August 18, 2025

Big news from the political arena! Maharashtra Governor and former Coimbatore MP, C.P. Radhakrishnan, has been chosen as the National Democratic Alliance’s Vice-Presidential candidate. This announcement came on Sunday, August 17, 2025, after the BJP Parliamentary Board gave its nod in the presence of none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Radhakrishnan, aged 68, brings rich experience as a two-time former MP and as a former Tamil Nadu BJP president. In another spicy development, the government revealed details about the new GST regime, which PM Modi spotlighted during his Independence Day speech. This new GST plan will focus on the people who matter most – the poor, MSMEs, the middle class, and farmers. Officials say it will be “consumer-centric” to help ease daily life and boost the economy. On the electoral front, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar shared an important update. Around 65 lakh names were dropped from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The list of deleted names has been published quickly on district websites, within 56 hours following the Supreme Court’s order. CEC Kumar explained that the revision was needed because political groups had complained about errors in voter lists for over 20 years. Meanwhile, former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna spoke to a parliamentary committee on the ‘one nation, one election’ Bill. He made a sharp point: “The constitutional validity of a proposal in no way amounts to a pronouncement upon the desirability or necessity of its provisions.” In simple words, just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is always a good idea! In more real-world news, an Air India plane headed for Delhi had to cancel its take-off from Kochi airport on Sunday evening due to a technical issue. Lok Sabha member and Congress leader Hibi Eden was onboard. Crossing continents, Air Canada announced it has stopped plans to restart flights after a union of 10,000 flight attendants refused a return to work order. This strike has been disrupting travel worldwide, affecting some 130,000 passengers each day during busy summer travel. Closer to home, 20 tourists faced a tense situation at Ranthambore National Park when their safari vehicle broke down. Stranded in the wild on Saturday evening, their guide left to arrange another vehicle. Officials have launched a probe to understand what went wrong. Internationally, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic raised the hammer on protesters who rioted across the country. After days of unrest that challenged his stricter rule, he vowed a “tough response” to the demonstrations. On a diplomatic note, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting India for two days starting August 18. He is set to meet PM Modi on August 19, just days before Modi’s planned trip to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. This meeting is expected to be a key moment for India-China relations. And in the world of big power diplomacy, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a summit with then-President Donald Trump to provide Ukraine with security guarantees similar to NATO’s collective defense. This deal aimed at ending the brutal three-and-a-half-year war could change the future of European peace. This Sunday brought a whirlwind of big stories - from politics to protests, flights to foreign diplomacy, all buzz-worthy and full of drama!

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Tags: C.p. radhakrishnan, Vice-presidential candidate, Nda, Gst regime, Bihar electoral rolls, Air india flight, Serbia protests, India-china relations,