India: Ex-Education Minister Pradhan says Gen Z ‘misled’

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A young engineer in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu has built AI-powered beehives from agricultural waste, helping tribal families monitor bee health remotely and earn more.

The police in Toronto have arrested a 32-year-old man seven months after a 30-year-old Indian woman was found dead in a house in Toronto.

The accused man, named Abdul Ghafoori, has been charged with first-degree murder of the girl. 

According to the police officials, the victim and Ghafoori were in an “intimate partner relationship.”

Last December, police issued a warrant for Ghafoori’s arrest after a missing woman was found dead inside a residence, according to a report by the Canadian public broadcaster CBC.

“Members of the Toronto Police Fugitive Squad and Homicide and Missing Persons Unit liaised with national and international policing partners to facilitate the accused’s return to Canada,” the police said in a statement.

The police, however, did not mention which country Ghafoori had fled to after allegedly committing the murder.

In December, the Indian Consulate in Toronto expressed grief over Khurana’s death, saying it was “deeply saddened and shocked” by the murder.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he received a call from US Vice President JD Vanceto discuss boosting Indo-US relations on trade, defense, emerging technologies, energy security and critical minerals.

The two leaders reviewed progress in the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, a government statement said.

The Indian government has clarified that its real-time payment service, called Unified Payments Interface (UPI), will remain free-of-charge for consumers. It said only merchants will have to pay a “nominal” charge for some transactions.

The clarification came after the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 was passed in Lok Sabha earlier this week. The bill caused much concern over a potential charge on UPI transactions.

Earlier reports had suggested that the bill would allow the government to permit banks and payment companies to charge fees on UPI and other digital payments in the future.

Addressing the concern, the Ministry of Finance clarified that all person-to-person transactions will remain free of charge.

It however said that a limited set of merchant transactions will incur transaction charges when the MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) charges are introduced.

MDR is a fee levied on merchants by banks to help meet costs related to processing of transactions, settlement and infrastructure.

Since its introduction by the Reserve Bank of India in 2016, UPI has become one of the most popular payment methods across the country.

In 2025 alone, the UPI transaction load stood at 228.5 billion transactions in India. The total value of UPI transactions reached Rs 299.74 trillion (€2.7 trillion, $3.4 trillion).

Former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan broke his silence for the first time since he resigned following massive youth protests.

Speaking at a ceremony on Saturday, Pradhan said: “Gen Z is our children. Some people attempted to mislead them.”

Pradhan’s  acknowledgment of the protests and his resignation came some 15 days after he quit as the education minister.

Pradhan said he “suffered” because of Gen Z’s stubbornness but had come to realize that the new generation must be understood rather than resisted.

Speaking about his resignation, Pradhan said he had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered to resign from the Union Council of Ministers.

“The post was not important to me,” Pradhan told a gathering at an event at GM University in Bhubaneswar, according to Indian news agency Press Trust of India.

Pradhan’s resignation was the biggest demand made by the young protesters, led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

The protests were triggered over exam irregularities in competitive exams, especially the NEET exam, which is a key requirement for those wishing to enter medical schools across India.

Reportedly, at least 21 students had taken their own lives after the NEET exam was cancelled because of a question paper leak. It was then held at a later date.

Hello! This is Midhat from the New Delhi bureau bringing you all the latest updates from across India.

Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned under public pressure after massive youth protests, has broken his silence. He alleged that Gen Z, who was leading the protest movement against him, was misled during the protests over exam irregularities.

Meanwhile, after much confusion and debate over a potential fee on apps-based instant digital payments, the Indian government has clarified that consumers will not have to pay charges for such payments and only merchants will have to pay a “nominal” fee.

On the international front, US Vice President JD Vance called up Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss strengthening cooperation between India and the US on trade, defense and energy security.

Stay tuned as we bring you more from India.