DA-Basic Pay Merger Confusion Amid growing speculation around the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC), uncertainty has persisted over whether the government would merge dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay. In a Lok Sabha reply, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary clarified that no such merger is under consideration. He emphasized that DA and Dearness Relief…
Sanchar Saathi, the government’s cyber-safety app originally designed to help citizens track, block and disable stolen phones, is now positioned to become part of every new smartphone sold in India. What began as a seemingly innocuous anti-fraud utility has rapidly escalated into a fierce policy dispute—touching on privacy, state power, and the limits of regulatory authority…
A New Push for Recovery Funding When Donald Trump signed a sweeping addiction-recovery law on 2 December 2025—authorising several billion dollars for treatment, prevention and long-term support—he reframed the early contours of his new “war on drugs.” The initiative signals a renewed focus on the public-health side of the overdose crisis, even as his broader strategy continues to…
A Crisis Sparked by Rumour Rawalpindi has again become the nerve centre of Pakistan’s political volatility, as unverified rumours about Imran Khan’s deteriorating health—and even claims of his death in custody—circulate widely online. The claims, though unsupported by evidence, triggered anxiety among Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and prompted calls for a “mega protest” outside Adiala Jail….
The latest Open Doors 2025 data paints a portrait of an international education system that is expanding—but not from its traditional source of strength. Growth is increasingly driven not by newly arriving students, but by those already in the United States progressing through multi-stage academic and work pathways. Country trends are evolving unevenly: India continues to…
A New Face of Terrorism Emerges in Kashmir The National Investigation Agency’s latest crackdown in Kashmir has exposed a sophisticated “white collar” terror ecosystem—a shadowy network where radical ideology, professional expertise and digital technologies converge to enable violence. The sweeping raids, conducted across Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam, form part of an expanding investigation linking Kashmir-based operatives…
A Blockbuster Proposal That Could Redefine Cross-Industry Casting Hollywood star Sydney Sweeney, one of the industry’s fastest-rising names, is reportedly being courted for a record-shattering ₹530–540 crore (£45 million) Bollywood debut—an offer that, if real, would eclipse any remuneration ever extended to an international actor by an Indian production house. The unconfirmed proposal, first floated by…
A Province Shaken in 24 Hours Balochistan, Pakistan’s most volatile province, was rocked by seven explosions within 24 hours between November 29 and 30, 2025, in what appears to be a coordinated surge in insurgent violence. The blasts—spread across Quetta and Dera Murad Jamali—targeted police posts, security patrols, and critical infrastructure. Although no fatalities were reported,…
A Firm Crackdown on SIM-less Communication India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched one of its most aggressive policy actions yet to combat cyber fraud, issuing stringent directives that require all app-based communication platforms to eliminate SIM-less usage. Issued under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, and the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024, the mandate applies to apps such…
A Major Operational Breakthrough Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) has reached a defining milestone by completing its first full-scale integrated passenger trial under the Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) framework—confirming readiness for commercial launch on December 25, 2025. The rigorous simulation involved hundreds of trial passengers navigating real-world airport processes with IndiGo, Akasa Air, and…
