The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the National Board of Examinations (NBE) on a petition, challenging the lack of transparency in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET)-PG 2024 examination.

The NEET-PG exam was conducted by the NBE on August 11 and the results were announced on August 23.

A bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud sought the response of the NBE and the Union government and posted the matter for hearing on September 27.

Senior advocate Vibha Makhija, assisted by advocate Parul Shukla, representing the petitioner, NEET-PG aspirants, said that the introduction of two shifts, normalisation method, and change in tie-breaker criterion just three days before the examination affected the students adversely.

Gondal Division Police in Gujarat destroyed over 19,365 foreign liquor bottles valued at Rs 61.70 lakh at an open space on Vora Kotda Road in Gondal city on Friday.

The liquor bottles were crushed by a bulldozer. The raids and subsequent destruction were part of a broader crackdown, where police conducted operations across 67 different locations over a span of nine months.

Earlier, Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, in response to questions raised by Congress MLAs during the Assembly's Question Hour said that in March, said that narcotics and liquor worth Rs 6,413 crore had been seized across the state over the past two years.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide financial assistance of Rs 530 crore to the Tripura government to upgrade the drinking water supply in the state’s 12 cities benefiting around four lakh people, officials said here on Friday.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday laid the foundation of the ‘Mukhyamantri Nagar Unnayan Prakalp’ (Chief Minister’s urban development scheme) at a function in southern Tripura’s Gomati district headquarters Udaipur.

The Chief Minister said that after the completion of the ambitious plan within three years, a major drinking water problem of over 75,000 families in 12 cities in the state would be resolved.

He said that 12 cities, where the ADB-funded ambitious scheme would be implemented include, Udaipur, Amarpur, Belonia, Melaghar, Bishramganj, Khowai, Ranir Bazar, Mohanpur, Dharmanagar, Kailashhar, Kumarghat and Ambassa.

A soldier was killed and five others injured in a road accident in J&K’s Kathua district on Friday, officials said.

"The vehicle carrying army personnel went out of the driver’s control and skidded off the road after which it dropped into a gorge at Sukrala Mata Ashram road. One soldier died in this accident while 5 others were injured," an official said.

The injured personnel were shifted to Billawar sub-district hospital, where doctors referred them to the army hospital in Pathankot town of neighbouring Punjab. They were airlifted to Pathankot in a helicopter.

"The soldier killed in this accident has been identified as Sepoy Ram Kishore while the injured soldiers were identified as Sepoys Bhupinder Singh, Mahipal Singh, Anil Singh, Sunder Pandya and Lokinder Singh.

Police has taken cognisance of the incident, officials said.

The Rajasthan government has implemented an amnesty scheme to give waivers in departmental dues and interest for outstanding cases of minor minerals in the Mines Department.

The scheme has been implemented in cases of mining leases of minor minerals, quarry licenses, fixed rent/rent of temporary work permission issued for gravel, surcharge, additional surcharge, penalty, outstanding RCC, ERCC (Excess Royalty Collection Contractor)contracts, permits, outstanding short-term permit and construction department contractors, other departmental dues till March 31, 2023.

The Departmental Amnesty Scheme will remain effective till March 31, 2025, confirmed officials on Friday.

Chief Minister and Mines Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, while explaining the need to implement the Departmental Amnesty Scheme, said this scheme will enable the recovery of outstanding revenue of the state government.

The flood situation in Patna and its surrounding districts has worsened with several villages submerged under the rising waters. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas and took stock of the situation.

The water level in the Ganga River crossed the danger mark at several places in the state capital. Areas like Danapur, Maner, Bind Tola, Fatuha, and Bakhtiyarpur are among the hardest hit in Patna, forcing many residents to flee to higher ground, such as roads, to escape the floodwaters.

In Maner, six panchayats -- Chihattar, Mahaveer Tola, Islamganj, Hathi Tola, Haldi Chapra, and Ratan Tola -- have been completely isolated from the mainland, exacerbating the difficulties for residents.

Additionally, key locations like Gulbi Ghat, Kataiya Ghat, and Triveni Sangam are submerged, further disrupting life in the region.

At least eight persons were killed and more than 16 others injured when a passenger bus and a fruit-laden truck rammed into each other on the Beed-Jalna Road, here on Friday, an official said

According to Ambad Police Station in-charge Police Inspector Satish S. Jadhav, the crash occurred at 8 a.m. near Mathtanda village when the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus was speeding from Beed to Jalna.

Eyewitnesses and survivors told the police that both the bus and an Eicher goods truck were thrown several metres away and the two vehicles were virtually crushed due to the impact of the crash.

The body of a 6-year-old girl, a Class 1 student, was found in the compound of her school in Gujarat’s Dahod district.

The girl, a resident of Pipaliya village in Singvad taluka, had gone to her school named Torani Primary School, as usual, but did not return home after the school was dismissed. The concerned family began searching for her, and late in the evening on Thursday, she was found unconscious at the back of the school. She was immediately rushed to Limkheda Referral Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

Preliminary investigations point to foul play, with the possibility of a brutal murder.

A triple talaq case was reported from the Tonk area of Rajasthan on Thursday after a victim lodged a case against her husband in the Kotwali area.

A few months back another case of triple talaq was reported from the same district.

Police inspector Bhanwar Lal Vaishnav said that the victim woman, who was a resident of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, was married to one Qaiser alias Furqan from Tonk city on 10 June 2003 as per the Muslim customs. In the report, the victim said that her husband and in-laws started harassing her over trivial things right after marriage which caused mental and physical depression to the victim.

The Army, along with Manipur Police, averted a major disaster in Manipur on Thursday by recovering seven Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The total weight of the explosives in these IEDs was 28.5 kg.

The IEDs were buried and set to detonate on receiving appropriate signals.

Army's Eastern Command, headquartered at Fort William in Kolkata, said that the ensuing explosions could have caused severe damage to life and property.

"The Army and Manipur Police acted on intelligence inputs near the Bongjang and Itham villages in the Imphal East district. This is a hilly terrain. Explosives detection dogs of the Army were pressed into service and the IEDs were diffused by experts of the Army Engineers. There could have been a major loss of life of innocent civilians, had the IEDs not been recovered," the Ministry of Defence spokesperson in Kolkata stated.

The entire state of Manipur has been in a restive state since May 3, 2023, when ethnic clashes broke out between the Meiteis from the valley districts and the Kuki-Zos from the hills.