bill is expected to pass, after which it will go to the House for a vote. The House, too, is likely to clear it.

The late Senator Lindsey Graham had been one of the main advocates of this legislation, alongside Senator Blumenthal, another persistent critic of India. Blumenthal has now emerged as the driving force behind the bill, seemingly determined to carry it forward as a final tribute to his departed colleague.

A few observations are in order.

First, all the talk of a bipartisan consensus in the US Congress in favor of strong ties with India has proved exaggerated. The Senate vote backing this punitive legislation was itself bipartisan. Senator Blumenthal has made it clear that the real targets of the bill are China and India, the two largest buyers of Russian oil.

When India-US ties were on an upward trajectory, Congress supported them. Now that the relationship is moving in the opposite direction, Congress is offering no resistance. New Delhi should draw a political lesson from this.

Second, reviving the issue of India’s purchases of Russian oil shows how short-term and ad hoc the US approach to policymaking can be. During the Biden administration, Washington had in fact encouraged India to keep buying Russian oil in order to prevent a sharp rise in global prices. The logic was simple: if Russian crude had been pushed out of the international market completely, no other supplier would have been able to fully make up the shortfall.

Trump tried to wean away India from buying Russian discounted oil by imposing an extra 25% penalty tariffs on us for such purchases. India, however, continued to buy Russian oil in large quantities. Not only that, the refined products made by Indian refineries from the Russian crude were exported to Europe to meet its energy requirements.

Third, the Senate is brazen about subscribing to double standards in shaping the legislation. The legislation has been drafted to exclude US allies from the purview of the 100% tariffs that would be imposed on India, China, Hungary, Slovakia and Azerbaijan. European states including Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Austria continue to buy Russian energy, as do Turkey and Japan, yet they have been shielded through openly selective carve-outs. In other words, discrimination has been written into the legislation with little concern for either political consistency or moral credibility. All the past rhetoric about the US-India partnership being “defining” for the 21st century, and about the two countries being “natural allies,” is now being jettisoned.

Fourth, the legislation gives the US president waiver authority, allowing him to suspend tariffs or sanctions if this is deemed necessary in the US national interest. This reflects a cynical game played by both Congress and the White House at times: creating a punitive instrument that can then be selectively wielded as leverage to force targeted countries into compliance with US demands.

Such countries would then be expected to approach the White House in search of a waiver, which the US administration could use to extract concessions on other unresolved issues where it had previously failed to get its way. Even if a waiver is not granted, and the sanctions provided for under the legislation are not immediately enforced, the sword of Damocles would still hang over the targeted country.

India has not received any waiver under CAATSA, yet no sanctions have been imposed on it either – no doubt in part because India has also purchased more than $20 billion worth of US defense equipment. American defense companies would hardly want to jeopardize future opportunities in the Indian market, especially when they are already concerned about losing contracts to the French.

In the case of Chabahar port, we have already seen the invidious position in which the US can place India by granting and then withdrawing waivers for its participation in the project, entirely on the basis of shifting American policies in the region rather than India’s interests.

The threat of tariffs has not worked against China, which has retaliated with coercive steps of its own in the areas of exports of critical raw materials and products, forcing the US to back down. If President Xi’s visit to the US takes place in September as planned, this would hardly be the right time to threaten China with 100% tariffs for buying Russian oil. Does the US expect China to close the pipelines delivering Russian oil and gas to it? The US has such a sense of impunity that it believes it can act arbitrarily without cost.

In promoting the legislation, Senator Blumenthal argued that China and India “are doing us no favors anywhere else in the world.” One could just as easily turn the question around and ask what favors the US has done for India “anywhere else in the world.” If New Delhi and Washington have built a strong relationship over the past two decades, it has been grounded in their respective national interests and, of course, mutual benefit. The irony is that US has long viewed India as a key partner in building maritime deterrence against China – hence the history of naval exercises, later expanded across all three services, the signing of foundational defense agreements, the the emergence of the Quad, and the broader Indo-Pacific construct.

The US now sees China – not India – as the principal challenge to its global primacy, including in the technology race. Yet driven by his own anti-Russian fixation and the prevailing mood in Congress, as well as by Washington’s frustration at failing to force Russia into submission through sanctions and a proxy war in Ukraine, Senator Blumenthal has advanced legislation that without good reason turns India into a scapegoat. Traditionally strong India-Russia ties remain a bugbear for American policy makers.

It is deeply galling for India, a massive energy importer, to be dictated to by the US where it may or may not source its supplies. This is fundamentally a sovereign trade decision that India alone should make.

India’s anger at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the blocking of a video address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook has intensified, with lawmakers setting a three-day deadline for the tech boss to personally apologize.

The head of a parliamentary panel that heard Meta officials on the takedown on Monday announced the demand, while calling for action against those in the company responsible for the move.

Meta has said the video was temporarily blocked by a technical glitch, and apologized for the restricted post.

The panel’s head, Nishikant Dubey, a lawmaker from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called the video’s removal an “attack on democracy” on Wednesday.

“If Facebook does not take action against those responsible in this matter, the Safe Harbour Clause will be removed. Mark Zuckerberg will have to apologize. Otherwise, a case may be filed,” reports quoted him as saying.

Meta’s chief of global affairs, Joel Kaplan, was also called in on Wednesday by the secretary of the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to explain the takedown.

#BREAKING | A Meta delegation led by Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan met MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan in New Delhi over the deletion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video message to students from Facebook. pic.twitter.com/kOgAUbEkaH

— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) August 5, 2026

The government’s ire may stem from the fact that the blocked video was the prime minister’s direct address to students who had protested in the capital – a sensitive issue for the BJP.

Its withdrawal may open a floodgate of complaints against Meta officials and Zuckerberg in police stations across the country.

The parliamentary panel has also warned all social media platforms to comply with the country’s Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) rules. Meta was slapped with a notice over violations of the rules by Instagram last month.

An Indian-flagged cargo ship sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday after it was attacked. All 14 crew members – 13 Indians and one Yemeni national – were rescued by Yemeni forces.

The MSV Faize Noore Oliya was reportedly struck by a projectile south of the port city of Hodeidah, which is under the control of the Houthi rebels.

The Iran-backed militia said last month it will block all Saudi-linked vessels from entering or leaving the Red Sea, but it has not commented on the sinking. According to reports, the Indian-flagged tanker was carrying oil from Saudi Arabia.

Yemen’s Transportation Ministry has accused the Houthis of carrying out the ​attack using an explosive-laden boat. Some media reports have suggested that a naval drone struck the mechanized sailing vessel.

Indian MSV Faize Noore Oliya has been hit by a projectile near Yemeni waters, causing the vessel to capsize and sink.

India strongly condemns this unprovoked attack on the defenseless mechanised sailing vessel. The safety of our people is our supreme priority & I am relieved to…

— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) August 4, 2026

Ship-tracking website Marine Traffic showed its destination as Oman before the attack.

So far, 10 Indian seafarers have died in attacks on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz since US-Israeli strikes on Iran set off a regional conflagration. At least five have died in the Baltic Sea region in similar attacks amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

Indian authorities have issued two advisories to Indian seafarers in the Middle East and the Baltic Sea, advising caution before entering the conflict areas and asking them to reach out to Indian authorities in case of trouble. 

Following the sinking of the MSV Faize Noore Oliya, India’s Foreign Ministry condemned the continued attacks on commercial ships, calling them “deeply worrisome.”

“The targeting of commercial shipping in the region must end, and free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the international waterways in the region, in keeping with international law, must be restored at the earliest,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Our Embassy in Riyadh is closely monitoring the situation and proactively coordinating with the Yemeni authorities for the safety and security of the crew,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said.

Bangladesh has expressed its openness to cooperating with the US on nuclear power, even as it resists ratifying a reciprocal trade deal signed with Washington by the country’s previous interim government, which constrains its ability to conduct foreign policy and trade. 

“We are positive,” Bangladeshi junior foreign minister Shama Obaed Islam said on Monday. However, she added: “If any agreement with the US is beneficial for our bilateral relations and is in the interest of Bangladesh and its economy, we will proceed. If not, we will reconsider.”

US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor made the nuclear proposal to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman during a visit to Dhaka last week. His visit was seen as an attempt to pressure the country to ratify and comply with the Agreement to Reciprocal Trade (ART) signed in February, just before the country’s elections. 

The interim government agreed to buy 14 Boeing aircraft for about $3.7 billion following pressure from the Trump administration to boost its exports to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s bilateral trade with the US was about $12 billion in 2024, primarily driven by the South Asian country’s apparel and textile exports.

However, the Trump administration also tacked on provisions that restricted Dhaka’s freedom to do business with nations labeled as “non-market economies,” which covers its longstanding partners Russia and China. 

Under the ART, higher tariffs will snap into place if Dhaka enters into any new bilateral free trade agreement or preferential economic agreement with a non-market country. It also restricts Bangladesh from buying any new nuclear reactors, fuel rods, or enriched uranium from a country that jeopardizes US interests. 

Gor’s nuclear cooperation proposal comes months after Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the commissioning process of the country’s first nuclear power plant – built and financed by Russia.

The 2,400 MW plant is nearing commercial power generation even as the US sanctions on Russia are making payments difficult for Dhaka.

China is Bangladesh’s largest trading partner, with $22 billion in bilateral trade annually. 

The government is not feeling “pressured” about the ART, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman told the media after meeting Gor.

“We will never strengthen relations with one country at the expense of another,” he said, according to local media reports. “We seek to strengthen our relations with all countries while protecting and advancing Bangladesh’s national interests.”

Gor’s proposal is being reviewed by Bangladesh’s science and technology ministry.

India is looking to expand cooperation in mining and critical minerals with Uzbekistan as the two countries, with historical connections that ran through the ancient Silk Road trade routes, deepen their strategic partnership.

New Delhi has been looking to secure its supply of critical minerals amid the trade tensions that have disrupted supply chains globally. Rare earths and rare-earth magnets are critical components in green energy transition, going into everything from wind turbines to electric vehicles. China currently dominates much of the rare earth trade and rare-earth magnet production in the world.

India has expanded its search for reliable rare-earth supplies recently, with state-owned miner IREL seeking samples from Myanmar – which produces half of the world’s supply – and a deposit owned by Russia’s Rosneft in Siberia.

Uzbekistan foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, who is on a four-day visit to New Delhi, said during a meeting with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar: “The special instruction to me personally and to my whole delegation is to visit your country to prepare (for) the upcoming visit of Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] to Uzbekistan.”

📹 PM Modi's Next Stop: Uzbekistan?

🇺🇿 Foreign Minister says his four-day India visit is aimed at preparing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming trip to Uzbekistan, underscoring the growing momentum in bilateral ties. https://t.co/UmYTxxguBy pic.twitter.com/SK73hn120s

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 4, 2026

Saidov called India his country’s reliable and “most important strategic and trade partner in South Asia.” India has strategic partnerships with Uzbekistan and other Central Asian nations – all former Soviet republics – as they face common challenges like terrorism and drug trafficking. 

“Uzbekistan presents opportunities for Indian investment in mining, while cooperation in textiles can benefit from Uzbekistan’s cotton production strengths and India’s expertise in manufacturing, design and global markets,” Goyal said.  

Indian President Droupadi Murmu, while meeting with Saidov, noted the two countries’ “shared heritage in architecture, language, cuisine, music, and religious traditions.”

The two countries also share robust educational and professional exchange ties, with more than 16,000 Indian students currently pursuing higher studies in Uzbekistan. “They act as a bridge between the two countries and foster mutual understanding and strong people-to-people ties,” the Indian president said.

An Indian parliamentary panel has demanded an apology from Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the removal last week of a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the country’s youth. The removal sparked an angry backlash against the social media giant.

Chairman of the panel Nishikant Dubey MP, from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, said Zuckerberg should apologize over the temporary removal of Modi’s Facebook video, saying that Meta should lose its safe harbor protection if it failed to do so.

“Our committee has said two things and has clearly stated that the apology should come from Zuckerberg. If Zuckerberg does not give it, then the safe harbor protection under Section 79 should be withdrawn from him,” Dubey told reporters after the meeting ended.

Section 79 of India’s Information Technology Act protects internet service providers, social media platforms, and online marketplaces from legal liability for third-party content, provided they act as neutral hosts and follow basic due diligence.

While a parliamentary panel in India cannot directly punish anyone, it can submit punitive recommendations to the full House for a final vote.

The global head of public policy of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, was summoned by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently over the issue.

The combined user base of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in India is more than 1.15 billion, making it Meta’s largest market.

The meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology was convened to discuss the regulation of social and digital media platforms.

Representatives of Meta, YouTube, X, Snapchat, the Indian Home Ministry, and MeitY appeared before the panel. Meta apologized before the panel, saying the removal of the video was due to an error.

Still, members of the panel took a tough stance, with several lawmakers saying the issue went beyond an apology. They demanded accountability, according to reports.

“For social media platforms who have been operating in this sector, they have to be alive to the requirements of the countries in which they are operating,” RT India’s managing editor, Ashok Bagriya, said. 

Last week, police in the south Indian city of Hyderabad registered a case against Meta’s country head and several Facebook and Instagram users over posts deemed offensive toward Modi.

On Monday, lawmakers sought details from Meta on what action the company had taken regarding controversial and objectionable content on its platforms.

India has tightened content rules that protect online platforms from liability over user-generated content. Since February, platforms have been asked to remove unlawful content flagged by courts or the government within three hours. The window was previously 36 hours.

India’s crude imports from Russia surged to a record high in July, accounting for 55% of its total crude oil purchases, according to media reports.

Shipments rose to around 2.6 million barrels per day (mbd), the Times of India reported, quoting Sumit Ritolia, lead analyst for modelling and refining at Kpler.

The rise in purchases came even as US sanctions on Russian oil remain in force. After the Middle East conflict sparked a surge in oil prices, the US waived the sanctions – as a price dampener – on Russian oil already loaded on vessels at least three times. The last waiver was issued in May, but Washington quietly let it lapse on June 19, as global oil supplies remain restricted and stocks have mostly been drawn down across the world.

Russian crude imports increased 1.8% from 2.73 mbd in June, though New Delhi’s total imports were only slightly higher, up 0.1% from 5.02 mbd. Moscow’s share has also risen from 54.4%, further consolidating its position as New Delhi’s top supplier. Russian crude imports to India have more than doubled from 23.4% in January.

Supplies of Russian Urals crude helped Indian refiners after disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict continued. Moscow has also sharply slashed discounts to $2-3 per barrel recently.

A June ceasefire brokered to halt the Middle East conflict has collapsed, leading to airstrikes by the US and Iranian retaliation. While the US announced a temporary pause on a planned major military offensive last week, the situation remains volatile. Shipping traffic through the Hormuz Strait, through which a fifth of global energy supplies passed before the conflict, has been severely impacted.

China and India have been the two largest importers of Russian oil recently.

The US had imposed 25% tariffs on Indian imports as a penalty for its oil purchases from Russia in August 2025. The tariffs were lifted after a broad trade deal was announced in February. India has maintained that its oil purchases are dictated by national interest.

Trade between India and China across their shared Himalayan border resumed on Saturday after a gap of six years as the two Asian powers rapidly normalize their relationship.

Himalayan trading, a centuries-old tradition between people in China’s Tibet and India’s Himalayan states, had stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It remained suspended after a border skirmish in 2020 in Galwan in eastern Ladakh left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers dead, freezing relations between the two countries.

The restart, led by local traders and using traditional routes, is expected to boost the economies and remote communities in Himalayan border areas.

Videos posted on social media site X show officials from both countries greeting each other at the Shipki-La, Lipulekh, and Nathu La mountain passes, with small groups of local traders being allowed into each country.

🇮🇳🇨🇳 India-China Border Trade Reopens Through Shipki-La After Nearly Seven Years

The historic route in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district resumed on Saturday, restoring a key commercial link across the Himalayan frontier. pic.twitter.com/EQjCrOL2Ht

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 2, 2026

Nathu La, in the state of Sikkim, sits at a height of 4,300 meters on an offshoot of the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes connecting Asia and Europe.

Before being halted, the border trade through the high-altitude passes was conducted under strict daily caps and limited to specific regional items such as spices, tea, and silk.

