Union ministers will hold talks with a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) delegation at 12.30 pm on Friday amid ongoing protests over NEET paper leak, PTI reported quoting sources. The venue of the meeting hasn't been disclosed, the report added. CJP earlier said its protests would continue until all its demands, including Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, are accepted by Centre.

Amid student protests over NEET paper leak, the Centre has removed Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi and moved him to Panchayati Raj Ministry. This comes hours after PM Narendra Modi promised swift action against the perpetrators. Naresh Pal Gangwar has been appointed as new Higher Education Secretary. There have been numerous calls for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

Shreyas Iyer registered his first victory as India's T20I captain as India defeated Zimbabwe in the series opener in Harare on Thursday. India had gone winless in their first seven matches under Iyer, suffering two defeats against Ireland and four against England, while one game was abandoned. India restricted Zimbabwe to 125/7 and chased down the target in 13.2 overs.

India opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest man to score a fifty in international cricket during the first T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday. Aged 15 years and 118 days, Sooryavanshi broke Nepal batting all-rounder Kushal Malla's world record. Malla was 15 years and 340 days old when he scored 50 against USA on his ODI debut in 2020.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh in a message for protesting students said, "This is a standing invitation to all our youth friends that the government is ready for discussions on all issues at your convenience, at any place and any time." "We do not stand on prestige. Union Health Minister JP Nadda and I will be present for discussions," he added.