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A land scandal that was unleashed at the ancient Maharani College of Jaipur has erupted following the uncovering of three Islamic shrines hidden inside the college campus. The finding of the religious shrines has raised an eyebrow over a suspected attempt at encroaching on state land using religious rights.

Dharohar Bachao Sanrakshan Samiti, a committee that works for conserving local heritage, protested strongly. Its president, Bharat Sharma, labelled the buildings as being a "planned conspiracy" to illegitimately occupy college land through clauses of the Waqf Act. In a video clip shot inside the college premises, Sharma instructs the administration to demolish the shrines, threatening that in case of failure to do so, public protests will ensue.

The shrines, reportedly located alongside the campus pump house and water tank, are managed by the institution. There is no known history, however, about when and how they were built and who ordered that they be built. Their covert existence had raised questions of whether their existence was ever forgotten or even not even known.

Attempts to contact the principal of the college have been futile till now. College officials, including the principal, refused to speak when India Today TV attempted to contact them. The silence of the administration has triggered more questions and curiosity among the common folk.

Maharani College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Rajasthan, and the academic environment in which mind traditions are valued, are at the heart of a sensitive controversy that touches issues of contested ownership rights, religious freedom, and institutional accountability.

After controversy over the matter, there is a possibility of its being followed by broader controversy related to enforcement of land law, schools' role in protection of public property, and misuse of religious protection. The government has made no statement or probe into the source of the buildings.

Having their nerves already at a breaking point, the campus community and residents around are waiting for the answers of the education authorities and the government.

The Himachal Pradesh state has emerged as a national leader in education, emerging from 21st rank in 2021 to 5th rank in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2025. Leading this quick turnaround is Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's strong-arm style of governance, Vyavastha Parivartan, which has transitioned from words to actual outcomes.

Preparation for the revolution was made with the closure of 1,160 under-performing schools—a politically unpopular but unavoidable measure to eliminate wastage and channel resources to performing schools. Far from previous governments which succumbed to political opportunism, Sukhu's government chose performance over populism.

Six cornerstone reforms were the twin pillars of Himachal's transformation:

• School Mergers improved teaching effectiveness and class size.
• A Single Education Directorate ensured co-ordinated administration from pre-primary to Class 12.
• English medium of instruction from Grade 1 incorporated foundation skills.
• School uniform selection gave students identity.
• Teacher and student international exposure gained best practices.
• Cluster management of schools introduced enhanced cooperation and oversight.

NAS 2025 data cemented the reforms:

• Government schools outshone private schools.
• Girl children and rural were at over national levels.
• Hamirpur and Sirmaur districts led in foundation learning.
• Lahaul & Spiti worked hard but topped senior grades.

There are, however, issues. Teachers reported attending CPD in only 26% of instances, and facilities for CWSN are lacking. Issues of bullying and lack of interest in vocational courses must be addressed at the earliest.

As the state itself strives for a top 3 NAS ranking by 2027, Sukhu's model is a national template. Himachal has proven that change is not only possible but accessible. Its story of education is not one just of numbers—but of revitalizing public faith in government schooling.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the BJP's model of development of being to take away the right to education from the poor, particularly SC, ST and OBC children.

Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha posted on Facebook screenshots of certain media reports.

One media outlet alleged that the number of government schools fell 8 per cent but private schools rose by 14.9 per cent between 2014-15 and 2023-24, whereas another alleged that SC students' enrolment in 2023-24 as against earlier fiscal year dropped by 16.2 lakh students and ST students' and OBC students' enrolment dropped by 5.1 lakh and 38.5 lakh respectively during the same period.

In a Hindi post on X, Gandhi claimed that the "BJP's development model is a model to snatch the right to education from the poor, especially SC, ST and OBC children".

"Over 5,000 government schools are closing in Uttar Pradesh. Since 2014, 84,441 government schools have shut down in the country, with the majority shutting down in three BJP-governed states - Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam," he added.

"This is not only closing schools, but also an attack on the right to education enshrined in the Constitution and the UPA government's historic law, which led all children from all villages into school and resulted in a historic rise in enrolment," Gandhi added.

