Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday urged the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to implement central schemes in letter and spirit and not put conditions on their implementation to help release funds to them.

Seven Naxalites and two personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a specialized unit of the state police, were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday, officials said.

Police have arrested a government school teacher in Beed district of Maharashtra for allegedly sexually harassing and molesting girl students of Classes 3 and 4, officials said on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court heard the bail applications of student activists accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case on Tuesday. During the hearing the court recorded concerns raised by the petitioners over prolonged incarceration and the nature of charges levelled against them.

Police have launched a drive against noisy loudspeakers in Muzaffarnagar city and removed more than 55 loudspeakers from various mosques for alleged violation of Supreme Court guidelines on sound limits, officials said on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed on "humanitarian grounds" the entry of a pregnant woman and her eight-year-old child into India, months after they were pushed into Bangladesh.

Several opposition leaders on Wednesday slammed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's remarks that the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and accused him and the ruling BJP of distorting historical facts.

 At least three people, including a child, died and seven others were injured after their car hit a divider while overtaking a bus in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Wednesday, police said.