Both sides have initiated confidence-building measures, including the resumption of direct flights and updates to the visa regime. India recently started allowing Chinese investments into critical sectors of its economy, signalling a willingness to integrate its business and economy more with that of China.

China is the world’s second largest economy and India the fourth in terms of GDP, and both are continuing to grow fast despite the macroeconomic headwinds caused by US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff impositions and the war in the Middle East triggered by the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

India’s northeastern state of Assam is battling the worst floods in decades that have left at least 80 dead, millions of hectares submerged, and thousands marooned or displaced.

Assam sees flooding every year in the monsoon season, like many parts of India, but this year they were especially destructive in the state. The flooding, which started around the end of June, intensified last week when the Brahmaputra river, which originates in the Tibetan Himalayas, quickly swelled from intense rainfall.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority said on Thursday that 212,400 people were affected in the worst-hit districts of Charaideo, Golaghat, Jorhat, and Sivasagar. An RT India crew travelled to the flood-hit areas and captured the destruction and the tears.

“My husband earns a living by driving an e-rickshaw,” a woman told RT. “Our only source of income has been taken away. In just 10 minutes we lost everything.” 

“All the paddy fields we had and the livestock, which were our only source of income, all washed away,” said another local.

Some paddy fields now resemble water bodies. Officials reported that 437 villages are still under water and 17,198 hectares of crops have been damaged across the state.

As figures trickle in, more than 90,000 heads of livestock are also being counted as washed away.

India received 1% more rainfall than the July average. Assam’s chief minister has said that some districts in the state received nearly 500% above normal rainfall in July. 

The state administration has set up 112 relief camps and distribution centers across the four districts, providing care to 75,583 affected people, according to reports.

Indian police have registered a case against Meta’s country head and several Facebook and Instagram users over posts deemed offensive toward Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Police are ​preparing to send a notice to Meta Platforms India head Arun Srinivas following complaints by two individuals, reports said citing senior officials of the cyber crimes unit in Hyderabad. The southern city hosts Meta’s main operations hub in the country.

The videos were reportedly posted during the student protests in New Delhi earlier this month that led to the resignation of the federal education minister.

The complainants alleged that the posts “contain offensive language, ridicule, and indecent remarks directed at the Hon’ble Prime Minister and other individuals” and also appear to have been digitally altered or AI-generated.

New Delhi has tightened content rules that protect online platforms from liability over user-generated content. Since February, platforms have been asked to remove ​unlawful content flagged by courts or the government within three hours. The window was previously 36 hours.

Earlier this week, Meta assured the government that safeguards had been put in place after a video posted from Narendra Modi’s account was briefly blocked on Facebook.

A Meta team will reportedly soon meet government officials to discuss key issues, including content regulation.

A parliamentary panel has also summoned representatives of Meta, X, Google, and Snapchat to discuss user privacy and public order.

In June, New Delhi temporarily banned the Telegram app, claiming it was a key facilitator of the leak of questions in a national entrance exam, which triggered student protests.

The combined user base of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in India is more than 1.15 billion, making it Meta’s largest market. 

India should consider appointing a “polar ambassador” to pursue “polar diplomacy” more effectively, a parliamentary panel has recommended.

“Creating such a position will not only help India project the importance given to these regions in its foreign policy architecture but will also help put across its policy stance in relation to polar areas/pursue polar diplomacy in a more effective manner,” lawmakers on the committee said. 

A parliamentary panel in India is a small group of MPs that weighs in on bills and budgets, and the work of various ministries. 

India established a scientific presence in Antarctica in 1982 and has three active research stations there now. New Delhi came out with an Arctic Policy in 2022.

The Arctic has become increasingly important for New Delhi amid the shipping disruptions in the Middle East caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. India is considering increasing the use of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), also called the Arctic route, Russia’s minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, Alexey Chekunkov, said last month.

Russia is investing heavily in developing the NSR, which is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe. Indian shipyards are in talks to build four non-nuclear icebreaker ships for Russia.

It recommended that the government enter into an agreement with Japan, Singapore and South Korea, which, along with India, are observers in the Arctic Council, to enhance Asia’s collective voice in the forum. Having a polar ambassador will also help India work toward getting full-member status of the council, it said.

An “Indian narrative of the Arctic” should be formulated to enhance New Delhi’s leadership position in the polar areas, it said, adding that the government should strengthen its role as a representative of the Global South to advocate their collective interests in the polar regions.

The panel led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also made a slew of other recommendations including that the government buy polar research vessels as the shortage of such ice-class vessels was impacting India’s polar research and other activities. It also said the Indian government should explore fishing in polar regions while taking into consideration the fragile ecology there.

The US has sanctioned a Delhi-based company that represents Iran’s Mahan Air in India, along with entities in Russia and China that do business with the privately owned carrier.

“India-based Skiez Travels and Logistics Private Limited… and Russia-based Air Cargo Pro Limited… serve as general sales agents for Mahan Air in India and Russia, respectively,” the Treasury Department said in a statement on its website.

“Those who provide financial services, logistics, or commercial support to the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps] or Mahan Air are helping sustain a terrorist enterprise,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Mahan Air is itself under US and European Union sanctions.

The US Treasury claimed that although Mahan Air presents itself as a civilian carrier, it has played a central role in enabling the IRGC by providing “travel services for IRGC‑Qods Force personnel, facilitating military training, and supporting Iran’s procurement and transport of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems and weapons.”

The other entities sanctioned are Chinese-based Shanghai Wings International Logistics Co, which serves as a general sales agent for Mahan Air in China, the Shanghai Elite International Travel Co, which represents Mahan Air in China, and its executive director, Tang Xin. DadeNegar Startup Studio, which the Treasury described as a “front company affiliated with Iran’s IRGC,” has also been targeted.

The US and Iran have exchanged several rounds of attacks in the latest escalation of hostilities. The conflict was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran, and has led to the near-complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of the world’s energy used to pass.

Dozens of Indian companies and individuals were targeted by the US in earlier sanctions rounds.

As Europe endures another summer of record-breaking temperatures, the heat is no longer just a Mediterranean story; it is increasingly an Arctic one.

A recent study demonstrates that accelerating sea-ice loss in the Barents Sea is increasing the likelihood of simultaneous summer heatwaves across Europe and East Asia, underscoring how changes in the High North reverberate across continents. The Arctic is, therefore, no longer a distant frontier defined solely by ice, energy resources, and great-power rivalry; it is a global climate regulator whose transformation directly affects the well-being of both the Global North and South.

The Arctic may not be a ‘global common’ under international law, but it has become so in terms of its consequences; its climate system impacts monsoon rains in South Asia, heatwaves in Europe, extreme weather events in North America, and food security in Africa. In this sense, the Arctic is often described as the ‘kitchen of the world’s weather’. It may, therefore, be more appropriately understood as a ‘shared climate common’, reflecting the transboundary nature of its environmental impacts. This reconceptualization highlights the potential role of institutions such as BRICS in addressing Arctic-related climate challenges, even though most of its members are non-Arctic states.

Against this backdrop, India’s 2026 BRICS chairship arrives at a pivotal moment. As the leading voice of the Global South and an increasingly active Arctic stakeholder through scientific research and polar diplomacy, India is uniquely positioned to broaden the Arctic conversation beyond traditional geopolitical competition.

India has recognized this transformation gradually. From establishing the Himadri research station in Svalbard in 2008 to adopting its Arctic Policy in 2022, New Delhi has steadily expanded its scientific and diplomatic engagement. Yet the country’s Arctic approach remains largely science-driven and relatively cautious. Unlike Arctic coastal states, India does not possess territorial ambitions in the region. Instead, it seeks responsible participation based on scientific research, environmental stewardship, sustainable development, and international cooperation.

BRICS offers a unique platform through which India can elevate this vision.

BRICS push

The Arctic itself is undergoing profound geopolitical change. Russia remains the dominant Arctic power, possessing approximately half of the Arctic coastline, the world’s largest fleet of nuclear icebreakers, and extensive energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Western sanctions and the deterioration of Russia-West relations following the Ukraine conflict have significantly disrupted established mechanisms of Arctic governance and cooperation.

The rationale for such claims has become particularly pronounced in recent years, as the Western Arctic states suspended cooperation with Russia within the framework of the Arctic Council. As a result, the Arctic Council has become largely inactive. This has provided non-Arctic states seeking a greater role in Arctic affairs with a compelling argument for promoting more inclusive governance arrangements.

From the perspective of Russia and the Arctic states, however, such initiatives are viewed more as a challenge than as an opportunity. Russia remains interested in restoring the full functioning of the Arctic Council.

From Russia’s perspective, the most unfavorable scenario would be one in which governance through cooperation evolves into the internationalization of the Arctic — that is, the opening of Arctic governance to all interested stakeholders on an equal basis. Russia’s current priority is, therefore, to preserve the unity of the Arctic Council while engaging non-Arctic states through the most acceptable forms of cooperation in the Arctic region.

Such engagement may take place either bilaterally or through multilateral arrangements, provided that these mechanisms complement rather than replace the Arctic Council. Their development should be guided by Russia’s national policy priorities as well as the expectations of its partner states.

At the same time, BRICS has expanded both geographically and politically. With the admission of new members, including countries from West Asia and Africa, BRICS increasingly presents itself as a Global South platform. Although not all BRICS members possess direct Arctic interests, many are affected by Arctic-driven climate change, changing global shipping routes, and evolving energy markets.

India is particularly well positioned to facilitate this conversation in consonance with its relationship with Russia. India maintains longstanding strategic partnerships with Russia while simultaneously deepening cooperation with the other important Arctic states such as the United States, Norway, Denmark, and Canada. This diplomatic flexibility enables New Delhi to engage across geopolitical divides without becoming exclusively aligned with any side. India’s ability to maintain dialogue across competing geopolitical camps could become an asset rather than a liability.

India’s Arctic engagement rests on five interconnected pillars: scientific research, climate resilience, sustainable economic development, maritime connectivity, and international governance. Research conducted through Himadri and India’s Arctic expeditions contributes to understanding the connections between Arctic processes and the Indian monsoon, Himalayan glaciers, and extreme weather events.

However, this scientific credibility and India’s growing role in Arctic governance do not imply support for the internationalization of the region in the legal sense. A broader process of internationalization based on recognizing the Arctic as the ‘common heritage of humankind’ — effectively extending to the region a legal regime comparable to that governing Antarctica — is neither feasible nor consistent with the existing legal framework. The Arctic is not terra nullius. Instead, it is governed by a complex body of international law, principally established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Why BRICS matters

India’s BRICS chairmanship arrives at a time when global governance institutions face increasing fragmentation. Although scientific cooperation continues in various forms, political dialogue has become significantly more constrained.

There are four areas which need attention.

First is climate adaptation. Many BRICS countries are among those most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing relatively less to historical emissions. Arctic warming accelerates global climatic disruptions that disproportionately affect developing countries. A BRICS dialogue linking Arctic science with Global South climate adaptation would fill an important governance gap.

Second is scientific cooperation. Joint polar research involving BRICS universities, research institutes, satellite programs, and oceanographic missions would diversify knowledge production beyond traditional Western research networks.

Fourth is clean energy. The Arctic contains significant reserves of critical minerals, rare earths, natural gas, and emerging renewable energy opportunities. Cooperation on technological innovation, environmental standards, and responsible resource management would benefit both Arctic and non-Arctic developing economies.

The Russia factor

Russia’s support for a larger BRICS role in the Arctic is driven by an effort to strengthen and expand cooperation in the region. By bringing trusted emerging powers, especially India, into Arctic energy, shipping, science, and infrastructure, Moscow seeks to diversify partners to overcome constraints of Western sanctions, strengthen the commercial viability of the Northern Sea Route, reduce overreliance on China, and embed Arctic development within the institutions of an emerging multipolar order.

Russia remains India’s principal Arctic partner. Cooperation extends beyond hydrocarbons to include scientific exchanges, higher education, maritime logistics, and polar research. Russian expertise in icebreaker technology, Arctic port management, cold-climate engineering, and northern infrastructure represents capabilities that few countries possess.

Connecting the Global South and the High North

Perhaps India’s greatest contribution lies not in material capabilities but in narrative innovation. The Arctic has often been portrayed as an exclusive domain of Arctic states or major powers. Yet climate change demonstrates that Arctic transformations generate consequences extending far beyond the Polar Circle.

India’s ongoing BRICS chairship provides an opportunity to move from rhetoric to practical cooperation in the Arctic for BRICS countries. A BRICS Polar Research Network could connect universities, climate institutes, and polar research centers for collaborative projects and research exchanges.

A BRICS Climate Data Platform could integrate satellite observations, cryosphere research, and climate modelling to improve adaptation planning across developing countries. India could initiate annual BRICS dialogues on Arctic governance involving policymakers, scientists, indigenous representatives, and industry experts.

The New Development Bank could explore financing mechanisms for sustainable Arctic-related infrastructure, renewable technologies, and climate adaptation projects, provided these conform to environmental standards.

Educational exchanges focusing on polar engineering, cold-region technologies, and Arctic environmental management could strengthen human capital across BRICS. None of these initiatives would challenge existing Arctic institutions. Instead, they would complement them while expanding Global South participation in scientific and policy discussions.

Challenges ahead

Nevertheless, India will have to proceed cautiously. The Arctic is becoming increasingly militarized. NATO’s growing northern presence, Russia’s security concerns, and intensifying US-China competition all complicate the strategic environment. India should avoid being drawn into geopolitical rivalries that could undermine its scientific credibility.

Similarly, environmental concerns remain paramount. Increased shipping, hydrocarbon development, and mineral extraction raise legitimate ecological risks. Any Arctic engagement should, therefore, remain firmly anchored in sustainability and international law. Balancing economic opportunities with environmental responsibility will determine the credibility of any future initiatives.

Climate change, scientific research, maritime connectivity, and sustainable development have linked the High North with the aspirations and vulnerabilities of the Global South. India’s 2026 BRICS chairship arrives at a moment when these connections are becoming impossible to ignore. Rather than treating the Arctic solely as a theater of strategic competition, New Delhi has an opportunity to promote a more inclusive vision that combines scientific cooperation, climate resilience, and responsible governance.

Success will depend not on attempting to reshape Arctic institutions but on building bridges between regions, disciplines, and political divides. India can leverage its scientific credentials, diplomatic flexibility, and longstanding partnerships, including with Russia to foster constructive dialogue among both Arctic and non-Arctic actors.

If pursued with consistency, India’s BRICS presidency could mark an important step in connecting the concerns of the Global South with the future of the High North. In an era when Arctic warming increasingly influences weather, economies, and societies across the globe, such a connection is no longer aspirational, it is an emerging necessity.

India’s labor market and educational system should adapt to the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, a top adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.

Disagreeing with the idea that AI will eat away human jobs, Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, told RT India that new technologies will also create new kinds of jobs.

“Textile technology of the early 19th century caused losses of jobs. Today’s textile industry worldwide employs a lot more people than existed in the 18th century,” he said in the latest episode of the ‘India, Russia, and the World’ podcast.

Sanyal said rather than wasting time on ways to protect today’s jobs, the workforce should be retrained.

Citing the example of podcasting, he asked, “Who knew that podcasting would be a profession? This profession did not exist, you know, half a generation ago.”

Stressing the need for the higher education system to become attentive to how the job market and opportunities evolve, he said, “The old system of giving lectures and curriculums is changing… at a glacial pace, all that has to go.”

The concept of concentrating all your higher education right in the beginning of your life without developing new skills the rest of your life is “probably now an outdated model,” Sanyal said.
India is already a reasonably important player in AI, he noted.

“The global capability centers of Microsoft or Google or Meta or Apple, you know, are huge in India,” Sanyal said. “Even parts of the foundational [AI] models being developed by these companies are developed in India.”

He said the latest data suggests that India’s economy grew at 7.8% in the first quarter of this year, despite geopolitical shocks. India will not pursue growth by risking macroeconomic instability, he said, citing this as the “reason we have been very careful about controlling inflation.”

India has tamed inflation in the 2 to 6% target range in the last decade.

The country is creating a network of bilateral free trade pacts to counteract the breakdown of the old multilateral system, he added.

