India's Modi visits Netherlands, farmers clash with police, exam leak probe

Published 05/16/2026Published May 16, 2026

Modi is looking to deepen India's trade agreements with its European partners and diversify beyond China-centric supply chains. Meanwhile, Indian farmers are once again clashing with the police.

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Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the Netherlands at the start of the European leg of his five-nation tour

After the Netherlands, Modi will visit Sweden, Norway and Italy

Police use tear gas and water cannons during clashes with marching farmers near Chandigarh

Student's union demands education minister's resignation over cancelled pre-medical enterance exam

This blog has been paused. Here's a roundup of the biggest news stories from India on Saturday, May 16:

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Published 05/16/2026Published May 16, 2026

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Skip next section IPL: Kolkata beat Gujarat on huge Finn Allen and Angkrish Raghuvanshi innings

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

IPL: Kolkata beat Gujarat on huge Finn Allen and Angkrish Raghuvanshi innings

In the India Premier League, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat the Gujarat Titans on Saturday.

Three KKR batsmen hit half impressive centuries, led by New Zealand international Finn Allen's 93 runs off just 35 balls, and Indian 21-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi's 82 not out off 44 deliveries.

Australian Cameron Green was also on 52 not out alongside Raghuvanshi when the KKR set an imposing target of 247/2 for Gujarat to chase.

Three of the Titans also hit half centuries — 85 for Shubman Gill, 57 for Jos Buttler, and 53 not out for Sai Sudharsan — but it wasn't enough. Gujarat finished their 20 overs on 218/4, 29 runs short of the target.

It was Gujarat's first defeat in five games and a blow to the team's battle with Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the top of the IPL standings.

Kolkata, meanwhile, has found a richer vein to form after a slower start to the season. The KKR have now won four of their last five games, sitting in seventh place on 11 points and hunting down the midtable teams.

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Skip next section Modi hails return of Tamil Chola Copper Plates from Netherlands

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

Modi hails return of Tamil Chola Copper Plates from Netherlands

Narendra Modi has met with the Prime Minister Rob Jetten and King Willem-Alexander during his visit to the Netherlands.

He signed a memorandum of understanding "between Tata and ASML for advancing the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India" during his talks with Jetten.

Modi said Dutch company ASML would help with "the setting up and scaling of Tata Electronics’ upcoming semiconductor facility in Dholera, Gujarat," his home state.

But the prime minister dedicated the most time online to hailing the return of Tamil archaeological treasures from Leiden University, celebrating the news in both the English and Tamil languages.

In what he described as a "joyous moment for every Indian," Modi said that Chola Copper Plates dating to the 11th century would be repatriated to India.

The Chola Dynasty in what's now southern India led a flourishing empire between the 9th and 13th centuries.

"We in India are immensely proud of the Cholas, their culture and their maritime prowess," Modi said.

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Skip next section India 'categorically rejects' latest ICC award over suspending Indus Waters Treaty

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

India 'categorically rejects' latest ICC award over suspending Indus Waters Treaty

India's Foreign Ministry on Saturday said it "categorically" rejected an award from the Court of Arbitration [CoA] of the International Criminal Court (ICC) granted to Pakistan amid the dispute over India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty.

The court on Friday published an additional award saying Pakistan was entitled to maximum pondage — a technical term for the storage capacity of a dam or reservoir — having deemed last August that India was in breach of international law when it unilaterally suspended the treaty.

Describing the court as "illegally constituted," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said India's position was unchanged and the "decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance remains in force."

"India categorically rejects the present so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements of the illegally constituted CoA," Randhir Jaiswal said. "India has never recognized the establishment of this so-called CoA. Any proceeding, award or decision issued by it is null and void."

The government suspended the 1960 treaty — which had stayed in effect for decades even amid perennially tense ties — in response to a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killled 26 people in April 2025, for which Delhi held Pakistan accountable.

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Skip next section WATCH: India's wedding economy driving a weight-loss drug boom

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

WATCH: India's wedding economy driving a weight-loss drug boom

Danish Pandit | Hanan Zaffar

Mounjaro and Ozempic are medicines developed to control blood sugar levels in adults with Type 2 diabetes. Now, they are being used as a fast-track weight-loss solution.

In India's massive wedding economy, appearance is often judged. Experts say such social pressures are one of the top reasons driving this trend.

Health care platform Pharmarack estimates that India's obesity drug market will reach 80 billion rupees ($837 million/€717 million) by 2030.

India's wedding economy driving a weight-loss drug boom

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Skip next section Indian state offers child incentive to counter falling population

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

Indian state offers child incentive to counter falling population

The government of India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh will offer one-time cash payments to families for having more children, Indian media reported, in efforts to counter a decline in the state's population.

"I have made a new decision. We will provide Rs 30,000 immediately after the birth of a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth child. Isn’t this the right decision?” state Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said at a public meeting, according to news outlets Press Trust of India and Times of India.

That's roughly €270 or $312 for the birth of a third child and €359 or $416 for the birth of a fourth child. Saturday's announcement follows an earlier proposal to give families Rs 25,000 (€224, $260) on the birth of a second child. However, that proposal has been modified to benefit the third and fourth child instead.

India is the most populous country in the world and its 1.4 billion-strong population is still climbing, but the national fertility rate has dipped below the replacement rate. That means while the population is growing, it is doing so at an increasingly slower rate.

Last year, the Indian Association for the Study of Population said that the national population will peak between 1.8-1.9 billion by 2080 and then decline.

