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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India's G20 presidency has indeed left a profound impact on the world.

In an exclusive interview to a news agency, he expressed a deep personal connection to these achievements, stating, "Many positive impacts have emerged from India's G20 presidency, and some of these are very close to my heart."

He pointed out that India's leadership has transformed the G20 from a platform of ideas into a roadmap for the future, setting the stage for global collaboration.

The opposition's INDIA alliance will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election "together as far as possible", the bloc said Friday, the final day of its meeting in Mumbai. The wording of the INDIA alliance's resolution, however, has raised eyebrows and spawned questions, specifically of the kind the grouping was meant to answer - just how united is the opposition as it bids to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming an unprecedented third term. The parties resolved to "coordinate respective communications and media strategies and campaigns with the theme "Judega Bharat, Jiteega India" in different languages.

The government has called for a "special session of Parliament" to be held from September 18 to 22, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi posted on X (formerly Twitter), adding, that there will be five sittings. "Amid Amrit Kaal, looking forward to having a fruitful discussion and debate in Parliament," he said.

Government sources have, so far, been tight-lipped on possible agendas.

There is speculation the special session is being called to begin the process of shifting from the old to the new Parliament building. So, this session may begin in the old and end in the new. 

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the central government for a “timeframe” for the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir.

The apex court is currently hearing a number of petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370 which gave J&K special its special status.

“Can you convert a State into a UT? Can a UT be carved out of a State?” the court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to which he replied, “There is no restriction. For example, Assam, Tripura, and Arunachal became UT first and then became states.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the crucial G20 summit. During the call, Putin expressed his inability to attend the G20 summit and informed PM Modi that Russia would be represented by FM Sergey Lavrov. "President Putin conveyed his inability to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September 2023 and informed that Russia would be represented by Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov," said the Prime Minister's Office in a statement.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues. "The two leaders reviewed progress on a number of issues of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern, including the recently concluded BRICS Summit in Johannesburg," said the PMO.