The West Bengal government on Wednesday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation the sanction to prosecute state government officials allegedly involved in corruption cases linked to the alleged recruitment scams in schools, municipalities and the cooperative sector, The Telegraph reported.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the previous Trinamool Congress government had “kept this permission on hold to save corrupt bureaucrats and officials”, The Hindu reported.

The CBI requires permission from a state government to prosecute its officials or file chargesheets against them.

Adhikari said that the new Bharatiya Janata Party government was following a “zero tolerance” policy on matters of corruption, The Hindu reported.

The BJP government took office on Saturday after defeating the TMC in the Assembly elections.

The CBI was permitted to take action in matters that are under court-monitored investigations, The Times of India reported.

Adhikari said that action against “institutional corruption” had been part of the BJP’s election manifesto and that more such steps would be taken in the coming days.

His comments came two days after TMC leader Sujit Bose, a former fire and emergency services minister, was arrested on Monday for his alleged involvement in allegedly illegal appointments in the South Dum Dum municipality.

On Wednesday, a court remanded Bose to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate.

The alleged scams

The school recruitment scam relates to the alleged illegal appointments of unqualified candidates as primary...

Read more

The Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal on Wednesday made it mandatory for persons to obtain a certificate before slaughtering animals such as buffaloes, cows and bulls.

The administration barred public slaughter of the animals and said officials carrying out inspections to enforce the order should not be obstructed.

The certificate, which can be issued by the chairperson of a municipal body or a sarpanch, along with a government veterinary doctor, must confirm that the animals are suitable for slaughter.

The certificate must confirm that the animal is more than 14 years old and no longer useful for work or breeding, or is permanently incapacitated because of age, injury, deformity or an incurable disease.

The animals must be slaughtered only at a municipal slaughterhouse or a place designated by the administration, the order said.

A person found violating the order may be punished with up to six months in jail or a fine of up to Rs 1,000 under the 1950 West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act.

The order did not provide exemptions for slaughter for religious, medicinal or research purposes, unlike earlier notices, The Telegraph reported.

The order came two weeks before Bakrid on May 27. Bakrid, also known as Eid-al-Adha, is a Muslim festival that commemorates the spirit of sacrifice. The festival is traditionally marked...

Read more

India records approximately 1.7 lakh road fatalities every year, says government data. But within those numbers is a subset that rarely receives attention: deaths caused by underage drivers driving vehicles without valid licences.

Data submitted in Rajya Sabha in March 2025 shows that minors were involved in 11,890 road accidents between 2023 and 2024.

In the past few years, deaths caused by minors illegally driving high-end vehicles have sparked outrage and demands for justice.

For instance, a 17-year-old driving a Porsche allegedly knocked down a man and a woman in Pune in May 2024. In February, an SUV driven by a minor allegedly crashed into a 23-year-old two-wheeler rider in Delhi’s Dwarka.

In both instances, the underage drivers were granted bail after they were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. In July 2025, the Juvenile Justice Board said the underage driver in the Pune Porsche case will be tried as a juvenile.

Cases of underage drivers involved in fatal road crashes point to the need for reform that holds the adult or vehicle owner strictly responsible for the actions of the underage driver, and a compensation policy that can quickly address the loss of the victim’s family.

Familiar pattern

Road safety discourse in India focuses on infrastructure and vehicle standards, instead of the human choices that precede a crash.

Minors driving without valid licences falls squarely...

Read more

India on Wednesday banned exports of raw, white and refined sugar with immediate effect until September 30, as the government moved to contain domestic prices and protect supplies amid uncertainty linked to the war in West Asia, Reuters reported.

India is the world’s second-largest producer of sugar and its largest consumer, with annual output valued at more than Rs 1 lakh crore.

The government’s decision came after India raised import tariffs on gold and silver to 15% from 6%, in an effort to reduce imports, ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves and support the weakening rupee.

In a notification issued on Wednesday, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said sugar exports had been moved from the “restricted” category to “prohibited”.

The move reversed the government’s earlier decision to allow mills to export 1.5 million metric tonnes of sugar on expectations that production would exceed domestic demand.

The notification also said that exports already in the pipeline would still be allowed under certain conditions. Shipments can proceed if loading had begun before the notification was issued, if vessels had already berthed or anchored at Indian ports, or if the sugar had already been handed over to customs authorities.

Exports to the European Union and the United States under existing quota arrangements will continue, it added.

Exports will also be allowed...

Read more

The 12th-century Shaiva mystic and vachanakara Allama Prabhu has been a massive presence in the Kannada, and more recently, in the Indian, cultural imagination. Apart from a couple of inscriptions that mention Allama in the premodern world, we access his life and thought as narrativised in several texts, beginning from 13th-century Harihara’s Allamaprabhudevara Ragalegalu through Chamarasa’s Prabhulinga Lile to 15th and 16th centuries five-volume Shunyasampadanes and other Virashaiva puranas.

Modern engagement with Allama and the entire vachana tradition, however, has been predominantly scholarly. Chief among the different forms of modern engagement with the vachana tradition has meant textualizing vachanas – collecting, editing, and printing them. Vachanas were performative practices but became objects of study, research, and translation in English during the modern period: so we have interpretations of vachanas in anthologies, doctoral theses, monographs, and articles among others.

Yet, Kannada scholarship produced no substantial work theorising vachanas in a hermeneutic mode until DR Nagaraj’s Allamaprabhu mattu Shaiva Pratibhe, published in 1999. No work before his put forward theoretical propositions and bold hypotheses on vachanas and vachanakaras. Known to the Anglophone world for his insightful writings on the Dalit Movement, literature, and culture, compiled into the volumes The Flaming Feet and Other Essays and Listening to the Loom, the Kannada cultural critic...

Read more

For two successive years, Gujarat’s peak fishing season has been struck by war.

Last summer, the conflict between India and Pakistan prompted the Gujarat fisheries department to recall boats out at sea.

This summer, as fishermen race to haul up catch before the monsoon fishing ban kicks in, the war in West Asia has cut off export markets, tanking the prices of fish.

“The rates for ghol fish have fallen by Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 per kg,” said Siddik Jasraya, who heads the Fishermen Boat Association in Salaya, a village in Dwarka, home to around 800 fishing boats. The highly valued ghol fish can cost up to Rs 12,000 per kg.

Squids are exported to Europe at Rs 500 per kg but the price has dropped to Rs 250, said Damodar Chamudiya, another fisher from Junagadh district.

While the prices of fish have plummeted, equipment like fishing nets have become costlier. Nets are made from plastic and nylon, which are petrochemical products now in low supply due to the war.

The war has compounded an already burgeoning crisis in Gujarat’s fishing industry, which has battled rising tariffs, stricter regulations and increased input costs in recent years. “If you add to this the ecological crisis of fisheries, where costs of fishing have gone up but fish...

Read more

For many people, news of a virus outbreak on a cruise ship immediately brings back memories of Covid-19 spreading when the Ruby Princess docked in Sydney in March 2020. Of the passengers and crew who disembarked, 575 had Covid. The virus then spread to the community.

So it’s understandable people are concerned that passengers from the MV Hondius need to be quarantined after potential exposure to Andes virus, a rodent-borne hantavirus.

However, the comparison with Covid only goes so far. Andes virus is serious and authorities are right to respond cautiously. But experts, including from the World Health Organization, note it doesn’t have the characteristics needed to become “the next Covid”.

As of May 11, European health authorities have reported nine cases linked to the cruise ship, including seven confirmed and two probable cases. Three deaths have been reported.

Five Australians and one New Zealander are being repatriated to Australia for quarantine and monitoring. The passengers will initially quarantine at the Centre for National Resilience near RAAF Base Pearce in Western Australia.

Here’s what you need to know about Andes virus, the risk of transmission, and how it’s different to the virus that caused Covid.

How do hantaviruses spread?

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses usually carried by mice, rats and other rodents. People are most commonly infected after inhaling tiny particles of contaminated...

Read more

A court in Kolkata on Wednesday sent Bangla Pokkho chief Garga Chatterjee to three days in police custody till May 16, Kausik Maiti, a member of the pro-Bengali advocacy group, told Scroll.

This came a day after Chatterjee was arrested by the Kolkata Police for allegedly spreading misinformation about Electronic Voting Machines ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. Chatterjee was arrested by the cybercrime division following a complaint by an Election Commission official.

While one first information report was registered against him at the Maidan Police Station based on the complaint filed by the Election Commission official, another FIR was filed by the cybercrime division after it took suo moto cognisance of the matter.

Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand earlier said that Chatterjee had posted on social media about alleged EVM tampering and malpractices in the election process, ANI reported. “This caused different perceptions among political parties and also created confusion,” the police chief said.

The police had sent notices twice to Chatterjee, asking him to appear for questioning, the news agency quoted Nand as saying. However, he did not appear before the authorities, due to which he was arrested, added the police commissioner.

The Bangla Pokkho chief had raised questions about alleged EVM malfunctions on April 23, the day of the first...

Read more

Pakistan has emerged as a central diplomatic broker in the conflict between the US and Iran. When announcing a pause to the US operation to guide stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz on May 6, Donald Trump said he had made the decision “based on the request of Pakistan”.

The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, subsequently expressed hope “that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond”. This latest intervention comes a month after Pakistan secured its biggest diplomatic win in years by brokering a ceasefire in Iran.

But how did Pakistan emerge as the most trustworthy mediator in this conflict, and what drove Islamabad to involve itself? Pakistan’s biggest advantage is that it enjoys relationships with both the US and Iran, which has helped it be seen as a neutral party by each side.

Pakistan has worked with the US in dealing with Iran for decades. Since 1981, two years after the US and Iran severed diplomatic ties following the Islamic revolution, a dedicated section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington has handled Iranian diplomatic affairs in the US.

Pakistan has also worked with the US in mediation efforts elsewhere. Most notably, it facilitated former US secretary...

Read more

Sugar-free products with sugar. ‘Real’ juices with artificial ingredients. Misleading food ads are fuelling a public health crisis in India. Help Scroll expose the systemic failure. Support our investigation.

After the Union government increased import duties on gold and silver on Tuesday, the prices of the precious metals surged sharply in the domestic markets on Wednesday. Gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange rose by nearly 6% to reach Rs 1.62 lakh per 10 grams and silver futures jumped by more than 6% to Rs 2.96 lakh per kg.

Meanwhile, the rupee closed at a record low of 95.7 against the dollar. The currency touched its lowest-ever intraday level of 95.8, weakening for the fourth consecutive session.

On the other hand, the Indian stock market rose marginally, with the benchmark Sensex increasing by 0.07% to 74,608.9 at closing. The NSE Nifty50 rose by 0.14% to 23,412.6. Read on.

Modi’s austerity appeals are a misplaced solution for India’s economic woes, writes Freddy Thomas

Air India will temporarily suspend its services on certain international routes from June to August. This decision was taken against the backdrop of airspace restrictions over some regions and record-high prices of jet fuel, stated the airline.

Among the routes that will be disrupted are Delhi-Chicago and Mumbai-New York. Flights...

Read more

The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam will introduce the Uniform Civil Code bill in the Assembly on May 26, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Sarma added that the state Cabinet had approved the draft legislation.

Speaking to reporters after chairing the first Cabinet meeting of his second term as head of the state government, the chief minister said that the tribal population in the state would be kept outside the purview of the Uniform Civil Code bill.

“We have also kept all rituals, traditions and customs practised by the people of Assam outside the scope of the Uniform Civil Code,” the chief minister said, adding that the code will deal with succession, marriage, live-in relationships, and compulsory registration of marriage and divorce.

The Uniform Civil Code refers to a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religious are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.

The introduction of a common personal law has for long been on the BJP’s agenda and several states ruled by the party have been making advances towards implementing it.

In January 2025, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code after independence. The Gujarat Assembly cleared a similar legislation on March 24 amid protests...

Read more

The Federation of All India Medical Association on Wednesday filed a petition before the Supreme Court questioning the “systemic failure” of the National Testing Agency in conducting the 2026 undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test.

The petition sought directions to “replace or fundamentally restructure” the National Testing Agency, which conducts the entrance test for admission to undergraduate medical courses in India, with a “more robust, technologically advanced and autonomous” body.

The petition was filed a day after the National Testing Agency cancelled the 2026 NEET-UG, which was conducted on May 3, following allegations of a paper leak. The National Testing Agency announced that the test will be re-conducted, and the dates will be notified separately.

In its petition, the Federation of All India Medical Association sought the appointment of a high-powered monitoring committee chaired by a retired judge, along with a cybersecurity expert and a forensic scientist, to supervise the re-conduct of the 2026 NEET-UG until a new independent body is formed.

The national body representing doctors and medical students also called for interim oversight by such a committee pending the constitution of the independent body. It asked the court to direct the committee to supervise the re-examination and certify the security of the revised system before it is implemented.

It further sought directions for the digital locking of...

Read more

Air India will temporarily suspend its services on certain international routes from June to August due to airspace restrictions over some regions and record-high prices of jet fuel, stated the airline on Wednesday.

Among the routes that will be disrupted are Delhi-Chicago and Mumbai-New York. Flights on the Delhi-Shanghai, Chennai-Singapore, Mumbai-Dhaka and Delhi-Malé routes will be suspended throughout August, added the airline.