The violence in New Delhi last week amid mass student protests has ignited a debate in the country about the surveillance technology which law enforcement agencies use to tackle unrest – and how it holds up to scrutiny under Indian law. 

In addition to the shutdown of Internet services in the protest area, the jamming of mobile phones, and the recording of protesters’ Instagram handles, Delhi police also reportedly deployed facial recognition technology and biometric surveillance.

What was the technology used?

According to local media, Delhi police deployed at least three ‘Ikshana’ mobile surveillance vans, equipped with powerful cameras that continuously captured live images and compared them using AI-enabled facial recognition technology to a police database, reportedly in order to “identify criminal elements among the protesters.” 

Inside, officers monitor the screens as the facial recognition software processes live video feeds of the crowd, and throws up images for comparison against “a large database of criminals.” 

The AI software helps identify, or verify, the identity of the individual captured in the image by analyzing facial features and comparing them against a database of stored images in order to find potential matches.

Additional CCTV cameras were also installed around the protest site in Jantar Mantar in Delhi and connected to a mobile police control room. The police also allegedly used Meta smart glasses to snap pictures of the protesters.

Investigative journalist Srishti posted a video clip on X last week of seeing her face on the monitor of a police control van while reporting for the independent news site Article14 from the protest site. ”Delhi police were caught on camera surveilling a journalist on duty,” she claimed. 

The satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which led the protests, posted a similar video, claiming “mass-scanning citizens exercising their legal right to protest is unconstitutional.”

The overt signs of mass surveillance forced many young people, some of them students, to wear masks at the protest site. They feared the simple act of holding a poster or a placard would get them into a police database and would be used against them. Some reports quoted protesters as claiming police officers threatened to send their photos to their parents.

No surveillance, says government 

Interestingly, even as the on-site evidence and statements by senior police officers confirmed the AI-enabled surveillance, India’s Solicitor General Tushar Mehta – the government’s top lawyer – told the Delhi High Court that the recordings were routine and had been conducted in order to maintain law and order: “There is no snooping. There is no surveillance.” 

The Indian government has claimed anti-social elements had infiltrated the protests. The Delhi police reportedly identified about 1,000 people with criminal records, including murder cases, from the gathering of thousands of people. 

These are, however, accusations against those individuals and not necessarily convictions.

’Manufacturing suspects’

Activists have raised several questions regarding the legality of the surveillance under Indian law. 

In an article published on its website, it said, citing older records of its correspondence with the Delhi police, that the force has “no specific rule for the use of facial recognition technology.”  It pointed out that a similarity score of 80% and above is treated as a positive result. “Applied to a crowd, this arithmetic manufactures suspects,” the IFF wrote.

The IFF said the police had admitted that no privacy impact assessment of facial recognition technology had ever been conducted. India’s Supreme Court recognized privacy as a fundamental right in 2017.

Curiously, the use of the databases by police rests on a 1920 law, which was only repealed in 2022. “What legal basis they rest on today is unknown,” the IFF said, adding there was ‘function creep,’ with a court permission to use the databases to trace missing children being used in other purposes.

It is also not clear which database the police are using. There are concerns that the police system is linked to the biometric and other information in the national identity database, Aadhar – which rolled out facial recognition in India.

Surveillance challenged

Student activist Aishe Ghosh has implored the Delhi High Court to declare the mass surveillance of ​protesters unconstitutional and has demanded the destruction of all personal data collected during the demonstration. She has also requested the court to frame guidelines on how surveillance technology can be used. 

Ghosh is a former president of the students union of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a member of the student wing of the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM.

On Tuesday, the police visited the party’s Delhi office to arrest her over her alleged role in a 2021 protest. Party leaders and lawmakers shielded her from the police. 

The party has called it an attempt to “intimidate” her for taking part in the protests. When the issue was raised in Parliament, Indian Health Minister J.P. Nadda called it “a routine law-and-order action.” On Wednesday a Delhi court stayed the arrest warrant against Ghosh.

A party lawmaker filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi police’s use of the technology.

The Ukrainian Embassy in India provoked controversy with an X post on Wednesday subtly pressuring New Delhi to take a harder line on Russia and questioning the safety of Indian sailors. The post was deleted soon afterward.

Thirteen Indian seafarers are stranded aboard the MV Amir1 in Chornomorsk, Ukraine, as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukrainian ports and other military-related infrastructure.

The Ukrainian Embassy claimed New Delhi had yet to respond to its request for a conversation between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to discuss the situation. 

It also shared India’s advisories to its nationals serving on board ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea – both conflict zones that have seen the deaths of Indian sailors – saying they offered “two different levels of protection” and testily asked whether the Russian envoy would be summoned “once again” for further explanations.

The Black Sea notice and India’s earlier one on the Strait of Hormuz  – despite their slightly differing language – are just advisories. Ship owners and captains ultimately decide where their ships go and it is not practical to disembark, and re-embark, sailors while transiting a conflict zone.

Breaking: Ukraine President Zelensky thanks US Senators for bill that threatens India and four other countries with up to 100% tariffs for buying Russian oil and gas pic.twitter.com/jHXeB9URH1

— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) July 29, 2026

The embassy tweet came soon after Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who is currently in Washington, welcomed the US Senate advancing legislation that would see the top five buyers of Russian energy hit with 100% tariffs on their exports to the United States. India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil.

India’s embassy in Ukraine said on Wednesday that the MV Amir1’s situation has been brought to its attention. “We attach the highest priority to this and are in constant touch with all concerned to ensure safety and security of all Indians onboard,” it posted on X.

A situation regarding MV AMIR1 with Indian seafarers onboard has been brought to our attention. We attach the highest priority to this and are in constant touch with all concerned to ensure safety and security of all Indians onboard. @MEAIndia

— India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) July 29, 2026

Ukraine’s ambassador to New Delhi, Aleksandr Polishchuk, told news agency ANI that “India definitely has a very good relationship with the Russian Federation, and its reputation internationally is very big. We are always asking the Indian government to support us in bringing Russia to the negotiation table.”

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) offers immense opportunities for India’s maritime sector, particularly in logistics and port management, a top maritime expert has said.

India realized the potential of the NSR, or the Arctic route, almost two decades ago, when it sent the first expedition to the Arctic in 2007, Anurag Bisen told RT India.

New Delhi set up its first permanent research station, Himadri, in the Arctic the next year.

“India has been actually looking at the Arctic for some time now, which was crystallized by the release of the government of India’s Arctic policy [in 2022],” he said.

He said India had offered a $1 billion line of credit to help fund projects in Russia’s Far East.

“India’s biggest ever investments in hydrocarbons are in Russia to the tune of more than $15 billion. India’s stakes in Sakhalin are very profitable,” the former Indian Navy submariner said.

“When President (Vladimir) Putin came to Delhi, we signed the agreement for the training of seafarers. In 2024, India and Russia set up a joint working group on cooperation on the NSR,” he said.

Bisen added that the Arctic can emerge as a new pillar of cooperation “spanning space, defense, energy, and so many other sectors.”

Pointing to the new opportunities, he said demand for Indian seafarers would multiply as the route opens. India is now the second-largest supplier of seafarers in the world.

“That is one of the reasons why India signed an agreement with Russia on training of Indian seafarers on polar navigation,” he said.

As the NSR opens up, India’s Hydrographic Department can also use its expertise to map water depth, coastlines, underwater hazards and navigable channels.

“We have agreements with several countries where we develop the hydrographic charts,” he said, adding that India and Russia have developed hydrographic charts in Antarctica, and can jointly develop the same for the Arctic. 

Almost one-third of India’s crude supplies originate in Russia. Bisen said if India can get the Russian oil from the country’s Far Eastern to ports on India’s eastern coast, these “would be far less prone to disruption.”

The Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor was announced in 2019 and declared operational last year, with this strategic intent. Bisen also pointed to the need to upgrade the infrastructure on India’s eastern seaboard.

This is vital to ensure that “we are not as dependent and vulnerable on critical choke points such as Bab-el-Mandeb and Hormuz,” he said.

India is considering the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Arctic region as part of its strategy to diversify its energy sources.

It is part of the push to deepen energy and logistics cooperation between the two countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said.

New Delhi’s interest in Russian LNG is significant, as India has asserted its right to energy security despite the looming threat of US sanctions. The US has sanctioned Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, and Washington tightened curbs on Russian LNG exports earlier this year, citing the Ukraine conflict. 

At the same time, in May, the US emerged as the top supplier of LNG and liquefied petroleum gas to India.

Energy cooperation has been a pillar of relations between New Delhi and Moscow for a long time, and Indian companies are involved in several major Russian oil and gas projects.

“For decades, the joint development of oil and gas fields has been the main area of ​​cooperation with India.” Rudenko said in an interview with the Russian Arctic and Far East Development portal, as reported by TASS.

“The Indian side is actively involved in the work of Vankorneft and Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha, the Sakhalin-1 project,” he said.

The countries initiated a program for bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, and investment in the Russian Far East in 2024. The program, intended to continue until 2029, envisages cooperation in the Arctic zone, he said.

Logistics cooperation is another key area of bilateral partnership, and both countries are exploring options for increasing shipping along the Vladivostok-Chennai maritime route, he said.

“Next in line is the conclusion of a memorandum on developing cooperation in maritime freight transport in the NSR,” he said.

The US Senate on Tuesday advanced a new sanctions bill that would, among other things, impose harsh tariffs on the top buyers of Russian oil and gas, which include India and China.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said US attempts to exert pressure on India over its ties with Moscow would be “futile.”

The US Senate has advanced a new sanctions bill that would, among other things, impose harsh tariffs on the top buyers of Russian oil and gas, which include India and China.

The bill, if it becomes law, would give US President Donald Trump new authority to impose up to 100% tariffs on goods imported from India, creating a new headache for New Delhi, which has held back on sealing a trade deal with Washington over fears of being hit by surprise tariffs. 

India is the second largest importer of Russian oil as it has sought to widen its energy basket amid disruptions in the Middle East caused by the Israeli-US attack on Iran.

The ‘Graham bill,’ named after its co-author, the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, was advanced in a 86-12 vote on Tuesday night. 

“To be really blunt, China and India are the main culprits here,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a co-author of the bill, told reporters. 

Russian Sanctions Bill ‘Not Hitting Our Allies, But We Are Hitting China & India’ – US Senator

‘Let's be really blunt, China and India are the main culprits here,’ 🇺🇸 Senator Blumenthal told reporters following a meet with Zelensky.

‘They are doing us no favours anywhere else… https://t.co/1GdVzXEx7L pic.twitter.com/ogCqNoAvNW

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 29, 2026

“They purchase the vast majority of oil and gas. They are fueling Russia’s war machine and they are doing us no favors anywhere else in the world.”

The bill also proposes sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs, their family members and other individuals supporting Russia against Ukraine as well as banks, financial institutions and the so-called Russian “shadow fleet.”

However, it adds a new variable to New Delhi’s calculus as it drags its feet on finalizing a trade deal negotiated with Washington for months. New Delhi wants clarity on how any additional sanctions could affect its competitive advantage over ASEAN nations and neighboring countries including Bangladesh before finalizing the deal.

Last week, the US imposed 10% tariffs on imports from India, citing an investigation into forced labor. New Delhi is also the subject of another probe into countries using excess manufacturing capacity to export to the US.

The Senate’s vote came as Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington to seek continued US support for his country’s fight against Russia. 

Some Democratic senators are unhappy about granting more tariff authority – a Congressional prerogative – to Trump, but the bill is expected to pass as Ukraine’s supporters want to pressurize the Russian economy.

India needs to democratize artificial intelligence in order for the country to make giant strides in the fast-evolving sector, a top scientist has said.

The country is now engaged in building AI tools for basic human welfare, noted scientist and author Srijan Pal Singh told RT India.

“They have to be integrated into the governance systems,” Singh told Salman Khurshid in the latest episode of ‘In Conversation’ on RT.

India’s “phenomenal achievement” is its huge training capacity vis-a-vis AI, with almost 25 million hours of training imparted, Singh said.

He also cited the country’s progress in AI’s hardware layer and a slew of semiconductor projects which have been greenlit, as well as international collaborations.

“I’m not saying we are still anywhere near China, Taiwan, or the USA, but we are at least having the right aspirations, and we are putting the right investments in (the) private sector, taking some leadership,” he said.

Singh flagged policy issues that could drag down progress in the sector, citing India’s over-reliance on the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). “While IITs are great… we are over relying on a single frame of institution. “We want IITs to do everything,” he pointed out.

Singh noted that AI research is being increasingly done by commercial companies in the West.

“Because this is not a research project anymore. This is a commercially highly aggressive project.”

He advocated a shift in India’s “policy focus from higher education institutions, and particularly IITs, to more institutions of higher education, so there is competition.”

The private sector should also be brought into the purview of the policy shift, he said.

Singh lauded India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as a success story, but warned that the country cannot rest on that laurel.

“That is not our end goal,” he said. “We need to have our aspirations for a digital India much higher than just UPI.”

Singh, who was the adviser to A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, recollected an anecdote of the former president being instrumental in kickstarting the BrahMos missile project – a joint project between India and Russia.

It started with Kalam spotting an unused ramjet engine – which draws air from the atmosphere – lying in a corner while visiting NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a rocket engine design bureau in Russia.

“What we can do is that we can collaborate with NPO and DRDO,” Singh said. DRDO is India’s defense research agency.

Kalam’s intervention led to the idea of BrahMos in 1991. BrahMos is today among the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world, and was used to lethal effect by Indian armed forces against Pakistan last year.

Kalam was the chief architect of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program before becoming the country’s president.

The Indian authorities have suspended a cop who fired an AK-47 assault rifle at student protesters in the northeastern state of Bihar.

Protests had flared up in Bihar’s Siwan district in support of the larger student protest in New Delhi, which eventually led to the resignation of the federal education minister over the leaks of question papers of a national entrance test.

The Bihar administration took action against the policeman after the footage of him firing an AK-47 assault rifle was widely shared on social media platforms. Reports said he fired in the air, and three protesters who were not at the scene suffered injuries. They are undergoing treatment at a hospital in the state capital Patna and are stable.

Siwan district magistrate Vivek Ranjan Maitrey told the media that the officer did not have orders to fire his weapon. “He should not have fired in the air. Such a weapon should not have been taken in public,” he said

In New Delhi, a log entry by the paramilitary Rapid Action Force, which was deployed against the protesters, showed that two pellet rounds were fired at the crowd on July 20. The log entry showed that the rounds were fired under orders of a senior Delhi police officer – the capital police had denied firing the weapon at the crowd. 

Pellet guns can cause severe injuries, although classified as less-lethal. At least three people are being treated for pellet injuries to their faces, necks, and upper bodies in Delhi.

देखिए कैसे बिहार में छात्र प्रदर्शनकारियों पर पुलिसकर्मी AK-47 से गोली चला रहा है? संपूर्ण देश में किसी भी छात्र प्रदर्शन में Police Manual का उल्लंघन कर AK-47 से गोली चलाने का यह प्रथम मामला है।

लोकतंत्र में शांतिपूर्ण प्रदर्शन करना नागरिकों का संवैधानिक अधिकार है। अगर यही… pic.twitter.com/fEmJXK8CjQ

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) July 27, 2026

The issue of state violence against the students was raised in Parliament by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday. The upper house, the Lok Sabha, also took up a bill that mandates stringent punishment for exam malpractice – an offer that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made to the agitating students. Parliament adjourned for the day soon after, amid disruptions caused by opposition demands for accountability over police actions.

Meanwhile, India’s Supreme Court directed all states to release students below the age of 18 who were arrested or detained during the nationwide protests, provided they have no criminal records.

India has reportedly summoned a top Meta official over the company’s removal of a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the country’s youth, which sparked an angry backlash against the social media giant.

The global head of public policy of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has been summoned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology over the issue, reports citing sources said.

The selfie video by the Indian prime minister was posted on July 23 amid student protests organized by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over leaked national entrance exam questions. The video was Modi’s first outreach to the country’s youth, who had been demanding the resignation of the education minister, promising stringent measures against paper leaks.

The issue gained attention after an X post by an activist from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, who noticed that the video had been removed on Facebook in the early hours of Tuesday. Users trying to access the video got the message that it was not available in India due to a “legal request,” leading to a swift online backlash.

