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.
Mumbai: Continuing its streak in national cleanliness rankings, Navi Mumbai has emerged as Maharashtra's only representative in the newly launched 'Super Swachh League' of the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 for cities with 10 lakh plus population. It secured the third position in the overall cleanest cities ranking after Indore and Surat.This elite classification, positioned above regular rankings, acknowledges the fact that Navi Mumbai has maintained top-three positions in the annual cleanliness drive for two or more consecutive years. Other cities from the state in the Super Swachh League included Lonavla in 50,000-3 lakh population category, Vita, Saswad and Deolali-Pravara in 20,000-50,000 population category, and Panchgani and Panhala in the less than 20,000 population category. Swachh Survekshan 2024 results were announced by the ministry of urban housing and development on Wednesday. "Navi Mumbai also retained the highest 'Seven-Star' rating for a garbage-free city as well as the highest 'Water Plus' rating," said NMMC chief Kailas Shinde. "Meticulous planning and the consistent hard work of staff and cooperation of residents helped us achieve this honour. This sustainable ranking has given us an impetus to maintain the city's status as the cleanest in the country." Urmila Dicholkar, a Navi Mumbai resident, acknowledged the city's-maintained ranking in the national competition but suggested further improvements in cleanliness efforts. But another resident, Bhavna Bhatia, disputed the achievement, pointing out several areas where cleanliness remains problematic besides the proliferation of hawkers and encroachment of footpaths and roadsides.While Mumbai has improved its national ranking in the above 10 lakh population category by securing the 33rd place among 40 cities compared to last year's 37, it fared badly in the Garbage-Free Cities rating, with zero stars. Mumbai, however, scored a three-star rating in Open Defecation-Free (ODF)+ City Certified. BMC deputy municipal commissioner (solid waste management) Kiran Dighavkar said: "We have taken steps towards bio-mining of waste at Mulund and Deonar, besides commissioning of waste-to-energy project and other measures. We should hopefully be able to improve our rank further next year."According to BMC officials, there are two major issues in city: legacy waste management and scientific processing of waste. "Centre does not consider the use of bio-reactor technology as scientific processing of waste, but measures to create more awareness will improve source segregation and collection of waste," said an official.Mira-Bhayandar has secured the first rank among 4,589 cities in the Swachh Shehar 3-10 lakh population category, while Ulhasnagar city has secured the 43rd rank, achieved ODF++ rating and ranked 101st in the state. Among other cities in the 3-10 lakh population category in Maharashtra, Chandrapur has secured the Best City in Citizens Feedback and Latur the Best City in Solid Waste Management.(Inputs by Pradeep Gupta & Vishal Rajemahadik)
Small-cap Stock: Krystal Integrated Services Limited (Krystal) share price rose 5 per cent to ₹779.3 on Tuesday, November 26 after the company announced receiving a ₹106.3 crore contract from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The contract, valued at ₹1,062.99 million ( ₹106.3 crore), covers three years and involves providing comprehensive attendant manpower services to BMC's Education and Security Departments. This initiative is aimed at improving public sector operational efficiency in Mumbai. Small-cap stock Krystal Integrated Services share was trading in the green, up 3.07 pe ...Read More >
Mumbai: The birth of three penguin chicks at Mumbai's Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo has sparked an unexpected row not over their care, but their names. BJP functionary Nitin Bankar from the Byculla Assembly constituency has objected to the chicks being given English names, insisting they be named in Marathi instead. The BMC is expected to respond by June 10, after which Bankar will decide his next move. Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Bankar said, "When penguins were brought from abroad, we accepted that their names would be in English. But these chicks were born on the soil of M ...Read More >
Bhimavaram: West Godavari district collector Chadalawada Nagarani said that in addition to planting trees to improve greenery, efforts are being made to control plastic pollution. On Thursday, to celebrate World Environment Day, a large-scale programme was taken up in the district to plant saplings and remove plastic waste from canals and drains under 'Vanam-Manam.' As part of this, collector Nagarani, District Superintendent of Police Adnan Nayeem Asmi, district Joint Collector T Rahul Kumar Reddy, DRO Mogili Venkateswarlu, and district officials from various departments enthusiastically pa ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out searches at 15 places in Mumbai and Kochi in connection with the Mithi River desilting scam that caused a wrongful loss of more than Rs 65 crore to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), official sources said. The massive crackdown is underway at the premises across Mumbai and Kochi linked to the accused and suspects as part of an ongoing probe into alleged financial irregularities. According to the sources, the searches are being carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at locat ...Read More >
Ahmedabad, June 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The MSC IRINA, recognised as the world's largest container ship by TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) capacity, is set to dock at the Adani Group's Vizhinjam International Seaport on Monday and will be berthed till Tuesday. The monumental arrival marks a significant milestone for the seaport, which was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 2. The MSC IRINA boasts an impressive capacity of 24,346 TEUs, making it a formidable player in global shipping. With a length of 399.9 metres and a width of 61.3 metres, the vessel is approximate ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday directed that one-third of the land reclaimed from Delhi's three major landfill sites should be used for public welfare projects such as hospitals, schools and sports complexes, while the remaining area be developed into advanced waste processing facilities. The directive was issued during a meeting held here to review the city's solid waste management progress, as the government aims to eliminate legacy waste dumps by 2026. The chief minister chaired the meeting along with Delhi Mayor Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh to review solid wast ...Read More >
