Four brand-new cities will be developed in the National Capital Region – one each in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan – at a total cost of Rs 5,000 crore over the next five years, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal said on Tuesday. The cities will be developed along transport nodes, including the new rapid metro network, and will be named “Namo” cities, the government said.
Story continues below this ad
DMK after breakup: Rahul Gandhi is the problem
An editorial in the DMK’s party mouthpiece has squarely named Rahul Gandhi as the reason for the alliance’s collapse, attempting to explain and emotionally process what many in the party view as a political betrayal — after Congress legislators left the alliance and joined the Vijay-led government in Tamil Nadu.
Paper leak fix: Telegram blocked in India
In a sweeping move ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on June 21, the government has temporarily blocked Telegram across India until June 22. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) invoked Section 69A of the IT Act after the National Testing Agency (NTA) requested the ban as a “measure of last resort” against organised cheating rackets running fraudulent channels openly selling fake leaked question papers for lakhs of rupees. Telegram’s message-editing feature has also been disabled in India until June 30 — scammers had exploited it to retroactively insert real question papers into old messages while retaining original timestamps. The NTA has reiterated that no official paper has been leaked and that the June 21 exam will proceed as scheduled.
Cough syrups now need a prescription
The union health ministry has amended rules to remove “syrups for cough” from Schedule K — the list of medicines that can be sold without a doctor’s prescription. Lozenges, pills and tablets for cough remain exempted. The move follows the deaths of at least 22 children in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district after consuming contaminated cough syrups, and similar reports from Rajasthan.
US-Iran deal: India watches energy markets
The US-Iran peace agreement dominated global headlines as Donald Trump declared Iran had committed to never pursuing a nuclear weapon — a claim Tehran has yet to fully ratify, with the formal MOU still unsigned and a contested 60-day window ahead. India, heavily dependent on Gulf energy imports, is watching closely whether the Strait of Hormuz reopening holds. On the trade front, India’s goods exports logged a six-month high in May on a weaker rupee, even as US imports surged 54 per cent.
Politics: TMC split, BJP’s poll math, Rahul’s Kota plan
The TMC fracture deepened with a fresh question in play: could the rebel MPs, and eventually the NCP, find their way back into Congress? The BJP is said to be sounding out four state units to advance assembly polls before the Census disrupts schedules, riding its Bengal momentum. Rahul Gandhi is planning a train journey to Kota, anchoring his next big campaign on the education crisis.
Express Impact: NCERT to restore dancing girl image
After The Indian Express reported that the iconic Harappan Dancing Girl figurine had been shaded over in the new Class 9 Arts textbook, NCERT has agreed to restore the unaltered image. Follow The Indian Express for breaking news, live updates and the latest news from India and the world.
