News updates from Hindustan Times: Over 400 million poor now have access to banks, says finance ministry and all the latest news
Here are today’s top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.
Here are today’s top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Over 400 million poor now have access to banks due to Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana: Finance ministry
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the country’s financial inclusion initiative that was launched six years ago, has more than 403.5 million accounts with total deposits in excess of Rs 1.30 lakh crore, the Union finance ministry said. Read more
6 non-BJP states file review petition in Supreme Court for NEET, JEE postponement
A review petition was filed before the Supreme Court on Friday by ministers from six non-BJP-ruled states challenging an August 17 order of Supreme Court which had allowed the central government to hold the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE) in September despite the prevailing Covid -19 situation. Read more
Customs grilling Kerala CM’s former IT fellow in gold smuggling case
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s former IT fellow, Arun Balachandran, appeared before the customs on Friday afternoon in Kochi for questioning in the sensational gold smuggling case following reports that he had played an important role in arranging for a flat right outside state secretariat for one of the main accused Swapna Suresh. Read more
National Sports Awards: Rohit, Ishant to miss ceremony; three awardees test positive
Khel Ratna Rohit Sharma and Arjuna Award winner Ishant Sharma, who are both in the United Arab Emirates for the Indian Premier League, will miss the National Sports Awards ceremony on August 29. Read more
Sanjay Dutt wishes sister Priya Dutt on her birthday: ‘Thank you for always being a constant in my life’
Sanjay Dutt has shared a sweet birthday wish for his sister Priya Dutt on her birthday. The actor shared a lovely picture of them together on Twitter to wish her on the occasion. Read more
Rhea Chakraborty speaks
I assume that at least some of you watched the interviews Rhea Chakraborty gave to various TV channels on Thursday. I watched Sonia Singh’s excellent interview with Rhea on NDTV first and then Rajdeep Sardesai’s extensive and detailed Hindi-English interview on India Today. Read more
Kia Sonet fuel economy revealed ahead of launch
Kia Motors globally revealed the upcoming Sonet compact SUV earlier this month. Its bookings have already commenced in the Indian market and Kia has announced that Sonet is off to a flying start with over 6,500 units booked on the opening day. Read more
‘What do you desire?’ asks Lucifer in this Instagram post by Netflix India. The answers are beyond hilarious
Now and again, Netflix India uses its social media presence to make netizens chuckle with some clever memes and witty pop culture references. Their recent Lucifer post is no different and is making many Instagram users giggle, expectedly. Read more