What to Expect as States’ Debt Rises to Record Levels
NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora

What to Expect as States’ Debt Rises to Record Levels

Indian states are likely to borrow an unprecedented 5 trillion rupees between January and March 2026 to meet their routine government spending, the largest amount ever raised by state governments in a single quarter in India’s history, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This record debt may push up interest rates on home and business loans, delay government-funded work like school repairs, road construction and public healthcare, and leave less money for job schemes, rural wages and welfare payments.

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What’s Wrong When Parties Win an Election Before Voting Even Begins in Maharashtra
NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora

What’s Wrong When Parties Win an Election Before Voting Even Begins in Maharashtra

The ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra has reportedly secured 68 of 69 municipal corporation seats without a vote being cast, as rival candidates withdrew en masse before polling. The development warrants serious concern, as one is left to ask whether intimidation, coercion, or inducement may have effectively replaced voter choice in these constituencies. It also raises the possibility of behind-the-scenes arrangements between contesting parties to prevent electoral competition. Either scenario undermines the central democratic principle of competitive elections.

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Behind the Growing Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh
NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora

Behind the Growing Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh

A Hindu businessman was attacked by a mob in Bangladesh’s Shariatpur district on 31 December 2025. He was beaten with sharp weapons, doused in petrol and set on fire. This was the third such attack in a month, part of a larger pattern of violence against religious minorities since the fall of the previous government. The incident shows that the interim administration has failed to enforce the rule of law in cases involving political or communal violence. That failure has left the country’s transition in a dangerously exposed state.

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What We Can Do to Resist Gig Worker Exploitation
NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora

What We Can Do to Resist Gig Worker Exploitation

Hundreds of thousands of gig workers across India logged out of the apps they work for, staging a coordinated strike to demand better wages, safety and dignity from their employers. But the focus now shifts to us, the customers. These platforms, like Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit and Amazon, operate because we use them. So what could we do, as consumers, to support the workers who bring us our food, groceries and parcels?

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Do Teachers and Parents Really Understand What Students Go Through in School?
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Do Teachers and Parents Really Understand What Students Go Through in School?

A new survey has revealed a consistent gap between what students across high fee private schools experience and what teachers and parents believe is happening inside classrooms and beyond. This suggests that decisions about teaching, discipline, technology use and wellbeing are being influenced by adult assumptions rather than student reality, which risks deepening stress, weakening trust and leaving schools poorly prepared for the social and technological world students already inhabit.

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Biggest Ever Exit by Foreign Investors Hits Indian Markets, Here’s Why It Matters
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Biggest Ever Exit by Foreign Investors Hits Indian Markets, Here’s Why It Matters

Foreign investors pulled out a record 1.6 trillion rupees, or 18 billion dollars, from the Indian stock market in 2025, even though share prices kept rising, according to a report. This suggests that global investors see Indian stocks as overvalued and expect weaker profits ahead, which can reduce foreign capital, slow job growth, weaken the rupee and raise everyday prices.

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Uttarakhand’s Racist Violence Exposes India’s Pretence of National Unity
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Uttarakhand’s Racist Violence Exposes India’s Pretence of National Unity

The killing of Angel Chakma, a young Chakma student from Tripura, after a brutal racist attack in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, points to a deeper problem in how India functions as a country. On paper, all citizens have equal rights under the law. But in real life, many people do not feel accepted or safe, even though they are legally Indian. This gap between legal citizenship and a sense of truly belonging in society shows how the idea of India as one united nation often fails in everyday life.

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Emotional Distress Linked to Compulsive Pornography Use, Indian Study Finds
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Emotional Distress Linked to Compulsive Pornography Use, Indian Study Finds

Over recent decades, pornography has become more available, affordable, and easier to access in private, especially through smartphones and the internet. However, a new study in India finds that people with higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress are more likely to report compulsive or problematic pornography use.

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Algorithms Now Decide Wages, Work, Punishment in India’s App Economy
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Algorithms Now Decide Wages, Work, Punishment in India’s App Economy

A new study on gig workers employed through digital platforms has found that app-based companies are using algorithms to make decisions about pay, work assignments and punishment without offering any explanation or way to appeal. The system deprives workers of basic rights, treats them as disposable and creates conditions that must be called out as unjust and dangerous.

