Veteran actor and director EA Rajendran died in Pattathanam here on Thursday, film industry sources said. He was 71.

According to industry sources, he had been undergoing treatment for the past few months. The funeral will be held at his native place in Thrithallur, Thrissur, on Friday.

EA Rajendran was the brother-in-law of actor Mukesh and the son-in-law of noted theatre director O Madhavan. After marrying Sandhya, daughter of Madhavan and sister of Mukesh, they settled in Pattathanam, Kollam.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the continuation of the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) Scheme for another five years, from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031, with a total outlay of ₹1,800 crore.

The IVFRT platform is aimed at integrating and streamlining immigration, visa issuance, and foreigner registration processes in India through a secure, technology-driven framework. The move is part of the government’s broader push to modernise border management systems while ensuring ease of travel for legitimate visitors.

Originally approved in 2010, the project has undergone multiple phases of expansion and extension. The latest approval comes in the backdrop of the recently enacted Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which necessitates a more robust and responsive system to address evolving challenges such as illegal migration and increasing global mobility.

In a major step towards enhancing efficiency, transparency, and inter-agency coordination in infrastructure development, Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, along with the Hon’ble Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & IT, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, today launched the PRISM-SG (Portal for Rail-Road Inspection & Stages Management – Steel Girders) Portal in New Delhi.

The PRISM-SG Portal has been developed to digitise key approval and inspection processes related to the construction of Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and also includes Quality Assurance Plan (QAP), Welding Procedure Specification Sheet (WPSS) and fabrication stage inspection of steel girders. The portal enables end-to-end online submission of documents, scrutiny, raising and resolution of queries, approvals, scheduling of inspections, and uploading of inspection reports, photographs, test results, supported by a complete audit trail and real-time monitoring capabilities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to France to attend the G7 summit scheduled to take place from June 15 to 17.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, held a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting at Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay. Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to France.

"The ministers welcomed the fact that Prime Minister Modi has confirmed his participation in the Evian Summit (15-17 June). With this in mind, the two ministers highlighted India's contribution to the G7's work, particularly on the question of major macroeconomic imbalances, and on international partnerships and solidarity," a French Foreign Ministry release said.

Legendary Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna has been conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Film Festival of Delhi (IFFD) 2026 in recognition of his contribution to the film industry over a period of five decades.City & Local Guides

The Telugu film legend was honoured at the event that was held at the prestigious Bharat Mandapam. The award was presented in recognition of his immense service to Indian cinema over a span of 50 years, and as a tribute to his indelible influence, versatility and unparalleled dedication to the art of acting.

Nandamuri Balakrishna, who attended the event held in New Delhi, received the award from Delhi’s Honorary Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the presence of dignitaries from the film and cultural sectors.

Amid rising tensions in West Asia, the Indian Navy has launched an operation to escort, guide, and safeguard India-bound energy shipments through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded by Iran.

The operation, called Urja Suraksha, is being conducted with calibrated precision and minimal publicity to ensure the uninterrupted and secure movement of Indian-flagged vessels carrying critical energy supplies, officials said. All India-bound ships transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and crude oil have been identified for protected transit.

“We are escorting and to some extent helping ships in navigation for smooth movement through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, till the Arabian Sea,” said a senior official, adding that Naval operations under the mission go beyond escort duties. Warships are actively providing route-specific guidance and navigational support to crews to help them safely traverse the narrow and sensitive waters of the region.

The National Housing Bank (NHB), the apex agency established by the Government of India to promote cost effective housing finance system, has launched the Gruh Sugam Portal, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance.

The portal enables Defence/Government personnel to avail home loans with ease from the location of their posting, the statement noted.

This portal will accelerate digital lending adoption and financial inclusion. It will facilitate increased home ownership through improved access to housing loans, strengthening the mission of promoting affordable and sustainable housing finance.

he Ministry of Railways is set to redevelop 13 stations in Delhi under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS). Launched in 2022, the ABSS aims at development and upgradation of stations over the Indian Railways (IR) network. The scheme has a long-term vision that involves creating master plans, promoting multimodal connectivity, better station accessibility for passengers, etc.

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme also envisages sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term.

Improvement of access to station and circulating areas
Integration of station with both sides of city
Improvement of station building
Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water booths
Provision of wider foot over bridge/air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic
Provision of lift/escalators/ramp
Improvement /Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms
Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’
Parking areas, Multimodal integration
Amenities for Divyangjans
Better passenger information systems
Provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc.

Indian Railways has approved a comprehensive set of projects worth approximately Rs 1,236 crore aimed at significantly upgrading its communication backbone and expanding the Kavach automatic train protection system across multiple zones, the Ministry of Railways said.

These approvals cover three separate proposals. Two are focused on optical fibre and ground wire infrastructure on Central and Western Railways, and one on the deployment of Kavach on high-utilisation routes of Southern Railway.

Central Railway Gets Upgraded Fibre Network: Rs 623.63 Crore. Two complementary works have been approved to build a robust, dual-path communication backbone across Central Railway's network, covering all five of its divisions -- Solapur, Nagpur, Pune, Bhusawal, and Mumbai.

Lok Sabha has passed the Finance Bill, 2026, by voice vote. The bill seeks to give effect to the financial proposals of the Central Government for the financial year 2026-2027. The House gave its nod to the amendments moved by the government.

Replying to the discussion on the Finance Bill, 2026, in the House today, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government is empowering the MSMEs, farmers, and cooperatives, as they are at the centre of employment generation, production and overall development of the country. Mrs Sitharaman said that the government is also supporting key sectors such as digital infrastructure, electronics manufacturing, marine products, leather, critical minerals, and nuclear energy, among others, to make India a developed nation. She said the reforms are not happening out of compulsion but out of conviction with clarity, commitment and confidence. Mrs Sitharaman said that India is riding on the reform express under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Minister informed that this finance bill focuses on the middle class and the government has exempted basic customs duty on 17 critical life-saving drugs.