Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly said that the government is committed to eradicating Maoism from India by March 2026, and the goal got a fillip when at least 27 Maoists were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh earlier this month.

Plastic bags and bottles strewn everywhere, animals scavenging on dumped solid waste – the disturbing scene is not from a dumpsite but from a forest in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasol.

All seven NCP MLAs in Nagaland joined the ruling NDPP on Saturday, giving the CM Neiphiu Rio-led party an absolute majority in the 60-member assembly.