Morning Digest: INS Aridhaman, nuclear-powered submarine, enters India’s naval fleet; Iran military says downed second U.S. jet in Gulf, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on April 4, 2026

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over a brief ceremony to formally commission the country’s third nuclear submarine, INS Aridhaman (S4), which is the third in the Arihant-class of SSBNs (Submersible Ship Ballistic Nuclear), on Friday (April 3) at Visakhapatnam. The boat, being part of the strategic weapons programme, falls under the domain of the Strategic Forces and is part of the country’s nuclear triad. As per sources in the Navy, the commissioning was not made public and was carried out quietly, but Mr. Singh dropped enough hints to acknowledge the commissioning of the vessel.

Iran shot down two U.S. military planes in separate attacks on Friday (April 4, 2026), with one service member rescued and at least one missing, in a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago. It was the first time U.S. aircraft had been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.” One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A U.S. crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a U.S. military search-and-rescue operation was underway.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centred in Afghanistan at a depth of 150 km has been reported late Friday (April 3, 2026). Tremors were felt in several parts of Delhi NCR, Suresh Gaddale of the National Centre for Seismology confirmed to The Hindu .The tremors, which lasted a few seconds, occurred around 9:45 p.m. and they were felt in several parts of north India, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana, officials said. There were no immediate reports of any damage.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has re-categorised the total number of left-wing extremism (LWE) affected districts in the country replacing the earlier classification of “most affected” with “LWE affected,” “districts of concern” and “legacy and thrust districts.” While the number of districts in the LWE category remains unchanged at 38 compared to 2024–25, the classification now reflects shifts in the severity of violence reported in these areas. The red corridor has significantly contracted – from over 200 districts in 2005 to just two in 2026 – and its definition has also been revised.

The Congress on Friday (April 3, 2026) warned that a hurried move to amend the Constitution for delimitation, alongside amendments to the women’s reservation law, during a proposed special sitting of Parliament could have “dangerous consequences” for several States, particularly in the south, northeast and the northwest. The party alleged that the special sitting — scheduled for April 16 to 18 — to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam or the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, is aimed at grabbing “political mileage” in the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and called it a “gross violation” of the Model Code of Conduct.

U.S. President Donald Trump asked lawmakers on Friday (April 3, 20276) to approve a massive $1.5 trillion defence budget for 2027, as the United States faces rising costs from its war with Iran and mounting global security commitments. The proposal would lift Pentagon spending by more than 40 percent in a single year — the sharpest increase since World War II — as Washington seeks to sustain military operations and rebuild depleted weapons stockpiles.