The Supreme Court of India has invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in West Bengal's state-run and state-aided schools, deeming the selection process "vitiated and tainted." The court ordered the state government to conduct a fresh selection process within three months. The decision comes after a Calcutta High Court verdict in April 2024, which also annulled the appointments. The apex court, while upholding the high court's order, made some modifications, including exempting disabled employees from returning their salaries. The case stemmed from alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), involving OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping. The Supreme Court had previously termed it a "systemic fraud." Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha are among the accused being investigated in the recruitment scam.
The number of suspected Guillain-Barr Syndrome (GBS) deaths in Pune district, Maharashtra, has reached six after a 63-year-old man died. The outbreak has been linked to water contamination caused by campylobacter jejuni, a common bacterial pathogen that causes gastroenteritis and can trigger GBS. The number of suspected GBS cases has risen to 173, with 140 diagnosed with GBS. 34 patients are in Pune Municipal Corporation limits, 87 from newly added villages in PMC area, 22 from Pimpri Chinchwad civic limits, 22 from rural parts of the district, and eight from other districts. Of the 173, a total of 72 have been discharged, 55 are in ICU and 21 are on ventilator support.
I have not announced retirement: Mary Kom
From Joe Root vs Jasprit Bumrah's high-stakes chess match to the all-round brilliance of Ben Stokes vs Ravindra Jadeja, and from emerging face-offs like Shubman Gill vs Shoaib Bashir to K L Rahul's test against Chris Woakes, each duel carries weight far beyond statistics.
Was it a lack of confidence about whether he would perform in England that influenced his decision? asks K R Nayar.
rediffGURU Yogendra Arora answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Forget smarts or cheek, there's little novelty to be found in Jewel Thief's juvenile script, barring its now free usage of the F-word to make it sound all hip and adult, observes Sukanya Verma.
Delhi is experiencing its first heatwave of the season, with temperatures reaching 40.2 degrees Celsius. Doctors have warned that exposure to extreme heat can lead to a range of health issues, from mild rashes and muscle cramps to serious conditions like heat exhaustion and heatstroke. They advise staying hydrated, avoiding outdoor activities during peak hours, and wearing light, breathable clothes. Vulnerable groups like children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions are at greater risk.
Unhappy with the three-year sentence to the juvenile convicted in the brutal December 16 gang rape, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung said there was a need to review laws for juveniles, including the age limit in cases of heinous crimes.
In Maharashtra's 288-member assembly, the share of legislators with college degrees increased over the past decade.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the Centre's petition seeking review of its order quashing the health ministry's move to fix 65 years as the upper age limit for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences director -- which led to the premature retirement of P Venugopal last year.
Treatment for arthritis is mainly focused on symptom management and slowing the progression of the disease, says Dr Vishal Shinde.
Rajbaris are a link to Bengal's rich past, of grand mansions, classical fine dining, and allow guests to be pretend zamindars for those few hours or days that they stay.
'When one air force (India's) hits the other's airbases with impunity and that air force (Pakistan's) is not able to respond, then the air force, which has put the other's airbases out of commission, has won.'
'Brazil, China, Colombia and India each had more than 2,000 of their citizens overstaying student/exchange visas, with India having the highest number (7,000).'
'Whatever we do, the purpose will be to re-establish deterrence.'
Can a culture survive as a way of life, even as the language and writing at its core, alter with time? Can we be rational and Malayalee or do we have to necessarily be religious and proudly cultural to be Malayalee? asks Shyam G Menon.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
A group of parents of children who did not complete six years as on June 1, 2023 sought to challenge the state government's notification dated January 31, 2020 prescribing the age limit for admission to Class 1 in the academic year 2023-24.
'If you are not prudent, you may exceed your budget, and if it happens too often, you may end up in debt.'
