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KOLKATA: A shocking bureaucratic failure on part of the interim government led by Dr M Yunus has led to the present medical crisis in Bangladesh as an outbreak of measles continues to kill people, devastating both urban and rural areas.

The dust may have settled on the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election, but the political war has only intensified. Defeated former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has launched perhaps the most serious challenge yet to the legitimacy of the Bharatiya Janata Party's sweeping victory, alleging that the saffron party manipulated electoral rolls, rigged voting in 177 constituencies, hacked electronic systems, and is now using police pressure to engineer defections from the opposition.

NITI Aayog’s 10-year roadmap for semiconductor industry in India has warned, “Winning the semiconductor race will not be easy if India continues to run the existing race; instead, it should shift gears and target becoming the ecosystem player. … This requires India to pivot away from the catch-up game in the foundry race and focus on winning the “More-than-Moore” era, where advanced packaging, system integration and manufacturing scale matter as much as transistor nodes.”

Probal Dasgupta, an eminent Indian linguist, Esperantist and academic administrator, passed away in his sleep after suffering a stroke in the early hours of Monday at the age of 72.

Last twelve years of RSS Pariwar union government’s performance has been defined by polarized outcomes. While the government pushed successfully digital infrastructure and targeted welfare to the masses, high unemployment, rising economic inequality, democratic backsliding and the erosion of institutional independence have been witnessed as severe shortcomings. A critical breakdown of the government’s performance across key sectors highlights both the achievements and significant areas of failure. There is a powerful and continuing nationalism that is searing into our national fabric. It is superficial. It is xenophobic. It is narrow. It is the lust to divide and not the desire to unite.

Bangladesh’s involvement of China in the country’s US$ 1.5-billion Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) seems to have posed a significant geopolitical tension for India and its defence concerns. Dhaka made a formal request to China for the project during Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman's recent visit to Beijing, reflecting a pivot in Bangladesh's foreign policy under its new government. And, Beijing obliged quite eagerly as it could be part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Bangladesh. The project under Chinese technical and financial involvement has naturally heightened India’s security concerns in view of its close proximity to the Siliguri Corridor, often called “Chicken’s Neck”, a highly sensitive, narrow strip of land connecting the Indian mainland to its eight northeastern states.

The most consequential economic negotiation currently underway for India is not with China, Europe, or the Gulf states. It is with the United States. Beginning June 1, senior trade negotiators from both countries have resumed four days of intensive discussions in New Delhi to finalize an interim trade agreement and move toward a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that aims to lift India-U.S. trade to $500 billion by 2030. The talks come after nearly eighteen months of tariff battles, political brinkmanship, and geopolitical pressure centered on India's purchases of Russian oil.

Karnataka is currently undergoing a significant political and generational transition following the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has been elected to succeed him after the Congress party successfully resolved a recent political crisis. This leadership change represents a crucial moment in Karnataka's political landscape. It reflects a strategic adjustment by the party's High Command in response to growing challenges.

The provisional data of the National Family Health Survey 2023-24 (NFHS-6) shows that one per cent of the children below the age of 15 years has just disappeared within two years compared to the NFHS-5 (2019-21). Population of children below 5 years of age has declined from 8.2 per cent to 8 per cent and from 26.5 per cent to 25.5 per cent for children below 15 years.

For much of the last decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has benefited from one political advantage that few leaders enjoy - whenever one crisis emerged, another pillar of the economy remained strong enough to offset the damage.