Morning Digest: Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan is NDA’s vice-presidential pick; Centre says new GST regime will be consumer-centric; and more

Maharashtra Governor, former Coimbatore MP C.P. Radhakrishnan is NDA’s vice-presidential pick

Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan was named the National Democratic Alliance’s Vice-Presidential candidate on Sunday (August 17, 2025), after the BJP Parliamentary Board endorsed his name, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Radhakrishnan, 68, is a two-time former MP from Coimbatore and a former Tamil Nadu BJP president.

New GST regime will be consumer-centric, says Centre

The new GST regime previewed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address would be consumer-centric, with particular emphasis on the poor, the MSMEs, the middle class and the farmers, senior government sources said on Sunday (August 17, 2025).

Bihar SIR: List of names deleted from Bihar draft rolls shared on district websites, says CEC

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday (August 17, 2025) said the list of around 65 lakh names deleted from the draft electoral rolls of Bihar following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) had been posted on websites of district magistrates “within 56 hours” of the Supreme Court’s order even as he asserted that the SIR had become necessary due to the many complaints received from political parties over discrepancies in voter rolls over the last 20 years.

Constitutional validity does not mean desirability, ex-CJI Khanna tells one nation, one election panel

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has told a parliamentary committee scrutinising the simultaneous election Bill that the constitutional validity of a proposal in no way amounts to a pronouncement upon the desirability or necessity of its provisions.

Delhi-bound Air India flight aborts take off at Kochi airport due to technical issue

A Delhi-bound Air India plane aborted take off at the Kochi airport on Sunday (August 17, 2025) evening due to a technical issue, officials said. Lok Sabha member and Congress leader Hibi Eden was among those on board the flight.

Air Canada suspends restart plans after flight attendants union defies return to work order

Air Canada said it suspended plans to restart operations on Sunday (August 17, 2025) after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it will defy a return to work order. The strike was already affecting about 130,000 travellers around the world per day during the peak summer travel season.

20 tourists left stranded by guide in Ranthambore tiger safari; probe ordered

Twenty tourists were left stranded inside the Ranthambore National Park on Saturday (August 16, 2025) evening after their safari vehicle (canter) broke down mid-route and the accompanying guide left them to fetch another vehicle, officials said.

Serbia’s populist leader vows tough response to protesters following riots

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday (August 17, 2025) announced tough measures against anti-government protesters following days of riots in the streets throughout Serbia that have challenged his increasingly autocratic rule in the Balkan country.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to meet PM Modi during two-day India visit

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to India beginning Monday (August 18, 2025), according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The meeting, to be held on Tuesday (August 19, 2025), assumes significance as it is taking place days before PM Modi’s planned trip to China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

U.S. envoy says Putin agreed to security protections for Ukraine as part of Trump summit

Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday (August 17, 2025) that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defence mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the three and a half year war.