Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Friday called upon all Chief Ministers to appoint adequate number of Protection Officers (POs) with independent charge to ensure effective implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005.

 Union Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday said the request for proposal (RFP) for the non-banking financial company (NBFC) exclusively catering to the financial needs of the food processing sector would be floated this month and the NBFC would possibly be operational by the end of this year.

The BJP on Friday claimed that Congress President Rahul Gandhi described his own party as a "Muslim party" and said he was playing communal politics ahead of the 2019 general elections.

 Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday rejoined the Congress that he left in protest against the bifurcation of the state in 2014.

Two persons including the driver sustained minor injuries when their car rammed the bus station as the driver lost the control over the vehicle, at Talapady on Bengaluru-Mangaluru National highway on Friday.

 At least 111 people, including Balochistan Awami Party leader Siraj Raisani, were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack in Balochistan on Friday. It was the third such attack on candidates in the run-up to July 25 polls.

 Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's extended family on Twitter dropped by over 424,000, while Shah Rukh Khan's followers depleted by over 362,141 and Salman Khan lost 340,884 followers, among other film celebrities as a result of the 'sanitisation' of the micro-blogging platform.

Jiva Ayurveda, which runs 80 clinics and hospitals across India, has come out with diagnostic protocols in a bid to get global recognition to the ancient Indian system of medicine. The protocols will be launched on Monday.