Air India said that it will reduce the frequency of its flights to San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore and Bangkok, among others, during this period.

The statement came two weeks after Air India, along with IndiGo and SpiceJet, sought a revision in aviation turbine fuel prices amid the conflict in West Asia, warning the Union government that the country’s aviation sector was on the verge of “stopping operations”.

The war has pushed up global oil prices and led to airspace restrictions that have increased operating costs. Aviation turbine fuel accounts for about 40% of an airline’s operating expenses.

On Wednesday, Air India said that it will continue to operate more than 1,200 international flights every month.

These include 33 flights every week to North America, 47 flights to Europe, 57 flights to the United Kingdom, eight flights to Australia, 158 flights to the Far East, Southeast Asia, and South Asian Association for...

Read more

“I burn with anguish when we are apart, When he returns, with jealous fear;
And when I see him, he assaults my heart; I faint when he is near.
No single moment can I capture bliss, When he is gone, or when he is here.
What in the world can be more strange than this? And yet, he is my dear.”

My story is of intense, passionate love and heartbreak.

From the time I was born, I was destined to be abandoned. I was Madhura in my last life, the most sought-after apsara. I was so proud of my beauty and power that I forgot myself and began lusting after Shiva. Parvati, his wife, came to know of this and, furious with jealousy and rage, cursed me. A supreme goddess’s curse is very powerful and I was turned into a frog instantly. Fortunately, my lord Shiva took pity on me and I was born as a girl on earth. My earlier frog-like form compelled me to live in a well and there, in the deep murky waters, I would have lived, unloved and abandoned, but fortune suddenly smiled on me. I was rescued by the great asura king Mayasura and his kind wife, Hema.

I changed from an apsara to a frog...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092493/love-stories-from-the-epics-mandodaris-devotion-to-her-husband-ravana-outlives-tragedy?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Bulbul Sharma https://scroll.in/latest/1092836/manipur-three-church-leaders-killed-5-injured-in-ambush-in-kangpokpi?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The victims were returning from a meeting of church representatives in Churachandpur, stated the apex body of the Kuki tribes.

Three church leaders were killed and five others were injured on Wednesday in Manipur after the vehicles in which they were travelling were ambushed as they returned from a meeting in Churachandpur to Kangpokpi, stated the Army.

While the apex body of the Kuki tribes, Kuki Inpi Manipur, alleged that the armed Naga group Zeliangrong United Front-Kamson faction was behind the attack, The Indian Express quoted an unidentified security official as saying that the involvement of militant outfits was being investigated.

The Kuki Inpi identified the dead as Reverend V Sitlhou, Reverend Kaigoulen and Pastor Paogoulen. They were part of the Thadou Baptist Association and were travelling back after a meeting of church leaders in Churachandpur, according to the newspaper.

The police said that the attack took place between the Kotjim and Kotlen areas in Kangpokpi.

Sitlhou had earlier served as the general secretary of the Manipur Baptist Convention. “He had recently initiated a reconciliation meeting between Kukis and Nagas in Kohima, because of the current tensions between the two communities,” Thangtinlen Haokip, a leader of the Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity, was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Tensions between Kukis and Nagas in Ukhrul had erupted on February 7, when an alleged assault involving members of the Tangkhul Naga and the Kuki-Zo...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092836/manipur-three-church-leaders-killed-5-injured-in-ambush-in-kangpokpi?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 12:00:46 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092833/west-bengal-cm-suvendu-adhikari-to-retain-bhabanipur-assembly-seat-give-up-nandigram?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The Bharatiya Janata Party leader had secured a victory from both the constituencies in the recently-concluded Assembly elections.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said that he will retain the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency and give up Nandigram among the two seats he won in the recently-concluded elections, PTI reported.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader took oath in the Assembly as an MLA from Bhabanipur.

“Someone else will be elected as MLA from Nandigram [in a bye-election],” the newspaper quoted Adhikari as telling reporters outside the Assembly. “But I will not let the people there feel my absence.”

On May 4, the BJP defeated the Trinamool Congress in the Assembly elections, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress Party.

Adhikari defeated Banerjee by more than 15,000 votes in Bhabanipur and defeated the TMC’s Pabitra Kar by 9,665 votes in Nandigram.

On Saturday, he took oath as the chief minister of West Bengal, becoming the first BJP leader to hold the post.

Adhikari, who was a minister in the Banerjee government, quit the TMC and joined the BJP in 2020.

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092833/west-bengal-cm-suvendu-adhikari-to-retain-bhabanipur-assembly-seat-give-up-nandigram?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 11:03:30 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092834/baltimore-ship-crash-us-files-criminal-case-against-chennai-singapore-firms-and-indian-citizen?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Six persons working on a bridge had been killed when it was struck by the vessel in March 2024 and collapsed into the river.

The United States Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a criminal case against two firms based in Chennai and Singapore, and an Indian citizen, in connection with six deaths caused by a cargo ship colliding with a bridge in Baltimore in March 2024.

The six men were working to repair the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it was hit by the vessel, Dali, and the structure collapsed into the Patapsco River.

The Singapore-flagged ship was on its way to Colombo from Baltimore. The entire 22-member crew of the vessel was Indian. None of them were hurt.

The companies, Synergy Marine of Singapore and Synergy Maritime of Chennai, and the vessel’s technical superintendant Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair have been charged with conspiracy, wilfully failing to immediately inform the US Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstructing the proceedings of an agency and providing false statements.

Nair worked for both firms as the vessel's technical superintendent.

The two companies and the Indian citizen were also charged for polluting the river with the cargo the ship was carrying.

The indictment alleges that the accident caused an economic loss of at least $5 billion.

The ship lost power twice within four minutes as it navigated out of the Baltimore port, causing it to crash into the bridge, according to the indictment.

The document...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092834/baltimore-ship-crash-us-files-criminal-case-against-chennai-singapore-firms-and-indian-citizen?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 10:50:17 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092826/n-rangasamy-takes-oath-as-puducherry-chief-minister?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public BJP leader A Namassivayam and All India NR Congress’ Malladi Krishna Rao were also sworn in as ministers in the second NDA government in the Union Territory.

All India NR Congress founder N Rangasamy on Wednesday took oath as the chief minister of Puducherry for the fifth time.

He was administered the oath of office by Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan. Bharatiya Janata Party leader A Namassivayam and All India NR Congress’ Malladi Krishna Rao were also sworn in as ministers in the second National Democratic Alliance government in the Union Territory.

The National Democratic Alliance, led by the All India NR Congress, secured a victory in the Puducherry Assembly elections on May 4, winning 18 of the 30 seats.

The Opposition Secular Progressive Alliance, mainly comprising the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, won six seats. Actor-politician Vijay’s newly-founded Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam won two seats and its ally, Neyam Makkal Kazhagam, secured one win.

புதுச்சேரி 2026 சட்டமன்றத் தேர்தலில் நமது தேசிய ஜனநாயக கூட்டணியின் மாபெரும் வெற்றியை தொடர்ந்து, திரு. @CM_NRangaswamy அவர்கள் மீண்டும் முதலமைச்சராக பதவியேற்றார்..! pic.twitter.com/mXaI3dPF3k

— BJP Puducherry (@BJP4Puducherry) May 13, 2026

Although the Puducherry Assembly has 33 seats, three of its members are nominated by the Union government. They enjoy the same powers as the 30 MLAs who are directly elected.

Rangasamy had won the Assembly elections from the Thattanchavady and Mangalam seats.

The 76-year-old had served as the chief minister of the Union Territory from 2001 to 2006 and again from 2006 to 2008 as a Congress leader. After founding the All India NR...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092826/n-rangasamy-takes-oath-as-puducherry-chief-minister?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 09:38:51 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092825/four-cheetah-cubs-found-dead-in-kuno-national-park-month-after-their-birth?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public They were the country’s first wild-born cubs since Project Cheetah was launched in September 2022.

Four cheetah cubs who were born in the wild at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park were found dead on Tuesday, the Hindustan Times reported. Officials said that they appeared to have been killed by a leopard.

The cubs, born on April 11 in the Sheopur territorial division adjoining Kuno, were the country’s first wild-born cheetahs since the animals were reintroduced in the country in September 2022. Their half-eaten bodies were found in the forest near their den on Tuesday.

“The cubs were constantly monitored,” Kuno National Park Field Director Uttam Sharma was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. “On May 11, they were alive and healthy. But on Tuesday morning, they were found dead with deep wounds and partially eaten bodies. Prima facie, a leopard attacked them.”

The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination so that the cause of their death can be ascertained, added the field director.

The mother of the cubs, KGP-12, was found safe and roaming nearby, the newspaper quoted an unidentified official as saying.

The birth of the cubs marked the first time that an Indian-born cheetah raised in the wild had given birth outside of an enclosure.

In September 2022, cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa were reintroduced to India seven decades after the species was declared extinct in the country.

Since then, 33 cubs...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092825/four-cheetah-cubs-found-dead-in-kuno-national-park-month-after-their-birth?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 10:19:03 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092820/tamil-nadu-cm-vijay-removes-astrologer-as-his-officer-on-special-duty-after-appointment-row?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public A petition was filed in the Madras High Court on Wednesday questioning the grounds on which Rickey Rathan Pandit Vettrivel had been given the position.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Wednesday removed astrologer Rickey Rathan Pandit Vettrivel as an officer on special duty amid criticism about the appointment, The Indian Express reported.

This came hours after a plea had been filed in the Madras High Court challenging Vettrivel’s appointment, Live Law reported. The matter was mentioned by a lawyer for urgent listing before a vacation bench of Justices Victoria Gowri and N Senthilkumar.

The matter was expected to be heard on Thursday, the legal news outlet reported.

The petitioner had sought a writ of quo warranto questioning the authority under which Vettrivel holds the post, Bar and Bench reported. A quo warranto petition requires a person holding a public office to show the legal basis of their appointment.

The plea challenged a government order issued on Tuesday appointing Vettrivel as officer on special duty (political).

The petitioner argued that the appointment had been made without a recruitment process, inviting applications, framing service rules and issuing a public notification, Bar and Bench reported.

Vettrivel had reportedly predicted that the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam would emerge as a major political force, and that Vijay would win the Assembly elections and become the chief minister.

Vijay’s TVK wins floor test

The TVK won the floor test in the Assembly on Wednesday as 144 MLAs in the 234-member House voted in favour of the confidence motion moved by the Vijay-led government, The Hindu...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092820/tamil-nadu-cm-vijay-removes-astrologer-as-his-officer-on-special-duty-after-appointment-row?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 08:32:09 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092451/a-new-book-argues-women-must-think-of-themselves-as-providers-and-not-just-financially-independent?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public An excerpt from ‘The Girls Are Not Fine: The Cost of Ambition, Careers and Becoming’, by Harnidh Kaur.

I didn’t grow up thinking I might have to be the breadwinner. I grew up knowing I already was.

We’re two sisters. No son. Which in India means the “what a son would do” column became ours. Our parents never said it outright, but it was understood; if a brother existed, I know the picture would look different. We’d still be “encouraged to be independent”, sure. But the fierce ownership over finances, our own and our family’s, wouldn’t have been ours to claim so fully.

Sometimes I spiral into the counterfactual: Who would I be if that sense of accountability hadn’t been placed squarely on my shoulders? If I was cushioned by someone else’s assumed role as provider? So much of my personality, like my grit, my obsession with autonomy, my paranoia about fragility, was forged in that absence.

Most of us are walking around with a dangerous assumption. We think someone else will catch us if we fall. We think our salaries are supplementary. We think breadwinning is for other people: the unlucky ones, the ones whose backup plans failed.

We’re wrong.

Let me tell you about the messages we absorbed growing up. Not the overt ones, because those were actually pretty progressive. “Beta, study hard.” “Get a good job.”...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092451/a-new-book-argues-women-must-think-of-themselves-as-providers-and-not-just-financially-independent?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Harnidh Kaur https://scroll.in/latest/1092817/bangladesh-not-intimidated-by-barbed-wire-says-dhaka-as-west-bengal-clears-land-for-border-fence?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Dhaka wants to see if the BJP will follow through on its West Bengal polls rhetoric, the foreign affairs adviser to Bangladeshi prime minister said.

Bangladesh will not be intimidated by barbed-wire border fences and will not remain silent if killings continue along the boundary with India, Dhaka-based news agency UNB quoted Humayun Kabir, the foreign affairs adviser to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman as saying on Monday.

The comments came after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said that the new Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state had approved the transfer of land to the Border Security Force to erect a fence along the border with Bangladesh.

Responding to a reporters’ questions, Kabir said that New Delhi needed to demonstrate a more “humane approach” in resolving problems along the border if it wants to strengthen people-to-people relations.

“The government of Bangladesh is also not afraid of barbed wire; where we need to talk, we will talk,” he was quoted as saying.

Kabir added that the rhetoric during election campaigns and governance can be separate and Dhaka was waiting to see whether the BJP government was following through on its poll promises.

“Let’s wait and give it some time to see whether the BJP government in West Bengal intends to carry the same rhetoric into governance,” the news agency quoted him as saying.

