President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday advised higher learning institutes to fill vacant faculty positions fast to ensure quality education and research.

 Noting that India is now recognized globally as a key player in the generic medicine industry, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday asked pharmaceutical companies to invest in research and development (R&D) for further growth of the sector.

 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.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that India would go head with the proposed purchase of five Russian-made S-400 Triumf advanced air defense systems despite US sanctions against Moscow red-flagging the deal for which an agreement is almost ready.

The Archaeological Survey of India has issued orders to allow photography within the premises of centrally protected monuments, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned the logic behind the existing restrictions at an event.