The Mann Government is taking a stringent stand against drugs and drug trafficking. Over the past several days, large-scale police actions have been taking place across Punjab against drugs, with continuous meetings involving the Chief Minister, ministers, and senior administrative officials.

On Saturday, the Punjab Government intensified its campaign against drugs with the first meeting of the five-member sub-committee led by Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. The meeting was attended by other committee members, including Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora, Tarunpreet Singh Sondh, Dr. Balbir Singh, and Laljit Singh Bhullar, and discussions were held in detail on all issues related to drugs. Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav and Chief Secretary KAP Sinha were also present at the meeting.

Harpal Cheema also got responsibility for Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Tarn Taran, and Hoshiarpur districts. Meanwhile, Aman Arora has been entrusted with Ludhiana, Patiala, Kapurthala, Mohali, Amritsar, and Jalandhar.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab today launched a scathing attack on the Akali Dal-BJP and Congress regimes for decades of negligence in tackling Punjab’s drug problem and for providing patronage to drug traffickers. Addressing the media, AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang, Batala MLA and AAP Punjab Working President Sharry Kalsi, and youth leader Sonia Mann, who recently joined AAP, highlighted the deliberate failures of previous governments and AAP's commitment to a drug-free Punjab.

Malvinder Singh Kang accused the Akali Dal-BJP alliance and Congress governments of playing a pivotal role in allowing the drug menace to spread across Punjab. "The Akali-BJP regime from 2007 onwards institutionalized the drug trade, with several top leaders shielding traffickers. Instead of providing jobs for Punjab's youth, they provided them with drugs, ensuring their destruction," Kang said.

He also called out the Congress party, especially Captain Amarinder Singh’s government, for its failure to deliver on promises. “Captain Amarinder vowed to end the drug menace in four months. His government not only failed but actively contributed to the deepening crisis. Punjab saw no relief during the Congress regime,” Kang added.

Spirited India will take on New Zealand in their final Group A clash in the ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday. Both teams have already secured qualification for the semi-final and the winner of the match will top the group.

The Rohit Sharma-led side registered consecutive wins against Bangladesh and arch-rivals Pakistan to seal the last four berth in the eight-team tournament. Similarly, New Zealand too registered victories against Pakistan and Bangladesh to progress to the knockout stage.

In-form batter Virat Kohli will try to make the most of his 300th ODI appearance after scoring a match-winning century against Pakistan in the second game. Interestingly, Kohli played his 200th ODI also against New Zealand and scored a century.

Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Saturday gave a clarion call to all political parties, social and religious organisations and NGOs to join hands with the government to form a united front and make the state a drug-free state.

Arora’s assertion comes after the state launched a statewide operation against drugs, conducting raids at 750 locations. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann this week set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free.

Arora, state president of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), told the media here after the high-level meeting of the five-member Cabinet Sub-Committee to combat the drug menace that it “is a collective responsibility of 3 crore residents of Punjab. We must stand united and fight this menace with all our might.”

Birth defects claim the lives of about 300 children under five years of age, every day in the South-East Asia region, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday, ahead of World Birth Defects Day.

World Birth Defects Day is marked every year on March 3. It aims to raise awareness about prevention programmes and improve the quality of services and care received by people with congenital anomalies, disorders, or conditions.

“During the past two decades, the contribution of birth defects to the cause of death among under-5 children has increased from 3.9 per cent to 11.5 per cent in our region,” said Saima Wazed, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia, in a statement.

The confluence of a favourable fiscal policy that supports both capex and consumption and easing monetary policy across all its levers — rates, liquidity and regulations and robust services exports – that augur well for the job market outlook are likely to aid the growth momentum for India, a Morgan Stanley report has said.

The GDP print for December quarter “reaffirms our view that growth is in recovery mode, after having bottomed out in QE Sep-24”, according to the report.

The high frequency data for January/February suggests a mixed trend with gradual signs of recovery.

While implied March quarter growth is at 7.6 per cent (as per advance estimate), “we believe growth will likely track lower than that at 6.7 per cent”.

“As such, we expect FY25 growth to be 6.3 per cent,” the report estimated.

Based on the fiscal 2025 GDP growth estimate of 6.5 per cent by the government, Q4 growth has been derived at 7.6 per cent, according to a SBI Research report on Saturday.

However, “we expect there will be revision of quarterly numbers in May 2025”, the report mentioned.

Also, real GDP growth rate of 9.2 per cent for 2023-24 is the highest in the previous 12 years, except FY22 growth (9.7 per cent, which is highest since independence), said the report.

The Agrim Club of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the IPR Cell of Desh Bhagat University, in association with IQAC, Desh Bhagat University, and with the support of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, celebrated National Science Day-2025 with great enthusiasm. Prof. (Dr.) H.K. Sidhu formally welcomed the dignitaries and attendees, emphasizing the significance of National Science Day and its theme for 2025—"Empowering Indian Youth for Global Leadership in Science and Innovation for Viksit Bharat."

Two individuals have been taken into custody for allegedly attempting to derail the Doon Express on the Lucknow-Bareilly railway line.

The incident took place under the Pihani Road Overbridge in Hardoi on Saturday.

Unidentified individuals placed an iron net and stones on the railway tracks in an attempt to derail the Doon Express. Fortunately, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Kotwali Dehat Police were alerted in time and arrived at the scene to prevent a possible disaster.

Forensic teams were also called to collect fingerprints and other evidence.

Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar took to social media to celebrate the 28th anniversary of her hit film “Judaai.”

Released in 1997, the film, directed by Raj Kanwar, remains one of the most memorable romantic dramas in Bollywood. Urmila took to her Instagram stories to commemorate the occasion, sharing her gratitude and reflections on the film that shaped her career. The Rangeela actress reposted a fan edit and wrote, “28 years of #Judai Thank you for your love.” In next follow up post, she shared her photos from the film.

Judaai, produced by Surinder Kapoor and Boney Kapoor was the remake of the Telugu movie "Subalagnam." It starred Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, and Urmila Matondkar. Kader Khan, Farida Jalal, Johnny Lever, Paresh Rawal, Upasana Singh and Saeed Jaffrey feature in supporting roles.