Top news of the day on October 21, 2026

Delhi High Court questions CJP leaders over breaking barricades to enter Jantar Mantar

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) questioned Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka over allegedly breaking a barricade to enter Jantar Mantar, observing that authorities could insist on stricter proof when a person is accused of breaching peace for a second time. Justice Subramonium Prasad made the oral observations while hearing the CJP leaders’ plea challenging the extension of their judicial custody by a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM).

Data breach: SBI admits exposure of its customer data on the Dark Web

Five days after it received communications from its Threat Intelligence Service Provider, the Defence Cyber Agency, and CERT-In regarding an alert concerning the suspected exposure of its customer data on the dark web, State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest commercial bank, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, informed stock exchanges about the incident involving the loss of certain data.

Tiger Shroff firing case: Four arrested for allegedly transporting firearm to Mumbai, helping coordinate operation

The Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) arrested four people, including two women, for their alleged role in transporting a firearm to Mumbai ahead of the October 18 firing incident targeting Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff’s car. According to the police, the accused were acting on the instructions of Anil Pandit, who allegedly coordinated their movements through an encrypted messaging application.

GRAP-1 curbs imposed in Delhi-NCR as air quality slips into ‘poor’ category

As the air quality in Delhi worsened to the ‘poor’ category, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the NCR and adjoining areas announced Stage 1 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Wednesday (October 21, 2026). GRAP is a set of short-term emergency measures aimed at reducing air pollution and is divided into four stages, depending on the level of air pollution that exists at a particular time or is predicted for the near future.

CMRL-Exalogic payoff case: Supreme Court stays probe on corruption FIR against former CM Pinarayi Vijayan

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) stayed, for seven days, a Kerala Police investigation into a First Information Report (FIR) registered against former Keralam Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena and son-in-law and former Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas in the CMRL-Exalogic payoff case.

Only followers of ‘Sanatan Dharma’ will touch Durga idols during immersion: Suvendu

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) said only followers of ‘Sanatan Dharma’ would be allowed to touch Durga idols during immersion in the Hooghly river, asserting that religious traditions must be followed. Mr. Adhikari made the statement while reviewing immersion arrangements at Babughat in Kolkata, accompanied by Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand and Kolkata Municipal Commissioner Smita Pandey.

India, U.S. trade deal to be much different: Donald Trump

The U.S. and India are “pretty close” to making a trade deal, which will be much different from the earlier pacts, U.S. President Donald Trump said in Washington. Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday (October 20, 2026), Mr. Trump said India and the U.S. were pretty close to making a trade deal.

Rubio says India-U.S. trade deal close, urges New Delhi to boost U.S. energy, defence buys

India and the U.S. moved to expand energy and defence cooperation on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) despite ongoing friction in their relations, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged New Delhi to scale up energy trade and increase purchases of American technologies and systems. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar hosted Mr. Rubio for wide-ranging talks shortly after the top diplomat arrived in Mumbai for his second visit to India in under five months, even as bilateral ties remain strained over Washington’s unpredictable trade policies and tightening immigration rules.

Trump envoy Witkoff meets Putin in St. Petersburg for Ukraine war talks

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) about Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes Kyiv to make a deal that stops the fighting. Mr. Putin thanked Mr. Trump and Mr. Witkoff for their efforts to end the war.

French PM to meet unions as government prepares for more protests

France’s Prime Minister plans to meet unions on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) to discuss security and has vowed a “massive” police deployment at protests, following riots in the past week that led to curfews and arrests. The Eurozone’s second-largest economy was rocked on the weekend by some of its worst rioting in recent years, just six months before voters head to the polls to elect a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.

India opposes attempts to portray world’s largest democracy negatively using unverified allegations at UN

India has asserted that human rights should not be used as an instrument of political pressure or selective targeting of countries, as it opposed attempts to turn allegations and incomplete statistics into a “negative characterisation” of the world’s largest democracy.

Asian Para Games 2026: India reach 47 medals, including 12 gold; Praveen, Khilari, Nishad, Deepthi among gold medallists

Indian para-athletes continued their medal rush at the Asian Para Games, winning 10 medals, including three gold, on Wednesday (October 21, 2026), taking their para-athletics tally to 30 after two days of competition. India had won 14 medals, including five gold, on Tuesday (October 20, 2026).