Category: India

Aleksej Besciokov, a man from Lithuania, was arrested in India because the United States wants to charge him with serious crimes. Officials say he was trying to run away from the country when they caught him. Besciokov is accused of using a cryptocurrency exchange called Garantex to launder money, including money from ransomware attacks.

From 2019 to 2025, it’s believed that he helped criminals transfer over $96 billion using Garantex. Many of these groups are involved in illegal activities, including terrorism. Recently, the U.S., Germany, and Finland worked together to shut down Garantex, and two people who ran the exchange were charged.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Kerala Police arrested Besciokov on a request from the United States. They got a special arrest order from a court in Delhi on March 10, 2025. Now, he will be taken to court in India before possibly being sent back to the U.S. for trial.

The U.S. Department of Justice shared that Besciokov was one of the main people involved in running Garantex, which handled huge amounts of cryptocurrency since 2019. The exchange was punished by the U.S. in April 2022 for being part of illegal financial actions. Besciokov faces three serious charges that could lead to many years in prison if found guilty.

In Ernakulam, Kerala, five young students were taken to the hospital after showing signs of a viral illness that might be meningitis. They are all in classes 1 and 2 at a private school in the Kalamassery area of Kochi and are now in different hospitals in the city.

A medical officer said, “We think it’s a viral infection, but we need to find out what type of virus it is. The symptoms look like meningitis.” The doctor mentioned that they’ve collected samples from the students’ bodies and sent them to the National Institute for Virology in Alappuzha for testing.

While they are waiting for the test results, the school has been told to stop classes until March 16. The good news is that all the children are currently stable.

Viral meningitis affects the area around the brain and spinal cord, causing symptoms like a stiff neck, fever, vomiting, and headaches.

In Shahjahanpur, special preparations are underway for the traditional ‘Laat Saheb’ Holi procession, which happens on the same day as Friday prayers. To keep everyone safe, local officials have covered nearby mosques with tarps and set up strong security measures.

During this fun event, people throw shoes at a person dressed as ‘Laat Saheb,’ who is based on a British Lord. To ensure safety, the city has built barricades along the way and installed many cameras. Superintendent of Police Rajesh S mentioned there are 18 Holi processions, with the main one divided into three sections to manage crowds better. Around 100 magistrates and about 1,500 police officers will be on duty.

Also, to prevent any trouble, police have taken steps against over 2,400 people who might cause issues. The police want everyone to enjoy Holi safely, saying they will closely monitor the festivities.

Municipal Commissioner Vipin Kumar Mishra explained that about 350 cameras are placed along the procession route to capture the celebrations, and they will be collected by two tractor trolleys.

Historian Dr. Vikas Khurana said this tradition started back in 1728 when Nawab Abdullah Khan returned to the city during Holi. Over the years, the format of the celebration has changed, but it has remained strong despite past attempts to stop it.

Harnaam Katihar, a member of the organizing committee, mentioned that the procession starts at Kuncha Lala and moves toward Phoolmati Temple, where ‘Laat Saheb’ offers prayers. There, he humorously questions the police about last year’s crimes. During the parade, people jokingly hit the ‘Laat Saheb’ with their shoes. The procession covers a distance of seven kilometers before returning to the starting point.

This celebration brings locals together and keeps the spirit of the tradition alive.

The United States is once again talking about the tariffs, or taxes, that India puts on American products. These high taxes affect American alcohol and farm goods. During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt discussed this issue. She also mentioned Canada, saying they have been unfair to the U.S. for many years.

She shared a chart showing the high tariffs that Canada, India, and Japan have. For example, Canada charges nearly a 300% tax on American cheese and butter, while India has a 150% tax on American alcohol. That makes it hard for Kentucky bourbon to be sold in India. Additionally, India has a 100% tariff on its agricultural products.

Leavitt pointed out that Japan charges a whopping 700% tariff on rice! She stressed that President Trump believes in fair trade practices and wants to make sure American businesses and workers are treated fairly. Trump has been vocal about India’s high tariffs, saying that India has promised to lower them significantly.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told a Parliamentary panel that talks between the U.S. and India are ongoing, but no trade deal on tariffs has been reached yet. He updated the panel about Trump’s claims that India is okay with reducing tariffs “way down.”

This month, Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, are traveling to India. This will be JD’s second trip abroad as vice president, while Usha is excited for her first visit to India, where her parents came from many years ago.

