Category: India

Some parts of Rajasthan also experienced intense cold wave conditions, with Karauli recording the lowest temperature at 4.5 degree Celsius on Sunday.

The 40-day-long period known as Chillai Kalan, marking the harshest phase of winter in Kashmir, commenced on Saturday with an unprecedented cold spell. According to the meteorological department, Srinagar experienced its coldest December night in five decades as temperatures plunged to a chilling minus 8.5 degrees Celsius.

At minus 8.5 degrees Celsius, it was Srinagar’s coldest December night since 1974, when the city recorded a low of minus 10.3 degrees Celsius, and the third coldest since 1891.

Srinagar’s lowest-ever minimum temperature in this month was minus 12.8 degrees Celsius on December 13, 1934.

‘Chillai Kalan’ will conclude on January 31, 2025 but, even after that the cold wave conditions will continue in the valley. This is because a 20-day Chillai Khurd (small cold) and a 10-day Chillai-Bachha (baby cold) will begin after the 40-day period.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has also taken note of the severe cold wave conditions in the valley, cancelling his forthcoming programmes in Jammu.

In a post on X, Abdullah said that he will be stationed in Srinagar for the next week to “personally monitor” the arrangements made for the harsh winter period and the functioning of electricity and other power departments.

“I do appreciate that cancelling my programmes in Jammu will cause some inconvenience to the organisers & I regret the same. However under the circumstances this is the right thing to do & I will make it up to the people/organisations whose programmes have been affected,” he added.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chillai-kalan-at-minus-8-degrees-srinagar-sees-coldest-december-night-in-50-years-delhi-shivers-too-101734847798553.html

Jaishankar was conferred the 27th SIES Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati National Eminence Award. The awards are given in four fields – Public Leadership, Community Leadership, Human endeavour, Science and Technology and Social Leadership – with primacy on spiritualism.

Asserting that New Delhi will do whatever is right in the national interest and for the global good, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that India can never permit others to have a veto on its choices. He said that India would pursue its national interest without being intimidated into conforming.
“Independence should never be confused with neutrality. We will do whatever is right in our national interest and for global good without being intimidated to conform. Bharat can never permit others to have a veto on its choices,” Jaishankar said. “For too long we were schooled to visualise progress and modernity as a rejection of our heritage and traditions,” he added.
“Bharat will inevitably progress but it must do so without losing its Bharatiyata. Only then can we truly emerge as a leading power in a multi-polar world,” the External Affairs Minister said, adding that in the age of globalisation, technology and tradition must march together.

Jaishankar said India is an exceptional nation because it is a civilisation state. Such a country will only exercise influence when it fully leverages its cultural strengths in the global arena, he said.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/cant-permit-others-to-have-veto-on-our-choices-jaishankars-big-remark-on-neutrality-article-116557952

Man Accidentally Drops iPhone In Temple Box. Why He Won’t Get It Back

In an incident that has left many surprised, a devotee accidentally dropped his mobile phone while making donation, however, the authorities have refused to return it saying that it has now become a temple property.
A devotee, at Sri Kandaswamy temple in Thiruporur, accidentally dropped his iPhone into the hundial of a temple. He wanted it back and therefore went to the temple authorities and pleaded that his iPhone which inadvertently fell into the offering box when he was making a donation be returned to him.
But the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department politely declined his request, saying it has now become temple property.

On Friday, after opening the offering box, the temple administration contacted him saying the gadget was found in the hundial and he was free to retrieve only the data from it.

However, Dinesh refused to accept and insisted that his phone be returned to him.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/devotee-accidently-drops-iphone-in-donation-box-in-tamil-nadu-temple-refuses-to-return-heres-why-article-116554541

A massive fire broke out in a building in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla on Saturday.

A massive fire broke out in a building in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla on Saturday. The blaze erupted in the Krishna Nagar of the district. The entire building also collapsed due to the fire.
After receiving the information, fire tenders reached the spot. Senior officers of the local administration also rushed to the spot. Efforts are underway to douse the flames.

The shocking accident occurred when the driver lost control of the speeding vehicle while navigating a turn. The car flipped multiple times before landing upside down in front of a car showroom, leaving onlookers in disbelief.

Five individuals miraculously walked away unscathed after their SUV flipped over eight times and overturned on Bikaner Road in Rajasthan’s Nagaur on December 20. The shocking accident occurred when the driver lost control of the speeding vehicle while navigating a turn. The car flipped multiple times before landing upside down in front of a car showroom, leaving onlookers in disbelief.

CCTV footage from the scene uploaded on X by NBT Hindi news portal captured the dramatic accident, showing the SUV flipping repeatedly before landing upside down. Flames engulfed part of the vehicle.

All Occupants Escape Unhurt

In an astonishing twist, the occupants of the vehicle emerged from the wreckage uninjured. The driver was the first to jump out, followed by the four passengers, as per reports. Rather than seeking medical assistance or addressing the damaged vehicle, the group nonchalantly walked into the nearby car showroom and asked for tea.

Inaugurating the Civil Service Meet-2024 of MP IAS Association, Yadav said Singh, despite his stellar career as RBI governor, Union finance minister and PM as well as possessing multiple educational degrees, was not aware that bank accounts can be opened with zero balance.

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Friday took a swipe at former prime minister and renowned economist Dr Manmohan Singh over zero balance bank accounts.

Inaugurating the Civil Service Meet-2024 of MP IAS Association, Yadav said Singh, despite his stellar career as RBI governor, Union finance minister and PM as well as possessing multiple educational degrees, was not aware that bank accounts can be opened with zero balance.

“But a chaiwala knew about it,” he said referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Union government’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, launched on August 28, 2014, is touted as the largest financial inclusion initiative in the world, and provides for a zero-balance account for every unbanked adult in the country. There are 53.14 crore bank accounts under PMJDY as of August 2024.

Yadav further said the legislature, judiciary and executive have different responsibilities in running the system and all have contributed their expertise to maintain democracy.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/madhya-pradesh/economist-manmohan-singh-didnt-know-about-zero-balance-accounts-but-chaiwala-did-mp-cm-mohan-yadav-3327189

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will travel to Kuwait on a two-day visit, the first by an Indian premier in more than four decades.

The last prime ministerial visit from the Indian side to Kuwait was 43 years ago. The late former premier Indira Gandhi visited Kuwait in 1981, while then vice president Hamid Ansari visited the West Asian country in 2009.

In his two-day trip, Prime Minister Modi will hold meetings with Kuwait’s top leadership.

Modi is visiting Kuwait at the invitation of the Amir, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Besides meeting the Amir, he will hold talks with the Kuwaiti Crown Prince and the prime minister. These meetings will allow the two sides to review ties in areas such as trade, investment, energy, culture and people-to-people contacts.

He will also visit a labour camp housing Indian blue-collar workers, address an Indian community event and attend the opening ceremony of the Gulf Cup football tournament.

“Today and tomorrow, I will be visiting Kuwait. This visit will deepen India’s historical linkages with Kuwait. I look forward to meeting His Highness the Amir, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of Kuwait,” Modi wrote on X before leaving for Kuwait. “This evening, I will be interacting with the Indian community and will also attend the inauguration ceremony of the Arabian Gulf Cup.”

Preparations were underway for Modi’s ‘Hala Modi’ community event which will be held at Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Sports Complex in Kuwait, news agency ANI reported.

A day ahead of the prime minister’s trip, the ministry of external affairs said Modi’s visit to Kuwait is expected to “open a new chapter” in India-Kuwait relations.

“It will not only consolidate the partnership in existing spheres but also unveil new avenues for future cooperation, reinforce our shared values and build a more stronger and dynamic partnership for the future,” Arun Kumar Chatterjee, secretary (Overseas Indian Affairs) in the ministry, said at a media briefing.

He said discussions were underway with Kuwait for a bilateral investment treaty and a defence cooperation agreement.

Chatterjee also said the visit is also expected to boost ties between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), currently chaired by Kuwait.

The GCC is an influential grouping comprising the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. The total volume of India’s trade with GCC countries stood at USD 184.46 billion in the financial year 2022-23.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-narendra-modis-kuwait-visit-from-today-to-interact-with-indian-diaspora-meet-emir-details-101734742839486.html

The Lok Sabha faced significant disruptions during the Winter Session of Parliament, with 65 hours lost in the third session alone and over 70 hours lost cumulatively across all three sessions. Beginning on November 25, the session concluded abruptly today after being adjourned sine die, following ongoing protests by Opposition MPs over a scuffle that occurred on December 19.
Before Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved a motion that the two bills concerning ‘One Nation, One Election’ be referred to a Joint Committee of the two Houses.
The motion, which had names of 27 members from the Lok Sabha, was approved amid din in the House. The committee will have 12 members from the Rajya Sabha.

This resulted in a staggering loss of over Rs 97.87 crore of taxpayers’ money due to disruptions in Lok Sabha proceedings alone. With the cost of running a Parliament session exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh per minute, the financial implications are significant.

Meanwhile, at a media briefing, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiu blamed the opposition, particularly the Congress, stating that their “persistent demonstrations was the main factor contributing to reduced productivity.”
The Lower House met on November 25 and was adjourned sine die (indefinitely) on Friday amid protests by the opposition and the treasury benches over the alleged insult to BR Ambedkar and directions by Speaker Om Birla to members against holding demonstrations at any gate of Parliament.

Among the key bills introduced during the session were two that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections. The two bills were on Friday referred to a joint committee of Parliament for examination and wider consultations.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/india/whos-responsible-lok-sabha-loses-65-hours-in-winter-session-article-116509080

A couple from Kapu village in Chhattisgarh have made headlines for their unusual gesture while getting married. Reportedly, instead of following the traditional rituals of their community, they decided to tie the knot by taking an oath on the Indian Constitution.

According to the Times of India (TOI), the couple bypassed traditional rituals like “Sath pheras” and “Band Baaja” while getting married on December 18. Their act impressed many, including people from their community.

About the couple’s unusual wedding ceremony:

According to the outlet, the bride, Pratima Lahre and the groom, Eman Lahre, decided not to participate in any customary wedding practices. They didn’t have the “mangal sutra” and the “sindoor” ceremonies.

Instead, the couple chose to vow to support each other for life by taking an oath on the Indian Constitution. They made the promise while in front of a portrait of Dr BR Ambedkar, known as the architect of the Indian Constitution.

Why take an oath on the Constitution?

The groom, Eman Lahre, revealed that it was mainly to avoid extravagant expenses. “This type of marriage saves on extravagant expenses,” he told the outlet, adding, “We decided to tie the knot with our families’ consent, avoiding unnecessary expenditure.”

How did people react?

According to the outlet, the wedding has become a topic of discussion in the region. Many were impressed with the event, calling it a “meaningful approach to marriage” and adding that others can draw inspiration from such a ceremony.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/chhattisgarh-couple-marries-by-taking-an-oath-on-indian-constitution-instead-of-saat-pheras-report-101734748454480.html

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested two persons – R S Jain and R K Jain alias Kalia – who are alleged to be a member of a gold smuggling syndicate. What makes the action interesting is the fact that R S Jain was the DRI’s informant, but apparently used to double-cross the agency.

His modus operandi was to give selective intelligence, said the officials, explaining that if there was a consignment of around 12 kg of gold, he would just inform about 5 kg. In this manner, the syndicate would ingeniously route the major chunk of the contraband without being detected, the officials added.

Based on this selective intelligence, the DRI would conduct raids and seize the gold. Meanwhile, the syndicate would retain a large quantity of the precious metal and spread false information in the market, claiming that the entire consignment had been confiscated.

According to the officials, Jain got exposed in August when the DRI caught two women with 22.89 kg gold worth Rs16.91 crore. Investigation revealed that Jain was the husband of one of the women, who was part of the syndicate. Upon digging deeper, the officials said they came to know about their strategy, which they used to route the smuggled gold, while easily keeping the DRI in the dark.