The platform restored the video soon afterwards, but the block prompted the Indian government to summon the Meta official for an explanation, according to media reports.

Meta Took Down PM Modi's Video. Then Called It "An Error".

According to Moneycontrol, Meta 'mistakenly' restricted access to a Facebook video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to Gen Z before restoring it hours later.

The company initially appeared to cite a legal… pic.twitter.com/sjKwKyntE3

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 28, 2026

“The content was removed in error and has since been restored,” Meta was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

However, the secretary of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, S. Krishnan, told RT that the removal of official content from the authorized handle of the prime minister is “extremely disturbing” and should have never happened. 

“I think the explanation that it was a technical ground and that there was a technical glitch does not appear to be an acceptable explanation in its entirety,” he added. 

“We have sought more details, we will have a very detailed technical meeting as to how these things happen.”

The combined userbase of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram in India is more than 1 billion, making it a top market for Meta.

The video post was the first acknowledgement by the prime minister of the concerns of students and parents over the paper leak, which allegedly drove dozens of students to commit suicide. 

The student protests were called off after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday.

A parliamentary panel has also summoned representatives of Meta, X, Google and Snapchat to appear before it on August 3 to discuss user privacy and public order.

Earlier this month, India had raised concerns over the roll-out of usernames by messaging app WhatsApp, also owned by Meta, calling it a potential cybersecurity risk. WhatsApp is the top messaging platform in the country of 1.4 billion, with more than 500 million users.

In June, New Delhi temporarily banned the Telegram app, claiming it was a key facilitator in the question paper leak.

India and China will resume border trade from August 1, marking another step in the normalization of bilateral ties between the Asian giants.

Border trade through the Nathu La Pass will resume on Saturday, six years after it was suspended following the Covid-19 pandemic. The reopening ceremony is expected to be attended by officials from both sides. The resumption of trade is expected to boost cross-border commerce, benefiting registered traders, transport operators and allied businesses. Nathu La sits on the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes connecting Asia with West Asia and Europe.

Border trade through Lipulekh, which began in 1992 and was suspended in 2020, is also set to resume, according to a report. The trading season officially began on June 1 but resumption of cross-border trade was delayed due to preparatory work being conducted by both sides. 

Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri met with H.E. Hong Liang, Deputy Secretary General of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). They discussed ways to enhance bilateral exchanges at the political and people-to-people… pic.twitter.com/a5yzOywX2Y

— India in China (@EOIBeijing) July 27, 2026

India and China have been steadily building back economic and trade ties since a border skirmish in 2020 in eastern Ladakh left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers dead. Bilateral ties have mostly returned to normal, with both sides initiating confidence-building measures, including the resumption of direct flights and updates to the visa regime, apart from steps to resume border trade. 

India set up a task force to suggest exam reforms a day after student protests over an exam paper leak led to the ouster of the federal education minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted the panel, headed by technocrat and founder of Indian tech major Infosys, Nandan Nilekani.

Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan quit on Saturday after weeks of intense protests by young people demanding his resignation over an exam paper leak that allegedly drove dozens of students to suicide.

“The Government of India is continuously taking various measures for the future of students. Those who tampered with the students’ future are languishing in jail,” Modi said in an Instagram post on Sunday. 

Modi’s preferred platform for communication used to be X, but as the protests gathered pace he advised his ministers to engage with the youth on Instagram through reels and interactive sessions – an acknowledgement of the fact that Gen Z, who came out on the streets across the country, is more active on Instagram than WhatsApp or other platforms.

HIGH POWERED TASK FORCE on examination reforms under the leadership of Shri Nandan Nilekani constituted.@NandanNilekani pic.twitter.com/mMpmPdIEL5

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 26, 2026

As the world’s most populous country with 1.4 billion people, India also has the largest cohort of youth, with an average age of 29.

The panel’s chief, Nilekani, was the founding chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, which issues Aadhar identity cards. He was also involved in the roll out of the Unified Payments Interface, which revolutionized the digital payments ecosystem in the country.

The 6-member panel also includes the chief of India’s space agency S. Somnath and the director of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, V. Kamakoti.

Modi said that fast-track courts had been established and legislation would be introduced to ensure strict punishment for malpractice. A reliable and transparent exam system tapping the potential of technology is needed, he added.

A key leader of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), India’s youth-led satirical movement that spearheaded the protests, claimed Monday that agitators were being harassed.

“Deeply concerned by multiple reports reaching us of students and other protestors being targeted, detained, or arrested by various state agencies, particularly in Assam, West Bengal, and Bihar,” Saurav Das, the spokesperson of the CJP, posted on X.

Meanwhile, a policeman in the northeastern state of Bihar was reportedly suspended after a video of him using an AK-47 rifle to fire at protesting students went viral.

India has summoned Ukraine’s envoy to protest an attack on a commercial vessel in the Black Sea near Russia that left one sailor dead.

Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk was called in to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in connection with the drone strike on the commercial vessel MV Omorfi.

“The Ministry conveyed its serious concern over the incident and condemned such attacks on commercial shipping in the strongest terms, underscoring their adverse impact on the safety of maritime navigation, freedom of navigation, and international commerce,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

India conveyed its strong concerns over the targeting of commercial vessels, and reiterated that such actions, which endanger the lives of innocent civilian seafarers, are unacceptable and must be avoided.

On Sunday, the ministry issued an advisory to Indian sailors working on ships “in and around the Black Sea and adjoining maritime areas.”

“Indian nationals intending to undertake employment on commercial vessels operating in or transiting the conflict-affected region are advised to carefully assess the prevailing security risks before accepting such assignments,” it said. 

It advised those who accept these assignments to exercise caution, including obtaining comprehensive information from vessels. 

New Delhi published a similar advisory for the Strait of Hormuz on July 16, after attacks on two ships in the strategic waterway left two Indian crew members dead and eight others injured.

India has previously summoned the US, Iranian, and Russian envoys following attacks on commercial ships in international waterways.

Russia’s chargé d’affaires was summoned last week after an attack on the Ukrainian port of Odessa left four Indian sailors dead.  

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later told journalists: “We are continuing our contacts with our Indian partners and explaining our position.” 

“The main point is that our armed forces are striking and will continue to strike those vessels involved in transporting ammunition, weapons and so on for the Kiev regime,” he said.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh stressed the urgent need earlier this year to build a drone production ecosystem to ensure strategic autonomy, enhance defense preparedness, and make the country self-reliant. In view of the present geopolitical uncertainties, he called for a push to establish India as a global hub for indigenous drone manufacturing. Citing modern warfare lessons from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the US-Israeli war against Iran, he said drones and counter-drone systems are now decisive elements of national security.

He highlighted the need for component-level self-reliance. True self-reliance extends beyond final assembly. It requires domestic production of critical parts, including molds, software, engines, and batteries, to reduce import dependence. Building a robust domestic production ecosystem is vital for defense preparedness and strategic autonomy amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. India must emerge as a global hub for indigenous drone manufacturing, the defense minister said. Indian Defense Forces Vision 2047 calls for a space, cyber command, and drone force.

India’s adversary neighbors are already developing global-class drones. China produces the GJ-11 Sharp Sword and Wing Loong II, and Pakistan co-developed and is producing the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Baykar Akinci, as well as the Chinese Wing Loong II.

Meanwhile, Moscow has warned India that the drone threat cannot be viewed as someone else’s war. Ukraine’s saturation drone strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure are not a distant European problem. Pakistan has already rehearsed a version of the same tactic against India during a five-day conflict in May 2025, and Russia’s example shows what a campaign looks like when it is sustained.

Real-time test

Drones have fundamentally rewritten the rules of modern warfare, with recent conflicts showcasing devastating precision and major tactical shifts. The most striking successes include cost‑effective naval destruction, large‑scale disruption of logistics, and the rise of autonomous, low‑cost loitering munitions.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have become critical force multipliers, giving commanders real-time intelligence, precision targeting, and logistical support without exposing troops to direct danger. At the tactical level, small drones help frontline units scout terrain, clear buildings, and identify enemy positions, often guiding artillery and smart munitions with far greater accuracy and less collateral damage. Their low noise and radar signature also make them ideal for covert reconnaissance, perimeter security, and ambush detection.

Both Ukraine and Russia have been able to hit deep into the other’s territory, destroying strategic assets including naval vessels, aircraft, and energy sources. Both sides have targeted individual infantry, destroyed expensive armored vehicles, and conducted trench-clearing operations. This has expanded the concept of the frontline into a multi-mile-wide ‘kill zone’, requiring massive retrofitting of armored vehicles with defensive mesh and cages.

Iranian drone operations have inflicted millions of dollars in damage across US and Israeli facilities in West Asia, serving as a primary tool of attrition. While allied air defenses intercepted the majority, the sheer volume of Shahed and loitering drones successfully depleted defensive resources and struck critical infrastructure.     

Among the key operational successes, satellite imagery and analysis have confirmed damage to at least 20 US military sites across eight countries in the Middle East. Drone strikes have successfully targeted high-value assets, including refueling aircraft, radar arrays, and state-of-the-art air defense systems. Iran has utilized one-way attack drones to overwhelm joint US, Israeli, and Gulf partner air defenses. By compelling the deployment of costly interceptors against cheap drones, Iran has effectively tilted the economics of the conflict in its favor.

Alongside direct military targets, Iranian drone strikes have been effectively utilized to target oil fields and critical energy infrastructure. Drone attacks on US-linked energy and refining facilities in Gulf States have disrupted regional production and logistics. The dispersal and constant launch capabilities of Iranian systems have severely strained defensive counter-air patrols, making US and Israeli bases continuous targets despite extensive security measures.

The US Air Force has lost over 50 MQ-9 Reaper drones since late 2023, with severe attrition occurring during escalating conflicts in the Middle East, US officials have said. The US fleet has shrunk significantly, with losses costing over $1 billion. These costly, slow-moving aircraft have been repeatedly targeted and shot down by adversaries using surface-to-air missiles and advanced air defense systems.

The Yemeni Houthis have had a high success rate in the Red Sea region. Iranian air defenses have successfully intercepted and downed over two dozen Reapers. Around 10% to 20% of the US military’s pre-war inventory has been downed. While they have a significant peacetime role, analysts are questioning the efficacy of using expensive, slow-moving drones in a contested environment.

The key operational challenge for the drones emerges from evolving counter-UAS systems, especially electronic warfare, GPS spoofing, and limited battery endurance. Heavy jamming can sever control and video links, while manipulated satellite navigation can send drones off course or even into enemy hands. Micro-UAVs are also vulnerable to extreme weather, which affects stability and sensor performance, and their reliance on foreign-made chips and components complicates maintenance and rapid deployment.

India’s action plan

India’s action plan for the defense drone industry centers on achieving strategic autonomy and capturing a massive share of the projected global UAV market. The Defense Ministry is executing its largest indigenous drone acquisitions ever, with growing planned orders for domestically produced platforms, fast-track emergency procurements, and major contracts by splitting orders among leading Indian companies to rapidly build distinct production lines. Focus areas are for advanced surveillance, loitering munitions, kamikaze drones (such as the Nagastra-1), and deep-penetration unmanned combat vehicles (such as the Ghatak program).

India signed a $3.5 billion government-to-the-government agreement with the US to procure 31 high-altitude, multi-mission armed MQ-9B Sea Guardian/Sky Guardian drones in 2024.

The military is also executing its largest indigenous drone procurement program ever, planning to acquire 87 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones worth another $3.6 billion.

Complementing this, New Delhi is finalizing a broader $2 billion order for tactical, surveillance, and weaponized drones from domestic manufacturers to bolster border and maritime security. These UAVs will require over 60% indigenous content and feature endurance of over 30 hours at 35,000 feet (above 10,000 meters).

New Delhi is fast-tracking the acquisition of smaller tactical, reconnaissance, and loitering munitions to be delivered over the next 18 to 24 months. This major shift highlights a strategic pivot toward indigenous defense tech and the manufacturing of autonomous disposable systems.

Under the Make in India initiative, major players such as HAL, Tata, L&T, and Adani Defense are deeply involved, as the government seeks to reduce dependence on foreign imports and build a comprehensive domestic drone ecosystem.

To reduce dependence on imported drone parts and hardware, the government is pushing for higher local content and focusing especially on key components such as motors and batteries. Future incentives are aimed less at final assembly and more at strengthening the supply chain from the ground up. Through the Production Linked Incentive scheme, which offers financial rewards based on incremental sales to boost domestic manufacturing, small and medium businesses and startups are receiving subsidies to scale up local manufacturing of components and systems. In addition, state-run banks such as SIDBI are offering low-cost working capital and R&D loans. At the same time, the government is simplifying regulations and creating dedicated test ranges to make development and certification easier.

Indian companies are also using lessons from real battlefield conditions to develop electronic-warfare-resistant systems for export to markets in Africa and the Middle East. With Chinese drone components flooding global markets, local manufacturers are being encouraged to diversify their sourcing.

From domestic to global

India’s quest to become a global drone hub by 2030, with the industry projected to reach $23 billion, is an ambitious but achievable target. India-US (INDUS-X) strategic collaboration focuses on joint R&D, knowledge transfer, and institutionalizing cybersecurity standards, such as those within the US Blue/Green UAS programs.

India is driving policy harmonization and market access for regional logistics deployment. Design-Linked Initiatives (DLI) reward domestic start-ups for producing indigenous intellectual property and hardware designs that global partners can integrate into their supply chains.

Indian-designed autonomous combat systems, like the AI-powered Kaal Bhairav, are not only built locally but are actively exploring manufacturing pipelines in international markets, including NATO nations. Global partners leverage India’s massive software engineering talent pool to overcome technology transfer constraints, aiming to integrate sovereign payloads into global commercial operations

Indian, Russian, and Iranian military officials regularly discuss modern warfare doctrines. The three countries could technically cooperate on Shahed-class drone technology, though any direct trilateral collaboration is highly constrained by current global geopolitics. While New Delhi maintains strong ties with the two nations, its focus on strategic autonomy and defense localization limits direct involvement in sanctioned foreign drone programs.

India values its strategic autonomy and is cautious about engaging in military-technical arrangements that could trigger Western sanctions or disrupt its relationships with the US and Israel. Yet New Delhi wants to continue to strengthen the historical defense relationship with Moscow, as it pursues self-reliance in military hardware and prefers indigenous defense production.

India is using the battlefield lessons from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East to rapidly advance its own long-range strike drones. Sheshnag 150 long-range one-way attack drone is being developed by New Space Research Technologies in Bengaluru. It features a range exceeding 1,000 kilometers and is designed for adaptable real-world deployment. India is fast-tracking domestic low-cost strike drones conceptually similar to the Shahed.

New Delhi recognizes the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these systems, but its long-term goal is to manufacture these capabilities domestically rather than relying on technology transfers from foreign partners. There is importance of collaboration across large Indian industries, MSMEs, start-ups, and innovators, supported by a clear and focused government policy framework aligned with national security needs to accelerate the drone industry transformation.

Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of major protests in New Delhi and other cities across the country. The demonstrators, who are largely young people, had been demanding his resignation over an exam paper leak that allegedly drove dozens of students to suicide.

Pradhan announced his resignation on X, attaching a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the letter, written in Hindi, he described India’s youth as “the true strength of this country.” 

“I have always deeply respected the aspirations, dreams and expectations of the youth. They are not just the future of India, but also the carriers, builders and architects of a new and developed India,” he wrote.

Referring to the ongoing protests, he said he had decided to step down in order not to allow “anti-national forces” to “take advantage of the situation.”

pic.twitter.com/VSArqS98OJ

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) July 25, 2026

The resignation came a day after representatives of the so-called Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) — an unofficial movement driving the protests — met government officials to discuss their main demands, including Pradhan’s resignation, as well as broader reforms in the education sector and examination system.

Following the resignation announcement, protest leaders initially said they would continue to press their two other key demands: compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and action against the police over the brutal suppression of the unrest on July 20. 

Few hours later, they have announced ending the protest “with immediate effect” and asked supporters toleave the Jantar Mantar protest cite and return home.

