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✍️ Written by Saket Suman An RTI inquiry into the digital handling of Shashi Tharoor’s Private Member Bill (Bill No. 10 of 2025) has brought into public view a series of official disclosures by the Lok Sabha Secretariat that raise fundamental questions about how India’s Parliament manages, records, and authenticates its legislative documents in a digital-first environment. The replies, issued in January 2026, place on record a system in which key elements of digital governance, including traceability, version control, and auditability, are either not maintained in a catalogued form or are not disclosed to the public. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla File Photo; Via Lok Sabha Secretariat The RTI by this writer sought clarity on who uploads parliamentary documents to the Sansad website, when these uploads take place, how subsequent changes are recorded, and what internal records exist to track these actions.  In response, the Lok Sabha Secretariat c...

Around 300 people were evacuated after a fire broke out Tuesday evening at the five-star Hotel des Grandes Alpes in Courchevel, a high-end ski resort in the French Alps, officials from the Savoie region confirmed.  Image Source: ICI Officiel The blaze began in the attic of the property around 7:00 p.m. local time and was still burning as of Wednesday morning, sending thick smoke across the area. While no guests or staff were injured in the incident, four firefighters suffered smoke-related harm, according to Savoie Prefect Vanina Nicoli.  Speaking to reporters in broadcasted snippets, she noted that 131 firefighters were working in “very difficult conditions” to contain the fire, which prompted an initial evacuation of around 200 people from the affected hotel. A second evacuation was carried out on Wednesday morning at the nearby Hotel Le Lana due to ongoing fire risks. Local authorities said evacuees were relocated to other accommodations in Courchevel.  As of midday We...

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has strongly condemned the India–European Union Free Trade Agreement signed on January 27 , laeblling it a “wholesale surrender” of the country’s economic interests to European powers and a move that will primarily benefit elites at the cost of Indian workers, farmers and small producers. In a scathing statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said the deal entails drastic tariff cuts across key sectors, including automobiles, steel, pharmaceuticals, wines and spirits, processed foods, and meat.  Representational Image via CPIMSpeaks Under the agreement, India will reduce or eliminate tariffs on over 90% of goods imported from the EU. The CPI(M) highlighted specific tariff reductions: from 110% to 40% on automobiles, 150% to 40% on wines and spirits, 50% to zero on processed foods, 11% to zero on pharmaceuticals, and 22% to zero on iron and steel. “These cuts will devastate India’s domestic industries,” the party said.  “The EU itself projects t...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday described the newly concluded India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a “strategic choice” that will create one of the world’s largest trading zones, combining two economic blocs representing 2 billion people and 25% of global GDP. Image Source: Indian PM NaMo Speaking at the EU-India Business Forum alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, von der Leyen called the agreement a “new era” for global trade that prioritizes “cooperation over fragmentation.”  The FTA, which will lower tariffs, simplify customs processes, and provide stable market access, comes after nearly two decades of negotiations and is expected to unlock significant economic opportunities for both sides. “European companies already employ more than 3 million people in India. In ten years, trade in goods between Europe and India has nearly doubled to €120 billion.  Now this agreement will unleash ev...

India and Canada signed a joint statement to strengthen strategic cooperation in the energy sector during India Energy Week 2026, held in Goa. The agreement marks the first high-level participation by a Canadian cabinet minister, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Timothy Hodgson, at the forum.  File Photo of Canadian PM Mark Carney; Via: Indian Tech and Infra The move renews the India–Canada Ministerial Energy Dialogue and underscores both countries’ shared focus on long-term energy security, trade diversification, and clean energy transition. The development follows directives from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister during their meeting at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in June 2025. Both leaders had emphasized the need to restart senior ministerial and working-level engagements. In a joint statement, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri and his Canadian counterpart reaffirmed their countries’ complementary energy ...

India and the European Union formally concluded negotiations for a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the 16th India–EU Summit in New Delhi on January 27, 2026. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President António Costa during the EU leaders’ official visit to India. The FTA marks the largest and most ambitious trade deal ever signed by India, covering over 99% of Indian exports by trade value and establishing preferential access to the European market for a broad range of goods and services. Image Source: Kaja Kallas The agreement follows years of negotiations, which resumed in 2022 after being suspended in 2013. It aims to integrate the world’s fourth-largest and second-largest economies, together accounting for 25% of global GDP, and create a combined market of two billion people.  The FTA is designed as a modern, rules-based framework that provides certainty for businesses, ...

Indian Health authorities have confirmed an outbreak of the Nipah virus in the eastern state of West Bengal, with at least five cases reported, including doctors and nurses now under treatment in hospitals across Kolkata.  At least one patient is in critical condition, and nearly 100 individuals have been placed under home quarantine as officials are moving quickly to contain the spread. India's central government has dispatched a rapid response team to oversee containment and treatment measures. Representational Image: Pubity on X The outbreak has prompted international response, with Thailand initiating health screenings at major airports for travelers arriving from West Bengal.  South Korean authorities have already designated Nipah as a first-class legally notifiable infectious disease by the time this report was being written. The Nipah virus is classified by the World Health Organization as a deadly zoonotic pathogen with no vaccine or cure. It has a high fatality rat...

Mark Tully, renowned journalist, author, and one of the most perceptive chroniclers of India, died at a private hospital in New Delhi on Sunday, January 25, 2026. He was 90.  Tully had been unwell for some time.  Image Source: KBalakumar Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) on October 24, 1935, to British parents, Tully spent the early years of his childhood in India before moving to the UK for his education. He studied theology at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and briefly trained for the priesthood before turning to journalism.  He joined the BBC in 1964 and became its India Correspondent in 1965, a role he held until 1994, including over two decades as the bureau chief in New Delhi. Over his 30-year career with the BBC, Tully reported on many of South Asia’s defining moments — from the Indo-Pakistan wars to the Emergency, Operation Blue Star, the Bhopal gas tragedy, and the assassinations of both Indira and Rajiv Gandhi.  He was barred from entering India during the Emergency...

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with ambassadors from all 27 European Union countries ahead of the high-level state visit by European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later this month.  The visit will coincide with India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations and the 16th India-EU Summit, where both sides are expected to finalise a historic free trade agreement and deepen cooperation on security and strategic matters. Image Source: EAM Jaishankar In a post following his meeting with EU envoys, Jaishankar described the conversation as an opportunity to take stock of a rapidly evolving global environment.  “Spoke to them about the current state of the world with volatility and instability as the new normal,” he wrote on X.  “Made a case for stronger India-EU relations that will: derisk the world economy by cooperating on resilient supply chains; reassure the international community by providing public goods...