India's goods exports climb to $43.6 billion

Despite significant head-winds to trade due to the West Asia crisis, the value of India's merchandise ex-ports grew nearly 14% in April 2026 to $43.6 billion, official data released on Friday showed.

due in part to the overall This performance was rise in prices as well as to the efforts by Indian exporters to diversify their markets, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Fri-day. The overall trade deficit, counting merchandise and services, fell 30% in April 2026 to $7.8 billion.

Shah calls for unified global effort to defeat drug menace

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday called for a unified global effort on the war on drugs, stressing on the need for a unified legal framework to deal with the issue.

He added that the battle against drugs must rise above geopolitical differences and individual national interests. "The world must simultaneously fight both narco networks and narco-terror states,"

India's first satellite-tagged Ganges soft-shell turtle released in Kaziranga National Park

India's first satellite-tagged Ganges soft-shell turtle, an endangered species, was released in the 1,302 sq. km Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam on Friday.

The release of the fresh-water reptile coincided with the observation of Endangered Species Day.

Trade, supply chains and economic statecraft

The new global order offers India unprecedented strategic and economic opportunities, making a case for balanced policy promiscuity

Superpower summit

U.S. President Donald Trump left Beijing on Friday after two days of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the world's two biggest powers appeared to have come to a temporary truce. How long it will last remains to be seen, given that the summit concluded with-out any apparent breakthroughs in the long list of differences, from trade to Taiwan, that have strained relations. 

The U.S. has also allowed 10 Chinese firms to resume purchases of advanced Nvidia chips. Both sides have discussed setting up a Board of Trade to manage trade is-sues, including reducing tariffs on some Chinese goods, and a Board of Investment to green light Chinese investment in non-sensitive sectors.

State's duty is to ensure living wages for workers, not label them as 'terrorists', says SC

The Uttar Pradesh government should not think of those who protested for higher wages in Noida on April 13 as "terrorists", the Supreme Court said on Fri-day, reminding the State of its obligation to provide a "living wage" to workers, in accordance with the Constitution's Directive Principles of State Policy.

India, UAE sign pacts on energy, defence as Modi visits West Asian nation

India and the UAE concluded a framework de-fence cooperation agreement and signed agreements on building India's strategic petroleum reserves and LNG supplies as Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a brief stopover in Abu Dhabi on Fri-day and met UAE President Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MbZ). Mr. Modi travelled to the UAE as the first stop in his week-long, five-nation trip to the Netherlands, Swe-den, Norway and Italy.

BRICS members agree on creation of 'independent, viable' state of Palestine

The BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting that concluded here on Friday reaffirmed the grouping's call for the creation of an "in-dependent and viable state of Palestine" within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

While consensus emerged on the Statehood for Palestine, several other issues saw the members disagreeing among them-selves, which prevented the emergence of a Joint Statement, leading instead to the release of a 'Chair's Statement and Outcome Document'.

Disputed Bhojshala complex a temple, says M.P. High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Fri-day ruled that the disputed site of Bhojshala complex and Kamal Maula Mosque in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh is a temple dedicated to goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati). The court allowed the Hindu community to worship at the site, while dismissing the Muslim community's claim.

Marginal unemployment rate rise, shows Union govt. report

The unemployment rate for persons of age 15 years and above in the country stood at 5.2% in April, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistics Office on Friday. The unemployment rate (UR) in rural areas stood at 4.6% and in urban areas, it was 6.6%. The UR or joblessness recorded for March 2026 and April 2025 was 5.1%. Urban UR was observed as 6.8% in March 2026, while the rural UR was 4.3% in the same period.

India-U.K. trade deal hits late-stage 'sticking points'

The implementation of the India-U.K. trade deal has hit a late-stage hiccup due to a new regulation on steel imports the U.K. has said it will implement from July 1, which was not part of the trade negotiations.