New Delhi, May 21: The Ministry of Education, Government of India, launched the School Management Committee (SMC) Guidelines 2026 on 6th May 2026 with the objective of strengthening community participation in school education. The Guidelines have been formulated to promote decentralized and participatory school governance and seek to improve the overall functioning of schools by creating a more supportive, inclusive and effective learning environment, keeping the best interests of children at the centre. The intent is also to create community ownership of schools by bringing all stakeholders together on a concurrent platform.

The Ministry of Education has received representations and concerns from certain sections of society regarding the applicability of the Guidelines over differently managed schools in context of Section 21 of the RTE Act, 2009. In view of the concerns raised and after due consideration, the Ministry, through a communication dated 20th May 2026 addressed to all States and Union Territories, clarified that the schools mentioned in Section 2(n)(iv) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 would not be covered by these Guidelines provided they have not received any kind of aid or grants from the appropriate Government or local authority to meet their expenses.

The Ministry further emphasized that such schools are, however, encouraged to constitute School Management Committees to promote greater transparency, accountability and participatory governance. Education is a shared responsibility of the Government, schools, parents and the community, and strengthening collaboration among all stakeholders remains essential for improving school functioning and ensuring better learning outcomes for children.

New Delhi, May 21: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has published proposed amendments related to the criminalisation of doping activities in the public domain for stakeholder consultation and feedback.

The proposed framework seeks to address the growing organised ecosystem involved in trafficking, illegal supply, administration and commercial distribution of prohibited performance-enhancing substances and methods.

The proposed amendments aim to criminalise activities such as trafficking, unauthorized sale and distribution of prohibited substances and methods; administration of prohibited substances to athletes for doping purposes; supply of prohibited substances to minors; organised crime and commercial activities linked to doping; sale of prohibited substances without prescribed labelling; and advertisements and paid promotions encouraging doping.

The proposed provisions are intended to target traffickers, illegal suppliers, organised syndicates and unscrupulous support personnel involved in doping networks.

Importantly, athletes not found involved in the proposed criminal offences like trafficking, organized syndicate etc. will not be criminalised merely for anti-doping rule violations or positive tests. Anti-Doping Rule violations by athletes will continue to be dealt with under the existing anti-doping framework.

The proposed amendments seek to ensure that clean athletes remain protected while enabling stronger action against criminal networks exploiting sport and athletes for commercial gain.

The framework also provides safeguards for athletes with valid Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) and for bona fide medical practitioners acting in emergency medical situations requiring legitimate use of prohibited substance/ methods to athlete.

The proposed measures are aligned with India’s commitments under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Convention against doping in sport and are consistent with the approach supported by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The proposed framework seeks to balance athlete protection, integrity of sport, public health and effective enforcement.

Stakeholders have been (are) invited to submit their comments and suggestions on the proposed amendments during the public consultation process by 18.06.2026.

New Delhi, May 21: An Air India aircraft, with 181 passengers onboard, suffered a tail strike during landing at the Bengaluru airport on Thursday morning and the plane has been grounded for a detailed inspection.

The airline’s narrow-body A321 aircraft was operating the flight AI2651 from Delhi to Bengaluru.

An Air India spokesperson said the plane “experienced a tail-strike during landing”.

The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew disembarked normally, the spokesperson said.

A source said the plane experienced “wake turbulence” when it was close to land, following which the pilot decided to perform a go around manoeuvre. During the manoeuvre, there was a tail strike, the source added.

The “wake turbulence” was caused due to the take-off of a wide-body aircraft in the vicinity, the source said.

Specific details about the wide-body plane could not be ascertained.

The source said there were 181 passengers onboard the aircraft that operated the flight AI2651.

The Air India spokesperson said the plane has been grounded for detailed inspection and the incident will be investigated in accordance with established procedures, in coordination with the relevant regulatory authorities.

“As a result, the return flight AI2652 from Bengaluru to Delhi has been cancelled. Alternative arrangements are being made to accommodate affected passengers at the earliest.

“Our ground teams in Bengaluru are providing all necessary assistance,” the spokesperson said and regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers.

Information from flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed the flight was operated with an A321 aircraft.

According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website, “wake turbulence” is a function of an aircraft producing lift, resulting in the formation of two counter-rotating vortices trailing behind the aircraft.

Wake turbulence from the generating aircraft can affect encountering aircraft due to the strength, duration, and direction of the vortices, as per the website.

New Delhi, May 21: The BJP’s current phase of political dominance, which began in 2014, is likely to last “at least 20 years”, pollster Pradeep Gupta has said.

The Axis My India chief argued that the ruling party’s position would remain secure as long as its governance performance does not weaken significantly.

Drawing a parallel with the long period of dominance once enjoyed by the Congress, Gupta suggested that Indian politics was witnessing another cycle of one-party predominance.

“There is a threshold in politics. Earlier, Congress ruled continuously till 1977. After that, it started facing difficulties. In those days, we used to talk about a political generation lasting around 20 years. That 20-year cycle will remain even now,” Gupta told PTI in an interview on Wednesday, suggesting that the BJP could similarly remain the central pole of Indian politics for an extended period.

In his view, the future of both the ruling alliance and the opposition depended heavily on the performance of the incumbent government.

“After receiving such a massive mandate, expectations from the BJP have also increased. So the BJP and the NDA will now have to super perform,” he said.

“Till the time their performance does not become weak or poor, they will keep winning and the opposition will keep losing,” he added.

Gupta said the Congress continued to face the burden of what he described as “legacy issues” related to perceptions of past misgovernance, making its political recovery a longer process.

“Even if you talk about 2029, it would mean around 15 years (out of power for Congress). I feel it may take at least five more years for them to convince the entire country,” he said.

At the same time, Gupta noted that political dominance also raised public expectations.

“When you reach great heights, there is also a tendency to come down later. BJP has also reached that stage where expectations from it have risen,” he said.