In a significant move, 130 Dalit families in West Bengal were finally allowed to enter the Gidheshwar Shiv Temple after being barred for nearly three centuries due to caste discrimination. The families, who are primarily cobblers and weavers, had faced social and economic exclusion for their attempts to worship at the temple. Local authorities intervened after multiple rounds of discussions with village elders, temple servants, and political leaders, leading to a resolution of the long-standing dispute.
People claim their religion is in danger, but it is their party that is in danger, and they are praying to save it, Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh said while campaigning for his brother and Maharashtra Congress leader.
'The very fact that his autobiography is called India Rising is a correct example of his wish for India to be a developed country and do as best as possible by science reaching to the common people.'
India B captain Abhimanyu Easwaran single-handedly kept his team in the hunt with a defiant century against India C, in the Duleep Trophy.
AzaadiSAT had around 75 small payloads developed by schoolgirls of 75 rural schools.
Commercial banks have turned cautious in lending to smaller microfinance institutions (MFIs), which has compelled the latter to borrow from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) at much higher rates. Recently Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao slammed micro lenders for increasing their margins "disproportionately" and said these lenders were quick to pass on the increased cost to the borrowers but reluctant to pass on the benefits under the new regime, where margins are not capped.
Official death toll due to the cyclonic storm has been pegged at 21, nearly 12 million people affected.
On October 2, the government will roll out the comprehensive plan in 10 districts. The ministry has had a series of discussions with the National Institute of Rural Development, which is to be the nodal body for overseeing the convergence of all rural schemes.
The UPA government's flagship programme under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act that proved to be a vote churner for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections is being expanded to cover the rural artisans like masons and carpenters. So far only manual work was available to those seeking employment under the Act.
The FMCG industry hopes for a revival in consumption growth in 2025 with some 'green shoots' already visible, after having a challenging year amid escalating input costs and a double-digit rise in food inflation, which ultimately slowed down the pace of the urban market growth in the second half of 2024. Soaring prices of commodities such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa and wheat forced FMCG players to go for a hike of 3 to 5 per cent or resort to shrinkflation by reducing pack sizes and grammage to retain attractive price points, fearing a volume loss.
'Spending by the middle class is limited with a focus on savings. However, there is buoyancy at the top-end.'
India will be the world's third-largest economy by 2028 as it becomes the world's most sought-after consumer market and gains share in global output, driven by macro stability influenced policy and better infrastructure, Morgan Stanley said. From a $3.5 trillion economy in 2023, the Indian economy is projected to expand to $4.7 trillion in 2026, which will make it the fourth largest in the world behind the US, China and Germany.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
A year before he won his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2005, Rafa made his debut in India at the Chennai Open.
While this will incur a revenue loss amounting to 0.2 per cent of GDP, it will provide a strong boost to consumer sentiment and spending, points out Rajani Sinha.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and several other party leaders were detained on Tuesday night as they held a dharna at the Union Rural Development Ministry office in New Delhi demanding a meeting with the minister and released around three hours later.
Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a forward-looking Budget, reinforcing the government's commitment to 'Reform, Perform, and Transform'.
The poverty ratio in rural areas dropped to nearly half between 1983 and 1999-2000. The proportion of the rural population living below poverty line, estimated at 45.65%, has come down to 27.1% in the terminal year of last century.
'Presumption of innocence must guide all formal actions, but transparency must not be mistaken for pre-judgment.' 'The cruel irony, however, is that Justice Varma is a fine judge who enjoys a reputation for writing well-reasoned judgments.'
A Janata Dal-United leader was allegedly murdered in Bihar's Nalanda district in the early hours of Monday, the police said.
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
'There's a misconception that all Rs 1 lakh crore will be spent immediately, leading to higher consumption of FMCG goods, travel, and vehicle purchases.' 'While some of this money will go toward consumption, not all of it will.' 'The impact depends on where people deploy their savings.'
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
A massive outlay of Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion) has been earmarked this financial year for laying of rural roads, a key component under Bharat Nirman programme.
Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for allegedly abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, on Friday submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
Several leaders of the TMC slammed the rural development minister for his comments on the chief minister attending the Kolkata International Film Festival.
The Centre has denied political clearance to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for his visit to Paris to support the Indian Hockey team at the Olympic Games, an official source said on Saturday.
'India has the maths talent, academic institutions, and research institutions to do the next big thing.'
Citing the steps taken by government for rural development and poverty alleviations, the finance minister said, 'these initiatives and other interventions of the government need people's involvement and continuous interface with the government institutions.'
'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.'
'Inflation is not good for industry. Nor for the economy as a whole.'
'The reason I am not anxious about the opponent facing me in the front (Ajit Pawar) is because of who is standing behind me like a rock (Sharad Pawar).'
Latest GDP growth numbers a one-off development and not the beginning of a trend, says CEA V Anantha Nageswaran.
'Binary fission will happen -- startups will lead to more startups.'
Rahul Gandhi, along with a dozen Congress leaders, had met the prime minister on Wednesday to demand that the scheme, which guarantees 100 days employment to each rural household, be extended to the entire country.
India Inc on Thursday pitched for lowering income tax burden on common man, increase in capital expenditure, and firm steps to contain food inflation in their nearly two-hour long interaction with finance minister Nirmala Shitharaman ahead of the Union Budget. During pre-Budget consultation with Sitharaman, the industry leaders and associations also urged the government to focus more on infrastructure development with a view to maintaining the economic growth momentum. The industry leaders also laid stress on boosting the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) sector, considered a backbone of the Indian economy and main employment generator.
Mahmud went to Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to "catch a flight en route to Delhi," an Airport Aviation Security official was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.
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