Bihar polls ahead, Nitish announces 125 units of free power
In a key populist move ahead of the Bihar assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced free electricity—up to 125 units—for all domestic consumers starting 1 August. The move will benefit nearly 1.67 crore households.
The Bihar CM has highlighted that the July bills will reflect the benefits. His announcement comes as a counter to the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal’s promise of 200 free units of power if the RJD was voted to power in the 2025 elections.
Nitish said the move was to promote solar energy, adding that Bihar aims to produce 10,000 MW of solar power in three years by making use of initiatives, such as ‘Kutir Jyoti Yojana’, which provides rooftop solar panels for the underprivileged.
IndiGo flight makes emergency landing in Mumbai due to ‘snag’
A Goa-bound IndiGo flight (6E 6271) from Delhi made an emergency landing in Mumbai Wednesday night due to a mid-air engine failure. The aircraft, an Airbus A320neo, landed safely at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 9.52 pm.
IndiGo later confirmed the detection of a technical snag during the flight, prompting a precautionary diversion.
Odisha student death: Congress & others observe 12-hr strike
The death of a college student Thursday, days after she set herself on fire after the alleged denial of justice in a sexual harassment case, the Congress and seven other opposition parties observed a 12-hour bandh across Odisha.
Roads in major cities, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, remained largely deserted, seeing limited traffic movement. The bandh hit train services in Jatni, Puri, and Bhadrak, among others. Markets, schools, and businesses stayed closed during the protests, which began at 6 am.
Rain causes landslide, Amarnath Yatra from J&K suspended
Pilgrims who were to start the Amarnath Yatra from the Pahalgam and Baltal base camps in Jammu and Kashmir suspended starting their yatra Thursday, owing to continuous heavy showers over the past two days. The first suspension of the yatra this year followed a landslide on the Baltal route in the Ganderbal district. One woman pilgrim died and three others received injuries in the landslide while on their way to Amarnath.
The Border Roads Organisation is now conducting restoration work using heavy machinery and repairing the damaged tracks in Baltal. Authorities expect the yatra to resume Friday, weather permitting.
Indore rated cleanest city in India in 8th straight survey by Centre
Indore has retained its title as the cleanest city for the eighth consecutive year in the central government’s annual cleanliness survey of Indian cities having a population of over 11 lakh residents. Surat and Navi Mumbai secured the second and third positions, according to the 2025 Swachh Survekshan results announced Thursday.
In the three-10 lakh population category, Noida ranked first among cities, followed by Chandigarh and Mysore.
7 die after head-on collision between car & bike in Nashik
A car, with seven members of a family, crashed into a bike on Vani–Dindori road, with both vehicles plunging into a canal near Dindori in the Nashik district late Wednesday night.
The incident, reported around 11.57 pm, claimed the lives of the seven family members, including a two-year-old child, while seriously injuring two others on the bike. The police promptly initiated rescue operations, and other emergency services were also available.
MNS workers beat up shopkeeper in Mumbai over Marathi pride
A group of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers allegedly assaulted a Marwari shopkeeper in Mumbai’s Vikhroli over a WhatsApp status Wednesday, claiming the shopkeeper insulted the Marathi community and language in his status message.
A video of the incident went viral on Thursday, sparking widespread outrage on social media. The MNS workers allegedly confronted the shopkeeper at his store and beat him up after finding his explanation of the message unsatisfactory.
Mild tremors in Rohtak but no casualties or property damage
Mild tremors were experienced in parts of Haryana, including Rohtak, Thursday, owing to a 3.3 magnitude earthquake striking the region at 12.46 am, the National Centre for Seismology has reported. The epicentre was located 15 km east of Rohtak, at a shallow depth of 10 km.
Despite the late hour when the tremors struck, the residents of Rohtak and surrounding areas, such as Kharkhauda and Kheri Sampla, reported weak to light shaking, which lasted a few seconds. Casualties or property damage have not been reported, with local authorities maintaining that all essential services remain unaffected.
Sanjeev Sachdeva swears in as Madhya Pradesh HC Chief Justice
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva was sworn in as the 29th Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Thursday in a ceremony held at Raj Bhawan, where Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda administered the oath.
Born 26 December 1964 in Delhi, Justice Sachdeva completed his education at Delhi Public School, earned a B.Com (Hons) from Sri Ram College of Commerce in 1985, and a law degree from the Campus Law Centre of the University of Delhi in 1988.
Twice earlier, he has served as acting chief justice of MP High Court: once between 9 July 2024 and 24 September 2024, and between 24 May this year and his current elevation.
Shinde unites with Ambedkar kin-led Sena ahead of civic polls
Facing internal dissent and external challenges within the BJP-led Mahayuti ahead of the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde has allied with the Anandraj Ambedkar-led Republican Sena, the two parties jointly announced Wednesday at a press conference in Mumbai.
This move is being viewed as a strategic effort by the Shinde Sena to strengthen its position, particularly in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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