“Jain finally disclosed that the syndicate would initially collect smuggled foreign-origin gold from various individuals in the market, typically amassing around 20 kg for sale to prospective buyers. However, he would deliberately share information that pertained to only 4-5 kg gold,” said the DRI. Even the buyers would not make a noise when they didn’t get the consignment, fearing legal action due to the shady nature of the deals. Hence, it was a win-win situation for the syndicate.

Explaining how Jain double-crossed the DRI, the official sources shared a particular raid conducted in February. Based on his tip-off that gold smuggled into India by foreign nationals was being processed at a melting facility located at Zaveri Bazaar, a raid was conducted on February 5. During the search, 4.5 kg gold jewellery and melted gold bars worth Rs2.81 crore along with Rs80 lakh were seized. The melting facility operator had told the officials that gold and the currency belonged to some foreign women and that he was just melting the jewellery for them. After melting the gold, the plan was to sell the foreign-origin gold in the local market.

During Jain’s recent interrogation, it came to the fore that during the February raid, the syndicate had set aside 12-14 kg smuggled gold and gave the tip-off about just 4 kg of gold, said the sources. Based on these new facts, the DRI has re-initiated investigation into the case.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/gold-smuggling-syndicate-informant-who-double-crossed-nabbed-says-dri

As many as 12 people have been killed and 35 injured in a massive fire accident that took place on Jaipur Ajmer highway when a tanker filled with LPG collided with a truck and exploded on Friday morning.

As per official the tanker filled with LPG was coming from Ajmer to Jaipur. At around 5.30 in the morning, while taking a U-turn, a truck coming from Jaipur collided with the tanker, triggering a massive fireball that turned the stretch on the highway into an inferno. The fire engulfed over 37 vehicles, including a sleeper bus coming from Udaipur to Jaipur with 34 passengers on board.

Jaipur Police Commissioner, Biju George Joseph, said that an outlet nozzle of the LPG tanker was damaged in the collision, leading to a gas leak that caused the blaze. Vehicles behind the tanker were engulfed in flames while vehicles coming from the opposite directions also caught fire.

The sleeper bus running behind the tanker had 34 passengers on board and, as per information, 20 of them suffered burn injuries. The bus left Udaipur at 9 pm on Thursday night. The bus was to reach Jaipur at around 6.30 am, but met with the accident before reaching the destination.

The gas spreading rapidly in the air made the accident horrifying. People living nearby said that many people were seen trying to take off their burning clothes. Mohan Lal, a family member of one of the injured, said that many people became unconscious due to the gas. The fire was so severe that we turned away. What happened on the spot was not known. Hundreds of birds are lying burnt within a radius of about 400 meters from the accident site.

The accident could turn into a massive one as there is a crude oil pipeline, a school, and one petrol pump near the accident site, but fortunately all are safe.

After the incident, police rushed the injured people to Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital for treatment in more than 25 ambulances.

Dr. Deepak Maheshwari, Principal of SMS medical college said, “11 people have died. Five were brought dead to SMS hospital. Five succumbed during treatment. One death was reported from Jaipuria hospital. Seven people are on ventilator support,”

Officials at the spot indicated that the casualty count may go up. Police suspect some people could not get out of their vehicles in time and got burnt.

The crash affected a nearly 300-metre stretch of the highway, leading to a long queue of vehicles, as Jaipur – Ajmer highway is the busiest road connecting many big cities. The traffic congestion grew rapidly with time and by the afternoon, choked the arterial road and traffic had to be diverted to alternative routes. It took more than 12 hours to clear the highway for traffic.

37 vehicles were damaged in the incident. The vehicles included several trailers, trucks and containers, 2 buses, as many pickups and bikes, one auto rickshaw and 7 cars.

The Rajasthan government announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and his predecessor Ashok Gehlot expressed grief over the loss of lives in the crash.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/rajasthan-tragedy-8-killed-35-injured-40-vehicles-charred-as-lpg-tanker-explodes-on-jaipurajmer-highway-visuals-surface

Around 52 kg of gold and bundles of money were recovered in an abandoned car in Mendori, Madhya Pradesh. The value of the gold is being told to be around 42 crores while 10 crores cash has also been seized.
The car was discovered in Mendori in Ratibad area by the Bhopal Police and Income Tax department.
The officials from the Police and Income Tax department are yet to ascertain who left the money and car in the area.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/india/52-kg-gold-worth-42-crores-10-crore-cash-found-in-abandoned-car-in-madhya-pradesh-jungle-article-116496957 

It is not unusual for couples to argue over naming their baby, but it rarely ends up in court.

But a couple from India’s southern state of Karnataka found themselves needing the courts to intervene following a three year fight over their son’s name.

In fact, the fight had got so nasty the couple were seeking a divorce.

It all began back in 2021, when the woman – who has not been named – gave birth to a boy and went to her parents’ home for a few weeks. It is common for women in India to move to their parents’ house after having a child to rest and recover.

Normally, the husband would come to bring both the mother and the baby back to their home.

But when the then-21-year-old woman refused to accept the name her husband had chosen for their son, he was upset – and never went to bring her back.

Instead, she chose the name Adi for her child – made up of the first letter of her name, and part of her husband’s, according to Hunsur’s assistant public prosecutor Sowmya MN.

Months turned into years and the woman, who was still at her parents’ house, approached the local court in Hunsur town of the state’s Mysuru district seeking financial support from her husband.

Her lawyer MR Harish told BBC Hindi that the the dispute had now escalated to the point where she was seeking a divorce.

“She wanted maintenance money as she is a home-maker,” he said.

The case was initially filed in a local court but later transferred to the People’s court, also known as the Lok Adalat, which handle cases which can be solved through mediation.

Despite multiple suggestions from judges, the couple remained firm – until they finally agreed on a name chosen by the court.

The child is now named Aryavardhana, Ms Sowmya says, which means “of nobility”.

The couple then exchanged garlands, a symbol of acceptance as per Indian tradition, and apparently left happily to continue their marriage.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2nxdv4jv3o

The defence relationship between India and the United States is accelerating and advancing in terrific and exciting ways, the Pentagon has said amidst the transition from the Joe Biden administration to that of President-elect Donald Trump.
“The US-India defence relationship stands on its own. It is accelerating and advancing in terrific and exciting ways, both as it relates to defence industrial base cooperation as well as operational cooperation across the services,” Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, told reporters at a news conference here.

“It (the India-US defence ties) is a continuing growth area, even as the India-China relationship waxes and wanes,” Ratner said in response to a question.

India has been accorded the status of Major Defence Partnership by the United States. Biden administration officials have described the defence ties as one of the key pillars of this relationship.

This fall, India concluded an agreement with the US for the procurement of 31 General Atomics MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) remotely-piloted aircraft and their associated equipment, which will enhance the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s armed forces across all domains.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-us-defence-ties-advancing-in-exciting-ways-pentagon-7290116

The Mi-17V5 crash in which India’s first chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat was killed along with 13 others three years ago took place because of human error, according to data published in the latest report of the Parliamentary standing committee on defence.

To be sure, the Indian Air Force revealed in January 2022 that the crash took place due to spatial disorientation of the pilot in bad weather, then its first official statement on the accident. The IAF probe ruled out negligence, mechanical failure, or sabotage as possible causes of the accident. The panel’s report, tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, listed out reasons for 34 air crashes during 2017-22. These included human error (aircrew), human error (servicing), technical defect, foreign object damage and bird hit. Some accidents are still under investigation.

The report said human error (aircrew) caused the Mi-17 crash on December 8, 2021. The Russian-origin helicopter, considered extremely safe and reliable, was fully serviceable when it crashed near Coonoor. The low-flying helicopter flew into cloud cover seconds before it went down in a fireball, barely seven minutes before it was scheduled to land in Wellington. The helicopter took off from the Sulur air base at 11.48am and was scheduled to land at the helipad at the Wellington golf course at 12.15pm. The air traffic control at Sulur, however, lost contact with the helicopter at 12.08pm, 20 minutes after it took off.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/human-error-caused-chopper-crash-that-killed-cds-gen-bipin-rawat-parl-panel-report-101734646035440.html

Mumbai’s Colaba Police have written to the Indian Navy and the Maharashtra Maritime Board, seeking detailed information about the accident in the Arabian Sea between a ferry and a naval boat that killed 14.
Earlier this week, an Indian Navy boat conducting trial lost control and crashed into a ferry boat on its way to Elephanta island, claiming 14 lives and injuring several others. The police asked why the trial was being conducted on such a busy maritime route and also sought to know who gave permission for the same. Police sources say the protocols in place for the trial are also being investigated.

Under investigation is also the claim that the naval boat had a throttle problem, which caused it to lose control and crash into the passenger boat.

Further, the probe is checking if the ferry boat had seated more passengers than capacity.

The Navy on Thursday instituted a Board of Inquiry to probe the collision. Meanwhile, authorities made life jackets mandatory for all people taking boat rides from the Gateway of India.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/mumbai-news/who-gave-permit-for-trial-run-cops-ask-navy-in-mumbai-boat-tragedy-7290342

Seven people died and over 35 others were injured after a truck carrying chemical collided with other trucks and caught fire in front of a petrol pump on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway on Friday morning, police said. The incident that took place Bhankrota area resulted in dozens of vehicles catching fire.

According to preliminary information, the truck that hit the other vehicles was loaded with a chemical. Videos taken from a distance of the accident site showed thick plumes of smoke arising from the vehicles that caught fire.

Some people sustained burn injuries in the incident, police said.

“The fire engulfed several trucks. The number of trucks involved in the incident is not clear. Some people with burn injuries have been rushed to hospitals in ambulances,” PTI quoted Station House Officer (SHO), Bhankrota, Manish Gupta, as saying.

A nearly 300-metre stretch of the highway was affected by the accident, leading to traffic movement getting stopped and a long queue of vehicles. Meanwhile, a traffic corridor was opened to transport the injured people to the SMS Hospital.

Jaipur District Magistrate Jitendra Soni said around 40 vehicles caught fire in the incident, adding that most of the blaze was under control.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Bhankrota Manish Gupta said, “It was very difficult to control the fire. Fire brigade teams were not able to reach the burning vehicles. There were three petrol pumps in the affected area but fortunately, they are safe.”

More than 25 ambulances reached the spot and shifted the victims to the hospital.

Shah speaks to Rajasthan CM

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma was seen at the hospital where the injured have been admitted. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke with Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma to get information about the fire incident.

“Around 24-25 people have been admitted to the ICU. More people are coming. Many people have been injured in the incident. It is a severe accident…,” SMS Medical College Principal, Dr Deepak Maheshwari said.

Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma said in a post on X, “I am deeply saddened to hear the sad news of casualties of citizens in the gas tanker fire incident on Jaipur-Ajmer National Highway. As soon as the information about the incident was received, I went to SMS Hospital and directed the doctors to provide immediate necessary medical facilities and take proper care of the injured. Rescue work by the administration is continuing. The local administration and emergency services are working with full readiness.”

“I pray to God to grant the departed souls a place in his supreme abode, give the bereaved families strength to bear this immense loss and provide speedy recovery to the injured,” the post added.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/jaipur-petrol-pump-blast-massive-fire-ajmer-highway-after-collision-trucks-deaths-injured-101734662367557.html

The government is examining if there were any calculation mistakes in the compilation of the gold imports data in November, as the sharp surge pushed the trade deficit to a record last month, an official said on Wednesday.
The rupee also hit an all-time low of 84.91 against the US Dollar on December 16.
The jump in gold imports pushed the country’s trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) to a record USD 37.84 billion in November.

“On noticing unusual surge, DGCIS (Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics) has taken up detailed examination of the gold import data and reconciliation would be done with the data received by CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs),” the official said.

