The effect of 2024’s Lok Sabha election results was writ large on the first Budget of Modi 3.0, with employment creation given pride of place and keeping allies happy too very much in focus. The fact that the Budget comes at a time when the govt’s finances are relatively comfortable meant that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman could afford to address these concerns with targeted schemes while keeping the fiscal deficit under a tight leash relative to recent years.

Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected pleas for a retest for admissions to 1.08 lakh MBBS seats in govt and private medical colleges in the absence of evidence to establish that the exam paper leak in Hazaribag vitiated the results or breached the examination’s sanctity and integrity, a verdict that lifted the haze of uncertainty that had hung over NEET-UG while also ending the anxiety that had faced those likely to fetch the much-coveted seats in medical colleges across the country.

Aaj Ka Panchang, July 24, 2024: Jayaparvati Vrat Ends and Gajanana Sankashti Chaturthi will be celebrated today.