📹Cockroach Janata Party Calls Off 36-Day Jantar Mantar Protest After Pradhan Resignation

Protesters are being asked to peacefully leave the site after CJP spox Ashutosh Ranka announced the agitation was ending - RT India Correspondent Vinayak Dixit reports from Jantar Mantar. https://t.co/0cTOzExjJ2 pic.twitter.com/iP3qU7O4oN

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 25, 2026

The CJP was initially born as an online meme after India’s chief justice, Surya Kant, compared young people to cockroaches in open court. Since early June, however, it has evolved into a street protest movement and more recently spread across the country. The controversy over leaked question papers for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) – India’s nationwide entrance exam for undergraduate medical programs – quickly emerged as a central rallying point for the protesters.

Since Monday, the protests have turned violent, with law enforcement resorting to force. In New Delhi, police used batons, canes and tear gas on Monday to disperse crowds as protesters attempted to march toward Parliament. Delhi Police later said that nearly 180 people had been injured – including 118 security personnel and 60 protesters. Clashes with police were also reported in other cities across the country.

Ahead of Pradhan’s resignation, Modi made several appeals to students, promising action against those responsible for the exam paper leak. On Thursday, he released a selfie-style video address in which he pledged to introduce a new Anti-Paper Leak Bill in Parliament. On Friday, he followed it up with another video, thanking young followers for sharing their “insightful suggestions.”

New Delhi has been gripped by major unrest since Monday, with protesters repeatedly clashing with police and injuries reported among demonstrators, police, security personnel, and journalists.

Although government officials have reached out to protest leaders, central Delhi remains packed with young people carrying symbols of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) – a satirical movement that has evolved from an online meme into a political force in just three months – amid a heavy security presence.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made two public appeals on Thursday in an effort to calm the protests. In a post on X, he announced that the government would set up fast-track courts to ensure strict action against those responsible for leaking NEET examination papers.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is taken each year by more than 2 million Indian students competing for a limited number of medical college seats. It is the issue that set the current unrest in motion. The paper leak in May led to the cancelation of the exam and allegedly drove dozens of aspirants to suicide.

In a post on Thursday, Modi vowed to punish those responsible for the leak. “Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth. Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared,” he wrote on X.

Later the same day, in a rare move, Modi released a selfie-style video address, promising to introduce a new Anti-Paper Leak Bill in parliament.

More strict actions against paper leaks to come in tomorrow’s Cabinet! pic.twitter.com/NRysBukk5U

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 23, 2026

He followed it up on Friday night with another video, this time on Instagram – a platform he has not frequently used in the past. In the clip, he thanked young followers for watching his first video address and sharing their “insightful suggestions.” Indian media reported that Modi gained around 1 million Instagram followers overnight after posting the video on Thursday.

On Saturday, education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation, meeting the protesters’ main demand.

In a letter posted on X, he said he made the decision with the ongoing protests in mind. “In view of the situation at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere in the country, my resolve is that anti-national forces must not be allowed to take advantage of the situation, national unity must remain intact, and not a single student of India should have their future entangled in legal proceedings. Our children should devote their time to their studies and focus on building their careers,” he wrote.

Following the resignation, the CPJ leaders called off the agitation “with immediate effect” and asked the protesters to return home.

A 26-day hunger strike

A few hours after the prime minister’s video address on Thursday, activist Sonam Wangchuk – who has become the face of the Cockroach protests – called off his 26-day hunger strike. His fast ended after midnight at Medanta Hospital in the presence of the minister of health and family welfare, JP Nadda, and the minister of state in the Department of Atomic Energy, Jitendra Singh, who are representing the government in the ongoing negotiations with CJP protesters.

“I ended the fast after 26 days upon getting assurance from the government and members of parliament of all political parties that the issue of accountability in the failing examination system will be discussed on the floors of the Indian Parliament,” Wangchuk said.

“The government also gave assurance that families of suicide victims in the recent NEET examination paper leak will be given adequate compensation and that there will be no cases registered against the peacefully protesting students and youths.”

Wangchuk had been forcibly moved from the protest site at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi to the hospital on July 18, following medical advice and directions from the Delhi High Court over concerns about his deteriorating health.

Some commentators supporting the protests were quick to criticize Wangchuk for ending the fast before key demands had been met. In an emotional video released on Friday night, the activist responded to the criticism, asking whether, after 26 days, he was now expected to produce a “character certificate.”

Wangchuk also described his ordeal after being moved to the hospital – much of which remained outside the public eye. He explained that his main reason for ending the fast was to prevent violence from spreading across the country and to avoid further harm to protesters. He added that for him, the key demand is not the resignation of the education minister – which he argued would not by itself change the system – but a firm assurance from the government that those who took part in the Jantar Mantar protests would not later be arrested.

Notably, two major public universities in the capital – Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) – issued official notices asking students and teachers not to take part in rallies near Jantar Mantar. They warned against joining “unlawful assemblies” or engaging in irresponsible social media activity that could create legal trouble for both the students and the universities, and damage future career prospects. DU also urged students to stay away from “fake and misleading information” circulating on social media that could further inflame the situation.

How the peaceful demonstration turned violent?

While the demonstration at Jantar Mantar – in the heart of New Delhi – began in June as a peaceful sit-down campaign, it spiraled into violence and chaos this week.

On Monday, the CJP organized a march to the parliament building, about one and a half kilometers from the protest site. Parliament was due to begin its monsoon session that day after the previous session’s recess. Young people from across India – many of them from New Delhi – took to the streets. But police, who did not grant permission for the march, tried to stop them using steel barricades.

Chaos broke out soon after the march began, as the situation quickly spun out of control. Police used batons, canes, and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Delhi Police later said that nearly 180 people were injured – 118 security personnel and 60 protesters. Footage showing brutal attacks on police officers has raised questions about whether the demonstrators were truly peaceful students or whether outside elements joined in, fueling suspicions of a wider conspiracy.

Several journalists from India’s mainstream news channels were also attacked during the unrest. Some were harassed while broadcasting live on air, and videos of the incidents were widely circulated online and condemned by users. CJP members said those involved in the violence were not part of the “peaceful protesters.”

CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke described the police response as cruel. Opposition parties demanded accountability for the crackdown.

The opposition has increasingly rallied behind the student protest. On July 21, 2026, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi staged a high-profile sit-in outside Modi’s residence after the large demonstrations led by the CJP. Backing the protesters, Gandhi said that “an attack on students is an attack on every Indian family” and argued that young people are protesting because their future – and the examination system itself – has been destroyed. Gandhi was detained by Delhi Police during the demonstration and released later that evening.

In the following days, further unrest broke out at the protest site – including stone-pelting and attacks on police officers – forcing the authorities to tighten security in the area. Mobile internet was switched off in central Delhi, and metro station gates near the protest site were closed.

Protests have also taken place in other major cities across the country, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Goa, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Jammu, Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow, and Nagpur.

There have also been scenes of unrest inside parliament. Some opposition Congress members tied zip ties around their wrists as a symbol of solidarity with arrested protesters. The following day, lawmakers from opposition parties demonstrated inside parliament. Regional parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) have publicly backed the CJP’s demands, even as the national Congress leadership has kept a more measured distance – wary of appearing to co-opt a movement that insists it has no electoral ambitions.

Dialogue with government

On Friday, JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh held a two-hour meeting with CJP activists, including chief spokesperson Saurav Das and national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka. It was the second round of talks in two days, as both sides searched for a way out of the violent unrest that has disrupted life in the capital. They agreed to hold a third round of talks on Saturday.

According to the government, the CJP delegation presented three main demands along with five proposals for reforming the examination system. The movement’s core demands include the resignation or dismissal of  education minister over accountability for exam leaks, compensation of 10 million rupees ($100,000) for the families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide, and the withdrawal of police complaints and legal cases against student protesters, along with a guarantee that no further action will be taken against them. Their reform proposals include a systemic overhaul of national competitive exams, tighter regulation of coaching centers, and a review of entrance test patterns to improve fairness and accessibility.

Nadda said the government would hold internal consultations before responding to the issues raised by the delegation at the next meeting. The CJP insisted that its principal demand remains the resignation or removal of Pradhan.

The government has taken a series of steps in recent days to signal that it can act on its promises. According to sources quoted by ANI on Friday, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has removed 47 officials from service as part of a major overhaul following the paper leak controversy. Media reports also suggest that legal and criminal proceedings may follow against some officials.

The government has also transferred Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, while the Delhi High Court designated Judge Anu Grover Baliga as a special judge to hear cases arising from the paper leaks.

As of Friday night, however, the barricades were still up and the crowds of protesters showed no sign of thinning. Sixteen key metro stations — including Rajiv Chowk, one of the busiest in the city – remained closed, while mobile connectivity in the area was suspended, disrupting everyday life in the capital, from taxi services to deliveries and retail activity.

The question hanging in Delhi’s humid air is whether these developments will be enough to defuse the protest – and whether the young people in cockroach masks will finally leave the streets.

What do the young people want?

While the real force behind the protests, and the movement’s broader agenda, is being hotly debated across the country – on TV and across social media – the protesters RT spoke to on the ground were clear: They want the education system to change.

“For most students who are poor, it [education] is the only way out to uplift themselves and their family from poverty, but these dreams get dashed when the education system becomes corrupt, and papers get leaked. That is why the students demand an explanation,” said Aviyaan Chaudhary, 23, who was among the crowd of students – and their parents – at the protest site on Monday morning, before the march to Parliament turned violent.

Chaudhary, who is pursuing a master’s degree in psychology, traveled from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, more than 160 km away, with a friend to join the protest. He told RT that his parents did not approve of this, but he chose to take a stand anyway.

Shweta Naran, an undergraduate studying social sciences at a private university in Greater Noida, arrived at the protest site at 7:00 AM on July 20 with three friends, all of them students, after responding to the CJP’s call.

“We have been waiting to join the protest because the demands of students are genuine. This is a question about every young Indian’s future. It is not about politics,” she said, adding that she intends to keep protesting until the students who allegedly died by suicide after the NEET paper leak receive justice. She also stressed that the “genuine student concern” should not be used for “personal interests or interests of the opposition. It should not be leveraged by any party.”

Not everyone is convinced the movement can sustain its momentum. “Where will the Cockroach movement go?” political scientist Suhas Palshikar asked. “Perhaps nowhere – it will allow venting of frustration and taper off. Like the farmers’ protests, it may win some, but lose steam over time. The ideological and political character of the Cockroach movement is currently fluid, and various forces are bound to piggyback on it.”

“It will only depend on whether these talks will lead to a compromise or only add more fuel to the deadlock. But for those thousands of protesting youth who stay outside under the Sun in Jantar Mantar, any other outcome is impossible,” Hina Zain, 19, a university student who has been camping at the protest site, said.

The US has imposed 10% tariffs on imports from India, citing a forced-labor investigation, replacing the previous 150-day tariff that lapses on Friday.

The rate is lower than the 12.5% proposed earlier after New Delhi amended its Foreign Trade Policy on June 14. The latest tariffs put India on par with neighboring Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, along with several Latin American and Asian economies.

India is seeking to ensure a competitive advantage over what is being paid by countries in the same stage of development, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said in June, naming ASEAN nations and neighboring countries, including Bangladesh.

The US imposed a temporary 150-day 10% tariff in February on all of its trade partners. In March, the office of the US Trade Representative launched two separate investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. ns

Indian industry bodies and government officials defended the country’s record on forced labor during the probe. India also amended its foreign trade policy earlier this month to prohibit importing goods made with forced labor, in a preemptive move aimed at lowering the proposed US tariff.

Though this is a relief for Indian exporters vis-à-vis regional competitors, additional concerns remain. Another probe into whether other countries are using excess manufacturing capacity to export to the US in a manner that is hurting the US economy is ongoing.

New Delhi is awaiting clarity on these issues before it finalizes a trade deal with the US. The deal is almost complete, the US State Department said on Wednesday after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila.

India’s pharmaceutical sector has also raised concerns regarding proposed US tariffs on generic drugs, which threaten their massive export revenues.

The EU has targeted Indian entities of two of Russia’s largest banks as part of its 21st sanctions package.

The latest round of sanctions targets the Indian entities of VTB and Sberbank, as well as two local firms, according to a statement by the EU Council published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The restrictions will come into force on August 13.

The Indian firms included in the latest sanctions package are Falcon Toolings, and Zepto Microwave and Chip Devices Assembly.

Responding to the development, SberIndia said that its operations continue in full compliance with Russian and Indian laws.

“Our clients’ financial transactions are processed as usual, without delays,” it said in response to a question by RT India. “The bank continues to act as the primary payment hub between the two countries, facilitating trade and mutual investment.”

VTB India said that its Indian entity is integrated into the national payment systems of both Russia and India, adding, “closed financial messaging channels are used for settlements.”

This ensures uninterrupted transactions in national currencies for both corporate clients and individuals, according to VTB.

The EU’s latest round of sanctions, aimed at Russia over its conflict with Ukraine, has 218 individual listings, the biggest number in the last four years. The list includes 94 banks and 33 Russian credit and financial institutions.

Greece, which has the world’s largest independent cross-trade LNG fleet by capacity, warned that banning EU shipping companies from transporting Russian LNG would harm Greek shipping interests.

A Baltic-backed proposal to ban Russians who served in the military after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict from entering the bloc was scaled back after France, Italy, and Greece fought against it.

Student protests in India calling for the resignation of the federal education minister continued on Friday even as a prominent activist ended his hunger strike on Thursday evening, taking some pressure off the Narendra Modi government.

The protests, spearheaded by India’s youth-led satirical Cockroach Janta Party movement, or CJP, got widespread backing across the country after police beat up students marching to Parliament on Monday.

The government held another round of talks on Friday with CJP representatives, who have refused to back down from their demand that federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over the leaks of the questions of a key national entrance examination.

The government has sought time till 2 pm on Saturday to respond to the demand for the minister’s resignation, CJP told the media after the talks.

Friday’s talks were held at the Constitution Club of India, not far from the protest site in Jantar Mantar and considered a “neutral” venue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a video message on his X handle at midnight, acknowledging that the leaks of the question paper for a national medical entrance exam, which triggered the wave of protests, are a serious issue.

“Friends, I know that paper leaks are not an ordinary matter… it is extremely painful… in the last two-and-a-half months since the paper leak incidents, several major steps have been taken,” Modi said.

More strict actions against paper leaks to come in tomorrow’s Cabinet! pic.twitter.com/NRysBukk5U

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 23, 2026

“The culprits have been caught; they are currently in jail,” he added.

The prime minister said a draft of legislation to set up fast-track courts to deal with such cases and to ensure stringent punishments could be moved in Parliament as early as Monday.

Earlier, in the evening, activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike after two ministers from Modi’s government met him and handed over a letter that his concerns will be addressed.

The government reportedly assured Wangchuk that adequate compensation would be paid to the families of students who had taken their lives following the question paper leaks.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges was attended by over 2.2 million students in May. A retest was held last month following the leaks.

Modi’s government also removed the top bureaucrat in the higher education department, as well as other officials responsible for administering the test.

Meanwhile, India’s Supreme Court has asked the government to file a detailed report on the leaks, adding the reforms have to be “institutionalized,” and not temporary fixes.

Former federal minister and popular TV actor Smriti Irani has said that India’s Prime Minister and the Russian President share a common trait: an immense emotional bond with the people of their countries.

In an exclusive chat with RT India for the ‘India, Russia and the World’ weekly podcast, Irani spoke of Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin: “They’re both emotional about their countries.”

“And (they have) a sense of joy in sharing knowledge, in sharing achievements of each other’s countries.”

Irani, who held various important portfolios as a cabinet minister in Narendra Modi’s first two terms, from 2016 to 2024, recalled an incident from 2019 in the interview. Putin sent a video message during the inauguration of a AK-203 rifle factory in Amethi, her then-constituency in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Modi was also at the event.

“The whole imagery in itself was surreal,” she said. “That you’re in Amethi, which is one of the most hotly contested parliamentary constituencies in Indian politics. And never before in the history of Amethi, that had happened.

“The Indian Prime Minister sits on the dais and you have Mr. Putin on the screen. So as somebody who is a student of politics, possibly, surreal moment.”

She continued. “For me, it was a personal, big high. For the region, it was a matter of great pride… the decision was that there will be a production of close to 600,000 units.

