On July 15, a delegation of senior journalists and professionals walked into the office of Telangana's Chief Electoral Officer, C. Sudharshan Reddy, with a request that had nothing to do with press freedom, media access, or any of the usual grievances that bring journalists to a bureaucrat's door. They were there for voters. The group, gathered under the banner of Press Club Hyderabad, spent over 30 minutes raising concerns about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Their worry was straightforward: the process meant to clean up the voter list was quietly punishing the people it was supposed to protect. The problems they laid out will sound familiar to anyone who has watched an SIR exercise unfold. Names deleted without explanation. Spelling errors that break a match. Records from the 2002 rolls that are nearly impossible to trace. Multilingual entries that do not align across databases. Booth Level Officers who are themselves unclear on the process they

Today's Ten Thursday, 16 July 2026 #1  ·  Times Nation / Business  ·  Breaking news Cabinet Clears ₹1.9L Cr Push for Chips & Mobile Phones By Staff Reporter   ·   The Times of India  ·  Page 19 The Union Cabinet approved two landmark schemes — Semicon 2.0 (₹1,27,500 crore) and the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (₹62,500 crore) — running from 2026–27 to 2029–31, aimed at deepening India's domestic semiconductor fabrication, advanced packaging, materials, chip design, and homegrown mobile phone brands. Semicon 2.0 extends incentives beyond fabs to include specialty chemicals, manufacturing equipment, R&D, and talent development, while MPMS replaces the existing PLI scheme with sales-linked incentives favouring Indian brands doing design and R&D. The government's long-term target is a $500 billion electronics manufacturing industry by 2030–31. The stor

  The Union of Media Persons for Change has accused News18 Tamil Nadu of allegedly forcing employees to resign under threat of termination. In a letter to the management, Union General Secretary Haseef Mohamed said compelling staff to submit resignation letters through the company’s portal under intimidation is illegal and cannot be treated as voluntary. He alleged the practice was aimed at bypassing statutory retrenchment procedures and depriving employees of legal rights. Mohamed urged the management to halt the process, warning of legal action if it continued. Speaking to Influencing, an employee who claimed to be affected said that after serving the organisation for over a decade, they were called to the HR department on July 8 and asked to submit a "separation letter". According to the employee, both HR and their reporting head told them to either resign or face termination. When asked if the decision was linked to performance, they were allegedly told it was “not the p

Senior journalist and author Dr Anubha Jain has been conferred with the Falcon Media Excellence Award for her outstanding contribution to journalism and her commitment to truth, fairness, courage, and public service. The award was presented on July 14 by the Bengaluru Press Club and Rotary International District 3191. The honour was bestowed by Karnataka Agriculture Minister Ramalinga Reddy, filmmaker and columnist Dr Chandrashekhar Nagtihalli, Rotarian Dr Anil Gupta (District Governor, Rotary International District 3191), Rotarian K.P. Nagesh (Rotary International Director, Zones 4 and 7), and R. Shridhar, President of the Bengaluru Press Club. Dr Jain was recognised for her impactful and responsible journalism, particularly her extensive coverage of space, science, technology, health, and public‑interest issues. She said: “This honour is far more than an award. It is a recognition of the purpose that has guided my two decades in journalism… credible journalism has the p

Albanese’s AI U-turn: tougher rules for data centres, jobs and copyright Anthony Albanese has pivoted to back a “world-leading” AI regulatory framework, with proposed standards that would bite on power-hungry data centres and clamp down on copyright theft used to train models. The shift signals Labor is moving from encouragement to enforcement on AI—raising big questions about investment, energy infrastructure and how Australia protects local creative industries while staying aligned with global tech rules. Covered by: The Australian, Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian. Budget credibility fight: surplus maths ‘hinges’ on public service job cuts Jim Chalmers’ budget projections are under pressure amid claims they rely on assumed public service job cuts and other constraints that economists and the Parliamentary Budget Office warn may be difficult to deliver. The dispute goes to the heart of whether Labor can credibly promise a pathway bac

Verve Media has won the digital and creative mandate for Maple India, a premium retailer of pre-owned smartphones, tablets and laptops.  Under the mandate, the agency will handle Maple India's social media marketing, AI-SEO and GEO, performance marketing across Google Ads and Meta Ads, and creative design. The partnership aims to strengthen the brand's digital presence, enhance customer engagement and drive growth through an integrated strategy spanning content, design and paid media.

The non-profit behind the gender sensitivity movement Laadli, has announced that entries for the 16th edition of the Laadli Media & Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity (LMAAGS) will close on July 31, 2026.  The awards recognise gender-sensitive work across journalism, advertising, films, television, web series, books and other media. Open to entries from across India, the journalism category accepts submissions in 14 languages, with winners to be announced at both regional and national levels.  Entries must have been published, released or aired between January 1 and December 31, 2025. There is no entry fee.