1. Manipur government urges employees to get back to work: Manipur government has invoked the “no work, no pay” rule against government employees abstaining from work. The move, according to the government, is to get the offices running and restore normalcy in the state.
2. KCR visits Maharashtra with a jumbo convoy: Telangana CM and BRS Supremo K Chandrasekar Rao is on a two-day visit to Maharashtra with a massive convoy of over 300 vehicles.
3. Three people in UP arrested on religious conversion charges: In Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, a mother-son duo was arrested on charges of trying to convert poor villagers to Christianity. In a similar incident in Rae Bareli district, a man was arrested for attempting to coerce a villager to convert. All three people were booked under the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
4. Railway conservancy workers report their plight with video evidence: Conservancy workers doing contract labor for the Madurai Railway Division narrated their plight to the Chairman of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis during a review meeting. The workers presented video evidence to show how they were made to clean railway toilets using bare hands. They were also not provided safety gear, weekly offs, PF, and ESI benefits. However, their contractor made them sign forged documents.
5. Family smuggled to Jakarta in the guise of getting them a job in Japan: A family from Shahibaug was illegally confined in Jakarta by human smugglers who promised them work permits in Japan. The family was threatened and tortured to pay more money to secure their release. Speaking to TOI from Indonesia, Nepal Singh (Head of the family) explained their ordeal at the hands of Rajendrasinh Chavda and his accomplices.
6. Gujarat HC asks Center’s counsel to bring back two sisters in Nithayananda’s hold: The Gujarat High Court has asked the Central Government’s Counsel, Kshitij Amin, to invoke every provision possible to bring back two sisters — devotees of Nithyananda — back to India. The sisters defied their father to move into the cult run by godman Nithyanada.
7. PM Modi pitches for UCC with elections due in 2024: Pitching for Uniform Civil Code well ahead of the upcoming 2024 elections, PM Narendra Modi, at a public rally in Bhopal, asked whether the country can run with two types of laws. Also, taking potshots at Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, he said a rift is being fostered even between Dalits and Mahadalits.
8. After Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh asks Obama to think about himself: After FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s rebuttal to former US President Barrack Obama over his statements to CNN, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Obama should think about himself as to how many Muslim countries he has attacked.” The minister was answering questions at the National Security Conclave that was held at the University of Jammu.
9. Tax disclosures tighten for charitable trusts: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked charitable institutions to mention whether their activities are charitable, religious, or both to avail of tax benefits. They will also have to disclose details of donations of over two lakhs received on the same day.
10. Cyclone Biporjoy becomes the longest-duration cyclonic storm since 1977: the IMD revealed that Cyclone Biporjoy is the longest-duration cyclonic storm to occur in the northern Indian Ocean since 1977. The cyclonic storm lasted 13 days and three hours. Compared to the average life span of cyclonic storms in the Arabian Sea it has spanned twice longer.