India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
New Delhi: The road transport ministry has allowed cab aggregators to charge up to two times the base fare during peak hours, as against 1.5 times earlier, while for non-peak hours, the fare has to be a minimum of 50 per cent of the base fare. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in its 'Motor Vehicles Aggregator Guidelines 2025' said "the aggregator shall be permitted to charge a minimum of 50 per cent lower than the base fare and a maximum dynamic pricing of two times the base fare specified under sub-clause (17.1)." Moreover, the base fare chargeable shall be for a minimum of three kilometers to compensate for "dead mileage" -- including the distance travelled without a passenger and the distance travelled and fuel utilized for picking up the passenger(s). As per the guidelines, the fare notified by the state government for the respective category or class of motor vehicles, shall be the base fare chargeable to passengers availing services from the aggregator. States have been advised to adopt the revised guidelines within three months. In case of cancellations, a penalty of 10 per cent of the fare not exceeding Rs 100, shall be imposed on the driver, if the cancellation is made without a reason identified as valid by the aggregator. A similar penalty will be imposed on the passenger when such cancellation is made without a valid reason.
New Delhi, Nov 26: A day after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the PAN 2.0, the Income Tax Department on Tuesday issued a detailed clarification on the project based on a list of 11 frequently asked questions (FAQs) to provide taxpayers with a deeper insight into the new system. 1. What is PAN 2.0? PAN 2.0 Project is an e-Governance project of the Income Tax Department for re-engineering the business processes of taxpayer registration services. The objective of the project is to enhance the quality of PAN services through the adoption of the latest technology. Under this pr ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday urged vehicle manufacturers and logistics companies to opt for trucks that run on alternative fuels rather than diesel-fuelled ones to cut down pollution, reduce logistics costs, and decrease India's dependence on imported fossil fuel."My appeal to you all is - don't go for diesel trucks, think about alternative fuel and biofuel. It's economically viable," Gadkari said, while addressing industry leaders. He added that govt is encouraging the use of alternative fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, and others.On the ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: In a landmark step to strengthen early childhood education, the Odisha government has announced the introduction of 'Sishu Vatikas' across all government primary schools starting from the Academic Year (AY) 2025-26. The notification was issued by the Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Government of Odisha, School & Mass Education Department on Monday and will be published in the Odisha Gazette. As part of this new initiative aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, children aged 5 to 6 years will be enrolled in pre-school education at these specially created centers. The ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: You can soon lend your bike to bike taxi operators and other app-based service providers and get paid for it. This follows the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' (MoRTH) decision to revise the Motor Vehicles Aggregator Guidelines to allow the use of private (non-transport) motorcycles for passenger transport and hyperlocal deliveries through app-based aggregators. The move, announced on Tuesday, empowers state governments to permit private bike owners to operate as shared mobility service providers, essentially legalising the use of private bikes as bike taxis; a service tha ...Read More >
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 5 (ANI): Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao on Saturday accused the Congress of misleading the country with its claim that the BJP-led government at the Centre wants to change the Constitution. He added that AICC has now become the 'All India Cheating Congress'. "The words 'secular' and 'socialist' were not there in the Constitution. It was added after the 42nd Amendment. The Amendment was brought during the Emergency. Emergency was a black day in the democratic history of our country. So, the original Constitution did not have the words 'secular' and ...Read More >
Kochi: Edison Babu's neighbours in Muvattupuzha knew him as the quiet engineer who had returned home during the pandemic. The 35-year-old former auto industry professional seemed to lead an unremarkable life in this sleepy Kerala suburb, occasionally visiting the local post office with packages: nothing unusual for someone running what appeared to be a small online business. What they didn't know was that their mild-mannered neighbour had built India's most sophisticated darknet drug empire, one that relied heavily on the very government postal service that was meant to serve the community. ...Read More >
Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 6 (ANI): As a significant example of rapid infrastructural progress, the newly constructed flyover connecting Rukminigaon Road and Bormotoria Link Road at Downtown Point in Guwahati was inaugurated on Sunday by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Completed in just nine months - half the originally sanctioned period of eighteen months - this Rs. 112 crore, 660-metre-long, four-lane structure was officially designated as Bhagadatta Flyover-2 in honour of King Bhagadatta of Kamarupa. Additionally, the flyover located in the Super Market area of the city woul ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) State governments should provide adequate financial resources to Science & Technology (S&T) Councils, and slightly restructure their governing bodies to drive innovation and technology-led growth, NITI Aayog said on Thursday. In a report titled 'A Roadmap for Strengthening State S&T Council', the Aayog said that these councils must explore wider funding opportunities available with different departments of the central government for activities related to the overall mandate. "State governments should provide adequate financial resources to the councils to enable them ...Read More >