In February, JD Vance visited France and Germany, where he spoke about important issues like illegal immigration and people’s rights. His upcoming visit to India comes at a time when the US and India are discussing important trade agreements. Recently, US President Donald Trump mentioned high tariffs (taxes on imports) that countries like India, Brazil, and China charge, which sparked worries about possible trade wars and how they could hurt the global economy.

Union Minister Jitin Prasada stated that India and the US are working hard to increase trade between each other, which means making it easier to buy and sell goods and lowering the costs for companies. Not long ago, a team from India, led by Minister Piyush Goyal, returned from talks in the US, working on a new agreement to improve trade, which they hope to finish by fall 2025.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump recently agreed to start negotiating a new trade deal that will increase trade between the two countries to $500 billion by 2030, a bold goal they call “Mission 500.” This means more jobs and opportunities for both countries!

Jio Platforms Limited, a part of Reliance Industries, announced an exciting partnership with SpaceX on Wednesday. They will work together to offer Starlink’s super-fast internet services to people across India, especially in the countryside and remote areas.

This partnership needs approval from the Indian government for SpaceX to sell Starlink here. Just a day before, Bharti Airtel also made a similar deal with SpaceX to provide Starlink internet.

In a statement, Jio mentioned that this agreement will help them use Starlink’s technology to improve their internet services. Jio will sell Starlink equipment in its stores and online, making it easier for everyone to get access to the internet.

Jio plans to provide customer support and help with setting up Starlink services as well. The deal is part of Jio’s mission to make sure that everyone in India, whether they live in cities or remote places, can have good internet access.

“Starlink will help JioAirFiber and JioFiber by bringing fast internet to hard-to-reach areas quickly and affordably,” Jio said. The companies are also looking at more ways to work together to boost digital services in India.

Mathew Oommen, CEO of Reliance Jio Group, shared that making high-speed internet available for every Indian is their top priority. He believes that working with SpaceX is a big step towards achieving this goal.

Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, praised Jio for their efforts in improving India’s internet access. She is excited about the collaboration and the chance to bring Starlink’s fast internet to more people, businesses, and organizations in the country.

Starlink, managed by SpaceX, offers internet that can handle streaming, gaming, and video calls. It is a top provider of satellite internet services worldwide.

The parliamentary committee dealing with communication and technology in India has asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to quickly present a new Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill in parliament. This bill aims to improve the way media is regulated in India.

In January, the MIB told the committee they would finish talking to different groups about the bill by October 15, 2024. After that, they will create a new draft of the bill and a note for the cabinet to discuss. The committee wants to know how long this will take and stressed that the MIB should talk to all necessary groups during this process.

Currently, the cable TV industry has to follow many different rules and regulators, such as the MIB, TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), and the Department of Telecommunications. The committee believes there should be one comprehensive law to manage all of this.

The recent bill also includes rules about online streaming services, known as OTT (over-the-top) services. For the first time, the MIB mentioned this new version of the bill. The first draft was shared for public input in November 2023, while a second version was given to select groups in July 2024 without being made public. The second draft had a special watermark to track who had copies.

The new rules aim to include everyone creating news content online, even people not part of traditional media. This means, for example, a person making videos about cooking or taxes on YouTube could also be affected if they have enough followers.

The proposed rules require these content creators to set up a review team to check their work. In August 2024, the government asked groups to return their copies of the draft and mentioned they would release a new version after further discussions.

In the first part of 2024-25, renewable energy made up 22.49% of all the electricity generated in the country, according to the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The news was shared with the Rajya Sabha by Shripad Yesho Naik, the Minister of State for Renewable Energy. He also mentioned that the government is working hard to reach a goal of 500 GW of electricity from sources like solar and wind by 2030.

The contribution of renewable energy has grown over the years, up from 17.28% in 2014-15 to 20.75% in 2023-24. In the last full year (2022-23), renewable energy accounted for 22.61% of electricity generation. India also aims to cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and increase the use of non-fossil fuels to 50% of its total power capacity.

When it comes to solar power, Naik noted that India’s solar energy capacity has skyrocketed over the last decade, jumping from just 2.82 GW in 2014 to 100 GW in 2025. He highlighted that the country’s solar panel manufacturing has also seen great growth, rising from 2 GW in 2014 to 67 GW today.