The locusts initially entered Rajasthan from Pakistan and from there the swarms moved towards Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab over the last few weeks and are now threatening to enter Uttar Pradesh, putting at risk the summer crop.
In Uttar Pradesh, the death toll due to lightning strikes rose to 42.
After a brief lull of three days, Pakistan on Wednesday again resorted to firing from across the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir in yet another act of ceasefire violation.
Pakistani troops violated ceasefire again on Sunday by pounding Indian forward areas with mortar shells along Line of Control in Poonch district, forcing Indian troops to retaliate strongly resulting in heavy exchanges.
Only traces of rainfall were recorded in a few areas of the national capital on Thursday which continued to experience sultry weather.
Rediff Labs analyzed the data on district wise child marriages in India by Census of India 2011.
The 606 positive cases includes 43 foreign nationals, the ministry said. On Tuesday, the number of cases was 519.
Five people, including a minor girl, died and as many injured in separate incidents during heavy rains in Kullu, Kangra and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh.
In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistan on Thursday again resorted to firing on Border Out Posts along the International Border in the Samba and Jammu districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Two Border Security Force jawans were on Friday injured when Pakistani troops opened fire at seven border out posts and civilian areas along the International Border in Jammu and Samba districts.
Pakistani army violated the ceasefire again on Monday by shelling forward posts and civilian areas along the Lien of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing retaliation from the Indian side.
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 52-year-old Thakur, a five-time MLA from Seraj, and other ministers which included six new faces.
The youngest president of the Indian cricket board in India in independent India, Anurag Thakur has taken over the reins of the world's richest cricketing body at a time it is fighting an existential battle against a complete restructuring recommended by the Supreme Court.
Very light rains and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh though, and a fresh warning of heavy showers was issued in Himachal Pradesh as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in several parts of the country, including the northern region, over the next six-seven days.
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In major escalation in border skirmishes, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire for the third time in 21 hours along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, forcing Army to retaliate.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com tracks Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's project-launching spree with just about three months to go for the assembly election in India's most populous state.
With reports of eight fresh deaths on Thursday, the total toll in Bihar flood increased to 135, with Bhojpur district accounting for 12 deaths in the second round of floods due to the swollen Ganga.
1,250 square km area is under pine forest cover and ground fires occurred in an area of 5000 hectares or 5 sq km.
Outrage in Himachal Pradesh over widow of ex-Army man being dragged out and assaulted in public after being accused of practising witchcraft.
Pakistani troops again violated the ceasefire on the Line of Control in the Rajouri district of Jammu region on Saturday night.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice overnight by pounding civilian hamlets and Indian forward posts with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar bombs along the LoC in Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Army.
Behind the state's success in containing coronavirus positive cases is one novel initiative -- Active Case Finding or ACF, which even Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed for the bigger states to follow. The ACF campaign began in April with 16,000 basic health personnel, ASHA, anganwadi workers and auxiliary nurse midwives (ANM) out on foot trekking to most mountain valleys, snow-bound districts and remote passes of the state, reports Ashwani Sharma.
Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing amid rocket and mortar shell attacks on Line of Control posts injuring three army jawans and a civilian in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
This is the ninth consecutive day that Pakistan violated the ceasefire. There have been 41 violations of the ceasefire accord this year so far. There has been over 230 ceasefire violations along the Indo-Pakistan border this year.
With five rapes being reported over the past 36 hours from different corners of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state seemed to be turning into the country's 'rape province'. Sharat Pradhan reports
If the bribe-for-PPE-supply controversy in Himachal escalates, the BJP could have a lot to lose.
Responding to Shagh, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said the country was suffering from too much "ODOMOS- overdose of only Modi only Shah".
A villager was injured as Pakistani Army violated the ceasefire four times overnight by pounding civilian hamlets and posts with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar bombs along the International Border and the Line of Control and LoC in Jammu and Poonch districts, drawing retaliation from the Army and BSF.
The meat sellers are miffed over the crackdown on slaughter houses which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people, Qureshi said.
There was no relief for the national capital, with the mercury crossing the 44C mark in some parts of the city.
Sharma said Jai Ram Thakur's sarcastic comments forced him to resign from the ministry, saying it indicated that the chief minister had lost faith in him.
In escalating ceasefire violations that continued on the night of October 7, Pakistani troops targeted over 40 Border Out Posts and 25 border hamlets with heavy mortar shells in Jammu sector and LoC areas in Poonch district, leaving 12 people including a JCO injured. Military officials of India and Pakistan discussed on the hotline the cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir but there was no signs of a solution.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday evening released its first list of 54 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
Fund crunch may come in the way of infrastructure development; women's safety another issue that will be in focus.
Over two dozen "unprovoked" ceasefire violations by Pakistan have been reported after the army announced that it carried out surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control.
The BJP is the frontrunner, but incumbent Virbhadra Singh is the most popular chief ministerial candidate.
Amidst barbs flying back and forth, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani lists all that you need to know about the fourth phase of the UP assembly elections, which will take place on February 23.
Here's a list of the full first-time ministers in the second term of the Narendra Modi government.
Narendra Modi's new team includes a former cabinet colleague from his days as Gujarat CM, an academic and a sadhvi.
This phase of voting was crucial for the state's ruling Samajwadi Party and main opposition Bahujan Samaj Party.
