Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced a major hike in the monthly pension for the elderly, disabled persons, and widowed women—from ₹400 to ₹1,100. The revised amount will be disbursed starting July and is set to benefit over 10.9 million people across the state under the Social Security Pension Scheme.

“I am happy to inform you that under the Social Security Pension Scheme, all the elderly, disabled and widowed women will now get a pension of ₹1,100 instead of ₹400 every month,” said Chief Minister Kumar.

More than 500 Indian nationals have returned home from Iran under Operation Sindhu so far, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

The MEA shared the update about the status of the evacuation operation in a post on X.

More Indian nationals, including students, arrived in Delhi late Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday after being evacuated from Iran as its military confrontation with Israel intensified.

Net direct tax collection so far this fiscal stood at Rs 4.59 trillion, 1.39 per cent lower compared to the mop-up during the corresponding period of last fiscal, as advance tax collections slowed, government data released on Sunday showed.

Advance tax collection during April 1-June 19, 2025 grew a meagre 3.87 per cent to Rs 1.56 trillion. In the comparable period in 2024, advance tax collection had recorded an annual growth of 27 per cent.

Pakistan has backed US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, crediting him with helping to de-escalate the recent crisis between India and Pakistan.

The nomination was shared through an official post on X (formerly Twitter), where Pakistani officials praised Trump’s “decisive diplomatic intervention” and “pivotal leadership” in preventing the conflict from spiralling further.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that he declined an invitation from former United States President Donald Trump in favour of visiting the eastern Indian state of Odisha, which he described as the land of Lord Jagannath.

“I humbly rejected the invitation of President Donald Trump to visit the US to come to the land of Lord Jagannath,” PM Modi said, as quoted by PTI.

An Air India flight from Delhi to Pune suffered a bird strike on Friday, resulting in the cancellation of its return leg to Delhi.

The aircraft landed safely, and the bird hit was discovered after it touched down in Pune, the airline said in a statement. The plane has been grounded for detailed inspection, and extensive checks are being carried out by the engineering team.

Sun TV Network on Friday dismissed “speculative and defamatory” media reports alleging a legal dispute between former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran and his elder brother Kalanithi Maran, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director.

Several news outlets had claimed that Dayanidhi Maran had issued a legal notice to Kalanithi Maran, accusing him of allegedly taking over control of the company through a controversial share allotment dating back to 2003.

The TMC on Friday reiterated its respect for the judiciary but strongly criticised opposition parties for allegedly "denying humanitarian relief" to thousands of non-teaching staff who lost their jobs after the Supreme Court quashed the 2016 recruitment process, calling the move by the opposition parties inhumane.

The remarks came immediately after the Calcutta High Court restrained the West Bengal government from implementing a scheme that sought to provide monetary support to sacked Group C and D staff until September 26 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched 28 development projects worth more than ₹5,900 crore in Bihar's Siwan district.

Modi inaugurated the new VaishaliDeoria railway line project, built at a cost of over ₹400 crore, and flagged off a new train service on this route.

Stepping up its communication process since last week’s AI171 Dreamliner crash, Air India on Thursday reached out to its frequent fliers about flight cancellations and operational disruptions in the aftermath of the tragedy. Signed by Air India chief executive and managing director Campbell Wilson, the email communication comes a day after Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran admitted in a media interview that the airline’s communication with passengers, after the crash, had not been strong.

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