Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu on Wednesday, as part of his two-day official visit to the neighbouring country. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed ways to expand the multifaceted Nepal-India partnership and further strengthen the longstanding bonds of friendship between the two nations.
Misri arrived in Kathmandu earlier on Wednesday and was received at Tribhuvan International Airport by Nepal’s Joint Secretary Gehendra Rajbhandari and India’s newly appointed Ambassador to Nepal, Sudhakar Dalela. The visit, at the invitation of Nepali Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, aims to review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and exchange views on issues of mutual interest. A key focus is also on laying the groundwork for Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s proposed official visit to New Delhi later this month.
During his stay, Misri is scheduled to hold discussions with his Nepali counterpart Rai, meet Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and call on Prime Minister Shah. He is expected to return to New Delhi on Thursday. This is Misri’s second visit to Kathmandu since taking charge as India’s Foreign Secretary in July 2024.
India and Nepal share longstanding historical, cultural, religious and people-to-people connections, supported by extensive cooperation in trade, connectivity, energy, hydropower, development and security. The high-level diplomatic engagement reflects the commitment of both countries to further strengthening their close and friendly relationship amid changing regional dynamics.
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Recent findings from the World Bank’s India Development Update have reignited an essential debate over the qualitative reality behind India’s poverty reduction figures. According to multilateral estimates, the proportion of the Indian population living beneath the extreme poverty threshold of three dollars per day in purchasing power parity terms plummeted from 27.1 percent in 2011–12 to just 2.6 percent in 2023–24. Concurrently, poverty measured against the lower-middle-income benchmark of four dollars and twenty cents per day witnessed an equally dramatic descent from 57.7 percent to 16.1 percent over the same timeline. While these macroeconomic milestones denote historic progress, they increasingly compel economists and policymakers to examine whether transcending statistical poverty lines genuinely translates into household financial security.
Methodological rigor requires that analysts approach direct historical comparisons with a degree of analytical caution. The statistical architecture underpinning these poverty trajectories relies upon the 2011–12 National Sample Survey and the modernized 2023–24 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, which employ differing sampling designs and data gathering protocols. Institutional economists emphasize that while these methodological adjustments do not invalidate the structural trend of poverty alleviation, they necessitate evaluating household conditions through a broader matrix of social indicators. Assessing genuine economic mobility requires looking beyond raw headcounts to examine the durable assets, credit access, and liquidity buffers available to everyday citizens.
On an operational level, the tangible improvements in public infrastructure and essential services across rural and urban landscapes remain undeniable. Successive waves of the National Family Health Survey demonstrate that access to household electrification expanded from 67.9 percent in 2005–06 to 98.3 percent by 2023–24, alongside near-universal banking access reaching 98.2 percent of the populace. Substantial capital investments have likewise propelled access to improved sanitation facilities to 89 percent and clean cooking fuels to over 71 percent. These foundational interventions have elevated daily living conditions, yet development specialists stress that access to public amenities does not automatically shield low-income households from catastrophic income disruption.
Consumption dynamics gathered from official expenditure surveys further illuminate how Indian families navigate material expenditure. In the 2023–24 fiscal cycle, average monthly per capita consumption expenditure reached approximately 4,122 rupees in rural areas and 6,996 rupees in urban clusters, excluding direct welfare provisions. Concurrently, the consumption Gini coefficient narrowed across both rural and urban domains, indicating a more uniform distribution of day-to-day spending on essentials. However, economists warn that an equalization of baseline consumption does not necessarily reflect an equalization of earned income, nor does it confirm that families hold sufficient liquid reserves to absorb sudden financial emergencies.
Gender-centric financial inclusion constitutes a cornerstone of India's ongoing domestic policy architecture, yielding demonstrable progress in digital participation. Official surveys indicate that internet usage among adult women surged from 33.3 percent to 64.3 percent between recent survey rounds, accompanied by a notable expansion in individual banking account ownership. Government-led financial integration initiatives have brought millions into the formal banking perimeter, laying the groundwork for direct welfare transfers and credit access. Nonetheless, financial analysts point out that nominal bank account registration does not universally guarantee autonomous financial decision-making or steady asset accumulation for female account holders.
Examined through a wider emerging market lens, India's transition mirrors the broader structural challenges confronting developing economies across South Asia and Latin America. As emerging nations successfully eradicate absolute destitution, large segments of the population inevitably transition into a precarious lower-middle class characterized by volatile earnings and limited institutional safeguards. Multilateral developmental agencies frequently note that economies moving out of low-income status must shift policy interventions from subsistence provisioning to social risk mitigation. Without comprehensive safety nets, external shocks such as inflationary pressures or localized climate events risk rolling back hard-earned gains across vulnerable demographics.
The primary constraint confronting newly elevated households remains the acute scarcity of precautionary savings and formalized insurance coverage. Insights from rural financial surveys conducted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development highlight that despite nominal income growth, household savings margins remain compressed by inflation and healthcare costs. The persistence of informal employment arrangements leaves the vast majority of wage earners without statutory pensions, severance protections, or unemployment benefits. When unexpected medical crises or environmental disruptions strike, families frequently resort to informal borrowing, driving them back into structural debt cycles.
Securing sustainable financial resilience demands a structural evolution from basic survival relief toward comprehensive economic empowerment. Analysts suggest that future policy roadmaps must prioritize quality job creation within formal manufacturing and value-added service industries to convert basic consumption stability into sustained wealth creation. Enhancing the quality of public healthcare and education systems will be vital to prevent essential out-of-pocket expenses from eroding household savings. Furthermore, integrating advanced micro-insurance products and tailored pension schemes into existing digital public infrastructure can establish durable safety nets for the informal labor force.
