On the historic night of 1st July 2017, India embarked on a transformative journey in its tax landscape with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "a path-breaking legislation for New India," GST replaced a fragmented and complex indirect tax regime that burdened businesses and consumers alike. Before GST, the tax framework consisted of numerous levies such as excise duty, service tax, VAT, CST, and others, each with its own set of compliance challenges and inefficiencies. This multiplicity not only increased the cost of doing business but also hindered seamless interstate movement of goods due to tax barriers.

GST unified India's tax system, creating a single market that removed interstate barriers and boosted operational efficiency. It ended tax cascading by allowing businesses to claim input tax credit across the supply chain, reducing overall tax burden and simplifying compliance. This reform also enhanced transparency, accountability, and economic growth by rationalizing rates and standardizing procedures, aligning with India's vision of 'Ek Bharat – Sreshtha Bharat'.

Bengaluru-based SatSure, a full-stack satellite Earth Observation (EO) and Decision Intelligence company, on Monday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space, a leading full-stack space solutions provider with proven expertise in satellite platforms, launch services, and ground station infrastructure.

This strategic partnership aims to unify the two companies’ end-to-end, indigenously developed capabilities across the upstream and downstream segments of the space value chain, addressing the needs of both strategic and commercial stakeholders with high-reliability, home-grown technology.

A prominent Hindu spiritual leader has been recognised by New York City officials for his decades of community work and spiritual leadership.

Radhanath Swami, a leading figure in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), was presented with the New York City honour at an event at the organisation's Bhakti Center in Manhattan's East Village.

The event, titled "Foundation of Future", brought together city officials and members of the Hindu spiritual community to celebrate Radhanath Swami's contribution to New York's diverse religious landscape.

The Centre has issued model rules for the felling of trees on agricultural land in a bid to promote agroforestry with the aim of doubling farmers' incomes, increasing tree cover outside forests and mitigating climate change.

In a letter sent to all state governments on June 19, the environment ministry said the objective of 'Model Rules for Felling of Trees in Agricultural Lands' is to enhance the ease of doing business in agroforestry and incentivise farmers to integrate trees into their farming systems without facing undue procedural hurdles.

The government has been promoting agroforestry to double farmers' income, enhance tree cover outside forests, mitigate climate change, reduce timber imports and ensure sustainable land use. It also supports India's climate goals under the Paris Agreement.

In today’s fast-moving world, the role of a doctor is no longer limited to diagnosing and treating illness. With smartphones in every hand and health advice flooding social media, doctors now face a new kind of challenge—helping patients make sense of it all.

The patient-doctor relationship is undergoing a noticeable shift. What was once built on deep trust and deference is increasingly taking on a more transactional tone, similar to the dynamic between a client and a service provider. This change has been driven by growing health awareness, widespread access to information via social media, and a more consumer-like approach to healthcare. As a result, doctors today find themselves doing much more than diagnosing and treating. Most important, they are helping patients see through misinformation, helping them interpret health data from apps and wearables, and offering reassurance in the face of rising anxiety.

The controversial immigrant remittance tax has been further reduced to 1% in the latest version of the bill as introduced in the Senate, reports Politico.

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill has introduced a ‘tax on remittance’ made by immigrants living in America. The US House of Representatives enacted the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ in May 2025. It is now being debated in the United States Senate and will be voted on.

Called the ‘Excise tax on remittance transfers’, the newly proposed provision initially imposed a 5% excise tax on remittance transfers. Before being passed by the House, there were some amendments to it. The tax on remittance was reduced to 3.5% of the amount remitted by immigrants to their home countries, including India.

Bihar has become the first state in the country to launch e-Voting facilities using mobile applications in municipal bodies elections and by-polls being held in the state today. Polling is taking place in Six Nagar Panchayat and 36 different other municipal bodies. Voting began at 7 am and will conclude by 5 pm. For e-Voting, voters can cast their votes from till 1 pm from their homes.

State Election Commissioner Deepak Prasad called it a historic day.
In Bihar, by rolling out e-Voting feature today in municipal bodies polling the State Election Commission has added another feather in its hat, by incorporating a big technological innovation to enhance voter turnout. It will support the motto of inclusive voting which is sacrosanct in democracy. It may prove a solution to voter apathy which has been witnessed in urban areas.

The State Election Commission has so far introduced FRS- Face Recognition System for voter verification , OCR Optical Character Recognition system in counting of votes and digital lock for EVM making it a pioneer body in adoption of wide range of technology in election process of Panchayati Raj and Urban local bodies.

In what could mark a turning point in modern biology, a team of scientists in the UK has officially begun work on building human DNA from scratch. Backed by a £10 million grant from the Wellcome Trust, the newly launched Synthetic Human Genome Project is being described as the world's first serious attempt to assemble parts of human genetic code molecule by molecule. The research, which builds upon the legacy of the Human Genome Project completed 25 years ago, seeks to go beyond reading DNA to actually constructing artificial chromosomes. If successful, it could lead to next-generation therapies that regenerate damaged organs, treat age-related illnesses, and even correct genetic disorders.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presented a Madhubani painting from Bihar to his Chinese counterpart General Don Jun during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers Meeting in China's Qingdao.

This painting has its origins in the Mithila region of Bihar. It is also known as Mithila or Madhubani art. It is characterised by line drawings filled in with bright colours and contrasts or patterns. These paintings are popular because of their tribal motifs and use of bright, earthy colours.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched ‘Tec-Verse 2025’, a two-day technology showcase, on June 27.

The event convened India’s leading research and development organisations to promote innovation, collaboration, and the commercialisation of indigenous technologies.

S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, inaugurated the event and outlined the Ministry’s vision to establish a unified innovation platform with active participation from its leading R&D institutions—C-DAC, C-MET, and SAMEER.

The initiative is aimed at creating a launchpad for Indian tech products with global relevance, encouraging early-stage industry participation, and aligning innovation with real-world demands.