Kolkata-based Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), under the Ministry of Commerce, is an organisation for the collection, compilation and dissemination of India’s trade statistics and commercial information.
The country’s gold imports in November reached a record high of USD 14.86 billion, registering a four-fold increase, mainly on account of festival and wedding demands.
Gold imports stood at USD 3.44 billion in November 2023.
Cumulatively, imports during April-November this fiscal rose 49 per cent to USD 49 billion against USD 32.93 billion a year ago.
According to the ministry, gold, with about 25 per cent average annual return, is one of the best-performing assets in 2024 (till November), and high imports indicate strong investor confidence in the precious metal as a safe asset.
The other reasons include asset diversification towards gold due to global uncertainties, increasing demand from banks, and cuts in customs duties.
Prices of the yellow metal have increased 23 per cent so far this year to Rs 78,350 per 10 gm in the national capital.
In the Budget, the government slashed the duty from 15 per cent to 6 per cent.
India’s gold imports, which have a bearing on the country’s current account deficit (CAD), surged 30 per cent to USD 45.54 billion in 2023-24.
Switzerland is the largest source of gold imports, with about 40 per cent share, followed by the UAE (over 16 per cent) and South Africa (about 10 per cent).
The precious metal accounts for over 5 per cent of the country’s total imports.
India is the world’s second-biggest gold consumer after China. It imports about 800-900 tonnes annually.
The imports mainly take care of the demand by the jewellery industry.
Gems and jewellery exports last month declined 25.32 per cent year-on-year to USD 17.43 billion.
The country’s CAD widened marginally to USD 9.7 billion, or 1.1 per cent of the GDP, in April-June 2024 against USD 8.9 billion, or 1 per cent, in the year-ago period.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/economy/record-gold-imports-or-counting-error-govt-examining-data-for-any-calculation-error-article-116487412

A man has died in western Congo with symptoms of hemorrhagic fever, leading officials to suspect that a still-unidentified virus may be involved alongside malaria in a mysterious outbreak that killed over 100 people, according to health authorities.
Last week authorities in Congo said they suspected malaria in the disease outbreak, signs of which are just like the flu, as more than four out of five patients have tested for the vector-borne disease. However, the new fatality due to hemorrhagic fever, which is not associated with parasite-caused malaria, could indicate another virus alongside as well.
Hemorrhagic fevers are a group of illnesses caused by viruses that damage your blood vessels and can cause severe bleeding. Some fever viruses also lead to symptoms like body aches and fatigue—like Ebola, dengue, Marburg, and yellow fever. According to experts, these viruses are most common in parts of Africa, Asia, and South America.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered authorities in Delhi to undertake a census of the trees and further said that the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) must be consulted by the Tree authority before allowing felling of 50 or more trees [MC Mehta v. Union of India].

A Division Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih directed the Forest Department in Delhi to involve the Forest Research Institute (FRI) for the census.

Further, the Court ordered that assistance of three experts – retired IFS officers Ishwar Singh and Sunil Limaye and tree expert Pradeep Singh – be taken in the process.

“All of them will act as a team to carry out tree census. The infrastructure shall be provided by Government of India as per requisition made by Tree authority,” the Court ordered.

The Court was dealing with a plea which, among other prayers, called for seeking the court’s permission before trees are felled in areas covered by the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994.

Earlier, it had directed the tree authority to apprise it about the functioning of its members and the procedure they follow for felling trees.

Today, the Court also ordered that whenever tree officers grant permission for felling of 50 or more trees, the tree officer shall immediately forward the entire documents to CEC.

“On receipt of documents, it will be open for CEC to call upon tree officer to get additional documents EC will consider the application and all other aspect and will decide whether permission deserves to be granted or be granted with some terms and conditions. We make it clear that while granting permission to felling of 50 or more trees, unless the thing is exceptional, the condition should be imposed as to planting of trees else permission for felling should not be proceed,” the Court ordered.

CEC shall be empowered to reject the application or partly allow it or modify the reasons of permission by tree officer, the Court added.

“While granting permission, the tree officer shall incorporate a clause that appropriate order has to be passed by CEC first and then tree officer will supply copy of the order to concerned applicant,” the Court further said.

Meanwhile, it also issued passed a major direction with regard to Section 9(4) of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994.

The provision states that there shall be a deemed permission for tree cutting in case the tree officer does not communicate his decision within 60 days.

“Our attention is invited to Section 9(4) which introduced a deeming fiction. We direct tree officers to ensure that decision on every application is taken within 60 days as under Section 9(3). We also direct that as soon as application is received under Section 9, the copies of the application should be immediately given to CEC by tree officer. We direct that no one shall act upon deemed permission under section 9(4) without the permission of court,” the Bench ordered.

Further, the Court directed that tree officers will inform every applicant that even if permission is granted by them, the same cannot be proceeded with unless vetted by CEC.

The Court today also observed that the basic function of tree authority is to preserve and save trees. Therefore, only in case of exceptional situation, permission can be granted for felling of trees.

“Firstly the tree officer has to apply its mind and go to the site where trees are felled a d adjudge whether it is necessarily required or not. Tree officer cannot mechanically pass compensatory afforestation order, he has to identify which category tree are to be planted for that land. While doing so, the tree officer shall consider whether by pruning or by some other method trees could be saved,” it added.

Source : https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/supreme-court-orders-tree-census-delhi-no-felling-more-than-50-trees-without-cec-permission

A UP man who visited a police station in Jhansi allegedly to seek justice got repeatedly slapped by the Station House Officer (SHO) identified as Sudhakar Kashyap. A disturbing video showed the cop beating up the man vigorously. It recorded the moment when Kashyap fired 31 slaps at the man in 41 seconds.

The footage, believed to have been filmed by the man himself, showed the cop angrily charging violence at the man without even listening the reason behind his visit to the police station.

The problem that brought the man to the police station was not reported, but it was learned that his visit left him beaten up.

Kashyap was caught on camera continuously slapping the man. The man was shocked on being slapped by the SHO without a valid reason. “Aap hume maar kaahe rahe hai? (Why are you beating me)”, the man kept asking in the now-viral video.

SHO suspended

After the video of the incident circulated on social media, action was taken against the Jhansi cop. He was reportedly suspended for slapping the man who came to the police station seeking justice.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/viral/31-slaps-in-41-seconds-man-visiting-police-station-for-justice-beaten-up-by-sho-in-jhansi-viral-video-leads-to-cops-suspension

Having secured a third term, he now finds himself at the helm of a country whose economy is slowing, with a global image that’s taken a beating from criminal allegations swirling around associates, while his own political standing at home has decidedly weakened.

At the outset of 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was riding a wave of international acclaim and anticipating an election campaign that looked like such a formality he talked of a thousand-year legacy.

Now, he’s looking back at a year of setbacks — at the ballot box, on the economy, in relations with foreign partners and in India’s own backyard.

Modi’s annus horriblis leaves him on shakier ground going into 2025. Having secured a third term, he now finds himself at the helm of a country whose economy is slowing, with a global image that’s taken a beating from criminal allegations swirling around associates, while his own political standing at home has decidedly weakened.

“It’s been a rockier year than expected,” said Rick Rossow, a senior adviser and South Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Although Modi fared better than some democratic leaders worldwide, he got “dinged” this year, said Rossow, with the result that his “star has dimmed somewhat.”

An early test of his control is looming with the election expected in January of a new president for his Bharatiya Janata Party, who will wield influence over the political direction of his Hindu nationalist movement, and that of the world’s most populous nation.

Then there’s the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House the same month vowing tariffs on rivals and allies alike. Many in the Modi government are indeed hopeful of warmer US ties, having always preferred Trump’s transactional approach to bilateral relations than the Biden administration’s more rules-based stance, seeing the latter as prone to hectoring.

At the same time, India ran a trade surplus of some $40 billion with the US last year which risks putting it in Trump’s sights.

‘Ripe Target’

“Because India has a lot of protectionist policies, it’s a ripe target for President Trump,” said Rossow.

That’s a political problem in the making for Modi, 74, and for his continued hold over India’s business community, which has been among his strongest supporters.

India’s financial markets are already losing some of their shine amid the economic uncertainty. Global funds have pulled about $10 billion from local shares since the end of September, set for the biggest quarterly outflow since mid-2022. Bond outflows have also accelerated. The rupee has hit a series of record lows against the dollar in recent weeks.

Immediate challenges have emerged among India’s neighbors, where political developments moved against New Delhi.

Bangladesh — arguably India’s closest regional ally — has become a significant new concern after street protesters overthrew Modi ally Sheikh Hasina.

In the Maldives, a pro-China candidate and his party are dominant.

In Sri Lanka, where India also vies with China for influence, voters sided with an outsider skeptical of both powers.

At home, violence is on the rise in Jammu and Kashmir, the restive region that Modi brought under his government’s direct control by scrapping its autonomy.

The outlook seemed so much more benign 12 months ago as the prime minister looked ahead to a year of personal political triumph and global ascendancy for India.

He came into 2024 off the back of hosting a successful Group of 20 summit in New Delhi. Up ahead loomed an election that pollsters said was on track to deliver his BJP a landslide victory — and cement his place as India’s most popular leader in decades.

Hindu Temple

He began what looked to be an auspicious period with the inauguration of a huge temple whose construction on the grounds of a demolished mosque in Ayodhya marked the capstone of his Hindu nationalist movement.

“A thousand years from today, people will talk about this date, this moment,” Modi declared in a speech from the temple grounds, as celebrations erupted across India and a national holiday was declared.

Future historians may instead regard it as the high-water mark of Modi’s time in office.

A few months later, India’s annual economic growth topped 8 per cent, giving his party a further boost going into the national elections that kicked off in April. Modi confidently predicted BJP gains and an expanded majority, a development allowing sweeping changes to India’s constitution.

The reality check came in June. Humbled by more prosaic concerns like high inflation and unemployment, Modi’s party lost so many seats it was forced to govern with a coalition for the first time in a decade. It reached out to regional parties in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh to do so, making the leaders in those states crucial actors in 2025 — and opening a chink in Modi’s once impenetrable political armor.

“No matter how you slice it, the BJP’s electoral disappointment was a momentum-killer for the Modi juggernaut,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute.

Party President

It’s a dynamic that will play out in the election of a BJP president that represents a test of his hold on the party. His relations are not at their best with the powerful Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Modi’s BJP: The RSS criticized the election campaign after the fact for being overly reliant on him. Some of the strongest contenders for the post have a poor working relationship with Modi’s aide Amit Shah, who himself served as BJP president for two terms and who is now minister for home affairs.

Shah was fingered in another setback on the international front. A shocking murder-for-hire program, first revealed in Canada, was at play on American soil — and, according to US authorities, directed with New Delhi’s knowledge. In October came the bombshell that Shah was under scrutiny in the spiraling allegations.

November brought another blow against a Modi ally. US prosecutors accused billionaire Gautam Adani and associates of involvement in a $250 million plot to bribe Indian government officials and lie to investors, allegations that throw the fate of India’s global infrastructure buildout from Kenya to Bhutan into question.

Above all, there’s the economy. Quarterly expansion of 5.4 per cent, the slowest pace since 2022, prompted economists to cut their growth targets. The central bank said it now expects growth of 6.6 per cent for the current fiscal year, down from 7.2 per cent, and flagged a worrying “surge” in inflation.

Incompetence Charge

Those indications of Modi’s economic trouble further emboldened the main opposition Indian National Congress party after its surprisingly strong showing in the national election.

Below-target growth “robs millions of the opportunity to better their lives or break out of poverty,” said senior Congress member Rajeev Gowda. “It demonstrates the extraordinary incompetence of the government.”

Gowda further cited the negative impact of the allegations against Adani, saying that it’s likely to deter investors.

“The opposition wants the government to explain its economic failures and why exemplary action has not been taken to address concerns of cronyism,” he said.

It may all be relative: India remains one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies despite the slowdown.

