Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Union Budget for 2025-26:
The Budget reflects a clear focus on strengthening India's long-term prospects by leaning on nation-building sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and technology while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
Mundane as it may seem, this is in some ways a metaphor for the challenges facing the nation, argue Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in their new book, A Sixth Of Humanity.
'The campaign by the Mahagathbandan has failed to capture the imagination of the electorate given the fatigue factor with the Nitish government.'
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and insisted on demands pertaining to the state, including on Fair Recovery Price of sugarcane, All India Institute of Medical Sciences for Raichur, the release of flood relief among others.
This election is a thank you note to Nitish Babu from a grateful Bihari people, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar prepares for a high-stakes election where voters may be deciding the next chief minister. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's CM candidate, seeks a third term, facing a strong challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar.
Priti Kinnar, a transgender social worker, is set to contest the Bihar assembly elections from Bhorey seat on a Jan Suraaj ticket, challenging the incumbent Education Minister. Her entry into politics has sparked mixed reactions, with some seeing it as a potential boost for the transgender community and others questioning its impact on the election outcome.
College students in Bihar, many first-time voters, express concerns about job opportunities and education quality ahead of the state elections, desiring a government focused on employment and strengthening the education system.
What makes the Gen Z Mada movement in Madagascar significant is not only their use of digital tools but their ability to unify a disillusioned population around a shared vision of justice, transparency, and reform.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
Opposition-ruled states warn of steep annual losses; Centre assures higher consumption will offset revenue hit.
These photographs capture the immediate aftermath in Bahawalpur and Muridke near Lahore -- from damaged buildings to the scrambling of rescue workers.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will scale up its efforts on the African continent, focusing on three key goals over the next 20 years, ending preventable maternal and child deaths, eradicating deadly infectious diseases, and reducing poverty.
'The fiscal situation is extremely vulnerable. It has never been so bad in Kerala's history.'
"Intermittent pauses in hostilities are not enough to address the scale of humanitarian challenges confronting the people, who grapple daily with acute shortages of food and fuel, inadequate medical services and lack of access to education," Harish said at the open debate on the 'Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question'.
Pakistan has closed its airspace for all commercial flights at Lahore and Islamabad airports after India carried out military strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The country's airspace was closed for all air traffic after India launched a 48-hour closure following the strikes. The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has formally conveyed its concerns to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regarding the serious risks posed to civil aviation safety by India's reckless and provocative actions.
Pakistani authorities on Monday claimed that seven people were killed and six others sustained serious injuries on Saturday in Indian drone attacks and firing in Gujrat city of Punjab province.
A 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Pakistan on Monday with the epicentre located close to a prominent faultline in its Punjab province, the director of the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.
'You've got to understand it is not easy to die by suicide.' 'People commit suicide only when they lose everything and find no other way to live.'
'Thank you to all the well-wishers who joined us, including Chris Martin, for making this milestone special.'
A former Pentagon official, Michael Rubin has said that India targeted terror infrastructure with precision, and it was able to blunt Pakistan's response following the recent strikes.
'India won't take anything from Pakistan lying down.'
While India has become the largest data generating nation, and hosts more than 152 data centres, it is fed by only 18 undersea cables.
The Budget assumes significance as it comes on the back of lower-than-expected growth numbers during the second quarter and geopolitical uncertainty.
Blue Origin's 10th human flight, NS-30, will lift off from Launch Site in West Texas on Tuesday, February 25.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her 8th straight Budget and all eyes will be on the much-expected tax relief for the middle class. Sitharaman had in her first Budget in 2019 replaced the leather briefcase -- which had been in use for decades for carrying Budget documents -- with a traditional 'bahi-khata' wrapped in red cloth.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
'Binary fission will happen -- startups will lead to more startups.'
Recent documents by NITI Aayog and periodic labour force surveys on employment show that the importance of agriculture is rising in the Indian economy.
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections are set to be a thrilling contest between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. The BJP is focusing on its "Parivartan" (change) slogan and a targeted campaign against AAP over corruption allegations, while AAP is highlighting the credibility of its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and his promises to deliver on his promises. The Congress, seeking to reclaim its lost footing in the national capital, is also campaigning with a renewed vigor.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party government of wasting a decade fighting with the Centre and urged its people to give the Bharatiya Janata Party an opportunity to turn the national capital into a city of the future.
'Patients under the scheme may ultimately have to go to private hospitals.'
While praising the internship scheme announced in the Budget, India Inc wants clarity on how it will be implemented. The scheme is expected to help companies address the skill gap in employment. Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman, auto major Ashok Leyland, said: "We had started an internship programme at our plant in Pantnagar, which we established in 2010 with colleges there.
The home minister said the central forces deployment will be increased, if required, and that they should be deployed strategically to restore peace and tranquillity in the state, according to an official statement.
She also pointed out that the poor from villages are afraid to go to court.
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