Mumbai: The death toll in Monday's BEST bus crash rose to seven and the number of injured to 42 even as the driver, Sanjay More, booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, claimed he had noticed a spark and mistakenly accelerated the bus instead of applying brakes. Seeking More's custody, police said they want to investigate if he intentionally used the vehicle as a weapon. The bus on Route 332 had accelerated on a congested 200m stretch near Kurla station hitting vehicles and pedestr ...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: July 3 is International Plastic Bag Free Day. However, across Delhi, single-use plastic (SUP) bags, including those prohibited since 2018, are being used by shopkeepers and customers. Disposable cutlery and drinking straws made of plastic have also resurfaced in the marketplace.Despite restrictions imposed three years ago in July on single-use plastic, plastic items, particularly low-quality polythene bags below 50-micron thickness banned in 2018, continue to be extensively used without consequences. While several initiatives were undertaken to encourage the use of alternative mater ...Read More >
Mumbai, July 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its probe into the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) land scam, conducting fresh search operations at 16 locations across Mumbai on July 1 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The searches, linked to the case involving Jayesh Mehta and others, resulted in the freezing of assets worth approximately Rs 12.71 crore in bank accounts, fixed deposits, and mutual funds, along with the seizure of Rs 26 lakh in cash and a trove of incriminating documents and digital devices, a statement issued ...Read More >
Amritsar: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey from Jharkhand has claimed that Britain assisted India in executing the 1984 Operation Bluestar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, stoking a new controversy.In a post on X on Monday, Dubey alleged that then PM Indira Gandhi "launched an attack on the Golden Temple in collaboration with Britain", with British Army officers present in Amritsar.He uploaded a classified British document, "Sikh Community", claiming that on Feb 23, 1984, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office mentioned in a letter that the Indian govt had sought British advice over a plan to remove Si ...Read More >
Ludhiana: The municipal corporation, which has prepared a roadmap for establishment of the "waste to energy" plant for proper management of fresh waste generated in the city, invited three major firms with expertise in the field on Friday. MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said that they wanted to get suggestions and inputs from the firms so that proper planning could be done for establishment of the plant. Firms invited on Friday include SFC Environmental Technologies Ltd, Re Sustainability Limited (formerly known as Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd), and JITF Urban Infrastructure Limited (part of ...Read More >
New Delhi: Three Indian citizens vanished mysteriously in Tehran. Darkness closed in as hope seemed lost. A ruthless Pakistani gang with potential links to ISI snatched them away, casting a shadow of fear. But relentless Indian diplomats refused to back down. Against all odds, a daring rescue mission ignited. Now, the captives are free, and a chilling game of espionage comes to light. The Punjab-based trio - Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur, Jaspal Singh from SBS Nagar and Hushnapreet Singh from Sangrur - had landed in Iran on May 1. Promised a clandestine route to Australia via Dubai and Tehra ...Read More >
Srinagar: Before towering cranes and cutting-edge engineering transformed the Himalayan landscape, the monumental dream of connecting "Kashmir to Kanyakumari" by rail began with the plodding footsteps of humble mules. This extraordinary backstory underpins the official realization of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 6, 2025, a project crowned by the awe-inspiring Chenab Bridge. According to Afcons Infrastructure Limited, the company behind the Chenab Bridge, the earliest and most formidable hurdle wasn't just the design of ...Read More >
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Bollywood actor Dino Morea and asked him to appear next week. He has been summoned in connection with the Rs 65 crore Mithi river desilting case, ED officials said. On Friday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at fifteen locations in the Mithi river desilting case, including at actor Dino Morea's home in Mumbai. The raid comes days after the actor appeared before the Mumbai Police for questioning in a corruption case. His brot ...Read More >
New Delhi: Chief minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said authorities cannot go against demolition orders issued by courts and stressed that displaced residents have been provided accommodation.Her words came in the wake of the recent Madrasi Camp demolition for which the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has criticised her. AAP has targeted Gupta, and alleged that the displaced Madrasi Camp residents were provided homes in faraway Narela, and those lack basic amenities.Attending an event to mark the construction of a Jan Sewa camp at a slum cluster in the Haiderpur area, Gupta told reporters: "In t ...Read More >
Mumbai: Two months since the BMC started a dedicated drive to collect domestic hazardous waste, nearly 2,000 housing societies, women's hostels, beauty parlours, and educational institutions registered for the initiative.Currently, an average of 1.7 tonnes of such waste is collected daily and transported to six plasma incineration facilities within BMC's jurisdiction for safe and scientific disposal. This includes adult diapers, sanitary pads, pet waste, discarded medicines, and used waxing sheets, PPE kits, and facial masks.Mumbai generates an estimated 80 to 100 tonnes of domestic hazardous ...Read More >