“It’s a 5,000 crore ($517 million) investment that came to a defunct plant.”

On the West’s discomfort with India’s friendship with Russia, she said, “I think the best of friendships are those that need no explanation.”

“We don’t choose our friends depending on the likeness or the dislike of somebody else… Those are convenient relationships.”

Irani said that Modi “has respected everybody’s point of view but has firmly stood by our friendship with Russia.”

Smriti was the lead star in one of Indian TV’s most popular daily soap operas, ‘Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,’ which translates as “because every mother-in-law was once a daughter-in-law.”

After leaving the Modi cabinet, she reprised her iconic role in the show’s reboot last year.

Irani listed focus on women, digitization, and steering the country through the Covid pandemic period as the major achievements of Prime Minister Modi.

“He is somebody I have seen who defers to not only competence, he’s somebody who also defers to people with knowledge,” she said.

India and Myanmar are seeking to boost cooperation in rare earths as New Delhi expands efforts to diversify supplies of the strategic minerals and cut dependence on China, which dominates their global supply.

Cooperation in the mining sector has gained significant momentum over the last two years, India’s envoy to Myanmar, Abhay Thakur, said at the opening Session of the India–Myanmar Forum on Mining and Minerals Cooperation this week.

These minerals are needed to make key components for renewable energy generation, electric vehicles, energy storage systems, advanced electronics, telecommunications, and other industries. About half of the world’s supply of heavy rare earths is extracted from mines in Myanmar’s Kachin state. They are shipped to China for processing into magnets.

“India and Myanmar are well-positioned to work together in this emerging landscape,” the envoy said. Two mining sector delegations on rare earths and critical minerals from India visited Myanmar in December 2024 and then again this past February.

State-backed miner IREL and private firm Midwest Advanced Materials are among those reportedly involved in discussions to explore the collection and transportation of samples from mines in Myanmar.

As part of a strategy to diversify supplies and cut dependence on critical minerals from China, which is the world’s largest producer of rare earths, New Delhi recently sought rare-earth samples from a Siberian deposit owned by Russian company Rosneft.

🇮🇳 Digs Deep In Rare Earth Race - Eyes New Myanmar Supply Chain

India is strengthening cooperation with Myanmar on rare earth minerals as it works to secure the resources needed for EVs, semiconductors, clean energy, and defence manufacturing.

Indian teams have already visited… pic.twitter.com/uYuNep63I1

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 23, 2026

IREL, which spearheads the South Asian nation’s outreach to secure rare-earth supplies, aims to study the mineral composition of a deposit in Tomtor, Siberia, acquired by Rosneft in 2025. It is also in talks with Japanese and South Korean companies to manufacture rare-earth magnets commercially.

India sits on the world’s third-largest rare-earth reserves of nearly 7.23 million metric tons, but does not produce rare-earth magnets domestically. Its consumption is expected to double by 2030.

In November 2025, New Delhi allocated $802 million for a program to manufacture rare-earth permanent magnets. India has also joined the US-led Pax Silica alliance, which aims to secure a supply chain for artificial intelligence, chips, and critical minerals.

India also announced specialized industrial zones called rare-earth corridors in the states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu for mining, processing, research, and manufacturing of rare earth permanent magnets.

One of the key outcomes of the recent visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Australia was an agreement for the supply of uranium to India. The joint statement issued during the visit says the agreement will “enable long-term Australian uranium exports to India for exclusively peaceful purposes and under IAEA safeguards.”

This agreement can be traced back to another document, the India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in September 2014 and entered into force in November 2015. The fact that the 2014 agreement was finally operationalized 12 years later highlights a strategic shift.

Australia exports uranium to more than 40 countries under established frameworks, but India, as a nuclear-armed state outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty, required a more complex set of safeguards. At the bilateral summit in Melbourne, Australia reiterated its strong support for Indian membership in the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.

The timing of the decision by Australia to supply uranium to India is significant. It comes months after New Delhi passed the SHANTI Act (the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act), which modernizes India’s nuclear framework and opens the door to greater private sector participation in India’s nuclear energy sector, which has been lacking so far.

Since the landmark 2008 India-US nuclear agreement, India has signed nuclear deals with a host of countries, but operationalizing them has been difficult. It currently operates 24 nuclear power reactors across seven different sites with a total installed capacity of 8.78 GW. Ten more reactor units with a combined capacity of 8,000 MW are under construction, while pre-project activities for ten additional reactors are also underway. The country mainly uses natural uranium fuel to run pressurized heavy water reactors to produce nuclear energy. 

Australia’s decision to supply uranium to India will help ensure a steady supply for India’s existing nuclear reactors, and hence this agreement will have a long-term positive impact on India’s energy security. Here is why.

First, energy is central to India’s development and is a key pillar of its foreign policy. As a net energy importer, India felt this acutely during the recent US-Israeli war against Iran, which sent shockwaves throughout global energy markets.

Third, US-India relations have undergone a massive shift in the second term of US President Donald Trump. The relationship took a hit after the US imposed tariffs. Washington’s fondness for Islamabad on a host of issues is another factor.

Fourth, India once imported a significant amount of oil from Iran, but that has decreased to zero in the face of US requests to stop Iranian oil imports. India’s total generation of nuclear energy is around 8 GW, but New Delhi has ambitious plans to increase it to 100 GW by 2047.

India is facing a severe energy challenge as its population rapidly grows. Coal is the biggest source of energy generation in India, but this leads to issues with pollution. Fossil fuels constitute over 75% of India’s total energy supply and hence lead to significant levels of pollution. Hydroelectricity is another major source of energy, but due to growing environmental concerns, adding more hydropower to its installed capacity does not appear to be feasible.

India announced its intention to achieve net zero emissions by 2070 while trying to achieve energy security. For a developing country with a population of 1.48 billion, this is no easy task. Hence, nuclear energy will play a critical role in helping India reach these goals.

Australia’s interests

Australia’s known uranium resources are the world’s largest, which amount to one-third of the world’s total reserves. Canberra is the world’s fourth-largest producer of uranium and accounts for almost 8% of global uranium production. All of Australia’s uranium production is exported.

During Modi’s visit to Australia, the two countries also agreed to work together on critical minerals – an area in which China holds a clear advantage and has increasingly turned its leverage into a strategic tool. Although China is Australia’s largest export destination, accounting for around 32% of its total exports – mainly iron ore, LNG, and coal – this dependence also creates a significant security risk for Canberra.

Australia, like India, sees China as a challenge. Both countries are part of the Quad grouping (which also includes the US and Japan) which is widely viewed as a counterweight to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Russia factor

As India diversifies its nuclear fuel sources, Russia remains a key partner and the only foreign country to be involved in building nuclear generation capacities.

Russia has been a dependable partner of India with regard to energy. India-Russia nuclear cooperation started during the time of the former Soviet Union and continued under its successor state. What is important to note here is that Russia-India cooperation did not stop even after India’s 1998 nuclear tests when many Western countries imposed sanctions on India.

The 23rd India-Russia summit in December 2025 deepened cooperation in this field, with an emphasis on modular reactors. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit coincided with the shipment of the first batch of nuclear fuel for unit 3 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. India is also seeking to finalize a site for a second Russian-built nuclear power plant, as indicated in a joint statement issued during Putin’s visit to India in December. Both sides also said future cooperation in the sector could include small modular reactors, floating power plants, and the localization of fuel supplies.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the setting up of fast-track courts to try those accused of leaking the question papers to a medical school entrance exam, in an effort to pacify young protesters who are demanding the resignation of the country’s education minister.

Protesters camping near Parliament in New Delhi have got widespread backing from across the nation, including from the opposition parties. 

Smaller protests have been taking place in other Indian cities, including the financial capital Mumbai, in solidarity with those agitating in Delhi. 

“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth,” Modi said in an X post on Thursday – his first communication to the students.

“We have decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks… This continues our series of steps for safeguarding the interests of students,” the prime minister added.

“Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared,” he warned.

Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!

We have decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks. Have directed the concerned authorities and officials to take all necessary steps in this…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 23, 2026

In response, the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, which is leading the protests, reiterated its demand for the federal education minister’s resignation.

“Dharmendra Pradhan must resign,” it posted on X.

The opposition parties also demanded that the government meet the demands of the agitators.

The government has agreed to a debate in Parliament on the issue, but it accused the opposition of stalling the discussion by backing the education minister’s resignation as a pre-condition.

The protesters are calling for the resignation of the minister after the question papers to a national medical entrance exam in May were leaked, causing a re-test to be held last month. Students often spend years preparing for these tests in order to get into premier medical colleges in the country. Some 2.2 million students took the test, and media reports have said at least 20 have taken their lives in the aftermath.

The government also granted detention powers to the Delhi police under the National Security Act, which allows people to be detained without charges from 12 days to 12 months.

India’s chief justice, urged by lawyers’ bodies, has said he would intervene in the issue if the metro stations are not opened by lunch time.

The backing for protests has come from parents, teachers, and a wide section of social media users, apart from some celebrities.

Bollywood A-lister Salman Khan was the latest to laud the protests, saying it was the right way to express dissent.

“The students have done this peacefully. So courageous and brave. Driven and motivated towards education, this generation will make India proud,” Khan posted.

He also noted that the issue is between students and the educational system, and it should not be allowed to be hijacked by political parties.

Indian protesters demanding the resignation of the federal education minister received a boost from the country’s political opposition, which has questioned the use of brute force against the young people during Monday’s march to parliament.

The protests, spearheaded by India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, have gained widespread support from various political parties and activists after mobile phone videos of police violence were circulated online.

However, Delhi police pointed out that some protesters had resorted to violence, injuring scores of officers and igniting the clashes.

The protesters and Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi have demanded that federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who they hold responsible for the leak of exam answers for a national medical entrance test, must resign before any talks can be held with the government regarding their other demands.

“At least 152 paper leaks have taken place in the last 10 years with zero accountability,” Gandhi said. He, too, was detained by the police after an impromptu sit-in protest near Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Tuesday evening. News reports said he was seen bleeding from the nose when the police forcibly took him away.

LoP Shri @RahulGandhi and @INCIndia continue to shamelessly exploit students as political tools to manufacture disruption during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Shri @RahulGandhi and @INCIndia chose to stage a dharna outside the Hon'ble Prime Minister's residence , causing…

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) July 21, 2026

Both houses of India’s Parliament were adjourned again on Wednesday over the issue.

Speaking at a press conference in the evening, federal Health Minister J.P. Nadda, who has tried to act as an interlocutor between the government and the protesters, said the nation’s leadership is ready for a discussion and that the opposition should not “change the goal post.”

“We should all work together to address this issue and move forward toward a lasting solution,” he said.

Modi’s party has called out the opposition, saying the question paper leak was addressed quickly by the government, the perpetrators were arrested, and a re-test was conducted successfully – all under Pradhan.

However, Abhijeet Dipke, founder and leader of the CJP, has vowed to continue the protest until the party’s demands are met.

Hundreds of young people were camped in the heart of Delhi on Wednesday around the protest site. Earlier in the day, CJP leaders refused to meet Nadda at his residence, instead demanding that the government’s representatives meet them at the protest site, or at a “neutral” venue.

Police blocked off several metro stations in central Delhi to prevent more people from converging at the site, and some reports said at least 2,000 more reserve police personnel were being flown into the capital to deal with the situation.

For a brief while, the CJP said, its Instagram account was blocked, apparently in response to a “legal request.”

At least 20 people are dead and five are missing after a gas explosion inside an under-construction tunnel at a hydropower project in India’s northeastern Himalayan state of Sikkim, officials said.

State-owned NHPC, which builds and operates mainly hydroelectric projects, said in a statement that the explosion at the site of the 500-megawatt Teesta hydroelectric project generated dense fumes and toxic gases.

The explosion occurred Monday afternoon in Namchi, about 40 kilometers from the state capital, Gangtok, when suspected methane gas trapped in the rocks was released during tunneling work.

“Of those 25 trapped inside the tunnel, 20 are confirmed dead,” Namchi Superintendent of Police Sonam D. Bhutia was cited by news reports as saying. Only 13 bodies have been recovered from the tunnel so far.

The search and rescue operation is being carried out by multiple agencies including teams from the national and state disaster response forces.

Survivors reportedly heard a loud explosion before debris came crashing through the tunnel, State Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang was reported as saying.

#Sikkim: Search and rescue operation is on for the third day today to evacuate people trapped inside the under-construction tunnel of NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydroelectric Project at Samardung in Namchi district. pic.twitter.com/yoe34egas6

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) July 22, 2026

An official from the National Disaster Response Force at the site said toxic gases inside the tunnel had forced his team to use breathing equipment as they searched for survivors.

NHPC and the state government will together pay about $9,300 (Rs 900,000) to the families of each of the deceased. The company said its top management is at the accident site, coordinating and monitoring the rescue operations.

India has praised the normalization of bilateral ties with China and underlined the importance of maintaining peace between the world’s most populous nations as a vital requirement for a multi-polar world order.

Both countries believe that a stable and cooperative relationship can best be developed based on mutual respect, interest and sensitivity, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum Meetings in Manila.

Relations between the two fast-growing major economies plummeted following a 2020 border clash that left 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers dead. Diplomatic engagements and flights between the two countries stopped and India heavily restricted Chinese investments, among other measures.

🇮🇳✌️🇨🇳 EAM Jaishankar Signals India-China Reset Is Gathering Pace

The 🇮🇳 External Affairs Minister met his 🇨🇳 counterpart Wang Yi in Manila, saying relations have been gradually normalising since the Modi-Xi meeting in 2024.

While welcoming progress on flights, visas and… pic.twitter.com/x8v5AI4eZ1

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 22, 2026

But relations have mostly returned to normal amid the economic pressures created by US President Donald Trump’s tariff wars, with New Delhi recently allowing some Chinese companies to invest in critical sectors of the economy.

Stressing that peace along the border remains a fundamental prerequisite for deeper bilateral cooperation, Jaishankar said, “such a relationship can make a valuable contribution to a multi-polar Asia and a multi-polar world.”

He reiterated that diplomatic efforts should support the understanding reached by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping that differences should not become disputes. It is diplomacy’s responsibility to manage these situations effectively, he said.

“Fair market access and a trade balance rank high in that regard,” Jaishankar stated, pointing to New Delhi’s concerns on trade and economic issues.

“There are also concerns about the predictability of supply chains. Facilitating both official and people-to-people exchanges merits our attention. We also need to agree on meetings of various mechanisms and platforms as per our mutual priorities.” 

In an unusually generous gesture by a Delhi court on Monday, a US mercenary detained for alleged anti-India activities has been allowed to receive food of his choice.

The court granted a plea filed by US national Matthew Aaron VanDyke on humanitarian and medical grounds, which will allow him to receive food of his choice and use special cooking utensils inside Tihar Jail. The American merc was arrested by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), along with six Ukrainian mercenaries, in March.

VanDyke’s lawyers argued that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution protects an individual’s dignity, including while in judicial custody. To preserve that dignity, he should be allowed access to food that he was accustomed to eating, they said.

They pointed out that VanDyke’s health had deteriorated because he was unable to consume the “spicy, oily, deep-fried and greasy” food served to inmates in the prison, noting that he had lost already lost 14 kilograms.

VanDyke had requested a long list of items, including chicken, red meat, seafood, uncooked noodles, pasta, uncooked rice, potatoes, onions, beans, spices, vegetables, olive oil, toned milk, bread, butter, and bottled water. He had also requested a stove, pots, and a plastic chopper.

The court allowed VanDyke to receive the items he requested, with the exception of non-vegetarian ones. The jail authorities were directed to provide him with a cook to prepare his meals according to his preferences.

The diet for pre-trial detainees at Tihar jail follows a prescribed menu, and they are not entitled to demand food from the outside or have meals prepared according to their personal preferences. Exceptions are only made if a prison doctor certifies that an inmate requires a special diet due to a medical condition. In certain cases, under a court order, they are permitted to receive home-cooked food.

The American mercenary and his Ukrainian comrades were arrested for traveling to a restricted border area located in India’s northeastern region. From there they allegedly crossed into neighboring Myanmar without permits to give the ethnic military groups operating there drone training. The groups are also linked to armed insurgents in India’s northeast.