He added that Dhaka’s relationship was primarily with New Delhi, Prothom Alo reported. “We do not want...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092817/bangladesh-not-intimidated-by-barbed-wire-says-dhaka-as-west-bengal-clears-land-for-border-fence?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 07:56:50 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092816/nashik-tcs-case-aimim-corporators-house-where-accused-was-allegedly-sheltered-demolished?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Matin Patel approached the court seeking a stay after receiving the notice on Saturday, but it was not granted.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation on Wednesday demolished allegedly illegal constructions at two properties linked to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen corporator Matin Patel, including the house where suspended Tata Consultancy Services employee Nida Khan was allegedly sheltered, The Indian Express reported

Officials said the action was carried out in the Kausar Baug area, with around 100 civic officials and police personnel deployed along with earthmovers and anti-encroachment teams.

The civic body said it had issued notices to Patel on Saturday over alleged unauthorised constructions at his residence and an office in the same locality, the newspaper reported.

#WATCH | Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar: The Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar Municipal Corporation initiates the demolition of properties belonging to AIMIM Corporator Matin Patel. pic.twitter.com/U5XKnuYXHX

— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2026

Patel later approached the court seeking a stay on the matter, but it was not granted, PTI reported.

Mayor Sameer Rajurkar had said that as per the rules, Patel had three days to respond to the notice and that further action would be taken in accordance with the law if the reply was found unsatisfactory.

The mayor had also said that Patel could face disqualification if he was found to have carried out illegal construction, PTI reported.

Patel’s family had earlier submitted documents and sought additional time to respond to the notice, arguing that the three-day notice period was...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092816/nashik-tcs-case-aimim-corporators-house-where-accused-was-allegedly-sheltered-demolished?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 07:17:40 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092814/gold-silver-prices-jump-after-centre-hikes-import-tariffs?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The government increased duties on the precious metals to 15% from 6% to ease pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The prices of gold and silver in India jumped sharply on Wednesday after the Union government increased import duties on the precious metals, making them more expensive in the domestic market.

Gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange had risen by nearly 6% to Rs 1.62 lakh per 10 grams as of 10.55 am. Silver futures had jumped by more than 6% to Rs 2.96 lakh per kg.

The sharp increase came after the government on Tuesday increased import duties on gold and silver to 15% from 6%.

The decision aims to reduce imports of the precious metals in India, the world’s second-largest consumer of gold and silver, and ease pressure on the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves. It may also help reduce the country’s trade deficit and support the weakening Indian rupee.

Rupee at record low

The Indian currency closed at a record low of 95.7 against the United States dollar on Wednesday. According to reports, the rupee had touched its lowest-ever intraday level of 95.8 against the US dollar, weakening for the fourth consecutive session

The rupee had slumped to 95.6 per dollar on Tuesday amid elevated global oil prices and economic headwinds caused by the conflict in West Asia.

Concerns have been mounting about the economic impact of the war amid an elusive peace deal between...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092814/gold-silver-prices-jump-after-centre-hikes-import-tariffs?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 10:45:23 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092813/bhopal-fir-against-hindutva-group-members-for-assaulting-muslim-man-over-love-jihad-claims?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The Bajrang Dal members had allegedly barged into a hotel room, assaulted Arif Khan and paraded him on the street after smearing ink and cow dung on his face.

After members of a Hindutva group barged into a hotel room in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal and assaulted a Muslim man, while he was with a Hindu woman, over allegations of “love jihad”, a first information report was registered against unidentified persons, The Hindu reported on Wednesday.

Love jihad is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men trick Hindu women into romantic relationships with the aim of converting them to Islam. The Union home ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining such a term.

The case was registered at the Govindpura police station based on multiple complaints against unidentified persons for allegedly assaulting 27-year-old Arif Khan on May 10.

Members of the Bajrang Dal reportedly entered a hotel room in Gautam Nagar and assaulted Khan. They later paraded him on the street after smearing ink and cow dung on his face.

Videos shared on social media showed the Bajrang Dal members shouting “Jai Shri Ram” during the assault. Some clips also showed them slapping Khan in front of police personnel as officers tried to intervene, The Hindu reported.

The Bajrang Dal is part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The woman later told the police that she had not faced coercion or forced conversion and had...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092813/bhopal-fir-against-hindutva-group-members-for-assaulting-muslim-man-over-love-jihad-claims?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 06:20:53 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092812/banibrata-mahanta-wins-2025-muse-india-translation-award-for-translating-hindi-novel-lavanyadevi?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public He will receive a cash prize of Rs 25,000.

Banibrata Mahanta has won the 2025 Muse India Translation Award for translating Kusum Khemani’s novel Lavanyadevi from the Hindi. He will receive a cash prize of Rs 25,000. The winner was picked from 103 entries from 18 Indian languages.

Commendation Certificates were given to the following translators

• V Ramaswamy for The Last Bench, by Adhir Biswas from the Bengali

• Vidya Pai for The Bitter Fruit Tree and Other Stories, by Prakash Parienkar from the Konkani

• Navdeep Suri for A Game of Fire, by Nanak Singh, from the Punjabi

• Malini Seshadri for Kurinji Malar, by Na Parthasarathy, from the Tamil

The panel of 12 judges was chaired by a two-member jury consisting of Professor Sachidananda Mohanty and Professor Sukrita Paul Kumar.

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092812/banibrata-mahanta-wins-2025-muse-india-translation-award-for-translating-hindi-novel-lavanyadevi?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 05:08:42 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092811/bihar-cm-says-persons-excluded-in-sir-wont-get-welfare-benefits-passbooks-to-be-cancelled-report?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public This came a day after the new Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal made a similar announcement.

After West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Bihar has also said that persons deleted during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls will not receive welfare benefits, The Indian Express reported.

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary told the newspaper that the persons “will not be entitled to any government benefits, including ration and other welfare schemes”.

Choudhary was also quoted as saying that bank passbooks of persons excluded from the voter list would also be cancelled “in due course of time”. It is unclear whether an order has been passed to this end.

Choudhary replaced Nitish Kumar as the chief minister on April 15.

In July, the Election Commission told the Supreme Court that persons will not cease to be Indian citizens only on the grounds that they were found ineligible to vote under the electoral roll revision exercise.

The comments by Choudhary came a day after the newly-elected BJP government in neighbouring West Bengal said that women whose names were deleted during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state will not receive benefits of the state government’s Annapurna Bhandar scheme.

Under the scheme, women will receive a monthly cash handout of Rs 3,000. It is set to replace the Trinamool Congress government’s Lakshmi Bhandar programme from June 1, which gave beneficiaries Rs 1,500 per month.

Agnimitra Paul, the minister...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092811/bihar-cm-says-persons-excluded-in-sir-wont-get-welfare-benefits-passbooks-to-be-cancelled-report?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 04:39:14 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092809/mockery-of-process-rahul-gandhi-writes-to-pm-to-record-dissent-on-cbi-director-selection-exercise?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The leader of Opposition alleged that he was provided with the appraisal records of 69 candidates for the first time during the selection panel’s meeting.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the government of reducing the process of selecting the next director of the Central Bureau of Investigation to a “mere formality” and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to record his dissent.

The Congress leader made the comment after a meeting of the three-member committee responsible for selecting the next chief of the probe agency.

The committee, chaired by Modi, also comprises Chief Justice Surya Kant.

The panel met on Tuesday at the prime minister’s official residence in Delhi to decide who should succeed the current director, Praveen Sood. Sood’s term is due to end on May 24, after he received a one-year extension in 2025.

In his dissent note to Modi, Gandhi alleged that despite repeatedly requesting the “self-appraisal or 360-degree assessment reports” of the eligible candidates, he was not provided with them.

“Instead I was expected to examine the appraisal records of sixty-nine candidates for the first time during the committee meeting,” Gandhi said in his letter to the prime minister.

He added that the “deliberate denial of information, without any legal basis, makes a mockery of the selection process and ensures that only your pre-decided candidate is selected”.

Tweet does not exist

Gandhi also alleged that the government has “repeatedly misused the CBI…to target political...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092809/mockery-of-process-rahul-gandhi-writes-to-pm-to-record-dissent-on-cbi-director-selection-exercise?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 03:39:16 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092810/prateek-yadav-sp-founder-mulayam-singhs-son-dies-at-38?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The exact cause of death would be known after a postmortem examination, doctors said.

Prateek Yadav, son of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, died at the age of 38 in Lucknow on Wednesday morning, NDTV reported.

Civil Hospital director Dr GP Gupta told the Hindustan Times that the hospital received information around 5 am that Prateek Yadav was unwell, following which a team of doctors went to his home.

“When the doctors reached there, his condition appeared critical,” Gupta was quoted as saying. “He was brought to the hospital and despite all efforts by the medical team, he was declared dead at 5.55 am.”

His wife, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Aparna Yadav, was not present at the time, NDTV reported.

Gupta added that the exact cause of death would be known after a postmortem examination.

Prateek Yadav was the half brother of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and his second wife, Sadhna Gupta.

He was not politically active.

Edited by Sara Varghese

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092810/prateek-yadav-sp-founder-mulayam-singhs-son-dies-at-38?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 06:48:15 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092693/interview-bjp-has-successfully-mobilised-the-non-muslim-vote-to-its-advantage?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The state elections have weakened the Opposition and strengthened the BJP, says psephologist Sanjay Kumar.

Welcome to The India Fix by Shoaib Daniyal. A newsletter on Indian politics.

As always, if you’ve been sent this newsletter and like it, to get it in your inbox every week, sign up here (click on “follow”).

The state election results declared on May 4 offer an insight into Indian politics two years after the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power at the Centre with a significantly weakened mandate.

In an interview with Scroll, political analyst and psephologist Sanjay Kumar of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, said that the Opposition alliance stands significantly weakened: the BJP ousted the Trinamool Congress from West Bengal and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam lost Tamil Nadu to actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. However, the Congress managed to win Kerala with a big majority.

There was talk of MK Stalin of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress leading the INDIA bloc, said Kumar. “Now, after both of them being defeated, this discussion will be paused,” he said. “There is no challenge to Rahul Gandhi’s leadership within the INDIA alliance, though it is weaker now.”

For the BJP, this is a moment of extra happiness because INDIA partners are losing state after state, said Kumar. “A...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092693/interview-bjp-has-successfully-mobilised-the-non-muslim-vote-to-its-advantage?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 03:30:03 +0000 Shoaib Daniyal https://scroll.in/article/1092581/this-book-examines-the-interplay-between-christianity-and-caste-especially-among-dalit-women?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public An excerpt from ‘Dalit Women and the Fullness of Life’, by Christina Dhanuja.

Christianity’s advent in India is a hotly debated topic. But the widely held – and disputed – belief is that it started with the arrival of St Thomas the Apostle on Kerala’s Malabar coast in 52 CE. The popular claim is that the apostle converted the Namboodiri Brahmins of Kerala, giving rise to the present-day Nasranis or Syrian Christians. This was followed by the arrival of Pantaenus, a missionary from Alexandria, in 189 CE, and later, a group of Christians, led by Thomas Cana, from the Middle East in 345 CE.

The Christian missions took off only with the arrival of the Portuguese missionary St Francis Xavier in 1542 and the Italian Jesuit Robert de Nobili in 1605 in Goa, followed by the German Pietists (Lutheran missionaries) Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau in 1706 in Tranquebar.

The Tranquebar missions were responsible for instating the printing press and the first ever print of the Tamil Bible – evidence of which one can still see at the Ziegenbalg House in Tranquebar. At the turn of the eighteenth century, the establishment of British rule in the presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, and the subsequent amendment of the East India Company’s charter in 1813, gave way to...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092581/this-book-examines-the-interplay-between-christianity-and-caste-especially-among-dalit-women?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 04:06:00 +0000 Christina Dhanuja https://scroll.in/latest/1092808/india-raises-gold-and-silver-tariffs-to-15-to-curb-imports-support-rupee?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public On Tuesday, the Indian rupee weakened to a record low of 95.6 amid elevated global oil prices and economic headwinds caused by the West Asia conflict.

India has raised import tariffs on gold and silver to 15% from 6%, Reuters quoted government orders as saying on Wednesday.

The move aims to reduce imports of the precious metals in India, the world’s second-largest consumer of gold and silver, and ease pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves. It may also help reduce the country’s trade deficit and support the weakening rupee.

On Tuesday, the Indian rupee weakened to a record low of 95.6 against the United States dollar amid elevated global oil prices and economic headwinds caused by the conflict in West Asia. The previous all-time low of 95.4 was recorded on May 5.

The move also came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged citizens to avoid buying gold and adopt “nationally responsible” lifestyle choices to help the country withstand global economic uncertainty caused by the war.

Demand for gold, particularly as an investment, has risen in India following a recent rally in prices and weak equity returns over the past year, Reuters reported

India has been trying to discourage gold imports and in recent weeks had imposed a 3% integrated goods and services tax on gold and silver imports, prompting banks to halt purchases for more than a month.

As a result, gold imports in April fell to their lowest level in nearly...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092808/india-raises-gold-and-silver-tariffs-to-15-to-curb-imports-support-rupee?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 02:37:08 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092805/modis-austerity-appeals-are-a-misplaced-solution-for-indias-economic-woes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Asking citizens to change their behaviour in the midst of widening inequality cannot compensate for low trust and structural economic problems.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seven-point austerity appeal to citizens on Sunday has revived an old question: apart from budgets and policies, can governments steer economies by also shaping public behaviour and collective psychology?

