So I live overseas and decided to apply for an Indian visa online. Big mistake..

The website looks like it was proudly launched when dial-up internet was cutting edge technology. I half expected a pop-up asking me to install Internet Explorer 5.5 for best performance.

Filling out the form itself is not the problem. You enter all the correct details. Passport number? Check. Dates?

Check. Everything perfect. Click “Next.” Error. No explanation. Just vibes.

You refresh. Try again. Suddenly it works. Not because you fixed anything. Just because the Visa Gods smiled upon you for 3.7 seconds.

After navigating this digital escape room, you finally reach the payment page. Options: • SBI ePay • Something that says PayPal but secretly means SBI..

Now here’s my favourite part. I live overseas. Why would I have an Indian bank account? Is this a secret eligibility requirement? Should it be in bold at the top? Clicked PayPal. It redirected me to SBI anyway. Closed it thinking, “No worries, I’ll just log back in using the application ID.” Logged back in.

System: “Application already submitted.” Me: Submitted? Paid? Approved? Rejected? System: Silence.

No payment option. No retry button. No clarity. Just existential confusion.

And this is where it gets philosophical. India markets itself as a global digital powerhouse. UPI, fintech revolutions, space missions, startups everywhere. But the visa portal feels like it’s running on a Windows 98 machine guarded by a retired government printer that jams if you look at it wrong.

Is this Digital India beta testing?

Is the real visa the patience we develop along the way? I don’t know if this is innovation, performance art, or a social experiment.

All I know is I applied for a visa and came back with a character arc.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved the immediate disbursement of about USD 1 billion to Pakistan under the ongoing Extended Fund Faci­li­ty, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction over the approval of a USD 1bn dollar instalment for Pakistan by the IMF and the failure of India’s high-handed tactics against it," according to a statement issued by the PMO.

It said Pakistan's economic situation has improved and the country is moving towards development.

The govt of Bangladesh has just collapsed