India News Highlights: Economic Survey To Be Tabled On Monday; Internet Suspended In Haryana's Nuh

With the Kanwar Yatra set to begin, the Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be closed from Onday onwards for heavy vehicles. All traffic on the route will be diverted.

The expressway will also be off-limits to heavy vehicles starting July 22, with restrictions extending to all vehicles, including private cars, from July 29 onwards. These measures will remain in place until 8:00 pm on August 5.

The Budget Session of the Parliament will kick off on Monday - July 22. As per the announcement made by Kiren Rijiju, the Economic Survey will be tabled before both the houses to kick off the session.

Pope Francis on Sunday voiced his hope that the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will provide an opportunity for countries at war to establish a truce for the duration of the Games.

“According to ancient tradition, may the Olympics be an opportunity to establish a truce in wars, demonstrating a sincere will for peace,” Francis said during his Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square.

The opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games will be held in Paris on July 26 with the participation of 205 delegations of athletes, who will parade on more than 80 boats on the Seine.

More that 11,000 NEET-UG candidates have scored zero or negative marks in the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam this year, according to the centre-wise results announced by the National Testing Agency.

The lowest marks scored by any candidate in the crucial exam is -180 at a centre in Bihar.

According to an analysis of the city- and centre-wise results released on Saturday by the NTA, over 2,250 candidates have scored zero marks, while over 9,400 candidates have scored marks in negative.

There are several candidates at the centre under scanner in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh who have scored less than zero marks.

A 51-year-old murder accused and narcotics smuggler, who was on the run for the last 12 years, has been arrested here, officials said on Sunday.

Mohammad Umar was arrested on July 16 for allegedly killing his associate Taslim in Delhi's Sonia Vihar area in 2012 and disfiguring his face by pouring acid to hide his identity, they said.

He was declared a proclaimed offender on July 18, 2013, by a court and a reward of Rs 50,000 was announced for information leading to his arrest, the officials said. (PTI Inputs)

Trade between India and Bangladesh via land ports came to a standstill on Sunday as there was no movement of cargo trucks to and fro due to the ongoing student protests in the neighbouring country, officials said.

The Bangladeshi side of the Petrapole landport remained non-functional, they said. Nearly one-third of land-based trade between India and Bangladesh takes place through Petrapole.

"Trade from other land ports to Bangladesh, including Petrapole, Gojadanga, Fulbari, and Mahadipur, has also stalled as Bangladeshi Customs announced a two-day holiday from Sunday, following the government's declaration of a holiday except for essential services due to unrest," West Bengal Exporters' Coordination Committee Secretary Ujjal Saha said, as quoted by PTI.

A mass shooting at a party in West Philadelphia early Sunday has left at least three people dead and seven others injured. The incident occurred around 2 am near the intersection of Alden Street and Girard Avenue, where about 100 to 150 people were gathered.

As per district officials, the Godavari river is rising steadily in the temple town of Bhadrachalam in Bhadradri Kothagudem. As of 4 PM on Saturday, the water level rose to 34.90 ft. District collector Jitesh V Patil have asked people in low-lying areas to vacate.

Furthermore, an orange alert has been issued for heavy rains in parts of Telangana.

Haryana government has ordered the suspension of mobile internet, bulk SMS services in Nuh for 24 hours from 6 pm on Sunday. This order comes ahead of the Braj Mandal Yatra on Monday - July 22

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Mumbai has issued a yellow alert for heavy rain in the city till July 24. This comes amid an orange alert for heavy rainfall across Mumbai by the IMD.

"In view of the movement of Kanwarias from adjoining states to Gangotri Dham & Haridwar via Delhi & back, #DelhiTrafficPolice has made elaborate traffic arrangements to minimise inconvenience to commuters & devotees," reads an official statement from the traffic police department.

Days after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote a "beautiful letter" to the former US president. The letter comes after a 20-year-old shooter tried to assassinate Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennysylvania.

During his tenure as POTUS, Trump developed a close relationship with his Chinese counterpart. Speaking at his first rally after the assassination attempt, Trump shared that he received a "beautiful letter" from Jinping.

