Glossary
47 words you met as dotted underlines in our stories: the meaning, plus why it mattered in that story. It grows every day.
ACPLaw
Assistant Commissioner of Police, a mid-level officer in a city force.
In this story A Delhi ACP's promotion has been put on hold.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
Air Force DayDefence
Held on 8 October every year to mark the Indian Air Force's founding in 1932.
In this story The 94th was observed on Thursday.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
amicus curiaeLaw
'Friend of the court': a lawyer appointed to assist the bench impartially, not to represent a party.
In this story Senior counsel Liz Mathew was appointed in the Delhi-NCR case.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
asymmetric synthesisScience
Making one mirror-image form of a molecule rather than a mix of both.
In this story The field of the 2026 Chemistry Nobel.
First appeared · No. 3 (2026-10-07)
basis pointsEconomy
Hundredths of a percentage point. 25 basis points is a quarter of one per cent.
In this story Economists expect a 25-basis-point repo hike.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
Black SeaWorld
The sea bordered by Ukraine, Russia, Turkiye and others, now a war zone for shipping.
In this story A strike hit a Turkish vessel with Indian crew.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
BrentEnergy
The North Sea crude benchmark that prices most of the world's oil, and the one Indian refiners follow.
In this story Trading near $100 a barrel.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
CabinetGovernment
The ministers who take major decisions of the Union government.
In this story Congratulated PM Modi on 25 years.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
calibrated tighteningEconomy
An RBI policy stance meaning it will raise rates gradually and step by step, depending on data.
In this story Adopted on Wednesday in place of 'neutral'.
First appeared · No. 3 (2026-10-07)
channelrhodopsinScience
A light-sensitive protein, first found in green algae, which opens a pore in the cell membrane when blue light hits it.
In this story Hegemann and Nagel discovered it; Deisseroth put it into mouse neurons.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
Chief Election CommissionerLaw
The head of the Election Commission, appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee under the 2023 law.
In this story Gyanesh Kumar is the 26th CEC; a petition questions whether he may act alone.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
CPIEconomy
Consumer Price Index, the main measure of retail inflation in India.
In this story The RBI forecasts 5.2 per cent for 2026-27.
First appeared · No. 3 (2026-10-07)
CPRMedicine
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: chest compressions and breaths to keep blood moving after the heart stops.
In this story Doctors tried it for 45 minutes on Nana Patekar.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
crash axeAviation
An axe kept in the cockpit for emergencies such as cutting through wreckage.
In this story Used in the attack on the captain.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
croreMoney
Indian unit equal to ten million. Rs 400 crore is Rs 4 billion.
In this story Early loss estimate for the Kusum plant.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
dollar indexMarkets
An index of the dollar against six major currencies, mostly the euro. A higher figure means a stronger dollar.
In this story Near 101.97, a 17-month high, as the euro slid.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
El NiñoWeather
A periodic warming of the Pacific that tends to weaken India's monsoon.
In this story Cited by the RBI for higher food prices.
First appeared · No. 3 (2026-10-07)
Election CommissionLaw
The constitutional body that conducts elections to Parliament and state legislatures. It consists of the CEC and two Election Commissioners.
In this story Decisions are meant to be unanimous where possible, and by majority otherwise.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
EMIMoney
Equated monthly instalment: the fixed monthly payment on a loan.
In this story A repo hike usually lifts floating-rate loan EMIs within a month or two.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
FIRsLaw
First Information Reports: the police record that starts a criminal case. An FIR is an allegation, not a finding.
In this story Filed against Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
foreign institutional investorsMarkets
Overseas funds that buy Indian shares and bonds. They can sell quickly.
In this story Kept selling on Thursday.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
foreign portfolioMarkets
Overseas investors who buy Indian shares and bonds through exchanges, as opposed to those who set up businesses. They can sell fast.
In this story Their continued selling is one reason the rupee is weak.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
forex reservesEconomy
Foreign currency and gold held by the RBI. It sells dollars from them to steady the rupee.
In this story Down $18.34 billion in the week to 25 September.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
Form 6Law
The form used to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll.