While Trump called out India on the campaign trail, referring to it as the “biggest charger” of duties on Harley-Davidson Inc. motorcycles and other goods, Indian officials believe his transactional approach will give Modi room to negotiate. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that Modi’s was among the first calls Trump took after his election victory.

What’s more, there’s a chance for Modi to build personal rapport with Trump, with Indian officials expecting a Trump visit during the second half of 2025 for a summit of countries in the Quad military partnership, comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia.

The Indian leader may also be able to burnish his international credentials. After meeting with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia in October, Indian officials expect Modi to travel to China next year for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Any further breakthrough with China on the mutual dispute in the Himalayas would mark an undeniable success in mending fences with India’s biggest rival.

At home, the loosely cobbled together opposition coalition led by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress is engaged in a bitter power struggle with regional political leaders who want a change in leadership of the alliance barely six months after its show of unity hurt the BJP.

Modi must still navigate a more treacherous political landscape, keeping his coalition intact while finding new causes to mobilize voters. Upcoming elections in the eastern state of Bihar and in the national capital region of Delhi will provide a further test.

His spell over the BJP may have been broken but he remains its biggest asset, and he restored some of his brand with twin victories in two recent state votes.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/modis-year-of-setbacks-leaves-india-vulnerable-in-perilous-2025-3324179

The passenger ferry had set sail at 3:15 pm and the mid-sea crash took place at 3:55 pm.

Thirteen people, including an officer of the Indian Navy and two contractual naval employees, were killed when a naval speedboat which was carrying out engine trials dashed against a passenger ferry, Neel Kamal, carrying over 100 passengers from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, on Wednesday afternoon. The boat capsized at Butcher island, also called Jawahar Dweep, 8.25 kilometers from the Gateway of India.

The passenger ferry had set sail at 3:15 pm and the mid-sea crash took place at 3:55 pm. Neel Kamal was carrying many people from out of town, some of who were visiting the city for the first time.

At 4 pm, personnel from a pilot vessel of the Jawaharlal Nehru Authority (JNPA), which was near the accident site, started rescue operations and saved 56 passengers. Soon after, a few private vessels collaborated in the operation and were eventually joined by Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Police.

What the Navy says

A statement issued by Navy said: “At about 1600 hours on December 18, 2024, a Navy craft (speedboat) undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry, Neel Kamal, off Butcher Island. Four naval helicopters, 11 naval crafts (vessels), three Coast Guard boats and an equal number of Marine Police boats were involved in the rescue efforts.”

Primary investigation by the Navy has shown that the engine of the Naval vessel had malfunctioned, HT has learnt from people in the know. The Navy will also investigate if the engines were of inferior quality. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Indian Navy have ordered two separate inquiries into the accident.

Soon after the incident, a message was sent to the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) of the Indian Navy and four helicopters were sent to search the missing. Vice Admiral Sanjay Singh who heads the Western Naval Command, and chief of staff Ajay Kocchar went to the JOC to supervise the rescue operations.

The Navy has been plagued by many accidents over the last one year. Recently, a submarine Karanj rammed into a fishing boat off Goa, killing two fishermen. Prior that a fire had broken out in INS Brahmaputra in the naval dockyard.

A video of the incident taken by a passenger on Neel Kamal on Wednesday showed the Naval vessel overtaking the ferry speedily from the right side, going ahead, taking a U-turn and approaching the ferry in high speed to hit it in the rear.

Unmesh Wagh, chairman of JNPA, said, “Our pilot vessel was on duty nearby; and when the captain realised there was something amiss, he deviated from the path to save people. Our pilot boat can carry up to 10 persons, but we managed to rescue 56 people and took them to JNPA hospital.”

At the end of Wednesday’s operation, officials from Colaba police station said 98 persons were rescued from the site and were taken to various hospitals. Apart from JNPA Hospital, they were taken to Karanja Hospital across the harbour, and the Navy Dockyard Hospital, Aswini Hospital and St Georges Hospital, Mumbai. Ten bodies were taken to NDK Hospital, in Mora, located across the harbour in Navi Mumbai.

Late on Wednesday night, Colaba police registered an FIR against the driver of the Naval speed boat under sections 106 (1) (causing death by negligence), 125 (a) (punishment for reckless or negligent acts that endanger personal safety or life of others), 282 (rash or negligent navigation of a vessel) and 324 (mischief) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The FIR was registered on the basis of complaints made by Natharam Chaudhary, 22, a resident of Saki Naka, who was one of the passengers in Neel Kamal, and his relative Shravan Chaudhary who filmed the crash, the video of which was widely circulated through the day.

Police said, four of the rescued are in a critical state, three of whom are being treated in JNPA Hospital and one in Aswini Hospital.

CM announces ₹5 lakh ex-gratia

CM Devendra Fadnavis said that a new engine was fitted to the naval speedboat which was being tested by Navy personnel when the mishap occurred. He added that efforts were on to determine if any individuals were still missing and that a comprehensive report from police and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) are expected on Thursday morning.

Fadnavis announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹5 lakh for families of the deceased and assured a thorough investigation by local authorities and the Navy, to uncover the cause of the collision and assess if there were any lapses in safety protocols. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced ₹2 lakh from the PM relief fund, for the families of the dead, and ₹50,000 for the injured.

Dispute over ferry’s capacity
Rajendra Padte, owner of Neel Kamal, told HT that the boat had capacity to carry 130 people and there were around 80 passengers and five crew members on board at the time of the accident. “Our boat is equipped with all safety equipment like lifejackets. When I was informed about the accident, I rushed to the spot. The video doing the rounds shows that the boat from Navy dashed into the ferry,” said Padte.

Ashok Rao, one of survivors, disputed Padte’s claim, as he said, the vessel was carrying “more than 100 people, of which around 10 to 12 were children”.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai-13-dead-as-navy-speed-boat-on-engine-trials-hits-ferry-off-elephanta-101734567517656.html

An encounter broke out earlier in the day after security forces launched a search operation in the area on Wednesday night and terrorists opened fire at them.

Five terrorists have been killed during an encounter with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Thursday, officials said, reported PTI. The area was cordoned off after the forces launched an operation at Kadder in the Behibagh area of the district on Wednesday night.
Officials said they had received inputs about the presence of suspected terrorists in the area. The search operation turned into an encounter as the terrorists opened fire on the security forces.
Hizbul Mujahideen’s longest surviving commander Farooq Ahmad Bhat alias Farooq Nali was also among one of those killed in the operation.

“Bodies of five terrorists are lying in the orchards but have not been retrieved yet,” an official added, as per PTI.

As per the latest information, the eliminated terrorists were locals. They were in the house when an initial Cordon was laid down by the 34RR of Indian Army, Special Operations Group of J&K Police.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/india/jammu-kashmir-5-terrorists-killed-kulgam-encounter-with-security-forces-2-soldiers-injured-indian-army-sources-article-116456457

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday searched multiple locations in four states in an inter-state arms trafficking case.

Searches were conducted at the premises of 15 accused/suspects at 17 locations in the states of Bihar (12 locations), Nagaland (3 locations), Haryana (1 location) and J&K (1 location). The 11 suspects whose premises were searched were linked with previously arrested and chargesheeted four accused in the case RC-11/2024/NIA/DLI.

Today’s searches led to the recovery of a .315 rifle, 11 rounds, 3 empty cartridges, digital devices including mobile phones, memory card, pen drives etc., along with raw material and equipment/tools suspected to be used in the manufacture of fire arms. A car and total cash amounting to Rs. 13,94,840 were also seized, besides other incriminating documents.

The case relates to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle and other prohibited weapons that are being smuggled from Nagaland and other North Eastern states. Bihar was being used as a transit route for further smuggling to other states, and also as a destination for the smuggled prohibited weapons.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/nia-searches-multiple-locations-across-4-states-in-weapons-trafficking-case

The Special Representatives talks in China between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began on Wednesday to discuss the restoration of bilateral ties.

China on Tuesday said it was “ready to work” with India to “bring bilateral relations back to the track of stable and healthy development as soon as possible” ahead of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, which began on Wednesday morning.

Doval met Wang on Wednesday for the Special Representative talks to discuss the restoration of bilateral ties following the October 21 agreement to disengage troops in eastern Ladakh. His visit is expected to provide a way forward for the two countries to normalise the India-China relations following the Galwan Valley clash in 2020. The talks began at 10 am (China time).

This is the first such high-level talks between the Special Representatives of India and China since December 2019. The meetings between Doval and Wang after 2019 have focused more on multilateral issues and not the resolution of border disputes.

In a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, “China is ready to work with India to implement the important common understandings between the leaders of China and India, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, strengthen mutual trust through dialogue and communication, properly settle differences with sincerity and good faith, and bring bilateral relations back to the track of stable and healthy development as soon as possible.”

Doval-Wang Meet: What’s On Agenda?

The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said Doval’s meeting with Wang on Wednesday would focus on the India-China boundary question. They both serve as Special Representatives of their respective countries.

“As agreed during the meeting of the two leaders in Kazan on 23 October 2024, the two SRs will discuss the management of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question,” the MEA said in a statement.

Constituted in 2003 to comprehensively address the vexed dispute of the India-China border spanning to 3,488 kms, the SRs mechanism over the years met 22 times. While success eluded it in resolving the boundary dispute, officials on both sides regard it as a very promising, useful and handy tool in addressing the recurring tensions between the two countries.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made a detailed statement on India-China relations in both Houses of the Parliament, where he stressed that de-escalation was the next priority. He said full disengagement has been achieved in eastern Ladakh and that India-China relations have seen “some improvements”.

Relations between India and China had been frozen since the violent Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh in 2020. After years of negotiations, the two countries reached an agreement on October 21 regarding disengagement in Demchok and Depsang areas and patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two sides also resumed patrolling activities in the two areas after a gap of almost four-and-a-half years.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/china-says-ready-to-work-with-india-to-improve-bilateral-ties-ahead-of-ajit-dovals-visit-9159882.html

One of the key accused is an employee of private firm which has contract for creating govt funded health cards issued under under PM-JAY.

In what police suspect a nationwide fraud of Ayushman Bharat health cards, the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) on Tuesday arrested eight persons on charges of making fake cards for availing undue benefits.

One of the key accused is an employee of the private firm which has the contract for creating government funded health cards issued under under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

DCB officials said that the group of accused allegedly used “government portal’s technical vulnerabilities to alter source codes and create approximately 1200–1500 fake Ayushman Bharat cards.” They said that one of the accused Nikhil Parekh is an employee of Enser Communication Pvt Ltd, which has the government’s contract for issuing these cards.

Parekh was allegedly found to have provided login credentials to the co-accused for monetary benefit of Rs 8,000–Rs 10,000 per month. An FIR has been registered for forgery, cheating and tampering with government portal, among other charges.

Accused who have been arrested are Kartik Jashubhai Patel, Chirag Hirasinh Rajput, Nimesh Dilipbhai Dodiya, Md Fazal Sheikh, Md Asfaque Sheikh, Narendra Singh Gohil, Nikhil Parekh, all residents of Ahmedabad, Imtiyaz, a resident of Bhavnagar, Rashid, a resident of Bihar and Imran Jabir Husain Karigar who is from Surat.

The DCB officials said that the documents seized from Khyati hospital and questioning of hospital staff suggest that the hospital is also involved in the alleged crime. He has named several accused who were behind the racket fraudulently issuing cards by charging anything from Rs1,500 to Rs 2,000 each.

These revelations came in the ongoing investigation into Khyati Multispecialty Hospital’s scam. The investigation started after the death of two patients following their alleged unnecessary procedure. Investigation has revealed that the hospital was involved in a systematic scam in which it used to hold medical camps and refer patients to its hospitals for treatment.