National Testing Agency is expected to declare the CUET UG Results 2024 soon. As per the latest reports, the CUET scorecards may be released this week.

Twelve rescue personnel from India joined the Nepali security forces in their search for several missing passengers on two buses that were washed away by a landslide into a swollen river in Nepal last week.

The Indian rescue team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached Bagmati province's Chitwan on Saturday at the request of Nepal. Seven Indian nationals were in one of the buses. The bodies of three of them have been recovered so far.

(via PTI)

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a batch of petitions related to the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam, NEET-UG 2024, which was held on May 5.

In the previous hearing, the CJI led banch questioned the spread of the paper leak and centre-wise results.

A plea has been filed with the Supreme Court against the decision of the Union education ministry to cancel the UGC-NET test following inputs that the exam's integrity may have been compromised.

The plea seeks for a stay in the re-examination scheduled to be held between August 21 to September 4, 2024

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee has stated that the state will welcome Bangaldeshis looking for refugee amidst the ongoing crisis in the country to the quota protests.

Bangladesh Supreme court on Sunday ordered the government to reduce job quota on the lines of the massive anti-quota movement in the country that has led to loss of more than hundred lives of students and injured many more.

Addressing TMC's Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav stated, "Since I arrived in Kolkata, I have been seeing the workers. They were elated to see Didi (Mamata Banerjee). This relation of the leader and the worker is important. We remember the martyrs. The one who put their life at stake are remembered as martyrs. It is not to be done by keeping tears in eyes but by keeping the head high. It is fortune for party to have such workers. Respected Didi has those kind of workers. Workers are the biggest. They are the foundation. It is responsibility to remember them."

"Forces conspiring to divide India on communal lines may taste temporary success, but will ultimately be defeated," he added.

Yadav assured, "BJP-led NDA government at Centre won't last long, will fall soon."

He also said, "Communal forces want to be in power at any cost."

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday reached Kolkata to attend Trinamool Congress Party's Martyrs' Rally.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee introduces Yadav to the party leaders on the rally stage.

State Health Minister Veena George said, that the fourteen-year-old boy who was undergoing treatment for Nipah infection in Kerala is dead.

After the all-party meeting at the Parliament, NCP leader Praful Patel says, "These are formalities, such meetings are called before every session... All parties have given their suggestions on the budget session. Many parties have raised the issues of their respective states. What I have suggested is that the session should run smoothly without any interruptions, which has become a tradition now to interrupt and create chaos. All the matters should be discussed and debated, but peacefully... No discussion was held regarding the post of deputy speaker. I think the govt should call a different meeting for this issue in which the govt and opposition sit together and discuss..."

According to PTI, in all-party meeting, Congress sought Lok Sabha Dy Speaker's post for opposition, raised NEET issue.

RJD MP A D Singh said that the Opposition members told government in all-party meeting that they must be allowed to raise their issues in Parliament.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that in the all-party meeting ahead of Parliament session, the JD(U) and the YSRCP demanded special category status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh respectively but "strangely" the TDP kept quiet on the matter.

While the meeting is still underway, in a post on X, Ramesh said, “In today's all-party meeting of floor leaders chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the JD(U) leader demanded special category status of Bihar. The YSRCP leader demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Strangely, the TDP leader kept quiet on the matter.”

JD(U), a key ally in the ruling NDA had recently passes a resolution demanding special category status or package for Bihar.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) continues to lead firefighting efforts onboard merchant vessel Maersk Frankfurt. The vessel is currently 35 Nautical Miles southwest of Mangalore. Firefighting operations led by ICG ships Sujeet and Sachet are ongoing. Although the fire has reduced in scale, heavy smoke persists, obscuring the flames. The fire has extended to the starboard side of the vessel, particularly affecting lower stacked containers.

The European multinational aerospace company Airbus in Marignane, France will launch its first assembly line for the single-engine H 125 helicopter in India.

