JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
Though flood situation in Odisha's five northen districts triggered by Cyclone Phailin and resultant rains slightly improved on Wednesday, people of 647 villages continued to be marooned, while the death toll in the twin calamities stood at 28.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai on Monday, February 27, 2023.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma has reiterated the state government's willingness to engage in unconditional peace talks with Naxalites, following a statement by the Maoist group outlining preconditions for a ceasefire. Sharma, who holds the home portfolio, stated that the government has already made its stance on unconditional talks clear and has implemented a surrender and rehabilitation policy for Naxal cadres. He criticized the Maoists' demands as unreasonable and emphasized the importance of ending violence and joining the national mainstream. Sharma also called on the Naxalites to send a representative if they are serious about peace talks, but ruled out the formation of a separate committee for negotiations. The Maoist statement, released in Telugu, highlighted the group's concerns regarding intensified counter-insurgency operations and alleged human rights violations. They appealed for a positive atmosphere for peace talks, calling for a halt to anti-Naxal operations and the establishment of new security camps.
Two women, including a 27-year-old Israeli tourist, were allegedly gang-raped while stargazing on the banks of Sanapur Lake near Hampi, police said on Saturday.
With the deadline set by two Maoist groups holding an Italian and a MLA hostage ending on Tuesday, one of the groups claimed that the Odisha government was unclear in meeting its demands.
Resentment is also brewing over the fact that instead of employing locals, peripheral development work has been entrusted to outsiders.
'The biggest impact will be on coal and hence on power cost. Then comes iron ore, coking coal, bauxite.'
The government is keen to amend the MMDR Act for transparency in the mining sector.
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
The state presently has 17 airstrips and 16 helipads.
Leader of Opposition in Odisha assembly and BJP leader Jaynarayan Mishra on Tuesday claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had warned that President's rule will be imposed in the state if the assembly is dissolved early.
What may work for the BJP is the growing resentment against V K Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician who Jay Panda alleges has hijacked the Odisha government.
'Elections are fought to win.' 'In our party, the leadership takes the final decision, and our leaders are very clear about it.'
The Odisha government is examining the demands made by abductors of ruling Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikakaka, which includes release of jailed ultras, amid indication that talks with Maoist mediators for release of the second Italian will soon yield positive results.
Odisha is bracing for heavy rainfall early next week under the impact of a possible cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to skirt the state and move towards West Bengal and Bangladesh, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
The Union Budget 2025-26 has allocated Rs 3,481.27 crore for security-related expenditure (SRE) and the Special Infrastructure Scheme for Left Wing Extremist (LWE) areas. The BJP-led Centre has set a target of March 2026 to end the Maoists menace in the country. The allocation is considered significant in the wake of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's repeated statements that the Narendra Modi government has resolved to end Naxalism in the country by March 2026. This year, till January-end, 40 Naxalites have been killed in separate gunfights in the worst Naxal-hit state of Chhattisgarh. Last year, 219 Naxalites were neutralized by security forces in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh. Six Maoists were killed in Odisha in 2024, while eight were arrested and 24 had surrendered. According to the home ministry's data, 48 Naxals have so far been killed this year in all Naxal-affected states, 290 were killed in 2024 and 50 in 2023. The government has also established 290 camps of security forces in Naxal-affected areas since 2019 and 88 more are proposed to be set up in 2025.
The IOC launched the first Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) in India in May 2022, with the Olympism-themed curriculum being integrated into the school education system in Odisha.
The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation over the horrific triple train crash in neighbouring Odisha.
Amid the political blame game over Bengal's potato ban, which led to shortages in Jharkhand and Odisha, Uttar Pradesh farmers are the unlikely winners.
Talks have begun for the safe release of two Italian nationals abducted by Maoists in Odisha and the state government is making all efforts to get the hostages released. The Odisha government on Thursday evening began talks with two of the Maoist nominated mediators, Dandapani Mohanty and BD Sharma, for the safe release of two Italian nationals abducted by the ultras.
A massive fire that tore through a budget hotel in the congested Mechuapatti area of Burrabazar in central Kolkata on Tuesday night claimed at least 14 lives and left 13 injured, triggering a political blame game and calls for accountability.
The Maoists on Wednesday offered to release one of the two Italians held captive by them if two of their demands, including the release of some rebels, were met, as the Odisha government asked its mediators to contact their counterparts chosen by the captors.
Naveen Patnaik is known as an "absentee landlord" who needs bureaucrats like Pandian to run his government.
Tata Steel is in the process of filing a curative petition in the Supreme Court in connection with the apex court ruling which said that states have the power to levy cess on mining and mineral-use activities. The petition by the steel manufacturing firm is aimed at seeking remedy to the order, passed by a 9-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on July 25. However, Tata Steel's managing director and chief executive officer T V Narendran told Business Standard that there was no demand note on the firm.
Apart from 278 deaths, 1,100 people were injured in the June 2 accident.
'There will be no change of seats for Delhi, Assam and Maharashtra.' 'Andhra, J&K, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana will lose seats while there will be an increase for MP, UP, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.' 'It is a big mistake if you make it a north-south issue.'
Amid tension in proposed Posco plant area where three anti-project activists were killed on Saturday night while allegedly making bombs, Odisha government on Sunday resumed land acquisition for the mega steel project.
The Orissa high court on Tuesday issued notices to two persons with the same name, both of whom claimed to have been conferred the Padma Shri award in 2023, to appear before it to present their case on February 24.
Odisha government on Tuesday transferred Puri SP, A N Sinha, under fire from the Opposition and women's organisations for failing to register complaints in connection with the Pipili gangrape case.
A senior Indian Forest Service officer Surendra Prasad Mohapatra, who is in the United States on a training course, has been taken into police custody at Pennsylvania, according to information received by the Odisha government in Bhubaneshwar on Thursday.
The Korean major, which is not able to set up the unit for the past seven years because of land acquisition issues and agitation by the locals, has revised its land requirement to 2,700 acres from the earlier 4,000 acres.
Boxing Federation of India (BFI) chief Ajay Singh will be up against secretary general Hemanta Kalita, vice-president Rajesh Bhandari, and Kerala State Amateur Boxing Association secretary D Chandralal when the BFI holds its long-awaited elections on March 28.
He claimed even the media is debarred from entering the secretariat and reaching out to the chief minister and thus changes need to be made in the governance model in Odisha.
Accusing the Odisha government of failing to fulfill promises made during recent hostage crisis, top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda on Sunday said rebels may turn violent if the administration resorted to suppression.
CII, in a communication with the state industries department, cited it had a packed schedule for the year and the dates frozen for the Make in Odisha conclave clashed with a major national summit hosted by the industry body.
Though two days have passed since the Maoists abducted ruling Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Jhina Hikaka, the Odisha government is yet to receive any information on the whereabouts of the young tribal legislator.
The exit deadline for Pakistani nationals visiting India on SAARC visas ended on April 26, while for the rest, except those on medical visas, it is set to close on Sunday, April 27 amid escalating tensions between the two countries over the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
Earlier, the IMD had predicted light to moderate rainfall accompanied by wind with 40 to 50 kmph in north coastal Odisha under its impact, he said.
Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka Monday completed a month in captivity of Maoists even as all including Odisha government were anxiously waiting for the 'praja (people's) court' proposed by the Naxals to decide the fate of the tribal legislator by April 25.