According to DCB, in the past three years, the hospital carried out medical camps in 69 villages across the state in which a total of 5,637 people were examined. The police are said to be scanning details of 3,842 beneficiaries of PM-JAY who underwent treatment at this hospital from September 1 to October 28, 2024. More than 100 patients died following the procedures.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/gujarat/8-held-in-gujarat-as-police-bust-suspected-nationwide-fraud-of-ayushman-bharat-health-cards-3321617

Home Minister Amit Shah, in his address in the Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of a two-day discussion in Rajya Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution on Tuesday, lashed out at the Congress party and said that it had become a ‘fashion’ for the party to take Ambedkar’s name.

Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on BR Ambedkar in the Parliament.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Those who believe in Manusmriti will definitely have problems with Ambedkar ji.” Home Minister Amit Shah, in his address in the Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of a two-day discussion in Rajya Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution on Tuesday, lashed out at the Congress party and said that it had become a ‘fashion’ for the party to take Ambedkar’s name.

“If they had taken the name of god so many times instead of Ambedkar then they would have got heaven for 7 lives,” he said.

Attacking the Congress party further, he pointed out that Ambedkar had to resign from the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru because of his ‘disagreement’ on the issues of SCs and STs.

“Ambedkar had to resign from the first cabinet of the country. He said that he was unhappy with the behaviour towards the SCs and STs. He disagreed with the foreign policy of the Congress and Article 370. He resigned on being ignored. They are taking the name of Ambedkar because now many people have come who believe in him. Congress is taking the name of Ambedkar for votes,” he added.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal also slammed Amit Shah and said that the Home Minister’s statements in the Rajya Sabha how much the BJP “hates” and “detests” Ambedkar.

In a post on X, KC Venugopal said, “HM Amit Shah, in case you didn’t know – Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar is equivalent to God and the Constitution he drafted is a Holy Book for crores of people across the world. How dare you speak about Dr. Ambedkar with such disdain?” “The BJP’s disgust towards Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was always well known, and the Home Minister’s pathetic statements in the Rajya Sabha today further confirm how much they hate and detest Dr. Ambedkar,” he added.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/those-who-believe-in-manusmriti-lop-rahul-gandhi-slams-hm-shah-over-remarks-on-ambedkar

The police sought Danish’s custody to investigate his higher links, trace other associates involved in the drug case, and determine the source of the drugs.

In the drug case, the L T Marg Police arrested Danish Merchant. On December 13, the court initially sent him to judicial custody. However, on December 19, Danish was again produced before the court. The court granted four days of police custody for further investigation. Police sources have revealed that Danish’s third wife is the daughter of a renowned musician. The police sought Danish’s custody to investigate his higher links, trace other associates involved in the drug case, and determine the source of the drugs.

Police have revealed that Danish owns a scrap shop in Dongri and has eight cases registered against him at the Dongri police station. The ATC of L T Marg Police arrested Danish Merchant, alias Danish Chikna Phantom (35), a close aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who reportedly managed Dawood’s drug factory in Dongri. Along with Danish, the police also arrested his accomplice Kader Gulam Sheikh, alias Kader Fanta (34), in connection with the drug case. According to Zone 2 DCP Mohit Garg, Danish Chikna was a wanted accused in this drug case.

Earlier, on November 8, 2024, the L T Marg Police arrested Mohammad Ashiqur Mohammad Sahidur Rehman (31) near Marine Lines station with 144 grams of drugs. During interrogation, Rehman revealed that he had purchased the drugs from Rehan Shakeel Ansari (23) in Dongri. Following this lead, police arrested Rehan and seized an additional 55 grams of drugs.

Upon questioning, Rehan confessed that the total 199 grams of drugs recovered had been procured from Danish Merchant and Kader Fanta, close operatives of Dawood Ibrahim. Both Danish and Kader were on the run, but after days of investigation, police received a tip-off on December 13 about their presence in Dongri. Acting on this, a police team laid a trap, searched the area, and successfully arrested both suspects, who later confessed to their involvement.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-dawood-ibrahims-aide-danish-merchant-arrested-in-drug-case-police-seek-further-leads

A new warning was issued by SEBI to HDFC Bank on Monday for a three-day delay in disclosing the resignation of senior employee Arvind Kapil and failing to explain the delay.

India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, has been slapped with a second administrative warning by the market regulator SEBI for alleged non-compliance with certain provisions of the regulator.

A new warning was issued by SEBI to HDFC Bank on Monday for a three-day delay in disclosing the resignation of senior employee Arvind Kapil and failing to explain the delay.

Last week, the market regulator had issued an administrative warning to HDFC Bank for non-compliance with multiple regulations, including provisions governing merchant bankers, capital issuance, and insider trading.

According to SEBI regulations on Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR), listed entities must inform the exchanges about any change within the company within 12 hours. However, HDFC Bank delayed this disclosure by three days.

“The above violation has been viewed seriously. You are therefore warned to be careful in the future and advised to exercise due caution to avoid the recurrence of such instances, failing which appropriate enforcement action may be initiated,” states the SEBI administrative warning letter to HDFC Bank.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/hdfc-bank-faces-second-sebi-warning-in-a-week-over-regulatory-non-compliance

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar denied claims of a blast and said all senior police officers visited the spot.

Amritsar: The sound of an explosion at the Islamabad Police Station here in the early hours of Tuesday caused panic in the area.

According to locals, the sound was heard around 3.15 am.

The Amritsar Police, however, claimed no blast occurred on the police station premises. They said a heavy object fell on the temporary police sentry post outside the police station.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/punjab/blast-heard-at-police-station-in-punjab-police-say-heavy-object-fell-on-temporary-sentry-post-3320651

ED on November 29 had conducted raids over a dozen places that are linked to Raj Kundra over the alleged pornography case.

Actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband and businessman Raj Kundra, on Tuesday, spoke to ANI over the money laundering case linked to the alleged illegal distribution of pornographic movies and Enforcement Directorate provisionally attaching his properties.

He said to the agency, “In the attachment order it is clearly written that we have no evidence of any funds going to Raj Kundra.”

ED on November 29 had conducted raids over a dozen places that are linked to Raj Kundra over the alleged pornography case.

Kundra further said,” There was a crypto king called Amit Bhardwaj, he was a respected businessman, I met him, he had to do a lot of work in bitcoin mining and I knew a friend in Israel who is a great expert in this technology. So I brought both of them together…a British citizen, I met him in Dubai and there was an Israeli party, so how is ED involved in this?”

Kundra further asserted,” We will fight all these things in the court. I was called as a witness 6 years ago and asked if you had some dealing with Amit Bhardwaj. I went there 6 times, I gave all the facts as a witness…Then in 2024 without any information, all my property was attached, I did not understand this. They called me again and asked the same thing as they asked 6 years ago, now what can we do? We will fight this in the court and we will win this…”

On the alleged pornography case, Kundra said that till date he had not been a part of any pornography or any production related to porn at all.

Kundra said, “When this allegation came to light, it was very hurtful. The reason the bail happened was because there were no facts or evidence to this. I know I have not done anything wrong.”

“As far as running an app is concerned, there was a listed company in my son’s name and we used to provide technology services. We provided technology services to my brother-in-law’s company Kenrin, in which he had launched an app running from the UK, it was bold for sure, it was made for the older audience, these were A-rated films but they were not pornographic at all…”

Over his involvement in the entire scenario he said, “As far as my involvement is concerned, it is purely been a technology provider…Let a girl come forward who says that I have met Raj Kundra or worked in any of his movies, or has Raj Kundra ever produced any movie…Media says Raj Kundra is the kingpin of all 13 apps, I am involved in the participation of software technology only and nothing wrong was being run in that app…”

Kundra felt that all of this was done by someone to malign his name and it was nothing but vendetta.

He said, “There must be someone behind this, definitely…When you do business in this country, naturally you make friends as well as enemies. I had an issue with a business rival and when I was in police custody, people would come in the middle of the night and tell me why did you get involved with him, then I understood that the message that was coming was vendetta and a known enemy tried to make this whole game and slowly things got revealed and I got a lot of information.”

Raj Kundra also wrote to the CBI and gave them names of all the people that he felt were against him.

He said, “I wrote to CBI and gave names which I felt were against me and I hope an inquiry is opened and they can see clearly this was nothing but vendetta to spoil my name…”

The businessman further assenting that his wife Shilpa Shetty’s name should not be dragged to any of these controversies said, “Shilpa Shetty has earned such a big name for herself here, she has worked so hard, it is so unfair that the controversy is mine and you are involving my wife’s name, why because you get a clickbait, if you put the name of Shilpa Shetty’s husband then you will get more views, that thing will go viral, you are spoiling the reputation of the other person. She has nothing to do with anything, why are you spoiling her reputation by involving her name?”

He then said, “I am just her husband you can come on me. I have been here for 15 years, from an IPL team owner to a businessman, I have made a lot of investments in India, so I don’t think I am not known. It is wrong to spoil someone’s reputation like this. You can say anything about me but not don’t get on to my family…”

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/shilpa-shettys-husband-raj-kundra-claims-he-was-never-part-of-pornography-opens-up-about-ed-attachment-order-3320652

The Special Representatives mechanism was created in 2003 to explore the “framework of a boundary settlement”.

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval is expected to visit China in the coming weeks to take forward discussions on addressing the long-standing border dispute following disengagement of forces on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), people familiar with the matter said.

The two sides are working to firm up dates for the visit and the NSA could visit Beijing for talks under the mechanism of Special Representatives on the border issue by the end the year or early in January, the people said on condition of anonymity.

Doval’s counterpart in the Special Representatives mechanism is Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. Doval and Wang last met on the margins of a multilateral meeting in the Russian city of St Petersburg on September 12, when the two sides were firming up the arrangements that led to the understanding on October 21 on disengagement of frontline forces at the two “friction points” of Demchok and Depsang.

The upcoming meeting between the Special Representatives will follow meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the Brics Summit in Kazan on October 23, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and foreign minister Wang Yi on the margins of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18, and defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers-Plus meeting in Vientiane on November 20.

Modi and Xi had decided during their meeting to revive several mechanisms, including meetings of the Special Representatives, to address the border issue and normalise bilateral relations. Since then, the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs met in New Delhi on December 5 and agreed on maintaining peace and tranquillity on the disputed frontier in line with bilateral agreements and protocols.

The Special Representatives mechanism was created in 2003 to explore the “framework of a boundary settlement”. Since then, 22 formal rounds of talks have been held under the mechanism, the last being in 2019. During the military standoff on the LAC that began in April-May 2020, the Special Representatives held talks several times to find ways to end the face-off.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nsa-ajit-doval-to-visit-china-for-talks-under-special-representatives-mechanism-101734330463921.html

A ride booking left a Gurugram resident in shivers, making them run back to their home to safety on a Saturday morning.

A ride booking left a Gurugram resident in shivers, making them run back to their home to safety on a Saturday morning. Reddit user kushpyro1 shared their experience of booking a ride in Gurugram (erstwhile Gurgaon) and receiving a frightening message from an Uber driver on r/Gurgaon. When the resident booked a ride to go to a railway station, they received a weird message from the rider – “I want to kidnap you”.
“I am shivering while I am actually writing this right now. I have a train in 1 hour and God knows if I will reach there on time,” wrote the user as they narrated their harrowing experience.

The user reportedly booked a Priority Sedan Cab to go to Anand Vihar Terminal. They texted the driver and put their phone in their pockets to bring their luggage downstairs, preparing to leave.

“When he was about to arrive, I thought to myself to check the OTP once and flashed open my Uber Chat where driver sent me a bizarre message.”

A screenshot of a chat shared with the post shows the five messages the passenger and driver exchanged. The rider’s last message reads, “I want to go to kidnap you happily.”

The rider’s quick-wittedness came in handy. They took a screenshot of the chat, cancelled the ride and returned home.