Head of Airbus Helicopters in India and South Asia, Sunny Guglani says, "The plan is to have the first Made-in-India H125 rollout of the assembly line in 2026. That's the plan we're working on with TATA. This Final Assembly Line (FAL) will produce the H125, which will already be EASA-certified quality assurance, and the airworthy assurance is being taken care of by experts from Airbus helicopters that will be located at the FAL site in India... The H125 is used across segments from commercial air transportation to corporate missions, VVIP missions, as well as aerial work that's because of the performance of this helicopter. There are different segments where it can be used in India and Nepal. If we look at these two markets, there are more than 60 H125 already flying..."

Vistara Flight UK696 from Amritsar to Mumbai (ATQ-BOM) has been diverted to Ahmedabad (AMD) due to bad weather at Mumbai airport and is expected to arrive in Ahmedabad (AMD) at 12.15 hours.

An all party meeting is going to be held in Parliament today ahead of the Monsoon session that begins on July 22.

TR Balu, Trichy Siva, Pramod Tiwari, Jairam Ramesh and Sanjay Singh have reached for the location.

Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Ram Meghwal, JP Nadda and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Union Ministers Chirag Paswan, Ramdas Athawale and NCP leader Praful Patel have also arrived for the meeting.

Eleven people were killed in rain-related incidents across Uttar Pradesh in a 24-hour period ending Saturday evening, relief department officials said.

According to the relief department, from 6:30 pm on Friday to 6:30 pm on Saturday, five persons drowned and five others were killed after being hit by lightning. One person in Ghazipur district was killed after snake bite.

Three persons lost their lives and two got injured after stones, and debris fell from a hill near Chirbasa on Kedarnath Yatra trekking route in Uttarakhand.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav leaves his residence in Lucknow. He will join TMC's Dharmatala Rally in Kolkata later today.

TMC leader Jay Prakash Majumdar speaking to media in Kolkata said, "We are prepared to give a roadmap for the 2026 Assembly election in West Bengal after huge victory in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and subsequent by-elections. Now more to that at this gathering today, we will also address how long unstable Modi government will be there."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wished Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on his birthday.

Taking to microblogging site--X, he said, "Birthday wishes to Congress President and the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Ji. Praying for his long and healthy life."

After Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh government has ordered shopkeepers in Ujjain to display their names and mobile numbers outside their establishments.

The Ujjain Municipal Corporation has directed shop owners to follow the directive forthwith as penalty of Rs 2,000 will be imposed on violators for the first time and of Rs 5,000 if they defy the order for the second time.

Two people died in an accident when a car hit a bike, at Kalpana Center in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh late last night.

Hanumanth Rao, Kakinada DSP told ANI that the police arrived at the scene and shifted the injured to Kakinada Government Hospital.

The Trinamool Congress party on Sunday will hold their Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata and their supporters have already started to reach the location from across West Bengal.

INDIA ally Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is also expected to join the rally today.

The TMC chief, who was overseeing preparations for the July 21 rally at Esplanade in Kolkata on Saturday, told reporters that the event is not just a political gathering but a tribute to the 'Maa-Mati-Manush' (motherland, soil, and people) of Bengal. "It is meant to honour Bengal, safeguard its dignity, and protect the country," she said.

The restoration work at Amroha yard is underway after 7 coaches of a goods train derailed in Amroha yard between Ghaziabad-Moradabad section, disrupting traffic, yesterday.

Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini attended the Raahgiri Day program in Kurukshetra.

Three alleged drug smugglers were arrested in Amritsar and one kg methamphetamine, 2.45 kg heroin and 520 grams of pseudoephedrine was recovered from their possession, police said on Saturday.

Police said Gurbax alias Lala, a "big fish" who was involved in sourcing the precursor chemicals used for making drugs, was among the arrested smugglers.

"Lala has been actively sourcing the precursor chemicals, used to adulterate crude heroin to increase its potent effect, and to manufacture crystal methamphetamine," Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said.

Lala used to earn a commission of Rs 50,000 per consignment, Yadav said.

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday appealed to the people to unite and make Maharashtra a "premier destination" for trade and industry.

Speaking at a party rally in neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad, he recalled how this area on the outskirts of Pune city emerged as an industrial hub due to the initiative taken by late Y B Chavan, the first chief minister of the state.

Assembly elections are due in Maharashtra in October this year.

Pimpri-Chinchwad grew as an automobile hub and then Hinjewadi, Chakan and other areas in the Pune district emerged as IT centres, Pawar noted.

