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: Ahead of Bihar's Chhath festival, Indian Railways has introduced a unique arrangement of playing popular folk songs dedicated to the Chhath festival at over 100 prominent stations across the country. In the first phase, this initiative has been implemented at 30 different stations, where announcements of train departures or arrivals pause for a while. During these intervals, folk songs sung by well-known singers such as Sharda Sinha, Nitu Kumari Navgeet, Vindyavasni Devi and others are played when no train information is being broadcast over the automated announcement system. The Railways has started playing Chhatha songs at more than 30 stations in Bihar, including Patna, Danapur, Hajipur, Bhagalpur, Jamalpur, Sonepur and others. Similar arrangements for playing Chhatha songs have also been made at New Delhi, Ghaziabad and Anand Vihar Terminal, which are now witnessing heavy footfall of passengers travelling to Bihar and other Hindi-speaking states for the festival. Confirming this to the newspaper, ED (I&P) Dileep Kumar of the Ministry of Railways said on Friday, "Indian Railways has started broadcasting Chhatha songs at railway stations on the auspicious occasion of Chhatha Puja. The aim of this initiative is to connect the passengers with the auspicious spirit of the festival and make their journey more pleasant. This has been launched at almost all those stations that now witness large numbers of Bihar-bound passengers travelling for the Chhatha festival across the country." Savita Kumari, a passenger travelling from Kolkata to Patna with her family members for the Chhatha festival, said "These devotional songs being played at railway stations during Chhatha Puja surcharge the ambience of station with religious festivity for the devotees, who either remain in wait to take trains or boarding in trains". A senior railway official told the newspaper that the Chhatha folk songs being played make passengers feel the fragrance of their home and culture, thereby infusing devotion and joy into their journey even when they remain away from their states.
Bengaluru, Jul 19 (PTI) Hockey India on Saturday announced a 40-member core probable group for the upcoming senior women's national coaching camp, which will be held at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre here from July 21 to August 29. The camp holds significant importance as the Indian women's hockey team gears up for the women's Asia Cup, set to begin on September 5 in Hangzhou, China. The tournament will serve as a direct qualification pathway for the 2026 FIH Women's World Cup, with only the champion earning a guaranteed spot. All players from the previous camp have been retaine ...Read More >
Puri (Odisha), Jul 1 (PTI) A day after three people were killed and 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Puri, thousands of devotees on Tuesday made a beeline to have a darshan of the sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath. In view of Monday's incident, barricades have been erected in front of the Shree Gundicha temple and different queues made for the smooth darshan of the deities at 'Adapa Mandap' (the podium on which the deities are seated) situated inside the temple, a senior police officer said. Also Read | Stocks To Buy or Sell Tod ...Read More >
New Delhi (India) June 30 (ANI): In a move aimed at streamlining fare structures and enhancing the financial sustainability of passenger services, the Ministry of Railways has rationalised the basic fare of Passenger train services, effective from 01 July 2025. The revised fares are based on the updated Passenger Fare Table issued by the Indian Railway Conference Association (IRCA), the railways said in a release. As per the release, no change in Suburban single journey fares and Season Tickets (for both suburban and non-suburban routes). The fare hike varies across different classes and tra ...Read More >
Jhansi: A family in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, has become the centre of a shocking case involving extramarital affairs, gold theft, and murder. Police have uncovered the alleged conspiracy behind the murder of 60-year-old Sushila Devi.The probe led to the arrest of her younger daughter-in-law, Pooja Jatav, along with Pooja's sister, Kamla. Both women are currently in judicial custody. On Tuesday night, police nabbed Kamla's boyfriend, Anil Verma -- who had been absconding since the killing. Verma was shot in the leg by the police during a police encounter. The incident occurred on the morning of ...Read More >
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said indigenously made 150 Vandebharat trains are slated for export with the first train set already flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. More railway rolling stock, including metro coaches, are getting export orders and the upcoming ₹521.26 crore mega Kazipet Railway Manufacturing Unit is going to play a key role once it is commissioned in 2026, he told the media at the factory site on Saturday (July 19, 2025). What will be manufactured the ...Read More >
Guwahati: Work on the second Saraighat rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra in Guwahati will start soon, with tenders to be opened next month, followed by work allotment, officials said on Saturday.While this major infrastructure project was sanctioned during the FY 2023-24 with an estimated cost of Rs 1,473.77 crore, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on Saturday said the bridge is targeted for completion by Dec 2029. This bridge at Saraighat has been sanctioned as part of the doubling of the Agthori-Kamakhya railway line under NFR."The geotechnical investigations have been completed for t ...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 >
Hyderabad: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Attapur, grandly organized its 4th annual Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra in Attapur on Sunday. As part of this spiritually uplifting event, the deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra were taken out of the sanctum sanctorum and placed on their magnificently decorated chariots to bless the devotees during the sacred procession. The Rath Yatra began at 1 PM from ISKCON Temple, Attapur, and concluded at 6 PM near Pillar No. 173, Sama Bhoopal Reddy Gardens. Post-procession, vibrant cultural programs includin ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar, Jul 13 (PTI) The Odisha government has started working on securing copyright for the rituals of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri to protect its traditional cultural expressions, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the titular king of the pilgrim town, said. The statement came amid resentments among the devotees of Lord Jagannath over the untimely celebration of Lord Jagannath's rituals by the ISKCON abroad and the West Bengal government's declaration of a temple in Digha as "Jagannath Dham". These are "gross violations" of sacred scriptures and ancient tradition, the Gajapati Mahara ...Read More >
