A new report shows that the majority of Indian cities are recording levels of air pollution far above the national safe standards. This shows that toxic air has become a daily reality across the country, while policies continue to misread the causes and fall short in delivering effective responses.

The Union environment ministry has issued a directive allowing both private and government entities to lease forest land for afforestation and timber projects without paying the environmental compensation charges that were meant to discourage ecological loss. While afforestation can help restore damaged ecosystems when done with native species, it can also involve commercial plantations that offer little ecological value. The new policy risks treating forest clearing as an environmental contribution, even when it replaces complex ecosystems with single-species plantations.

Just one city from North India features in the list of the country’s top 10 cities for women, according to a new nationwide index assessing inclusivity and career opportunities. The remaining nine are all located in the southern, western and eastern regions of the country.

The Supreme Court has directed the Manipur government to send the full 48-minute audio recording, allegedly featuring former chief minister Biren Singh discussing his role in the 2023 ethnic violence, to the National Forensic Science Laboratory (NFSL) in Gujarat for voice analysis and authentication. The violence left over 250 people dead, displaced tens of thousands, and areas inhabited by the Kuki-Zo tribes remain cut off from Meitei-dominated regions to this day.

India’s Election Commission (EC) has deleted over 1.2 million names from electoral rolls in just two districts of Uttar Pradesh as part of its “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) exercise. Some deletions may involve Absent, Shifted or Deceased cases, but such entries cannot explain the removal of over a quarter of the electorate. One is, therefore, left to ask whether the Commission has any explanation beyond the two clear possibilities, that these voters were either wrongly included in the past or are wrongly excluded now. Both reflect poorly on the institution.

The Supreme Court has granted bail to five people accused in the 2020 Delhi riots case but refused bail to two, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The court said these two played a more central or “higher” role in the events leading to the violence, and based on that, should remain in jail. But this distinction, between so-called leaders and others, is deeply concerning, as it assigns degrees of guilt before a trial has even begun.

India’s top footballers have publicly appealed to FIFA, warning that the sport in the country is facing “permanent paralysis” due to a failure of basic administration. Actor and football club co-owner John Abraham responded to the players’ appeal with a blunt message: “Shame on us... this is what we have come to.” Their words point to the collapse of a national system that, despite widespread public interest in football, still cannot provide Indian players with stable competitions, professional security or a functioning league.

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.

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.