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For Uttar Pradesh, Independence Day is not going to be a holiday. The UP Government has announced that schools, colleges, universities, and markets along with government and non-government offices across the state will not remain shut on August 15 this year. This is the first time in 75 years that this is happening.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that this Independence Day will be celebrated as a special event this year in each district as it is the 75th year of Independence. Chief Secretary D.S. Mishra said that a special sanitation drive would be carried out, as is done during the festival of Diwali, and this should be made into a national public movement.

While hearing a suo motu petition regarding the school girls of Satara district who cross lakes and jungles to go to school every day, Bombay High Court made remarks about Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The bench headed by Justice PB Varale said, "His village has no road, no bridge but has two helipads."

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hails from Satara, Maharashtra.

Justice Varale further said, "Even if the village has two helipads, we don't have an objection, but there should be an endeavour to provide good roads so that the children can go to school. We want to see roads for children so that they can finish their education and help society."

The Bharatiya Janata Party has renominated Union minister Piyush Goyal as the Leader of the House (LoH) in the Rajya Sabha. Goyal who was renominated to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in June on completion of his term, took oath of office as a member of the Upper House for the third term on July 8.

The official announcement of his appointment will be made on the floor of the House on July 18, when both Houses of Parliament convene for the monsoon session, persons aware of the details said.

Ripudaman Singh Malik, the acquitted suspect in the 1985 Air India bombings was shot dead in Canada, news agencies reported on Thursday (July 14) quoting local media. The apparent targeted shooting killed the founder of Khalsa Credit Union in Vancouver while he was on his way to his office. 

The tragic incident took place in westernmost Canada. Local media reported that the Sikh philanthropist was shot outside his clothing business in the area of Vancouver, British Columbia. 

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed the incident, however, they did not provide any details regarding the victim. 

In the second meeting of the two-member SenaBJP cabinet on Thursday, chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis re-approved four decisions originally taken by the Fadnavis-led government (2014-2019) which were later scrapped by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Among the decisions restored was to give voting rights to farmers in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) elections, which was originally done by the BJP-Sena government to weaken the hold of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress on co-operative bodies in the state.

Farmers who are at least 18 years of age and have over 0. 25 acres of land and have sold their produce at least three times in a particular APMC market in the last five years will be eligible to vote, the cabinet decided.