Uttar Pradesh Police conducted 35 encounters across the state, resulting in the deaths of three alleged criminals, injuries to more than 36, and the arrest of over 60 suspects. The crackdown reflects the state government's zero-tolerance policy against crime and ongoing efforts to combat organised criminal networks.
Experts recommend awaiting the findings of the 2021 Census, which is yet to be conducted, before introducing population control policies.
'We will give Rs 25,000 to parents having a second child or more at the time of delivery itself.'
The Uttar Pradesh Population Policy 2021-2030, unveiled on the occasion of World Population Day, also aims at bringing down the gross fertility rate among women to 2.1 by 2026 and to 1.9 by 2030.
Alankar Agnihotri said several organisations of the upper-caste community would participate in the stir if the central government fails to withdraw the SC/ST Act by February 6.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
The 8th World Air Quality report reveals Pakistan as the most polluted country, with India ranking sixth. The report analyses air quality data from over 9,446 cities across 143 countries, highlighting the severe impact of pollution on global health, especially for children.
The VHP, in its letter to the state law commission, has not just cited policy's adverse impact on children, it also lists imbalance in communities as 'different communities respond differently to incentives or disincentives related to family planning and contraption'.
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
Kerala has overtaken more industrialised states in personal electric vehicle adoption, driven by strong middle-class uptake, policy support, and charging infrastructure.
The 40-page policy document mentions that "attempts would be made to ensure there is a population balance among various communities in the state. Extensive campaigns would be run in communities, groups, and geographical areas where fertility rates were higher."
On the ground, rural medical infrastructure and more crucially, women's access to reproductive health services is practically non-existent in Uttar Pradesh, reports Geetanjali Krishna.
Mundane as it may seem, this is in some ways a metaphor for the challenges facing the nation, argue Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in their new book, A Sixth Of Humanity.
The government aims to cover around 60 million people in the age category, irrespective of income, with an assured 5 lakh annually to be shared within the family.
With the Bahujan Samaj Party keeping out and the Congress being in the fray only for namesake, Saturday's bye-election for 11 state assembly constituencies and for one Lok Sabha seat will determine the supremacy between Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In the Interim Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that a high power committee would be set up to consider the challenges arising from 'fast population grown and demographic changes.' 'But who wants data? It pays to feed people's fears, insecurities and apprehensions. If such fears don't exist, they must be created,' her husband Parakala Prabhakar says in this fascinating excerpt from his book, The Crooked Timber of New India: Essays on a Republic in Crisis.
Developing relations with the Taliban is needed, but plunging headlong into Afghanistan without due thought will be akin to the rooster entering a KFC outlet, warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
...a time when his legacy ledger was still positive and before the debacle against China. With every subsequent election, our leaders tend to become weaker. India should consider passing a law that no person should hold the highest office in our country for more than two terms, points out Harishchandra.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
The state government will bring a law for population control 'at the right time,' Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
Population is a touchy issue in India. Anybody will notice the crowded rat race we live in, notes Shyam G Menon.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
It will be interesting to see what shifts have been recorded in the last decade-and-a-half -- from the effects of demonetisation and Covid's second wave to the drop in fertility and increase in farm workers -- but we will only know this if and when the Census is conducted, points out Aakar Patel.
'I think public awareness should be created and laws should not be made only for the sake of politics'
The Uttar Pradesh government has said that over 65 crore people visited the sacred site in Prayagraj since the Maha Kumbh began on January 13.
Anandiben Patel said students should study ancient Indian texts to appreciate the unparalleled research and discoveries made by their ancestors.
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.
The former Union minister said the population debate is 'utterly misplaced' and half a century out-of-date as a large majority of Indian states have achieved replacement levels of fertility.
'Kerala will lose 6 seats, Tamil Nadu 9 seats, Telangana and Karnataka 2 seats each, Andhra Pradesh 5 seats.'
India has surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, shows the latest United Nations data, even as UN projections estimate that the country's population is expected to grow for the next three decades after which it will begin declining.
'If in our cities, all urban bus transport services are free, then the taxpayers are paying for it, or if electricity were to be made free, that's a huge cost to the rest of the people'
'The southern states will have no voice.' 'Political parties in future need to focus only on one region, the northern region, to win the general election.'
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
Owaisi criticized the court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, saying it weakens India and distracts from real issues like inflation and unemployment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress again of planning to redistribute people's property if it is voted to power, but stopped short of saying that the wealth would go to Muslims.
Gandhi said just like the Constitution, the "caste census" is a policy framework and a guide for the Congress.
The share of such voters has shrunk to 1.9 per cent of registered voters in 2024 from 2.7 per cent in 2014.
Despite high exposure to floods, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim are the best performing states in terms of flood early warning systems (EWS), according to the report by independent policy research think tank The Council on Energy Environment and Water.
'Omar Abdullah presented Delhi as a villain in front of the people of Jammu Kashmir before elections and now is shaking hands with them.'
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