At least 14 people have died in rain-related incidents as thunderstorms, strong winds and dust storms battered several parts of Gujarat, India. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms with lightning and strong winds of up to 50-60 kmph across the state for the next few days. Strong winds uprooted trees, hoardings, and pillars, and parts of houses collapsed in several districts, leaving many injured. The deaths were reported in Ahmedabad, Anand, Kheda, Dahod, Aravalli and Vadodara districts of Gujarat on Monday and Sunday. The IMD has also forecast heavy rainfall in isolated parts of Banaskantha, Kutch, Sabarkantha, Aravalli and Anand districts in the next three days.
People in several districts of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat spent an anxious night as authorities enforced blackouts amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
Hundreds of people are being evacuated from coastal villages in Kutch district in view of cyclone Biparjoy, but authorities are facing a challenge as many villagers are reluctant to leave their livestock and belongings behind.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a stern warning to Pakistan, stating that their government and Army are supporting terrorism for their own benefit and urging the people of Pakistan to come forward and end the menace. He also highlighted India's rise to become the world's fourth-largest economy, contrasting it with Pakistan's situation.
Adani Group has commissioned India's first off-grid 5 megawatt green hydrogen pilot plant in Kutch, Gujarat, the conglomerate said.
Bhavnagar was also one of the worst affected districts, they said, adding that more downpour is likely over the next four day in parts of the state.
During his two-day Gujarat visit, PM Modi is scheduled to take part in public events in Dahod, Bhuj and Gandhinagar and inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for a series of development projects costing over Rs 82,950 crore, an official release stated.
The very severe cyclonic storm 'Biparjoy' intensified into an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' and is likely to cross Saurashtra-Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts around the afternoon of June 15 as a 'very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS)', the India Meteorological Department said on Sunday.
The early onset of the southwest monsoon brought continuous rainfall across southern and eastern India, contributing to this record.
The high point of the 19 Shastri months was the 22-day war that he fought against great odds and won in principle, even if military historians often call it a stalemate. Pakistan saw a great opportunity to conquer Kashmir and lost. It was the last time they had the relative strength militarily and diplomatically to take Kashmir. Shastri's resolve buried that dream forever, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Mock drills were conducted on Saturday in states and Union territories adjoining the western border -- from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat -- to enhance wartime emergency preparedness and response capabilities, officials said.
He also reviewed the joint actions undertaken in coordination with the Indian Air Force and the Border Security Force, they said.
Standing at the edge of Dholavira is witnessing history textbooks crammed in school coming to life. One is suddenly standing face to face with a 4,000-year-old civilisational site that is now but a ruin.
The Congress and BJP are apprehensive that AAP might eat into their votes among the Patel community, Kshatriyas, a section of minorities, and Dalits, thus delivering a fatal blow in the closely-contested seats. But the local BJP is elated over the entry of AIMIM as there will be a contender for minority votes apart from the Congress in seats like Bhuj and Mandvi, which have considerable Muslim electorate.
After cement, billionaire Gautam Adani's group and Kumar Mangalam Birla's Aditya Birla Group are set for a face-off in the wires and cable business with both conglomerates announcing forays into the high double-digit growth sector.
Of some 70 villages in the coastal area of Gujarat's Kutch district, people of Salaya are the last to shift to safe shelters in the face of the approaching cyclone Biparjoy.
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
When the country has been at war, the Opposition has buried its differences with the government, points out Aditi Phadnis.
One of the teams rescued two lion cubs that had fallen into an open well in Jasadhar Range of Gir East division during the cyclone's landfall on Thursday evening, the official said.
In a joint operation, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Indian Coast Guard have seized over 300 kg of drugs worth Rs 1,800 crore which were dumped into the Arabian Sea by Pakistani smugglers who fled across the international maritime boundary on being chased, officials said on Monday.
'Every decision India makes along the LoC, it must also consider implications along the LAC.'
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to invest Rs 75,000 crore ($9 billion) each into its new energy business and petrochemical expansion, according to a company presentation. In its FY25 result statement, Ambani said the company has laid a strong foundation for its projects in renewable energy and battery operations. "In the coming quarters, we will see the transition of this business from incubation to operationalisation.
The Border Security Force on Friday apprehended six Pakistani fishermen from the Harami Nalla creek area in the Kutch district of Gujarat, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose a red and yellow striped 'safa' for his Republic-Day look on Sunday, pairing it with a brown bandhgala jacket and pocket square.
'After the NRC in Assam, things have changed for Muslims in India.'
The situation in rain-battered Gujarat improved slightly on Thursday as the rainfall activity subsided, but Vadodara and some other parts of the state are still reeling under a flood-like situation due to overflowing rivers while the authorities continue the rescue and relief operations.
Cyclone Asna, formed over the coast of Kutch in Gujarat earlier during the day, has moved into the Arabian sea towards Oman without leaving any major impact on the region, officials said on Friday evening.
Even as rains abated in most parts of Gujarat on Friday morning, several towns and villages witnessed water logging due to swollen rivers, officials said.
'We wouldn't have had to face all this had our national leaders taken care to select a place for Sindhis and sent us there, instead of sending us all over to settle in places where the locals didn't want us.' 'They could have partitioned Sindh and given us a Sindhi state from its two Hindu-majority districts.' 'Wasn't that the logic of Partition?'
'I have no family (in the industry), no network, no mentor.' 'Still, I'm consistently working since 20 years and now I have a National Award.' 'It may take time, but if you're consistently at it, nothing can stop you.'
India's combat capability and readiness to confront any multi-dimensional security threat was elaborately tested at a four-day mega military exercise conducted in the Creek sector of the Kutch peninsula that concluded on Monday, military officials said.
"Today there is a government in the country which cannot compromise even on one inch of the country's borders," the prime minister added.
'It's a struggle for everybody, even established people are struggling.'
A 42-year-old tantrik arrested for allegedly conspiring to murder a businessman died in police custody in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, after confessing to killing 12 people by giving them drinks laced with sodium nitrite. Navalsinh Chavda was arrested on December 3 and died on Sunday after falling ill. Police are investigating his occult practices and possible involvement in human sacrifices.
Huge tri-colour-themed banners have been put up along the Kartavya Path while the theme for this year's tableaux that would roll down the boulevard where the annual Republic Day celebrations take place is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on 75 years of the enactment of the Constitution.
The ATS was keeping a close watch on the movement of two residents of Khavda village of Kutch for last one year.
A Border Security Force officer and a jawan died during patrol due to exposure to 'extreme weather' at the Harami Nallah creek area along the India-Pakistan international front in Gujarat, the force said on Saturday.
Two persons including a man who allegedly opened fire outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan's residence in Mumbai have been arrested from Gujarat, police said on Tuesday.
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