IIT Bombay has begun replacing ceiling fans with wall-mounted fans in its hostels following the recent death by suicide of a second-year B Tech student, Sahil Wakode. This move, which has drawn criticism from an NCP (SP) spokesperson, comes after a previous student suicide in July and aims to address the broader issue of student mental health and suicide prevention on campus.
Nearly 600 tribal students abandoned a government-run hostel in Amravati, Maharashtra, after some girls exhibited strange behaviour, leading to claims of spirit possession. Officials suspect mental stress or selective hysteria, while local beliefs attribute the incidents to angry spirits from a cut 'mahua' tree or an encroached temple. Counselling efforts are underway to bring students back.
Speculation is rife about a potential rebellion among MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), with ruling Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik hinting at welcoming dissidents. Despite a Sena (UBT) MP meeting a rival minister and several skipping a party meeting, senior leaders Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai have dismissed the defection rumours, asserting the unity of their parliamentarians.
A new white paper released by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government reveals that Tamil Nadu's direct debt has nearly doubled to an alarming 10 trillion in the past five years, exposing significant fiscal strain and a substantial debt burden on every citizen.
Two Lok Sabha MPs from Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena-UBT, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar and Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, have confirmed their defection to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, citing reasons including a fund crunch and Thackeray's absence from local body polls. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde have virtually acknowledged the success of 'Operation Tiger', aimed at splitting Thackeray's faction.
A first-year BTech student at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, allegedly attempted suicide, police said. This incident follows the death of another student by suicide on the same campus, marking the fourth such incident in recent months. The student is currently stable and under medical care.
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
"It is quite possible that the rates will remain low in the near to medium term, but that will depend on how conditions evolve," said RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra.
'You've got to understand it is not easy to die by suicide.' 'People commit suicide only when they lose everything and find no other way to live.'
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi assures that the Indian government is prepared to bring back Indians stranded in the Gulf region due to the Iran-Israel conflict and disruptions in Dubai, emphasizing citizen safety as the top priority.
'These children possess catastrophically low birth weights -- often 1.4 kgs or less. Such extremely low birth weight results in profoundly compromised neo-natal immunity.' 'The escalation to 97 deaths in three months precipitated contemporary attention precisely because this magnitude concentrates the humanitarian emergency, rendering it impossible for the administrative machinery to ignore.'
Dominic Xavier wonders why Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and his health ministry are not urgently addressing this vaccine shortage at a time when the nation confronts its worst health crisis.
A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed in Madhya Pradesh to investigate the deaths of 14 children in Chhindwara, suspected to be linked to a toxic cough syrup. The investigation includes arrests, exhumations, and a ban on the implicated cough syrup.
The cases of sudden hair loss, or 'acute onset alopecia totalis', were reported in 279 persons in 18 villages of Buldhana between December 2024 and January this year, prompting authorities to order a probe into the matter.
It is important to note that neither of the patients have any history of international travel, the ministry underlined.
64 years after the Panshet Dam burst claimed 1,000 lives, the tragedy stands as both a haunting memory and a vital lesson in engineering caution.
The most experienced administrator in the country seems to have sat back and allowed bureaucrats and policemen to manage the lockdown, observes Jyoti Punwani.
Shinde, participating in a discussion on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, took a jibe at the opposition coalition Indian National Develomental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) describing it as a 'destructive alliance' and said the next elections will be fought on the issue of scams of the United Progressive Alliance and schemes of the National Democratic Alliance.
'Women' as a political constituency appears to be an idea that has come of age. It is changing India in ways that we only dimly understand, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
'I wonder if they will keep it up after the elections.' 'I fear they'll start questioning eligibility -- income, age, bank accounts -- and eventually stop the scheme altogether.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited Dr Hedgewar Smruti Mandir in Nagpur and paid tributes at memorials dedicated to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, and second sarsanghchalak (chief) M S Golwalkar.
The BJP coined a new word for AAP, 'Aapda (crisis)', which Modi repeated constantly during the election campaign to show how Delhi residents's lives had become miserable under AAP's 11-year rule.
'The state government is putting Maharashtrians in danger by letting people escape institutional quarantine mandate for the sake of their personal vasuli'
'In a world which is full of categories, hatred and ideologies, there was this basic decency.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said curfew will be imposed in the entire state from Monday midnight as the fight against coronavirus has reached a "turning point".
The minister further said the Sri Lankan government is holding continuous interactions with the Tamil diaspora and people and leaders living in different parts of the world.
India has flattened its Covid-19 graph and 146 districts have reported no new case of the viral disease in the last seven days, 18 in 14 days, six in 21 days and 21 districts in the last 28 days, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.
'Around April 1-2, both states had similar number of cases, around 300.' 'The number of deaths in Kerala were 2 and in Maharashtra around 10. But the two graphs have diverged after that.'
The Supreme Court of India expressed deep concern over the rising drug abuse problem in the country, highlighting the impact on youth and the need for urgent intervention. The court emphasized the need for rehabilitation rather than demonization of drug users and called for open discussions to address the issue. The judgment came while granting bail to a man accused in a heroin smuggling case. The court cited a 2019 report that indicated a significant number of people in India use opioids, cannabis, and other substances, with alarming trends in opioid dependence.
Mansukh Mandaviya replaced Anurag Thakur in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new cabinet.
Tope said only 35,000 vials of Covaxin are currently available with the state government for administering the second dose to the people above 45 years.
Once an auto-rickshaw driver in Thane city adjoining Mumbai, Shinde (58) quickly emerged as a key Sena leader in the Thane-Palghar region after joining politics and is known for aggressive approach towards issues of public interest.
Larger hospitals are not worried about a spike in cases, as they are now accustomed to converting ICUs and general wards into negative pressure zones or isolation rooms. For smaller hospitals, the task is tedious.
Rahul's remarks came a day after Maharashtra's former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narayan Rane met state overnor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, demanding the president's rule in the state, saying Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government has failed to tackle the coronavirus crisis.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
The states have outstanding liabilities of a whopping Rs 59,89,360 crore as on March 31, 2021, and the new sources of risk have emerged in the form of rising expenditure on non-merit freebies, the Supreme Court was told on Thursday by a PIL petitioner opposing irrational handouts.
Kerala has recorded 24 cases including two foreign nationals.
'Modi had exuded confidence that we will win this battle against COVID-19 in 21 days. But it has been over 100 days and the coronavirus still persists and those fighting it have become tired'
This year's T20 World Cup is set to be moved from India to the UAE with the BCCI acknowledging that none of the participating teams would be 'comfortable' coming here because a third wave of COVID-19 cases is expected at the time of the event.
