The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
The DGCA has formed two specialised teams to internally monitor IndiGo's daily operations.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If the NDA returns with the BJP substantially ahead of the JD-U, a BJP CM bid becomes plausible; if the gap is narrow or JD-U holds pivotal seats, continuity with Nitish is the lower-risk option.'
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma believes that the BJP could win more seats in the state by aggressively campaigning in minority-dominated areas. He attributed the party's recent success in the bypolls to its beneficiary schemes, which he claims have garnered support from the minority community. Sarma emphasized that the BJP will continue with its development work for all communities and has no plans for appeasement. He also gave an update on the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge project, which is progressing well and is scheduled to be opened to the public in July 2025. Sarma also hinted at a possible cabinet reshuffle in the coming months.
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.
'Bihar's voters' electoral memory is long, and their evaluations are relational; who came to the village, who followed up, who resolved a problem.'
Announcing the measures, the government presented an action taken report in Parliament on the steps it proposed to take to implement the Sachar Committee's suggestions. The government, however, remained silent on the Sachar Committee's recommendation favouring reservation for the most backward in the 150-million strong community.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Dhaka on Monday on a day-long visit to hold talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart, amid strained bilateral ties since August following the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Kerala High Court has stated it cannot accept multiple marriages of a Muslim man when he cannot maintain his wives, especially when one seeks maintenance. The court's observation came during a case where a woman sought maintenance from her husband who survives by begging.
The arrest of two Catholic nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion has ignited a political controversy, with opposition parties criticizing the arrest and the Chief Minister defending the police action.
'I disagree with much of Modi's politics, but it cannot be denied that in these years in office, he has carved more than a niche for himself in history,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Another populist decision of the government was the announcement of an unemployment allowance for the youth: Rs 1,000 per month for two years for graduates and those who have completed class 12 but remain unemployed.
TVK cadres are worried, the leadership looks weak, and the party is not fully prepared for the 2026 elections, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The then Uttar Pradesh chief secretary, Durga Shankar Mishra, in an order dated June 26 and issued to all the district magistrates of the state, cited a letter from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights dated June 7.
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
Minor girls at an Indore 'orphanage' narrated tales of abuse and alleged horrifying ways of punishment, including branding with hot tongs, hanging them upside down and forced to inhale smoke from burning red chillies, prompting the local administration to seal the facility and the police to file a first information report (FIR) against five women.
Amid a growing chorus in the party for his elevation, Tamil Nadu sports minister and son of Chief Minister M K Stalin, Udhayanidhi, was elevated as the deputy CM on Saturday with additional responsibility, in a cabinet reshuffle that saw the return of V Senthil Balaji to the council of ministers two days after securing bail in a money laundering case.
With no apparent wave on the ground or pressing everyday issues, that's what it boils down for voters as Rajasthan readies for assembly polls this week.
A moving goods train carrying diesel caught fire on Sunday at Tiruvallur in northern Tamil Nadu severely affecting train services on the arterial Chennai-Arakkonam rail route, which also links Chennai with Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, officials said.
Seeking to make changes in the process of granting recognition to madrassas, Uttar Pradesh Minority Welfare Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has said that two universities will be opened in the state and all madrassas will be affiliated to them.
'Muslims in Bihar under Nitishji's rule are safest than anywhere else.'
As a protege of Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is expected to scale bilateral ties much higher. Trade and investment shall grow. People-to-people contacts shall be scaled up, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
AP to have quota for minorities in govt jobs
'It will split people and create caste clashes. Unity of people will be affected for the time being.'
A class 10 student gave birth to a baby at the hostel of a state-run residential school in Odisha's Malkangiri district, prompting an inquiry. The girl delivered a baby girl on Monday after returning to the hostel following board exams. The headmaster of the school, run by the ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Class Welfare Department, said that men are not allowed in the girl's hostel and that the incident suggests a lapse in health worker duties. Both the child and mother are stable. The girl's parents have questioned the school authorities about the pregnancy remaining undetected until labor. A departmental inquiry has been initiated, and a man suspected to be involved has been detained by the police.
If you want to inspire the young workforce, focus on building transparency, purpose and social responsibility, says notes Varun Sachdeva, SVP and APAC head, NLB Services.
The Supreme Court of India has directed changes in digital know your customer (KYC) guidelines for persons with disability and acid attack survivors, citing the right to digital access as an intrinsic component of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court found that existing KYC procedures, which require visual tasks such as head movements and facial positioning, pose significant challenges for these groups, preventing them from accessing essential services like bank accounts and welfare schemes. The court emphasized the importance of bridging the digital divide and ensuring universal accessibility to digital services for all citizens.
What piques the narrative is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah decide on crucial matters, they play it close to their chest, and revel in springing a surprise.
After the marathon four-hour discussion, he said a thought will also be given to provide reservation to Muslims after understanding related aspects from the Minority Commission. To conduct survey of socio-economic condition of Muslims in the state, an apolitical study group will be constituted soon which would comprise scholars.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced reservation for Muslims in supplying goods and services up to a value of Rs 1 crore to various government departments, corporations and institutions in the state budget for 2025-26. The budget also increased the value limit of government contracts in which Muslims can avail reservation to Rs 2 crore. The reservation to Muslims under 2B category is in addition to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Castes coming under Category-1, Category-2A. The budget also included various welfare schemes for minorities, including Rs 50,000 to support simple marriages and Rs 1,000 crore under the Chief Minister's Minority Colony Development Programme.
The committee includes secretaries of the women and child welfare, minority affairs, law and judiciary, social justice and special assistance departments, and deputy secretaries of the home department.
Patel emphasised that one of the most important features of the bill is the establishment of a dedicated tribunal for resolving disputes, reducing the burden on the judiciary and ensuring quicker justice.
The Lok Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, with the ruling NDA defending it as beneficial for minorities while the opposition called it "anti-Muslim". All amendments moved by the opposition were rejected and the bill was passed with 288 votes in favor and 232 against. Union Minorities Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that India is the safest place in the world for minorities, refuting claims of their insecurity.
The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading lies and criminalising poverty over the detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha, while the saffron party charged the Mamata Banerjee dispensation with providing shelters to illegal immigrants.
Shiv Sena's Dadaji Bhuse is the new school education minister while Uday Samant continues to be the industries minister.
The NCP chief said that representatives of minority communities had conveyed they would not mind if his party joined hands with the Shiv Sena, but the BJP must be kept away from power in Maharashtra.
The district officials named 306 other unrecognized Islamic education institutions in their report as illegal.
Introducing the bill, Rijiju said the consultation process of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in India's democratic history.
...the DMK chief minister's campaign -- which includes criticism of the BJP's 'pro-Hindutva, anti-Tamil, anti-federal' policies and building on his own government's social welfare programmes targeting especially women and youth -- appeals to Tamil Nadu's voters in next year's assembly election, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
