1.President Droupadi Murmu Wednesday said that India is among the fastest-growing major economies, adding it was a matter of pride for everyone that the country has become the fifthlargest economy in the world, and is set to be among the top 3 global economic powers soon.

2.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wore a Rajasthani leheriya print turban as he addressed the nation during the 78th Independence Day celebrations at Delhi's Red Fort.

3.Thirteen remote villages located in the Naxalite-hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh will witness hoisting of the national flag for the first time on Independence Day on Thursday, police said.

4.The Union government Wednesday announced service medals for 1,037 personnel of various central and state forces, including 20 from Odisha, on the eve of Independence Day.

5.The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been awarded the highest number of police gallantry medals -- 57 -- on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day.

6.Over 300 individuals from Odisha, allegedly detained by locals in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur, returned home safely Wednesday after police intervention, officials said.

7.Three more Indian sites have been added to the list of wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, taking the total number of such highlyrecognised waterlogged ecosystems in the country to 85, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said Wednesday.

8.The United States is in touch with India and other countries in the region regarding the situation in Bangladesh and is seeking an end to the violence there, a State Department official has said.

9.Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday he would step down next month, succumbing to public disaffection over political scandals and rising living costs that marred his threeyear term, and setting off a scramble to replace him.

10.North Korea will resume international tourism to its northeastern city of Samjiyon in December, and possibly the rest of the country, tour companies said Wednesday.

11.After a violent mob vandalised vehicles and the building of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, Kolkata Police Commissioner lashed out at the media, alleging that what happened was the result of 'wrong and malicious media campaign'.

12.The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to grant interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged excise policy scam and sought a response from the probe agency on his plea challenging his arrest.

13.The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to hear a fresh plea filed by the CBI challenging the Allahabad High Court's verdict that acquitted Surendra Koli in the sensational 2006 Nithari serial killings case.

14.An Army captain and a terrorist were killed in an ongoing operation in the higher reaches of Jammu region’s Doda district Wednesday, officials said

15. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s appeal against her disqualification from Olympic Games final has been rejected by the ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Indian Olympic Association said Wednesday.