Indians were urged to revive work-from-home practices to reduce fuel consumption, avoid unnecessary foreign travel and destination weddings abroad, postpone gold purchases, use public transport and electric vehicles, reduce edible oil consumption, support locally made products, and adopt farming practices that are less fertiliser-intensive.

There is an obvious economic rationale behind these suggestions. India faces a difficult global environment marked by geopolitical instability in West Asia, volatile crude oil prices, supply-chain disruptions and growing pressures on trade balances and foreign exchange reserves.

Yet these appeals are about more than conservation. They are an attempt to invoke economic patriotism: the idea that citizens can contribute to national economic resilience through voluntary changes in everyday behaviour.

History offers several examples. During the Second World War, Britain introduced rationing in 1940, covering essentials ranging from fuel to food, and sustained many of those controls well into the mid-1950s. In the United States, “Buy American” campaigns intensified during periods of industrial slowdown and external competition, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s.

South Korea, during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-’98, launched...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092805/modis-austerity-appeals-are-a-misplaced-solution-for-indias-economic-woes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 01:00:00 +0000 Freddy Thomas https://scroll.in/article/1092779/indian-writer-sharon-aruparayil-is-the-asia-winner-of-the-2026-commonwealth-short-story-prize?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The winning story is titled ‘Mehendi Nights’.

The 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize has announced the regional winners from Africa, Asia, Canada/Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Indian writer Sharon Aruparayil’s short story, “Mehendi Nights”, is the Asia winner. This story is a speculative world inspired by the chawls of Mumbai, where women are forbidden language and a girl with crooked teeth and red-stained fingers discovers that desire is a dialect no man can scrub clean.

The overall winner will be announced on June 30. The regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £5,000. The winning stories have been published online by Granta and in a special print collection by Paper + Ink.

Here is the complete list of winners:

• Africa: “Me and Ma’am”, Lisa-Anne Julien (South Africa)

• Asia: “Mehendi Nights”, Sharon Aruparayil (India)

• Canada/Europe: “The Bastion’s Shadow”, John Edward DeMicoli (Malta)

• Caribbean: “The Serpent in the Grove”, Jamir Nazir (Trinidad and Tobago)

• Pacific: “Second Skin”, Holly Ann Miller (New Zealand)

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092779/indian-writer-sharon-aruparayil-is-the-asia-winner-of-the-2026-commonwealth-short-story-prize?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092660/why-india-built-the-seat-of-ghanas-government-and-what-that-says-about-global-relationships?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Ghana’s engagement with foreign-built projects often involves negotiation over design, symbolism and use.

The call to prayer echoes across the neighbourhood as people congregate under the sweeping domes and tall minarets of Ghana’s National Mosque in Accra. For many, it is a place of faith, community and national pride. Yet, few pause to consider that this landmark – now firmly part of Accra’s skyline – was funded and built by Turkey.

This detail points to a bigger story. Some of Ghana’s most important public buildings are shaped by global relationships as much as local needs. And those relationships are not just economic; they are deeply political.

Therefore buildings are not just functional. They are powerful expressions of political power, used to describe and project ideas about hierarchy, state authority, solidarity and modernity.

As a result, architecture can be used to explore the identity and ideology of African states and international partners who choose to finance or donate new buildings to Africa featuring western architectural aesthetics.

I am a scholar of African architecture. I collaborated with scholars from different areas of expertise, including political scientists, on a project that studied the connection between architecture and power in Africa.

From Ghana, two projects were used to illustrate international relations in architecture, highlighting the interplay of power and agency. One was the National Mosque and the other was the seat...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092660/why-india-built-the-seat-of-ghanas-government-and-what-that-says-about-global-relationships?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 16:30:01 +0000 Irene Appeaning Addo, The Conversation https://scroll.in/latest/1092806/tamil-nadu-cm-vijays-astrologer-appointed-as-his-officer-on-special-duty?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel was previously associated with former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, but the two parted ways in 2014.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Tuesday appointed his astrologer Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel as his Officer on Special Duty (Political), ANI reported.

An order to this effect was issued by the Public Department Secretariat.

Vettrivel had been previously associated with former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. However, the two reportedly parted ways in 2014 after the astrologer got a prediction wrong about the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader’s imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case, The Indian Express reported.

Apart from Jayalalithaa, Vettrivel has advised several other political leaders across multiple parties, including from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, according to The Print.

Following Vettrivel’s appointment on Tuesday as Vijay’s Officer on Special Duty (Political), Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil remarked: “Beats me. Why would an astrologer require an OSD position? Can anyone explain?”

Beats me. Why would an astrologer require an OSD position ?? Can any one explain. https://t.co/ga3CQdIXiC

— Sasikanth Senthil (@s_kanth) May 12, 2026

The appointment comes days after the actor-politician’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam on May 4 emerged as the single-largest party on its electoral debut, winning 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly and defeating the incumbent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government.

The TVK formed the government with the support of the Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Indian...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092806/tamil-nadu-cm-vijays-astrologer-appointed-as-his-officer-on-special-duty?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 14:38:31 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092803/rush-hour-stock-market-crash-wipes-out-over-rs-11-lakh-crore-neet-ug-exam-cancelled-more?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Become a Scroll member to get Rush Hour – a wrap of the day’s important stories delivered straight to your inbox every evening.

Sugar-free products with sugar. ‘Real’ juices with artificial ingredients. Misleading food ads are fuelling a public health crisis in India. Help Scroll expose the systemic failure. Support our investigation.

The stock market crashed by over 1.8% on Tuesday, due to which investors lost more than Rs 11 lakh crore. The plunge occurred due to concerns mount about the economic impact of the war amid an elusive peace deal between the United States and Iran.

The benchmark Sensex had fallen more than 1,450 points, or 1.9%, at the end of the session. The Nifty had fallen more than 430 points, or 1.8%.

The benchmark indices fell for the fourth consecutive trading session. The stock market had recovered marginally in April after a steep fall in March.

The Indian rupee also weakened to a record low of 95.6 against the United States dollar amid elevated global oil prices and economic headwinds caused by the conflict in West Asia. Read on.

The National Testing Agency cancelled the 2026 undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test following allegations of a paper leak. An investigation was launched after a “guess paper” circulated in Rajasthan contained questions that closely matched the NEET paper.

The NEET-UG examination, which was conducted on May 3, is the entrance test for admission to...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092803/rush-hour-stock-market-crash-wipes-out-over-rs-11-lakh-crore-neet-ug-exam-cancelled-more?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 14:08:25 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092629/poor-supply-a-challenge-as-india-aims-to-double-use-of-scrap-in-steel-production?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public With domestic scrap metal availability tight, and systems for its collection still developing, India relies on imports to meet the shortfall.

Steel scrap has become an increasingly strategic resource for countries and their steelmakers as a key input for emissions reductions. India, the world’s second largest steel producer, has set ambitious targets to double the share of scrap use in its total steel output in the coming decades. The question is: where is the scrap?

Scrap steel can significantly reduce emissions in steelmaking when used to feed electrified furnaces. It can also bring down emissions from traditional blast furnaces by replacing shares of iron ore used in production, which usually requires carbon-intensive processing.

The coal-powered blast furnace route accounts for nearly 60% of Indian crude steel capacity – a share set to rise with planned expansions. This process drives the iron and steel sector’s contribution of roughly 10% to the country’s total carbon emissions. The potential benefits of greater scrap usage have therefore been highlighted by top industry figures. But supply constraints represent a significant hurdle.

The Indian government aims for scrap to feed 50% of its steel production by 2047, a figure that currently stands at 23%. It is also seeking to more than double its crude steel output in the next decade, to reach 400 million tonnes per year.

With domestic scrap metal availability tight, and systems for its collection still developing, India is currently...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092629/poor-supply-a-challenge-as-india-aims-to-double-use-of-scrap-in-steel-production?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 14:00:01 +0000 Patrick Moore https://scroll.in/latest/1092804/tamil-nadu-dmks-udhayanidhi-stalin-reiterates-call-for-eradication-of-sanatana-dharma?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The Bharatiya Janata Party said that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader had ‘once again spread venom’ against Sanatana Dharma.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday reiterated his remarks calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma, a term some people use as a synonym for Hinduism.

During his maiden speech in the Tamil Nadu Assembly as the new leader of the Opposition, Stalin said: “May Tamil win. Long live Tamil Nadu. Sanatanam, which divides people, should be eradicated.”

Responding to his comments, the Bharatiya Janata Party on social media said that the DMK leader had “once again spread venom” against Sanatana Dharma.

“He has again called for Sanatan to be eradicated,” the Hindutva party said. “Remember, he is the same person who compared Sanatan Dharma to diseases such as malaria and dengue. Well, the people of Tamil Nadu have already rejected him and his ideology…So you know the mood of the state.”

Udhayanidhi Stalin has once again spread venom against Sanatan Dharma. He has again called for Sanatan to be eradicated.

Remember, he is the same person who compared Sanatan Dharma to diseases such as malaria and dengue.

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐝𝐮… pic.twitter.com/P6vxGf4wqj

— BJP (@BJP4India) May 12, 2026

The BJP was referring to Stalin’s remarks at a press conference in Chennai on September 2, 2023, when he had said that Sanatana Dharma was akin to dengue and malaria and should hence be annihilated.

At the time, his comments had...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092804/tamil-nadu-dmks-udhayanidhi-stalin-reiterates-call-for-eradication-of-sanatana-dharma?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 13:37:08 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/reel/1092791/behind-gender-transition-themed-film-baapya-an-important-journey-from-denial-to-acceptance?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Actors Rajshri Deshpande and Girish Kulkarni talk to ‘Scroll’ about Sameer Tewari’s Marathi movie, which is out in cinemas on May 15.

Sameer Tewari’s Baapya is about a woman who returns to her village in the Konkan as a man. The gender reassignment surgery that has transformed Shailaja into Shailesh shocks Shailaja’s ex-husband Anya, their son Sanjya, Anya’s second wife and the rest of the community.

The Marathi-language movie, starring Sacred Games alum Rajshri Deshpande and Girish Kulkarni, will be out on May 15 in cinemas. The cast includes Shrikant Yadav, Devika Daftardar and Aaryan Menghji.

Baapya, based on an idea by Priti Nair, is a rare film with a trans man as a lead character. For Rajshri Deshpande, who plays both Shailaja and Shailesh, it was vital to be in Baapya, given the overall prejudice about trans identity and the conversations about the recent Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Amendment Bill.

“I have watched films on trans women but I don’t remember a film about a trans man, about what a woman goes through, how she wants to get out of her body, what the mindset of people is like,” Deshpande told Scroll. “I spoke to a few trans men and people from the community. When I realised that the story of Baapya was through a sensitive and sensible lens, I decided to be a part of it.”

Apart from appearing in films and series, among them...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/reel/1092791/behind-gender-transition-themed-film-baapya-an-important-journey-from-denial-to-acceptance?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 20:31:48 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092468/kalkis-ponniyin-selvan-rival-factions-gather-at-kadambur-palace-awaiting-crucial-decisions?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public An excerpt from ‘Bejewelled Crown: Pooniyin Selvan Book 7’, translated from the Tamil by Nandini Krishnan.

Aditya Karikalan was pointing at one of the mandapams by the seaside. The stone structure must have been constructed by an altruist who wanted to provide travellers with some shelter from the sun and the rain. Having borne the brunt of the weather’s vagaries, the stone was rather worse for the wear, but one could still see the sculptures that had been carved into it. Malayaman’s fading eyesight, however, did not allow him to see their features clearly.

“Do you see, thatha?” Aditya Karikalan asked.

“Kuzhandaai! You’re referring to that mandapam, aren’t you? I don’t see anything else. The mandapam is empty too. I don’t see anyone inside,” he said.

“Thatha! It is only now that it strikes me that you’ve got old. Your eyesight is not what it used to be. Look there! Do you see that huge Rajali eagle? What an enormous bird it is! Look at its wingspan! Terrible, terrible! How cruel it is! It has a tiny dove in its claws, do you see? Its sharp talons have dug into the flesh of that dove, don’t you see? Kadavule, what is this! What a wonder! Another little dove has come there, thatha! It is circling around that gigantic Rajali!...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092468/kalkis-ponniyin-selvan-rival-factions-gather-at-kadambur-palace-awaiting-crucial-decisions?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Kalki https://scroll.in/latest/1092800/bengal-cbi-takes-over-probe-into-murder-of-suvendu-adhikaris-aide?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public This came after a request from the state government.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the probe into the murder of an aide to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, PTI quoted officials as saying on Tuesday.

The aide, Chandranath Rath, had been shot dead near Kolkata on May 6.

The CBI took over the case after a request from the state government, the officials said.

The central agency has set up a seven-member Special Investigation Team under a deputy inspector general of police (special crime) from Delhi, the news agency quoted the officials as saying.

The officials noted that the agency has re-registered the FIR filed earlier by the police. “All possible angles, including interstate criminal links and conspiracy, are being examined,” PTI quoted the officials as saying.

