The 77th Independence Day on Tuesday was a low-key affair in Himachal Pradesh with the traditional cultural programmes missing from official and district-level functions as the state mourns the deaths and destruction caused by incessant rains.
The complaint has been filed by Vineet Jindal, a Supreme Court advocate.
The expansion was the first by Sarma since he assumed chief ministership of the state about 13 months ago.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assets worth Rs 1.26 crore while Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stands out as the richest minister with assets totalling Rs 72.10 crore.
The ruling Congress, voted to office in 2018 after 15 years in opposition, and the Bharatiya Janata Party are the main contenders for power in the state, where the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and some regional outfits are also in the fray.
Internet services were fully restored after 10 days, while the administration relaxed the curfew from 5 am to 8 pm, he said.
Pant, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan cadre, is currently secretary in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
The home minister said the central forces deployment will be increased, if required, and that they should be deployed strategically to restore peace and tranquillity in the state, according to an official statement.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed both Houses of Parliament, highlighting the government's achievements in various sectors, including economic growth, social welfare, and infrastructure development. She emphasized the government's efforts to lift the economy out of "policy paralysis" and create a more inclusive society. Murmu also acknowledged the challenges posed by digital fraud and cybercrime and stressed the need for a social infrastructure revolution. The President's speech is considered a policy statement, outlining the government's vision and roadmap for the future.
The event, for which people had started gathering since morning, began around 11.30 am and went on till around 1 pm. That day, the nearest weather station to the spot of the programme recorded a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius.
Even as the row over the power disruption at President Droupadi Murmu's programme in Odisha's Baripada continues, the chief district medical officer (CDMO) of Mayurbhanj has suspended a pharmacist for taking photos with the President's helicopter, an official said on Monday.
The FMR allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other's territory without any documents.
While Singh comes from the Meiti community, he has continued to appeal to both sides to stay away from violence and restore peace in the state.
Why can't the Indian government propose to the Chinese a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? asks Claude Arpi.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Wednesday announced a slew of sops, especially for the tribals, while replying to the governor's address in the state assembly.
The stage is set now for a major revamp of the Union Council of Ministers on Sunday with the likely induction of at least ten new faces and promotion of some ministers of state, besides a rejig in the Cabinet, in which Anand Sharma may get the external affairs portfolio.
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
'We are in a dilemma if the central government supports this ethnic violence and Biren Singh.'
He was also seen standing next to Jaswant Bhabhor, a former Union minister of state for tribal affairs, in a photo shared by the Dahod district information department.
Almost five years later, the three services have still not fully understood that joint/theatre commands are not a discussion point; they are the prime minister's diktat on a military reform measure that is in line with what armed forces around the world have implemented, points out Ajai Shukla.
In both of these Hindi heartland states, the straight contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress.
Nine MLAs, including Babul Supriyo, took oath as ministers in West Bengal on Wednesday, in a major reshuffle of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet.
'He fears that the youth tide has gone against him and he will be swept away in the next assembly election in the state.'
The move could virtually put an end to the Free Movement Regime prevalent along the porous border.
The union home minister is reportedly concerned over the shifting of violence and civil unrest from peripheral areas to districts in the Imphal valley.
Wednesday's expansion shows that Modi still has a keen eye on Bengal. The BJP is gearing up for the panchayat elections in Bengal next May and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Addressing a press conference, minister Neiba Kronu said members of the government's Core Committee on the Naga political issue will have a meeting with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), in Kohima on December 9 to decide on the approach in the aftermath of the civilian killings.
'We are not secessionists, we want to coexist with our countrymen but not on the terms that will strip us off our dignity and a right to peaceful existence.'
Last month, the FAC passed the buck to the tribal affairs ministry to see if the project proponents violated any tribal rights.
India has previously rejected the US state department's annual human rights report on the country, saying they continue to be based on "misinformation and flawed understanding".
Three TMC leaders Amit Mitra, Bratya Basu and Rathin Ghosh were sworn-in virtually. Mitra is unwell and both Basu and Ghosh are recuperating from COVID-19.
'During times of adversity, a brick becomes better than a stone. That is how I look at the election season.'
Agitators squatted on railway tracks at various places, leading to cancellation, short-termination and diversion of several trains.
Opposition members led by Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked the government to clear its stand over the nationality of the minister. Without naming the minister, Sekhar said: "The prime minister has been allowed to lay a list of the ministers after the reshuffle. Go through Wikipedia, then you will find that the name of the gentleman... a minister of state for home affairs is a reportedly a Bangladeshi." Sekhar was also supported by Kharge and other opposition members.
To strengthen closer and enduring partnership with countries of Association of South East Asian Nations region as part of India's Look-East policy, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil left on Thursday for a state visit to Laos from September 9 to 13 and Cambodia from September 13 to 18.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
As controversy continues to rage over the last month's killings in Chhattisgarh, Union Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said 17 of the 19 slain by the CRPF and state police were unarmed and innocent.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah should tell from where do Kuki militants get rifles and ammunition, it said.
The demand for a fresh caste census has stirred the political atmosphere in Bihar for some time.
