Resignation of Pradhan non-negotiable: CJP to Union Ministers

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is spearheading protests against the NEET paper leak, has told two Union ministers that its demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is “non-negotiable”. The group has also asked for ₹1 crore compensation for families of those who committed suicide after the cancellation of the NEET test on May 3. The two sides will meet again on Saturday (July 25, 2026).

Government orders GitHub to remove Bluetooth-based chat app Bitchat over security concerns

The Home Ministry’s cybercrime arm, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, has ordered Microsoft subsidiary GitHub to remove Bluetooth-based messaging application Bitchat, according to a notice. “The Government of India does not like technologies like Bitchat and wants it taken down,” said the app’s developer and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Friday (July 24, 2026) in an X post, sharing a copy of the notice dated July 23. A query sent to I4C in this regard elicited no immediate reply.

CJI Kant says ‘no plea’ filed on ‘police violence’ during CJP’s Parliament march

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Friday (July 24, 2026) said that no petition seeking the Supreme Court’s intervention into the alleged police excesses during the July 20 crackdown on student protesters in the national capital had been filed and criticised “reckless” reports suggesting that the court had refused to list such a matter. He clarified that the court had received only a representation from a lawyer and that no petition had been instituted. The oral remarks were made during mentioning hours, when lawyers draw the court’s attention to matters requiring urgent listing. Meanwhile, Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson Saurav Das announced from a press conference that the outfit will be launching a website for protestors to identify the police personnel who used brute force on them on the day of the Parliament March.

Rahul shows pellet gun injuries of protester to slam Centre, says ‘stop assaulting our students’

Dharmendra Pradhan is a “criminal Education Minister”, a symbol of the collapse of India’s education system and must be removed, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded on Friday (July 24, 2026) as he brought a student protester who was allegedly shot with a pellet gun by security personnel during the July 20 protests. Meanwhile, the Central Reserve Police Force is “verifying media reports” on the use of pellet guns by the Rapid Action Force against unarmed protesters, an official said. This comes three days after The Hindu reported the first known instance of security forces using pellet guns on civilians in the national capital.

Tamil Nadu CM Vijay proposes meeting with Karnataka counterpart D.K. Shivakumar over Cauvery

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has proposed a meeting with his Karnataka counterpart, D.K. Shivakumar, to discuss the issue of the release of Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water. Mr. Vijay is awaiting a response from the latter. It is learnt that Tamil Nadu had requested Karnataka to schedule the meeting anytime between July 31 and August 3. In view of Mr. Shivakumar’s other commitments, it was, at one stage, anticipated that the two Chief Ministers could meet on August 3. “So far, no confirmation has been received,” the representative said, hinting that Karnataka is expected to confirm the meeting within a day or two.

Supreme Court proposes special courts for speedy trial in Manipur violence cases

The Supreme Court on Friday (July 24, 2026) proposed the establishment of special courts to conduct day-to-day trials in cases arising out of the 2023 Manipur violence and directed the investigating agencies to expedite the pending probes to ensure that there is no further “inordinate delay”. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohan was hearing a batch of petitions relating to the ethnic violence in the State. Referring to status reports filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Special Investigation Team, the Bench noted that the prevailing law and order situation had made the examination of witnesses difficult, with many having been displaced or relocated.

Gujarat rains displace 38,000 people; Army, NDRF launch rescue operations

“Relentless downpours continued to paralyse Gujarat for the third consecutive day on Friday (July 24, 2026), cutting off dozens of villages and throwing life out of gear, with 38,000 people relocated to safer places and more than 352 rescued,” officials said. With more than 400mm of rainfall recorded in some locations in 24 hours, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Army swung into action in flooded areas, while authorities shut schools and cancelled Mumbai-bound trains.

Government bars communication infra-providers from sharing data outside India

The government has barred communication infrastructure providers, including those involved in cloud-based networks for telecom services, mobile towers and satellite gateways, from sharing any data outside the country, according to an official notification. The Department of Telecom, in a notification for the authorisation framework for infrastructure providers, has made it mandatory that all telecommunication data should be stored within the country.

As temporary tariffs expire, U.S. imposes 10% ‘forced labour’ tariffs on India

Even as the U.S.’ temporary 10% tariffs come to an end today, it has announced permanent tariffs related to its investigation into forced labour on 60 of its trading partners, including India. India’s tariff rate remains at 10% instead of the proposed 12.5%. The U.S. had in February 2026 imposed a temporary 150-day 10% tariff on all of its trade partners, which expired on July 24. In March, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative had also launched two separate investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act, 1974.

Adani denies plans to enter airline business, calls reports ‘baseless and factually incorrect’

Adani Enterprises has denied media reports on Friday (July 24, 2026) that it is planning to launch an airline, as per a statement by the company. In the release, Adani noted it is not evaluating any proposal to enter the airline business, calling the reports “entirely baseless and factually incorrect.” IndiGo and Air India have opposed the Adani Group’s reported interest in entering the airline business, raising concerns over conflicts of interest and the potential erosion of competition, as the conglomerate is learnt to have approached the government to remove cross-ownership restrictions that currently limit airline ownership in airports and vice versa.

U.S. strikes Iran and Bahrain; warns of incoming fire as clashes over shipping routes escalate

Bahrain activated its sirens early Friday (July 24, 2026), warning residents to shelter from detected fire hours after the U.S. military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of strikes against Iran. Iranian State media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the bombardment. U.S. Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Spain declares national emergency over wildfires near Madrid and in Avila

The Spanish government declared a national emergency after a series of wildfires threatened communities near Madrid and in the neighbouring province of Avila, forcing more than 10,000 people to evacuate as firefighters struggled to contain the blazes. The Interior Ministry said the decision was taken because of the simultaneous outbreak of several fires, adverse weather conditions and the need to mobilise extensive resources from different public administrations, increasing the complexity of firefighting and civil protection efforts.

Published - July 24, 2026 06:21 pm IST