HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top headlines at 9.30 PM: NATION DEL103 CONG-AZAD EXCOLLEAGUES Azad exits: Ex leaders say Cong will become irrelevant, new forces will occupy liberal space New Delhi: Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation from the Congress may trigger a series of exits as the ''deep-rooted malaise'' within the party cannot be addressed by the present dispensation, former Congress leader and law minister Ashwini Kumar said Friday. DEL120 SC-LDALL FREEBIES Freebies at cost of taxpayers' money may push State towards ''imminent bankruptcy'':SC New Delhi: Freebies are extended utilising taxpayers' money and may push the State towards ''imminent bankruptcy'', the Supreme Court said on Friday, as it directed that the pleas against the practice of political parties promising pre-election handouts be listed before a three-judge bench. DEL118 DEF-ARMY-LD TANKS Project Zorawar: Army to deploy light tanks in high-altitude areas in Northern sector New Delhi:The Army is set to procure a fleet of light tanks for deployment in high-altitude areas in eastern Ladakh under 'Project Zorawar' to bolster its overall firepower and operational prowess to deal with any eventuality. DEL114 LDALL KEJRIWAL-BJP Kejriwal calls BJP 'serial killer of state governments', wants trust vote on Monday New Delhi: In a hard-hitting attack, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday called the BJP a ''serial killer of state governments'' and said he wanted to face a trust vote on August 29 to prove that no MLA of his Aam Aadmi Party defected and the saffron party's ''Operation Lotus'' turned out ''operation kichad'', or mud-slinging, in Delhi. DEL115 LDALL SONALI PHOGAT Sonali Phogat given water spiked with ''obnoxious substance'', murder charge slapped on two associates: Goa police Panaji/Hisar: In a new twist to the Sonali Phogat death case, the Police on Friday said two male associates of the Haryana BJP leader allegedly mixed some ''obnoxious substance'' in water and forced her to drink it while partying in a Goa restaurant, adding they have been charged with murder.

DEL101 DEF-RAJNATH-LD TANZANIA India, Tanzania decide to set up task force to prepare 5-year roadmap for defence cooperation New Delhi: India and Tanzania decided on Friday to set up a task force to prepare a five-year roadmap to boost bilateral defence cooperation. DEL92 MEA-INDIA-BANGLADESH-RIVER India, Bangladesh finalise text of MoU on sharing of water of Kushiyara river New Delhi: India and Bangladesh have finalised the text of an agreement on interim sharing of the water of the Kushiyara river, in a development that comes ahead of a likely visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi next month. DEL95 JK-CONG-LEADERS-LD RESIGN 8 J&K Cong leaders quit in support of Azad, more likely to go; may announce new party Jammu: Hours after former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the Congress, eight senior party leaders including three former ministers resigned the party's primary membership, with sources indicating they may form a new party soon. BUSINESS DEL117 BIZ-LD FM-GROWTH India to grow at around 7.4 pc in FY23, continue at same pace next year: FM Mumbai: India will grow at around 7.4 per cent in 2022-23 and continue at the same pace in the next year as well, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. DEL75 BIZ-RBI-INFLATION-PATRA Inflation trajectory heavily contingent on geopolitical developments: RBI Dy Guv New Delhi: Inflation trajectory continues to be ''heavily contingent'' upon the evolving geopolitical developments, international commodity prices and global financial sector developments, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra has said. LEGAL LGD29 CJI-FAREWELL-JUSTICE LALIT Will strive hard to ensure one constitution bench functions throughout year: CJI-designate U U Lalit New Delhi: Chief Justice of India-designate Justice U U Lalit on Friday highlighted three areas on which he intends to work during his 74-day tenure as the head of the judiciary and said he would strive hard to ensure that at least one constitution bench is functioning in the Supreme Court throughout the year.

FOREIGN FGN21 UK-QUEEN-PM Queen may appoint new UK PM in Scotland in historic first: Report London: In a historic first, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is likely to conduct the traditional ceremony to appoint a newly elected leader as the country’s prime minister at her Balmoral Castle residence in Scotland, according to a media report on Friday. By Aditi Khanna FGN40 CHINA-AIRCRAFT CARRIER-DRILLS China's aircraft carrier conducts combat drills with full battle group in South China Sea amid Taiwan tensions Beijing: A Chinese aircraft carrier, which raised eyebrows by undergoing overhaul and upgrades just over two years after its launch, held combat drills in the South China Sea with its full battle group, consisting of a flotilla of naval ships, including a nuclear submarine, as Beijing ratcheted tensions over Taiwan. By K J M Varma PTI RDT RDT