Thane, Jul 9 (PTI) Police have registered a case against eight persons, including the principal and four teachers of a private school at Shahapur in Maharashtra's Thane district, after girls studying in Classes 5 to 10 were made to strip to check if they were menstruating, officials said. The incident occurred at the R S Damani school in the town on Tuesday after bloodstains were found in its toilet, they said. It sparked outrage among the parents of the girl students, who protested on the sch...Read More
Chennai, Jul 9 (PTI) VinFast Auto India, the subsidiary of Vietnam-headquartered electric vehicle maker VinFast, has inducted 200 employees for its upcoming facility, which is expected to commence operation in Tuticorin soon. The recruitment of 200 professionals follows a large-scale recruitment drive held in April, which saw participation from 344 diploma students hailing from the region. With the support from District Collector K Elambahavath and the State Industries Department, VinFast Indi...Read More
Mumbai, Jul 9 (PTI) Rejecting criticism over financial prudence for presenting supplementary demands of Rs 57,509 crore just three months after presenting the budget, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said the state's economic position is robust and fiscal parameters are fine. He said the additional funds would primarily be spent on the Centrally-sponsored development schemes, infrastructure projects, and statutory grants, which will contribute to enhancing the state's productive as...Read More
Lucknow, Jul 9 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday secured a week-long custody of Jalaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, the alleged mastermind of a religious conversion racket, who was arrested last week. Besides him, the ATS has taken another accused, Neetu alias Nasreen, into their custody for a week. Four people had been arrested in connection with the case. The police have alleged that the accused acted in an organised manner to convert individuals from Hindu and othe...Read More
Vadodara, Jul 9 (PTI) Eleven persons, including two siblings, were killed and nine others rescued as several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar river after a portion of a four-decade-old bridge collapsed in Gujarat's Vadodara district on Wednesday morning, officials said. A slab of the Gambhira bridge, which connects central Gujarat to the Saurashtra region of the state, collapsed, killing eleven persons, Superintendent of Police (Vadodara rural) Rohan Anand said. Visuals from the site showed...Read More
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Jul 9 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who holds the irrigation portfolio, on Wednesday said that he has appealed for funds to the tune of Rs 11,122.76 crore for six irrigation projects in the state. Shivakumar met the Union Water Resources Minister, C R Patil, in Delhi. In a statement, Shivakumar said he has requested funds for six irrigation projects, including Rs 804.66 crore for Sonnathi lift irrigation project, Rs 2,660.70 crore for Indi branch ca...Read More
Mumbai, July 9 (PTI) Viral video footage showing a ruling Shiv Sena MLA slapping and punching an employee at the MLAs' hostel canteen here for serving "stale food" has drawn widespread condemnation from government and opposition, with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis denouncing the act. The CM said such behaviour sends a "wrong message" about legislators misusing their power. The widely circulated video shows Buldhana MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, wearing a vest and a towel, confronting the ...Read More
New Delhi: Linda Yaccarino has stepped down as CEO of X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after completing two years at the top post. Yaccarino confirmed her resignation on Wednesday, posting a message highlighting her time at the company and signalling confidence in the company's next phase under Elon Musk's leadership. "The best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with xAI," Yaccarino said, referring to Musk's artificial intelligence company that recently rolled out its chatbot Gr...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) In a bid to resolve the decades-old Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal dispute, Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil on Wednesday convened a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and his Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini. The meeting was held in a "cordial atmosphere" with both state leaders expressing their commitment to finding an early resolution to the long-standing water-sharing issue, the Jal Shakti Ministry said in a statement. The SYL Canal, whic...Read More
Bhubaneswar, Jul 9 (PTI) The BJP government in Odisha will soon expand its council of ministers, the party's state president Manmohan Samal said on Wednesday. Samal made the statement while taking charge as the state BJP president a day after being reappointed to the post for a fourth non-consecutive term. "Discussions with the central leaders have already been held regarding the expansion of the council of ministers," he said. Though the council of ministers can have 22 members, there are on...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Fixed deposits and shares worth more than Rs 284 crore of a Haryana-based company have been frozen under the anti-money laundering law in a case linked to alleged duping of people through illegal online gambling and betting activities, the Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday. The federal agency in a statement said it conducted searches for two days starting Tuesday at four premises in Gurugram and Jind in Haryana of the firm named Probo Media Technologies Pvt. Ltd. ...Read More
Mumbai, July 9 (PTI) Viral video footage showing a ruling Shiv Sena MLA slapping and punching an employee at the MLAs' hostel canteen here for serving "stale food" has drawn widespread condemnation from government and opposition, with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis denouncing the act. He said such behaviour sends a "wrong message" about legislators misusing their power. The widely circulated video shows Buldhana MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, wearing a vest and a towel, confronting the cant...Read More
Cuddalore, Jul 9 (PTI) A new gatekeeper assumed charge here at the Semmankuppam manned level crossing where a train hit a van killing 3 school-going children on July 8. The new appointee, Anand Raj told reporters he has been working in the railways for the past 2 years and he has now been posted to Semmankuppam to man Level Crossing No 170, a non-interlocked, manned crossing. "Interlocking" refers to locking the railway boom at the level crossing by linking it to the signalling system, which e...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked NBFCs not to aggressively market or push loans to customers and said financial inclusion cannot be used as a pretext for "financial exploitation". She also asked non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to adhere to the Reserve Bank of India's loan recovery norms strictly, and keep interest rates at reasonable levels. Addressing an NBFC Symposium 2025 here, Sitharaman said there should be deep collaboration between NB...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Delhi Culture and Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra on Wednesday said the meat shops on the Kanwar Yatra route, most of which are run illegally, will be shut down during the religious event beginning later this month. The minister reviewed the preparations for the Kanwar Yatra route in the city along with several ruling BJP MLAs. "Its a decision of the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) that the meat shops will remain closed. Nevertheless, most of ...Read More
