Daily Briefing: Will US and Iran peace talks take place in Islamabad today?

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Daily Briefing: Will the US-Iran peace talks take place in Islamabad today? In today's edition: Suhas Palshikar opinion on failure of Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha; Idea Exchange with Ashok Singh and Pawan Kumar; and more Written by: Ariba8 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 20, 2026 09:53 AM IST Top news on April 20, 2026. Make us preferred source on Google Whatsapp twitter Facebook Reddit PRINT Good morning, A year after terrorists opened fire at tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, the families of the victims continue to grapple with emotional pain. For the family of Santosh Jagdale, who was killed in front of his wife and daughter, the pain is dual, as they deal with financial strain after losing the primary breadwinner of the house. His daughter, Asawari shares with The Indian Express that their family had to “run from pillar to post to get the promises” made by the state government to the deceased’s families fulfilled. Although she was appointed as an administrative officer in the Pune Municipal Corporation in March this year, for her, the struggle continues: Nothing can fill the void left by her father’s killing. With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition: Hours after United States President Donald Trump informed that a delegation would travel to Islamabad for talks to end the war with Iran on Monday, the latter declared it wasn’t planning to take part in a new round of talks with the US. Moreover, senior Iranian official Ebrahim Zolfaghari said Tehran has officially rejected all negotiations with the US, declaring that any peace deal now stands cancelled, with the Strait of Hormuz being fully closed again. Iran’s announcement comes despite the US’s plan to send officials to Pakistan for possible negotiations, with Trump even warning the proposed talks would be a “last chance” for Iran to agree to a deal. Stuck: Since the first round of talks ended without an agreement last weekend, statements from both the US and Iran have shown they are stuck in a quagmire of differing aims and a deep trust deficit. The stark divergence, with historic US objections to Iran’s nuclear programme, and the latest matter of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, is arguable why April 11 talks yielded no deal, Bashir Ali Abbas explains. While the US looks to discuss the Strait as part of the current ceasefire, and distinct from the nuclear issue, Iran looks to use its Hormuz leverage to force a dilution of US demands and gain concessions across the board. Back in India: Amid the global energy crisis triggered by the Iran war, India’s Armed Forces are exploring multiple measures to conserve Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and fuel. This includes procuring alternative cooking sources, preferably biogas in the short term, and exploiting solar and wind energy on a larger scale over the next few months. Orders to procure biogas stoves are in the pipeline and will be initiated soon by the Army, senior officials told The Indian Express. Plans to restrict their movement up to a certain distance are also being discussed. Noida stands as a city whose high-rise apartments and expanding real estate market tell one story of growth, while its factory floors tell another, my colleague Drishti Jain reports. Despite Gautam Buddh Nagar being the largest GDP contributor to the economy of Uttar Pradesh, wage growth lags far behind the income it helps generate. Moreover, the income gap between workers and those in managerial roles is widening, with modest gains for lower-paid workers, and faster growth for managerial roles. Following the announcement of the revised minimum wages by the UP government last week, a large-scale protest led by working labourers took place in Noida last week, which soon turned violent. Behind the clashes lies a deeper story of rising living costs, widening income gaps, and urban poverty shaping everyday survival. Read here. Former Union minister and veteran politician from West Bengal, Dinesh Trivedi, is likely to be appointed India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, official sources confirmed to The Indian Express. The political appointment to the key diplomatic post in Dhaka would mark a deviation from the past. It comes amid efforts to reset bilateral ties after the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was formed in February this year. Bai Hirabai Trust row: In an attempt to resolve the current row over the trusteeship of the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (Bai Hirabai Trust), the board of trustees has decided to remove restrictive eligibility clauses and bring them in line with those followed by other Tata group trusts. Former trustee Mehli Mistry, contending that the trust mandates trustees to maintain permanent residence in Mumbai and belong to the Parsi Zoroastrian faith, challenged the appointment of two trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust. While one of them resigned, the other stayed. Mehli has sought regulatory intervention, including a formal inquiry and sworn declarations from trustees confirming their eligibility. The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, an organisation that first flagged concerns against Nashik-based godman Ashok Kharat has remained at the forefront of state’s fight against black magic and exploitative practices. In practice, the organisation combines grassroots interventions with sustained advocacy for scientific temper. It is now seeking state intervention in expediting the framing of detailed rules under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013 – pending since its enactment. 3-language rule: As the three-language formula is being implemented for students from Class VI, beginning this academic year, foreign languages such as French and German are making way for Hindi, Sanskrit and other regional languages. This new scheme of studies has implications for the choice of languages. With its implementation, schools that The Indian Express spoke to in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune said they have been grappling with the changes, with teachers, essentially engaged in teaching foreign languages in these schools, facing uncertainty. Read the full story. In our Opinion section today, Suhas Palshikar calls the weaponisation of the enhanced representation of women as a “smokescreen,” which neither benefits society nor democracy. Emphasising that the exercise should alert Indians to two serious issues, Palshikar writes: “The ease with which the BJP sought to dispense with the concerns of the southern states indicates a weakening of the goal and practice of federalism. This is not surprising because Hindutva has always been wary of federalism. This stems from the unitary idea of nationalism and therefore, it is qualitatively different from the cynical and power-oriented neglect of the federal principle by earlier governments.” “Today, wages are often undercut, sometimes by 40–50 per cent below mandated levels and workers can be dismissed without notice. There is little accountability. This is a policy failure. The government sets minimum wages but enforcement is weak. Workers are left vulnerable, underpaid, disrespected, and insecure.” In our latest edition of Idea Exchange, Ashok Singh, Vice President, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and Pawan Kumar, VP, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) speak on the recent workers protests in Noida, their demands and the handling of outcry by the states. Both our guests have been at the forefront of efforts to mediate between workers, employers, and authorities. 🎧 Lastly, don’t forget to tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss why the Centre’s 131st Constitution Amendment Bill failed to see the light of the day. We also talk about the 27 lakh people who are still unaware if they’ll be able to vote in the upcoming West Bengal elections. We delve deeper into Iran’s U-turn regarding the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!