New Delhi: Vehicle owners may soon get a new and easier way to pay tolls in India. The government is planning to introduce a FASTag Annual Pass that will allow unlimited travel on national highways and expressways. This was reported by the Times of India on May 24. The new system is being considered by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). If introduced, the FASTag Annual Pass will cost Rs 3,000 per year. With this one-time payment, users can travel freely across highways without paying toll charges each time. This move is expected to make road travel smoother and more afforda ...Read More >
Guwahati, June 26: The Centre has reviewed key infrastructure projects in of Sikkim, Nagaland, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh, reaffirming its commitment to boosting regional connectivity, power generation, and investment climate in the region. The high-level meeting, chaired by Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Amardeep Singh Bhatia, brought together senior officials from various Central ministries, state governments, and project proponents. The session, on Thursday, was facilitated by the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) to address bottlenecks th ...Read More >
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway's Wayside Amenity Stations, initiated by NHAI, are revolutionizing the travel experience for long-distance truck drivers. These driver-centric stations offer essential facilities such as rest areas, dining, and refueling, significantly enhancing comfort, safety, and convenience for India's highway heroes. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, is setting new standards in eco-sensit ...Read More >
Jaipur: Police in Didwana have stepped up their probe into a cross-border smuggling case in which they arrested two arms and drug smugglers on June 27 for supplying Austrian Glock and Chinese Norinco pistols. It has emerged that the case has links to a massive Rs 300-crore heroin consignment seized by Punjab's Amritsar police near the India-Pakistan border in Barmer on June 30. Canada-based Joben Kaler was identified as the main overseas handler of the heroin consignment. Didwana-Kuchaman police had arrested Mohammad Ilyas from Khunkhuna and Amarjeet Singh Takhar, alias Prince, from Jalandhar ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], May 2 : The daily toll collection through FASTag system achieved a historic milestone on April ... New Delhi [India], May 2 : The daily toll collection through FASTag system achieved a historic milestone on April 29, reaching an all-time high collection of Rs 193.15 crore, with 1.16 crore transactions recorded in a single day, said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Tuesday. Since FASTag was mandated by the government in February 2021, the number of toll plazas under the FASTag programme has increased from 770 to 1,228, including 339 state toll plazas. With a p ...Read More >
As many as nine people are still missing in the explosion at the Sigachi Industries' pharma plant in Pashamylaram that claimed at least 38 lives and left 35 injured, and efforts are on to trace the missing people, Superintendent of Police (SP) of this district, Paritosh Pankaj, said on Thursday. Meanwhile, the expert committee appointed by the state government to ascertain the causes and establish the sequence of events that led to the explosion is expected to visit the site on Thursday. The pa ...Read More >
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 10 (ANI): In a strong message to private nursing colleges, the Karnataka government has announced that there will be no fee hike for nursing courses this academic year, reiterating its commitment to protecting students from economically weaker sections. Karnataka Medical Education and Skill Development Minister Sharanaprakash Patil made this clear during a meeting with the Association of Nursing Colleges held at Vikasa Soudha on Thursday. Also Read | Patna Murder Case: Days After Industrialist Gopal Khemka's Killing, Sand Trader Shot Dead by Unidentified A ...Read More >
day after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the PAN 2.0, the Income Tax Department on Tuesday issued a detailed clarification on the project based on a list of 11 frequently asked questions (FAQs) to provide taxpayers with a deeper insight into the new system. PAN 2.0 Project is an e-Governance project of the Income Tax Department for re-engineering the business processes of taxpayer registration services. The objective of the project is to enhance the quality of PAN services through the adoption of the latest technology. Under this project, ITD is consolidating all processes ...Read More >
Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 5 (ANI): The BJP national president and Union Minister JP Nadda on Saturday came down heavily on the Himachal Pradesh government, calling the current state of administration 'an all-time low,' while terming the recent incident involving Shimla (Rural) MLA Anirudh Singh and NHAI officials as 'unfortunate'. 'When the protector himself becomes the predator, how will the administration function. I am worried and hurt the way things are happening in Himachal Pradesh,' said the BJP national chief while addressing the Media in Bilaspur on Saturday. Addressi ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) Air freight forwarding and logistics company Skyways Air Services Ltd has filed preliminary papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO). The city-based company's IPO is a mix of fresh issue of 32.92 million equity shares and an offer for sale (OFS) of 13.33 million equity shares by promoters and other selling shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed on Monday. Proceeds from fresh issuance to the extent of Rs 216.79 crore for payment of debt, Rs 130 crore for funding incremental working capit ...Read More >
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the state police on Tuesday said it has arrested two accused wanted in several bomb blasts and communal murder cases after being on the run for over 25 years. The key accused among the two is Abubacker Siddique of Nagore. He is allegedly involved in the attempt to plant a pipe-bomb during the rath yatra of former home minister LK Advani in Madurai in 2011, among others. Other cases he is allegedly involved include the bomb blast at Hindu Munnani office in 1995 in Chennai, an explosion in Nagore the same year, and coordinated planting of bo ...Read More >
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday inspected vulnerable sections of the under-construction 27-km Shoghi-Dhalli four-lane highway near Shimla, following rising public concern over the environmental and safety impacts of ongoing hill-cutting work.Sukhu visited Bhattakufar, Sanjauli, Dhalli, Lindidhar, and nearby areas, where local residents voiced fears about property damage and life-threatening risks caused by aggressive excavation work undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Many blamed the hill-cutting for increasing landslide vuln ...Read More >
