A look at the top headlines of the day:

  1. Adityanath takes oath as Uttar Pradesh chief minister for second term: Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak were sworn in as deputy chief ministers. A total of 52 ministers took oath as ministers during the ceremony in Lucknow.
  2. Birbhum killings case transferred to CBI by Calcutta High Court: Eight people had died in Birbhum district’s Bogtui village on March 22 after their houses were set on fire following the alleged murder of a panchayat leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress. The state advocate general on Friday urged the court to stay the operation of the order, but the bench rejected the request.
  3. India’s relationship with China is not normal because of deployment of troops at border, says foreign minister: S Jaishankar’s comments came after three-hour talks with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi. This is the highest-level visit by a Chinese leader since the border clashes along the Line of Actual Control two years ago strained ties between both the countries.
  4. Petrol, diesel prices increased for third time this week: A litre of petrol will cost Rs 97.81, while diesel will be sold at Rs 89.07 in Delhi, a price notification of Indian state fuel retailers showed. In Mumbai, India’s financial capital, the price of petrol rose to Rs 112.51 per litre, while diesel price went up to Rs 96.70.
  5. Tamil Nadu government in touch with Centre to legally handle influx of Sri Lankan refugees, says CM: So far, 16 refugees have arrived in the state as the island nation is facing its worst economic crisis. On Wednesday, a Rameswaram court sent three of the refugees to 15-day judicial custody at Puzhal central prison near Chennai. However, later in the day, the state government decided to accommodate the other refugees at the Mandapam camp in Rameswaram municipality area of Ramanathapuram district.
  6. Union home ministry introduces Bill in Lok Sabha to merge three municipal corporations in Delhi: The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, cleared by the Cabinet on Tuesday, seeks to merge the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation.
  7. Assam government to move Supreme Court for Aadhaar cards of those excluded from NRC: More than 19 lakh people in Assam were left out of the final list of the National Register of Citizens published in 2019.
  8. Custody of Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez extended by 50 days: Parvez was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on November 22. The National Investigation Agency has accused him of criminal conspiracy and waging war against the Indian government.
  9. Nearly 300 people feared dead in Ukraine’s Mariupol theatre bombing, say city officials: A Russian aircraft had bombed the city’s drama theatre on March 16 despite the word “children” written in Russian on the ground with white paint.
  10. No-confidence motion against Pakistan PM Imran Khan deferred till March 28: Speaker Asad Qaiser said that the session would be adjourned as a parliamentary convention and a mark of respect for members of the National Assembly who died recently.