tuput: an independent magazine on Indian history, travel, AI, robotics and the environment
Indian history, travel, AI, robotics and the environment: researched, cited, and written to actually be worth your time.
Article 72 Lets the President Pardon Any Death Sentence on the Ministers' Advice, and on 21 January 2014 the Supreme Court Commuted 15 of Them After Examining How Their Mercy Petitions Were Handled
A 1935 provision gave the Governor-General the last word on death sentences. Today ministers advise, the Home Ministry processes and judges step in at set points, each marked by a dated ruling.
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India's 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam Reached First Criticality at 8:25 pm on 6 April 2026, Opening the Second Stage of Homi Bhabha's Three-Stage Nuclear Plan
A sodium-cooled reactor designed by IGCAR and built by BHAVINI went critical after about 22 years of construction. What it breeds, what it cost, and what stands between this step and power on the grid.
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Smartphones Became India's Largest Export in 2025-26, With Mobile Phone Exports of ₹2.60 Lakh Crore, Up From ₹1,566 Crore in 2014-15
From 153rd place to first in eleven years. The official figures, how the incentive scheme paid for assembly, where the handsets are sold, and what the early 2026-27 numbers and the next scheme say.
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India Has Licensed Three Satellite Broadband Operators, Starlink Among Them, on Security Terms That Keep Indian Traffic and Data Inside the Country
Three operators hold licences, Starlink says it has built 20 gateway sites, and a 5 per cent revenue-based spectrum charge has cleared its first approval. The steps between a licence and a working dish, in order, with dates.
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Nine Indian-Built Ships Entered Navy Service Between 27 February and 12 October 2026, From the Stealth Frigate Dunagiri to the Submarine Hunter Mangrol
Three frigates, four coastal anti-submarine craft, a survey ship and a diving vessel, each with a date, a yard and a figure from the Defence Ministry. Plus the count that does not quite add up, and what is due next.
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India's Civil Courts Run on a 1908 Code of Civil Procedure, and a Suit for Compensation for a Broken Contract Has Three Years From the Breach
A plain walk from a signed agreement to a decree. Which Act governs what, which clocks run against a claimant, and where arbitration and mediation offer a way around a full trial.
Read the story On 24 April 1973 Thirteen Supreme Court Judges Ruled 7 to 6 That Parliament Can Amend Any Part of India's Constitution Except Its Basic Structure
A Kerala monastery head, a land law and three constitutional amendments reached thirteen judges. What the bench held, who disagreed, and how the ruling was tested over the next four decades.
India Raised Its First Tri-Service Command on 8 October 2001, and a Parliamentary Committee Report of August 2026 Records the Defence Ministry Saying Its Final Report on Theatre Commands Is Still Under Consideration
Public documents show each link from the committee that met on 23 April 2025 to the commands in the field. They also show the one link still missing and the stage the file has reached.
The UPSC Recommended 958 Candidates From 9,37,876 Applicants in March 2026, and Only Three All India Services Answer to Both the Centre and the States
Of 9,37,876 people who applied in the 2025 cycle, 958 were recommended. Behind those numbers sit a 1949 Constituent Assembly vote, a 14-week course in Mussoorie and a cadre roster that decides which state an officer serves.
Mistral Just Previewed a 1.05 Trillion Parameter AI Model It Nicknamed 'Le Chonk'
Mistral previewed a 1.05 trillion parameter open model nicknamed Le Chonk, Anthropic widened access to the AI that found a 27 year old OpenBSD bug, and Google signed a multibillion dollar deal to keep Constellation's nuclear reactors running longer for its data centers.
Shubman Gill's 117-Ball Double Century Powered India's Biggest Ever ODI Run Chase
Shubman Gill's record 223 powered India's biggest ever ODI run chase, Indian scientists demonstrated the country's first free space quantum key distribution link, and electric car sales hit an all time high with Tesla outselling Mercedes-Benz in India for the first time.
Under Article 110 a Money Bill May Contain Only Tax, Borrowing and Consolidated Fund Matters, the Speaker Certifies It, and the Rajya Sabha Gets 14 Days to Recommend Changes the Lok Sabha Can Ignore
The Union Budget runs on two Money Bills. Here are the seven matters Article 110 allows, the word the Constituent Assembly refused to delete in 1949, and the seven-judge reference that the Supreme Court Observer lists as pending.
The Lok Sabha Has 543 Elected Seats and a Five-Year Term, and Its Speaker, Chosen by the Members, Presides, Keeps Order and Certifies Money Bills
A guide to India's lower house, from the 1971 census that still fixes each State's seat count to the 2024 vote that chose its Speaker, and the rule that can suspend a member for up to five consecutive sittings.
India's Election Commission Ran the 2024 Lok Sabha Poll for 97.97 Crore Registered Electors at 10.5 Lakh Polling Stations Using Powers Written Into Article 324
A step-by-step guide to the machinery behind an Indian election, from the commissioners and the voter list to the voting machine, the code of conduct and counting day, with the court rulings that shaped each part.
India Has About 24 Lakh Elected Panchayat Members, Nearly Half of Them Women, and 5,050 Urban Local Bodies, All Run Under Two Constitutional Amendments in Force Since 1993
The average village panchayat serves 4,659 people, a metropolitan corporation serves millions, and both elect councillors on a five-year clock set by the Constitution. These are the articles, numbers and court rulings behind it.
The Supreme Court Heard a 1979 Petition for Bihar's Forgotten Prisoners That Rested on Two Newspaper Issues, and Public Interest Litigation Still Lets a Letter to the Chief Justice Start a Case
A prisoner's telegram, two professors' letter, a journalist's complaint and two issues of a newspaper have all been treated as writ petitions. Here is the rule that allows it, the screening a letter goes through today, and where the Court says the limit lies.
The Lok Sabha Speaker Is Chosen by the Members, Gives Up Party Ties by Convention, Controls What Reaches the Floor and Has Survived Four Removal Resolutions Since 1954
From a 394 to 55 vote in 1952 to a 12-hour debate in March 2026, a close look at the one member of the House who chairs it, rules on its rules and votes only when the count is tied.
Economy & Infrastructure
India's First Hydrogen Train, a 10-Coach Indian Railways Trainset Built for an 89 km Route, Was Flagged Off at Jind for Sonipat on 17 July 2026 and Had Covered More Than 1,200 Kilometres by 25 July
A fuel cell, a lithium battery and a 3,000 kg hydrogen store at Jind: what the Railways has built, what the Ministry's own releases say about speed, safety and cost, and what comes next.
India and the European Union Concluded Their Free Trade Agreement on 27 January 2026, and the Commission Sent It to the Council for Signature on 11 September
Leather, textiles, apparel, toys and sports goods enter the EU duty-free from the first day under India's tariff tables. The numbers each side publishes, why they differ, and the legal route from conclusion to entry into force.
India's Rs 7,280 Crore Rare Earth Magnet Scheme Drew 20 Bids for Five Places, Opened on 13 August 2026, in a Plan to Make 6,000 Tonnes of Magnets a Year
Sintered neodymium magnets sit inside electric motors and wind turbine generators, and India has bought most of them from one country. A government scheme with a seven-year clock now has 20 bidders, and the awards are the next step.
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