Shimla, July 5: The cumulative death toll in Himachal Pradesh's ongoing monsoon season has climbed to 75, combining 45 rain-related fatalities and 30 accidental deaths, including those from road mishaps, electrocution, and a gas explosion, according to official data released by the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC). The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) released data covering the period from June 20 to July 4, 2025, which showed large-scale destruction across the hill state. The seasonal damage report, covering the period from June 20 to July 4, 2025, paints a grim picture of de ...Read More >
Shimla, Jul 5 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh forest department on Saturday filed a police complaint against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), blaming it for the massive landslide on Kaithlighat-Dhalli road stretch in the suburbs of Shimla city on June 30. This is the fourth complaint filed against the road authority in Shimla in the last one week. Also Read | Manipur: Kuki-Zo MLAs Will Not Participate in Formation of New State Government, Say Tribal Bodies. A five-storey building had collapsed in the landslide on Monday. Nearly 8,550 square metres of protected land was damaged and ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 9 (ANI): Following the violent protest at Kerala University, a case has been registered against 27 activists of the ruling CPM's Students Federation of India (SFI), including its state secretary P S Sanjeev, who has been named the prime accused, police said. The case also names 1,000 identifiable protesters who have been accused of damaging public property, forcibly entering the university campus, and assaulting police and university staff, police said on Tuesday. Also Read | Nobel Peace Prize 2025: From Mahatma Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru, Check Full ...Read More >
Kochi: The High Court has directed the Kerala state government to convince the central government that the state deserves more assistance for the Wayanad landslide disaster. The division bench also expressed its readiness to mediate between the central and state governments in this regard. According to the latest figures, the state disaster relief fund holds around Rs 700 crore, but only Rs 61 crore is available for expenditure, as reported by the amicus curiae. Kerala: Court orders inclusion of abetment charges against police officers in Dalit youth suicide case The Kerala state government ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana, who was part of the all-party parliamentary delegation to Europe, said that during their recently conclued visit they successfully communicated India's development story and its resolute stand against terrorism, particularly emanating from Pakistan. Highlighting the delegation's key discussions during the tour, Khatana told ANI, 'We discussed how we dismantled the terrorism factory in Pakistan by responding... We also talked about tourism infrastructure, G20 Summit, and projects like the six-lane roads, bridges, solar initiatives, our ...Read More >
HYDERABAD: With the kharif season underway and farmers facing an acute shortage of urea, agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has written to the Centre, urging immediate intervention to ensure timely and sufficient supply of the critical fertiliser. In letters addressed to Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers JP Nadda, Tummala highlighted the alarming gap between the state's demand and actual supply. The minister said the Centre had allocated five lakh metric tonnes of urea to Telangana for the months of April, May, and June. However, only 3.06 lakh metric tonnes have been suppli ...Read More >
Bilaspur, July 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) Amidst a "rift" between the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Himachal Pradesh government, BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda on Saturday said work is going on 25 national highways in the state, whose total length is 2,592 km. Out of these, 785 km is being built by the NHAI, 1,238 km by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways MoRTH and 569 km by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), all Central government organisations. Nadda thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for these projects. The rift between the NHA ...Read More >
Baramulla, Jul 5: Hundreds of mourners from Delina and its neighbouring villages Saturday participated in the Muharram procession, the 9th day of the month of Muharram-Ul-Haram at Delina area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district. The procession was one of the series of processions being held in the month of Muharram, the first month of Islamic calendar. Dressed in black and carrying flags bearing religious inscriptions, participants from the villages of Hygam, Bulgam, Bohripora, Syedpora, Uri, Boniyar and other villages marched from new Imambargah through the National Highway NH-1 to the ma ...Read More >
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 10 (ANI): In a strong message to private nursing colleges, the Karnataka government has announced that there will be no fee hike for nursing courses this academic year, reiterating its commitment to protecting students from economically weaker sections. Karnataka Medical Education and Skill Development Minister Sharanaprakash Patil made this clear during a meeting with the Association of Nursing Colleges held at Vikasa Soudha on Thursday. The government will not allow any fee increase. Most nursing students come from rural and economically disadvantaged ba ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 02: The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced a comprehensive overhaul of cab and bike aggregator operations in India through the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2025. These new rules apply to companies like Ola, Uber, and Rapido, and are aimed at improving transparency in pricing, enhancing passenger safety, protecting driver rights, and introducing accountability measures for both riders and service providers. One of the most significant changes is that the government has allowed the use of private motorcycles for passenger rides, subject to approva ...Read More >