"We are the third largest producer of electricity through renewable energy,” said Pralhad Joshi, Minister of New and Renewable Energy, at the WION World Pulse summit in New Delhi.

WION World Pulse | India is the 3rd largest producer of electricity through renewable energy

WION World Pulse | India is the 3rd largest producer of electricity through renewable energy, says minister Pralhad Joshi

<p>When India’s National Investigation Agency swept up six Ukrainian nationals and one American citizen at airports in Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata last week, the immediate charge was terrorism. But the geography of the alleged conspiracy pointed somewhere older and deeper: a border corridor in Mizoram that, for decades, has been one of the Golden Triangle’s most reliable entry points into India carrying first opium, then heroin, then industrial-scale methamphetamine, and now, if the NIA’s allegations hold, drones.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The accused allegedly entered Mizoram without mandatory Restricted Area Permits, crossed into Myanmar, met ethnic armed groups hostile to India and helped ferry large consignments of drones from Europe into the region, according to NIA submissions before Patiala House Court in New Delhi this week. A Delhi court has remanded them in custody until March 27. All charges remain at the allegation and investigation stage.</p><h2><strong>THE MACHINE BEHIND IT</strong></h2><p>No drug charges have been filed in this specific case. The connection, however, is structural. The ethnic armed organisations the NIA names operate across the same geography, Myanmar’s Shan and Chin states, that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime identifies as the epicentre of the world’s largest illicit methamphetamine and opium economy. In Myanmar, the drug trade and the gun trade have long been financed by the same hands.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Myanmar overtook Afghanistan as the world’s largest illicit opium producer in 2023, following the Taliban’s near-total ban on poppy cultivation. By 2025, UNODC data showed opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar had climbed a further 17 per cent to approximately 53,100 hectares, a ten-year high, with the sharpest increases in areas that border India directly. Simultaneously, methamphetamine seizures across East and Southeast Asia reached 236 tonnes in 2024, a 24 per cent rise over an already record-breaking prior year, even as wholesale prices fell, a sign, UNODC noted, that supply was outpacing enforcement by a significant margin.</p><h2><strong>INDIA’S NUMBERS</strong></h2><p>India is absorbing the consequences in hard numbers. Nationwide seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants, the category that includes methamphetamine, more than doubled from 34 quintals in 2023 to 80 quintals in 2024, India’s Press Information Bureau reported in 2025. The total value of all narcotics seized across India in 2024 rose roughly 55 per cent year-on-year to approximately 25,330 crore rupees. In November 2024 alone, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted a Myanmarese fishing vessel in the Andaman Sea carrying approximately 5,500 kilograms of methamphetamine, the single largest drug haul in the service’s history, according to an official Coast Guard release.</p><h2><strong>NAMING IT FOR WHAT IT IS</strong></h2><p>That trajectory has forced a vocabulary shift at the highest levels. At the launch of the International Narcotics Control Board’s 2023 Annual Report at UN House in New Delhi in April 2024, India’s Narcotics Control Bureau Deputy Director General Monika Ashish Batra stated that investigations were showing drug proceeds “increasingly being used to fund terrorism, and to support armed groups” a framing she described as rising narco-terrorism. The INCB report itself warned that drug-trafficking profits in South Asia were being channelled to fund armed groups. Earlier, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah has separately stated that drug money is financing Naxalism, terrorism and separatism, with the NIA and Enforcement Directorate deployed to financially choke these networks.</p><h2><strong>THE FORENSIC TRAIL</strong></h2><p>On the eastern front, Indian security agencies and researchers at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses have for years documented that outfits including NSCN(K) and anti-talks ULFA are embedded in the drug economy of Kachin and Shan states, using opium cultivation and trafficking revenue to sustain cadres, purchase weapons and fund operations.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>While the record on India’s western front already carries the argument in court-filed detail. In the Salaya case, the NIA has told a Gujarat court that 500 kilograms of heroin smuggled by sea from Pakistan was part of a “transnational narco-terror conspiracy” to finance Lashkar-e-Taiba, with masterminds traced to Pakistan, the UAE, Italy and Australia, according to NIA charge sheets. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Handwara network investigated since 2020 yielded heroin seizures, over 1.15 crore rupees in cash and 91 lakh rupees buried in a dismissed BSF officer’s field,&nbsp; described by the NIA in its charge sheet as drug proceeds destined for Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.</p><h2><strong>THE ESCALATION</strong></h2><p>The NIA’s latest case, if its allegations are proven, would mark a qualitative escalation in that calculus. Narco-funded ethnic armed groups now allegedly stand accused of acquiring drone technology capable of supporting more sophisticated operations against Indian security forces, and of using a European supply chain to do it. The agency has told the Delhi court it is seeking custody partly to “ascertain the alleged source of funding,” a phrase that suggests investigators are already following the money and asking whether it leads back through the same narco-financing structures.</p>

