The Hindu Morning digest: June 26, 2025

The Hindu

6 hours ago

Used trade deal threat to get India-Pakistan ceasefire, says Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he got India and Pakistan to agree to a ceasefire in May using trade deals with the U.S. as leverage. In The Hague for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, Mr. Trump mentioned India and Pakistan as part of a set of conflicts he claimed he settled during a press conference. 'But maybe the most important of all, India and Pakistan, and that wasn't whether or not they may someday have nukes... like we're talking about with Israel and Iran...they have nuclear weapons,' Mr. Trump said.
Pilgrims visit Mount Kailash, Mansarovar after six-year wait
Six years after the last Kailash Mansarovar yatra (pilgrimage) was held, a group of 36 Indian pilgrims conducted the arduous trek around the 18,000-feet-high Mount Kailash and took in the waters at the Mansarovar lake. The first batch included all ages from 18 to 69, the group's organising leaders told a group of Indian journalists at the Zhunzhu Pu hostel, where they will stay for a few nights as they complete their Parikramas (circling the mountain and lake). Each group includes a doctor, and the Ministry of External Affairs, which is the nodal agency for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra body has also coordinated with the Chinese government to allow Indian cooks to travel ahead of the group and set up tents to provide them with food they are more familiar with.
GST Council set to discuss reducing items in 12% slab
The agenda for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council at its next meeting will include deliberations on minimising the 12% tax slab and also finalising the tax treatment on service intermediaries, which could provide the sector relief worth thousands of crores, according to informed sources. Further, while the meeting was initially supposed to be held in June, there has been some back-and-forth between members of the Council over the location of the meeting, leading to delays. It will now likely be held in July 2025, which would be more than six months after the last meeting, which was held in December 2024 in Jaisalmer. 'One of the main agenda items, as part of the overall simplification and rate rationalisation effort, is what to do with the 12% slab,' an official aware of the developments told The Hindu. 'One of the internal recommendations was to minimise the slab or maybe even do away with it entirely.'
Congress chief takes a swipe at Shashi Tharoor, says 'for some Modi comes first, country later'
Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor's remarks praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an opinion piece published in The Hindu on June 23 sparked a fresh round of political sparring on Wednesday (June 25, 2025), with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserting that for his party, the nation takes precedence over individuals. 'For our party, the country comes first, but for some others, Modi comes first and the country later,' Mr. Kharge said at a press conference when asked about Mr. Tharoor's article. Without naming Mr. Kharge, Mr. Tharoor responded on social media platform X with a cryptic message. The Congress MP posted an image of a bird with the caption: 'Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to none.'
Union Cabinet passes resolution marking 50 years of Emergency
The Emergency, the 50th anniversary of which is being marked on Wednesday (June 25, 2025), is an event that will never be forgotten, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. He led the Union Cabinet in passing a resolution, vowing to commemorate and honour the sacrifices of those who fought against the suspension of democratic rights and the Constitution. The Union Cabinet observed a two-minute silence as a tribute to the victims of the Emergency, which was declared on June 25, 1975. 2025 marked 50 years of the 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' ('Constitution murder day') as it is now being marked by the government, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, briefing media after the Cabinet meeting.
Himachal Pradesh cloudbursts, flash floods | 2 dead, 20 feared swept away in Kangra
Two persons died while about 20 were feared swept away as cloudbursts, flash floods and heavy rain wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday (June 25, 2025). Two bodies were recovered from the Manuni Khad in Kangra district while around 15-20 workers stationed at a labour colony near the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site were feared swept away following a surge in water level in the Khaniyara Manuni Khad. Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local administration, gram panchayat, and the revenue department have reached the spot to carry out search and rescue operations.
New ECINET platform used during bypolls helped with faster update of voter turnout trends: ECI
The bypolls in four States held earlier this month saw the use of the new ECINET platform that helped in the faster uploading of voter turnout trends and publishing of Index Cards within 72 hours of the declaration of election results by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Index Card is a non-statutory, post-election statistical reporting format aimed at promoting accessibility of election-related data at the constituency level for all stakeholders. Under the new system, most data fields in the Index Card are auto-filled using ECINET inputs. Before the introduction of ECINET, the publication of Index Cards used to take several days, weeks, or even months, as the data was filled and verified manually by the officials, the EC said in a statement.
Media bodies urge Centre to keep journalistic work outside the ambit of Digital Personal Data Protection Act
The Press Club of India (PCI), along with 21 other press bodies, has submitted a joint memorandum urging Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to keep the professional work of journalists outside the scope of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. The memorandum has been endorsed by over 1,000 journalists and photojournalists from across the country, the PCI said on Wednesday (June 25, 2025). 'The concerns expressed in the memorandum were put together by the PCI after a close study of various definitions and provisions of the Act with legal and personal data experts. It was found that the Act comes directly against the journalists' fundamental right to work granted by Article 19 (1) (a) and (g) of the Constitution,' the PCI's statement said.
Trump says U.S., Iranian officials will talk next week as ceasefire holds
Israel and Iran seemed to honour the fragile ceasefire between them for a second day Wednesday (June 25, 2025) and U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that American and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace. Mr. Trump, who helped negotiate the ceasefire that took hold Tuesday (June 24, 2025) on the 12th day of the war, told reporters at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit that he was not particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that U.S. strikes had destroyed its nuclear program. Earlier in the day, an Iranian official questioned whether the United States could be trusted after its weekend attack. 'We may sign an agreement; I don't know,' Mr. Trump said. 'The way I look at it, they fought; the war is done.'
Iran Parliament passes resolution to suspend cooperation with IAEA
Iran's Parliament (Majles) passed a resolution on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) to suspend the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The development was shared on social media by the Embassy of Iran. The announcement came soon after the Embassy of Iran expressed 'heartfelt gratitude' to the people of India for extending support to Iran during the 12-day war with Israel. Iran's Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi also took to social media and criticised the U.S. for its June 22 attack on three nuclear sites reminding that Iran faced the attacks despite being a member of the IAEA and NPT (Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty).
U.K.'s Starmer faces major rebellion over welfare cuts
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) doubled down on controversial plans to cut disability and sickness welfare amid the biggest rebellion by lawmakers of his premiership. Labour's Mr. Starmer, who has had a bumpy first year in power since ousting the Conservatives in a landslide election victory last July, insisted that a vote on the proposed legislation would go ahead on Tuesday. His government is under pressure to slash a spiralling benefits bill as Chancellor Rachel Reeves tries to generate much-needed growth from a sluggish U.K. economy. The Premier's defiant words came as at least 120 Labour MPs, nearly a third of the 403 in parliament, publicly backed a move to block the proposals.
Rishabh Pant reaches career-high 7th in ICC Test rankings
India's swashbuckling wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant reached a career-high seventh in the latest ICC Test rankings for batters on Wednesday (June 25, 2025), following his twin centuries in the series opener against England in Leeds. Pant, who became only the second wicketkeeper to hit two hundreds in the same match during the first Test of the five-match series, climbed one spot in the list. Before the 27-year-old Pant joined him, Zimbabwe's Andy Flower remained the sole stumper with two centuries in the same Test match.