Mangaluru (Karnataka), Jul 9 (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday chaired a peace meeting here with religious and community leaders from Dakshina Kannada district, assuring them that the state government would take stringent steps against hate speech, misinformation, and communal unrest. He assured the leaders that a new law targeting hate speech and fake news would be introduced in the next Assembly session. "We are contemplating a legal framework to curb divisive narrati...Read More
Mumbai, Jul 9 (PTI) The hospitality industry in Maharashtra on Wednesday urged the government to withdraw its back-to-back hikes in Value Added Tax (VAT) and liquor license fees. "On July 1, the state government hiked VAT on liquor to 10 per cent from the current 5 per cent followed by a 15 per cent increase in license fees for the financial year 2025-26," Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) president Sudhakar Shetty told reporters. He said the tax burden is not just an economic blo...Read More
Lucknow, Jul 9 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a key destination for investors, and its image has changed from a consumer state to a production state, Excise and Prohibition Minister Nitin Agrawal said on Wednesday. "Earlier, Uttar Pradesh was called a consumer state, today that image has changed and the state is known as a production state," the minister said in his address at the Excise Investors Summit. "For the first time, such a grand event is being organised in Uttar Pradesh. This has...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that it will make public its preliminary report on the Ahmedabad plane crash in a couple of days, sources said. AAIB Director General G V G Yugandhar told the panel that it will upload the report within 30 days of one of the worst aviation disasters in recent decades and the first crash involving a Boeing Dreamliner. Concerns over aviation safety dominated the proceedings of the...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Policy interventions can enable unlocking of USD 3.5 billion lithium ion recycling and production ecosystem in the country by 2030, a report by industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) and Accenture said on Wednesday. The report estimates that without any policy intervention and measures to facilitate investments, the present lithium battery (LiB) recycling expansion plans have the potential to generate revenue in the range of USD 500-1,000 million ...Read More
Patna, Jul 9 (PTI) Normal life was affected across Bihar on Wednesday as the INDIA bloc, led by Rahul Gandhi, hit the streets to enforce a bandh in protest against special intensive revision of electoral rolls ahead of the state assembly polls. The opposition coalition, known as 'Mahagathbandhan' in the state, had organised the state-wide bandh on the day it was extending support to the nationwide strike called by trade unions to oppose the new labour codes. Gandhi, the Leader of the Oppositio...Read More
Jaipur, Jul 9 (PTI) Bank employees in Jaipur held a protest on Wednesday, joining the nationwide strike called by major bank unions and central trade unions against the government's labour policies. The demonstration was held outside the Bank of India's Regional Office on M.I. Road. Mahesh Mishra, General Secretary of the Rajasthan Pradesh Bank Employees Union, said the protest was organised to highlight a 17-point charter of demands, including the rollback of new labour codes, a ban on outsou...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear the challenge against Election Commission of India's decision for a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The updated causelist shows a bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi has over 10 related matters listed for hearing on July 10. On Wednesday, it agreed to hear a fresh plea of two social activists, Arshad Ajmal and Rupesh Kumar, challenging the decision of the poll pane...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Normal life was not impacted in most parts of the country due to a nationwide strike called by several trade unions to protest against labour policies of the central government, though some sporadic incidents of violence were reported from West Bengal. However, the trade unions claimed that the strike was successful, and a large number of workers abstained from work, impacting the postal, banking, insurance, and mining sectors. Although the agitation remained by and larg...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will make public this week its preliminary report on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad in which at least 260 people were killed on June 12, top Bureau officials told a Parliamentary panel on Wednesday. Sources also said that no report has been finalised so far and investigations are underway in one of the worst air disasters in India. The AAIB officials told the panel that the black box and voice recorder of the airc...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday expressed concern over the declining yield of cotton crops and said a meeting has been convened on July 11 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, to address this issue. The minister released a video message informing about the meeting and also inviting suggestions from farmers. In his message, Chouhan said, "The productivity of cotton in our country is currently quite low. In recent times, productivity has declined furthe...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) The Centre has informed the Delhi High Court it has no plans to introduce Rs 50 coin as people prefer banknotes. The submissions came in response to a PIL seeking directions to produce currency notes and coins, particularly Rs 50 and below, which would be easily identifiable by blind persons. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Anish Dayal on Wednesday noted though the counter affidavit was filed with the registry, it was not on record. "Let nece...Read More
Kochi, Jul 9 (PTI) The makers of 'Janaki vs State of Kerala', starring Union Minister Suresh Gopi, informed the Kerala High Court on Wednesday that they are willing to change the film's title to "V Janaki" or "Janaki V", as suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The statement was made during a hearing on a plea filed by the producers challenging the CBFC's objection to the original title "Janaki", which had delayed the film's clearance. The Censor Board had earlier refuse...Read More
Mumbai, Jul 9 (PTI) JSW MG Motor on Wednesday said the global shortage of rare earth magnets, a key component in motors used for electric vehicles, has not impacted its production currently and is unlikely to impact it in the immediate future, but it is keeping a close watch on the developments. The company, which launched its first premium car showroom, MG Select, in Thane in the Mumbai Metropolitan region, also said that the curbs by China on the supply of magnets have been impacting not only...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal's assertion that he should get a Nobel Prize for governance is "laughable", Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said on Wednesday. Taking a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Sachdeva said he would get the award if there were categories for "incompetence" and "corruption". The AAP hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying it should focus on governance in Delhi instead of name-calling. "Virendra Sachdeva is in the government now...Read More