NIA’s arrest of foreign nationals in a Mizoram-linked case highlights a deeper nexus between drugs, arms and insurgency. With Myanmar’s booming opium and meth trade, agencies warn of rising narco-terrorism

When India’s National Investigation Agency swept up six Ukrainian nationals and one American citizen at airports in Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata last week, the immediate charge was terrorism. But the geography of the alleged conspiracy pointed somewhere older and deeper: a border corridor in Mizoram that, for decades, has been one of the Golden Triangle’s most reliable entry points into India carrying first opium, then heroin, then industrial-scale methamphetamine, and now, if the NIA’s allegations hold, drones. The accused allegedly entered Mizoram without mandatory Restricted Area Permits, crossed into Myanmar, met ethnic armed groups hostile to India and helped ferry large consignments of drones from Europe into the region, according to NIA submissions before Patiala House Court in New Delhi this week. A Delhi court has remanded them in custody until March 27. All charges remain at the allegation and investigation stage. THE MACHINE BEHIND IT No drug charges have been filed in this specific case. The connection, however, is structural. The ethnic armed organisations the NIA names operate across the same geography, Myanmar’s Shan and Chin states, that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime identifies as the epicentre of the world’s largest illicit methamphetamine and opium economy. In Myanmar, the drug trade and the gun trade have long been financed by the same hands. Myanmar overtook Afghanistan as the world’s largest illicit opium producer in 2023, following the Taliban’s near-total ban on poppy cultivation. By 2025, UNODC data showed opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar had climbed a further 17 per cent to approximately 53,100 hectares, a ten-year high, with the sharpest increases in areas that border India directly. Simultaneously, methamphetamine seizures across East and Southeast Asia reached 236 tonnes in 2024, a 24 per cent rise over an already record-breaking prior year, even as wholesale prices fell, a sign, UNODC noted, that supply was outpacing enforcement by a significant margin. INDIA’S NUMBERS India is absorbing the consequences in hard numbers. Nationwide seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants, the category that includes methamphetamine, more than doubled from 34 quintals in 2023 to 80 quintals in 2024, India’s Press Information Bureau reported in 2025. The total value of all narcotics seized across India in 2024 rose roughly 55 per cent year-on-year to approximately 25,330 crore rupees. In November 2024 alone, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted a Myanmarese fishing vessel in the Andaman Sea carrying approximately 5,500 kilograms of methamphetamine, the single largest drug haul in the service’s history, according to an official Coast Guard release. NAMING IT FOR WHAT IT IS That trajectory has forced a vocabulary shift at the highest levels. At the launch of the International Narcotics Control Board’s 2023 Annual Report at UN House in New Delhi in April 2024, India’s Narcotics Control Bureau Deputy Director General Monika Ashish Batra stated that investigations were showing drug proceeds “increasingly being used to fund terrorism, and to support armed groups” a framing she described as rising narco-terrorism. The INCB report itself warned that drug-trafficking profits in South Asia were being channelled to fund armed groups. Earlier, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah has separately stated that drug money is financing Naxalism, terrorism and separatism, with the NIA and Enforcement Directorate deployed to financially choke these networks. THE FORENSIC TRAIL On the eastern front, Indian security agencies and researchers at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses have for years documented that outfits including NSCN(K) and anti-talks ULFA are embedded in the drug economy of Kachin and Shan states, using opium cultivation and trafficking revenue to sustain cadres, purchase weapons and fund operations. While the record on India’s western front already carries the argument in court-filed detail. In the Salaya case, the NIA has told a Gujarat court that 500 kilograms of heroin smuggled by sea from Pakistan was part of a “transnational narco-terror conspiracy” to finance Lashkar-e-Taiba, with masterminds traced to Pakistan, the UAE, Italy and Australia, according to NIA charge sheets. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Handwara network investigated since 2020 yielded heroin seizures, over 1.15 crore rupees in cash and 91 lakh rupees buried in a dismissed BSF officer’s field, described by the NIA in its charge sheet as drug proceeds destined for Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. THE ESCALATION The NIA’s latest case, if its allegations are proven, would mark a qualitative escalation in that calculus. Narco-funded ethnic armed groups now allegedly stand accused of acquiring drone technology capable of supporting more sophisticated operations against Indian security forces, and of using a European supply chain to do it. The agency has told the Delhi court it is seeking custody partly to “ascertain the alleged source of funding,” a phrase that suggests investigators are already following the money and asking whether it leads back through the same narco-financing structures.

