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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 17 welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to India for an official visit from February 17 to 19, 2026, saying the trip would take bilateral relations to “new heights”, as India and France announced they were upgrading ties to a “Special Global Strategic Partnership” and jointly launched the 2026 India–France Year of Innovation alongside a slate of outcomes spanning defence co-production, critical technologies, health, education, climate cooperation and connectivity. French President with Indian Prime Minister; Via the former. In posts on X, Modi said India looked forward to “advancing our bilateral ties to new heights” and expressed confidence that discussions would strengthen cooperation across sectors and contribute to global progress, adding that engagements in Mumbai and later in Delhi would provide fresh momentum to the strategic partnership.  The visit included participation in the Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit 2026...

Concerns relating to journalistic attribution and factual inaccuracy arise from a “Special Report” published on February 16, 2026, by The Pioneer , titled “ Indian girl was victim of Epstein, files reveal .” The report cites emails from the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files but does not acknowledge the unearthing of each of the cited documents by another journalist, nor does it adequately distinguish between documented facts and inferred claims. The report cites a set of emails from the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files, part of a disclosure involving more than three million emails made public by the United States Department of Justice . However, all the specific emails referenced in The Pioneer ’s report had already been unearthed a day earlier on X (formerly Twitter) by Saket Suman, editor of IndianRepublic.in , who independently unearthed and contextualised those documents after days of forensic examination of the files. Image Source: Tanmoyofc on X Public interaction ...

India’s Parliament saw a fresh political clash on Wednesday, February 11, after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi used the Lok Sabha debate on the Union Budget 2026–27 to attack the India–US interim trade deal and allege that it compromises India’s interests on data, energy security and farming. This prompted the government to accuse him of making unsubstantiated claims and to signal action to remove or expunge parts of his remarks from the House record. Image Source: Who_Care on X Speaking during the Budget discussion, Rahul Gandhi argued that India is entering an era of heightened geopolitical conflict and “energy and financial weaponisation,” and said the country’s core strengths—its people, the data they generate, food supply and energy—must be protected.  He alleged that the interim deal represented a “wholesale surrender,” claiming it involved “free data flow” to the United States, no data localisation, limits on digital taxation, and no requirement for source code disclo...

Opposition parties led by the Congress on Tuesday submitted a formal notice seeking the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla , escalating an ongoing confrontation with the government over the conduct of parliamentary proceedings during the Budget Session. The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 p.m. amid continued disruptions. Representational Collage, Via: Alok Sharma Chief Whip of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Kodikunnil Suresh and party Whip Mohammed Jawed Ahmed handed over the notice to Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh, sources confirmed. The motion has been moved under Article 94(c) of the Constitution, which allows a resolution for the removal of the Speaker to be submitted with a mandatory 14-day notice period. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the notice was submitted at 1:14 p.m. and accused the Speaker of conducting House business in a “blatantly partisan manner.”  He said Opposition parties had repeatedly raised concerns that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok...

Indian authorities have launched an investigation into the alleged leak and unauthorised circulation of an unpublished memoir by former Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, after digital copies of the book were found circulating online. Image Source: Arvind Gunasekar The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has registered a case to probe the source and dissemination of the leaked material. The investigation is examining whether there was a breach involving the unauthorised publication, duplication or circulation of a pre-print copy of Four Stars of Destiny , which has not yet been released. Amid the inquiry, Penguin Random House India issued a formal statement asserting its exclusive publishing rights over the book and clarifying that the memoir has not gone into publication. The publisher stated that “no copies of the book — in print or digital form — have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public by Penguin Random House India.” The statement...

Visiting President of Patrick Herminie held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday, February 9, resulting in the adoption of an expansive India–Seychelles Joint Vision and the announcement of a $175 million special economic package aimed at deepening cooperation across development finance, digital transformation, maritime security and climate resilience.  The engagement came a day after Modi returned from an official visit to Malaysia, where he held high-level talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and jointly underscored a hardened position against terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, alongside expanded defence, trade and digital cooperation. Image Source: PM NaMo President Herminie’s State Visit to India, his first since assuming office and coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Seychelles’ independence and bilateral diplomatic relations, culminated in the release of the India–Seychelles Joint Vision for Sustainability, Eco...

India’s Budget Session entered a fresh day of disruption on Monday, February 9, 2026, with the Lok Sabha adjourned for the day amid a continuing confrontation between the government and the Opposition over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ’s insistence that he be allowed to speak before the general discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27 begins.  The stand-off unfolded as Parliament was scheduled to start its first full round of debate on the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, even as the Rajya Sabha proceeded with a day-long discussion on budget priorities, fiscal policy and competing claims about growth, jobs and the distribution of central resources among States. File Photo of LoP RaGa; Via: Bharat Jodo on X The Lok Sabha opened with Speaker Om Birla congratulating India’s Under-19 men’s cricket team for its World Cup victory before Question Hour began, but proceedings were quickly interrupted by Opposition sloganeering demanding that Rahul G...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday to mount a broad political attack on the Congress, the Nehru-Gandhi family and other opposition parties, as opposition members raised slogans and later walked out. Representational Image of PM NaMo; via:NationPress This ultimately turned the Budget Session’s escalating confrontation into a sharper exchange over parliamentary conduct, identity politics and competing claims of national interest. In a nearly 100-minute speech delivered amid sloganeering, Modi accused the Congress leadership of habitual wrongdoing and made a pointed reference to Mahatma Gandhi’s surname, saying, “For some people, stealing is a family profession. What’s shocking is that those habitual thieves have also stolen surname of a Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi.”  He followed with a separate jibe framed around “startup culture,” claiming the Congress “never promoted start...

Proceedings in the Lok Sabha were once again adjourned for the day within seconds of the House assembling on Wednesday evening for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s expected reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.  This unfolded in the wake of the renewed opposition protests that triggered chaos in the chamber and forced the cancellation of his speech. Representational Image of PM NaMo; Source: NationPress The House had reconvened at around 5 pm amid indications that the Prime Minister would address members, but disorder broke out immediately as Congress MPs entered the Well and aisles of the Lok Sabha. They were seen raising slogans against the suspension of eight Opposition members during the ongoing Budget Session of the Indian Parliament .  Several women MPs from the Opposition blocked access to the treasury benches, including the Prime Minister’s seat, and displayed a large banner reading “Do what is right.”  With the disruption escal...