A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has revealed over 40,000 cases of illicit mining activities in Himachal Pradesh between 2018-19 and 2022-23, highlighting systemic failures in planning, monitoring, and revenue collection.
Andhra Pradesh is spearheading an ambitious initiative to establish a fully integrated beach sand minerals, rare earth, and titanium ecosystem, aiming to attract over 50,000 crore in investments over the next decade. This move is part of India's broader strategy to reduce its reliance on China for strategic minerals and permanent magnets, with the state preparing a comprehensive rare earth policy and planning specialised industrial clusters.
The death toll in the Nagpur explosives company blast has risen to 19, with 23 others injured. Police have arrested nine directors of SBL Energy Limited, and an investigation is underway.
The question is whether the clocks allow enough time for two deeply mistrustful sides to get there, and whether the surface calm holds long enough for the paddling to produce something before the ceasefire ends on April 22, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
Major foreign mining and refining companies have assured the Indian government that they will have sufficient stocks of rare-earth oxides to supply to the winning bidders under the country's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for indigenous manufacturing of rare-earth permanent magnets (REPMs), Business Standard has learnt.
Maharashtra minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule suspects negligence and safety lapses at SBL Energy Limited in Nagpur, where a blast killed 19. An investigation is underway to determine accountability.
A blast at an explosives manufacturing factory in Nagpur, Maharashtra, resulted in the death of 17 people and injuries to 18 others. Rescue operations are underway.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
The Centre has notified the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) with an outlay of Rs 7,280 crore. The initiative is targeting to reduce dependence on China for critical inputs and secure supply chains for EVs, electronics, aerospace and green energy.
The home portfolio of Bihar, which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar kept with himself all through his nearly 20-year-long tenure, has been given to his deputy, BJP leader Samrat Chowdhury, this time, according to an official notification issued on Friday.
'The natural barrier that is Aravalli, you are demolishing it, then who will stop the desert?' 'In future, I predict that people will roam around with oxygen cylinders in Delhi because they won't be able to breathe.'
The PMK has now lent its voice to the protests against the mining of atomic minerals in Kanyakumari.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel allocated portfolios following a major cabinet reshuffle, with Harsh Sanghavi becoming Deputy CM and receiving Home and Industries. New ministers, including Rivaba Jadeja, were also assigned responsibilities.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
'We have created massive infrastructure in the past six years.'
China accounts for about 70 per cent of global rare earth mining and nearly 90 per cent of rare earth magnet production, making it a dominant player and giving it significant leverage in global supply chains.
The government plans to establish a fully indigenous manufacturing ecosystem with an annual production capacity of up to 6,000 tonnes. The scheme is expected to run for seven years, according to official documents.
President Trump addresses questions about US imports from Russia and India's stance on purchasing Russian oil, hinting at potential tariffs.
These are 'hidden champions' of strategic research and innovation. They are worthy of emulation within Indian industry, and maybe even a Padma!, notes R Gopalakrishnan.
Mid-tier information-technology (IT) companies last financial year reported better growth numbers than their larger counterparts, highlighting their ability to navigate the uncertain macroeconomic environment. Most of these companies - such as Persistent Systems, Coforge, KPIT, and Mphasis - focus on niche businesses and industries that allow them to go deeper in terms of client mining and expanding wallet share from existing customers.
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.
Shiv Sena's Dadaji Bhuse is the new school education minister while Uday Samant continues to be the industries minister.
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
Donald Trump is catering to the basest fears and prejudice of unenlightened Americans -- yes, there are those too, in sizeable enough numbers to elect one of their own as president. That would most certainly not Make America Great Again, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
As RBI governor, Sanjay Malhotra will have to give the highest priority to the interest of the economy while deciding on the growth-inflation trade off at Mint Street.
'The true measure of Project Tiger's success is not just rising tiger numbers, but our ability to ensure harmonious human-wildlife coexistence'
Operations at 26 mines are set to commence again within a couple of months.
'We have to keep knocking on it before we get a response.'
The finance minister, in her Budget speech, should focus more on what she is directly responsible for, rather than on programmes where her role is largely supportive, notes Nitin Desai.
'To access our satellite, you don't need any IQ test, you don't need to write an examination.' 'You can be a Class 1 student, an engineering student, a 60-year-old person, anybody can access our satellite.'
The locals believe the homes began to develop cracks after some portions of the land began to sink.
Chennai-born Indian-American businesswoman and musician Chandrika Tandon, 71, won a Grammy in the Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album category for her album Triveni, a blend of ancient chants and world music, at the 2025 Grammys.
The government is planning to tweak its procurement policy to give a fillip to domestic manufacturing. The industry department has floated a proposal to raise the minimum local content requirement for public procurement for Class-I and -II suppliers from 50 per cent currently to 70 per cent, and 20 per cent as of now to 50 per cent, respectively.
Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal, earlier arrested and remanded to the custody of the ED in a suspected money laundering case, was suspended by the Jharkhand government on Thursday, an official said.
To boost domestic manufacturing under the Make in India initiative and reduce dependency on imports, the government is expected to announce in the Budget an increase in the minimum local content requirement for public procurement, with certain sectors being granted exceptions. Currently, firms producing goods, services, or works with at least 50 per cent local content are classified as Class-I local suppliers and are preferred the most in government procurement.
'Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad.' 'There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area.'
The actor-turned-politician has been allotted Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Environment, Forests, and Science and Technology portfolios.
Here is the complete list of ministers in Modi 3.0 and their portfolios:
A 14-member council of ministers was sworn in Patna by Governor Phagu Chauhan on Monday and the BJP bagged seven berths.
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