3,000 Troops, 5 Ships: Key Pact Allows India, Russia To Share Military Bases

India and Russia can now share army bases, ports, and air bases and station up to 3,000 military personnel in each other's territory, as the Indo-Russian Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) - signed between New Delhi and Moscow in February 2025 - has become operational.

The pact was signed in Moscow to boost military cooperation and logistics support between India and one of its most reliable allies. The agreement, under which India and Moscow agreed to station five battleships, ten fighter planes and 3,000 soldiers on each other's soil, will remain in effect for 5 years and can be extended, reported the Russian news agency, Sputnik.

The bilateral agreement extends India's strategic reach to the Arctic region -- which is fast becoming the global maritime hotspot, as Russia and China have been increasing their presence in the vast maritime wilderness.

New Delhi will be able to access the massive ports in Russia's Murmansk and Severomorsk.

Moscow is eyeing logistics cooperation from the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean. The pact will provide Russia with support like refuelling, repair, spare parts and supplies.

🚨🇮🇳🇷🇺 India and Russia agree to station up to 3K troops on each other's territory

Up to 3,000 military personnel could be stationed on each other's soil at any one time, in a significant boost to defence cooperation between the two long-standing strategic partners.

The… pic.twitter.com/YnD6XCCtY6

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) April 18, 2026

The pact, which will be operational in war and peacetime, allows the two nations to save money and time in long-distance missions.

India has signed a similar agreement with the United States. Called LEMOA, or Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement, the pact allows reciprocal access to military facilities for refuelling, supplies and logistics support. However, it differs from RELOS due to the provision of stationing troops. RELOS also allows the exchange of goods if required.

Under RELOS, cost reimbursement, meaning bartering instead of payment, is also possible.

RELOS and LEMOA highlight India's multi-alignment policy.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish think tank, said in a 2025 report that Russia remained the biggest arms supplier of equipment and systems for the Indian Armed Forces. It noted that between 2020 and 2024, India was the world's second-largest arms importer, with Russia contributing 36 per cent to the country's total defence purchase during the period.

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From Greetings To Being On Time: Indian Woman Says Europe Changed Her Lifestyle

An Indian woman's experience of living in Europe has caught attention online, as she shared how it changed her daily habits and way of thinking.

Visha Khandelwal posted a video on Instagram where she spoke about the cultural differences she noticed while staying in European homes and how she is now using those lessons in her life back in India.

She begins by saying that as an Indian who spent the last few months inside European homes, she learned several things and is now applying them in her daily life. 

She first talks about the importance of small social gestures, explaining that she formed the habit of greeting everyone, including cab drivers, waiters and even strangers passing by.

She adds that while this behaviour may not always work the same way in India, it has still changed how she interacts with people. 

She says that although sharing the OTP first with an auto driver is practical, she has started having conversations after that and believes that even a short ride can offer new perspectives.

Another habit she highlights is punctuality. Recalling an incident, she says that when two Indian girls were travelling with a Swiss man, they would tell him to meet at 8:45 in the morning if they actually wanted him there at 8:30, yet he would still arrive at 8:30.

She says this consistency has influenced her own behaviour over time, adding that she now finds herself waiting for cabs or autos and often reaching before time. She noted that the stress and guilt of being late and having to apologise is something she now avoids, and feels it is underrated.

Watch Video Here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Visha Khandelwal (@visha.khandelwal)

Khandelwal also reflects on independence and self-focus. She shares that she has lived in co-living spaces with women aged 35 to 40 who were travelling alone, writing books, focusing on fitness and living without worry.

She contrasts this with societal expectations in India, saying that the thought of what people will say does not even cross their minds. She adds that these women moved out early, started earning on their own and made their own decisions without constant involvement from relatives.

The video was captioned that what she learnt from Europeans as an Indian travelling abroad includes learning to say no and drawing clearer boundaries, which she describes as an important lesson.

Social Media Reaction

Social Media Users gave mixed reactions to the post. One user commented, "The punctuality hack of telling the Swiss guy 8:45 so he shows up at 8:30 is so painfully relatable."

Another user calls it, "So truee and relatable!"