New Delhi, The loco pilots union has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to refer their dispute with the rail administration over rest hours to the lower house's Petition Committee, and warned of a nationwide strike if the issue is not resolved. The All India Loco Running Staff Association and the rail administration have locked horns over clubbing weekly rest hours with daily rest hours. However, the Railway Ministry said that, of late, it has created several amenities for loco p ...Read More >
Guwahati, The construction of a second rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra at Saraighat in Guwahati is expected to commence soon, an official said on Saturday. The tender is likely to be finalised shortly, and construction work will start immediately after it, he said. This second bridge at Saraighat was sanctioned as part of the doubling of the Agthori-Kamakhya railway line under Northeast Frontier Railway . It was sanctioned in 2023-24 with an estimate of ₹1,473.77 crore, and is targ ...Read More >
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal with women from purvanchal stages a protest against AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025.Source : PTI Delhi Police on Monday detained Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal as she protested outside Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal's residence over the government's failure to clean the Yamuna River. Maliwal, accompanied by a group of women from Purvanchal, carried water collected from the Yamuna to Kejriwal's residence, accusing him of neglecting the river's worsening condition. Speaking to news agency ANI, she re ...Read More >
The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is a long-term project by the Indian Railways aimed at transforming more than 1,300 railway stations across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is inaugurating 103 redeveloped Amrit stations across India on Thursday via video conferencing from Bikaner. The redeveloped stations are spread across 86 districts in 18 States and Union Territories and have been built at a cumulative cost of over Rs 1,100 crore, according to a release by the ministry of railways. ...Read More >
Samastipur (Bihar) [India], July 8 (ANI): In a continued effort to modernise and upgrade railway infrastructure in Bihar, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday laid the foundation stone and inaugurated several key projects worth Rs 17.30 crore at Karpoorigram Station under the Samastipur division. At the outset, Vaishnaw inspected the Digha Bridge Halt and thoroughly reviewed passenger amenities, safety, cleanliness, platform condition, drinking water, lighting, and security arrangements, according to a statement from the Ministry of Railways. He directed officials to work t ...Read More >
Officials say the train will help the troubled region, but many Kashmiris see it as a tool to entrench the Indian government's control. After decades of highly complex engineering work and billions of dollars in investment, India has finally connected the Himalayan region of Kashmir by rail to the rest of the country. The train link, which was officially inaugurated on Friday, fulfilled a dream dating back to the British colonial era. Indian officials called it a transformative leap for the res ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: In a significant development, Indian Railways has proposed to prepare and release the reservation chart eight hours before a train's departure, replacing the current practice of releasing the chart four hours before departure. This new timeline is expected to come into effect from 1st July this year. The decision follows a series of meetings between railway officials and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, aimed at improving convenience for passengers, particularly those holding waitlisted tickets. Confirming the development to this newspaper, a senior railway official said on Sun ...Read More >
Bareilly (UP), Jul 17 (PTI) A teacher from Bahedi district, who went viral recently after reciting a poem mentioning Kanwar Yatra, approached the police on Thursday stating a threat to his life from anti-social elements. A case has been registered at Bahedi police station based on a complaint from Dr Rajneesh Kumar Gangwar, a teacher at MGM Inter College in the district. According to Circle Officer Arun Kumar Singh, Gangwar's complaint says that ever since his recitation of the poem 'Tum Kanwad Lene Mat Jana, Gyaan Ka Deepak Jalaana' (You don't go get Kavad, light the lamp of knowledge inste ...Read More >
New Delhi, June 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) India has witnessed a series of tragic religious stampedes in 2025, which raised significant concerns about crowd management and public safety at large religious gatherings. From Jagannath Yatra in Odisha to the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh, and stampedes in Delhi and Goa, many have lost their lives and thousands have been injured, indicating a series of security and crowd management lapses at such crucial religious gatherings. The latest tragedy occurred on Sunday during the Jagannath Yatra in Puri, Odisha. As thousands of devotees gathered near the Gundic ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 1: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched on Tuesday the RailOne mobile application, which can help passengers get easy access to multiple services such as ticket booking, train and PNR enquiry, journey planning, rail help services and meal booking. Vaishnaw inaugurated the app, available on both Android Play Store and iOS App Store platforms, at the 40th Foundation Day celebrations of the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). "RailOne App is a one-stop solution for all passenger needs. Through this app, passengers get easy access to the following services: Ticket ...Read More >