Choosing to be a child-free woman in India

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Naidu pointed out that as household incomes grew, people were choosing to have only one child or a second if the first was not a boy. He rejected the idea that children were a burden and emphasized the importance of having a higher fertility rate for a healthy economy.

India has a traditional preference for boys over girls. While social and government-led programs have worked to change this perception, many couples still birth multiple children in hopes of a boy due to prestige or economic reasons.

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Skip next section IN DEPTH: Iran war Tests India's multi-alignment diplomacy

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

IN DEPTH: Iran war Tests India's multi-alignment diplomacy

India has long taken pride in doing what few major powers could manage. It has bought oil from Iran, built defense ties with Israel, strengthened relations with the US and expanded economic links with the Gulf monarchies, while insisting it would not be drawn into regional camps or formal alliances.

The Iran war, however, is pushing that formula to its limits. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be feeling the pressure.

Read more about how the war in the Middle East is challenging India's flexible approach to diplomacy in this report by Murali Krishnan.

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Skip next section Modi hails Indian diaspora in speech in The Hague

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

Modi hails Indian diaspora in speech in The Hague

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a crowd of Indians living in the Netherlands during a speech in The Hague on Saturday.

"Whenever I've had a conversation with the leadership of the Netherlands, they always praised the Indian diaspora... Every Indian is proud of your contribution to the society and economy of the Netherlands," he said.

Roughly 90,000 Indian nationals reside in the Netherlands and thousands of Indian students are enrolled at Dutch universities.

Modi also addressed the challenges stemming from the Iran war in his speech.

"The world is dealing with new challenges. First Covid-19, then war, and today's energy crisis. In such times, India and the Netherlands are making endeavours to establish a future-ready supply chain," he said.

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Skip next section Opposition demands education minister's resignation over leaked pre-medical entrance test

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

Opposition demands education minister's resignation over leaked pre-medical entrance test

The National Students' Union of India — a youth wing of the Indian National Congress (INC), the country's largest opposition party — held a protest outside the National Testing Agency (NTA) in New Delhi on Saturday following the controversial cancellation of the all-India pre-medical entrance test.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026 examination was cancelled on May 12 after allegations that the question paper was leaked. The entrance test is under the NTA's purview.

The exam is conducted by pen and paper for over 2.2 million candidates in a single shift, across thousands of centers in India. That means printing thousands of question papers, transporting them and securing them at locations ahead of the exam.

As the massive physical exercise makes the question paper vulnerable, NEET-UG papers have been leaked several times before. Students who already sat for the exam on May 3 will now take the exam again in June.

The re-exam not only increases anxiety and uncertainty for students preparing for the highly competitive entrance test, but also impacts those from disadvantaged social groups and low-income households, who might struggle to pay for their journeys to reach their designated exam centers.

NSUI members blame education minister

Protestors carried locks and chains symbolising the shutdown of the NTA, news agency ANI reported. They also held placards and raised slogans against the NTA and Union Education Minister Fharmendra Pradhan.

"We demand a ban on NTA and strict action against the culprits who have ruined students' mental health and driven them to depression and suicide," one protester at the site said. Others demanded Pradhan's resignation.

Meanwhile, India's Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday said it had identified the culprit behind the paper leak — a chemistry lecturer associated with the examination process on behalf of the NTA.

The lecturer is said to have dictated questions and their correct answers to his coaching students before the exam.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's spokesperson said "the exam mafia involved in playing with the future of children would not be spared at any cost," and termed the leak as an "unfortunate matter."

"The internal arrangements were strong, but the disruption was created by outside elements," he had told reporters.

Authorities have assured that next year's NEET-UG exam will be conducted online to prevent further leaks.

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Skip next section West Bengal's Abhishek Banerjee faces police probe over Amit Shah remarks

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

West Bengal's Abhishek Banerjee faces police probe over Amit Shah remarks

Police in Kolkata have opened criminal proceedings against West Bengal's losing party leader Abhishek Banerjee for allegedly making inflammatory remarks against India's Home Minister Amit Shah ahead of the recent elections.

Banerjee is the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who faced a staggering defeat by Shah's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on May 4.

Abhishek Banerjee is also the losing Trinamool Congress' (TMC) general secretary.

The high-stakes election saw allegations of vote theft, pre- and post-poll violence, and significant tensions in the state where the BJP had never held power before.

While the details of the First Information Report (FIR) are not yet known, India's state-run Radio News said the complaint refers to remarks that were widely circulated on social media, including the MP’s official Facebook page.

After TMC lost the elections, several BJP supporters have been seen shouting insults at Abishek Banerjee outside his house in Kolkata. DW has also witnessed people shouting "chor" — Hindi for "thief" — as they passed his residence.

Experts say BJP’s West Bengal win was more a rejection of the TMC than direct support for the BJP. People in the state have long complained about rampant corruption and lack of growth, leading to TMC's removal from power after a 15-year rule.

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Skip next section Farmers clash with police during march over crop prices

05/16/2026May 16, 2026

Farmers clash with police during march over crop prices

Indian police deployed water cannons and fired tear gas at farmers on Friday as hundreds of them tried to break barricades and march towards the governor's residence in the Northern state of Punjab.

The farmers were marching to submit their demands to Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, according to several reports in Indian media. Farmers in India hold significant political sway and are a key vote bank.

The protest and march came after the government released its annual list of minimum support price (MSP) for certain crops. Before the march, several groups of farmers had burned copies of the government's MSP notice.

Iran war triggers fertilizer crisis for India's farmers

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