Sahitya Akademi Award-winning and one of the most distinguished figures in Tamil literature, Poomani (Pulithurai Manickavasagam) passed away at the age of 79 years after a prolonged illness on Sunday night. Expressing deep grief over the demise Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, on Monday, announced that as a mark of respect and in recognition of Poomani's invaluable contribution to literature, the government will accord State honors for his final journey.

In a statement on X, the CM said Poomani enriched Tamil literature through his remarkable works, which vividly captured the essence of the Karisal landscape, the subtle realities of the lives of marginalised communities, and the profound testimonies of history.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched Gramodyam, an entrepreneurship development programme designed to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of rural India on its 45th Foundation Day on Sunday.

Launched by Shaji KV, Chairman of NABARD, this initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The initiative will be implemented through Institute for Industrial Development.

Gramodyam seeks to identify, nurture, mentor and empower aspiring entrepreneurs by equipping them with industry-relevant skills, entrepreneurial competencies and access to essential support systems. By enabling young innovators to convert ideas into viable enterprises, Gramodyam aims to transform local opportunities into engines of sustainable economic growth and employment generation.

UNION MINISTER for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal on Sunday said the Central Vista area, which covers the stretch from Rashtrapati Bhawan to India Gate, should now be called the “Kartavya Bhawan area”, named after the new secretariat buildings.

Speaking at the Central Public Works Department’s 172nd foundation day event, the Minister said that like Vice-Regal Lodge and Council House built by the British were renamed Rashtrapati Bhawan and Parliament after Independence, the entire area should now be called Kartavya Bhawan area.

The government is in the process of redevelopment of the area, with 10 new secretariat buildings proposed. So far, the government has completed three of the buildings and named them Kartavya Bhawan 1, 2 and 3, while also renaming Rajpath as Kartavya Path.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday (July 12, 2026) announced a “ruthless’ drive against drug trafficking and said inter-State coordination to break the backbone of the drug cartels improved after the installation of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal.

Launching a State-level drugs disposal campaign at the 14th Assam Police Battalion headquarters in Nalbari district’s Daulasal, he said seized drugs worth ₹472.51 crore would be destroyed across nine districts. Daulasal is about 75 km west of Guwahati.

He initiated the incineration of a portion of the seized heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine, and other drugs and drove a road roller to crush bottles of illegal cough syrups.

Mr. Sarma told journalists that a joint approach between the Centre and Assam would help track the illicit movement of substances, identify history sheeters, nab traffickers at the borders before they enter the State and prepare a strong case to prosecute them.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, through Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat), has announced the launch of district-level competitions under the nationwide ‘Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat’ campaign, with registrations opening from July 13.

The initiative aims to mobilise young people in the fight against substance abuse through creative expression while advancing the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. It seeks to build on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to transform the fight against drug abuse into a nationwide people’s movement.

The competitions will be organised in a three-tier format, beginning with the district level, followed by state-level contests and culminating in a national finale at the National Youth Summit in New Delhi.

Union Home Minister on Sunday congratulated the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), more than 25,000 volunteers and the people of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency after they created a Guinness World Record by planting more than 3.61 lakh saplings in a single hour using the Miyawaki afforestation method.

The record was achieved as part of a large-scale public plantation campaign undertaken across the Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency under the nationwide ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative.

Congratulating all those involved, HM Shah said the achievement reflected exemplary public participation, meticulous planning and a collective commitment towards environmental conservation.

He said the campaign, launched under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has transformed environmental protection into a people’s movement by encouraging citizens across the country to actively participate in tree plantation drives.

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Friday said its board has given in-principle approval to develop a 1.75 million tonne strategic petroleum reserve at Mangaluru, expanding India's emergency crude oil storage capacity.

The project, along with associated facilities, will be developed as the Phase-I extension of the Mangaluru strategic petroleum reserve, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Without giving financial details or the timelines of the project, ONGC said its board also authorised the company to engage with the central government on expanding commercial utilisation of the facility, subject to the required regulatory support.

Come August 1 and woman passengers will not be able to avail the free bus service in Delhi without the ‘Pink Saheli’ smart card anymore, as the government has made it mandatory for such travel, officials said on Friday.

Concerned over the slow adoption of the Pink Saheli card by women commuters, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has also launched a special drive across its buses advising women to get the cards, an official statement said.

“With effect from August 1, pink tickets shall be issued only to those women passengers who have a valid Pink Saheli smart card, which they need to tap at the time of boarding. These passengers will continue to avail free bus service as per the terms of the scheme,” the DTC said in its order.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has once again been ranked third in the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft's (WDMMA) 2026 global airpower rankings, retaining its position ahead of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) for the fifth time since 2022, according to reports.

The latest rankings place the IAF behind only the United States and Russia. This is the sixth occasion overall that the IAF has been placed behind the US Air Force, US Navy, Russian Air Force, US Army and US Marine Corps in the WDMMA assessment.

WDMMA evaluates 129 air services across 103 countries and tracks more than 48,000 aircraft. Its proprietary True Value Rating (TVR) system assesses fleet size, composition, modernisation, logistical support and overall capability.

Indian Railways has approved two infrastructure projects worth a combined Rs 381 crore to strengthen railway safety and maintenance capabilities, sanctioning the rollout of Kavach Version 4.0 on key Northern Railway routes and the creation of additional homing facilities for electric locomotives at Raipur.

The Ministry of Railways said a Rs 206-crore project has been approved for installing Kavach Version 4.0 on 680 route kilometres (RKm) covering the Rewari-Delhi and Shakurbasti-Bathinda sections, including feeder branch lines, of the Delhi Division under Northern Railway.

The project is part of Indian Railways' nationwide expansion of the indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system across high-density and strategically important routes.