Rath was killed amid widespread political violence in West Bengal after the Bharatiya Janata Party defeated the Trinamool Congress in the Assembly elections.

He was travelling in a car to his home in Barasat when assailants on motorbikes intercepted the vehicle in the Madhyamgram area at about 10.20 pm. One of the suspects reportedly approached the car and fired three bullets at close range, it had been reported at the time.

Rath, who was seated next to the driver, sustained several bullet injuries and was declared dead after being taken to hospital. His driver, Buddhadeb, was seriously injured.

The motive...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092800/bengal-cbi-takes-over-probe-into-murder-of-suvendu-adhikaris-aide?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 11:45:00 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092802/bangla-pokkho-chief-garga-chatterjee-held-for-allegedly-provocative-remarks-about-polls?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The leader of the pro-Bengali advocacy group was arrested following a complaint by the Election Commission, according to reports.

Garga Chatterjee, the leader of pro-Bengali advocacy group Bangla Pokkho, has been arrested by the Kolkata Police for allegedly spreading misinformation about Electronic Voting Machines ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, PTI reported.

Chatterjee was arrested by the cybercrime division of the police following a complaint by an Election Commission official.

Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand said that Chatterjee posted on social media about alleged EVM tampering and malpractices in the election process, ANI reported. “This caused different perceptions among political parties and also created confusion,” the police chief said.

The police had sent Chatterjee notices twice asking him to appear for questioning, but he did not appear before the authorities, due to which he was arrested, Nand was quoted as saying by ANI.

The Bangla Pokkho chief had raised questions about alleged EVM malfunctions on April 23, the day of the first phase of the election, PTI quoted an unidentified police official as saying. On that day, voting had started late at several booths because of technical glitches.

On May 4, the day of counting of votes, Chatterjee again criticised the Election Commission in a social media post, accused the poll panel of carrying out a “secret plan”, the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The Bharatiya Janata Party won the West Bengal...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092802/bangla-pokkho-chief-garga-chatterjee-held-for-allegedly-provocative-remarks-about-polls?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 12:58:39 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092788/delhi-hc-sets-aside-centres-decision-rejecting-oci-card-to-the-wires-siddharth-varadarajan?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public It noted that the communication informing the journalist about the rejection of his application for an Overseas Citizen of India card was bereft of any reason.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday quashed a communication from the Union government rejecting an application submitted by The Wire’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan for an Overseas Citizen of India card, Bar and Bench reported.

Overseas Citizen of India is an immigration status that allows foreign citizens of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely. Varadarajan, who is a United States citizen, held a Person of Indian Origin card.

All Person of Indian Origin cards expired on December 31 and are no longer valid to enter into or stay in the country. This came after the Union government decided to merge the two card schemes.

Varadarajan moved the court after his application to convert his Person of Indian Origin status into an Overseas Citizen of India card was rejected, Bar and Bench reported.

On Tuesday, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav noted that the communication issued by the Union government on April 2 informing Varadarajan about his application for an Overseas Citizen of India card being rejected did not have any reasons and cannot be sustained.

The judge added that reasons are the heart and soul of the order.

In response, the counsel for the Union government said that instructions will be sought from the authorities in the matter, the legal news portal reported.

However, the judge reiterated that the order cannot be...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092788/delhi-hc-sets-aside-centres-decision-rejecting-oci-card-to-the-wires-siddharth-varadarajan?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 13:38:14 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092798/indias-passport-ranked-78th-among-199-countries?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Indians can travel to 56 countries without a visa, as per the 2026 Henley Passport Index.

India was ranked 78th out of 199 countries in a list of the world’s most powerful passports, according to a report of the 2026 Henley Passport Index released on Tuesday.

It was ranked 85th in October.

The index, published by citizenship and residence consultancy firm Henley and Partners, measures the strength of passports based on how many destinations can be accessed by the citizens of a country without a pre-departure visa.

Indians can travel to 56 countries without a visa, as per the latest index.

In October, the index showed that Indians could travel to 57 countries without a visa. In 2024, Indian passport holders could travel to 62 countries without a visa, with India ranking 80th on the list at the time.

According to data available on the firm’s website for years between 2006 and 2026, India ranked the lowest at 90 in 2021. Its best ranking was 71 in 2006.

Among India’s neighbours, Pakistan stood at 100, an improvement from the 103rd rank recorded in October, and Bangladesh was at 96, which ranked 100th.

Singapore retained its top rank in the passport index. Citizens of the Southeast Asian city-state can travel to 192 countries without a pre-departure visa.

Japan and South Korea, with 187 visa-free destinations, were jointly ranked as the second strongest passport.

The weakest passport remained...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092798/indias-passport-ranked-78th-among-199-countries?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 10:13:42 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092785/nashik-tcs-case-womens-commission-alleges-zero-posh-compliance?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Several employees were unable to file complaints because of social pressure and the absence of a formal complaint mechanism, the panel claimed.

The National Commission for Women on Monday accused technology firm Tata Consultancy Services of failing to comply with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act at its office in Nashik.

The company has a common internal complaints committee for its offices in Nashik and Pune, which contravenes the law, the commission said. The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, 2013, requires workplaces to set up these committees to look into cases of alleged sexual misconduct.

The statement came four days after a suspended Tata Consultancy Services employee, Nida Khan, was arrested in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Thursday. She was held over 40 days after being named in a first information report for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Khan has also been named as a co-accused in an alleged rape and sexual exploitation case.

Between March 26 and April 3, the Nashik Police filed nine cases against eight employees of Tata Consultancy Services for allegedly sexually harassing nine persons and hurting religious sentiments. The other seven TCS employees have also been arrested.

After the matter came to light, the firm had suspended the employees accused of involvement in the case and launched an internal inquiry.

The National Commission for Women had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and set up a fact-finding committee. The panel met the complainants...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092785/nashik-tcs-case-womens-commission-alleges-zero-posh-compliance?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 09:49:37 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/reel/1092789/watch-jackie-shroff-and-his-grandson-meet-aliens-in-the-great-grand-superhero?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Manish Saini’s Hindi film also stars Mihir Godbole, Prateik Smita Patil, Upendra Limaye, Bhagyasharee Patwardhan and Durgesh Kumar. Out on May 29 in cinemas.

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/reel/1092789/watch-jackie-shroff-and-his-grandson-meet-aliens-in-the-great-grand-superhero?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 08:49:10 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092784/undergraduate-neet-2026-cancelled-after-alleged-paper-leak?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public A ‘guess paper’ circulated in Rajasthan contained questions closely matching the NEET paper, following which an investigation was launched.

The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the 2026 undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test following allegations of a paper leak.

The NEET-UG examination, conducted on May 3, is the entrance test for admission to undergraduate medical courses in India.

The National Testing Agency, the body that conducts the examination, has announced that the test will be re-conducted, and the dates for it will be notified separately.

The cancellation came even as the Rajasthan Special Operations Group began investigating allegations that a “guess paper” circulated before the exam contained questions closely matching the actual paper.

The “guess paper” contained around 410 questions, of which about 120 matched the questions asked in the chemistry section, Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group Additional Director General Vishal Bansal told The Economic Times.

More than 45 persons have been detained in the state as part of the investigation, India Today reported.

On Tuesday, the police in Maharashtra’s Nashik took a person accused in the matter into custody, The Hindu reported.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Nashik City) Kiran Kumar Chavan told the newspaper that a request had been received from the Rajasthan Police about a person allegedly involved in the case.

The Crime Branch took the accused person into custody and will hand him over to the Rajasthan Police upon their arrival, Chavan said.

The accused man is reportedly from Nandgaon village in the district and...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092784/undergraduate-neet-2026-cancelled-after-alleged-paper-leak?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 13:39:54 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/reel/1092786/system-trailer-legal-thriller-stars-sonakshi-sinha-jyotika-and-ashutosh-gowariker?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s Hindi film will be out on May 22 on Prime Video. The cast includes Preeti Agarwal, Addinath Kothare, Gaurav Pandey and Sayandeep Sengupta.

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/reel/1092786/system-trailer-legal-thriller-stars-sonakshi-sinha-jyotika-and-ashutosh-gowariker?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 08:33:00 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092570/childrens-picture-book-bittoo-has-tried-everything-to-stop-hiccups-but-they-just-wont-go-away?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public An excerpt from ‘Hic-Hicc-Hiccups!’, by Esha Gupta. Illustrated by Charbak Dipta.

Excerpted with permission from Hic-Hicc-Hiccups!, Esha Gupta, illustrated by Charbak Dipta, Tota Books/Speaking Tiger Books.

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092570/childrens-picture-book-bittoo-has-tried-everything-to-stop-hiccups-but-they-just-wont-go-away?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 10:05:59 +0000 Esha Gupta https://scroll.in/latest/1092783/rupee-falls-to-record-low-of-95-6-against-us-dollar-amid-economic-headwinds?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The Indian rupee also weakened to a record low of 95.6 against the dollar amid high global oil prices and economic headwinds caused by the West Asia conflict.

The stock market tanked by over 1.8% on Tuesday as concerns mount about the economic impact of the war amid an elusive peace deal between the United States and Iran. Investors lost more than Rs 11 lakh crore during the day.

The benchmark Sensex had fallen more than 1,450 points, or 1.9%, at the end of the session. The Nifty had fallen more than 430 points, or 1.8%. Investors had lost more than Rs 11 lakh crore during the day.

The benchmark indices fell for the fourth consecutive trading session. The stock market had recovered marginally in April after a steep fall in March.

The Indian rupee also weakened to a record low of 95.6 against the United States dollar amid elevated global oil prices and economic headwinds caused by the conflict in West Asia.

The previous all-time low of the Indian currency was 95.4, registered on May 5.

This came after the price of benchmark Brent crude increased 3.7% to 108 per barrel on Tuesday. The price of Brent was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.

The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the market, spiked 3.9% on Tuesday.

Major Asian stock indices had a mixed session on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.09%,...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092783/rupee-falls-to-record-low-of-95-6-against-us-dollar-amid-economic-headwinds?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 14:02:31 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092781/bengal-persons-excluded-in-sir-will-not-get-welfare-benefits-says-bjp-government?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Individuals whose appeals against their removal from the voter list are pending would be ‘kept aside’, said minister Agnimitra Paul.

Women whose names were deleted during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal will not receive benefits of the state government’s Annapurna Bhandar scheme, The Telegraph quoted minister Agnimitra Paul as saying on Monday.

Under the scheme, women will receive a monthly cash handout of Rs 3,000. It is set to replace the Trinamool Congress government’s Lakshmi Bhandar programme from June 1, which gave beneficiaries Rs 1,500 per month.

“Those women whose names are on the list will receive it,” IANS quoted Paul as saying. “Before that, there will be an analysis. Those names that have been removed during SIR and used to receive Lakshmi Bhandar benefits, many of them will not get it now...”

She asked: “Those who have died, how will they receive Lakshmi Bhandar? Those who are not Indian citizens, how will they receive Lakshmi Bhandar? There will be an analysis of whose names have been removed.”

The Assembly elections in West Bengal followed a special intensive revision of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission.

By April 6, about 91 lakh voters, nearly 11.9% of the electorate before the process began, had been removed. Ahead of the polling, about 34 lakh appeals were reportedly pending before the tribunals. Of these, seven lakh were against names being included in the rolls and 27 lakh were filed by persons...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092781/bengal-persons-excluded-in-sir-will-not-get-welfare-benefits-says-bjp-government?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 07:40:55 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092782/himanta-biswa-sarma-takes-oath-as-assam-chief-minister?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public This is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s third consecutive government in the state and Sarma’s second term in the position.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday took oath as the chief minister of Assam for the second term.

He was administered the oath of office by Governor Lakshman Acharya at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of the National Democratic Alliance.

Four leaders were sworn-in as ministers.

Sarma was sworn-in eight days after the BJP secured its third consecutive term in Assam.

In the state election results announced on May 4, the Hindutva party won 82 seats in the 126-member Assembly. A party or an alliance needs 64 seats in the Assembly to secure a majority.

The BJP-led NDA won 102 seats with the Bodoland Peoples Front and the Asom Gana Parishad clinching 10 seats each.

The Congress won 19 seats and its ally, the Raijor Dal, two.

Sarma retained his Jalukbari constituency with a margin of more than 89,400 votes against Congress’ Bidisha Neog.

He became the chief minister in 2021, replacing BJP leader Sarbananda Sonowal, when the party retained power in the state for the first time.

The polling was held on April 9 and the voter turnout was a record 85.9%. In the 2021 polls, the state had recorded a turnout of 82%.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar

Also read: Behind saffron sweep in Assam: Hindu consolidation, welfare and Himanta

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092782/himanta-biswa-sarma-takes-oath-as-assam-chief-minister?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 06:41:08 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092780/aiadmk-faction-backs-vijays-tvk-ahead-of-floor-test-edappadi-palaniswami-faces-rebellion?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Former minister CV Shanmugam claimed that Palaniswami had sought to form a government in the state with the support of rival party, the DMK.

A faction of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Tuesday announced support for the newly formed Tamil Nadu government led by actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam ahead of a floor test in the Assembly, ANI reported.

