Rush Hour: PM claims growth moment strong even as RBI cuts GDP forecast, Annamalai quits BJP & more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India’s “growth momentum remains strong”, even as the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee downgraded the real gross domestic growth for the financial year 2026-’27 to 6.6%. This is 0.3% lower than the 6.9% projection made in April.

According to the central bank, prolonged disruptions of global supply chains, heightened volatility in financial markets and problems created by the weather pose risks to domestic growth.

However, in a social media post, the prime minister stated: “GDP growth rate of 7.7% in FY 2025-26 and 7.8% in Q4 of FY 2025-26 reflect the inherent strength of our economy, the success of reforms and the hard work of 140 crore Indians.” Read on.

Modi is asking Indians to make sacrifices for an economic crisis he oversaw, writes Anand Teltumbde

The new BJP government in West Bengal has begun verifying the eligibility of beneficiaries under the public distribution system based on the outcome of the special intensive revision of the state’s electoral rolls. The food and supplies department said that it would mark as inactive the ration cards of persons deleted from the voter list.

This means that beneficiaries who were marked as absent, shifted, duplicate or dead in the draft list published in December would become ineligible for...

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