India’s extraordinary achievement in reducing extreme poverty over the past decade provides an indispensable foundation for the country's broader modernization ambitions. However, defining developmental triumph solely by the absence of extreme deprivation risks obscuring the systemic precarity that millions of aspiring citizens continue to navigate. The central economic challenge of the coming decade will be transforming a population that has escaped subsistence thresholds into a confident, financially secure consumer base capable of withstanding macroeconomic volatility. Tracking metrics of real wealth generation, wage formalization, and emergency liquidity will determine whether India's anti-poverty crusade culminates in true economic independence for its citizens.
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Delhi Police have registered an FIR against senior advocate and activist Prashant Bhushan for allegedly sharing a doctored video of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which purportedly showed the diplomat making critical remarks about India. The controversial video circulated on social media and appeared to show Lavrov questioning India's position on Russia's international relations, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The footage was shared from Bhushan's X account, triggering a controversy over its authenticity.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) subsequently issued a clarification, declaring the video fake and warning people against sharing misleading content. The Russian Embassy also reportedly raised concerns over the circulation of fabricated material attributed to its senior officials.
Following the controversy, Delhi Police registered FIR No. 263/26 at the Special Cell police station. The case includes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 336(4), 353(1)(c), 356 and 340(2), along with Section 66C of the Information Technology Act. Police are examining the alleged circulation of the manipulated footage and its potential implications. The investigation is expected to look into the circumstances surrounding the creation and sharing of the video.
The incident has also raised concerns about the growing circulation of misleading digital content involving political leaders and foreign officials. Such videos, particularly when presented as authentic diplomatic statements, can create confusion and potentially affect public understanding of India's international relations.
India and Russia have maintained longstanding diplomatic and economic ties, making the circulation of fabricated statements attributed to senior Russian officials particularly sensitive. The registration of the FIR marks the beginning of the legal process, and the allegations against Bhushan will be subject to investigation.
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A 24-year-old woman conductor working with the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) died on Tuesday night after allegedly being pushed out of a moving bus during an argument with a passenger over ₹90 in change. The deceased, identified as Gundla Pravalika, had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Hyderabad after sustaining severe injuries in the incident, which occurred on October 25 near Mittagudem village in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
According to police, the incident took place when a woman passenger, identified as Mounika, boarded a Palle Velugu bus travelling from Manuguru to Bhadrachalam with her son. She reportedly handed Pravalika a ₹100 note for a ticket costing ₹10. As the conductor did not have sufficient change, she allegedly asked the passenger to collect the remaining ₹90 while getting off the bus. This led to an argument between the two.
Police said the dispute escalated as the bus approached Mittagudem, where the passenger allegedly pushed Pravalika out of the moving vehicle. She fell onto the road, and the bus's rear wheels ran over her legs, leaving her critically injured. Pravalika was initially shifted to a hospital in Bhadrachalam before being moved to Hyderabad for advanced medical treatment. Despite doctors' efforts, she succumbed to her injuries on November 3. Following the incident, police registered a case and took the accused passenger into custody. Further investigation is underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy expressed grief over the conductor's death and conveyed his condolences to her family. The state government announced financial assistance of ₹10 lakh and assured the family of a house under the Indiramma Indlu housing scheme. It also promised a government job to Pravalika's mother. Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar also expressed condolences and assured support to the bereaved family.
The incident triggered protests among TGSRTC employees, who demanded strict action against the accused and stronger safety measures for transport workers. Employees staged demonstrations across several depots in the undivided Khammam region, raising concerns over the safety of conductors and drivers while performing their duties. The incident has renewed concerns over violence against public transport employees, who regularly deal with passengers over ticketing, fares and other travel-related issues.
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Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma mocked Rahul Gandhi over his repeated “vote chori” allegations, sarcastically claiming that Donald Trump had sought Gandhi’s advice on launching a vote-theft campaign. Sarma asserted that the BJP would continue to thrive as long as Sanatan Dharma exists and PM Modi remains popular, adding that the party was winning hearts, not stealing votes.
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We’re revisiting the Guardian’s long-read archives, bringing back standout stories from previous years, accompanied by fresh introductions from their original authors. This week’s pick, originally published in 2023: Just a year earlier, Germany’s Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck was among the country’s most popular public figures. But a tabloid-fuelled backlash changed the political mood, leaving him with the challenge of winning public support all over again.
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As Americans head to the polls, Jonathan Freedland joins Atlantic humour columnist Alexandra Petri to look back at the standout moments of the midterm campaign. Their discussion covers memorable political advertisements, unexpected endorsements, campaign missteps and embarrassing blunders, as voters cast their ballots and the first indications of winners and losers begin to emerge.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from The Guardian.
Spain has declared three days of national mourning following a devastating collision involving two high-speed trains that claimed at least 69 lives and left more than 100 people injured. Emergency teams are continuing rescue and recovery operations in the town of Urda, where workers are carefully searching through the twisted wreckage while families anxiously await updates about missing relatives. The tragedy has sparked widespread grief and growing public outrage, particularly as it marks Spain's second deadly train collision in less than a year. In a discussion with Lucy Hough, The Guardian's Madrid correspondent, Sam Jones, shares insights into the latest developments and the public reaction to the disaster.
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Adam Hamilton in Kansas, Dan Osborn in Nebraska and Joshua Turek in Iowa are seeking to turn traditionally Republican strongholds into competitive races in the upcoming midterm elections. Jonathan Freedland talks with Rachel Leingang about her reporting across the Midwest and the growing momentum behind progressive populism in the region.
Disclaimer: This podcast is taken from The Guardian.