The faction is led by former ministers CV Shanmugam and SP Velumani.

In the Assembly elections, the AIADMK won 47 seats out of the 167 constituencies it contested.

The TVK, meanwhile, emerged as the single-largest party on its electoral debut, winning 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly. However, it fell short of the majority mark of 118 and required the support of smaller parties to form the government. Vijay took oath as chief minister on Sunday. Governor Rajendra Arlekar has directed Vijay to seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly by Wednesday.

After the results were declared, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami had reportedly held meetings with MLAs to discuss the party’s course of action.

However, differences emerged within the party about whether it should support the TVK government. According to The Indian Express, at least 30 MLAs demanded that Palaniswami step down, holding him responsible for the party’s electoral performance.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Shanmugam said that the decision to support the TVK government had been taken after “accepting the verdict of the people”, The Hindu reported.

He claimed that Palaniswami had attempted...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092780/aiadmk-faction-backs-vijays-tvk-ahead-of-floor-test-edappadi-palaniswami-faces-rebellion?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 07:49:05 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092778/hc-restores-4pm-news-youtube-channel-blocked-by-centre-citing-national-security?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The channel had uploaded around 50,000 videos and only 26 were identified as objection, which will continue to remain blocked, the court said.

The Delhi High Court has ordered to restore the YouTube channel 4PM News, which had been blocked in March following directions from the Centre under the Information Technology Rules. The court also directed that 26 allegedly “objectionable” videos remain blocked.

On March 12, the Union government ordered the channel to be blocked, citing concerns related to national security and public order.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the order on May 5 while disposing of a petition filed by 4PM News and its editor Sanjay Sharma challenging the blocking of the channel in India.

The petition argued that neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had provided them with a formal order or reasons for blocking the channel.

The absence of the order and the lack of reasons for the blocking prevented them from effectively defending themselves before the authorities, the petitioners added.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, submitted that the Inter-Departmental Committee had passed an order on March 24 after examining the material on the channel and concluding that it should not remain accessible to the public, Live Law reported.

The Union government argued that the content was detrimental to “India’s national security, sovereignty and public order”.

In an affidavit before the court, the government alleged that the platform was peddling conspiracy theories about the...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092778/hc-restores-4pm-news-youtube-channel-blocked-by-centre-citing-national-security?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 06:20:57 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092754/how-caste-but-also-north-south-divide-affect-child-malnutrition-in-india?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Scheduled Caste children south of the Vindhyas had better health outcomes than those living in the north, shows research.

Child malnutrition remains one of the most pressing challenges in India. Nearly one-third of children under the age of five are stunted: a condition reflecting chronic undernutrition that has lasting consequences for physical growth, cognitive development, and later-life outcomes.

But these outcomes are not evenly distributed. A closer look reveals stark inequalities across social groups. In earlier work , we show that children from historically marginalised caste groups are significantly more likely to be stunted than their more advantaged counterparts. These gaps are large, persistent, and visible across the country.

What explains these gaps? A substantial body of research has pointed to factors such as poverty, sanitation, birth order, and gender bias. These are undoubtedly important. Yet, taken together, they do not fully account for the scale of the disparities we observe across caste groups.

In recent work published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, we take a step further and ask whether caste-based discrimination may be an important part of the story.

A simple comparison across a historical boundary

To examine this, we make use of a historical and social divide within India: the Vindhyas mountain range. The Vindhyas have long marked a boundary between the regions where the areas to the North of the Vindhyas range comprise the North Central...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092754/how-caste-but-also-north-south-divide-affect-child-malnutrition-in-india?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 13:50:22 +0000 Ashwini Deshpande, CEDA https://scroll.in/latest/1092777/no-bailout-for-state-run-oil-companies-for-now-says-centre-as-west-asia-crisis-pushes-up-losses?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Oil companies were facing under-recoveries of around Rs 2 lakh crore, with losses of up to Rs 1 lakh crore projected in the quarter, the government said.

The Centre on Monday ruled out any immediate bailout package for state-run oil companies despite losses linked to the ongoing West Asia crisis.

“There is no proposal for any support package to oil-marketing companies right now,” Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the Union petroleum ministry, said during an inter-ministerial briefing in New Delhi.

The clarification came as concerns grew about under-recoveries, the gap between the cost of producing fuels such as petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas and their retail selling prices.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Sunday that oil companies were facing under-recoveries of around Rs 2 lakh crore, with losses of up to Rs 1 lakh crore projected in the current quarter.

Puri said on social media that oil companies were purchasing crude oil, gas and LPG at elevated international prices while continuing to sell fuels at unchanged retail rates to shield consumers, leading to losses of up to Rs 1,000 crore a day.

He added that despite this “uninterrupted energy imports and supply” had been maintained.

Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Neeraj Mittal also said there was no shortage of fuel and no plan to introduce rationing, Deccan Herald reported.

Speaking at a business summit in Delhi he said the government had absorbed part of the price shock through measures...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092777/no-bailout-for-state-run-oil-companies-for-now-says-centre-as-west-asia-crisis-pushes-up-losses?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 03:14:47 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092577/life-story-what-a-five-paise-reward-taught-writer-vasudhendra-about-not-being-wasteful?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public An excerpt from ‘I Love My Amma’, by Vasudhendra, translated from the Kannada by Narayan Shankaran.

I don’t know why these childhood memories are lingering in my mind today. That year I’m remembering, two little kids had come to stay in our house for some time from a faraway town. They were distant relatives of Appa’s. The older one, Pranesha, was about 10 years old. His sister, Sudha, was about seven.

Pranesha and Sudha came from an indigent family of modest means. As they were of the same age as Akka and me, respectively, Appa had invited them over to our house so that the four of us could enjoy our vacation together.

Both Pranesha and Sudha were sharp and active. As soon as they came to know about the water scarcity in our town, they started accompanying us to the tap pit with brass pots to help us fetch water, saying, “We are quite adept at carrying water, as we have the same problem in our town as well.”

Sudha used to sit with Amma and help her sort the lettuce. She was very well-behaved and never threw tantrums about missing her parents. Dressed in a red skirt and a yellow top, Sudha would move around the house, filling the air with her giggles and the jingle of her...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092577/life-story-what-a-five-paise-reward-taught-writer-vasudhendra-about-not-being-wasteful?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 03:00:02 +0000 Vasudhendra https://scroll.in/article/1092682/why-five-new-districts-in-ladakh-have-led-to-fears-of-exclusion-gerrymandering?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Most of the Muslim population of the Union territory have been concentrated into two districts alone.

Last month, five new districts were officially added to the Union territory of Ladakh.

The Centre had approved the creation of the districts in 2024, but the formal notification was issued on April 27, three days ahead of a visit to the cold desert region by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

But the decision has become a source of anxiety for the Ladakh’s Muslim-majority population, who suspect that the redrawing of the boundaries of the new districts will lead to their marginalisation. With the addition of five districts, Ladakh now has seven districts.

Sajjad Kargili, a leading activist from Kargil, told Scroll: “The demographic distribution of Ladakh does not reflect in the creation of the new districts.”

One of the most sparsely inhabited regions in the world, Ladakh has a total population 2.74 lakh, according to the 2011 census. Forty-six per cent of its population is Muslim, while Buddhists are the second largest religious community with a share of 39% of the total population. Hindus account for a little over 12%. Most of the Muslim population is concentrated in Kargil district, while Buddhists mostly live in Leh district.

According to Kargili, only two out of the total seven districts in Ladakh will be Muslim-majority while five will be dominated by Buddhist...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092682/why-five-new-districts-in-ladakh-have-led-to-fears-of-exclusion-gerrymandering?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 01:00:00 +0000 Safwat Zargar https://scroll.in/latest/1092774/bengal-top-poll-officer-named-as-chief-secretary-tmc-calls-appointment-outrageous-and-brazen?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public This came two days after the rolls observer for the special intensive revision exercise was appointed as the advisor to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal on Monday appointed Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal, who oversaw the special intensive revision of electoral rolls and the Assembly elections in the state, as the new chief secretary.

The chief secretary is the highest-ranking civil servant in a state and acts as the principal advisor to the chief minister and chief coordinator of inter-departmental affairs.

West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as the Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/xkuN3ExnD4

— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2026

This came two days after Subrata Gupta, who was the special rolls observer for the special intensive revision exercise, was appointed as the advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

On Monday, the Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose described Agarwal’s appointment as “outrageous and brazen”.

“The so called ‘neutral umpire’ is rewarded with the post of top bureaucrat of the BJP dispensation in Bengal,” Ghose said on social media. “Does anyone still seriously believe the [West Bengal Assembly elections] were free and fair?”

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale claimed that the BJP and the Election Commission were now being “open about stealing the election”.

“Are the courts blind or complicit?” Gokhale asked. “This is beyond shameless.”

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien remarked in a sarcastic vein that...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092774/bengal-top-poll-officer-named-as-chief-secretary-tmc-calls-appointment-outrageous-and-brazen?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 15:21:33 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092736/how-to-read-the-classics-in-an-age-of-distraction-and-three-short-books-to-get-you-going?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Reading the classics can deliver cognitive, social, emotional and even ethical benefits.

Over the past 15 years, I have witnessed university students’ shrinking patience for reading – especially for reading “long” books. Increasingly, students also opt for audiobooks. While speeding up the reading experience, these fundamentally change what is noticed.

The neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf suggests many students no longer have the “cognitive patience” to read long books due to the complexities of thought and sustained attention required.

One explanation for this shift is the dominance of digital technology in our daily lives, which has rewired our brains for surface-level scanning and multitasking, weakening our capability for prolonged attention. Another is our culture of instant gratification.

Some studies into the “screen inferiority effect” suggest when we read on paper (rather than on screens such as smartphones) the brain often processes more deeply and comprehension is better. Memory and information recall are also stronger.

So where does this leave the classics?

Many books considered “classics” are long. Masterpieces such as Middlemarch or Les Misérables might seem intimidating because in physical form they resemble door stops and they often have complex, demanding language and long, convoluted sentences.

But reading the classics can deliver cognitive, social, emotional and even ethical benefits, helping us strengthen habits of thoughtful attention and develop the skills to communicate with clarity and empathy.

Extending our attention spans increases our ability to connect...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092736/how-to-read-the-classics-in-an-age-of-distraction-and-three-short-books-to-get-you-going?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 15:00:01 +0000 Johanna Harris, The Conversation https://scroll.in/latest/1092775/bengal-sir-tmc-claims-voter-deletions-affected-outcome-in-many-seats-sc-says-fresh-pleas-needed?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The poll panel contended that in such cases, the Trinamool Congress could file election petitions.

The Trinamool Congress claimed on Monday before the Supreme Court that in 31 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, the winning margin of the Bharatiya Janata Party was less than the number of persons deleted during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, Live Law reported.

In many cases, the number of persons removed and the margin of the TMC’s defeat were almost the same, lawyer and party MP Kalyan Bandopadhyay told a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

The bench told the party that former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and others were free to file fresh applications in connection with these allegations, PTI reported.

Bandopadhyay claimed that in one constituency, a candidate lost by 862 votes, while 5,432 persons were removed from the rolls.

On the whole, the vote gap between the BJP and TMC was nearly 32 lakh, while close to 35 lakh appeals against adjudications are pending before appellate tribunals as part of the revision process, Live Law quoted him as saying.

Also read: In half the seats BJP won in Bengal, total SIR deletions outnumber victory margin

The Election Commission, however, contended that the appropriate course of action for the Trinamool Congress in such cases would be to file election petitions. To this, the TMC MP urged the court to...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092775/bengal-sir-tmc-claims-voter-deletions-affected-outcome-in-many-seats-sc-says-fresh-pleas-needed?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 14:56:33 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092772/rush-hour-opposition-says-pms-call-for-austerity-proof-of-failure-stock-market-plunges-more?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Become a Scroll member to get Rush Hour – a wrap of the day’s important stories delivered straight to your inbox every evening.

Sugar-free products with sugar. ‘Real’ juices with artificial ingredients. Misleading food ads are fuelling a public health crisis in India. Help Scroll expose the systemic failure. Support our investigation.

The Congress said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to citizens to cut fuel consumption, avoid gold purchases and adopt other measures to help the country withstand global economic uncertainties amid the West Asia conflict was “proof of failure”. The “unexpected pleas” could indicate that the economic situation in the country was more dire than official data suggested, said party leader Jairam Ramesh.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned why restrictions on fuel use and travel were being discussed only after election campaigning had ended, asking whether charter flights and rallies by BJP leaders during the polls did not consume fuel.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said that the situation showed a “policy failure” in handling the fallout of the conflict. Read on.

What the media isn’t saying about how the Iran war is hurting Indian livelihoods and economy, writes Vaishnavi Rathore

The Indian stock market fell about 1.5% amid higher global oil prices and concerns about the economic impact of the conflict in West Asia on India. The benchmark Sensex fell more than 1,300 points, or nearly...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092772/rush-hour-opposition-says-pms-call-for-austerity-proof-of-failure-stock-market-plunges-more?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 14:05:18 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092351/birds-are-crashing-into-indias-glass-surfaces-but-theres-little-data-or-research-on-collisions?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Wildlife rescue workers increasingly suspect mortality may be higher than it appears.

