Jharkhand students on warpath over paper leaks; food regulator puts curbs on junk

In Ranchi, normal life was disrupted after the Bharatiya Janata Party called a statewide bandh following police action against students protesting alleged recruitment exam irregularities. The student agitation in Jharkhand entered its 18th day as Chief Minister Hemant Soren accused the opposition of politicising the issue, while ABVP workers were detained during an Assembly march. Concurrently, Parliament faced disruptions over student protests and legislation. In Tamil Nadu, the Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to scrap NEET for medical admissions.

Meanwhile, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India issued draft guidelines defining fat, sugar, and salt thresholds to ban junk food in school canteens. In Maharashtra, Raigad schoolgirls used social media reporting to prompt road repairs, while the state FDA suspended the licence of a Blinkit dark store in Mumbai over hygiene violations. Additionally, Karnataka officials inspected a Zepto warehouse, the Ministry of Civil Aviation questioned Air India CEO Campbell Wilson over a mid-air drop incident, and landslides blocked key highways in Mandi.