Meerut: Solid waste management is a huge challenge confronting human settlements but Mohiuddinpur village in Meerut has found a solution to this problem. The panchayat here has set an example for others to emulate by not only disposing off the waste to generate power but also earning revenue in the process. The village is earning an annual revenue of Rs 10 lakh which is an example in resource generation. The village has around 1200 residences that also house some tenants. The population here is around 12,000. The interesting aspect is the blueprint prepared by the panchayat that ensures effec ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Former head of Air India and chairman of the Railway Board Ashwani Lohani is the new Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) director. The official order for his appointment was issued on Wednesday. A 1980-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), Lohani is known for turning around various organisations during his illustrious career. Following his retirement from IRSME service, he joined the GMR Group as the CEO. According to the order dated June 4, his appointment to the post of director, Prime Ministers Museum and Library in the rank and pa ...Read More >
Mumbai: Recycling of packaging material into something useful and lasting for the community is an initiative that represents the kind of sustainable thinking Mumbai needs, said Jeetendra V Pardeshi, Superintendent of Gardens, BMC. "Such partnerships can bring sustainability into public spaces, and the public can actively participate in this transformation," Pardeshi said on Thursday, about a set of garden benches, made entirely from recycled Tetra Pak cartons, that were donated to Patwardhan Park in Bandra. The inauguration of the benches marked the start of a campaign to collect used bevera ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday attacked the Centre and Rajasthan governments over the reported plan to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve for the reactivation of over 50 mining operations, saying the move would be "ecologically devastating". The opposition party also said that with the Rajasthan and Union environment ministers both being from Alwar, this "double engine" cannot be supporting such a move. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed that a plan to redraw the boundaries of Rajasthan's ...Read More >
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Mumbai: The city's water reserves received a welcome boost as the collective stock in lakes supplying drinking water to Mumbai crossed the 40 per cent mark, according to the latest data released by the BMC's Hydraulic Engineer's Department on Monday morning. As of 6:00 am on June 30, 2025, the total useful water stock stood at 5,82,175 million litres, which is 40.22 per cent of the total required storage capacity of 14.47 lakh million litres. Thanks to consistent rainfall over the past week, including 2 mm of rain recorded at the Bhandup Complex and a cumulative 474 mm so far, water levels in ...Read More >
Gurgaon: The two-day national conference of urban local bodies (ULBs), held in Manesar, concluded with a formal resolution to enhance the impact of these institutions on national development. Participants highlighted that the core objective of ULBs is to bring about positive change in the urban service delivery framework. The pivotal role of women as key drivers of development within ULBs was also discussed.It was noted that MP has implemented 50% reservation for women in urban local governance. Remarkably, currently, 60 to 65% of women are represented in ULBs there, demonstrating their strong ...Read More >
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), considered the richest civic body in the country, tabled its budget of Rs 74,427 crore for 2025-26 at its headquarters in Mumbai on Tuesday. The additional municipal commissioners presented the budget to BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, the state-appointed administrator. BMC is currently run by an administrator since the term of the corporators ended on March 7, 2022. This is the third year of the budget being presented to the administrator, in deviation from the norm where the municipal commissioner presents the budget to the standing co ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Ravada A Chandrasekhar took charge as the new State Police Chief on Tuesday. He succeeds Shaik Darvesh Saheb, who retired on June 30. His tenure will run until July 1, 2027. A 1991-batch IPS officer currently serving as Special Director with the Intelligence Bureau, Chandrasekhar is on central deputation. He was selected over Nitin Agarwal, who topped the official list of probables. The appointment order, issued by Kerala Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak on behalf of the Governor, was released soon after a cabinet meeting held on Monday. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh's Godav ...Read More >
New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) brought forward the deadlines for the complete biomining of legacy waste at three landfills -- Okhla, Bhalswa, and Ghazipur -- and the reclamation of land from Dec 2028 to Dec 2026. The information was shared by the civic body after a high-level review meeting on solid waste management in Delhi. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the CM Rekha Gupta, urban development minister Ashish Sood, mayor Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh, MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar and other officials.Singh said the discussions focused on 13 key agenda points, mainly ...Read More >
Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Ravindra Chavan is all set to become the next Maharashtra BJP chief as he filed his nomination for the post of party's state president on Monday. Mr. Chavan presented the nomination forms to Union Minister Kiran Rijiju, who has been appointed as a central observer for the elections by the BJP. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and outgoing party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule were present on this occasion. With no other nomination being filed for the post, Mr. Chavan is certain to become the next state president of Maharashtra BJP, said party leaders. The ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Congress's allegation about a suspicious surge in the number of voters in the Maharashtra assembly elections took a new turn Monday when party veteran Prithviraj Chavan told the leadership that the spike was possibly on account of multiple registration and voting by same voters.Former CM Chavan, giving data of his constituency, claimed the same voters were found to have voted multiple times in different polling booths. He alleged the trick was pulled off by erasing the ink that is dabbed on the finger after the casting of vote.Given data presented by Chavan, sources said, the party ...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 >
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 >