VanDyke is the founder of Sons of Liberty International, which provides military training in conflict zones, the Times of India reported. He has been involved in conflict zones in the past, including fighting with Libyan rebels in 2011, it said.

Thousands of farmers opposing a proposed trade deal with the US marched toward Delhi on Tuesday, presenting another challenge to the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is already facing a student protest in the capital.

The farmers’ unions say New Delhi’s proposed trade deal could hurt India’s agriculture sector by opening the door to cheaper American food and hurt domestic farmers, livestock and dairy producers, as well as small traders.

The trade deal is still not final despite months of negotiations. Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said last month that New Delhi “cannot enter into force a US deal” until the “framework for getting a competitive advantage is finalized.”

Farm organizations from the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are spearheading the protests. Farmers from Punjab were stopped by police in Shambhu, on the state’s border with Haryana. However, others have continued on to Delhi.

📹 ❗RT India LIVE: Delhi Police Detain Farmers At Rajghat

Our correspondent @KediaRiddhima is on the ground as police detain farmers protesting the proposed India-US trade deal after asking them to vacate the area under Section 163.

A heavy deployment of Police and Rapid… https://t.co/aWNNS4Ll0u pic.twitter.com/NQz2lfKUWi

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 21, 2026

On Monday, thousands of students clashed with police in the Indian capital, demanding the resignation of the federal education minister over leaks of question papers for a national medical entrance test.

They are continuing their protest in central Delhi, but have said they will not march on parliament again, and have accused the police of hurting students.

The US agricultural sector has lobbied the Trump administration, seeking wider access to Indian markets, lower tariffs, and the relaxation of curbs on dairy products, poultry, and fisheries.

India’s government claims the nation’s agricultural interests would be protected and that sensitive farm products have been kept out of the negotiations with the US.

However, a trade pact that opens up agriculture could impact 80 million rural families and send shockwaves through India’s agrarian economy, activists have warned. The farming sector employs about 46.1% of the workforce and supports close to 55% of India’s population of 1.4 billion.

Washington now has a 10% tariff in place on Indian goods, after the US Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s initial steep tariffs as illegal earlier this year. Those temporary tariffs are set to lapse on Friday.

However, the US announced 25% tariffs on Brazil earlier this month under a different law, raising the possibility that Washington is likely to slap similar duties on India, too, after the temporary ones lapse.

India has summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires after an attack in the Ukrainian port of Odessa left four Indian sailors dead.

Vladimir Ladanov was summoned to hear India’s grave concerns and unequivocal condemnation of the attack on the commercial vessel MV Golden Leo on July 19, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ministry said the attack resulted in the tragic loss of four Indian lives. “Such attacks undermine the safety, security, and stability of international maritime commerce,” it said.

The Russian official was asked to convey India’s strong concerns to Moscow “that the targeting of commercial shipping and the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives are unacceptable and must be avoided.”

Moscow is yet to comment on the summons of its diplomat by New Delhi.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that “the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued strikes on Ukrainian ports being used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

“Using precision air-launched weapons and loitering munitions, Russian forces struck fuel and lubricant storage tanks intended for the Ukrainian military at the Port of Odessa,” the statement said.

Thousands of protestors, mostly young people, marched to India’s parliament on Monday, calling for the resignation of the federal education minister over alleged leaks of the questions for the national university entrance test.

Clashes broke out with police in riot gear, who were out in force after the students were refused permission to hold the march. Television channels and social media showed visuals of police beating the protesters and firing tear gas shells into the crowd.

The demonstrators were not allowed to reach the parliament building, and both houses of India’s top lawmaking body were adjourned for the day. The monsoon session began Monday.

❗️Police Disperse & Push Back Activists As Tear Gas Thrown Back & Forth

RT India correspondent @vnayak1710 reports from Raisina Road in Delhi, where heavy deployments of security officials have pushed the people on the streets back. https://t.co/Z60sk6Dc1e pic.twitter.com/AwBXufster

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 20, 2026

Thousands of students had congregated on the roads around Jantar Mantar – a historic astronomical observatory – in New Delhi, drone videos showed. Some metro stations in central Delhi were closed down in the morning to prevent the protesters from reaching the staging area.

Internet services were shut down in some parts of central Delhi as part of crowd-control measures, which was condemned by the The Internet Freedom Foundation.

The protests are being spearheaded by India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party movement. Its leader Abhijit Dipke is on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, having taken over from activist Sonam Wangchuk who was moved to a hospital on Saturday by police after his health deteriorated. He is reportedly continuing his fast.

❗Thousands March To Parliament Over Education Demands

Drone visuals showed a sea of students and young protesters assembled at Delhi's Jantar Mantar before marching towards Parliament.

📹 CJP pic.twitter.com/mqlhL4P2U3

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 20, 2026

Two representatives of the protesters later held talks with the federal health minister, who urged them to disperse to assist law enforcement agencies.

One of them later wrote on X that they had demanded the immediate resignation of India’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.

Among their other demands were the release of Wangchuk from the hospital and compensation of 10 million rupees ($103,700) each to about 20 students who media reports say took their lives after the cancellation of the national medical entrance exams following question paper leaks.

Nadda said the agitators later submitted a written petition listing their demands.

“I have requested all the protesters to end their sit-in and assist the administration in restoring normalcy,” he said.

But clashes with police continued and thousands of protesters were still in the Jantar Mantar area by evening. Several policemen have been reported injured, and some protesters detained.

An Indian startup has successfully launched its first rocket into low-Earth orbit, placing the country in an elite club that also includes the US and China.

Hyderabad-based space startup Skyroot Aerospace  launched the country’s first privately developed orbital rocket, Vikram-1 on Saturday, carrying several customer payloads and in-orbit experiments.

The rocket successfully injected its payload into a 450 km orbit after a flight lasting about 17 minutes. The mission’s goals include validating the rocket’s capabilities in-flight and collecting data for future commercial launches, Skyroot said.

“Mission Aagaman is a grand success,” the company said in a statement, using its own name for the project. “This is a test flight. We will be doing a few of these before we move into routine commercial flights,” it added.

The Vikram-1 is about 22 meters (72 feet) tall and designed to carry payloads of up to 350 kg into low-Earth orbit. The launch vehicle used a module powered by a 3D-printed engine, which was used for the first time in India.

Skyroot, founded in 2018, became the first space sector startup in the country to hit a $1 billion valuation earlier this year. It launched the Vikram-S mission in 2022, which became the first privately developed rocket to reach space from Indian soil on a suborbital flight.

Hello space, we have arrived! Vikram-1's Test Flight-1 has completed it's mission.

The first ever Indian private sector launch has been successfully completed. #Vikram1 #MissionAagaman #OpeningSpaceForAll

— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) July 18, 2026

New Delhi’s successful private space mission comes amid ‌a flurry of activity ⁠in the global small satellite launch market.

The surge in commercial and defense demands has spurred nations across Europe and Asia to boost support for domestic companies to secure independent access to space missions.

India’s private space ecosystem has flourished since New Delhi opened up the space sector to private investment in 2020, with the number of startups increasing from the single digits in 2019 to over 400 by early 2026.

The sector was opened up to encourage startups to build rockets, satellites and launch services, as India aims to increase its share in the space economy to $44 billion by 2033, from about $8 billion currently.

India has up until now relied on space missions created by the state-backed Indian Space Research Organization. It launched 104 satellites into orbit on one rocket in 2017, a record at the time. It also became the fourth country to pull off a lunar landing, when Chandrayaan-3 touched down near the moon’s south pole in 2023.

Skyroot’s achievement is also expected to boost private investor backing for Indian space startups, which are promising to compete with heavily funded global incumbents, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Global market intelligence platform Tracxn estimates that funding for Indian space startups has increased five-fold since 2020, to $152 million in 2025.

The market is crowded with players in the US, Europe, and China. In June, when Elon Musk-backed SpaceX began trading on Nasdaq, it was valued at about $1.77 trillion.

India’s concerns on finalizing a trade deal with the US have been underscored by Washington’s move to slap 25% tariffs on Brazil.

The US announced the 25% tariffs on Thursday following a Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trade practices. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect on July 22.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative cited Brazil’s preferential tariff arrangements with India and Mexico as one of the reasons for imposing the tariffs on certain Brazilian imports.

New Delhi has concerns that the US is likely to slap similar tariffs on India, which is also the subject of a probe along with China and other countries. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated last month that tariff rates could return to previous levels after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer “concludes studies on Section 301 investigations.”

The US has been exploring ways to bring back the levies after the Supreme Court struck down the earlier tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as illegal.

India and the US announced the broad contours of a trade pact in February after protracted negotiations. However, talks for a final deal lost momentum after the Supreme Court’s decision.

Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said last month that New Delhi “cannot enter into force a US deal” until the “framework for getting a competitive advantage is finalized.

India’s key export sectors, including textiles, could all face uncertainty depending on how the US proceeds with the Section 301 probes, academic Biswajit Dhar was cited by the Hindu Business Line as saying.

The majority of India’s crude import requirements this month are likely to be met by Russia, following a similar trend in June, as refiners scramble to stock up as fresh US sanctions loom.

Russia accounted for half of India’s June crude imports. In July, these will surpass 5 million barrels per day (mbd) with Russia accounting for around 2.6-2.7 mbd, The Hindu Business Line reported, quoting an unnamed senior executive of a refiner.

Last month’s rise came despite a sanctions waiver from the US ending halfway through the month as the world’s third-largest energy importer looks to keep its domestic market supplied. The reliance on Russian crude became more notable for India following the disruption to the passage of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, triggered by the US and Israel’s attack on Iran.

The trend will likely continue in August as the first-half supply contracts have already been made, the report said.

India has rolled out a hydrogen train service as a pilot project using fuel-cell technology, joining an elite four-nation group that operates these trains.

The pilot project is envisaged to test hydrogen technology, as the world’s most populous country embraces clean technologies for the travel needs of its 1.4 billion citizens. Only Germany, Japan, the US, and China have hydrogen-powered rail services.

The hydrogen train will run on an 89-km stretch in the northern state of Haryana between Jind and Sonipat. It will have a maximum operational speed of 75 kph and can go up to 110 kph.

The train, which can carry up to 2,600 passengers, has ten cars – two hydrogen-powered driving cars and eight passenger coaches – making it the largest train in the hydrogen category.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended the inaugural ceremony on Friday morning, called it “a major leap towards green mobility” for the country in an X post.

India takes a major leap towards green mobility!

In Jind, flagged off India’s first indigenous hydrogen-powered train between Jind and Sonipat.

This remarkable achievement reflects the ingenuity and dedication of the Indian Railways team. It is a proud symbol of Aatmanirbhar… pic.twitter.com/hVo89u5vvI

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 17, 2026

Hydrogen fuel-cells convert hydrogen to electricity using an electrochemical process to run the train. The byproducts are water vapor and heat, making it an attractive alternative to diesel, which emits carbon dioxide, soot, and other exhaust gases.

However, it is less energy efficient than direct-electric trains which draw power from an overhead wire or third rail.

Refueling is quicker compared to recharging large batteries. The pilot project includes hydrogen storage and refueling facilities.

Russia is offering India the joint production of the latest T-90MS tank, a representative of Rosoboronexport (ROE) told RT India.

According to Russia’s key state-owned defense exporter, which is part of the Rostec state corporation, co-production of the T-90MS could become the next stage of Russian-Indian cooperation in the tank sector. T-90MS is an export version of Russia’s latest T-90M tank series, designed and manufactured by Uralvagonzavod, also a part of Rostec.

The South Asian nation already operates a significant fleet of T-72 and T-90S tanks, which are being successfully upgraded by the country’s own defense industry.

According to ROE, the potential project for localization of the T-90MS could be implemented in several stages: first, the supply of technological kits for assembly at Indian facilities; and second, the localization of component manufacturing.

“The technical foundation created by the technologies already transferred significantly reduces both the cost and the time needed to establish production of the T-90MS and combat vehicles based on it at Indian enterprises,” the company representative said.

Earlier this year, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov also praised the T-90MS’s combat performance, saying it stands “head and shoulders above” its NATO counterparts.

The T-90MS is also equipped with a new fire-control system based on a “digital onboard” architecture. Its design includes integrated information-command systems and other innovative solutions. The tank has enhanced firepower thanks to a new range of artillery rounds and guided missiles.

Comparing the T-90MS with foreign tank models, a representative of Uralvagonzavod told TASS in May that, according to Russian military personnel operating the T-90M on the battlefield, the tank demonstrated exceptionally high effectiveness in combat missions in the Ukraine conflict. He added that the tank compares favorably with Western main battle tanks such as the American M1 Abrams and the German Leopard 2, whose effectiveness has come under question after battlefield testing in Ukraine.

Adding that, given India’s existing experience with Russian platforms, the training of crews, instructors, and field-repair specialists would be greatly simplified, as would the standardization of repair equipment and training simulators.

India has been buying Russian tanks since the 1960s. In 2001, New Delhi and Moscow signed a major deal for the supply and licensed production of T-90S tanks in India. Produced as the “T-90 Bhishma” at the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi, Chennai, the program has already delivered more than 1,000 units.

India is currently carrying out a major modernization of its armored fleet. A five-year program, approved at a cost of more than $7.8 billion, focuses on extending the service life and improving the combat readiness of legacy platforms, including 790 T-72 “Ajeya” tanks, 200 T-90 “Bhishma” tanks, 500 BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, and 230 armored recovery vehicles.

ROE noted that Moscow is also offering India technical solutions and systems already used in the latest T-90MS for incorporation into the modernization program for India’s existing T-90S fleet. The Russian side is also open to working in parallel on the joint development of future armored vehicles, given that New Delhi is working on a massive Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) program, which aims to procure 1,770 next-generation main battle tanks to replace its aging Soviet-era T-72 fleet.

The Middle East conflict has helped Iran to realize it has a potent weapon in its arsenal in the contentious Strait of Hormuz, a former Indian diplomat said.

At the same time, the stated objectives of the US in the conflict it unleashed also stand unfulfilled, former diplomat Rajiv Sikri told RT India in an exclusive interview.

“Americans just can’t stand the thought that they’ve lost this war because none of the objectives for which they fought the war appear to have been achieved, whether it was regime change or the nuclear issue,” Sikri told Runjhun Sharma in the latest episode of India, Russia and the World.

The ceasefire was brokered because after the Americans and the Israelis tried to bomb Iran into submission, “they ran out of ammunition.”

The issue with the protracted conflict is that Israel doesn’t want this war to stop and for all stakeholders, “this has become an existential issue.”

“For Iran, it was a question of survival,” he said, adding that Israel considers Iran as a principal rival “preventing its total domination of the region.”

Not succeeding against a “regional power like Iran is very humiliating” for Washington also, he pointed out.

Iran is vital to Moscow as it is in the same neighborhood. “Any instability there would affect Russia. I don’t think that Russia wants Iran to collapse,” he said, adding that Moscow will provide considerable assistance on the security and technological fronts to Iran.

He said that Russian Security Council Deputy Chair Dmitry Medvedev’s presence at the funeral of slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei signals that Russia will stand by the country. “It’s a message to Iran and to America, Israel, and the rest of the world,” Sikri said.

He also noted that the Tarique Rahman administration in Bangladesh has not done anything to reverse some of the questionable and anti-India policies of the Muhammad Yunus regime.

“I think India will have to be quite alert and watchful on what is happening in Bangladesh because you have now a revival of the pre-1971 scenario where you had China, US and Pakistan working in concert.”

New Delhi has asked shipping companies and vessel operators to refrain from deploying Indian sailors in vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, where several ships have come under attack earlier this week.

The advisory comes in the wake of attacks on two ships in the Strait of Hormuz that left two Indian crew members dead and eight others injured in the contentious waterway. The Middle East conflict has resulted in the death of nearly a dozen Indian nationals. Several seafarers have been rescued from ships and tankers that were struck.

“Ship owners, ship managers and (hiring and staffing) companies are directed to avoid deploying Indian seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages involving passage through the Strait of Hormuz until further orders,” India’s Director General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) said in a notification on Wednesday.

The DGMA asked vessel operators to adhere to “heightened security vigilance in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and adjoining waters” and that it “continues to closely monitor the evolving security situation and remains committed to safeguarding the safety, security and welfare of Indian seafarers.”

