Nationalist Congress Party minister Manikrao Kokate has resigned from the Maharashtra Cabinet after a court upheld his conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. This marks the second NCP minister to resign this year.
Vijay Varma delivers a tour de force performance in Nagraj Popatrao Manjule's Matka King, a compelling eight-part series that chronicles the rise and fall of a gambling trailblazer in 1960s-1970s Bombay, notes Sukanya Verma.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has accused the state government of imposing arbitrary conditions on crop purchases, alleging anti-farmer policies and demanding compensation for weather-related crop damage.
The death toll from the April 14 blast at Vedanta's power plant in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district has risen to 21, with several others hospitalised. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the explosion, with preliminary findings pointing to excessive fuel accumulation in the boiler furnace.
'The reason why they rushed through the bill was they wanted to avoid using the 2026 Census because the 2026 Census by their own decision will be a caste census.' 'The BJP knows that a significant share of the OBCs who will get captured in the census, for the first time after the 1931 Census, are against the BJP. Only a segment of the OBCs are in their favour.' 'So they wanted to avoid the OBC reservation among women, which is a demand of a lot of Opposition parties.'
This election is different. It is no longer simply about governance or welfare. It is about identity, fear, and who belongs. The BJP has successfully shifted the terms of the debate from what the government has delivered to who the real Bengali is and who is an outsider, points out Ramesh Menon.
'The West Asia or the Gulf crisis has shown that what we develop as national infrastructure when things are not as bad as they could be, we forget to plan for adversities.'
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has criticised the state government's crop procurement policies, alleging that new conditions are being imposed on farmers instead of procuring crops at MSP. Hooda plans to tour mandis to assess the problems faced by farmers.
Migration from Kerala has become a significant issue in the upcoming Assembly elections, with political parties promising to create more opportunities within the state to discourage emigration for studies and jobs. Experts suggest focusing on 'brain gain' strategies to attract talent back to Kerala after gaining experience abroad.
Statues of freedom fighters demolished in Shahjahanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, have been reinstalled within 24 hours following the Chief Minister's orders, prompting calls for a thorough investigation into the incident.
Delhi Chief Minister inaugurated infrastructure projects focused on improving drainage, road connectivity, and traffic flow in Delhi, including stormwater drain remodelling, road construction, and a new healthcare facility.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Rajya Sabha, detailing India's strategies to navigate the global energy crisis sparked by the West Asia conflict, including securing diverse energy sources and expanding strategic oil reserves.
'The BJP is keeping its options open and that the final decision is still tightly held.' 'That is consistent with the party's tendency to preserve suspense, avoid premature factional conflict, and use leadership selection as a way of resetting internal hierarchies.'
Eternal-owned quick-commerce firm Blinkit has dropped its '10-minute' delivery claim after intervention by the Labour Ministry amid growing concerns over the welfare and safety of delivery workers.
Two of the three strikes are related to the gig economy, a centrepiece of the new labour Codes.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
Yogi Adityanath champions national unity over caste divisions, asserting that 'casteism' weakens India's social fabric and hinders its progress on the global stage.
Arunachal Pradesh Women and Child Development Minister Dasanglu Pul launched a child rights awareness initiative to promote a safe, child-friendly environment across the state. The initiative includes pamphlets educating children, parents, and teachers on key child protection laws.
As the March 31 deadline arrives, a wave of Maoist surrenders suggests insurgency's end, but political and social concerns remain.
'...yet struggles to convert that human capital into domestic productivity.'
Verma, who till recently was strongly opposed to any cut in EPF rates, however, appeared to have softened his stand as he cited the current lower interest rate regime in the country.\n\n\n\n
'Grassroots-level corruption, which disrupts the last-mile work, cannot be ignored in your enthusiasm and drive to get going to complete the project.' 'Like it was in MGNREGA, in some states, it is the case with the Jal Jeevan mission.' 'The last minute levels of corruption can ruin the intent of the project itself.' 'When you see that people can game a particular well-intended and well-crafted project, you need to correct that.'
The Maharashtra government has announced a flexible work time initiative for women state government employees working in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The 'Come Early, Go Early' initiative will allow women employees flexible reporting times and earlier departure times.
During this Ramzan, another religious practice was turned into an offence: Breaking the fast, or iftar.
'As long as apps show impossible delivery times, delivery and packaging workers will be pressured to meet unsafe, unhealthy standards.'
Various reforms, including GST, labour codes, and quality control order, have been rolled out since August 15.
Two more workers from Odisha who were stranded in Thailand have returned home after the state government intervened. This follows the return of four other workers last week. The workers had faced hardships including non-payment of wages.
A tragic fire in a Delhi residential building near Palam Metro Station claimed the lives of seven family members, including three children, prompting a large-scale rescue operation by the Delhi Fire Service.
The Rajya Sabha currently has 19 government Bills pending, with the oldest dating back to 1992. These bills cover a range of issues including population control, rent control, seed quality, migrant workers, and tribal autonomy.
The first-ever meeting of Labour Ministers from G-20 countries, including India, that began here on Wednesday has stressed on the need to create new jobs and preservation of the existing ones as the working class across the globe are among most hit by the current global economic crisis.
Amidst reports of a cut in interest rate on Employees Provident Fund, Labour Minister Sis Ram Ola on Thursday said he will meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram to decide on the returns for the over 32 million subscribers for this year.
India should resist knee-jerk responses to tariff volatility in the US and instead use the current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home, former G20 Sherpa and former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
'Engaged in very fruitful discussions to expand our trade and economic partnership.'
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that an interim trade agreement between India and the US is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April, with chief negotiators meeting in Washington to finalize the details.
Rahul Gandhi met with farm union leaders to discuss concerns about the India-US trade deal and its potential impact on farmers' livelihoods.
Israel has for more than two decades and several US presidencies worked to draw the United States into a full-scale war with Iran. Having finally achieved that, the last thing it wants is Trump declaring victory and going home, as he is prone to do. Ali Larijani was the figure most capable of handing Trump a negotiated exit with something to show for it. Without Larijani, the road to an exit gets considerably narrower. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'Mr Minister, it has been more than five years for your government. There is no job creation. Whatever jobs were there, they have been snatched due to the economic slowdown brought by the government. You want to escape by insulting North Indians'
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said Indian goods will have a competitive advantage in US markets compared to products from China and other competitor countries, which face higher levies, following the reduction in reciprocal tariffs to 18 per cent.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate was shifted from the agriculture ministry to the sports and youth welfare department in a late-night reshuffle. Dattatrey Bharne will be the new agriculture minister. The reshuffle comes after Kokate faced controversy for playing online rummy during a legislative council session and allegedly equating farmers with beggars.
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