I don’t know what impulse kicked into me (4am, barely any sleep and panic after reading text from a guy who is literally few seconds in front of me) but I thought to cancel the cab, when I began to cancel he immediately cancelled himself and I ran back into the house with my luggage. I happened to take a SS just a moment before it was cancelled (sic),” they wrote.

According to the Reddit post, Chandan was the assigned driver for the ride, driving Maruti Suzuki Dzire.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/i-want-to-kidnap-you-uber-drivers-frightening-behaviour-in-gurgaon-7266047

The Lok Sabha agenda said the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, popularly being referred to as the Bill on “one nation, one election”, will be introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. After its introduction, Meghwal will request Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the Bill to a Joint Committee of Parliament for wider consultations.

A constitutional amendment bill for holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously has been listed for introduction in the Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday and could be referred to a joint committee of the two Houses.

The Lok Sabha agenda said the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, popularly being referred to as the Bill on “one nation, one election”, will be introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. After its introduction, Meghwal will request Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the Bill to a Joint Committee of Parliament for wider consultations.

The minister will also introduce the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to align the elections of the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry and the NCT of Delhi.

The joint panel will be constituted on a pro-rata basis, based on the strength of MPs of various parties. As the largest party, the BJP will get the chairmanship of the committee, besides several members, a functionary said on Monday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was a member of a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind that recommended holding Lok Sabha, state assembly and local body elections simultaneously in a phased manner, is likely to be present in the Lower House at the time of the Bill’s introduction, the functionary said.

Last week, the Union Cabinet decided to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies but opted to leave “as of now” how local body polls will be held. Meghwal may tell the Lower House that since the Bill will need wider consultations with lawmakers and the public, it should be sent to a joint committee.

The speaker will seek the names of members for the proposed panel from the parties on the same day. If the parties do not inform the speaker about the members they wish to name for the panel, according to the rules, they may lose membership.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/one-nation-one-election-bill-to-be-introduced-in-lok-sabha-today

The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti ministry in Maharashtra saw its first expansion in Nagpur Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42.

Amid reports of some MLAs being upset after being left out of the freshly expanded Maharashtra cabinet, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday said some ministers who took oath will have a tenure of two and a half years, adding that an “opportunity to others” will be given for the remainder tenure.

The 10-day-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra saw its first expansion in Nagpur on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42.

In the expansion, the BJP got 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Among the prominent leaders left out of the ministry include NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil and BJP’s Sudhir Mungantiwar.

While 33 legislators were sworn in as cabinet ministers, six took oath as ministers of state.

The council of ministers in Maharashtra can have a maximum of 43 members, including the chief minister.

“We will give an opportunity to others also for two-and-a-half years,” Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday said, while addressing a gathering of his party workers in Nagpur hours before the cabinet expansion.

Everybody wants to become a minister and deserves an opportunity, but the ministerial berths are limited, Pawar added.

Some MLAs upset after Cabinet expansion
The Cabinet expansion in Maharashtra has reportedly left some MLAs miffed after they were not picked for the post of ministers. After his Republican Party of India (A) failed to secure a ministerial birth in the Mahayuti cabinet expansion, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday expressed disappointment and said the party was promised to be allocated at least one ministry.

“Republican Party of India (A) performed well in the Vidhan Sabha elections. We held meetings with Devendra Fadnavis, and he promised to allocate at least one ministry to us. However, in this expansion, there is no representation from RPI(A). We demand at least one ministry in the Cabinet,” Athawale told news agency ANI.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maharashtra-cabinet-expansion-upset-mlas-govts-reassurance-cms-audit-plan-101734307670372.html

Dissanayake was received by Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan, a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Tamil Nadu, after he landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

New Delhi: With the Adani Group’s projects in Sri Lanka under focus, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the neighbouring island nation arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for his first state visit to India after taking over the helm of the government in Colombo on September 23 this year.

Dissanayake was received by Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan, a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Tamil Nadu, after he landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with him on Monday when New Delhi will once again nudge Colombo to fully and effectively implement the 13th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka to ensure the devolution of power to the local governments in its Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern Provinces of the island nation.

The 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution has its roots in the agreement that New Delhi had in July 1987 signed with Colombo to protect the interests of the minority Tamils of the Indian Ocean nation. Dissanayake’s party Janatha Vimukhti Peramuna (JVP), known for its leftist nationalist ideology, opposed the agreement between Sri Lanka and India and had burnt its copies in the past.

The JVP and some other organisations floated the coalition National People’s Power in 2019. Dissanayake led the NPP in the presidential elections in Sri Lanka this year.

Though New Delhi’s support to Sri Lanka during the financial crisis helped it win back the space it had lost to Beijing in the Indian Ocean nation, India was worried about the course of the bilateral relations after Dissanayake took over the helm in Colombo.

He, however, chose New Delhi as his first foreign destination after taking over as the president of Sri Lanka.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also called on the Sri Lankan president in New Delhi on Sunday.

“Our conversations focused on strengthening Indo-Sri Lanka economic cooperation, enhancing investment opportunities, fostering regional security, and advancing key sectors such as tourism and energy. These engagements reaffirm the commitment to deepening the partnership between our two nations,” Dissanayake posted on X, after meeting Sitharaman, Jaishankar and Doval.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/sri-lankan-president-dissanayake-arrives-in-new-delhi-amid-focus-on-adanis-projects-in-island-country-3318658

In the last two decades or so, there has been a ‘very intense globalisation’, a strong interdependence with countries, Jaishankar said, adding that, ‘in a way the relationship, the behaviour of states towards each other have changed.’

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said there must be “a foreign policy for Viksit Bharat” as he underlined that changes in foreign policy are needed amid a changing landscape.

In his address at the launch of India’s World magazine here, he also said “when we speak about changing foreign policy, if there is talk of a post-Nehruvian construct, it should not be treated as a political attack”.

The external affairs minister said there are “four big factors” which should cause people in India to actually ask themselves as to “what are the changes which are necessary in a foreign policy”.

“One, and I happened, by coincidence, to speak about it yesterday, for many, many years, we had what someone else very pithily summed up as the ‘Nehru development model’. That was book released yesterday by Dr Arvind Panagariya,” he said.

A ‘Nehru development model’, inevitably produced a ‘Nehru foreign policy’ and “we seek to correct that abroad”, just as efforts being made to “reform” the consequences of the model at home, Jaishankar said on Saturday, in his virtual address at the launch of the book ‘The Nehru Development Model’.

In his address at the Sunday’s event, he reiterated that a ‘Nehru development model’ produced a ‘Nehru foreign policy’.

“I mean, it was obvious. And, it wasn’t just what was happening in our country, there was an international landscape in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and the 1970s which was bipolar. Then there was a unipolar landscape. And, both those landscapes have also changed,” the EAM said.

On top of it, in the last two decades or so, there has been a “very intense globalisation”, a strong interdependence with countries. “In a way the relationship, the behaviour of states towards each other have changed,” he said.

Finally, if one looks at technology, technology on foreign policy, technology on state capability, “technology on our daily existence, that too has changed”, he added.

“So, if the domestic model has changed, if the landscape has changed, if the behavioural patterns of states have changed, and if the tools of foreign policies have changed, how can foreign policy remain the same,” he argued.

“So, my point to you today is when we speak about changing foreign policy, if there is talk of a post-Nehruvian construct, it should not be treated as a political attack. I mean, it didn’t require Narendra Modi to do it, Narasimha Rao started it,” Jaishankar said.

“So, I think, we need to be grounded, we need to be realistic, we need to be practical in this country, and the foreign policy discourse within track 2, and between track 2 and track 1 will certainly improve, if we move in that direction,” the EAM said.

In his address, he also asserted that a vision for a developed India needs a foreign policy for ‘Viksit Bharat’.

“If today our aspiration at home is to become a Viksit Bharat, surely there must be a foreign policy for Viksit Bharat. And, that foreign policy in a way, I would say, we had about a decade ago suggested the need for India to start thinking about moving towards a leading power. How to be more ambitious, how to plan ahead,” the EAM said.

Now, some of it is also about positioning, a country will have in a sense, if it had the most friends, the least problems. The best relationships, the “minimal baggage”, and in that positioning the concept of ‘Vishwa Bandhu’ came up, he added.

The vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to build India as a developed nation by 2047 when it will complete 100 years as an independent nation.

In his address, the external affairs minister also touched upon the aspects of various tracks of diplomacy and the importance of their inter-dynamics.

“If we look back the last 25 years, and I grant you, I have a vested interest in that statement, but if you look back the last 25 years in this country, track 1 has been consistently ahead of track 2, when it comes to diplomacy, foreign policy and keeping up with the world,” he said.

“In fact, if you look at many of the big ideas, much of the advocacy of change, I would say, really it is interesting that track 1 has outpaced track 2. Because, I do think that this dynamic of track 1, track 2, government, think-tank, official, academic, need changes in our country,” the EAM added.

Track 1 diplomacy refers to official, government to government diplomacy while track 2 refers to unofficial contact and interaction in a diplomacy.

Jaishankar said “our public space discourse should not be theological, it should not be polemical, it should not come as a defence of the past versus a compulsion to move beyond the past”.

“So, to me a platform that signifies realism, which is contemporary, ambitious, I think it makes such a platform relevant,” he added.

The EAM said if things are going to change then that begs a different question, “do we defend, manage, advance, or do we do all of the same”.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com//india/changes-in-foreign-policy-needed-amid-changing-landscape-jaishankar-3318641

UltraTech Cement’s consignment is being shipped from Haldia port in West Bengal to Gaighat terminal in Patna, Bihar via the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, also known as National Waterways 1.

UltraTech Cement Limited, India’s largest cement and ready-mix concrete company, on Sunday said it is leveraging inland waterways to transport a large consignment of mineral gypsum via National Waterway 1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system) in a pilot project. UltraTech has become the first cement company in India to leverage National Waterway 1 for gypsum transport at scale.

“This pilot movement was flagged off by Minister of Shipping, Ports, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal at GR Jetty, Kolkata, today,” UltraTech said in a statement on Sunday, December 15.

UltraTech Cement’s consignment is being shipped from Haldia port in West Bengal to Gaighat terminal in Patna, Bihar. UltraTech’s participation in the pilot was supported by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Inland & Coastal Shipping Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), it added.

The consignment is being shipped from Haldia port in West Bengal to Gaighat terminal in Patna, Bihar, it said.

It is being transported to Pataliputra Cement Works, UltraTech’s cement grinding unit located in Patna district, Bihar.

“The use of inland waterways over roadways and railways will result in significant carbon emissions reduction. It will also help decongest roads and rail routes,” UltraTech Cement said in the statement.

UltraTech’s participation in the pilot provides a boost to the Government of India’s (GoI) efforts to promote use of inland waterways in the country. The project has been enabled by the GoI’s revised Cargo Movement policy, in line with Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, it stated.

K C Jhanwar, managing director of UltraTech Cement, said, “Emerging and innovative transport solutions are a key lever in UltraTech’s shift towards sustainable logistics practices. Through this pilot, we are proud to partner the Government of India in promoting the use of inland waterways in line with Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047. The pilot movement over National Waterway 1 underscores UltraTech’s commitment to green logistics as an enabler to realise its Net Zero goal by 2050.”

Source : https://www.news18.com/business/inland-waterways-ultratech-transports-gypsum-via-nw1-becomes-first-indian-cement-firm-to-do-so-9156909.html

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher had claimed that 17 farmers were injured in the use of tear gas and water cannons by the security forces on farmers who were marching towards Delhi.

Farmers will hold a tractor march outside Punjab on Monday, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, adding that a ‘Rail Roko’ protest in the state will be held on December 18.

Pandher announced the march hours after a ‘Jathha’ of 101 farmers was withdrawn for the day after it was blocked by the police at the Shambhu border due to security concerns.

“On December 16, a tractor march will be organised outside Punjab, and on December 18, we have called for a ‘Rail Roko’ in Punjab. We appeal to all Punjabis to participate in large numbers,” he said.