In this story The court said it had not cleared a change to it.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
golden hourMedicine
The first hour after a cardiac arrest or a serious injury, when treatment is most likely to save life.
In this story The Indian Express carried a doctor's account of the missed golden hour.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
GST CouncilEconomy
The body of Union and state finance ministers that decides GST rates and rules.
In this story Meets on Thursday 8 October.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
ICCSports
The International Cricket Council, which runs world cricket and publishes the player rankings.
In this story Iyer rose in the T20I rankings.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
IceCubeScience
A detector made of sensors frozen into a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice that spots flashes from neutrinos.
In this story Francis Halzen won the Physics Nobel for building it.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
INDIA blocPolitics
The opposition alliance of Congress and regional parties formed before the 2024 general election.
In this story Led the march to the Election Commission on Tuesday.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
Jantar MantarPlaces
The observatory in central Delhi that is the usual site for protests.
In this story Where citizens' groups plan a protest on 9 October.
First appeared · No. 3 (2026-10-07)
Monetary Policy CommitteeEconomy
The six-member RBI panel that sets the repo rate; three members come from the RBI and three are outside experts. It meets six times a year.
In this story Announces its decision at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 7 October.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
neutrinosScience
Almost massless particles that pass through matter with hardly any interaction, produced in stars and violent cosmic events.
In this story IceCube catches them in Antarctic ice.
First appeared · No. 2 (2026-10-06)
NiftyMarkets
The NSE's benchmark index of 50 large companies. Its daily close is the most-quoted measure of the Indian market.
In this story Rose 0.60 per cent to 22,555.75.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
Nobel Prize in LiteratureCulture
The annual prize of the Swedish Academy for a body of literary work.
In this story Went to Anne Carson.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
oligarchsPolitics
Rich business owners with political influence.
In this story Musk's word for those he says are blocking Starlink.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
Optional Practical TrainingImmigration
A US programme letting international students work for a year, or three in STEM fields, after graduating.
In this story The US now proposes a $70,000 fee.
First appeared · No. 3 (2026-10-07)
optogeneticsScience
A technique in which nerve cells are given a light-sensitive protein so that light can switch them on or off, to test what a circuit does.
In this story The 2026 medicine prize honours its founders.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
quo warrantoLaw
A writ asking a person holding a public office to show the legal authority for holding it or for an act.
In this story The petition seeks it against the CEC.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
repo rateEconomy
The rate at which the RBI lends to banks against government securities. Banks' loan and deposit rates follow it.
In this story Currently 5.25 per cent; a Reuters poll expects a rise to 5.50.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
SensexMarkets
The benchmark index of 30 large companies listed on the BSE, India's oldest stock exchange.
In this story Gained 472.77 points to close at 72,382.47 on Monday.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
Special Intensive RevisionLaw
A fresh house-to-house verification of electoral rolls, in which voters may need to produce documents.
In this story The revision is the decision at the centre of the Congress protests and the Supreme Court petition.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
StarlinkTechnology
A satellite internet service operated by SpaceX that beams broadband to dishes on the ground.
In this story Has no licence to launch in India yet.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
Strait of HormuzWorld
A narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes.
In this story A tanker with five Indian crew was hit there, and Iran says it stays closed.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
suo motuLaw
Latin for 'on its own motion': a court starts a case without anyone petitioning it.
In this story The Supreme Court started such a case on rape incidents in Delhi-NCR.
First appeared · No. 1 (2026-10-05)
Viksit BharatPolitics
'Developed India': the government's slogan for a goal of developed-nation status by 2047.
In this story The theme of PM Modi's anniversary speech.
First appeared · No. 3 (2026-10-07)
VIXMarkets
The volatility index, a gauge of how much traders expect the market to swing. It rises in times of fear.
In this story Jumped about 10 per cent.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
Z+Security
The second-highest security category in India, with commandos and other armed personnel guarding a protectee.
In this story CEC Gyanesh Kumar's cover was raised to it.
First appeared · No. 4 (2026-10-08)
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