Babasaheb Ambedkar had declared that education is the milk of a lioness and the person who drinks it will roar, but today education itself is being stolen away, he charged.

"Students and teachers on the street protesting against the school closure decision, but rather than hearing their voice, the government is occupied in intimidating them and further impairing the education system. When the requirement is to make it stronger and offer equal, accessible and quality education to all children," Gandhi said.

Two students will be awarded maximum number of gold medals at the forthcoming annual convocation of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) on July 4.

Namrata C Prabhu of Bengaluru's Oxford College of Engineering will take home 13, the largest amount of gold medals. "Growing up, I used to watch my dad, a civil engineer, work and was always amazed by it. Hence, I was leaning towards civil engineering rather than computer science, though that has been more sought after," she said.

Another topper student who has risen to the challenge is Navyashree Ganpishetty, a student of electronics and communications engineering at RV Institute of Technology, Bengaluru. She has won 11 gold medals. "I was fascinated by electronic gadgets since childhood. My father has completed his B.Tech in communication and electronics engineering. We had sufficient exposure in our college. We would do practical in lab and would have the needed questions from VTU," she added. She is going to pursue higher studies in VLSI (very large scale integration).

Karthik L of mechanical engineering at Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, and Kavana A, electrical and electronics engineering student at GSSS Institute of Technology for Women, Mysuru, both bagged seven gold medals.

The 25th annual convocation of the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) will take place on July 4 at its Jnana-Sangama campus in Belagavi. Ajay Kumar Sood, principal scientific advisor to govt of India, will be the chief guest and the convocation address.

VTU is conferring degree certificates on 60,052 students. BE degree on 58,861 students (20,707 autonomous college students included), B.Tech on 117 students, B.Plan on 10 students, B.Arch on 1,040 (234 autonomous college students included), and B.Sc (Honours) on 24 students. Aside from this, the university is conferring 262 PhDs and 2 integrated dual degrees on research scholars.

VTU will award honorary doctorate degree 'Doctor of Science' this year to V Narayanan, chairman Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and secretary, department of space; Prashant Prakash, founder, Excel India; and CS Sunder Raju, chancellor, Atria University, Bengaluru.

Six gold medals will be awarded to computer science and engineering student of Dayanand Sagar Academy of Technology and Management, Mohini V.

Top five institutions with the most VTU ranks are Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering (MITE), Moodabidri with 16 ranks, and Bangalore Institute of Technology (BIT), Bengaluru with 13 ranks.

If you appeared for the UGC NET June 2025 exam, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the UGC NET provisional answer key. This is where you get a chance to "compare your answers, estimate your score, and raise objections if you find any discrepancies. The UGC NET objection window is open from July 6 till 8, 2025 (5 PM). Here is the procedure that would help you verify the answer key and raise objections with ease.

What is the answer key of UGC NET?

UGC NET answer key is a record that the NTA publishes after the examination that shows all the correct answers to all questions in the examination. NTA also gives a question paper and your recorded responses together with the answer key. Such transparency assists candidates prove their answers and compute their likely scores prior to the result announcement.

How to Check UGC NET 2025 Answer Key?

Here is how you can download and verify your answer key:

1. Visit the official website: Go to ugcnet.nta.ac.in.
2. Find the answer key link: Click on “UGC NET June 2025 Answer Key” or the relevant public notice on the homepage.
3. Login: Enter your application number and date of birth or password to log in.
4. View your answer key: You will see the provisional answer key, your recorded responses, and the question paper on the screen.
5. Download/Print: Save or print the documents for your reference.
6.  

Steps  to challenge the UGC NET Answer Key

You can challenge the questions (rs200/-) online in case you find any wrong answers or differences. Here’s how:

• Log in with your identification on the site ugcnet.nta.ac.in. 
• Choose the question(s) you want to challenge from your response sheet.
• Add academic evidence or references of your claim in one PDF file.
• Pay the non-refundable objection fee of ₹200 per question online using debit/credit card or net banking whichever is convenient for you. 
• After the payment, download and save the payment receipt for your records.

