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India's nationwide rollout of E20 petrol has become one of the rare public policy initiatives where both the government and its critics can claim to be right.

Global cement demand for the current year once again presents a kaleidoscopic picture of healthy rates of growth in uses of the binding agent in the Middle East, Africa and India but a fairly long unbroken period of demand compression in China. Europe, though not in its best economic health, is to see moderate demand recovery for cement, propelled by new house starts and infrastructure renovation. The World Cement Association (WCA) has forecast cement demand stability in the US, which incidentally has conceded the rank of the world’s third largest producer of the material to Vietnam.

CHICAGO: For decades, the NAACP has gone to court and combed the halls of Congress, defending and expanding voting rights for African-Americans. In its 117 years of existence, it has never been one to leave lobbying and pressure on elected officials to the racist corporate powers that have seen that as their exclusive domain.

LONDON: Media attacks on Andy Burnham as a ticket back to the 1970s followed hot on his Labour leadership acceptance speech on Friday.

India’s patent regime balances fostering technological innovation with protecting public welfare. Guided by the Indian Patents Act 1970, its core strengths like strict patentability limits and strong compulsory licensing, frequently clash with global harmonization and local compliance frameworks. Critical challenges and limitations include evergreen patents grants via examinations, friction with international pressures, eased working disclosure, and software and tech patenting.

The issues of irregularities in examinations in India and the theft of donations in Ram Temple at Ayodhya rocked the parliament on the first day of the Monsoon Session on July 20 and that led to adjournment of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha until 12 PM just after obituary references.

It is extremely encouraging to note that Assam is shaking off its historical "economic laggard" label to become one of India's fastest-growing state economies. Assam's economy is projected to grow at a nominal rate of over 17 percent in the current financial year, as against 6.6 percent expected for the whole of India. Assam joins four other Indian states – Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, and Gujarat – among the country’s top five fastest growing state economies. Assam is experiencing rapid expansion fuelled by large industrial investments, including the Tata semiconductor project and a host of mega power projects. Assam's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is projected to reach approximately Rs.8.13 lakh crore in 2026-27, expanding from last year's Rs.7.24 lakh crore. This trajectory reflects an ambitious economic transition aimed at transforming the state into a Rs.10-lakh crore economy by 2028.

As the Monsoon session of Parliament began on July 20, Sharad Pawar, the leader of the NCP, faces internal conflicts within his party. There could be political changes first in Maharashtra, and then the merged NCP could ally with the BJP.

The four day World Conference on Artificial Intelligence which concluded in Shanghai on July 20 has established dominance of China in AI application as also in AI governance as large number of countries responded to the Chinese model of open source AI application thereby expanding scope for wider collaboration of China with the non western countries.

On 14 July 2026, a bipartisan group of US senators unveiled a revised Russia sanctions bill that proposes punitive tariffs on the largest buyers of Russian energy, including India, the second-largest importer of Russian crude. The legislation, originally championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham before his sudden demise, seeks to reduce Russia's oil and gas revenues by discouraging third countries from continuing energy trade with Moscow.