Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab Senior Spokesperson Neel Garg has firmly refuted the misleading claims made by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal regarding power tariffs and industrial policies in Punjab. Setting the record straight, Garg highlighted the SAD-BJP regime's abysmal track record and contrasted it with the transformative governance under the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government.

Garg stated, “The Day Tariff, which Mr. Badal is lamenting about, was introduced in 2017 during the Congress government, not under AAP's administration. The Akali Dal-BJP government left behind a legacy of corruption, inefficiency, and debt. We inherited this mess and have worked tirelessly to clean it up.”

India's telecom sector continues to show growth, with the total number of telephone subscribers crossing the 1.2 billion mark, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Thursday.

The total subscriber base increased from 1,189.92 million in December 2024 to 1,200.80 million in March 2025. Tele-density also rose during the quarter -- reflecting better connectivity across urban and rural areas.

Urban subscribers grew to 666.11 million, while rural subscribers touched 534.69 million.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Thursday greeted the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on his birthday.

In a post on ‘X’, Revanth Reddy called the LoP Rahul Gandhi the ‘hope of India’.

“Happy birthday to hope of India, my leader, embodiment of silent strength, true visionary, compassionate & wise, who has people’s interests in his heart, and a soldier fighting for the idea of India, an inspiration for all those who truly love India, and above all, one of the finest humans I have ever met,” reads the post.

India moved up among top global destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2024, remaining the dominant recipient in South Asia and accounting for the vast majority of FDI inflows, a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report said on Thursday.

Actor Nagarjuna, who plays one of the leads along with Dhanush and Rashmika Mandanna in director Sekhar Kammula's eagerly awaited entertainer 'Kuberaa', has now disclosed that he plays a CBI officer in the film.

During a media interaction, the actor, who was asked about his character in the film, said, "I play a middle class person. I will be seen in the character of a CBI officer. My character finds itself in the midst of a conflict of whether to do good or bad."

In a major clampdown on the supply and trade of contrabands, including psychotropic drugs, the Anti-Narcotics Squad on Thursday nabbed three drug peddlers from a hotel in Laxmi Nagar area and also recovered a significant amount of narcotics from their possession.

“4.63 grams of MDMA and 3.32 grams of cocaine were recovered from their custody,” said an official.

Three individuals who were arrested for supplying contraband were identified as Tarun Kumar, Mohammad Arif, and Dharmesh. They were in the business of selling psychotropic substances for quick monetary gains, and their targets were primarily the young college students as well as working professionals.

These narco-peddlers were accustomed to the idea of quick money generation and would lure young consumers in the area to supply drugs, including MDMA and cocaine.

Twenty South Korean nationals and their family members have evacuated Iran via a land route and arrived safely in Turkmenistan amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, the foreign ministry said.

Eighteen South Koreans and two Iranian family members crossed the border into the Central Asian country by transportation provided by the South Korean government Tuesday morning (local time) and arrived in the capital, Ashgabat, the next day, the ministry said.

The eastern border land route chosen by the government is about 1,200 kilometres, and it takes around 16 hours to travel by bus without breaks, a ministry official said.

A rapid response team from Seoul was in Turkmenistan to assist with the evacuation efforts.

Setting the tone for International Day of Yoga to be held on Saturday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday led a yoga session at his residence, hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to promote yoga globally.

CM Dhami wrote on X, “Under the guidance of the respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodiji, our government is making unprecedented efforts to promote yoga on a wide scale. Yoga programs are being organised in every district of the state, in which a large number of local people are participating.”

“We have approved the new yoga policy in Uttarakhand. This will create about 13,000 new jobs. All the residents of the state are requested to include yoga in their daily routine and contribute actively in building a healthy, aware, and developed nation,” he said.

President Droupadi Murmu is expected to celebrate her 67th birthday in Dehradun on Friday and review preparations for throwing open Rashtrapati Niketan, the 186-year-old Presidential Retreat in the Uttarakhand capital, for public viewing from June 24, an official said.

The estate, spread over 21 acres, is being thrown open to the public as part of an initiative to increase citizen engagement with the President and the heritage of Rashtrapati Bhavan, said an official statement sharing details of the President’s engagement.

President Murmu will visit the Rashtrapati Niketan on Friday to review the preparations for the opening of the Estate for the public, the statement said.

She will also lay the foundation stone for Rashtrapati Udyan, a 132-acre ecological park on the occasion, said the official, adding that it is likely to be completed by next year.

The ruling Congress party in Karnataka celebrated the birthday of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, with fanfare on Thursday in Bengaluru.

The event was organised at Central College Grounds in Bengaluru to mark the birthday of LoP Rahul Gandhi. The event was organised under the leadership of senior party leader B.V. Srinivas. On the occasion, a portrait of LoP Rahul Gandhi made using 30,000 notebooks was unveiled.

Battery-operated tricycles, wheelchairs, and laptops were also distributed to specially-abled sportspersons.

An eye donation registration camp has also been organised by the Youth Congress under the leadership of Karnataka Youth Congress President H.S. Manjunath. The camp will be held on Thursday at 3 pm at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office on Queen’s Road, Bengaluru.

Participating in the event at the Central College Grounds, Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar stated, “Rahul Gandhi’s message is that every section of society should receive protection and that the Constitution must be safeguarded.”