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October 28, 2026

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News Snippets

  • Congress calls Election Commission's affidavit in the SC saying all decisions were taken unanimously as 'deceptive, deceitful and duplicitous'
  • Petitioners ask Supreme Court to order preservation of Election Commission's files and notings related to SIR
  • At least 89,000 people have been evacuated from vulnerable coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh as Cyclone Arnab intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal. The IMD forecast landfall on Wednesday morning with sustained winds of 115–125 kmph, gusting to 140 kmph, while 53 train services were listed for cancellation on October 27 and 28
  • Authorities deployed hundreds of additional security personnel in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley following violent protests against the proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project near the Chinese border. Opponents fear the dam would submerge ancestral lands belonging to the Adi tribal community, while the project is also intended to address concerns arising from China’s planned upstream hydropower dam
  • The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre on the Digital News Publishers Association’s challenge to provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and its rules. The publishers argue that the absence of a specific journalistic exemption could undermine investigative reporting and expose confidential sources; the matter is scheduled for further hearing on November 17
  • The Supreme Court gave petitioners additional time to respond to the Election Commission’s affidavit defending decisions connected with the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and fixed November 17 for the next hearing. The court also issued notice on a separate petition by Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen concerning alleged changes to Form 6 used for voter registration
  • The Bombay High Court quashed an FIR against a Pune college student who was arrested over an Instagram repost related to Operation Sindoor. The case arose from a social-media post concerning the 2025 India-Pakistan tensions
  • A Reuters poll of economists projected India’s GDP growth to slow from 7.7% in fiscal 2025–26 to 7.1% in 2026–27 and 7.0% in 2027–28. Economists cited higher energy costs and inflation risks linked to the conflict involving Iran, while warning that prolonged price pressures could constrain household demand and employment growth
  • Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan cautioned India against exhausting its foreign-exchange reserves to defend a particular rupee exchange rate. He said moderate depreciation could support exports, while warning that high oil prices and continued foreign investment outflows were adding pressure to the currency and the current account
  • Indian equity benchmarks ended nearly unchanged after a volatile trading session. The Sensex slipped 8.08 points to close at 73,598.67, while the Nifty 50 fell 3.45 points to 22,749.75, with elevated crude oil prices and caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s decision weighing on sentiment
  • Ranji Trophy: Bengal recover as Shahbaz Ahmed scores 121 and then took 2 wickets to put them in a commanding position versus Kerala. In other matches, Delhi were in a fine position against Jharkhand and Gujarat and maharashtra were evenly placed
  • India thrashed Bangladesh 13-0 in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey
  • Despite a brilliant come-from-the-back effort, India A were robbed of victory against New Zealand A in the first unofficial Test as the Kiwis ended at 187 for 9 (target 313) when play was stopped due to bad light
  • Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that India plans to amend its anti-doping law to criminalise the supply and sale of banned substances, including penalties for coaches and other participants in doping supply chains. The proposal was announced at a UNESCO anti-doping conference in New Delhi as India seeks to strengthen enforcement and support its bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games
  • India defeated New Zealand by six wickets in Wellington to take an unassailable 3–0 lead in their five-match T20I series. Abhishek Sharma smashed 113 off 38 balls, reaching his century in 35 deliveries, while he and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi combined for a record 118 runs in the powerplay
A stunning 113 off 38 balls from Abhishek Sharma drowns New Zealand as India chase 199 in 13.2 overs to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the series
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Protect the Device That Protects Your Digital Life

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2026-10-28 14:18:12

About the Author

Sunil Garodia The India Commentary view

Most advice on cyber fraud tells people not to disclose OTPs, click suspicious links or trust callers who claim to represent banks or government agencies. That advice remains essential. But it addresses only part of the problem.

What happens when the phone or laptop containing a person's emails, banking applications, private conversations, identity documents and business records is lost or stolen?

The danger extends well beyond the replacement cost of the hardware. A device may contain active sessions for email and cloud services, access to financial applications and information that can be used to impersonate its owner. A stolen laptop can expose confidential business records. A phone taken while unlocked can create immediate risks that a strong password alone cannot resolve.

The answer is not to abandon digital convenience. It is to prepare for the possibility that a device may fall into the wrong hands.

Every smartphone owner should enable the available tracking and remote-locking facilities, use a strong screen lock, hide sensitive notification previews and maintain secure backups. Laptop users should check whether storage encryption is enabled and keep recovery keys separate from the computer. Account recovery should never depend entirely on the device that may disappear.

Preparation must be followed by a clear emergency plan. A missing device should be locked remotely as soon as possible. The owner should secure the SIM, contact banks if financial access may be exposed, protect the primary email account and revoke untrusted sessions. In India, the CEIR facility offers a further step for requesting the blocking of a lost or stolen handset's IMEI.

There is also a warning that deserves emphasis. Thieves may exploit a victim's desperation by sending fake messages claiming that a device has been found. No one should disclose a passcode, password or verification code to someone offering to recover a missing phone.

Digital security cannot end with telling people how to recognise a scam. It must also prepare them for the loss of the device through which they conduct much of their lives.

The principle is simple: protect the device before it disappears, and know what to do before panic sets in.

Starting today, India Commentary will publish a five-part series dedicated to this subject.

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