Author: India BBC News Correspondent

The BJP’s vote share and seat tally in the West Bengal assembly election has, for the first time, approached the peak figures that the Indian National Congress achieved under Indira Gandhi’s leadership in the state during the Congress’s dominance era. The comparison is historically interesting even if its meaning requires some care. The Numbers The BJP’s performance — in terms of the percentage of seats won and the total vote share — crossed a threshold that puts it in the same league as the Congress’s best West Bengal results from the Indira era. At that time, the Congress was the…

Iran’s state media claimed on Thursday that two Iranian missiles struck a US Navy warship near the Strait of Hormuz. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a denial within two hours: no US warship had been hit, no US casualties, the reported strike did not occur. Both statements cannot be true. One of them is false. Determining which requires going through what’s actually verifiable. What Iran Claimed The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that Iranian ballistic missiles had struck “a US military vessel” in waters near the Hormuz strait in response to what it described as “aggressive American posturing”…

When Prime Minister Modi appeared for his victory speech following the BJP’s West Bengal result, he was wearing a dhuti-panjabi — the traditional Bengali dress — rather than his usual kurta-churidar combination or a different regional outfit. It was a deliberate choice, and it was immediately read as one. Why Clothing Choices at Political Moments Matter Indian political leaders have long understood that what they wear signals cultural affinity, respect for regional identity, and a willingness to position themselves as belonging to a particular community rather than addressing it from outside. Modi has been particularly skilled at this — his…

The job posting described a role at an AI startup that would have seemed completely normal except for two things: the salary for what was functionally a senior analyst position was listed as a ₹50,000 monthly stipend, and the working hours were described as “flexible, outcome-based.” Welcome to AI-era hiring, where the language of innovation is being used to make traditional exploitation sound like an opportunity. The Pattern Several AI and tech-adjacent companies — mostly at the startup stage, but some more established players — have begun advertising positions that combine very low compensation with descriptions that emphasise learning opportunities,…

Prime Minister Modi declared on Thursday, speaking at a post-election rally in Kolkata, that Bengal is “free from fear” and has “seen poriborton” — the Bengali word for change that became one of the most politically charged terms in the state’s recent history. The use of “poriborton” was deliberate and pointed. It was the slogan that Mamata Banerjee used when she ended the Left Front’s 34-year rule in 2011. Using it now, to describe what BJP’s improved performance represents, is an attempt to claim the mantle of the same transformative aspiration. The “Free From Fear” Claim BJP’s core campaign narrative…

West Bengal has a new political reality: BJP is the principal opposition, TMC remains in power, and both sides are now engaged in the entirely predictable post-election question of what comes next. For BJP, the most consequential internal question is one that can’t be avoided: who would be Chief Minister if BJP were ever to form a government in Bengal? The question matters now because answering it prematurely can be as damaging as leaving it unanswered. Why the CM Question Is Complicated Bengal BJP’s internal dynamics have been a source of tension and public infighting throughout the election cycle. The…

US wheat futures have climbed to their highest level in eighteen months, driven by the combination of a drought affecting key growing regions in the southern Great Plains and a cost structure that has made production more expensive across the board. For India, which is one of the world’s largest wheat producers and consumers, the development has implications both as a potential export opportunity and as a signal about global food security conditions. What’s Happening in the US Winter wheat in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas — the states that typically produce the bulk of US hard red winter wheat used…

A deep-sea robot operated by a joint US-Portuguese research expedition has returned from 2.4 kilometres below the surface of the Atlantic with footage of a ship that sank approximately 400 years ago — and the discovery is generating significant interest among maritime historians and archaeologists. The vessel, whose identity is being established through analysis of its construction and the artefacts visible in the footage, is believed to be either a Portuguese or Spanish merchant vessel from the early 17th century. The depth and cold water of the Atlantic have preserved the wreck in a condition that researchers describe as “remarkable.”…

The Reserve Bank of India has published its Grade B Officer Recruitment notification for 2026, with 800 vacancies across general and specialist streams. The notification, available on the RBI’s official recruitment portal, marks the opening of what is consistently one of the most competitive examinations in India’s public sector financial services. Key Details The 800 vacancies are distributed across the general stream and specialist streams including economics, statistics, and information technology. The exact stream-wise breakdown is specified in the notification. Eligibility criteria follow the pattern of previous years: a postgraduate degree or equivalent for most specialist streams, with specific subject…

The UAE has formally withdrawn its membership from OPEC, ending a relationship with the cartel that dates to the organisation’s early years and making official what had been telegraphed by the country’s increasingly independent oil production decisions over the past several years. The departure is significant both for what it says about the UAE’s economic strategy and for what it means for OPEC’s ability to manage global oil supply going forward. Why the UAE Left The proximate cause was the production quota dispute that erupted in 2021, when the UAE objected to the base production level used to calculate its…