The CM of this state laid the foundation stone for the Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway project with the cost of Rs 300-crore.

Ajoy Mehta (1984-batch I.A.S- Indian Administrative Officer), the municipal commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also known as Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary (CS) of Maharashtra. He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving BMC commissioner.

Former Union Minister V. Dhananjaya Kumar died in Mangalore, Karnataka. He was 68 and the reason of his death has been ascertained due to ailments. He is natively from Venur, Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. He had been a representative from Mangalore constituency for 4 continuous terms and served as the Union Minister in the 13-day rule of A.B. Vajpayee government. He was Cabinet Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism in 1996, Union Minister of State for Finance from 1999-2000, and Union Minister of State for Textiles from 2000-2003.

The ISIS has claimed to have established its new province in India's Jammu and Kashmir, called "Wilayah of Hind". The first of its kind announcement comes after clashes between militants and security forces in Kashmir on May 10.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed six States to submit by April 30 action plans for bringing air quality standards within the prescribed norms, failing which they would be liable to pay environment compensation of Rs.1 crore each. A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel ordered the Chief Secretaries of Assam, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Nagaland governments to submit their plan within the stipulated time.

Ajay V Nayak, The Election Commission has appointed Ajay V Nayak, ex-Bihar chief electoral officer, as the Special Observer for West Bengal.The first phase polls held in April 11 in Cooch Behar and Alipurpur constituencies. Polls in the remaining 40 constituencies will be held in six phases.

National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore on the Andhra Pradesh government for illegal sand mining in the state. Penalty has been imposed on the lines of plea filed by Andhra Pradesh resident Anumolu Gandhi, alleging illegal sand mining was causing damage to Krishna, Godavari rivers and their tributaries in the state. The tribunal headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel who is the chairperson of NGT directed the state government to deposit Rs 100 crore 'environment compensation' with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPSB) within a month.Also, a committee has been formed consisting of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), National Institute of Mines, Dhanbad, IIT Roorkee and Madras School of Economics for the evaluation of environment damage within three months and to provide a report to this Tribunal.

The 6-day Brahmakalashothsava festival is celebrated in the ancient Chandkuru Sri Durga Parameshwari Temple annually in Polali, Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka. The presiding deity of the temple, which has a history of nearly 1,700 years, is Shri Rajarajeshwari. The highlight of this temple is its mud idols and this is probably the only idol of this size (about 9ft height) in Karnataka. Other than the presiding deity Rajarajeshwari - two other idols Bhadrakali on the left (may be bigger than the presiding deity in height) and Lord Subrahmanya and Ganesha are on the right hand side. It is in news recently because several Dalits and OBCs from Chandkuru and surrounding villages in Belthangady taluk boycotted festival in a centuries-old temple due to separate seating arrangement had been made for people of the upper caste.

The government allotted its 7-croreth free cooking gas (LPG) connection, as a part of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).7 crore free LPG connections have been issued in the past 34 months which approximates to almost 69,000 connections per day. This scheme was launched on 1st May, 2016 with the aim of issuing 5 crore connections to women from poor families.42% of the total connections have been issued to SC/ST. The highest number of connections have been issues in Uttar Pradesh (1.26 crore), followed by West Bengal (78 lakhs) and Bihar (77.51 lakh).

Assam State government has launched initiatives to educate voters. Folk song competitions, quiz programmes and appeals by celebrities are some of the initiatives being undertaken by the election office in Assam for attracting women, first-time voters, people with physical disabilities and senior citizens to cast their votes. Sprinter Hima Das, Whitley Awardee and environmentalist Purnima Devi Barman, singer Tarali Sarma, body builder Golap Rabha and actor Kopil Bora have been roped in as State icons to create awareness about the election process. District election officers have been directed to reach out to the maximum number of voters in the constituencies under their jurisdiction. Polling stations with low female voter turn-out have been identified and 'mahila voter rallies' are being held.

The Madhya Pradesh government has taken the ordinance route to increase reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 14% to 27%. In this regard, Governor Anandiben Patel has recently signed the ordinance to amend the Madhya Pradesh Lok Seva (Anusuchit Jatiyon, Anusuchit Jan Jatioyon aur Anya Pichhade Vargon ke Liye Arakshan) Adhiniyam, 1994. With this, MP is possibly the only state in India to have 27% quota for OBCs. At present, the state provides 20% reservation to Scheduled Tribes (STs), 16% to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 14% to OBCs. OBCs are estimate to constitute nearly 52% of the state's population, and OBC groups have often demanded an increase in reservation to reflect their strength in the state.