What happens after you raise an objection?   

After you have raised your objection to the UGC NET answer key, you simply need to wait while the National Testing Agency (NTA) reviews all the challenges submitted by candidates. A panel of subject experts will examine each objection along with the supporting document, and if it is found correct, the answer key  will be corrected.

Note that, objection window will be open from July 6, 2025 to July 8, 2025, 5 PM. After the deadline, no more objections will be accepted. Once all objections have been processed, the final answer key will be posted by NTA. This will be the one to be used in calculating your final result.  

Take your time to carefully cross-check all your answers before submitting objections. Remember, if the UGC JUNE 2025 attempt doesn’t give you the result you seek, there is a December attempt waiting for you. Don’t lose hope; everything has its right time.  All  the best for the UGC NET result. Keep checking the official UGC portal for updates

Our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has made history by becoming the most internationally honoured Indian leader, receiving a record 25 state honours from foreign governments as of July 2025. This is a milestone that not only reflects Narendra Modi international recognition but also indicates that India’s acceptance as a major global power is on the rise.

Since Modi ji took office in 2014, he has been highly active in engaging with world leaders, making diplomacy a hallmark of his tenure. In the last ten years alone, he has been the recipient of the highest civilian honors of no less than a heterogeneous selection of countries including Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and the United States, as well as France, Egypt, Mauritius and Ghana. Most of the titles are also the first ever to be awarded to any Indian leader among others such as the Order of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago and the Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean by Mauritius.

His latest honors “The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana” and “The Order of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago” marks him as the greatest leader of India. On X, Modi ji posted his awarding moment at Trinida & Tobago saying, “Honoured to be conferred with ‘The Order of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago’. I accept it on behalf of 140 crore Indians.”

He also posted some of the pictures from the ceremony expressing his gratitude. The post said, “I express my heartfelt gratitude to President Christine Carla Kangaloo, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the Government and wonderful people of Trinidad & Tobago for honouring me with ‘The Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.’ This honour symbolises the eternal friendship between our two countries. At every step, one can witness the cultural connection between our nations.” He also said, “I’m very honoured that this is the first time this honour has been conferred upon a foreign leader. This recognition will strengthen our resolve to deepen ties with Trinidad & Tobago.”

Narendra Modi international honours

The international accolades given to Modi are not the mere decorations; rather they are the recognition of his proactive diplomacy, visionary and capacity to form bridges across cultures and continents. Most of these awards have come from Muslim majority states which highlight his skills of negotiating across geopolitical domains and cementing India's ties in areas which were previously not close to India.

He has repeatedly dedicated these awards to the people of India, describing himself as the Pradhan Sevak (chief servant) of 1.4 billion Indians and depicting his success as a product of the national dreams of the country. Keeping his head home is a strategy that appeals to the Indian populace and is a plus to his personality as a leader who takes pride in the role of representing his nation in the global arena.

The Impact: India, A Rise To a World Stage

• The international recognition of Modi is multi-dimensional:
• Diplomatic leverage: every award enhances bilateral relations and creates new horizons of collaboration in the field of trade, technology, security, and culture.
• Soft Power: These awards increase the attraction to India in terms of soft power which makes the nation more appealing as a partner and place of investment and collaboration.
• National Pride: The fact that Modi has been celebrated worldwide is a matter of immense pride to the Indians and should only enhance the concept of a Vikshit Bharat (Developed India) and give them the confidence to be at the world map.
• Strategic Partnerships: The awards frequently accompany some significant diplomatic moves, collaborative endeavors, and human-to-human interactions, and symbolic rewards can be turned into concrete gains.

As long as Modi ji maintains a global appeal, his legacy is likely to be defined by his role in elevating India’s international standing. These awards are not only in recognition of his leadership but also the transition of India to become a dominant figure in global politics. To Indians, it marks a new era in which their country has a voice, is respected, and its contributions are acknowledged. Keeping aside the internal political views, the country can accept that Modi ji as our PM is doing his job aptly.