An increase in the farmer income support scheme PM Kisan Nidhi, the introduction of a 'robot tax' to fund reskilling of people who lose their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), and a reduced income-tax (I-T) to bring relief to the middle classes - these are some of the items in the Budget wish list submitted by Sangh Parivar affiliates to Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman. Representatives of the affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), such as the farmer organisation Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS); trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS); Laghu Udyog Bharati, which works for micro and small industries; and Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which works on economic and policy issues, met the FM and other officials over the last couple of weeks as part of the pre-Budget consultations.
The pictures and videos of the locals wading through waist deep water in Bawana JJ colony area, waterlogged houses, school and hospital went viral on social media even as teams of engineers from Haryana and Delhi worked on a war footing to plug the breach.
Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
Power generation decelerated 4.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 155 billion units (BU) in August 2024. This was the first downtrend in many years, albeit on a high base - generation had increased 19 per cent Y-o-Y to 163 billion units (BU) in August 2023. The dip was partly due to excess rainfall, which pared cooling demand and also reduced need for irrigation.
The Maharashtra government day informed the Bombay high court that a white paper on the alleged multi-crore irrigation scam, involving bureaucrats of the water resources department and the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation, would be ready within three weeks.
The Odisha government told the assembly over 40,000 workers migrated from the state last year, with the highest number -- 26,151 -- from Balangir.
According to an Andhra government statement, Naidu 'reposed confidence' in the PM's leadership.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday pledged to make 30 million 'Lakhpati Didis', up from the 10 million rural women who have already achieved the feat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released the BJP's manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The manifesto says the ruling party will continue the quarterly financial disbursements under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) yojana.
Nagarjuna in a post on 'X' said they had "not done any actions in violation of law" and the demolition was clearly carried out "wrongfully based on misinformation".
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar stood up when he came face to face with his estranged nephew and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar at an official meeting in Pune on Saturday.
In view of the discharge of water from the Khadakwasla, Mulshi, Pavana and other dams in the Pune region, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed authorities to be alert and shift people from dangerous zones to safer places.
Highlights of the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
'The top 10 per cent of the population should adopt and handhold the bottom 20 per cent of the population as a social responsibility.'
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
Atishi will have a brief tenure in office as assembly elections in the national capital are due in February.
The New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) will soon have to return a huge chunk of prime land along the UP-Delhi border, to Uttar Pradesh irrigation department from which it was transferred to NOIDA during the previous Bahujan Samaj Party regime headed by Mayawati.
Intensifying its attack on BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, the Congress on Friday demanded a thorough probe into his "interest" in the Maharashtra irrigation project for which he had sought early release of funds. Stating that Gadkari had written a letter even to the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for release of money for the controversial Gosikhurd project, the ruling party warned the BJP that it will "dig its own grave" if he continued at its helm
With challenges such as raising the legal age of marriage for women, combating malnutrition among women and children, and addressing women's safety issues, the new ministers face a formidable agenda.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari on Thursday found himself at the centre of yet another controversy over a letter he wrote to the Union water resources ministry seeking release of funds for an irrigation project in Maharashtra, in which an associate of his is said to be a contractor.
Patil, who was a technology professional, was hiking above the gorge on June 6 on Avalanche Lake Trail, where he fell off a large rock into Avalanche Creek.
Amidst a severe water crisis, the Karnataka Water Supply and Sewerage Board banned the usage of drinking water for car washing, gardening, construction, water fountains and road construction and maintenance. It also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000, if the order is violated.
Banerjee said the prime minister will now have to move around the country and also abroad with two crutches.
According to the police, 16-17 members of a family from Sayyad Nagar in Pune's Hadapsar area had hired a private bus to visit the scenic spot near Lonavala for a picnic on the rain-soaked day.
There are tweaks in references to B R Ambedkar's experience about the discrimination.
It expects rainfall to be about 106 per cent of the long period average, aided by La Nia conditions anticipated to play a role in the second half of the monsoon season.
'People are suffering, we are seeing visuals on every news channel. What measures have you taken to control water wastage if water scarcity is a recurring problem in summers'
Heel pain can be due to plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis or heel pad syndrome, says rediffGURU Dr Shakeeb Ahmed Khan.
At least 16 people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents in Telangana while the unprecedented rainfall and floods in Andhra Pradesh over the past three days affected about 4.5 lakh people leading to the evacuation of more than 30,000 to relief camps.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved an outlay of Rs 43,700 crore for national projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programmes during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2007-12).
Maharashtra's former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and top Nationalist Congress Party leaders Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal could be in for trouble after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave a go ahead for probe against them in an alleged corruption case.
It said Delhi is facing an unprecedented heatwave with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees Celsius in some parts for the first time in the city's history.
'The water crisis is so obvious that people see no point begging for it from politicians.'
'Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad.' 'There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area.'
The protesting farmers' main demand to legalise the minimum support price (MSP) regime has divided opinion. One school of thought says it would lead to crop diversification and help India keep under check its burgeoning import bill on edible oils and pulses, while another says it would incentivise farmers to produce low-quality crops. Contrary to popular perception, India has a trade surplus in agriculture and allied activities, which stood at $18.65 billion during 2022-23 (FY23) against $15.92 billion in the previous year. However, the surplus was mainly on account of rice, wheat, sugar, spices, and buffalo meat.
Several BJP-backed state governments have unveiled schemes targeting the poor, women, farmers and students, following the party's setback in the Lok Sabha polls.
'The private sector believes that some enablers in labour-intensive sectors like apparel, toys, tourism, and media retail, can unlock a lot of jobs.'
Experts foresee possible scenarios: A BRS government with less majority, a BRS government with BJP and AIMIM support, or a Congress government.
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The IMD issued a 'red alert' for Pune district and asked people to take precautions.
Temperatures in 17 locations breached 48 degrees Celsius on Monday, with the relentless heat affecting health and livelihoods across large parts of northwestern and central India.