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"Out Hai": Kohli Disagrees With Umpire's Decision; DRS Masterclass Follows

Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru could not register a win at their home ground, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in an IPL 2026 match against Delhi Capitals on Saturday. RCB scored 175/8 in 20 overs while batting first. In reply, DC chased down the target in 19.5 overs. During the IPL clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Bengaluru, Virat Kohli scored 19 off 13 balls, hitting three fours at a strike rate of over 146. While the score was modest, his attacking intent was clearly visible. Kohli has developed a more aggressive approach in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years, marked by a significant rise in his attacking-shot percentage from 2021 to the current season.

Apart from his aggressive batting strategy, Kohli has remained sharp in the field. During the RCB vs DC match, he insisted on a DRS review off Bhuvneshwar Kumar's bowling after the umpire had adjudged opener Pathum Nissanka not out. Kohli could be heard insisting, "Out hai." The review proved him right, with the decision overturned.

On-point delivery, on-point DRS! #PathumNissanka had no answers to @BhuviOfficial's inswinger & credit to #RCB for the timely review! #TATAIPL | #IPLRivalryWeek 2026 #RCBvDC | LIVE NOW https://t.co/tCvyn0XFNx pic.twitter.com/dqE7oQNxee

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 18, 2026

Since 2021, there has been a steady shift towards a more aggressive batting approach from Kohli in the IPL. In 2021, his attacking-shot percentage stood at 40.6 per cent, which rose to 50.3 per cent in 2022. The numbers jumped further in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons, registering 62.5 per cent, 64.3 per cent and 68 per cent respectively. In IPL 2026, his attacking-shot percentage has crossed into the 70s, standing at 72.8 per cent.

In six innings so far this season, Kohli has scored 247 runs at an average of 49.40 and a strike rate of 157.32, including two fifties, with a highest score of 69*. He is currently the second-highest run-scorer of the season.

Turning to the match, DC won the toss and opted to bowl first. Phil Salt and Virat Kohli (19 off 13 balls, with three fours) put together a 52-run opening partnership. Salt (63 off 38 balls, with four fours and three sixes) was the standout performer with the bat, while the other RCB batters failed to capitalise on their starts. RCB were eventually restricted to 175/8 in 20 overs.

For DC, skipper Axar Patel (2/18), Kuldeep Yadav (2/32) and Lungi Ngidi (2/39) picked up two wickets each, ensuring that RCB could not fully exploit their promising beginnings.

With ANI inputs

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Talks, Reintroduction: How Centre May Move Forward With Women's Quota Bill

Despite the constitutional amendment bill for implementing women's reservation having failed in the Lok Sabha, the path to implementing a 33 per cent reservation for women in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections remains open.

Several options are currently being considered to achieve this. According to top government sources, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains committed to 33 per cent women's reservation.

To implement this in the next Lok Sabha elections, discussions will be held with all political parties and if necessary, the government may even consider re-introducing the bill during the monsoon session, sources said.

Despite the failure of the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill, the government has not withdrawn the two accompanying bills that pertain to Union Territories and the delimitation process, and these remain pending in the Lok Sabha, sources said. The government can bring these bills up for a vote at any time, at its own convenience, they added.

Sources said the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 or the 106th Constitutional Amendment remains fully in force. This implies that the avenue for implementing the 33 per cent reservation for women in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections has not been closed.

The government had notified this law on Thursday night, precisely while the discussions regarding the 131st Constitutional Amendment were still underway. Under this foundational legislation, the implementation of women's reservation has been linked to the completion of the census and the subsequent delimitation process.

The amendment bill that failed to pass on Friday was intended to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, based on the 2011 census data, in order to facilitate the implementation of women's reservation.

However, the failure of this specific bill has had no adverse effect on the reservation quota stipulated in the original law. In any case, the 2023 legislation will come into effect only after the census is completed and the Lok Sabha seats are subsequently redetermined through the delimitation process based on that data.

The census enumeration process is currently underway and is expected to be completed by 2027. If a Delimitation Commission is constituted and completes its work immediately thereafter, women's reservation could be implemented in the 2029 elections.

Experts believe that the government still has several avenues through which it can implement women's reservation. It could increase the number of seats through the process of delimitation, but doing so would need a two-thirds majority in parliament. Notably, opposition parties have been raising objections regarding the delimitation of seats based on population. This was, in fact, a major reason behind the opposition to the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill.