The Israeli army said on Saturday it has struck several Houthi targets in western Yemen following a fatal drone attack by the rebel group in Tel Aviv the previous day. The Israeli strikes appeared to be the first on Yemeni soil since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.

A number of “military targets” were hit in the western port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold, the Israeli army said, adding that its attack was “in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the state of Israel in recent months”.

The drone attack by Houthi rebels killed one person in the centre of Tel Aviv and wounded at least 10 others near the United States Embassy early Friday.

Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday assured Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha that the armed forces and security agencies will work with a "synergetic approach" to tackle growing terror activities in the Jammu region, and maintain peace and stability.

The assurance came as they chaired back-to-back high-level joint security review meetings here, amid concern over rising number of terror incidents and cross-border infiltration.

The meeting at the Raj Bhawan and the police headquarters were also attended by the director generals of the BSF, CRPF, J&K Police, the heads of intelligence agencies and other senior security officials, the officials said.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Saturday confirmed Nipah infection in a 14-year-old boy from Malappuram district.

George, who met the media here, said the Pune NIV (National Institute of Virology) had confirmed the infection in the boy, who is currently under treatment at a private hospital.

"He will be shifted to the government medical college at Kozhikode. The contact tracing has begun. High-risk contacts have already been isolated and their samples have been sent for testing," George said.

The child is under treatment and is on a ventilator, George added.

The minister said the epicentre was Pandikkad in the district and that precautionary measures have already been initiated.

- PTI

Nearly 1,000 Indian students have returned to India from Bangladesh through various land transit points or by flight, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday as the neighbouring country continued to reel under deadly clashes that reportedly left over 90 people dead.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the MEA is fully focused on ensuring safety and well being of the Indians in Bangladesh.

The MEA said the Indian High Commission and the Assistant High Commissions are in regular touch with more than 4,000 students remaining in various universities in Bangladesh and are providing necessary assistance.

Students from Nepal and Bhutan have also been assisted with their crossing into India on request, it said.

The CBI Saturday arrested an NIT-Jamshedpur B.Tech graduate, one of the masterminds, in the NEET-UG paper leak case and two MBBS students who allegedly solved the exam papers for money, officials said.

One of the arrested Sashikant Paswan alias Sashi alias Pasu, a B.Tech (Electrical) passout from the National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur -- was acting in tandem with Kumar and Rockey, who was also arrested earlier.

The officials said that the two MBBS students arrested on Saturday -- Kumar Mangalam Bishnoi (2nd year) and Deepender Sharma (1st year) -- are from a medical school in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, and they solved the exam papers stolen by Pankaj Kumar, an engineer, from an National Testing Agency trunk in Hazaribagh.

The two "solvers" were present in Hazaribagh on May 5, the date the NEET-UG examination was conducted across the country.

NEET UG Paper Leak: CBI Arrests 'Mastermind' NIT Graduate, 2 MBBS Students READ FULL STORY

No Candidate Scores Above 682 In Revised NEET-UG Result In Haryana Centre Under Scrutiny READ FULL STORY

Pune Police Recover Pistol Waved By IAS Officer Puja Khedkar's Mother Manorama In Viral Video READ FULL STORY

'Rs 1,000 Per Month, Free Electricity': Kejriwal's 5 Guarantees For Haryana READ FULL STORY

Shoot-On-Sight, Internet Blocked, Over 100 Dead: Top Points On Bangladesh Quota Protests READ FULL STORY

Israel Strikes 'Military Targets' In Yemen's Hodeidah After Drone Attack On Tel Aviv READ FULL STORY

Thank you for joining us for our coverage of the news today on July 21. As we close this live blog, here's a look at Sunday's top headlines -

Bangladesh Protests: Supreme Court Scales Back Jobs Quota Amid Unrest

Economic Survey To Be Presented On Monday

Women's Asia Cup: India Beats UAE, Advances To The Semi Finals

Internet, SMS Suspended For 24 Hours In Haryana's Nuh. Here's Why

'Live-Tweeting': BJP Slams Jairam Ramesh For Posting Updates During All-Party Meeting