Overview

• New GST structure consolidates rates largely into 5% and 18% with a separate 40% bracket applied to items such as tobacco, sugary drinks, certain fast foods, luxury vehicles, private jets, yachts and some event tickets including IPL.
• Uttar Pradesh ordered police and departments to remove caste entries from FIRs, arrest memos and most government records, and imposed a ban on caste‑based rallies in line with an Allahabad High Court directive.
• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York as visa fee hikes and tariffs strain ties, while Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal led parallel trade talks in Washington.
• Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal recognized Palestine as a sovereign state on 21 September, drawing a forceful rejection from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed there would be no Palestinian state.
• Local reports said Pakistani forces fired on Indian posts in Kupwara’s Naugam sector along the LoC and the Indian Army returned fire, with no casualties reported and no official statement issued yet.