Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the death of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in a plane crash, declaring a government holiday and state mourning. Other state leaders also mourned Pawar's passing, highlighting his contributions to Maharashtra's development and politics.
Sunetra Pawar, who is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature, will be elected as leader of the legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party at a meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, after which she is likely to take oath as deputy CM.
The finance minister said that consolidation of state-owned banks could proceed at any time without waiting for the recommendations of the proposed high-level committee on banking.
The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash, will be held with full state honors in Baramati. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to attend.
'This Budget has a one-year agenda, which you can call the sprint, and the marathon is towards Viksit Bharat.'
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
'Let's hope all other Kuki-Zo MLAs are also on the same page. But I will not be a part of this government unless our demands are met.'
A team of three Union ministers will hold talks on Monday with a delegation of farmer leaders, who are planning to march towards Delhi to press for their demands.
The allocated amount is substantially lower than the Rs 1,803.01 crore earmarked in 2023-24.
After the last Budget's announcement of a major tax relief for those earning an annual salary of less than Rs 12 lakh, there is not much that individuals can look forward to in the forthcoming Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Ajit Pawar and four others on board died after the chartered plane crashed.
A case has been registered against Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar for allegedly making statements that promote enmity between different groups, police said on Tuesday.
Senior BJP leader Narayan Rane hints at retirement, citing family business and political climate as reasons for stepping back from active politics.
The government on Sunday gave a strong push to upgradation and expansion of healthcare infrastructure, medical education and pharma sector with the Union Budget 2026-27 announcing a slew of steps, including those aimed at making India a global hub for allied healthcare professionals and biopharma manufacturing.
Union minister and the BJP's election in-charge for Rajasthan Pralhad Joshi, co-in-charge Nitin Patel, the party's in-charge for Rajasthan Arun Singh, state president C P Joshi, Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kailash Chaudhary, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Rajendra Rathore, Deputy Leader of Opposition and former state president Satish Poonia and other leaders were present at the meeting, which is likely to continue till late, the sources said.
'No one can or will bar India from pursuing its energy goals as it wishes.' 'The US FTA wording may sound more restrictive, but the underlying reality will not undermine India's sovereign energy decisions.'
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
The British prime minister, who is of Indian origin, has often emphasised his Hindu roots and said he is proud of it.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday claimed that Governor R N Ravi 'insulted' the gubernatorial position he holds, by not reading out the speech at the commencement of the assembly session.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar of omitting portions of the state cabinet-approved policy address, specifically criticizing the Union Government's fiscal policies and the pending status of state bills.
Armed CRPF commandos will accompany him during his travels across the country, they added.
BJP leader V V Rajesh was elected mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, marking the party's first-ever victory in a municipal corporation in Kerala. The election saw other mayoral contests across the state, with UDF and LDF also securing victories.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, stating the Mumbai civic body election is a fight for their political survival. He also defended development projects and economic growth under the current government.
President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi congratulated India's U-19 team after their record sixth World Cup win, powered by Vaibhav Suryavanshi's stunning 175 against England in the final.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed to increase the outlay on electronics manufacturing to Rs 40,000 crore in the 2026-27 fiscal year.
'Modi and Shah made it clear that the next government will be led by Nitishji.'
'We hope we will be able to at least end crashes that involve collisions with stationary vehicles as there will be an automatic warning.'
The Congress and DMK parties in Tamil Nadu are set to begin seat-sharing negotiations in a week for upcoming elections, with leaders from both parties expressing confidence in a smooth and successful alliance.
Opposition members strongly opposed the proposed legislation at the introduction stage and pressed for sending the bill to a parliamentary panel for greater scrutiny. The MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi of the Congress, strongly objected to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name.
In a move aimed at curbing the mis-selling of financial products, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed banning incentives paid to bank staffers by third parties such as insurance companies and mutual fund houses for selling their products and services. It has also proposed that banks must ensure their user interfaces do not deploy "dark patterns" to lure customers.
Exporters of gems and jewellery have said the free-trade agreement (FTA) has brought relief to their sector because this opens up the world's second-largest market and brings them on a par with China and Thailand, which face zero tariffs on shipments to Europe.
Reiterating Sitharaman's statement that this is a youth power budget, Modi emphasised that the provisions made in the budget will prepare leaders, innovators and creators across different sectors.
'The prime minister didn't come to Parliament.' 'But the BJP MP is charging that you wanted to assault the prime minister.' 'Only a person who has the intellect and ideology of the BJP can come up with such bizarre charges.'
Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised the Indian Coast Guard's role during Operation Sindoor and highlighted its importance in national security on the occasion of its 50th Raising Day.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Union Budget for 2025-26:
Given Modi's track record from the time he became Gujarat chief minister in October 2001, it is highly improbable that Nabin will get opportunities to display his individual capacity. Even the team of organisational leaders that he will 'appoint' in a few weeks or months, will unlikely to be his choice, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher in highly volatile trade on Tuesday, buoyed by heavy buying in bank and metal stocks, a firm trend in global markets and optimism over India-EU FTA. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 319.78 points, or 0.39 per cent, to settle at 81,857.48.
The Supreme Court has questioned the NIA regarding the detention of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah in a terror funding case, asking the agency to justify his detention for over six years.
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