Here are the top headlines of the day:

  1. BJP likely to get majority in UP, AAP in Punjab, tight race in Goa and Uttarakhand, say exit polls: The BJP will win 240 seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party will win 150 seats, NDTV reported, citing exit polls conducted by various outlets.
  2. Evacuation of Indians from Sumy put off for Monday, say students: As many as 600 students are stranded in the Ukrainian city, according to Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan. While the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy have not provided an update on the evacuation from Sumy, students told Scroll.in that the plans have been put off for Monday.
  3. Sensex loses nearly 1,500 points, rupee hits lifetime low over rising crude oil prices: The rupee slumped 84 paise to close at 77.01 against the US dollar. Market experts said the plunge was a result of negative sentiments in the global markets due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and record-high prices of crude oil due to the war.
  4. Third round of talks between Ukraine and Russia begin in Belarus: Meanwhile, media outlets of both countries reported that the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to meet in Turkey on March 10.
  5. Court asks police to register FIR against Assam CM for saying evictions were “act of revenge”: Himanta Biswa Sarma had made the comment about evictions in Garukhuti village of Darrang district last year during which two people had died in police firing.
  6. China and India should be partners, not rivals, says Chinese foreign minister: Wang Yi said that the two countries should help each other achieve their goals, rather than “draining each other’s energies”.
  7. Former NSE chief Chitra Ramkrishna sent to seven-day CBI custody in co-location scam: She had been arrested on Sunday night. The case pertains to allegedly granting preferential access of the National Stock Exchange trading platform to certain private financial service firms.
  8. SC agrees to hear plea by MediaOne against Kerala High Court’s decision to uphold ban on channel: MediaOne TV had gone off air on January 31 after the Centre suspended its telecast citing “security reasons”. On March 2, the Kerala High Court upheld the Centre’s ban.
  9. Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik sent to judicial custody till March 21 in money-laundering case: Malik was arrested on February 23 in connection with the money laundering case involving fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.
  10. Indian envoy to Palestine found dead inside embassy in Ramallah: The cause of 36-year old Mukul Arya’s death was not immediately known.