Archive · 18 Aug 2026
India weighs Moon Base invite, actor ad notices, lawmaker trials
NASA asked India to help build a base on the Moon.
The Moon Base would be a place where astronauts and robots can live for a long time and study the Moon.
India's own space agency, ISRO, will probably say yes.
In another story, three famous movie actors got official letters from Maharashtra's food safety office.
The office says their advertisement secretly promotes a tobacco product called Vimal Pan Masala, which is banned in that state.
India's Parliament also passed a new law about minerals, and some states are unhappy because they feel it stops them from earning money from mining.
A court report says thousands of criminal cases against politicians are still waiting for trials to finish.
India's central bank used a special plan to help keep the value of the rupee steady.
All these events show big things happening in space, movies, mining, courts and money at the same time.
NASA has invited India to join its Moon Base programme, a permanent lunar research station that could be the costliest scientific project ever, with ISRO likely to accept.
Maharashtra's FDA sent show-cause notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff, alleging their Vimal Elaichi advertisement amounts to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, banned in the state.
Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, restricting state levies on mineral rights, drawing opposition from mineral-rich states like Jharkhand and Kerala.
A Supreme Court amicus report says 4,192 criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs are pending trial, with Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy facing 89 cases.
The RBI closed its FCNR(B) swap window a month early after banks mobilised $52.3 billion in foreign-currency inflows to support a rupee that was Asia's worst-performing currency in 2025-26.
- Who
- NASA invited ISRO to join its Moon Base programme; Maharashtra's FDA issued show-cause notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff; Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026; the Supreme Court examined a report on criminal cases against MPs and MLAs; and the RBI managed a foreign-currency swap window.
- What
- A week of major India news spanning lunar cooperation with NASA, a crackdown on alleged surrogate advertising for banned Vimal Pan Masala, a Centre-state tussle over mineral taxation, mounting criminal cases against lawmakers, and measures to support the rupee.
- When
- Notices were issued last week; the current Maharashtra pan masala prohibition has been in force since July 13, 2026; the Supreme Court hearing is listed for August 18; the FCNR(B) window operated from June 8 to August 13; the Mines Bill was passed in 2026; ISRO's GISAT-1A launch is set for early September.
- Where
- India (including Maharashtra), the United States, the Moon for the proposed base, with related mineral developments in Argentina, Australia and other countries.
- Why
- NASA seeks partners to share the cost and complexity of building a permanent lunar research station; regulators aim to stop indirect promotion of banned tobacco products; the Centre and states dispute mineral revenue; the court wants speedy trials to protect democracy; and the RBI sought to make bets against the rupee expensive.
Supporters of the new measures
Critics and concerned states
Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill
Supporters of the new measures
The Centre says unchecked state levies on mineral rights raise the cost of key minerals, feeding into inflation and infrastructure costs.
Critics and concerned states
Mineral-rich states say the amendments dent their prospective revenue and undermine India's federal structure, after the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling upheld their power to tax mineral rights.
India joining the US-led Moon Base programme
Supporters of the new measures
Joining offers India valuable experience, technology leapfrogging and shared costs; the Artemis Accords are not a geopolitical or military camp and space is not adversarial.
Critics and concerned states
Concerns exist about joining a US-led bloc and compromising strategic autonomy, though the article notes such concerns may be overstated.
Criminalisation of politics
Supporters of the new measures
Criminalisation of politics undermines democracy, so cases against lawmakers should be tried speedily, with designated courts exclusively handling such trials until the backlog clears.
Critics and concerned states
Barring candidates facing serious charges could violate the principle of presumption of innocence; existing law disqualifies candidates only after conviction.
- Moon Base programme
- Permanent lunar research station inhabited by astronauts and robots for prolonged periods
- Artemis Accords
- 70 signatory nations; India joined as the 27th nation in 2023
- FDA notices
- Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff for the Vimal Elaichi ad
- Penalty for misleading ad (FSS Act)
- Up to Rs 10 lakh per contravention
- Pending cases against MPs/MLAs
- 4,192 pending trial; 519 pending for more than a decade
- Outstanding mineral levy dues
- Estimated at around Rs 2 lakh crore
- FCNR(B) swap inflows
- $52.3 billion mobilised between June 8 and August 13
- KABIL lithium assets
- Five lithium brine blocks acquired in Catamarca, Argentina; seven more under evaluation