All panchayats across the country will mandatorily use digital payments for all development work and revenue collection starting this Independence Day, and will be declared UPI-enabled, a letter issued by the Panchayati Raj Ministry said.

States should "announce and inaugurate" the UPI-compliant panchayats in the presence of prominent dignitaries, like chief ministers, MPs, and MLAs, the ministry said in the letter to states and Union territories.

Secretary, Panchayati Raj Ministry, Sunil Kumar told PTI almost 98 per cent panchayats have already started using UPI-based payments.

The merger of HDFC Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC Ltd) will be effective July 1, HDFC Bank said in a statement. The boards have set July 13 as the record date to determine the eligible shareholders for allotment of shares under the merger deal.

The merger of HDFC Investments and HDFC Holdings into HDFC Ltd is effective today, the bank said. The boards have set July 12 as the record date for transfer of non-convertible debentures of HDFC Ltd in the name of HDFC Bank.

Aurangzeb Lane in Delhi has been renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Lane, said the New Delhi Municipal Council(NDMC) Vice Chairman Satish Upadhyay. While announcing the decision he said that since Aurangzeb tried to "destroy the Indian culture" there shouldn't be any road in the name of the Mughal emperor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress (ICC) on 1st of next month at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) is organizing the two days Indian Cooperative Congress with the theme of Amrit Kaal: Prosperity through Cooperation for a Vibrant India. It will be chaired by the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah.

According to the Ministry of Cooperation, the objective of the Indian Cooperative Congress is to discuss various trends in the cooperative movement, to showcase the best practices being adopted by the successful cooperatives and to deliberate on challenges being faced by the cooperative world. The Ministry said, an exhibition will also be held displaying various products of Self-Help Group’s and NCUI Cooperative Education Field Projects under the banner of NCUI HAAT. Approximately five crore members will be connected live during the event.

The Union Cabinet has approved the fair and remunerative price of 315 rupees per quintal for sugarcane farmers for the season 2023-24. The move will benefit five crore sugarcane farmers and their dependents, as well as five lakh workers employed in the sugar mills and related ancillary activities. Briefing media in New Delhi yesterday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said that it is the highest ever fair and remunerative price for sugarcane farmers.

The government has also decided to bring the National Research Foundation(NRF) Bill, 2023 to strengthen the research ecosystem in the country. The Bill approved by the Union Cabinet will pave the way to establish NRF to seed, grow and promote research and development and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges and research institutions. The Minister informed that the bill has a provision to establish NRF, an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country at a total estimated cost of  50 thousand crore rupees during the next five years.

Taste Atlas, an experiential travel online guide, has recently unveiled a list of the ‘Top 150 Most Legendary Restaurants in the World’, promising a one-of-a-kind gastronomic adventure that is truly deserving of experiencing at least once in your lifetime. According to the guide, these food joints “are not just places to grab a meal but destinations in their own right, comparable to the world’s most famous museums, galleries and monuments.”

Figlmüller in Vienna, Austria, which ‘has earned its reputation by specialising in a single dish – the Schnitzel Wiener Art – for over a century’, is named the most legendary restaurant in the world. It is followed by Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City, USA, and Warung Mak Beng in Sanur, Indonesia, in second and third positions respectively.

The Indian Air Force is preparing to conduct a mega-multilateral exercise later this year that will bring together air forces of 12 nations, thus strengthening military cooperation with them, an official privy to the development said on Wednesday.

The exercise, named Tarang Shakti, is slated to be the biggest air exercise to be conducted in India. Participating countries will join the exercise with both military combat jets and transport aircraft, among other assets.

India’s three Rafale fighter jets will fly to France to take part in the Bastille Day flypast over the Champs Elysees in Paris on 14 July along with other French aircraft.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the Guest of Honour for this year’s National Day Parade in France. Modi’s visit marks the 25th anniversary of the “strategic partnership” between France and India.

Earlier, Anglo-French Jaguar fighter jets were supposed to join the parade – which were inducted in the Indian fleet in the 1980s.

Over 5-lakh saplings would be distributed within a week of the campaign launch as part of efforts to expand green cover while ensuring potable tap water

In a first, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) will launch ‘one-tap-one-tree’ campaign from July 1. As part of this, free saplings would be distributed with each new tap connection in rural areas of the state.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has removed India from his annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, citing "measures taken by the government to better protect" them.

Mr. Guterres said in his report last year, he had welcomed the engagement of the Indian government with his special representative and noted that it might lead to the removal of India as a situation of concern.