A flying emerald dove is a flash of metallic green, weaving low through trees. To the bird, a glass surface reflecting sky or foliage looks like open air.

Then comes the impact.

Architect and birdwatcher Peeyush Sekhsaria remembers hearing a “blast-like sound” at a tourist lodge in Coorg in 2007 when an emerald dove slammed into a window. The building was not a modern glass tower but an ordinary structure.

Nearly two decades later, the incident still stays with him. What troubles him more is that India has little systematic documentation of birds dying after colliding with glass.

Unlike North America, where building collisions are estimated to kill more than a billion birds annually, India has no national assessment.

An invisible hazard

Glass creates a danger birds cannot recognise. Transparent panes appear as open flight paths, while reflective surfaces mirror vegetation or sky. Birds attempting to fly through these illusions collide at high speed.

Reports surface sporadically. In Gujarat, migratory rosy starlings fell after hitting glass. In Meghalaya, long-tailed broadbills struck an automobile showroom façade. Many incidents circulate only within birdwatching groups or on social media: a stunned barbet beneath a building, or a thud against an apartment window.

“We really don’t know the scale of this issue,” says Ashwin Viswanathan, an ecologist at the Nature Conservation Foundation.

Collisions occur wherever reflective glass...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092351/birds-are-crashing-into-indias-glass-surfaces-but-theres-little-data-or-research-on-collisions?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 14:00:02 +0000 Kartik Chandramouli https://scroll.in/latest/1092773/pdp-leader-iltija-muftis-x-account-withheld-in-india?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Days earlier, an FIR was filed against unidentified persons after Mufti shared an old video of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani about Urdu.

The X account of Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, was on Monday withheld in India.

A message on her profile said that the account was withheld in response to a legal demand.

The Peoples Democratic Party said on the social media platform that withholding Mufti’s account raised “serious concerns about freedom of expression and suppression of democratic voices”.

“Transparency and accountability are essential in a democracy,” said the party. “Silencing voices will not silence the issues.”

Withholding the account of Ms. @IltijaMufti_ , a prominent JKPDP leader who consistently speaks on critical and important issues concerning Jammu & Kashmir, raises serious concerns about freedom of expression and suppression of democratic voices. Transparency and accountability… pic.twitter.com/tjI5ifwq7d

— J&K PDP (@jkpdp) May 11, 2026

The development came days after the Jammu and Kashmir Police filed a first information report against unidentified persons for “promoting separatist ideology and propagating false information, with an intent to incite unlawful activities prejudicial to the peace, sovereignty and integrity of India”, The Hindu reported.

The case was filed after Mufti shared on X an old video of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani discussing the importance of the Urdu language.

In the undated video, Geelani can be heard saying that a substantial body of Islamic religious literature...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092773/pdp-leader-iltija-muftis-x-account-withheld-in-india?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 13:02:00 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092583/a-strange-reticence-laps-at-the-shores-reason-an-elegiac-tribute-to-the-impossibility-of-speech?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public An excerpt from ‘Ode to a Grieving Angel: Poems’, by Naveen Kishore.

The curtain goes up on a dark stage. Nothing new in
that. Nor the fact that it is Hamlet being staged. But the
dark spills over onto the audience. Seeps out. Like the
uncontrollable fog that envelops the heath. The red
glow of the Exit signs is off. As is the line of floor lights
to illuminate the aisles. There is neither music nor
sound. Just the dark. Stifling and strangling.

The comfort of a slowly restless audience begins to
unravel into anxiety.

The dark refuses to go away.

The curtain needs to rise on a mass of darkness. Not the
kind that chokes your breath the moment you release it.
Or amputates your outstretched hands because it is so
close to you. Not, in other words, a dark that
disembodies. But a lesser dark, if there is such a thing.
One in which your eyes may adjust. Eventually glimpse
the mass of stairs on the barely revealed stage. Stairs
that stretch in pyramids. Interrupted in their climb.
There is still no sense of light as we expect it on stage.
Just an ambient glow. From an unknown source. The
creeping in of a crippled dawn.

The actor steps out of the shadows onto a glowing
rusted iron stairway. And suddenly you see that the
staircases are all upside down. The pyramids have been
inverted. The...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092583/a-strange-reticence-laps-at-the-shores-reason-an-elegiac-tribute-to-the-impossibility-of-speech?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 12:00:01 +0000 Naveen Kishore https://scroll.in/latest/1092771/vb-g-ram-g-act-to-come-into-force-on-july-1-mgnrega-to-be-repealed?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The new employment law has drawn criticism from economists and labour rights experts, who said that it consolidates decision-making with the Union government.

The Union government on Monday stated that the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin Act will come into force on July 1, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act will stand repealed on the same day.

The Ministry of Rural Development issued two gazette notifications to this effect on Monday.

The transition from MGNREGA to the new Act will be seamless and will not result in disruption for workers, the ministry said in a press release.

“Ongoing works under MGNREGA as on June 30th shall be saved and carried over in the new framework seamlessly by ensuring consistency with the provisions of Viksit Bharat G RAM G,” the government said.

Existing e-KYC verified MGNREGA job cards will remain valid under the new Act until Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards are issued, the ministry said.

“Workers without job cards may continue to register at the gram panchayat level,” the press release said. “Workers shall not be denied employment merely due to pending e-KYC, and facilitation arrangements for e-KYC completion shall continue at the field level by the state governments.”

The VB-G Ram G Act received presidential assent on December 21, two days after it was passed by Parliament amid protests by Opposition parties.

The MGNREGA, which was introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, guaranteed 100 days of unskilled work...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092771/vb-g-ram-g-act-to-come-into-force-on-july-1-mgnrega-to-be-repealed?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 11:48:00 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092768/telangana-cm-orders-police-to-probe-pocso-case-against-union-minister-bandi-sanjay-kumars-son?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s son filed a counter-complaint, alleging that the minor girl and her family had blackmailed and extorted him.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday directed the state police chief to investigate a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act case filed against Bandi Bhagirath, the son of Union minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

The chief minister “questioned” Director General of Police CV Anand about the delay in taking action in the case despite the complaint having been registered at the Pet Basheerabad police station on Friday, stated Telangana’s public relations department.

The police chief briefed Reddy about the details of the case, it added. “The DGP informed the chief minister that the entire police force had been engaged in security arrangements in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hyderabad,” said the department.

The chief minister instructed the police chief to constitute special teams for a comprehensive investigation into the case, it added.

On Sunday, Modi was in Hyderabad to inaugurate several development programmes and initiate the work of several infrastructure projects. The prime minister also spoke at a rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Bandi Sanjay Kamar attended Modi’s event on Sunday.

Allegations and counter-complaint

The parents of a girl, reported to be a 17-year-old, have alleged that Bhagirath befriended their daughter on the pretext of marriage and sexually assaulted her at a farmhouse in Moinabad on December 31, The Week reported.

They also claim that...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092768/telangana-cm-orders-police-to-probe-pocso-case-against-union-minister-bandi-sanjay-kumars-son?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 11:10:08 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/reel/1092770/watch-chand-mera-dil-stars-ananya-panday-and-lakshya-as-intense-lovers?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Vivek Soni’s Hindi film will be out on May 22 in cinemas.

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/reel/1092770/watch-chand-mera-dil-stars-ananya-panday-and-lakshya-as-intense-lovers?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 10:58:30 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092765/bengal-government-gives-nod-for-transferring-land-to-bsf-for-fence-along-bangladesh-border?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The land transfer process will start on Monday and will be completed in 45 days, said Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Monday that his government, in its first Cabinet meeting, gave its nod for land to be transferred to the Border Security Force to erect a fence along the border with Bangladesh, PTI reported.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the land transfer process will start on Monday and will be completed in 45 days.

#WATCH | Howrah: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari says, "In our very first Cabinet meeting today, we have taken the decision to transfer the land to the BSF. The process of transferring this land commences today. It will be transferred to the MHA within the next 45… pic.twitter.com/vkVGBLKqkV

— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2026

Adhikari took oath as the chief minister of West Bengal on May 9, becoming the first BJP leader to hold the post. The BJP had on May 4 defeated the Trinamool Congress in the Assembly elections, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

Ahead of the elections, the BJP had accused the former Trinamool Congress government of failing to allocate land for border fencing, even as the TMC had alleged that the Border Security Force was unable to prevent infiltration into the country.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleged in December that the Trinamool Congress had been encouraging undocumented immigration...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092765/bengal-government-gives-nod-for-transferring-land-to-bsf-for-fence-along-bangladesh-border?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 10:27:11 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/reel/1092762/desi-bling-trailer-reality-series-follows-wealthy-indians-and-bollywood-stars-in-dubai?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The show will out on May 20 on Netflix. Satish Sanpal, Dyuti Parruck, Rizwan Sajan, Pamela Serena, Janvee Gaur and Alizey and Lailli Mirza are among the guests.

...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/reel/1092762/desi-bling-trailer-reality-series-follows-wealthy-indians-and-bollywood-stars-in-dubai?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 09:48:09 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092757/stock-market-slides-amid-higher-oil-prices-pm-modis-call-or-austerity?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The Indian rupee weakened to 95.3 against the United States dollar on Monday.

The Indian stock market fell about 1.5% on Monday amid higher global oil prices and concerns about the economic impact of the conflict in West Asia on India.

The benchmark Sensex had fallen more than 1,300 points, or nearly 1.7%, at the end of the session. The Nifty had fallen 360 points, or nearly 1.5%. Investors had lost more than Rs 6.1 lakh crore during the day.

The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the market, spiked nearly 10% on Monday.

The benchmark indices fell for the third consecutive trading session. The stock market had recovered marginally in April after a steep fall in March.

The Indian rupee also weakened on Monday to 95.3 against the US dollar. It had fallen to a record low of 95.4 against the US currency on May 5, before recovering.

Major Asian stock indices had a mixed session on Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.02%, South Korea’s Kospi 4.3% and China’s Shanghai Composite 1%. However, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.4%.

Energy concerns, economic headwinds

The plunge in the Indian stock indices was seen a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to revive some work-from-home practices adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic to reduce fuel consumption.

The prime minister’s remark came as oil marketing companies face mounting pressure with...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092757/stock-market-slides-amid-higher-oil-prices-pm-modis-call-or-austerity?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 11:47:48 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092751/proofs-of-failure-opposition-on-pm-modis-fuel-saving-avoid-gold-purchase-appeal-amid-iran-war?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Congress’ Jairam Ramesh said the prime minister’s ‘unexpected pleas’ could indicate that ‘austerity measures’, such as fuel price hike, might be on their way.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to citizens to cut fuel consumption, avoid gold purchases and adopt other measures to help the country withstand global economic uncertainties amid the West Asia conflict were “proofs of failure”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Monday.

Addressing a rally in Hyderabad on Sunday, Modi had called for “nationally responsible” lifestyle choices and urged citizens to place “the country above all else” during the crisis. Among the measures he proposed were reviving work-from-home practices adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, avoiding non-essential foreign travel for a year and reducing edible oil consumption.

On Monday, Gandhi said that in the last 12 years, the Modi government had brought the country to a point where citizens were being told what to buy and where to go.

“Every time, they shift the responsibility onto the people so they can escape accountability themselves,” Gandhi said. “Running the country is no longer within the reach of a compromised PM.”

मोदी जी ने कल जनता से त्याग मांगे - सोना मत ख़रीदो, विदेश मत जाओ, पेट्रोल कम जलाओ, खाद और खाने का तेल कम करो, मेट्रो में चलो, घर से काम करो।

ये उपदेश नहीं - ये नाकामी के सबूत हैं।

12 साल में देश को इस मुक़ाम पर ला दिया है कि जनता को बताना पड़...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092751/proofs-of-failure-opposition-on-pm-modis-fuel-saving-avoid-gold-purchase-appeal-amid-iran-war?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 09:13:39 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092706/in-this-book-a-psychologist-recalls-how-a-woman-ended-a-relationship-over-the-wrong-chicken-soup?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public An excerpt from ‘The Kitchen Shrink: How the Food We Eat is the Key To How We Love’, by Andrea Oskis.

My own attachment story started on an island. My father is from a largish one in the middle of the Mediterranean: Cyprus. He came to the UK in the 1970s and settled in a little suburb in north London. It was here that he met my other attachment figure, my mother. She also has Greek Cypriot heritage, but the strongest connection she had to the motherland was the fact that her hometown was an area in London officially called Palmers Green, but known as “Palmers Greek”. My mother and father became attached, got married and lived happily ever after. After they sorted out my father’s visa problems, that is.

You could say that food actually saved my parents’ marriage. This is because food was the thing that stopped my father from being deported. Many marriages end over food, but my parents’ is not one of them.

One day, a few months after they were married, my mother heard a knock at the door at around 9 pm. It was a man from the Home Office, and he wanted to check to see if my father was there at home with her. Apparently, the way to verify that my parents’ marriage was not...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092706/in-this-book-a-psychologist-recalls-how-a-woman-ended-a-relationship-over-the-wrong-chicken-soup?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Andrea Oskis https://scroll.in/latest/1092750/three-held-in-bihar-uttar-pradesh-in-killing-of-suvendu-adhikaris-aide?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The police suspect that at least eight persons were involved in the killing of Chandranath Rath, but the motive was unclear.