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Bail for Rapist, Violence for Survivor, Laughter from a Politician
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Bail for Rapist, Violence for Survivor, Laughter from a Politician

A former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator convicted of gang rape has received bail, while the survivor protesting the decision was dragged away by police and ridiculed by a state minister. Together, these events show how those in power protect each other by using police to crush protest and mock the pain of ordinary people, turning justice into a show of control and humiliation.

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Cobrapost: Public-Funded Loan Firm Routed ₹100 Billion to Insiders Without Disclosure
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Cobrapost: Public-Funded Loan Firm Routed ₹100 Billion to Insiders Without Disclosure

An investigation by the journalism organisation Cobrapost has alleged that a large, publicly listed finance company, which gives out loans using money borrowed from banks, financial institutions and everyday investors, carried out transactions worth over 100 billion rupees (₹10,000 crore) that appear to benefit family members and senior executives, with many of these deals not properly disclosed as related-party transactions.

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How a Dalit Worker Was Lynched in ‘God’s Own Country’
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

How a Dalit Worker Was Lynched in ‘God’s Own Country’

A Dalit migrant worker named Ram Narayan was lynched in Palakkad, Kerala, by a group of men who accused him of theft and claimed he was an “illegal immigrant” from Bangladesh. The killing shows that even in Kerala, often seen as resistant to radical Hindu nationalist politics, some people now feel entitled to act on hate and deliver “punishment” without due process. It also shows that for a section of the public, the state no longer holds exclusive authority over justice.

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New Scheme Replacing NREGA Dismantles the Idea of Economic Rights
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

New Scheme Replacing NREGA Dismantles the Idea of Economic Rights

The Parliament has passed a new law called the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB–G RAM G, repealing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which had legally assured rural Indians a right to employment for up to 100 days a year. The new law removes this guarantee, alters how wages are determined and shifts more financial responsibility to the states. The implications are significant for India’s federal structure, its poorest citizens and the very idea of economic rights.

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India Faces Major Ecological Setback as Aravalli Hills Lose Protection
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

India Faces Major Ecological Setback as Aravalli Hills Lose Protection

The Supreme Court has accepted a new definition of what constitutes the Aravalli Hills, a mountain range that stretches across western India through Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, limiting it to elevations over 100 metres and grouping only those within 500 metres of each other as part of the range. By excluding most smaller hills from protection, the change opens the door to mining and construction, threatening forests, wildlife, groundwater, rainfall, and air quality.

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Sudden Deaths in Young Indians Linked Mostly to Heart Disease
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Sudden Deaths in Young Indians Linked Mostly to Heart Disease

A new research has found that a significant number of young adults in India are dying suddenly, most often due to undetected heart disease, even though many appear healthy and have no known medical conditions. What is concerning is that these deaths frequently occur at home or during routine activities, and in a large share of cases, even detailed autopsies fail to identify a clear cause, leaving families without answers and risks unaddressed.

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India Adds Millionaires Amid Shrinking Wealth and Deepening Inequality, Report Says
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

India Adds Millionaires Amid Shrinking Wealth and Deepening Inequality, Report Says

India now has 917,000 US dollar millionaires, with 39,000 added in just one year, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2025. This rise in high-net-worth individuals has occurred alongside a fall in average adult wealth, marking a sharp divide between visible gains at the top and economic stagnation across the broader population.

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Oxford Graduate Works for Marginalised Students’ Access to Higher Education in India
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Oxford Graduate Works for Marginalised Students’ Access to Higher Education in India

India’s higher education sector has expanded steadily over the years, yet the benefits of this growth remain concentrated among those with social and economic privilege. For students from marginalised communities, entry into universities continues to be blocked by barriers that rarely make it into policy debates. In this interview, Manzer, a scholar working to bridge gaps in access, explains what keeps these students out of higher education, based on what he has observed while working closely with marginalised communities.

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India’s Move Toward ‘Data Nationalism’ and Post-Truth Governance
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

India’s Move Toward ‘Data Nationalism’ and Post-Truth Governance

Across three major areas involving climate risk, press freedom and economic reporting, the government is steadily moving away from global benchmarks. It is discarding international assessments and building its own homegrown versions instead. These are managed or overseen by government bodies, which gives it more control over both the data and the story the data tells. The result is a system that does not just measure progress. It also quietly rewrites what progress is supposed to mean.

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