Top news of the day: Supreme Court expresses shock over deaths in Manipur relief camps; Tata Sons board approves a fresh five-year term for Chandrasekaran, and more

Supreme Court expresses shock over deaths in relief camps in Manipur, asks Chief Secretary to respondExpressing shock over scores of deaths in relief camps meant for the internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Supreme Court on Thursday (September 17, 2026) directed the Manipur Chief Secretary to apprise it of the steps taken to probe, initiate criminal proceedings and ensure the safety of those living there.Cautioning the top bureaucrat of the State, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana asked why no significant steps were taken on the information provided by the Justice Gita Mittal committee relating to deaths, including unnatural ones, of IDPs in relief camps.Chandrasekaran accepts re-appointment as Tata Son’s chairman, Tata Trusts terms it illegalTata Sons Private Limited’s Executive Chairman N. Chandrasekaran at the company’s board meeting on Thursday (September 17, 2026) acceded to the Board’s request to reconsider his decision. On August 12, 2026, he expressed his desire not to seek reappointment at the expiry of his tenure stating that one board member — Noel Tata — had not approved it.“The Board thereafter resolved by a majority vote to re-appoint him as Executive Chairman for a further term of five years upon the expiry of his current tenure [in February 2027],” Tata Sons said in a statement. It is learnt that all board members, other than Noel Tata, who is a board member and Chairman of Tata Trusts, voted for the reappointment of Mr. Chandrasekaran. Tata Trusts which holds 66% stake in Tata Sons has termed this reappointment and decision as illegal.Centre in SC reduces NEET-SS qualifying percentile to 30%; TN to get 40 vacant seats backThe Centre on Thursday (September 17, 2026) agreed to reduce the qualifying percentile for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Super Speciality (NEET-SS) seats from the existing 50% to 30%, even as it agreed to return 40 vacant in-service seats pertaining to Tamil Nadu to the State.“The matter has since been reconsidered in consultation with the concerned stakeholders. In order to ensure that the available super speciality seats do not remain vacant and that the available training capacity is optimally utilised, it has been decided that the qualifying percentile for NEET-SS may be reduced from the existing 50th percentile to 30th percentile for the purpose of the proposed Special Stray Vacancy Round,” a Union government note filed before a Bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha said.U.S. House passes Russia sanctions bill seeking to impose up to 100% tariffs on India, othersThe U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) passed legislation targeting Russia’s energy sector, individuals and “shadow fleet” of tankers, including authorising the U.S. President to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and other countries for buying oil and gas from Russia. The House voted ​262-159 ⁠in favour ⁠of the Bill.The Bill, which will now be sent President Donald Trump for his signature, could result in significant U.S. tariffs on India. This Bill comes as New Delhi and Washington have been negotiating a preliminary trade deal, with India also increasing its purchase of Russian oil in comparison to last year. The President will have the authority, under the legislation, to waive sanctions in national interest.One-third of Delhi’s 70 ACs have fewer electors than the turnout in 2025 Assembly pollsIn more than one third of the 70 constituencies in Delhi, the number of deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process has been so high that the draft roll in these 24 seats have been left with fewer electors than the actual number of those who voted in the February 2025 Assembly elections – the most recently held in the Union Territory.These 24 ACs together had 49.1 lakh voters when Delhi went to polls, of which 28.9 lakh (58.9%) voted. However, the 24 ACs now have only 27.7 lakh voters, which is 1.23 lakh fewer than those who voted in 2025. The Tughlakabad constituency is where the SIR process has made the deepest cut in these terms. In the draft rolls now, there are only 1,00,386 electors, which is 14,575 fewer than the 1,14,961 voters who turned out to vote in 2025.Supreme Court asks CBSE to consider implementing 3-language policy for Class 6 from next yearThe Supreme Court on Thursday asked the CBSE to consider implementing its policy mandating the study of three languages, including two native Indian languages, for Class 6 students from the next academic session starting 2027.The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, told the Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana that it would consider the suggestion. Justice Bagchi, at the outset, said that just to comfort the children, the CBSE should consider deferring the implementation of the three-language policy from the next academic year.Govt denies foreign pressure behind UPI MDR, says charge will help Indian UPI appsThe introduction of the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will help more domestic payments companies to operate under UPI, contrary to the allegation that the charge has been introduced under external pressure, the government said on Thursday (September 17, 2026). The public sector National Payments Council of India (NPCI) on Wednesday announced the MDR structure on UPI payments prompting criticism from the Opposition and allegations that U.S. pressure had pushed the Indian government to introduce this charge.“Contrary to misleading claims made that MDR has been introduced under external pressure, introduction of MDR on select high-value transactions will enable more domestic companies to operate under UPI,” the Department of Financial Services (DFS) said on X. “Thus, the action of introduction of MDR is a step in protecting India’s sovereignty in the electronic payment ecosystem.”Nashik stray dog menace: Protesters release puppies on civic official’s tableA protest over the growing stray-dog menace in Maharashtra’s Nashik district took an unusual turn when the protesters brought two puppies into a municipal office and released them on the chief officer’s table. A viral video of the incident on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) shows Shiv Sena (UBT) district youth wing functionary Vikram Randhave pulling out the dogs from two sacks and placing them on the table Dheeraj Bhamre, chief officer of the Niphad Nagar Panchayat.“We have been trying to highlight the stray dog menace to you since the last six months, but you ignored our pleas,” Mr. Randhave is seen telling the stunned official, who informs him that the civic body has already issued work tenders to deal with the stray dog menace. “If you fail to act, we will bring more dogs to your office next time. We will also bring children and women affected by the problem,” Mr. Randhave said, announcing the sequel to this “who let the dogs out” drama.MEA ‘monitoring developments’ of Russia sanctions bill in U.S. CongressThe Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday (September 17, 2026) it has noted the passage of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the U.S. Congress and is monitoring further developments on the matter. The Bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives authorises the U.S. President to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and other countries for buying oil and gas from Russia. The Bill, which will now be sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, could result in significant U.S. tariffs on India.In a statement issued on Thursday (September 17), the MEA said that they have raised the issue with various U.S. interlocutors. “Its potential implications for not just the bilateral relationship but also the international energy market have been very clearly articulated by the Indian side,” reads the statement.T.N. CM Vijay returns from U.K. with ₹15,300-crore investment commitmentsTamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, who visited the United Kingdom to meet industrialists and attract investments, returned to Chennai on Thursday (September 17, 2026). He secured investment commitments worth ₹15,300 crore, which are expected to create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to a statement from the State government office.Mr. Vijay met Indian High Commissioner Kumaran Periyasamy and held discussions on joint ventures between India and the U.K. under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). As Mr. Vijay had already announced in the Assembly his government’s intention to create a world-class Sports City, he visited the Silverstone Motor Racing Circuit to hold discussions on modern car-racing technology and security arrangements. U.S. House passes Russia sanctions bill seeking to impose up to 100% tariffs on India, others.