Three persons were arrested in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the murder of an aide to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, PTI reported on Monday.

The persons were apprehended by a Special Investigation Team set up to probe the killing of Chandranath Rath. He had been shot dead near Kolkata on Wednesday.

The men were identified as Vishal Srivastava, a resident of Bihar’s Buxar district, Mayank Mishra and Vicky Maurya, the Hindustan Times reported.

Mishra and Maurya are from Uttar Pradesh, PTI quoted an unidentified officer as saying.

A Kolkata court sent them to 13 days in police custody, Live Law reported.

The investigating team had been sent to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh following inputs based on technical surveillance and digital tracking, the news agency quoted an officer as saying.

The police suspect that at least eight persons were involved in the killing of Rath.

The motive for the murder was unclear.

Rath was killed amid widespread political violence in West Bengal after the Bharatiya Janata Party defeated the Trinamool Congress in the Assembly elections.

He was travelling in a car to his home in Barasat when assailants on motorbikes intercepted the vehicle in the Madhyamgram area at about 10.20 pm. One of the suspects reportedly approached the car and fired three bullets at close range, it had been reported at the time.

Rath, who was seated next to the...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092750/three-held-in-bihar-uttar-pradesh-in-killing-of-suvendu-adhikaris-aide?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 11:25:40 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092749/healthy-and-asymptomatic-two-indians-aboard-ship-with-hantavirus-cases-evacuated-to-netherlands?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The disease has killed three passengers on the cruise, sparking global health concerns.

Two Indian nationals aboard the Dutch-flagged vessel MV Hondius have been evacuated to the Netherlands following a hantavirus outbreak on board, the Embassy of India in Madrid said on Sunday.

The disease has killed three passengers on the cruise, sparking global health concerns. On Friday, the chief of the National Institute of Virology said the hantavirus outbreak posed no immediate public health threat to India.

The ship, carrying around 150 persons including two Indian crew members, arrived off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands after the outbreak was reported during its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

The ship anchored offshore while passengers disembarked in line with the protocols laid down by the World Health Organization and the Spanish authorities, the embassy said.

“The two Indian nationals are healthy and asymptomatic,” it added.

According to Spain’s National Centre for Emergency Monitoring and Coordination, the two crew members were evacuated to the Netherlands, where they will undergo quarantine under health safety protocols, the embassy said.

The ship had begun its journey from Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 before the outbreak was detected during the voyage. At least three deaths have been linked to the infection.

A passenger is believed to have contracted hantavirus before boarding the vessel and later transmitted it to others while the ship travelled across the Atlantic Ocean.

A Dutch...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092749/healthy-and-asymptomatic-two-indians-aboard-ship-with-hantavirus-cases-evacuated-to-netherlands?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 06:37:56 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092748/two-suspected-bangladeshi-smugglers-killed-in-bsf-firing-near-tripura-border?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public The incident occurred when the Border Security Force tried to intercept a group of Bangladeshis inside Indian territory, according to reports.

Two Bangladeshi men were killed on Friday after the Border Security Force opened fire at suspected smugglers near the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura, India Today NE reported.

A group of about 15 Bangladeshis had entered nearly 200 yards into Indian territory at around 11 pm on Friday for “smuggling purposes”, The Daily Star quoted the Border Guard Bangladesh as having said in a statement.

As they were returning to Bangladesh, a Border Security Force patrol team intercepted them near the border, triggering a tussle during which Indian personnel fired two rounds of shotgun pellets, the statement claimed.

The injured men were taken to hospital in Tripura, where they died during treatment.

The incident occurred near the Kamalasagar-Pathariyadwar border in Tripura’s Sepahijala district, close to Kasba upazila in Bangladesh’s Brahmanbaria district.

The two men were identified as 20-year-old student Mohammad Morsalin and 40-year-old Nobir Hossain, the newspaper reported.

While the Border Security Force has not commented on the matter, The Times of India reported that the unit opened fire in self defence after the group of Bangladeshis allegedly threw stones at the Indian personnel.

The group had been transferring goods across the border fence in the dark, the newspaper quoted unidentified Indian officials as having claimed.

The bodies were handed over to Border Guard Bangladesh, following a battalion-level flag meeting at the Khirnal border area in Kasba, The Daily Star...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092748/two-suspected-bangladeshi-smugglers-killed-in-bsf-firing-near-tripura-border?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 06:13:00 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/latest/1092747/totally-unacceptable-trump-rejects-irans-response-to-us-peace-proposal?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public After the US president’s statement, the price of benchmark Brent crude climbed 2.6% to $104.

United States President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran’s latest proposal aimed at ending the conflict in West Asia, calling it “totally unacceptable”, amid a fragile ceasefire between the two sides.

Iran had earlier responded to Washington’s latest peace proposal and warned that it would retaliate against any new US strikes. Tehran had also said it would not allow additional foreign warships into the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reported.

The US blockade of Iranian ports remains in force to monitor maritime traffic linked to Iran amid stalled peace talks to end the conflict in West Asia. Ships travelling to or from non-Iranian ports are still being allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under the blockade.

Tehran’s response, which was conveyed through Pakistani mediators, called for an end to the war “on all fronts, especially Lebanon”, where Israel has kept up its fight with the militant group Hezbollah, AFP quoted Iranian state broadcaster IRIB as reporting. The proposal also reportedly stressed on the need to guarantee “shipping security”.

The US proposal had reportedly sought to extend the ceasefire to allow for talks on ending the conflict and to address concerns about Iran’s contested nuclear programme.

On Sunday, however, Trump did not provide details of Tehran’s counterproposal. In a social media...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092747/totally-unacceptable-trump-rejects-irans-response-to-us-peace-proposal?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 03:31:47 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092653/why-india-must-abandon-the-post-1991-economic-ideology-and-forge-its-own-path-like-china?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Four big shocks – the 2008 financial crisis, Covid-19 disruption, Trump tariffs, and energy shortage due to the war on Iran – show why India needs to move on.

The war between capitalist and socialist ideologies finally ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to Francis Fukuyama’s thesis of “the end of history”. However, the history of ideological conflicts has not ended. India’s trade and economic policies, which have been driven by the logics of post-1991 financial globalisation and neo-liberal capitalism, now need fundamental reforms.

The era of the borderless world for free flows of investments, finance, goods and services, has ended with four big shocks: the 2008 financial crisis, the freezing of global supply chains with Covid-19 pandemic from early 2020, US President Donald Trump’s trade wars with the rest of the world (2024, ongoing), and last month’s choking of global flows of hydro-carbon energy with the closure of the Straits of Hormuz by Iran and the US.

The financial crisis woke up economists to the need to regulate financial flows and find a “new normal” for the economy. The old normal has continued nevertheless because economists cannot agree whether lesser or more freedom for finance, investments, and trade is the right solution for economic recovery.

Covid-19 made clear that global supply chains, and any economies dependent on them, are not resilient. The effects of the financial crisis and Covid-19 on the...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092653/why-india-must-abandon-the-post-1991-economic-ideology-and-forge-its-own-path-like-china?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 03:30:00 +0000 Arun Maira https://scroll.in/latest/1092746/revive-covid-era-wfh-save-fuel-avoid-foreign-trips-modi-appeals-as-west-asia-war-strains-economy?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Reducing edible oil consumption and avoiding gold purchases were among the ‘nationally responsible’ lifestyle choices proposed by the prime minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged citizens to revive some work-from-home practices adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic to reduce fuel consumption and avoid non-essential foreign travel for a year, among a series of measures he proposed to help the country withstand global economic uncertainties and supply chain disruptions amid the West Asia conflict.

Addressing a rally in Hyderabad, Modi called for “nationally responsible” lifestyle choices during the crisis and said people should place “the country above all else”.

Nation First Duty Above Comfort!

PM @narendramodi gave 7 important appeals to strengthen India during challenging global times prioritize work from home wherever possible, reduce fuel consumption, avoid foreign travel for a year, adopt Swadeshi products, cut down cooking oil… pic.twitter.com/jhDGYTarH6

— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) May 10, 2026

Referring to the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and rising energy prices, Modi said that imported petroleum products should be used “only as per need” to lessen the impact of the conflict on India’s economy.

India imports 88% of its crude oil needs and about half of its natural gas requirement. This mostly comes through the strait, which has been effectively blocked due to the conflict in West Asia.

Modi urged people to use metros in cities where it is available and “use carpooling to go to places, and use the railways…to...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/latest/1092746/revive-covid-era-wfh-save-fuel-avoid-foreign-trips-modi-appeals-as-west-asia-war-strains-economy?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 07:45:55 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092301/will-the-use-of-ai-make-human-creativity-obsolete-no-says-a-writer-and-professor-in-a-new-book?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public An excerpt from ‘Open Intelligence: Education between Art and Artificial’, by Saikat Majumdar.

A late-spring twilight in a boarding school in Ooty still lives with me. It was one of those large rooms in a building that had redone Harry Potter’s Hogwarts with 21st-century technology – stone floors, arched windows, discreet wiring, glowing screens. There was hushed magic in the room with about a hundred teenagers gathered in eager silence. They were Potterheads in a curious way: anxious about motivation, mental health and reading and thinking habits, but everything was dwarfed by an obsession with a large looming cloud. That was the unnameable magic of the already-present future, the force that you didn’t want to name but had to.

Artificial Intelligence. Will my learning matter anymore? Will my skills matter? Will I?

I, too, was grappling with a question that, at that time, seemed unrelated to this looming anxiety. Can creative writing be taught? As a writer who has taught for two decades at universities worldwide, this is in fact a question I have heard often – on campus, at book events, literature festivals, conferences, even at parties – Can any art be taught? Can it be learned? In a classroom?

That afternoon in Hogwarts Hall, it didn’t quite strike me that this was a basic question about...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092301/will-the-use-of-ai-make-human-creativity-obsolete-no-says-a-writer-and-professor-in-a-new-book?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 03:00:00 +0000 Saikat Majumdar https://scroll.in/reel/1092742/start-the-week-with-a-film-two-prosecutors-chillingly-reveals-what-total-state-control-looks-like?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Sergei Loznitsa’s acclaimed drama is available on Prime Video.

Would it be frivolous to describe Sergei Loznitsa’s Two Prosecutors as “arresting”? The Ukrainian director’s most recent movie, about prisons within and without, is gripping from the first frame to the last.

Loznitsa’s adaptation of a novella of the same name by Soviet-era political prisoner Georgy Demidov takes place in 1937, at the peak of Joseph Stalin’s notorious Great Purge. The campaign against Communist party opponents, dissenters and the intelligentsia, was enforced by the NKVD, or the secret police. It deliberately defined dissent loosely. Anybody with a legitimate grouse could be described as a counter-revolutionary and thrown into jail, sometimes never to emerge again.

In the film, recently appointed public prosecutor Alexander (Aleksandr Kuznetsov) is investigating a complaint that the ailing prisoner Stepnyak (Aleksandr Fillipenko) has somehow managed to smuggle out. Written in Stepnyak’s blood on cardboard – he’s refused paper and ink even though it’s his right – the missive warns of harassment, torture and executions by the staff.

The jail is a sinister masterpiece of architecture and mood. Stepnyak’s cell is at the very end of a series of seemingly never-ending corridors and claustrophobic interconnected chambers. The sound of keys jamming into locks and doors being opened sends a chill down the spine. Alexander must bypass...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/reel/1092742/start-the-week-with-a-film-two-prosecutors-chillingly-reveals-what-total-state-control-looks-like?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Mon, 11 May 2026 02:30:00 +0000 Scroll Staff https://scroll.in/article/1092518/indian-hospitals-are-pushing-robotic-surgery-but-do-you-really-need-it?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public As more private hospitals install robotic systems, patients are being nudged to undergo costlier procedures, sometimes even when they do not need them.

On the morning of March 27, a group of eager onlookers gathered around a robot and a computer screen at a convention centre in Mumbai. Among them was Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

They watched as a doctor, wearing polarised 3D glasses, manoeuvred two arms of the robot.

The patient, though, was 800 km away.

Suryabhan Sambharkar lay in Nagpur’s Government Medical College, with a second robot and its multiple arms docked on his lower body.

It began to operate on Sambharkar’s hernia, getting its directions via the internet from the robot in Mumbai.

The robotic arms operated for about 40 minutes. Then, the doctor stopped and rose. He had made a point – that robots could be used for telesurgery.

A team of doctors in Nagpur took over and finished the surgery, without the help of the robot.

“The robot was specially arranged to showcase the telesurgery,” said Dr Raj Gajbhiye, dean at the Government Medical College.

The robot in Mumbai had been supplied for the medical conference by Medbot, a Chinese multinational company that develops surgical robotic systems, and was an associate partner for the event.

“I had not heard of robotic surgery before this,” 52-year-old Sambharkar, who works at a cloth store and earns Rs 10,000 per month, told Scroll later as he recovered at his home.

He said...

Read more

]]> https://scroll.in/article/1092518/indian-hospitals-are-pushing-robotic-surgery-but-do-you-really-need-it?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public Tue, 12 May 2026 22:21:27 +0000 Tabassum Barnagarwala