1.The BJP and AIADMK Friday sealed a poll alliance, with Union Minister Amit Shah declaring that the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election will be fought under the leadership of AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami

2.More than 100 people have died since Wednesday after unseasonably heavy rain lashed parts of India and Nepal, officials said, as the weather department predicted more rain for the region.

3.The global trade war further escalated Friday as China retaliated against the US by raising its tariffs on American imports to a whopping 125 per cent.

4.The State Election Commission has initiated the process for election to 1,134 vacant posts in three-tier Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Odisha.

5.Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda will inaugurate the Central Research Laboratory and lay the foundation stone of Multi-utility (Gastronomy) Block at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Bhubaneswar Saturday.

6.A major recruitment scam has come to light at the Sambalpur District Central Cooperative Bank (SDCCB) in the district, with allegations that several employees secured jobs using fake educational certificates. The issue gained attention after Attabira MLA Nihar Ranjan Mahanand raised the matter in the state Assembly, prompting the initiation of an offi cial probe.

7. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha Friday said the government was planning to bring in the “best available teachers” from outside the state to ensure quality education for students, especially in key subjects.

8.The Trump administration was quick in responding to what was tabled for a bilateral trade pact with India and New Delhi is geared up for a "very high" degree of urgency in concluding trade deals with the US, the European Union and the UK, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Friday.

9.Election Commission sources Friday rejected suggestions that electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the country are vulnerable to hacking, asserting that the machines work like simple calculators which are not connected to the internet or infrared.

10.China is looking to mend a strained trading relationship with the European Union, the last open major market for its products, to weather a trade war with the United States. But diplomats and analysts say breaking a prolonged stalemate won’t be easy.

11.India and the US have finalised terms of reference for talks over the fi rst part of a bilateral trade deal, an Indian trade official said Friday, adding it was possible that a "win-win" deal could take shape in the next 90 days.

12.Benchmark Sensex surged by 1,310 points while Nifty closed above 22,900 level Friday on gains in banking, oil and metal shares as investors rejoiced the 90-day suspension of additional import duties by the US.

13.India’s industrial production growth decelerated to a six-month low of 2.9 per cent in February 2025, mainly due to poor performance of the manufacturing, mining and power sectors, according to official data released Friday.

14.The cyber wing of Maharashtra Police has rescued more than 60 Indian nationals who were tortured and forced into cyber slavery in Myanmar, and arrested fi ve agents, including a foreign national, a senior offi cial said here Friday

15.Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Friday announced a two per cent hike in the dearness allowance (DA) for state government employees and pensioners.