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• Vijay government to give women employees 365 days maternity leave for third child
  Announcing the change in the state assembly during the demand for grants for his department, minister D Sarathkumar said the decision was aimed at strengthening the state's focus on social welfare and women's empowerment. The state had gradually increased maternity leave for its women employees over the years. The original 90-day provision was increased to six months in 2011, followed by an increase to nine months in 2016.
• 'Credibility well established globally': MEA on Trump's praise for CEC Gyanesh Kumar
• Army chief Seth meets Nepal PM Shah, discusses defence ties amid border tensions
• ‘Don’t lie to children’: Rahul slams Rijiju over his 'no one harmed' during CJP stir remark
• ‘PM CARES? Hardly’: Congress jabs govt for utilising only 0.01% of relief fund
  Domestic donations to the PM CARES Fund fell by 30 per cent to nearly Rs 479 crore in the financial year 2024-25, while foreign donations declined by 18 per cent to Rs 92.8 lakh, according to the fund's latest audit report. The total balance in the PM CARES Fund stood at Rs 8,452 crore as on March 31, 2025, compared with Rs 7,173 crore a year earlier.
• Evening news wrap: Pak SC directs govt to shift Imran to hospital; blast near Kabul school injures around 50 children, and more
  Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the government to move Imran Khan to a hospital for his health. The Supreme Court rejected pleas to replace hanging as the death penalty method. Bihar transferred seventeen senior IPS officers amid controversy over police actions. A hand grenade explosion near a Kabul school injured approximately fifty children. Rishabh Pant became the first Indian to hit one hundred Test sixes.
• Ritabrata Banerjee to remain Bengal LoP till decision on plea within 2 months, says HC
  The bench of Justices Shampa Sarkar and Ajay Kumar Gupta directed that the challenge to his appointment be decided by a single judge within two months. The case was filed by Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, a TMC MLA from the Mamata Banerjee camp, who had challenged assembly speaker Rathindra Bose's decision to appoint Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of opposition.
• MGNREGA out, VB-G RAM G in: What changes for rural jobs, workers and states
  MGNREGA has been replaced by VB-G RAM G, increasing guaranteed employment days. The new scheme features a revised funding structure and allocation framework for rural India. States will now share program costs with the Centre in a 60:40 ratio. This transition aims to create durable assets and link wage work with village infrastructure. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are projected to be significant beneficiaries of this new program.
• ‘Gandhi, Nehru, Patel sang the same Vande Mataram’: Kharge hits back at BJP amid row
  The BJP had criticised the Congress after a video from the party headquarters showed Kharge and Sonia Gandhi speaking while Vande Mataram was being performed during the August 15 Independence Day programme. The BJP accused Congress leadership of disrespecting the national song and sought an apology. The issue remained part of the political discourse in Goa as two stanzas of Vande Mataram were sung in the event attended by Kharge.
• Brahmin vote up for grabs in 2027? How Akhilesh is manoeuvring his 'PDA' politics to change UP's caste calculus
  Akhilesh Yadav is strategically extending his political outreach to Brahmins in preparation for the 2027 elections. He asserts that this community has suffered greatly under the current regime. This initiative seeks to enlarge his political coalition, moving beyond his usual support base. Mayawati rebuts this tactic, labeling it as political trickery. The Brahmin vote is crucial, drawing attention from various political factions.