Thirty people were reportedly killed in a cloud burst in Pithoragarh's Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on 1 July.

According to ANI report, Home Minsiter Rajnath Singh said that NDRF teams have been rushed to the areas affected by could burst in Uttarakhand. Additional teams of NDRF are also put on alert.

The Meteorological department has predicted heavy rain in isolated regions, especially in Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar and Champawat districts of the state.

Two members of a music and dance group from Mathura were allegedly abducted and gang-raped at gun-point by 10-12 men in the Kagarol area of Agra in Uttar Pradesh on 25 June.

The victims, were scheduled to perform at a private function in Kagarol. Two of the accused, Raj and Jitender, have been arrested.

"They forced us into their car and drove us to their farms where they raped us in a small cottage. They were about 10-12 people. They kept calling and threatening us that if we speak a word they will do anything to us," News18 quoted one victim as saying.

A third woman told reporters that the accused had not attacked her because she was pregnant.

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has handed over the first two Tejas aircrafts to Indian Air Force (IAF) which will make up the 'Flying Daggers' 45 , the name of the first squadron of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

The LCA squadron induction ceremony was held at the Aircraft System Testing Establishment in the presence of Air Marshal Jasbir Walia, Air Officer Commanding-in Chief, Southern Air Command, officials said.

Praveen Togadia, international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, says the VHP will carry out a survey of West Bengal to learn whether Hindus have been "forced out of their homes and deprived of their property".

The survey of the state will be the opening salvo in a nationwide operation, said Togadia. "Every village, every locality in cities and towns will be surveyed by us to find out where Hindus were forced to migrate under threat or force," said Togadia.

About 27% of West Bengal's population is Muslim, says the Hindustan Times.

The Centre has asked the Law Commission, which has an advisory role on legal reform, to examine the implications of implementing a uniform civil code.

Though the UCC has been the subject of much political controversy, this is the first time that a government has begun to investigate its on-ground implications.

Article 44 of the Constitution's Directive Principles makes the implementation of a uniform civil code the "duty of the State".

According to The Economic Times, the law ministry has asked the Law Commission to "examine the matter in relation to uniform civil code and submit a report".

The National Investigation Agency is looking into the possibility that Indian supporters of terror organisation Islamic State are sending it monetary support.

The NIA is looking into this angle after investigations into the five men arrested from Hyderabad on Wednesday on suspicion that they form an ISIS cell in India revealed that they had recently sent Rs 5 lakh to Dubai.

According to the NIA, the money was sent to Dubai through proper banking channels, says NDTV.

Student leaders and activists from universities all over India are expected to attend a national convocation of students and youth organised by the JNU students' union on 15 and 16 July.

The convocation will focus on two issues. First, to form a draft committee for a 'Rohith Act' to act against caste discrimination in the education sector, named after Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula who hanged himself at Hyderabad University on 17 January. And second, to create a charter of students' demands in the fields of education and employment, according to The Telegraph.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the work of his entire council of ministers in a five hour long meeting on Thursday, as political circles speculate the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle.

During the review, the PM asked every ministry to explain how the money allocated to it since June 2014 has been spent, and the current status of its projects, backed by presentations made by the finance secretary and secretaries of all the departments.

This was the first of a series of such reviews to be held every three months, says NDTV.

To change its membership demographic from mainly male, white and over sixty, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation that awards Oscars, has invited 683 people prominent in world cinema to join it, including Indian actresses Sharmila Tagore and Freida Pinto, director Deepa Mehta and British filmmaker of Indian origin Asif Kapadia.

The new members are 46% female and 41% people of colour, said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with 28 Oscar winners and 98 Oscar nominees among them. The youngest new member is 24 and the oldest 91, according to the Hindustan Times.