<p>NIA’s arrest of foreign nationals in a Mizoram-linked case highlights a deeper nexus between drugs, arms and insurgency. With Myanmar’s booming opium and meth trade, agencies warn of rising narco-terrorism</p>

Drones, drugs and insurgents: The Golden Triangle is arming India’s Northeast?

A massive fire in Indore has left at least six people dead, according to reports.

Initial reports suggest the blaze may have been sparked by a charging station, though the exact cause is yet to be officially confirmed. Authorities are investigating the incident.

India: Indore Fire Kills 6, Charging Station Suspected As Cause | WION Breaking

Indian authorities have detained seven foreign nationals, including six from Ukraine and one from the United States, over alleged illegal entry into the northeast. The National Investigation Agency is probing claims that the group entered Mizoram without valid permits. Investigators are also looking into suspicions that they may have been involved in training rebel groups operating across the border in Myanmar.


BREAKING: Seven Foreign Nationals Held In India Over Illegal Entry And Rebel Links

India holds an interministerial briefing on the escalating West Asia conflict, reviewing security, trade, and energy concerns. New Delhi firmly dismisses reports of any India-Iran deal, calling them inaccurate. The government stresses monitoring of the situation while prioritizing safety of citizens and stability amid rising geopolitical tensions.

BREAKING: India Briefs on West Asia Crisis, Dismisses Reports of Any India-Iran Deal

India conducts an interministerial briefing on the escalating West Asia conflict. The government confirms that the mortal remains of two Indian nationals have been brought back home. Officials review the security situation, evacuation efforts, and safety of Indians abroad as regional tensions continue to rise.

Breaking: India Holds West Asia Briefing, Mortal Remains of Two Nationals Brought Home 

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, has warned against the politicisation of religion and condemned violence carried out in its name.

Speaking at the UN, Parvathaneni also criticised attempts to “weaponise” platforms like the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) against India.

He called for an end to the misuse of religion for political purposes and reiterated India’s stance against all forms of religious violence.

The remarks come amid ongoing global debates over religious intolerance and the use of international forums to raise politically sensitive issues.

India At UN Warns Against Politicising Religion, Slams OIC ‘Weaponisation’  Against India | WION

The Indian government reassures citizens there is no shortage of cooking gas while promoting a shift to piped natural gas for households. Incentives aim to reduce reliance on LPG cylinders, enhance energy efficiency, and support cleaner cooking solutions, marking a major step toward modern and sustainable household energy infrastructure.

