Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Friday that striking a major blow to the cross-border drug smuggling amid the ongoing anti-drugs campaign 'Yudh Nashian Virudh', Punjab Police's Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) have apprehended a key drug trafficker and recovered 18.2 kg heroin from his possession.

The arrested drug smuggler has been identified as Hira Singh, alias Hira, a resident of Khaira village in Amritsar district.

DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that accused Hira Singh and his associate, Kulwinder Singh, alias Kinda, of Dauke village in Amritsar, were in touch with Pakistan-based drug trafficker identified as Billa.

The latter has been using drones to drop the large consignments of heroin from across the border for the past one year, he added.

The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has decided to promulgate an Ordinance to provide adequate representation to members of SC community for contractual engagement as law officers in the state.

A decision to this effect was taken the Council of Ministers in a meeting held here under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister here at his official residence today.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that Cabinet gave nod to promulgate an ordinance to amend Punjab Law Officers Engagement Act 2017. This step is aimed to relax income criteria for contractual engagement of Law officers belonging to SC Community in the state by reducing the existing desired annual income slab by 50%. The purpose of relaxation in income criteria is to provide adequate representation to members of SC community for contractual engagement as law officers in AG Office, Punjab.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and MLA Kulwant Singh Pandori strongly condemned the derogatory remarks made by Khalistan supporter Gurpatwant Pannun against the architect of the Constitution, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Pandori stated that Pannun is making such statements to provoke the people of Punjab, but he will not succeed. He said that instead of speaking against Dr. Ambedkar, Pannun should study history to understand struggles and achievements of Baba Saheb. He added that anyone who learns about Dr. Ambedkar could never speak such things against him.

On Friday, MLA Kulwant Pandori and Labh Singh Ugoke, along with local party leaders, addressed a press conference in Barnala, where they strongly rebutted Pannun’s statements. Party leader Harinder Singh Dhaliwal was also present during the conference.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders strongly condemned the offensive remarks made by Khalistani supporter Gurpatwant Pannun against the architect of the Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, stating that such statements are an attempt by Pannun to disrupt Punjab's harmony.

On Friday, AAP leaders Harnoor Singh Maan, Lalit Saklani, Jarnail Nangal, and Santosh Kumar Gogi addressed a press conference in Phagwara, where they fiercely criticized Gurpatwant Pannun’s statements.

Addressing the media, Harnoor Singh Maan called Pannun's remarks highly objectionable. He said that Pannun is neither a Sikh, a Punjabi, nor an Indian. "He is an agent of central agencies and works at the behest of anti-Punjab forces," Maan said.

Salman Khan is a true fitness freak, and his latest Instagram post is proof. The 59-year-old was seen climbing a tree to pick out some fresh berries.

The video showed Salman getting on a high branch of the tree, and shaking it so that the berries fall on the cloth placed beneath.

He looked as charming as ever in a black sleeveless T, blue shorts, and sports shoes. Shelling major fitness goals, Salman captioned the post, "Berry good for u"

It must be noted that Salman was amongst the first few heroes in Bollywood who are credited with bringing in the six-pack trend in the industry.

The country’s automotive component production is set to grow to $145 billion by 2030, with exports tripling from $20 billion to $60 billion, while generating 2-2.5 million new employment opportunities, a NITI Aayog report projected on Friday.

This growth would lead to a trade surplus of approximately $25 billion and a significant increase in India’s share of the global automotive value chain from 3 per cent to 8 per cent, according to the report titled "Automotive Industry: Powering India’s Participation in Global Value Chains".

Additionally, this growth is expected to generate 2-2.5 million new employment opportunities, bringing the total direct employment in the sector to 3-4 million, the report mentioned.

India has emerged as the fourth-largest global producer after China, the US and Japan, with an annual production of nearly 6 million vehicles.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders strongly condemned the derogatory remarks made by Khalistani supporter Gurpatwant Pannun about the Constitution's architect, Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. The AAP leaders stated that Pannun is making such statements to disrupt Punjab's harmony, but he will not succeed.

On Friday, AAP MLAs Rupinder Singh Happy and Lakhbir Singh Rai addressed a press conference with local party leaders in Fatehgarh Sahib and launched a sharp counterattack on Pannun’s statement.

Addressing the media, MLA Rupinder Singh Happy said that Pannun’s remarks are extremely condemnable. He emphasized that Punjab is the land of Gurus and Saints, where there is no place for talks of hatred and violence. “Our Gurus have always spoken for humanity and have considered all people as equals. Pannun lacks knowledge of Sikhism; that is why he is making such vile statements,” he added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday invited Austrian companies to invest in India and highlighted the huge potential for strengthening bilateral economic ties between the two countries in renewable energy, electric vehicles, innovations and startups.

Addressing a press conference, Sitharaman said the highly successful visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Austria in July 2024 was a milestone in the India-Austria partnership, especially in elevating our economic and commercial linkages to a higher trajectory.

“Prime Minister Modi had emphasised the political will of the Government of India to expand our partnership with Austria. My visit to Vienna is a reaffirmation of the PM's vision to work towards realising the fullest possible potential of our bilateral relationship with Austria,” Sitharaman added.

She highlighted the opportunities for investment and cooperation between startups in India and Austria, particularly in the field of fintech.

A US official's claim over possible hacking of electronic voting systems in that country was on Friday met with a reassuring calm by the Election Commission of India (ECI) with sources highlighting the Indian EVMs' superior technology and no use of Internet or Bluetooth during voting as foolproof shields against manipulation.

The US official, in a viral video circulating on social media, made the claim about election integrity while referring to on-going probe in that country into ‘flaws’ in electronic voting systems and urged a switch to paper ballots.

Punjab’s Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains hit back at opposition parties, questioning their audacity to criticize the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s efforts in improving school infrastructure. Highlighting the dire state of government schools inherited by the AAP government, Bains stated, "Before our government, over 3,000 schools in Punjab didn’t even have basic toilet facilities. Where was their shame when our daughters were forced to relieve themselves in the open, often dropping out of school because of the lack of clean and safe bathrooms?"