The UGC notified the Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026 to prevent caste-based discrimination, mandating Equal Opportunity Centres and Equity Committees in all institutions, with loss of recognition for non-compliance.
The Supreme Court ruled that unreserved (general) category seats are open to all on merit, and SC/ST/OBC candidates qualifying on general standards must be counted against unreserved seats; the judgment, based on Articles 14 and 16, arose from a 2013 Airports Authority of India recruitment case.
NITI Aayog released the fourth Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024; Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat ranked among the top large states, with Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir leading smaller states and UTs.
Food prices in India fell overall in 2025, by about 0.2%, the first such annual decline since 2014. Lower food prices helped bring retail inflation down to 2.2%, a 12-year low. Low inflation gives the RBI more room on interest rates, but very low food prices can squeeze farmers' incomes.
India was ranked 80th in the Henley Passport Index 2026 with visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 55 destinations, sharing the rank with Nigeria and Algeria; Singapore held the strongest passport with access to 192 countries.
Blinkit, Zepto, Zomato and Swiggy agreed, following government intervention, to remove the 10-minute delivery deadline to protect the safety and dignity of gig workers.
The UN High Seas Treaty - the Agreement on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) - came into force on 18 January 2026, protecting marine life across more than two-thirds of the world's oceans; 148 countries had signed and 81 ratified.
The Supreme Court upheld the Lok Sabha Speaker's formation of an Inquiry Committee into the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma, ruling that rejection of a motion in one House does not bar the other House from forming a committee under Articles 124 and 218.
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