Second Alternative

A second alternative route involves altering only the boundaries of constituencies without increasing the total number of seats, which is capped at 550. Building political consensus on this approach could prove to be comparatively easier, sources said.

Still, the government has yet another option at its disposal. Under this approach, Article 334A could be amended to delink the reservation mandate from the condition of delimitation. Such a move would enable the implementation of reservation on the existing 543 seats. A freeze on delimitation is currently in effect until 2026. As this freeze is set to expire that year, the government will need to give fresh consideration to this matter, sources said.

Amid these options, the central government has for now decided to use a politically aggressive stance against the Opposition. Coinciding with the assembly election in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the government has organised protests to corner the Opposition.

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Jensen Huang Slams Dario Amodei's 'Nukes To North Korea' AI Chip Analogy

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has pushed back against Anthropic boss Dario Amodei's comments that selling AI chips to China was like selling nukes to North Korea, calling the analogy "lunacy." In a wide-ranging interview with podcaster Dwarkesh Patel, Huang argued that "victimising" China or treating the nation as an "enemy" was a flawed strategy. He emphasised that China already possesses the domestic capacity and computing power to be a major player in the AI race, suggesting that isolationist policies might be counterproductive.

Following intense lobbying by Huang, the Trump administration authorised sales of NVIDIA's H-200 chips to China, reversing earlier Biden-era national security restrictions. The approval permits sales of these high-end, yet older-generation, processors, provided that the US government receives a 25 per cent fee on all sales.

Playing the 'devil's advocate', Patel asked Huang what would happen in the hypothetical scenario if China, using the chips supplied, were able to train models on par with Claude Mythos, which might threaten US national security and corporate dominance.

"First of all, Mythos was trained on fairly mundane capacity, and a fairly mundane amount of it. By an extraordinary company. The amount of capacity and the type of compute it was trained on is abundantly available in China. So you just have to first realise that chips exist in China," said Huang.

"Victimising them, turning them into an enemy, likely isn't the best answer. They are an adversary. We want the United States to win. But I think having a dialogue and having research dialogue is probably the safest thing to do."

The Jensen Huang episode.

0:00:00 – Is Nvidia's biggest moat its grip on scarce supply chains?
0:16:25 – Will TPUs break Nvidia's hold on AI compute?
0:41:06 – Why doesn't Nvidia become a hyperscaler?
0:57:36 – Should we be selling AI chips to China?
1:35:06 – Why doesn't Nvidia… pic.twitter.com/ezDkUmoFWM

— Dwarkesh Patel (@dwarkesh_sp) April 15, 2026

Amodei's Analogy

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, Amodei said selling the chips to China was like "selling nuclear weapons to North Korea".

"It would be a big mistake to ship these chips. I think this is crazy. It's a bit like selling nuclear weapons to North Korea," said Amodei.

Responding to the analogy, Huang replied: "Comparing AI to anything that you just mentioned is lunacy. It's a lousy analogy. It's an illogical analogy."

During the tense exchange, Huang also addressed concerns about whether exporting Nvidia chips to China would undermine America's competitive edge.

"The premise that even if we competed in China, that we're going to lose that market anyways. You're not talking to somebody who woke up a loser. That loser attitude, that loser premise makes no sense to me," said Huang.

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Jay Shah, Ganguly Watch IPL Game In The Stands. Internet Can't Stop Praising

International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah and former Indian cricket team skipper Sourav Ganguly were spotted watching the IPL 2026 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans from the stands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. It came as a surprise to many people that the duo was not in the VIP area and was seated with the fans during the match. High-profile attendees are not a surprise during IPL matches, but it is not common for them to be seated among the general crowd. Social media users were left impressed by Ganguly and Shah ditching 'VIP culture'.

A superb recovery led by Cameron Green's 79 off 55 balls was undone by a dramatic late-order collapse as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were bowled out for 180 in their 20 overs against Gujarat Titans (GT).

ICC Chairman Jay Shah and Legendary Sourav Ganguly at Ahmedabad Watching IPL in the middle of Crowd. pic.twitter.com/Ca6JN8YoD0

— Sonu Jaat • Cricket (@TheSonuJaat) April 17, 2026

Despite Green's fine knock, laced with seven fours and four sixes, KKR lost their last six wickets for just 33 runs in the final phase of the innings. Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers for GT, returning figures of 3-33, while Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna played vital roles in stifling the KKR batters, though Ashok Sharma and Rashid Khan were expensive.

