The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued an advisory on the allotment of examination cities for candidates registered from Kuwait, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain for the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2026 Session 2, amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.. NTA issues advisory for Gulf candidates. (Representative photo). The advisory dated March 26 said that city intimation slips for candidates in Kuwait and Dubai have been released, while arrangements for candidates in Bahrain are still being finalised in coordination with the Embassy of India in Bahrain.. The Joint Entrance Examination (Main), or JEE (Main) 2026 Session 2, will be conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode from April 2 to April 8 at centres across India and a few cities abroad, the agency said in the advisory.. “The city intimation slips for candidates in Kuwait and Dubai have now been released,” the NTA said in the advisory, adding that “for the candidates registered from Bahrain, the NTA is in coordination with the Indian Embassy.”. The agency has also opened a window for candidates seeking a change in their allotted examination city. “For any change of examination cities for JEE (Main) 2026 Session 2, candidates may contact 011-40759000 or write an email to jeemain@nta.ac.in,” the advisory said.. Candidates have been asked to keep checking official websites for the latest updates.. NTA officials did not respond to HT’s queries.. JEE (Main) serves as the gateway to undergraduate engineering programmes at institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), and other centrally funded technical institutions.. The NTA conducted JEE Main 2026 Session 1 between January 21 and January 29, with 13.04 lakh candidates appearing out of over 13.5 lakh registered. The results were declared on February 16, 2026.. Based on JEE Main performance in both sessions, the top 2.5 lakh candidates qualify to appear for the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced), which is scheduled to be held on May 17, 2026, and will be conducted by IIT Roorkee. 

 The Congress has come out lashing at the Narendra Modi government after it cut excise duty by ₹10 each on petrol and diesel on Friday but did not pass on the benefit to the final consumer — meaning the rates at fuel stations stay the same.. Congress lashes out at Modi government for claiming that excise duty cuts on petrol, diesel will provide relief to consumers. (PTI). BJP leaders, from home minister Amit Shah to defence minister Rajnath Singh, thanked Prime Minister Modi, meanwhile, for “providing relief to citizens” by reducing the levy.. However, Congress leaders have questioned the government’s claims, asking whether the excise duty cut will actually reduce fuel prices for consumers.. Congress leader Pawan Khera argued that the excise duty cuts are for oil marketing companies and not a relief for the common people, as they will end up paying the same amount even after the reduction. He also said that the government has raised excise duty 12 times in the last 11 and a half years, and cutting it now is no favour to the people of India.. “Look at the audacity of (oil minister) Hardeep Puri. He says they want to provide relief to the people of India so they don’t face the burden, and therefore the Government of India is taking the burden. The Government of India is the government of the people of India. The money belongs to the people of India,” Khera added.. Further, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of slashing excise duty to “influence” assembly elections in four key states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Assam — and the UT of Puducherry in April.. In a post on X, Ramesh pointed out that when global crude oil prices fell over the past 12 years, the government did not reduce consumer fuel prices in India. He asserted that the latest move was made solely due to the impending elections.. “When global crude oil prices fell, as they did on seven different occasions in the past 12 years, consumer prices in India were not reduced. Today’s announcement was because of assembly elections. Wait till April 30,” the post read. Voting for all these elections ends on April 29, though results are scheduled for May 4.. DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka, also reiterated his party colleagues’ stance that the government is acting to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.. “The Government of India is burdening us… they are doing it for the election. The Nayara company has already increased prices. We will highlight this issue to the people of the state,” Shivakumar told reporters, referring to private company Nayara Energy’s price-hike decision.. Asked if the state government would take any measures to bring down prices, he said, “We will talk about it later.”. Also Red: Will petrol, diesel prices go down after excise duty cut by govt amid Iran war? Big question answered. What does the government say on excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel?. The price of petrol a 

 The Congress has come out lashing at the Narendra Modi government after it cut excise duty by ₹10 each on petrol and diesel on Friday but did not pass on the benefit to the final consumer — meaning the rates at fuel stations stay the same.. Congress lashes out at Modi government for claiming that excise duty cuts on petrol, diesel will provide relief to consumers. (PTI). BJP leaders, from home minister Amit Shah to defence minister Rajnath Singh, thanked Prime Minister Modi, meanwhile, for “providing relief to citizens” by reducing the levy.. However, Congress leaders have questioned the government’s claims, asking whether the excise duty cut will actually reduce fuel prices for consumers.. Congress leader Pawan Khera argued that the excise duty cuts are for oil marketing companies and not a relief for the common people, as they will end up paying the same amount even after the reduction. He also said that the government has raised excise duty 12 times in the last 11 and a half years, and cutting it now is no favour to the people of India.. “Look at the audacity of (oil minister) Hardeep Puri. He says they want to provide relief to the people of India so they don’t face the burden, and therefore the Government of India is taking the burden. The Government of India is the government of the people of India. The money belongs to the people of India,” Khera added.. Further, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of slashing excise duty to “influence” assembly elections in four key states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Assam — and the UT of Puducherry in April.. In a post on X, Ramesh pointed out that when global crude oil prices fell over the past 12 years, the government did not reduce consumer fuel prices in India. He asserted that the latest move was made solely due to the impending elections.. “When global crude oil prices fell, as they did on seven different occasions in the past 12 years, consumer prices in India were not reduced. Today’s announcement was because of assembly elections. Wait till April 30,” the post read. Voting for all these elections ends on April 29, though results are scheduled for May 4.. DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka, also reiterated his party colleagues’ stance that the government is acting to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.. “The Government of India is burdening us… they are doing it for the election. The Nayara company has already increased prices. We will highlight this issue to the people of the state,” Shivakumar told reporters, referring to private company Nayara Energy’s price-hike decision.. Asked if the state government would take any measures to bring down prices, he said, “We will talk about it later.”. Also Red: Will petrol, diesel prices go down after excise duty cut by govt amid Iran war? Big question answered. What does the government say on excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel?. The price of petrol a 