Advisory for Indian Maritime Stakeholders

In view of the heightened security situation in the Gulf region, the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA), through DGMA Circular No. 36 of 2026, has directed Ship Owners, Ship Managers and RPSL Companies to avoid… pic.twitter.com/s8XgKI1ifn

— Directorate General of Shipping, Govt. of India (@dgshipping_IN) July 15, 2026

The Indian sailors stranded in the Middle East shipping lanes when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and US forces blockaded Iran were mostly employed on foreign-flagged ships.

Indians are disproportionately impacted by the attacks on ships in various global conflict areas as the country has some 300,000 nationals working on ships, making it the third-largest supplier of maritime labor globally.

He added that the Indian government “needs to do more to protect these seafarers.”

“We have ships which are being targeted in Ukrainian waters or in Russian waters or transiting through Black Sea. Then we have ships through the Hormuz Strait, even in West Africa.”

The Middle East conflict has flared up again as the ceasefire agreement reached in June has unraveled after the US and Iran traded strikes, and struck ships trying to transit the strait.

The operator of India’s largest nuclear power plant has denied that any nuclear safety or security-related information was exposed in a recently reported data breach at the facility.

The leaked data is related to common service facilities and not the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant itself, according to a statement by Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), the owner and operator of the plant.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that ransomware group World Leaks had posted a large cache of files related to the plant on the dark web.

The exposed documents included purported blueprints of parts of the plant’s facilities and supplier details, Reuters said, adding nearly 19,000 files totaling 14.3 gigabytes could have been online.

The plant, which is in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, is being built in collaboration between NPCIL and Russia’s state-owned Rosatom. When complete, it will house six pressurized water reactors. Two units with a capacity of 1,000 MW each are already operational.

“The information claimed to be available on the public domain…  does not relate to any nuclear safety – or nuclear security-related systems or information,” NPCIL said, terming facilities of “conventional nature” that are typically found in thermal power plants as well as other process industries.

❗Kundankulam Data Leak: NPCIL Says No Nuclear Safety Or Security Information Exposed

India's Nuclear Power Corporation said the leaked documents were not related to the plant's core systems, adding that the incident involved data linked to an engineering contractor's… pic.twitter.com/6NO4ZjxqwQ

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 16, 2026

The stolen information came from Indian businessman Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, which was awarded a contract in 2018 to build all the systems in the power plant other than the actual nuclear facility. Reliance Group told Reuters in a statement that there had been a “partial breach” of its data on a server hosted by third-party Indian data center service provider Yotta, and that the government had been informed of the incident.

Yotta claimed it had prevented suspected ransomware execution on May 29.

The data breach could pose a “serious” risk to the safety of the plant, Nickolas Roth, a senior director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, was quoted as saying by Reuters. However, the news agency also said it could not verify the authenticity of the documents on the dark web.

The dark web is a hidden part of the internet that is unindexed by standard search engines, and can be searched only by using a specialized browser.

World Leaks usually posts stolen corporate data on its website after its victims decline to pay the ransom demanded. In June, the hacker group posted files of Tata Group, which contained confidential designs of its clients Apple and Tesla, after the Indian conglomerate ignored the hacker’s demand for $1.5 million in ransom.

Malware tied to a North Korean hacker group was found on the Kudankulam plant’s administrative network in 2019.

India will run short of the key infrastructure resources needed to power the explosive growth in data centers the country is witnessing, without smart planning, a technology industry analyst told RT India.

India has about 150 operational data centers, with over 100 on the way, driven by the country’s AI boom and cloud adoption.

Data centers guzzle water and power. However, both are in scarce supply in India’s biggest cities where the bulk of them are being built – Navi Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Noida – as well as Jamnagar, RT India reported.

In 2020, India’s data centers consumed around 375 megawatts (MW) of electricity, which jumped to 1,500 MW by 2025. By 2032, the figure is projected to hit 13.56 gigawatts, a 30-fold increase in just over a decade.

A 1 MW data center requires around 26 million liters of water for cooling. A 30 MW facility needs 780 million liters, and a 160 MW one needs as much as 4.2 billion liters of water.

Over half (59%) of Indian districts faced water scarcity in 2025, and 3% are facing absolute scarcity.

Globally, there is a scramble to put guardrails to protect the environment and minimize the potential burden on local communities from data centers.

“The amount of infrastructure required, the resources required to support these gigawatts of data centers by the end of 2030 is going to be unprecedented,” a technology industry analyst at Counterpoint Research in Mumbai, Neil Shah, told RT India.

He noted that India doesn’t have enough resources and hasn’t “even planned for this particular increase.”

In Mumbai, which is on course to be one of the country’s biggest AI data center hubs, an estimated one-third of the electricity will be consumed by data centers. There are 28 new data centers being built in the city alone.

“We still have grids shared with the public infrastructure as well as these upcoming AI data centers,” Shah pointed out.

He said that there has to be “dedicated power grids and supply” built for these structures.

At some point, smart planning for the “required type of electricity, whether it’s renewables or whether it’s nuclear,” will have to come into play, Shah noted.
The approvals for future projects should be templatized to incorporate clean energy standards, emphasizing renewable energy, “whether it is about water recycling… energy efficiency,” he said.

He cited the example of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio as a template to be emulated. At its Jamnagar data facility, Reliance envisages that 50%-60% of the requirements would be met with smart renewables.

“The water recycling and everything is taken care of,” Shah pointed out.

Shah also suggested regular energy audits to scrutinize consumption patterns and separate billing standards for data center-scale electricity and water consumption.

A Russian company is planning to set up shop in India’s GIFT City, an international financial services center, to sell gold to Indians crazy for the yellow metal.

PJSC MGKL, the holding company of Russian pawnshop chain Mosgorlombard, said it will register at the financial center in the western Indian state of Gujarat to enter the capital market.

Mosgorlombard will start with installing automated terminals for the purchase and sale of gold and silver, Interfax reported.

The next step will be to set up a company in India to offer loans secured by gold.
Last year, Indian households held a staggering 34,000 tons of gold, CNBC reported, quoting Morgan Stanley, with some estimates valuing it at $5 trillion. The gold loan market in the country has outstanding portfolios of $225 billion.

Still only 10-12% of household gold is currently pledged, leaving massive room for growth for companies such as Mosgorlombard.

Mosgorlombard is a major pawnshop chain and resale platform that offers instant short-term loans against jewelry, furs, and electronics.

“Considering the scale and maturity of the gold-backed loans market in India, we expect strong demand for contactless acceptance of gold items,” MGKL CEO Aleksey Lazutin said in a statement.

MGKL also operates in the wholesale purchase and processing of precious metals. In April, Indian rating agency CareEdge Global gave a long-term local currency credit rating of B- to MGKL, with a stable outlook.

Entities in GIFT City, modeled on the lines of other global financial centers such as Singapore’s Marina Bay and Dubai’s DIFC, are allowed to transact in foreign currencies, make use of tax incentives, and tap India’s booming financial ecosystem.

The banking asset size of the center exceeds $100 billion.

India and Russia will sign a pact to speed up operationalizing the Arctic shipping route as the countries take steps to achieve a targeted $100 billion in bilateral trade.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin posted on the official portal of regulatory legal acts on Tuesday that Rosatom’s proposal to develop cooperation in maritime cargo transportation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has been approved.

The Arctic route will provide India with alternative passages to ship commodities to markets in eastern and northern Europe, saving up to 40% in distance and about two weeks of travel time compared to traditional routes through the Suez Canal.

The uncertainty over the transit of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after the Middle East conflict began late in February has impacted India, which is heavily dependent on energy imports.

The Arctic route pact would also be a significant boost to efforts by Russia and India to achieve the targeted $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

🇷🇺🇮🇳 Russia Moves To Fast-Track Arctic Trade Route With India

Russia has authorized state nuclear giant Rosatom to sign an MoU with India to expand cooperation on cargo transport through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) - the shipping corridor that could emerge as an alternative to… pic.twitter.com/ByP8NnqUNP

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 15, 2026

Rosatom was instructed to sign the memorandum on behalf of the Russian government, Mishustin posted. Rosatom, which has assets in power engineering, machine building, and construction, is Russia’s designated operator and coordinator of the NSR.

The state-owned conglomerate also manages Russia’s unique fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, essential for keeping the Arctic shipping lane navigable.

In June, Aleksey Chekunkov, Russia’s minister for the development of the Far East and the Arctic, said India is considering increasing its use of the NSR in the wake of disruptions to seaborne trade in the Strait of Hormuz.

The outcomes of Putin’s trip also included the expansion of logistics links to develop the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), the Chennai–Vladivostok corridor – also known as the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) – and the NSR.

Putin said that cooperation on the 3,500-mile NSR, the 4,500-mile INSTC, and the 6,450-mile EMC would accelerate under the new bilateral agreement.

A man who claims to be a US national and to have served in the US Navy has been arrested in India for sneaking into the country without valid identification.

Jordan Brown was detained Monday as he tried to cross over to Nepal from India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. He tried to escape when challenged by border guards but was arrested with help from local people. 

Brown reportedly told officials that he hails from California, studied at the University of California, and served in the US Navy and Special Forces. He said he left the service two years ago.

Indian agencies are viewing Brown’s arrest seriously as in March, an American citizen was arrested by India’s anti-terror agency along with six Ukrainian nationals. Former US special forces soldier Matthew Van Dyke was accused of illegally entering India’s restricted northeast, crossing over into Myanmar illegally, and providing weapons training to insurgents there.

🚨Security Alert As 'Ex-US Navy' Man Held After 8 Months Illegal Stay In India

A man claiming to be a former US Navy serviceman was arrested near the India-Nepal. He was without a passport or valid travel documents, according to police.

Authorities said the 36-year-old claimed… https://t.co/HnMW16Jhav pic.twitter.com/uep6krIFbv

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 14, 2026

Van Dyke recently made headlines for seeking permission to cook his own meals in Delhi’s Tihar Jail where he is being held.

India’s border police recovered 31,460 rupees ($330) in cash and two mobile phones, religious books, an AI translation device, a Chinese passport, a diary, and a wristwatch from Brown.

He has been booked under the Immigration and Foreigners Act for entering India without valid documents. “We have informed the embassies, and further legal proceedings are underway,” said an officer. It is not clear whether the officer was referring to the US and Chinese embassies.

Brown has made various claims about his travel history. According to one account, he traveled to Thailand on a tourist visa. After losing his passport there, he managed to reach Sri Lanka by sea, and then India. Brown claims he resided in Goa on India’s west coast before trying to travel to Nepal.

In another statement, he said he arrived in Goa directly from the US two months ago and spent six weeks there. He then went to Bengaluru, from where he boarded a long-distance bus to the north Indian city of Lucknow on July 8, and later reached Gorakhpur, then hired a taxi to Sonauli, where he was arrested.

India is the only nation that is being forced to fuel growth while reducing its carbon footprint, an economic expert told RT India.

Today’s developed economies grew first and then retrofitted climate change mitigation, former Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said in the latest episode of ‘In Conversation with Salman Khurshid’ on RT TV.

“No other country in the world, history, had to grow exponentially and also reduce its carbon footprint at the same time,” Kumar said. “Other countries embarked on the growth process first and then retrofitted.”

“We don’t have that option,” he told Khurshid. India is now the world’s fourth-largest economy.

The IMF said last week in its World Economic Outlook that “India remains among the fastest growing major economies, with growth projected at 6.4%, supported by strong momentum in private consumption and services activity.” 

The world’s most populous nation has, at the same time, committed to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45% below its 2005 levels until 2030, and achieve Net Zero by 2070.

Kumar also noted that it is a fact that private investors are not very keen on India, and that foreign investors have been taking money out.

“Our own investors are investing abroad or acquiring assets abroad,” he pointed out.

“In our country, unfortunately, our principal stakeholders – the government, the business, private sector, civil society, and academia – after 70 years, don’t work on the basis of mutual trust,” he said.

This approach, he added, doesn’t work in a global scenario, where competition is vigorous.

Kumar pointed out that India had suffered from some severe deficits including “the infrastructure deficit… the education or the skill deficit, or the health deficit.”

But many of these have been tackled quite successfully in the last decade. “What is still not changed enough is the education system,” he said.

“Although we have had a national education policy after three decades and I think its implementation is being done, but ever so gradually, and I hope it will speed up as we go along,” Kumar said.

He termed artificial intelligence “the fifth technological revolution” after steam, electricity, and others.

The economist stated that the time has come for India to collaborate with China to transform its economy.

India and China together can “make a huge difference to this global order and to the global economy,” he said.

India-China economic relations are slowly getting back on track, after a deadly border clash between their militaries froze ties in 2020.

The $100 billion bilateral trade target between India and Russia, he said, is “a target which is not just worth achieving, but must be achieved.”

“It’s an important trajectory to pursue as to which are the industries where we can export… increase our exports to Russia.”

India has summoned Iran’s deputy chief of mission in New Delhi after an attack on two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz left an Indian crew member dead and injured eight others.

The attack was the second such incident in less than a week, after the hostilities in the Middle East over the control of the strategic waterway resumed following a lull induced by a temporary truce between Iran and the US in June.

The defense ministry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said in a social media post on Tuesday that an Indian crew member died and eight others were injured when two of its tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles while transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

India’s foreign ministry said it summoned Mohammad Javad Hosseini to lodge a ‘strong protest’ against the Iranian attacks on oil tankers passing through the waterway.

The Mombasa and Al Bahiyah were struck while transiting via the southern lane of the strait in Oman’s territorial waters. The dead crew member was on board the Mombasa tanker.

❗️ India ‘Deeply Concerned’ By Attacks on Two Vessels in Strait of Hormuz – MEA

‘We strongly condemn these attacks and acts of violence targeting seafarers and disrupting free and safe navigation through international waterways.’

One Indian seafarer tragically lost his life in… https://t.co/VIZ1zx6ln2 pic.twitter.com/FUqW38cUL7

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 14, 2026

Of the eight wounded, four were seriously injured. Six of the wounded were Indian nationals, and the rest were identified as Ukrainian nationals.

“India is closely monitoring the situation and is in touch with the UAE authorities to ensure assistance to the affected Indian seafarers,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

New Delhi “strongly condemned” the attacks targeting seafarers and disrupting free and safe navigation through international waterways, adding “the targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must cease.”

The Middle East conflict has resulted in the death of nearly a dozen Indian nationals. Several seafarers have been rescued as ships and tankers have come under attack.

An Indian sailor who was onboard the Cyprus-flagged GFS Galaxy, which was attacked off Oman’s northern coast while transiting the Strait of Hormuz last Saturday, is also reportedly missing. Twenty-three crew members, including ten Indian sailors, have been rescued.

India summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks to the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi twice then over the deaths.

Washington has said it will resume enforcing a maritime blockade of Iran from Tuesday. US forces also carried out new waves of attacks over the weekend on Iranian targets in retaliation for Tehran’s strikes on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has targeted several countries in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Jordan after the US attacks.

The bodies of 15 tourists who drowned in a speedboat accident in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon have been returned to India.

The vessel was ferrying 32 Indian tourists and four Vietnamese crew members when it capsized, shortly after departing Hon May Rut Ngoai island, authorities said.

The bodies were flown from Ho Chi Minh City to Mumbai on Monday, the Indian embassy in Vietnam posted on X. The embassy said earlier that 16 survivors had been discharged from a local hospital and were returning to India. All the deceased were from the south of the country.

The mortal remains of the 15 Indian nationals have departed from Ho Chi Minh City to Mumbai by Vietnam Airlines flight VN 979 and will arrive at 2130 hours local time.

The State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu will coordinate transportation of mortal remains…

— India in Vietnam (@AmbHanoi) July 13, 2026

The boat overturned within minutes of departure when a large wave hit it, AP reported. The boat swerved in rough waters before it capsized. Rescue teams arrived within five minutes and pulled survivors from the water.

One survivor, who is in critical condition, has been transferred to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for specialized treatment.

The tourist group was on a trip organized by a smartphone manufacturer for its employees, distributors, and retail partners.

The accident occurred about 6 miles south of Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island and one of its most popular beach destinations, which attracts millions of domestic and foreign tourists each year.