Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said India is transitioning from a fuel-importing to a fuel-exporting nation, driven by the growing production and use of ethanol, methanol and green hydrogen.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the BJP of failing to fulfil its promises in Bihar, asserting that if voted to power, the INDIA bloc government will implement whatever it has promised in its manifesto.

The Union environment ministry has decided that the period during which infrastructure projects remain stalled due to court proceedings or cases before the National Company Law Tribunal will not be counted towards the expiry of their environmental clearances. The move is expected to benefit several large projects currently held up in litigation, including the Great Nicobar Holistic Development Project.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the inquiry into the death of Aqil Akhter, son of former Punjab Director General of Police Mohammad Mustafa and former state minister Razia Sultana. Aqil was found dead in Panchkula on October 16 under circumstances that the family and police records describe as suspicious.

A 22-year-old medical student identified as Ajit Singh Chaudhary from Rajasthan’s Alwar district, who had been missing in Russia since the last three weeks, was found dead near a dam in Ufa city on Thursday. According to his family he was pursuing an MBBS degree at Bashkir State Medical University since last year.

Stoking another controversy, Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitesh Rane on Thursday demanded that non-Hindus should not be allowed to set up shops at the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Nashik.

A field investigation by The Indian Express has contradicted Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations of large-scale “vote theft” in Haryana’s Hodal and Rai constituencies. Gandhi had claimed that dozens and even hundreds of voters were registered under single house numbers and that the photo of a Brazilian national had been used multiple times on voter lists.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on November 11 pleas challenging the Election Commission’s decision to conduct a pan-India Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.