News Dabba for 18 February 2026: Five stories for a balanced news diet

Indie Journal brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats, Mahayuti govt formally closing the door on 2014 Muslim quota policy, to California avalanche.

Elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states on March 16: Hindustan Times

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha for 37 seats across 10 states, with polling scheduled for March 16 and counting to be held the same evening, Hindustan Times reports. The vacancies are spread across Maharashtra (7), Odisha (4), Tamil Nadu (6), West Bengal (5), Assam (3), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (2), Haryana (2), Himachal Pradesh (1) and Telangana (2). The report says that these seats will fall vacant in April 2026. Read the full report here.

Mahayuti govt formally closes the door on 2014 Muslim quota policy, Indian Express

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday formally withdrew a decade old Government Resolution that had enabled members of around 50 identified Muslim communities to obtain caste and caste validity certificates under the Special Backward Category A SBC A framework. Indian Express reports that this effectively shuts the last administrative route that could have supported reservation claims in education. With the latest order, the state has terminated all previous resolutions issued on the subject, including those related to granting caste certificates to Muslims seeking benefits under SBC A. The move brings formal closure to a policy first introduced in 2014 but never fully implemented, the report says. Read the full report here.

Rescuers search for nine missing skiers after California avalanche, BBC reports

BBC reports that nine backcountry skiers are missing following an avalanche in California's Lake Tahoe region. Six others have been rescued after they became stranded, the Nevada County Sheriff's Office said. The avalanche was reported about 11:30 PST local time in the Castle Peak area near the town of Truckee, the report says. Weather conditions remain dangerous, with a high chance of further avalanches. Read the full report here.

India Today on sudden clearance of 75 school files on day of Ajit Pawar crash

A fresh controversy has erupted in Maharashtra over administrative decisions taken on January 28, the same day news of senior leader Ajit Pawar's plane incident emerged, India Today reports, triggering widespread political and bureaucratic activity in the state. According to its sources, the Maharashtra Minority Department cleared as many as 75 files related to minority schools on January 28. The files reportedly included proposals linked to recognition and approvals for minority educational institutions. The development has raised serious questions in political and administrative circles, the report says. Read the full report here.

India tells university to leave AI summit after presenting Chinese robot as its own, Reuters reports

An Indian university has been asked to vacate its stall at the country's flagship AI summit after a staff member was caught presenting a commercially available robotic dog made in China as its own creation, Reuters reports as per its government sources. "You need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University," Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told state-run broadcaster DD News this week in remarks that have since gone viral. But the report says that social media users quickly identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, sold by China's Unitree Robotics for about $2,800 and widely used in research and education globally. The report says that the episode has drawn sharp criticism and has cast an uncomfortable spotlight on India's artificial intelligence ambitions. Read the full report here.