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the first phase of the Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, March 28. After multiple delays, the airport is finally set for inauguration, and to become the second international airport serving the Delhi-NCR region.. A view of New Noida International Airport at Jewar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the airport on March 28, in Greater Noida, India. (HT Photos ). At 12pm on Saturday, PM will inaugurate phase 1 of the much-awaited airport and will address a public gathering on the occassion. The government termed the airport as ‘major international gateway for the National Capital Region (NCR)’ that represents a significant step in strengthening the country’s airport infrastructure and enhancing regional and international connectivity.. The airport will serve as the primary international airport for major Uttar Pradesh cities such as Noida, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Mathura and Agra. It will also act as a gateway to several pilgrimage and tourist destinations.. Also read: Married man staying in live-in relationship not a crime: Allahabad high court. Initial commencement date for the airport was December 1, 2024 which was deferred to April 2025. It was again postponed to September 1,2025 and then finally to early 2026.. Here is all you need to know about the Noida International Airport:. Noida International Airport will be the first airport in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with a 70 million capacity, complementing the existing 110 million passenger capacity at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in neighbouring Delhi.. The two airports, IGIA and Noida International Airport, will function as an integrated aviation system that will ease congestion, expand passenger capacity, and position Delhi-NCR among leading global aviation hubs, the government said.. Phase I of the airport is developed at a total investment of around Rs.11,200 crore under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. It is among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, the government said.. While the airport will initially have a passenger handling capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA), it can handle up to 70 MPPA once complete. As per the master plan submitted by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), initial passenger traffic is forecast at 4 MPPA.. The runway of the airport, that spans over 3,900-metres, can handle wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777-300ER, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.. The government said the airport also incorporates a cargo ecosystem, including a multi-modal cargo hub featuring an integrated cargo terminal and logistics zones. The cargo facility is designed to handle over 2.5 lakh metric tonnes annually, expandable to around 18 lakh metric tonnes, and includes a dedicated 40 acre Maintenance, Repair and Overh 

 A former US official is not pleased with the prospect of Pakistan becoming a negotiator in mediating peace between Iran and the US amid the ongoing war. Questioning Pakistan’s credibility former US Army combatant, Colonel Douglas Macgregor (retd) said that Israel wouldn’t view the country as neutral in the negotiations and would “laugh off” the prospect of Islamabad as the venue for talks.. US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on February 13, 2025. (Reuters). Instead, the official proposed that India should step in and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should give US President Donald Trump a call.. “If the Israelis heard that they were supposed to show up in Islamabad for a meeting, I think they’d laugh it off. This is ridiculous. Why should we trust anything those people say? That’s not true for India. India is in a very good position that way,” he was quoted as saying in a report by news agency ANI.. ‘More comfortable with India’. Macgregor, who served as the advisor to the US Secretary of Defence in the first Donald Trump Administration, finds India much more well-positioned to offer assistance because PM Modi commands global respect and maintains working relationships with multiple international leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders in Tehran. He also cited PM Modi’s recent official visit to Israel and said: “The Israelis are comfortable with him. We are more comfortable with India.”. Also Read: ‘PM Modi and I, two people that get things done’: Trump’s surprise praise. Pakistan, on the other hand, has its own economic concerns to tend to, the US official said. “For the Pakistanis to offer help is sort of like a man who is in a burning building offering you a spare room in the building. Pakistan’s not going to be viewed in any way, shape or form as neutral by the Israelis,” Macgregor said.. “They’re going to view Pakistan as part of the problem. Why would you go to Pakistan to Islamabad to try and close a deal, if you will, on ending the war? That’s an impossibility. It strikes me as just ludicrous nonsense,” he added.. ‘Pakistan not civilisational, India is’. The geopolitical risk advisor also said that Pakistan cannot be considered a civilisational state, but that is not the case for India. “Pakistan is not what I would call a civilisational state. It’s part of a civilisational complex. But India itself is one of these core civilisational states, which is desperately needed, you know, in the world today,” Macgregor said.. He said that PM Modi should speak to his advisors and call President Trump amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. “I think we would be better off if India exerted a great deal more influence in a place like the Indian Ocean and its surroundings,” Col Macgregor said.. He said that he cannot foresee direct negotiations between Iran and US-Israel and said that if there’s anyone Trum