A court in Mysuru, India, has ordered an investigation into the police's handling of a murder case after the woman allegedly murdered by her husband was found alive. Suresh, the husband, spent 1.5 years in jail on murder charges after his wife, Mallige, went missing. The police found a skeleton and filed a charge sheet against Suresh, but a DNA test later showed a mismatch. Mallige was found alive in Madikeri and admitted to eloping and marrying another man. The court has ordered the Superintendent of Police to submit a report on the lapses in the investigation.
The underrepresentation of women in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a significant risk of perpetuating the prevailing societal biases into future technologies, according to a top Microsoft executive. Himani Agrawal, chief partner officer, Microsoft India and South Asia, believes that inclusion is a shared responsibility and if AI continues to be shaped without diverse perspectives, the biases of today risk becoming hardwired into the technology of tomorrow.
Will the Draft UGC Regulations 2025 undermine our universities? Unlikely, notes Professor Mohammad Sajjad, citing how AMU has utilised its exceptional autonomy.
You can sense the beauty business licking its lips. In rapidly ageing affluent societies the search for eternal youth has been a goldmine for the purveyors of anti-ageing creams, hair dyes, botox treatments and plastic surgeons -- and that includes India, asserts Kanika Datta.
Whenever tenures of army chiefs were extended in the recent past, prime ministers were subsequently eased out of office by the same army chief, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The board will be working with the state associations on the experiment.
England captain Jos Buttler has defended the presence of families on long overseas tours.
'When Shahid, Ishaan and I are together, it is a madhouse because we are all performers.'
Busy daters will use AI tools to save time and avoid awkward conversations. Two in 10 daters turn to AI for unbiased relationship advice, predicts rediffGURU Ravi Mittal, CEO, Quack Quack, an online dating Web site.
A home insurance policy covers damage from earthquakes, fires, explosions, floods, landslides, cyclones, storms, aircraft damage, and acts of terrorism.
'Journalists must ask the Mumbai police why are they sending notices via X to cartoonists.' 'The Mumbai police must come clean. Who is giving them such orders?'
While Sachin Tendulkar's 2013 farewell became a national pilgrimage, a vibrant celebration befitting a cricketing deity, the exits of many other Indian icons this century have been quieter journeys into the twilight.
'Aamir Khan and Salman Khan were already very busy. Then, Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor started signing more films, Paresh Rawalji also got busy... 'Rajkumar Santoshiji got offered Damini he was very excited about it. He told dad that since her dates were available, let me do this film quickly. But aisa hota toh nahin. That film also took time. 'So sabke dates ka problem ho gaya, including the director's.'
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has detected 22 suspected cases of Guillain-Barr syndrome (GBS), an immunological nerve disorder, in the city. Samples from the affected patients have been sent to ICMR-NIV for testing. Most of the cases were detected in the Sinhgad Road area. According to doctors, GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness. While the condition is prevalent in both pediatric and young age groups, it does not lead to an epidemic or pandemic. The PMC has constituted a committee of experts to investigate the outbreak and conduct detailed surveillance of the patients. The civic health department has assured that there is no need for panic as of now.
As protests against the Agnipath military recruitment scheme intensified, the Army, Navy and the Air Force on Friday announced that they will start the enrolment process under the new model by next week while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the youths wanting to join the armed forces to start preparing for the induction.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a respiratory virus that causes illnesses ranging from mild respiratory discomfort to severe complications. It spreads through respiratory droplets, similar to other respiratory viruses such as RSV and influenza. This article provides an overview of HMPV including its symptoms, transmission, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and how it differs from COVID-19.
Kerala advanced to their maiden Ranji Trophy final after clinching a dramatic two-run first-innings lead over Gujarat in the semi-finals on Friday.
The GST Council on Saturday clarified that guarantees provided by corporate to their subsidiaries will attract an 18 per cent GST, while no tax will be levied if a personal guarantee is given by a director to the company. The council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, also cut the GST rate on molasses to 5 per cent from 28 per cent. It also ceded the right to tax Extra Neutral Alcohol (raw product for making alcohol for human consumption) to the states.
rediffGURU Radhika Iyer Talati explains how yoga can help you stay fit and healthy.