LPG Crisis: India Assures No Cooking Gas Shortage, Pushes Households to Switch to Piped Gas 

The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rainfall alert for Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, warning of possible flooding and landslides in affected regions. Residents are advised to take precautions, avoid low-lying areas, and monitor updates, as heavy rains are expected to continue over the next few days.

Heavy Rain Alert: Assam & Arunachal Brace for Heavy Rain, IMD Issues Alert

The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker Shivalik arrived at Mundra port in Gujarat on Monday (March 16) after safely crossing the Strait of Hormuz, amid ongoing tensions in West Asia. Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, were granted transit through the strategic waterway by Iranian authorities. While Shivalik has reached Mundra, Nanda Devi is expected to arrive at Kandla port on March 17. Earlier, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Shipping Ministry, had confirmed the vessels’ movement and the safety of Indian seafarers in the region.


Fuel Crisis: Indian LPG Tanker Arrives After Safe Sail Through Hormuz

India is heading into a major electoral season after the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for assembly polls in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Voting will take place between April 9 and April 29, with Tamil Nadu voting for 234 assembly seats on April 23 and West Bengal holding polls in two phases. The results for all five assemblies will be declared on May 4, setting the stage for a closely watched political contest across key states.


India Sets Poll Dates For Five Assemblies, Voting Begins April 9

Amid rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, India is expected to rely heavily on the Indian Navy to safeguard its vital oil shipping routes. With a large share of India’s crude imports passing through this narrow maritime chokepoint and tensions involving Iran raising fears of disruption, New Delhi’s naval strategy in the Gulf is under sharp focus as the Hormuz crisis deepens.


Strait Of Hormuz Crisis: India To Rely On It's Own Navy To Secure Hormuz 

Amid disruptions to global energy supply caused by the ongoing West Asia conflict, demand for LPG refills in India has surged sharply. The IndianOil One app, operated by Indian Oil Corporation, has climbed to the top of app store rankings as millions of consumers rush to book domestic gas cylinders.

India LPG Crisis: Panic-Bookings Drive App Downloads

The Indian government has reassured citizens that fuel production remains stable despite escalating tensions in West Asia. Petrol and diesel output is sufficient to meet domestic demand, and no imports are required. Additionally, LPG supplies are ample, with digital booking rising to 87%, encouraging citizens to continue using online channels for hassle-free cylinder delivery. Authorities emphasise that there is no need for panic, and the country’s key energy sectors remain secure amid global uncertainty.


Iran War: India Confirms Stable Fuel Supply Despite West Asia War

The India-flagged vessel Jag Laadki has set sail from Fujairah to India, carrying crucial cargo amid rising tensions in the Gulf caused by the ongoing US-Iran war. This shipment highlights India’s efforts to secure energy and essential imports as the Strait of Hormuz remains a highly sensitive maritime corridor.


India Flagged Vessel Jag Laadki Sails for India From Fujairah

India has said it will rely on its own efforts to secure vital oil shipments passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions in West Asia. The move comes as the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran raises fears of disruptions to global energy supply routes.


India To Relay On Its Own Efforts to Secure Oil Through Hormuz 

Amid disruptions to global energy supply caused by the ongoing West Asia conflict, demand for LPG refills in India has surged sharply. The IndianOil One app, operated by Indian Oil Corporation, has climbed to the top of app store rankings as millions of consumers rush to book domestic gas cylinders.


India LPG Crisis: IndianOil One App Tops App Store Rankings; War Distrupts Energy Supply to India 

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said that coordination and dialogue are the best way to resolve ongoing tensions with Iran amid the escalating West Asia conflict. The Indian External Affairs Minister emphasised that diplomacy and engagement can help address issues such as maritime security and regional stability.


S. Jaishankar Comments on India-Iran Talks; Says Its Better That We Coordinate & Get a Solution

India is gearing up for a crucial political contest as preparations begin for assembly elections across five states. The elections are expected to witness intense campaigning by major parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress, along with several regional parties seeking to strengthen their presence.