The farmers’ march towards Delhi from the Shambhu border was disrupted as the security forces used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the ‘Jathha’ of farmers. Pandher claimed that 17 farmers were injured in the incident while also claiming that several farmers were in serious condition.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/punjab-farmers-tractor-march-delhi-kooch-shambhu-border-tear-gas-rail-roko-latest-updates-9157348.html

At least ten students were admitted to hospital after they became ill due to a gas leak on the premises of a private coaching institute in Jaipur on Sunday. Among those hospitalised, two students have been admitted in ICU.

As per the preliminary information, the incident took place at Utkarsh Coaching Classes located in city’s Mahesh Nagar area on Sunday.

The incident occurred at around 6:45pm when an unusual odour began emanating in the classroom during an ongoing session. According to the reports, a suspected gas leak from the drain caused a foul odour. As the odour intensified, over 20 students present in the class experienced difficulty in breathing and severe headache.

“Ten students of the institute fainted due to a suspected gas leak from the drain. Some smoke from the kitchen on the terrace of the building had also come in,” police said as reported by PTI.

A doctor of a private hospital said that seven children were brought to the facility after they complained of difficulty in breathing. The remaining were taken elsewhere, he said. As of now, their condition of the students is reported to be stable.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/9-students-hospitalised-after-suspected-gas-leak-at-jaipur-coaching-centre-9157183.html

Atul Subhash’s wife was arrested from Gurugram days after the registration of the FIR. Atul’s family has expressed concerns about the whereabouts of the child.

Atul Subhash’s Suicide Case: Hours after Nikita Singhania, her mother, and her brother were arrested in Atul Subhash’s suicide case, the deceased techie’s family on Sunday expressed concerns about the whereabouts of Atul’s son, urging the authorities to find and hand him over to them.

Atul’s father Pawar Kumar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that his grandson returns to him safely.

This comes after Atul’s estranged wife Nikita, her mother Nisha and brother Anurag were arrested by the Bengaluru Police for abetment of suicide in connection with the techie’s suicide case which shook the entire country.

What Did Atul’s Family Say?

Atul’s father asked if his grandson was even alive stating that he did not know anything about his whereabouts.

“We don’t know where she has kept our grandson. Has he been killed or is he alive? We don’t know anything about him. I want my grandson to be with us,” he said.

He further appealed to PM Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to ensure the child’s safe return to the family.

“For a grandfather, his grandson means more than his son…The whole society, people are standing in my support,” the father said.

Atul’s Brother Expresses Concerns About Child’s Safety

Bikas Kumar, the deceased techie’s brother, expressed concerns about the safety of the child stating that he was not seen in the picture of Nikita shared by the police.

“Our biggest concern right now is that we don’t know where my nephew (Atul Subhash’s son) is. We couldn’t find him in the photograph circulated by the police. We want to know where he is,” he said.

He thanked the Karnataka Police for making arrests of Nikita, Nisha, and Anurag and said that two more arrests are pending.

“I hope they will also be arrested soon…” he said.

Notably, according to Atul’s allegations, Nikita had left home in 2021 and had taken their son along with her.

Atul Subhash Suicide Case

Atul Subhash, a native of Bihar’s Samastipur, and a techie in Bengaluru, was found dead in his apartment on Monday. A 24-page suicide note was found, with each page beginning with the phrase, “Justice is due.” A video recorded by Atul went viral on social media, sparking widespread outrage, and flagging the misuse of laws in society.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/bengaluru-techie-atul-subhash-wife-nikita-arrest-family-reaction-child-father-pm-modi-latest-updates-9156841.html

Allu Arjun has recently shared the first health update on his young fan, Sri Tej, who got injured during Pushpa 2 premiere. The actor pledged to assist with Sri Tej’s medical and family needs during this challenging time, expressing his heartfelt concern and prayers for the young fan’s swift recovery.

After being granted bail in the Sandhya Theatre Stampede Case, Allu Arjun shared his first reaction. Taking to social media, he provided an update on the fan who was injured during the premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule. He expressed his concern, stating that while legal constraints prevent him from visiting the young fan, Sri Tej, he wishes him a swift and full recovery.

Many banks are offering attractive interest rates on fixed deposits (FDs) for senior citizens, with rates going above 8 per cent. If you are a senior citizen looking for higher returns on your FD investments, you can consider these banks. However, it is advisable to check the interest rate list of the banks before making your investment.

Fixed deposits (FDs) continue to be a popular and safe investment choice for many, particularly because they are free from the volatility of the stock market. FDs provide investors with fixed interest rates and assured returns, making them an ideal option for those who prefer low-risk investments. Among these investors, senior citizens often find FDs especially attractive, thanks to the additional benefits they offer.
Several banks in India are currently offering competitive interest rates on FDs. Senior citizens, in particular, enjoy higher interest rates compared to regular investors. This makes FDs a favored choice for those above 60 years of age. Presently, some banks are offering interest rates of over 8 per cent on three-year FDs for senior citizens.

Tax Benefits On FD Investment

Apart from attractive returns, senior citizens also enjoy tax benefits on FD investments. Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, they can claim a deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on FDs with a lock-in period of five years. This dual benefit of higher returns and tax savings makes FDs an even more appealing investment for senior citizens.

Several banks are offering high-interest rates on three-year FDs for senior citizens, including both private and public sector banks.

Axis Bank FD Rates 2024

For instance, Axis Bank is offering an annual interest rate of 7.6 per cent for senior citizens. A deposit of Rs 1 lakh in Axis Bank for three years will grow to Rs 1,25,340.

Bandhan Bank FD Rates 2024

Bandhan Bank, another private sector bank, offers a slightly higher annual interest rate of 7.75 per cent. With this rate, a Rs 1 lakh FD will increase to Rs 1,25,895 after three years.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/personal-finance/senior-citizens-earn-big-on-fds-check-how-rs-1-lakh-grows-in-3-years-article-116338589

Supreme Court will Monday hear a PIL filed by Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA) seeking ‘pan India safety guidelines, reforms and measures for protection of women’ and among the demands are castration of all those convicted for sexual offences
Contending that easy access to porn has a direct link with spurt in sexual offences across the country, SCWLA called for a complete ban on online pornography and unfiltered obscenity on OTT platforms.
“The heart-wrenching incident of gangrape-cum-murder of a 31 year old trainee doctor in Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College has shaken the collective conscience of the country to the core and shows that nothing has improved since 2012 Nirbhaya case”, says the PIL filed by SCWLA General Secretary Prernaa Singh and settled by Senior Advocate and SCWLA President Mahalakshmi Pavani.

The PIL will be heard by a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan
“SCWLA seeks indulgence of the court for the issuance of Pan India safety Guidelines,Reforms and Measures fo r protection of women”, it says.
SCWLA also demands chemical castration as a punishment to all convicts for sexual offences against women and children, permanent castration for convicts sentenced to life imprisonment and death penalty”, it said.

The PIL also seeks making installation of CCTVs mandatory in every workplace,Complete ban on unrestricted free online pornography, Fast track trial of all cases pertaining to rape and sexual harassment of women, says MPs/MLAs accused of crimes against women should not be allowed to contest elections until an acquittal order is passed
“We are deeply shocked, traumatized, agonized and pained by the recent spurt of crimes against women, girls and infants, who come from various walks of life, caste, class and age which were reported in Kolkata, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and other parts of India at the hands of brutal, insensitive perverted perpetrators, and Sexual nymphomaniac, pedophiles offenders”, the SCWLA said.

“These incidents have shaken our collective conscience to the core. While the women of the nation feel insecure and unsafe, no quantum of stringent, deterrent, laws seem to be working as therefore, we urge that there must be a complete and effective ban on public viewing and unfiltered of online pornography the obscenity on OTT platforms country”, the Association added.
“The Petitioner beseeches this Hon’ble Court to invoke the doctrine of parens patriae to safeguard the fundamental rights of women, children and the third gender in our nation, which encompass their right to safety, a secure workplace, adequate sanitation, personal dignity, bodily integrity, and a safe environment. It is humbly submitted that the Court bears an overarching obligation under the doctrine of parens patriae to serve as the protector and steward of its citizens’ rights,” says the PIL.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/india/rising-crimes-against-women-sc-to-hear-pil-for-castration-of-convicts-ban-on-online-pornography-article-116350383

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday highlighted India’s evolving role on the global stage, stating that India had growing responsibilities and expectations as a “first responder” in the region. Speaking at the launch of India’s World magazine in Delhi, Jaishankar discussed the need for changes in foreign policy, shaped by shifting global dynamics. “When we speak about changing foreign policy, if there is talk about post-Nehruvian construct, it should not be seen as a political attack. It (the change in foreign policy) didn’t require Narendra Modi to do it. Narsimha Rao started it,” Jaishankar said.

Ever since Sonakshi Sinha married the love of her life, actor Zaheer Iqbal, she has been traveling the world with him. The couple has been giving a peek of their vacation together on social media. A while ago, Zaheer dropped a video in which he can be seen showcasing the hidden talent of his loving wife who is always up to monkey business.

The hilarious clip opens with Zaheer Iqbal introducing his “talented wife”, Sonakshi Sinha blushing in the background. The couple can be seen standing inside a park. As he continued making the video, the Dabangg actress jumped to catch hold of a rope and hand herself to the ride. After multiple failed attempts, she finally accomplishes the task.

But Zaheer being the prankster that he is, tickled his wife prompting her to quickly lose her hold and then burst into laughter. In the caption, he stated, “Only upto monkey business. Always.”

A couple of days ago, Sinha shuts down pregnancy rumors with Zaheer Iqbal stating that she has gained weight During an interview with Curly Tales, Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter said, “Guys, mein yahan par kehna chahti hu, I’m not pregnant. Mein bas moti ho chuki hu. (I want to say here that I’m not pregnant. I have just gained weight).”

Earlier this year, the Heeramandi actress was in an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla wherein she revealed if she’d like to be called a star or an actor. Speaking her mind, Sonakshi stated that she loves being called Sona. The diva added, “Even when I did start acting, for me from day 1 till now it’s always been about doing good work. Everything else attached to it – the fame… everything that comes in the periphery has not been of that much significance to me.”

Source : https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/news/sonakshi-sinhas-hubby-zaheer-iqbal-hilariously-showcases-how-talented-his-wife-is-says-shes-always-upto-monkey-business-watch-1362882

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently decided not to pursue its appeal before the Supreme Court against JSW Steel’s takeover of Bhushan Power and Steel (Bhushan) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) [Committee of Creditors Vs Directorate of Enforcement & Ors].

It also returned assets valued at ₹4,025 crore to JSW Steel, the successful bidder to take control of Bhushan Power pursuant to the insolvency process under IBC.

The restitution was made after the Supreme Court’s order of December 11 directing ED to hand over the attached properties of Bhushan Power.

The order itself was passed after the ED decided not to pursue its case relating to attachment of assets of Bhushan in view of Section 32A of IBC.

Section 32A was inserted in IBC with effect from December 2019 and it provides immunity to the corporate debtor and its assets from prosecution or attachment if a resolution plan of a company under insolvency is approved. This would mean attachment of properties by ED would also cease on the approval of a resolution plan.

The ED had previously argued that this immunity should not apply to the Bhushan Power case, as the asset attachment by the ED preceded the introduction of Section 32A.

However, during the hearing of the matter on December 2, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for ED, had told the Supreme Court Bench of Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma that in view of Section 32A, the ED’s appeal may not have to be argued, a departure from its previous stance.

Subsequently, when the matter was taken up on December 11, the ED filed an affidavit before the top court, stating that in view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the ED with regard to the investigation of the case registered against the promoters of Bhushan Power, JSW be permitted to take control of the attached properties.

