Amid the intense government-Opposition showdown, since the beginning of Monsoon Session on July 21, Parliament is set to debate Operation Sindoor -- the Indian military strikes that crushed terror infrastructure inside Pakistan -- next week on Tuesday. TV reports said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also intervene in the marathon debate in the Rajya Sabha on July 29.

Time slots of 16 hours and 9 hours have already been allotted, during the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), to both Houses for discussing Operation Sindoor, in detail.

Congress-led Opposition has been pressing for debate on multiple issues, including Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor, Trump’s claims of ceasefire, and SIR drive in Bihar. A host of Opposition parties also gave multiple adjournment notices in the Parliament on these issues and demanded that immediate discussion be held, in the presence of PM Modi.

Jashanpreet Kaur, a student of the Political Science department in the Post-Graduate program at University College Chunni Kalan, has passed the UGC-NET exam held in December 2024. Jashanpreet is the daughter of Sarbjit Singh. Sharing this information, College Principal Dr. Vanita Garg congratulated the student and stated that such meritorious students are greatly needed by our country and society

Apple has recorded a strong 36 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in iPhone shipments in India during the first half of 2025 (H1 2025), industry data showed on Wednesday.

The company also saw 13 per cent growth in its iPad segment -- reflecting the growing demand for its latest-generation devices in the country, according to the data, a CyberMedia Research (CMR) report said.

The impressive growth was driven by the popularity of Apple’s newest models. The iPhone 16 series emerged as the top performer, capturing 62 per cent of the iPhone market share in H1 2025, followed by the iPhone 15 series with 30 per cent share.

The iPhone 16e and iPhone 14 series also contributed to the company’s sales, each holding around 4 per cent market share, the data showed.

With record-high inflows and active investor participation in the equity, hybrid and SIP segments, June was a successful month for the Indian mutual fund sector, a report said on Wednesday.

The mutual fund industry’s total Assets Under Management (AUM) surged to Rs 74.41 lakh crore, reflecting a 13.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 22 per cent year-on-year growth, supported by bullish equity markets and sustained retail interest, said ICRA Analytics, citing data from Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

In May 2025, the total AUM was 72.20 lakh crore, while it was 61.16 lakh crore in June 2024.

Investors favoured hybrid schemes for their balanced risk-reward profile amid market volatility in the month as they witnessed record-breaking net inflows of Rs 23,223 crore with arbitrage, multi-asset allocation and balanced advantage funds being the key contributors.

Arbitrage, multi-asset allocation and balanced advantage funds recorded net inflow of Rs 15,585 crore, Rs 3,210 crore and Rs 1,886 crore, respectively, the report stated.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Arvind Walia and Sandeep Yadav, Directors and majority shareholders of M/s Ramprastha Promoters & Developers Pvt Ltd (RPDPL), in connection with a massive real estate scam involving the cheating of over 2,000 homebuyers.

The arrest was made on July 21 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, a statement from the probe agency said on Wednesday.

The accused were produced before the Additional Sessions Judge in Gurugram, who granted ED custody till July 25.

The ED also carried out search operations at three locations in Delhi and Gurugram. These actions follow multiple FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police and Haryana Police, alleging that the promoters of RPDPL failed to deliver flats and plots for over 14 years despite collecting nearly Rs 1,100 crore from homebuyers.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned until July 24 following sustained disruptions by Opposition members demanding a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

The Monsoon Session, now in its third day, continues to be plagued by protests, leaving legislative business stalled.

When the House reconvened at 2 p.m., Bhubaneswar Kalita presided over the session and called on members -- Mohammad M. Abdullah (DMK) and Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy (YSRCP) -- to speak on the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025.

However, proceedings were immediately interrupted by Opposition MPs chanting slogans such as “Vote Chori Band Karo”, “Vote Chori Nahi Chalegi,” and “Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi,” alleging electoral manipulation ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.

Actress Shilpa Shetty, who is seen as a judge on the dance reality show “Super Dancer Chapter 5”, has revealed the three iconic women, who have always inspired her throughout her career and life.

Shilpa acknowledged three women as her lifelong inspirations, and said: “There have always been three women in my life who have inspired me — Helen Ji, Rekha Ji, and Madhuri Dixit Ji.”

What made Helen Ji special for Shilpa was “that no matter what she wore or did, it never looked inappropriate.”

Talking about Rekha, she said: “Rekha Ji could speak volumes just with her eyes — her lip-sync and expressions were phenomenal.”

Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala’s son Vikas Barala, who is facing trial in a stalking case, has been appointed as Assistant Advocate-General in Haryana at the advocate-general’s Delhi office. He’s currently on bail.

Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish have been facing trial for stalking and chasing in a bid to kidnap Varnika Kundu, the daughter of a Haryana IAS officer.

The case has been listed for hearing in a Chandigarh court on August 2.

The stalking case had brought national attention to issues of women’s safety and the political influence in legal proceedings. The police in 2017 filed a charge sheet against Vikas Barala, son of then Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, and his friend by citing 48 witnesses.

India's polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes and fittings manufacturing sector will see a growth of 10-11 per cent in revenue this fiscal (FY26), led by robust demand from end-user segments and a more stable price environment, a report said on Wednesday.

Manufacturers will see a recovery this fiscal after witnessing a flattish revenue growth in the last financial year, Crisil Ratings said in its latest report.

The uptick in demand is driven by positive momentum in government schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission, PM Awas Yojna and other construction activities.

“Demand for PVC pipes and fittings has remained robust in recent times, driven by government schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, which focus on the water supply, sanitation and housing segments,” said Himank Sharma, Director, Crisil Ratings.

The growth will lead to a reduction in manufacturers' high-cost inventory as dealers begin restocking channels and partly wipe out a 130 basis points’ decline in operating margin last fiscal.

Centre’s capital expenditure rose to 20 per cent of the budget estimate in April-May FY26, compared to 13 per cent in the same period last year, according to a report on Wednesday.

The Union Budget 2025-26 had allocated Rs 11.21 lakh crore for capital expenditure, which is 3.1 per cent of the GDP.

With the increase in government capex, the manufacturing sector seems to be on a firm growth trajectory, as India’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 58.4 in June, marking a fourteen-month high, said credit rating agency CareEdge Ratings in its report.

The Services PMI at 60.4 is at its highest level in the last 10 months. Industrial production, however, grew only 1.9 per cent during April-May in FY26 as against 5.7 per cent in the same period last year. Contraction in both electricity and mining sectors weighed on the overall IIP growth.