Rishika Pardikar

🚨 Documents of the ₹81,000cr Great Nicobar project fail to acknowledge existence of tribal villages and hunting and foraging grounds. A big reason: there has never been a systematic government effort to map tribal areas in these rainforests #GroundReport thenewsminute.com/news/great-nic…

IFF statement against the Alarming Escalation of Social Media Censorship and Proposed Expansion of Takedown Powers New Delhi, March 19, 2026 The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) is concerned by continuing reports of posts and accounts being withheld in India on Facebook, X and Instagram, including satire and criticism of the government. Recent reporting shows users receiving generic “withheld in India” notices or emails under Section 69A from social media platforms, with little or no explanation, while independent reporting has documented takedowns affecting speech that appears political, satirical, or critical rather than clearly unlawful. As reported by Business Standard and The Indian Express on March 18, the Union Government is currently exploring a proposal to decentralize content blocking powers under Section 69A of the IT Act. The new proposal would grant direct takedown powers to multiple ministries, including Defence, Home Affairs, External Affairs, and Information & Broadcasting. At present, MeitY signs off on Section 69A orders, while a separate notice and takedown channel already operates through Section 79(3)(b) and the Home Ministry led Sahyog portal that at least has 35 nodal officers across State Police Departments in India. At the same time, the February 2026 amendments to the IT Rules have sharply compressed compliance timelines. MeitY’s own published FAQ says intermediaries must act within 3 hours when they receive actual knowledge through a court order or a government intimation, within 36 hours for certain expedited grievances, and within 2 hours for specified complaints involving nudity, sexual content, morphed content, and impersonation. The government has also reiterated that intermediaries which fail to observe due diligence risk losing Section 79 immunity. A system built on speed, legal threat, and secrecy predictably incentivises over compliance. We remind the Union Government that the Supreme Court upheld Section 69A in the Shreya Singhal case on the basis of procedural safeguards and written reasons that could be challenged. Secret and inaccessible censorship defeats those safeguards in practice. IFF calls on the Union government to halt any move to decentralise Section 69A blocking powers further, publish blocking orders with only as per the letter and spirit of the Shreya Singhal judgement, and ensure timely notice to affected users with clear grounds and avenues for remedy. Platforms must also do more than send boilerplate messages. They should provide meaningful notice, preserve records for challenge, and publish granular transparency reporting given online censorship also impacts the public right to receive information. If your account or post has been withheld or blocked in India, please write to legal@internetfreedom.in with screenshots, URLs, and any email or platform notice you have received. IFF will try to assist impacted users and document patterns of opaque censorship.

March 20 marks Nowruz, the Persian New Year. But as the U.S. and Israel intensify their attacks on Iran, Iranians are unable to celebrate. Here’s how war and economic hardship are affecting a 3,000-year-old tradition.

@AapathBandhava Our festivals are all celebrated at home/ neighbourhood homes. They're on the quiet side, especially compared to the ones celebreated in the North

Yugadi is mainly celebrated at home not on streets. Its a festival where we do pooje, prepare Bevu Bella as prasada & listen to Panchanga for new year. For lunch we usually make traditional dishes like Holige & Chitranna. Learn the tradition before saying its not celebrated👍

@AapathBandhava 😆

Delhi doesn’t know how to celebrate Mahalaya Amavasye🙏🏼 I am not seeing anyone offering Pinda to their ancestors. Why is this city so boring🥀

India's solar module manufacturing has crossed 144 GW per annum, with about 81 GW added in 2025 alone. From conglomerates to startups green manufacturing surge is underway. Shubhang Parekh from @NSEFI_official and @shreya_jai explain carboncopy.info/from-baby-step…

Peace and prosperity, unlikely. Happiness, still likely. Happy yugadi and a happy new year

The approval of the Small Hydro Power (SHP) Development Scheme marks a focused step towards expanding decentralized power across India. By supporting projects in hilly terrains, North Eastern states, and remote regions, the scheme aims to bring reliable energy closer to where it is needed most. With targeted financial assistance, a strong push for indigenous manufacturing, and a clear focus on local employment generation, small hydro is set to play a key role in strengthening last-mile energy access. A steady move towards building resilient, regionally distributed power infrastructure. For more info visit: pib.gov.in/PressReleasePa… #MNRE #SmallHydro #RenewableEnergy

Almost all natural gas that Iran produces is consumed domestically. This makes attacks on sites like South Pars, the Iranian section of world's largest gas field, designed to eventually undermine electricity supply and cooking gas for millions of ordinary Iranians.

@asmerasafi Applicable to Modi govt (and its RSS faction as well) who see Gaza as impunity without recognising the shift

too arrogant and delusional to see it

Three years of justifications for a genociede have laid bare the 'credibility' of traditional counterinsurgency and counterterrorism narratives, and they won’t land the same way anymore in either Gaza, Iran, or Afghanistan. There's a shift underway, and the Pakistani military is

This is why there is a lot of local opposition to new fossil fuel infrastructure in Bangladesh that is dependent on imported fuels. A ground report from earlier this year drilled.media/news/japan-ban…

@shraddha_joshi1 got in touch to say edits were incorporated. Glad to see them

India is far more diverse than what is often acknowledged. Ref: thehindu.com/news/national/… , deccanherald.com/india/karnatak…

Not the first and not the only. Chief ministers from Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have also condemned US-Israeli attacks on Iran. If a tree falls outside of North India and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

@JavierBlas All true, except I haven't seen any statements/ policies to the effect of "while replacing it with coal in power generation". The overall extent of additional reliance on coal because of the war on Iran seems very limited. At least as of now

@rishpardikar If my memory serves me well, India generates at peak electricity from domestic gas (~3% of total, similar share to nuclear). The plan is to divert as much domestic gas as possible for industrial use (fertiliser above all), while replacing it with coal in power generation.

Keep an eye on coal, as more Asian nations turn to it to replace natural gas / fuel oil in power generation. Philippines said that it’s likely to burn more coal in the next few months. And India’s government said all was ready for “unprecedented” coal demand in 2026.

Exclusive: Months before polls, Assam signs deal to pay Adani group for 3,200 MW coal power whether it is used or not. Potential payout for excess electricity pegged at Rs 12,500+ crore over 5 years. @shreegireesh reports. 1/2 reporters-collective.in/trc/assam-govt…

@angshuman_ch I appreciate literature and art a lot more now, after having listened to this

Do not – I repeat – do not miss this intensely moving and scathing rejoinder to both Mamdani and the Zionists.

@rajatsaha_ @sandygrains If Modi had tweeted a condemnation, would it not have been considered a condemnation by the state of India? There were also mournings and protests and police backlash in many states. But this article frames it like as though opposition is coming only from Punjab and Kashmir

@rishpardikar @sandygrains It's still different. Punjab Assembly had condemned it, Speaker from his Chair condemned it. It was the first and only state to do so. CMs condemning it in their speeches, but not in official records, is not the same.

@AVIRAL96 Goodwill gestures under extraordinary circumstances need an acknowledgement, no?

It’s quite convenient to ignore the Goodwill gestures made by India towards Iran in the last decade.

“Mehraj’s case exemplifies India’s practice of ‘trial by jail,’” said HRF Legal and Research Officer Hannah Van Dijcke. “Dissidents are subjected to indefinite pre-trial detention, whereby the legal process itself becomes the punishment.” ht: @rishpardikar