The Supreme Court has granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the purported Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland case. James had been in custody for six years while the investigation was ongoing. The alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. James, a British national, was extradited from Dubai in December 2018.
President Trump with his MAWA has unwittingly provided us this opportunity. Will PM Modi grasp this and leave a legacy of an ushered in scientific and technological revolution in India, asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The driver of the BEST bus involved in the Kurla accident, which claimed eight lives, has been found to be mentally sound and not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. Police investigations revealed no evidence of mental disorder or alcohol consumption, contradicting the driver's claim of brake failure. The RTO report suggests that the bus was in working order and the accident was likely caused by human error or inadequate training.
A 36-year-old man diagnosed with Guillain-Barr Syndrome (GBS), a rare nerve disorder, died in a civic-run hospital in Pune, taking the number of suspected GBS fatalities to three in Maharashtra. The patient, a driver with a cab service, was admitted to the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) in Pimpri Chinchwad on January 21. An expert committee at YCMH concluded that the cause of death was trauma to the respiratory system due to pneumonia, leading to severe difficulty in breathing. The committee also noted that the patient had been diagnosed with GBS, with a nerve conduction test done on January 22. The immediate cause of death was identified as severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). With the latest loss of life, the number of suspected GBS deaths in Maharashtra has reached three. According to health officials, the suspected cases of the rare nerve disorder have risen to 130 in the state. Most of the cases in the state are from Pune and surrounding areas, and these infections, including the latest case, are likely linked to contaminated water sources. Campylobacter jejuni, a bacteria found in contaminated food and water, is believed to be the reason for the outbreak.
Eleven Indian nationals were found dead at a restaurant in Georgia's mountain resort of Gudauri. The Indian mission in Tbilisi said it was working closely with local authorities to facilitate the prompt repatriation of the mortal remains to India. Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs said the initial inspection found no signs of injury or violence. All victims died from carbon monoxide poisoning, local media reported, citing police. The victims were employees of an Indian restaurant 'Haveli' in Gudauri and were from north India. The police started an investigation under Article 116 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which implies negligent manslaughter.
A remote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district has been declared a containment zone after 17 people from three families died under suspicious circumstances. Prohibitory orders have been imposed on all public and private gatherings in the area. The village has been divided into three containment zones with varying levels of restrictions. The incident follows a visit by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to the village on Tuesday.
India is proposing a new law that would impose a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh on anyone found using a forged passport or visa to enter, stay, or exit the country. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, also mandates reporting of foreign visitors by hotels, universities, and hospitals to track overstaying individuals. The bill aims to simplify laws, ease business, and strengthen national security while promoting economic growth and tourism.
Food budgets in urban areas spent less on protein as compared to beverages and processed foods, reveals the Household Consumption Expenditure survey data for 2023-24.
'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.'
The governor was on her way to visit two relief camps at ECA Church Songgel and ECA Church Tuibong in the district where hundreds of Kukis have taken refuge since the ethnic strife broke out in the state on May 3, 2023, the police added.
Do we have enough trained oncologists and medical professionals in India to man these over 4,500 beds in the public sector?
The central probe agency had also placed the findings before a special court in Kolkata during a hearing earlier in the week, he said.
'Healthcare is not an industry.' 'The government is only encouraging insurance as they are not able to provide healthcare to people.' 'Opening new medical colleges is not what is needed.' 'You have to invest in public sector hospitals.' 'You cannot hand over healthcare to the private industry.'
The ICMR's network of laboratories will take care of diagnostics and there is enough capability to step up the supply of diagnostic kits if required, they said.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
Superstar Rajinikanth on Friday underwent a procedure to restore blood supply to brain and he is recovering well, a hospital in Chennai that is treating him said.
Local officials said no casualties have been reported due to Wednesday's quake that hit the Madoi County in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai province of northwest China at 3:44 pm (Beijing time), tremors for which were also felt in north-eastern Nepal.
Maya Chemtech India Pvt Ltd supplied propylene glycol used in Marion Biotech's cough syrups that were found to be "not of standard quality", according to the regulator.
A high-level inter-ministerial team conducted a six-hour investigation in Badhaal village, Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, to ascertain the causes of death of 17 members of three families under mysterious circumstances. The team, led by a director-rank officer in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, collected samples and briefed by senior district, health and police officers. The team's visit follows the deaths of 16 people between December 7 and January 19. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities focusing on potential neurotoxins and a spring that tested positive for pesticides.
According to industry figures, the pre-Covid demand for liquid medical oxygen (LMO) before the pandemic was 700 tonnes per day across the country. Now, with the second wave, the demand has gone up more than seven times, reports Jyoti Mukul.
With cases hitting a new peak in several parts of the country, the demand for medical oxygen has increased as it is a critical component in the treatment of COVID-19-affected patients.
The anti-corruption unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation also searched the residences and offices of those engaged in supplying materials for the management and care of patients.
'High cardiorespiratory fitness may buffer the impact of genetic risk of all dementia by 35%.'
On Monday the embassy confirmed the deaths of 11 Indian nationals in Gudauri, Georgia, and expressed deep condolences to the bereaved families.
The Delhi high court said on Saturday that if any official at the central, state or local administration was obstructing in the picking up or supply of oxygen, then it would 'hang' that person.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah on Wednesday called for an end to what he described as "massacres" in Gaza, saying humanitarian aid must immediately be allowed into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Earlier, the top court had stayed the contempt proceedings against the Central government officials initiated by the Delhi high court over the issue.
A record 28,395 coronavirus cases and 277 deaths marked the aggravation of the pandemic situation in Delhi on Tuesday as the positivity rate shot up to 32.82 per cent -- meaning every third sample came out positive -- amid a "serious oxygen crisis" unfolding in the city.
Goyal added the central government did mapping in a meeting with governments of 12 states and union territories most affected by COVID-19 and 6,177 metric tonnes of oxygen will be given to these states.
As Delhi hospitals faced a severe oxygen crisis for the third consecutive day, the DDMA roped in three senior bureaucrats on Thursday to ensure a smooth movement of tankers and facilitate oxygen supply to the needy establishments, and directed the police to provide the security logistics from the manufacturers' sites to various health facilities in the city.
The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that aid received from other countries has been distributed in different states to help deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Police have registered a case on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the driver of a BEST bus involved in an accident in Mumbai which claimed six lives and left 43 others injured, officials said on Tuesday.
Officials said the three others who have been arrested are Ghosh's security guard Afsar Ali (44), and hospital vendors Biplav Singha (52) and Suman Hazara (46) who used to supply material to the hospital.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
The health ministry further informed that in addition to 162 plants already sanctioned, the states have requested Centre for more than 100 such additional plants which are also being sanctioned.
Glimpses of the preparations in Odisha and West Bengal for Cyclone Dana which is expected to make landfall between October 24 and 25.
The death toll in the BEST bus accident in Mumbai has risen to seven, officials on Tuesday said as experts inspected the wet leased vehicle to ascertain if it had any mechanical fault.
On Friday, February 25, it will be a year into Russia's invasion. Fighting now amounts to attritional duels of artillery and infantry assaults, with neither side making significant gains. But Ukrainians daily pay the price with their lives as Russian missiles and rockets levy a toll of death and destruction.
The high commission of India in Dhaka and the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Khulna have been assisting in the voluntary return of Indian nationals, he said.
As fear grips the world, demand for protective gear used by health care professionals and citizens is on a rise. And, supply disruption from China has opened a window of opportunities for Indian medical device makers.
