Citing an ongoing fuel crisis due the US-Iran war in West Asia, the government-run Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) in Delhi, popularly known as Pusa Institute, has asked students of undergraduate batches, master’s degree first year, and PhD first year, to leave the campus for their homes, and their classes will be conducted online from April 6, 2026. In all, nearly 2,200 students would be affected.. Protests are being held by Opposition parties and trade unions over the reported shortage of LPG. The government has assured there’s enough supply and backup. (Saikat Paul/ANI Photo). Follow: Live updates on West Asia war impact on India. The IARI is one of India’s premier national institutions; it is financed and administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).. The official notice dated March 25, by Suresh Kumar, senior registrar, cited “the current energy crisis being faced by the country and its impact being felt by the institute” in running hostel messes. He said the decision was taken “based on inhouse due diligence in consultation with students’ representatives”.. As per the notice, classes for all undergraduate batches, master’s first year and PhD first year batches (academic year 2025-26) will be conducted online.. “Students of these batches shall leave the campus for their respective homes till further communication from The Graduate School. Students should note that it will not be optional,” it read.. “Second year onwards batches of Masters/MTech and PhD programs being run at IARI New Delhi and its sister institutes shall continue to attend offline classes and pursue their research as before,” it added.. “Professors shall submit to the Joint Director Education, plan to conduct practicals of the courses taught online, upon students’ joining back. This order is being issued in compliance to the directive of the competent authority, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi,” it further read. 

 The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA India) has raised urgent safety concerns over the continued operation of commercial flights into regions affected by the West Asia conflict, warning that such decisions could endanger lives and require immediate government intervention.. ALPA India has criticized individual airlines’ risk assessments and called for clarity on war-risk insurance for pilots. (Reuters). In a letter addressed to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the pilots’ body said operating flights “into, or in close proximity to, an active war zone” poses a serious and unacceptable risk to passengers, crew and aircraft, and described such decisions as “wilful endangerment of human life”.. ALPA India said it had earlier flagged the issue on March 18, following which the DGCA issued a safety advisory on March 19 asking airlines to carry out their own risk assessments.. However, the association criticised this approach, arguing that conflict-zone risk assessment should be led by governments and not left to individual airlines.. ALSO READ | Big relief for Indian flyers, govt mandates free allocation of 60% flight seats. Referring to global aviation norms, the pilots’ body noted that while the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) allows operators to conduct their own assessments, active conflict zones require “centralised, authoritative oversight” and timely communication by state authorities.. It added that airlines lack the intelligence and surveillance capabilities needed to evaluate threats in war-like situations.. The association also flagged concerns over lack of clarity on war-risk insurance coverage for pilots operating on such routes. It said crew members have sought confirmation on whether insurance remains valid in conflict zones, but no formal assurance or documentation has been provided so far, raising questions about liability and protection in case of an incident.. ALSO READ | Rohit Pawar claims factual errors in plane crash report, suspects cover-up. ALPA India further pointed to past incidents where civilian aircraft were shot down during conflicts, including Iran Air Flight 655, Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, and Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, to underline the risks involved in operating near war zones.. In its letter, the pilots’ body has urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA to take immediate steps, including:. Suspending flights to high-risk conflict zones until a comprehensive risk assessment is conducted. Issuing clear and binding operational guidelines aligned with international best practices. Launching an inquiry into Air India’s decision-making process, including operational and crew scheduling roles. ALSO READ | PM Modi’s aircraft en route to Israel becomes world’s most tracked flight. Ensuring full disclosure and verification of insurance coverage, especially war-risk clauses. The association has sought an urgent response from the regula 

 India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said he has “a very productive discussion” with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference (WTOMC). The meet is taking place from March 26-29 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.. Goyal and Greer during the WTO meet in Cameroon. (Photo: X/@PiyushGoyal). “Exchanged views on the #WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in the India-US BTA negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties,” Goyal posted on X.. About two weeks, amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, and after the US Supreme Court struck down most of Donald Trump’s tariffs, India’s commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal had said the signing of the bilateral deal would happen only after a new tariff framework is in place.. India and the US in February announced the finalisation of a framework for the first phase of their bilateral trade agreement. Under the proposed framework, the US had agreed to lower tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent.. However, the tariff structure in the US has since changed following a Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s sweeping tariffs. After the ruling, Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on all countries for 150 days starting February 24, the PTI report added.. Amid these developments, the meeting between the chief negotiators of India and the US was also postponed. The two sides were scheduled to meet last month to finalise the legal text of the pact, which had earlier been expected to be signed this month.. The commerce secretary had said, “The deal was to be signed in March. (But) When we said this, that time, the Supreme Court judgment on IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs had not come. Now, with the Supreme Court judgment on IEEPA tariffs, the tariffs per se don’t exist. Now there are tariffs under Article 122… around 10 per cent. So the deal that we finalise and sign has to be against the tariff structure or the comparative advantage that India gets in the US market.”. Apart from the US, the government said that it is currently negotiating six Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with different countries and regional groups as part of efforts to expand trade partnerships.. Negotiations are ongoing with Australia, Sri Lanka, Peru, Chile, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and Israel, another report from news agency ANI added. 

 March 27 – Australia in December became the world’s first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them from platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook.. Factbox-From Australia to Europe, countries move to curb children’s social media access. The ban comes amid mounting concerns over the impact of social media on children’s health and safety.. Below is a summary of what countries and companies are doing to regulate access to social media.. AUSTRALIA. A landmark law forced major social media platforms to block minors under 16 from December 10, 2025, one of the world’s toughest regulations targeting major tech platforms.. Companies that fail to comply could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million .. AUSTRIA. Austria will ban social media for children up to the age of 14, the conservative-led, three-party government said on March 27. Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and junior digitisation minister Alexander Proell said draft legislation for the ban would be finalised by June.. BRAZIL. Brazil’s Digital Statute of Children and Adolescents, which requires minors under 16 to link their social media accounts to a legal guardian and bans addictive platform features such as infinite scroll, came into force on March 17.. BRITAIN. Britain is considering an Australia-style ban on social media and tighter AI chatbots safety rules for children under 16 as early as this year, technology minister Liz Kendall said in February.. Social media bans, curfews and app time limits will be tested in the homes of 300 teenagers to gauge the impact on children’s sleep, family life and schoolwork, the government said on March 24.. CHINA. China’s cyberspace regulator has put in place a so-called “minor mode” programme that requires device-level restrictions and app-specific rules to restrict screen time depending on age.. DENMARK. Denmark said in November it would ban social media for children under 15, while parents could provide access to certain platforms to kids down to the age of 13.. FRANCE. France’s National Assembly in January approved legislation to ban children under 15 from social media amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks. The bill needs to pass through the Senate before a final vote in the lower house.. GERMANY. Minors aged 13-16 are allowed to use social media only if their parents provide consent. But child protection advocates say controls are insufficient.. GREECE. Greece is “very close” to announcing a social media ban for children under 15, a senior government source told Reuters on February 3.. INDIA. Karnataka, home to the tech hub of Bengaluru, on March 6 became the first Indian state to ban social media for children under 16. Neighbouring states of Goa and Andhra Pradesh are also weighing restrictions.. India’s chief economic adviser called for age restrictions on social media platforms in January, describing them as “predatory” in how they keep users engaged online.. I 

 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.