Kerala Lottery Result SAMRUDHI SM 12 Results Live: The first winner of today's lottery game- SAMRUDHI SM 12 lottery- takes home Rs 1 crore as a cash prize. The Kerala lottery is one of the most trusted games in the country. Kerala Lottery Result Sunday 20-07-2025: The Kerala lottery is back with another fun game- that may lead you to win Rs 1 crore! The results for today's Kerala lottery games- SAMRUDHI SM 12 Sunday- are announced. The Kerala lottery results are announced here, so people with tickets for today's game can stay in touch with this live blog. Samrudhi Lottery Series: MN, MO, MP, ...Read More >
Kolkata: Fourteen years after Ritesh Kumar Shaw -- a garments trader from Burrabazar -- attempted to murder his wife in front of their four-year-old son, a Barrackpore court on Friday sentenced him to life imprisonment for orchestrating the crime to claim insurance benefits.Santonu Chakrobarty, public prosecutor-in-charge, told TOI that the accused shot his wife, Madhumala Shaw (40), after he made an insurance policy of Rs 1 crore in her name and named himself as the nominee. Cops said Shaw planned the attack, assuming his wife would die. He then lodged a false complaint at Khardah Police Stat ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) The Ministry of Railways has decided to prepare reservation charts for long-distance trains eight hours in advance, instead of the current four hours, to help passengers travelling from remote locations plan their journeys better. The decision was taken during a recent review meeting chaired by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, a statement issued by the ministry said. Also Read | Kolkata Fatafat Result Today: Kolkata FF Result for June 30, 2025 Declared, Check Winning Numbers and Result Chart of Satta Matka-Type Lottery Game. Under Vaishnaw's guidance, officials are ...Read More >
The sacred coastal city of Puri is bustling with devotional energy as preparations intensify for the Bahuda Yatra 2025, the revered return journey of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Chakraraj Sudarshan from the Gundicha Temple to the Shree Jagannath Temple. After the completion of the important Hera Panchami ritual on Tuesday night, the focus shifted to the Dakshina Moda (southward turning) of the three grand Rath Yatra chariots. On Wednesday, July 2, the chariots of Devi Sub ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Jul 19 (PTI) India's electronics exports have soared past USD 40 billion, marking an eight-fold growth during the last 11 years, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. He also highlighted that the domestic electronics production has gone up by six times. Addressing the 14th Convocation of IIT Hyderabad, near here, Vaishnaw also emphasised the rapid progress of India's first bullet train project, which is expected to become operational by August or September 2027. Looking ahead, Vaishnaw said the first Made in India semiconductor chip, on a commercial scale, will be man ...Read More >
A visually animated video showing three high-speed trains seamlessly crossing paths at a railway junction has gone viral across social media platforms. The video, often shared with patriotic captions, has been widely mistaken for real footage showcasing India's railway capabilites, with some users attributing it to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's leadership. However, the clip is entirely computer-generated. The animation depicts an elaborate X-shaped junction where three trains pass each ot ...Read More >
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Bengaluru Crime: A woman's body, believed to be between 30 and 35 years old, was found stuffed inside a sack and dumped in a garbage truck in Bengaluru early Thursday. The identity of the woman is yet to be confirmed. Police said the sack was discovered by BBMP sanitation workers who immediately alerted the authorities. The body was found with her hands and neck tied, raising strong suspicion of murder. Officials stated that the body had been placed inside a gunny bag before being thrown into the garbage vehicle. Joint Commissioner of Police, C Vamsi Krishna, confirmed that the body has been ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jul 5 (PTI) Central Railway has introduced a suburban train in Mumbai with a dedicated and renovated compartment for senior citizens, an official said on Saturday. In a release, CR said the middle luggage compartment in the sixth coach from the Mumbai-end was structurally and aesthetically modified to cater specifically to senior citizens following directives from the Railway Board. The prototype rake has been developed at Central Railway's Matunga Workshop, it added. "This dedicated compartment will minimise hassles faced by senior citizens while boarding and de-boarding suburban t ...Read More >
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has accused the Election Commission of attempting to manipulate the electoral landscape of states. He alleges the Bihar voter revision exercise is disenfranchising voters while Tamil Nadu is illegally adding voters. Chidambaram asserts that these actions constitute an abuse of power that must be challenged through political and legal means. Amid the raging row over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, senior Congress leader P Chidambara ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], November 27 (ANI): Indian Railways is advancing the electrification of Broad Gauge railway lines at a mission-driven pace, achieving approximately 97 per cent electrification of its total Broad Gauge network, Union Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw stated in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Vaishnaw noted that around 45,200 route kilometres of the Broad Gauge network have been electrified since 2014-15. He highlighted a significant increase in the pace of electrification, from approximately 1.42 k ...Read More >
Katra: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off a Vande Bharat train service between Katra and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, the first train connection between the Kashmir valley and the Jammu region. Modi inaugurated the train in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, among others. Earlier, the PM inaugurated the Chenab Railway Bridge, the world's tallest rail bridge, and Anji Khad Bridge, the country's first cable-stayed railway bridge The Srinagar-Katra journey, which currently takes nearly six hour ...Read More >