Former PM Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night. The central government will declare seven days of national mourning with his last rites conducted with full state honours. The Union Cabinet will meet on Friday to discuss further arrangements. The Congress party has also canceled all official programs and will fly flags at half-mast during this period.

China has approved the construction of the world’s largest dam on the Brahmaputra in Tibet, close to the Indian border. This significant project, expected to cost over one trillion yuan, raises concerns for neighboring riparian states, India and Bangladesh. China asserts these are run-of-the-river projects.

In his memoir “A Promised Land”, former US President Barack Obama paid tribute to Manmohan Singh describing him as a “man with uncommon wisdom”.