Call it the Durga Nagpal effect or the political turmoil in Uttar Pradesh! A large number of state IAS officers are now queuing up for Central deputations, while those already posted at the Centre are reluctant to return to work with the state government.

The BMC officials have toiled hard for years to find a mate for Shiva, a solitary male one-horned rhinoceros at the Byculla zoo. Now, that they have finally found him a young rhino in her 20s at New Delhi, he seems unwilling to leave the zoo, which had been his home for the last 28 years.

Long after Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman ceased to be Rahul Dravid’s team-mates, emerging cricketers like Sharath Srinivas, Nihal Ullal, Zeeshan Ali Saayed as well as Stuart Binny continue to match strides between the wickets and work in tandem with the legend on the field.

In his Independence Day address Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday also highlighted initiatives taken during the two terms of UPA government to enhance educational infrastructure in the country.

Talking tough, India sent out a strong message to Pakistan on Wednesday with President Pranab Mukherjee making it abundantly clear that despite the country’s “unfailing” commitment to peace, “our patience has limits”. And that India would take “all necessary steps” to protect its internal security and territory integrity.

The CRPF, the country’s largest paramilitary forces engaged in counter-insurgency and anti-Naxal operations, has bagged the maximum number of gallantry medals on the eve of Independence Day.

Disgraced Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif on Wednesday apologised for his role in a 2010 spot-fixing scandal, admitting his guilt for the first time and accepting a five-year ban.

In an apparent jibe at Narendra Modi, who lashed out Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from Bhuj, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani Thursday said that on a day like Independence Day leaders should not be critical of others.

Sending another clear signal that he was the BJP’s face for 2014, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi pitted himself against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday, declaring that his Independence Day speech would be compared to that of the PM.

The nation’s highest peace-time gallantry award — Ashoka Chakra — has been awarded posthumously to K.L. Prasad Babu, a “reserve sub-inspector of Andhra Pradesh (police)” for leading an assault of the anti-Maoist force Greyhounds against the Maoists near the Andhra-Chhattisgarh border that was “instrumental in killing nine top-cadre Maoists”. The officer had attained martyrdom in the operation.