Putin says India one of the leading players in IT industry; Mega rejig in TMC amid ongoing exodus

Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted the emergence of a multipolar world at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026, stating that BRICS economies are growing faster than G7 nations. He praised India as a leading player in the IT and software sectors. Meanwhile, a political crisis has hit the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. Only five of forty-one TMC MPs and eight of seventy-eight MLAs attended a meeting called by Mamata Banerjee. Fifty-eight MLAs are aligned with the Ritabrata Banerjee faction. Despite the rebellion, Mamata Banerjee retained Abhishek Banerjee as the national general secretary, assisted by Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen. The party also appointed Chandrima Bhattacharya as the Bengal president and Saayoni Ghosh as the youth wing head. In other news, the Indian economy demonstrated resilience, growing at 7.7 percent in FY26. Furthermore, following the Malviya Nagar blaze that claimed twenty-one lives, a reality check in Delhi revealed fire safety violations in congested hotel clusters, prompting Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to initiate a crackdown on illegal structures.