India Prepares for Major Electoral Battle Across Five Assemblies 

India is assessing the economic and strategic impact of the ongoing West Asia war, issuing updates on key sectors including oil prices, trade routes and migrant safety. Government ministries are monitoring disruptions in energy supply, remittances and regional stability, while policy adjustments are being considered to safeguard national interests and citizens abroad.

India Reviews Impact of West Asia War, Issues Updates on Key Domestic Sectors

India is preparing for crucial state elections, with voting scheduled from April 9 to 29. Citizens across multiple states will cast their ballots to elect new governments, testing the strength of regional and national parties. Authorities are ensuring security, smooth polling, and awareness campaigns to facilitate democratic participation.

 India Gears Up for State Polls, Voting From April 9 to 29

In response to escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, India activates OP SANKALP to secure its commercial and naval vessels. The operation ensures safe passage amid regional threats, with heightened vigilance over maritime security. New Delhi’s proactive measures aim to protect Indian trade and prevent disruption in critical energy routes.

Hormuz Crisis: India Deploys Navy to Secure Vessels Amid Hormuz Crisis

India has led large‑scale evacuation efforts from West Asia amid the ongoing Iran‑related conflict, with tens of thousands of citizens brought home since the crisis began. Government, diplomatic missions, and airlines have coordinated flights and support for stranded Indians, ensuring safe repatriation amid regional instability and disrupted airspace.

India Leads Evacuations: 200,000 Indians Have Returned Home Since Iran War Started

Breaking: Hormuz Crisis: New Delhi to Secure Its Vessels Under Op Sankalp 

From redefining Indian modelling to becoming a global fitness icon, Milind Soman has consistently proven that age is just a number. In an exclusive conversation with WION’s Samarpita Das, the actor and athlete opens up about his mission to transform India’s fitness landscape through Pinkathon, a women-only running event in India. 


Milind Soman: I Don't Go to the Gym, I Run, Swim, & Cycle

The conflict involving Iran has severely disrupted food export markets by choking shipping lanes in the Gulf and triggering direct export bans. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has stalled shipments of key agricultural products, particularly affecting India's fruit and rice exports, while Iran itself halted food exports, raising risks of global food shortages and higher prices. 


Iran War Cuts Access To Food Export Markets

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stressed that ensuring the uninterrupted transit of commodities, especially energy supplies such as crude oil and liquefied natural gas, remains a top priority amid global disruptions.


India Energy Crisis | MEA: Uninterrupted Transit of Commodities Remains Top Priority

The Indian Navy has deployed warships near the Persian Gulf amid escalating tensions in West Asia, as the US‑Iran conflict intensifies. Officials say the deployment aims to protect India’s strategic interests, shipping routes, and energy supply lines.


Indian Navy Warships Deploy Near Persian Gulf Amid Rising Regional Tensions

The Government of India has tightened rules governing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies amid disruptions caused by the ongoing Iran war and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. With global fuel supply chains under strain, authorities have taken several steps to ensure domestic LPG availability and prevent panic buying.


LPG Crisis: India Says Uninterrupted Transit of Commodities Remains Top Priority 

The Government of India has tightened rules governing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies amid disruptions caused by the ongoing Iran war and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. With global fuel supply chains under strain, authorities have taken several steps to ensure domestic LPG availability and prevent panic buying.

Breaking: India Tightens LPG Rules Amid Iran War | Supply Controls & Priority Allocation

The Ministry of External Affairs, India has conducted an inter-ministerial briefing on the ongoing conflict in West Asia, emphasizing India’s active engagement with all key interlocutors in the region. Authorities confirmed that India is closely monitoring developments, coordinating with diplomats, and ensuring the safety of Indian citizens and energy interests abroad.

Breaking: India Holds Inter-Ministerial Briefing on West Asia Conflict

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