The GoM of state ministers on GST rate rationalisation on Thursday accepted the Centre's proposal to move to a two-slab structure of 5 and 18 per cent. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and convenor of rate rationalisation GoM Samrat Choudhary said the six-member state ministerial panel has also accepted the proposal of removing the 12 and 28 per cent slabs.
If it was Andhra Pradesh last Budget, it's poll-bound Bihar that has now turned to Centre with a list of demands. How the NDA government is delivering on promises.
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
The Centre has proposed exempting life and health insurance policies for individuals from GST, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and convenor of insurance GoM Samrat Choudhary said on Wednesday. Currently, health and life insurance premium attracts 18 per cent GST.
'If the NDA returns with the BJP substantially ahead of the JD-U, a BJP CM bid becomes plausible; if the gap is narrow or JD-U holds pivotal seats, continuity with Nitish is the lower-risk option.'
Amidst speculation over the NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed JD(U) tickets, while the BJP announced its first list of candidates. The INDIA bloc also faces internal challenges as parties prepare for the upcoming elections.
The RSS-affiliated ABVP won the president's post and two other positions in the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections, restricting the NSUI to just one seat. The victory celebrations were muted due to court orders against disruptive festivities.
'I am alive, I have not died. Look, I am standing and speaking,' says Imarti Devi who is listed as deceased and whose name has been deleted from the voter's list. M I Khan reports from Dharaichak, a village in Bihar where 200 voters have been removed from the voter's list.
It drew condemnation from the ruling NDA in Bihar which reprimanded the Leader of the Opposition for his choice of words.
Granting SCS to the state has been a long-pending demand of the JD-U supremo and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose Bihar cabinet had even passed a resolution last year requesting the Centre to grant SCS to the state.
The Bihar squad for the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season was finally picked on Tuesday after extensive deliberations and legal wranglings.
If the threat from the 'Maovadis' (Maoists) is fading, the danger now lies with the 'MoUvadis' -- those who might exploit the resource-rich Abujhmad region through corporate or State-backed projects.
Now it's all jibes about his chameleon-like politics and fading grip on the administration. But there was a time Nitish had the BJP trembling in the state, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The GST Council on Wednesday approved a two-tier rate structure of 5 and 18 per cent, which will be implemented from September 22.
'There are differences over certain issues between the JD-U and BJP but we are in alliance and continuing.'
Senior BJP leader Tarkishore Prasad told PTI-Video that "most certainly" Choudhary and Sinha will be the party's choice for the post of deputy CMs.
Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary on Thursday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has not given up its resolve to form its own government in the state by accepting Janata Dal-United president Nitish Kumar as the chief minister.
More than 45 lakh people in 30 out of the total 38 districts of the state have been affected by the calamity in two phases since last month, according to the Disaster Management Department.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched a scathing attack on his predecessor Rabri Devi, calling her appointment as Chief Minister "suspension-induced" during a heated debate in the state legislative council. The verbal sparring, marked by accusations and counter-accusations on law and order, saw Kumar accusing the RJD of being unable to handle Hindu-Muslim tensions and engaging in "mischief." Rabri Devi, in response, asserted her right to speak about her achievements during her tenure as Chief Minister. Kumar, however, retorted with a sharp, local phrase, dismissing Rabri Devi's claims. The exchange, which saw both sides engage in mudslinging, ended with the Chairman admonishing the opposition for their unruly behavior.
The killings of Gopal Khemka and his son Gunjan, seven years apart, bear a striking resemblance, reports M I Khan.
The transferred officers included 22 IAS, 79 IPS, 45 Bihar Administrative Service officers
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar engaged in a heated exchange with Leader of the Opposition Rabri Devi in the Legislative Council, dismissing her as "inconsequential" without her husband, RJD president Lalu Prasad. The spat stemmed from RJD MLCs wearing badges promoting quota hikes passed during Tejashwi Yadav's tenure as Deputy CM, which Nitish Kumar perceived as an attempt to claim credit for the populist move. Kumar also remarked that Rabri Devi was only propped up by her husband when he was in trouble, referring to her becoming Chief Minister in 1997 while Lalu Prasad faced corruption charges. The war of words between the two rivals has intensified, with the RJD accusing Kumar of losing his mental balance and being unfit to rule.
A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order on a bunch of petitions which had opposed the legislations brought by the Nitish Kumar government in November 2023.
Another instance of bridge collapse came to the fore in Bihar on Thursday, making it the 10th such incident to have been reported from the state in just over a fortnight, an official said.
'Dynastic politics has become a tool of convenience for political parties. The BJP does not hesitate to accept it when it comes to its own alliance or party candidates. The same goes for the others.'
Factionalism is nothing new to Bihar cricket and the ugly infighting that has been running well over two decades has robbed the state of some notable talents, besides attracting the ire of the BCCI.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest player to feature in the IPL as he turned out for Rajasthan Royals against Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur.
'We used to discuss how image-conscious Nitish Kumar was and his sophisticated conduct in public life. All this has become a thing of the past.'
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has demanded strong action from the Bihar assembly speaker against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his remarks in the assembly on the importance of women's education to control the population and demanded his apology.
The RJD has fielded six women candidates, some of them are wives of bahubalis.
A careful calculation of the BJP's support base seems to have been at work in the cabinet expansion that took place a day after the party's national president chaired a meeting of the "core group" here.
Emerging West Bengal archer Juyel Sarkar stunned veteran Tarundeep Rai, a four-time Olympian, to win the recurve gold medal at the 38th National Games.
Emotional scenes were witnessed across the country as the last rites of those killed in shelling by Pakistan during the recent military conflict with India were performed on Sunday.
The BJP hopes to deepen its support among backward castes, especially the Extremely Backward Classes, in Bihar following the announcement of Bharat Ratna for former chief minister Karpoori Thakur, a leader who enjoys admiration from backward satraps of various hues.
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
The BJP and JDU leaders claimed that Prasad insulted women in the state with his comment.
Maharashtra secured a resounding 439-run victory over Baroda in a Group A Ranji Trophy match, keeping defending champions Mumbai's hopes alive for the knockout stage.
This will be the first time the BJP has got more seats than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD-U in Bihar, underscoring the change in their equations after they joined hands a few months back.
Lalu's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, however, sought to downplay the remarks made by his father, in an interview to a local news channel, claiming that the RJD supremo had merely tried to satisfy the curiosity of the prying media.