Jay Shah and Sourav Ganguly enjoying the IPL atmosphere with fans

Cricket, fans, and legends all in one photo. pic.twitter.com/KHUJ9fpOpj

— Cric Score (@TheClearPost) April 17, 2026

Pushed into bowling first after KKR elected to bat, Siraj struck in the very first over as skipper Ajinkya Rahane skewed an outswinger to mid-on and fell for a golden duck. Rabada then doubled the misery in the second over by having Angkrish Raghuvanshi nick behind to the keeper. When Tim Seifert (12) slapped a short delivery from Siraj straight to point, KKR were reeling at 32/3 in four overs.

KKR's recovery was initially sparked by Rovman Powell, who hit a cameo of 27 off 20 balls, including two massive sixes, shifting the pressure back onto the GT bowlers. His 55-run stand with Green, who timed the ball really well, steadied the ship before Ashok Sharma deceived him with a 107kph slower ball.

Green, who was struggling on 27 off 29 balls at one stage, suddenly found his groove in the 12th over by launching Rashid for a six and a four. He took a particular liking to the spinners, scoring 33 off just 18 balls against them. His 60-run partnership off 23 balls with Anukul Roy saw KKR gallop from 87/4 to 139/4 in the space of three overs.

However, the dismissal of Roy (9) by Prasidh Krishna in the 15th over triggered a sensational slide. Rinku Singh's poor run continued as he fell to Rabada, while Ramandeep Singh (17) holed out after a brief flurry of boundaries.

In a bizarre final stretch, Green, who had reached 75 off 44 balls, became a virtual spectator at the non-striker's end as wickets tumbled, with the seam-bowling all-rounder facing only two of them during that sequence.

Green managed only four runs off his final 11 deliveries before being caught behind off the last ball of the innings off Rashid. From a position where 200 looked certain, KKR finished with 180 - a total that looks below par on a pitch favouring good strokeplay.

(With IANS inputs)

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Ram Gopal Varma Claims Dhurandhar 2 Got Dawood Ibrahim Act Wrong

Ram Gopal Varma has been one of the most vocal admirers of Dhurandhar 2, showering the Aditya Dhar directorial with glowing praise ever since its release. 

However, despite his overwhelming appreciation, RGV has now opened up about the one aspect of the film that did not sit right with him.

RGV On Dawood Ibrahim's Depiction

In a recent conversation with writer Hussain Zaidi on his YouTube channel, RGV spoke at length about what impressed him in Dhurandhar 2. While he lauded the film's craft and storytelling, he admitted to having reservations about the portrayal of Dawood Ibrahim.

"The only element I disagree with is that. I feel that the portrayal of Dawood Ibrahim... They might have their own sources (but) I think it is being shown incorrectly," he said.

In the film, the notorious gangster is referred to as 'Bade Sahab' and is depicted as the mastermind orchestrating terror operations in India from Pakistan. However, RGV suggested that this interpretation may not align with what he believes to be true.

RGV's Clarification

The Satya director clarified that while he does not claim absolute authority on the subject, the film's narrative does not match his understanding of Dawood's current status.

"It's not like I can say that with authority. But it is not falling in line with what I know," he explained.

RGV added that, based on what he has heard over the years, Dawood has been largely inactive. "He is inactive by choice, because he stopped doing anything. I believe he retired from criminal activities 20 years ago," he said.

At the same time, he acknowledged the ambiguity surrounding such figures, noting that no one can definitively confirm or deny the truth. "Nobody can be an expert, nobody can know this is the truth. We all think Dhurandhar has shown something... I can't disprove it, and the director can't prove it as well," he concluded.

About Dhurandhar 2

The sequel to Dhurandhar follows the rise of Ranveer Singh's Hamza Ali Mazari as Sher-e-Baloch and the undisputed king of Lyari. It also traces his journey from becoming Jaskirat Singh Rangi to Hamza, the man who intrudes into Pakistan as a spy to avenge the terrorist attacks in the nation.

The spy-action thriller also brings back the talented supporting cast, including Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi, Danish Pandor, and Sara Arjun.

ALSO READ: Dhurandhar Is Now India's Biggest Franchise, With Rs 3,000 Crore And Counting

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