The Court took into account the said submission and proceeded to direct the following:

“The Appellant-ED is directed to handover and the Respondent successful Resolution Applicant JSW is directed to take over the control of the properties of Corporate Debtor-Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd., provisionally attached vide the order dated 10.10.2019 passed by the E.D., immediately in view of Section 8(8) of the PMLA read with Rule 3A of the said Rules.”

The appeals before the Supreme Court involved the interplay of insolvency proceedings under the IBC and asset attachment by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED had attached Bhushan Power’s assets under Section 5 of the PMLA because the former promoters of BPSL were accused of defrauding banks and diverting funds for personal gains.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) challenged the ED attachment during the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), claiming it violated IBC protections.

ED opposed JSW Steel’s resolution plan, arguing that the assets attached under PMLA were tainted and that the benefit under Section 32A of the IBC will not accrue to JSW Steel.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved JSW Steel’s resolution plan in September 2019.

In February 2020, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) too approved the plan and also vacated the attachment of Bhushan Power’s properties by ED.

The ED then approached the Supreme Court against the same contending that the benefit of Section 32A will not apply to this case

It argued that its attachment rights were unaffected by the insolvency proceedings.

The ED contended that its actions were consistent with the PMLA, as the attached properties were proceeds of crime. It also claimed that Section 32A of the IBC, which shields new resolution applicants from pre-insolvency liabilities, did not apply retrospectively.

To resolve the matter, ED proposed allowing JSW Steel to take control of the attached properties as restitution under PMLA provisions, without prejudicing to ongoing investigations against BPSL’s promoters.

The Supreme Court, without deciding on the broader legal questions, disposed of the appeals based on mutual agreement among the parties.

The ED retained the right to continue its investigation against the former promoters of Bhushan Power, while JSW Steel was allowed to take control of the assets.

The Court emphasised that this order is specific to this case and will not act as a precedent for future cases.

“It is further clarified that the Court has not expressed any opinion on the interpretation of Section 32A (2) of IBC or on the powers of the E.D. to attach the property of the Corporate Debtor which is undergoing the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, or on any other legal issue involved in the other connected Appeals which are pending for consideration before this Court,” the Court said.

The restitution was carried out under the second proviso to Section 8(8) of PMLA, which allows for the return of property to rightful claimants pending trial, following Rule 3A of the PMLA Restoration of Property Rules.

Source : https://www.barandbench.com/news/bhushan-power-insolvency-ed-concedes-appeal-jsw-steel-supreme-court-orders-restitution-attached-properties

Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh): “Nasbandi (vasectomy)” is a very common word in Maoist lexicon. Cadres who wish to get married are forced to undergo the procedure on the directive of senior CPI (Maoist) leaders.

A former Maoist insurgent from Telangana was instructed to undergo the procedure before he got married. Years later, after he laid down his arms and surrendered, he underwent a second surgery to reverse the procedure, eventually becoming a father to a boy.

He was not the only one. Many who lay down their arms and enter the mainstream similarly choose to reverse the procedure to start a family.

The practice of ‘nasbandi’ is so widespread that its impact was conveyed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during an interaction with surrendered Maoist cadres here on Sunday.

“When I was a member of the CPI (Maoist), I had to go for ‘nasbandi’. But after I gave up arms and joined the mainstream, I underwent another operation so that I could become a father. After the second operation, I became the father of a baby boy,” the former Maoist from Telangana said while interacting with Shah.

The perception among members of the proscribed outfit is that childcare will prove a distraction and their movement suffer. There is also apprehension that cadres who get married might turn their backs on the movement.

As a result, vasectomy is compulsory for any cadre that gets married.

Vasectomy is a surgical procedure that cuts the supply of sperm to the semen, providing permanent birth control (contraception).

Markam Dula, a surrendered Naxal from Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, said, “It is mandatory for Naxal cadres to go for ‘nasbandi’ if they want to get married. The leaders don’t want any member being involved emotionally with his offspring. So the way forward is ‘nasbandi’.” Another former Maoist insurgent from Malkangiri in neighbouring Odisha shared a similar account.

“Before I married my fellow cadre, he had to undergo a ‘nasbandi’,” said Sukanti Mari.

Her husband was eventually killed in a police encounter and she subsequently surrendered before the authorities.

Shah, during his interaction with the group of surrendered Naxals, said he was immensely satisfied that the country’s youngsters realised the futility of violence and laid down arms.

He appealed to the remaining Naxals to give up arms and join the mainstream, saying their rehabilitation was the government’s responsibility.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com//india/chhattisgarh/nasbandi-vasectomy-mandatory-if-cadres-want-to-marry-surrendered-maoists-to-amit-shah-3318661

An exam centre of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on Friday saw order break down entirely for a few chaotic minutes after a delay in the distribution of question papers.

Suspecting a paper leak, candidates went berserk. Apparently, what aggravated the situation was that some of them objected to the sealed boxes of exam papers not being opened in front of the candidates in the exam rooms, to allay fears of foul play.

The viral CCTV footage shows how the enraged BPSC aspirants rushed into a room where exam officials were present. The crowd then pushed aside the officials and raided the boxes that contained the question papers.

The officials, as per an NDTV report, tried to explain to the upset students that they would get additional time to complete their papers because of the 40 to 45-minute delay in distributing the question papers. But the candidates, and the crowd that collected because of the ruckus, did not want to listen to reason.

The viral videos of the chaotic scenes that unfolded show some people tear the question papers, while others ran out carrying them and then distributed the same to the people gathered outside. Candidates also apparently spread rumours that the exam had been cancelled.

“After opening the sealed box of the question paper in a proper manner, the sealed packet of question paper and OMR sheet were made available in different rooms of each block. When there was a delay of 40-45 minutes in distribution of the question papers, some candidates started creating ruckus despite the superintendent and invigilators explaining that extra time would be given for the delay,” the exam authorities claimed in the police complaint, as per the news report.

“The candidates demanded to know why the sealed box was not opened in their room. On hearing noise, some students from other rooms also came and started snatching and tearing the booklets and attendance sheets,” the police complaint stated.

“One of those candidates looted a packet of question papers from the (storage) trunk, broke the gate and went out with a group waving it in his hand. The candidates went to many rooms and damaged attendance sheets and other forms,” the police complaint added.

Thankfully, the situation was quickly brought under control by the authorities with the help of the magistrate and the police present at the venue. Afterwards, the exam was conducted as per protocol.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com//india/bihar/viral-cctv-footage-shows-bpsc-candidates-snatching-tearing-questionnaires-over-paper-leak-rumours-3318631 

Earlier, the man had told the police that he found his fingers to be missing after falling unconscious by the ring road near Amroli’s Vedanta Circle.

In an attempt to make himself unfit for his job at his family’s diamond firm, a 32-year-old man in Gujarat’s Surat chopped off four fingers of his left hand with a sharp knife.

The man, Mayur Tarapara, had told police that he found his fingers to be missing after falling unconscious on the side of a road. However, investigation into the matter revealed that the cut marks were self-inflicted harm.

Surat Crime Branch said that the man went down this road because he couldn’t muster up the courage to tell his relative that he no longer wanted to work at his firm Anabh Gems, which is located in the Varachha Mini Bazaar.

Tarapara, who was working as a computer operator in Anabh Gems’ accounts department, would have been unable to carry on if he lost his fingers, the police’s statement noted.

What the man had earlier told the police is that on December 8, he was on his way to a friend’s house on a motorcycle when he began feeling dizzy and passed out by the ring road near Amroli’s Vedanta Circle. Ten minutes later when he came to back to his conscious, four of left hand’s fingers had been chopped off, Tarapara told cops.

At the time, police suspected that his fingers may have been cut for black magic purposes.

On the basis of the collected information, a case was registered at the Amroli police station and the probe was later transferred to the city Crime Branch.

The crime branch officials examined the CCTV footage thoroughly and used technical surveillance as well as human intel, discovering that Tarapara was involved in his own harm.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/man-chops-off-four-fingers-to-avoid-working-at-familys-diamond-firm-in-gujarat-surat-101734223704428.html

Cops believe that the 24-year-old was fatally strangled days before her body was found in the car’s boot.

Harshita Brella, the 24-year-old Indian woman who was found dead in the boot of a car in London, allegedly told her mother that her husband “was going to kill her”. Ms Brella was found dead on November 14. Her husband Pankaj Lamba, 23, is the prime suspect in her murder. According to The BBC, cops believe that the 24-year-old, who was born in Delhi and moved to the UK in April this year after marrying Lamba in August last year, was fatally strangled days before her body was found in the car’s boot.

Now, in an interview with the BBC, Ms Brella’s mother, Sudesh Kumari, said she spoke to her daughter just weeks before her death. “(Lamba) was making her life miserable,” she told the outlet. “She said I will not go back to him. He will kill me,” the mother added.

Ms Kumari said her daughter was “very simple, very innocent”. “She did not fight with people,” she added.

Ms Brella’s family believe that Lamba is in India, but said Delhi police were “not listening to them”. The police, however, told the outlet that UK authorities have not requested for them to intervene.

Ms Brella’s father, Satbir Brella, said his family has been suffering ever since her death. He begged for justice. “I used to say to her, when I die I want you to perform my final rites. I had no idea that I would have to do hers,” he said.

The family also stated that the 24-year-old had a miscarriage in the weeks before her death. They also claimed that they had been told that Lamba had hit his wife but alleged that the full scale did not become clear until she called her father crying on 29 August.

“She said ‘he beat me really bad. He even beat me in the street’,” Mr Brella said, adding, “My daughter was crying, crying so hard.”

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/harshita-brella-indian-woman-found-dead-in-uk-told-family-her-husband-would-kill-her-7249325#pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The incident happened near the panchayat office in Keirak on Kakching-Wabagai Road around 5.20 pm.

Two teenage migrant workers from Bihar were shot dead in Manipur’s Kakching district on Saturday evening, police said.

The incident happened near the panchayat office in Keirak on Kakching-Wabagai Road around 5.20 pm, they said.

Those behind the incident are yet to be identified, police said.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/2-teenage-migrant-labourers-shot-dead-by-gunmen-in-manipurs-kakching-9156533.html

IndiGo’s Istanbul-Mumbai flight took off on Saturday after hours of delay that left 400 passengers stranded at Istanbul airport. The flight to Delhi has been cancelled and alternate arrangements are being made for flyers.

After hours of delay that left 400 Indian passengers stranded at Istanbul airport, IndiGo’s Istanbul-Mumbai flight finally took off on Saturday. On the other hand, the flight to Delhi has been cancelled and the airline is making an alternate arrangement for the passengers.
Social media platforms were flooded with multiple posts of passengers complaining about the poor service of the airline and the lack of clarity as to why the passengers were being made to wait so long.
IndiGo’s 6E 11(Istanbul to Delhi) and 6E 18 (Istanbul-Mumbai) flights were delayed which left passengers stuck at the airport.

Reacting to the chaos, IndiGo said that its executives are available at all contact points to assist customers. “We are aware of the delays on the IndiGo flight connections to Istanbul. We accord the highest priority towards customer convenience and out teams are available at all contact points to assist customers. IndiGo apologises for the inconvenience caused to the customers,” it added.

Banks have been instructed to implement the guidelines swiftly and ensure widespread awareness about the new loan provisions.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has enhanced the collateral-free loan limit for farmers from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, effective January 1, 2025, a move aimed at supporting small and marginal farmers amid rising input costs.
The new directive instructs banks nationwide to waive collateral and margin requirements for agricultural and allied activity loans up to Rs 2 lakh per borrower.
According to the agriculture ministry, the decision comes in response to the rising input costs and the need to improve credit accessibility for farmers. “This measure will significantly benefit over 86 per cent of farmers who are small and marginal landholders,” the statement said.

Banks have been instructed to implement the guidelines swiftly and ensure widespread awareness about the new loan provisions.

The move is expected to facilitate easier access to Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans and complement the government’s Modified Interest Subvention Scheme, which offers loans up to Rs 3 lakh at a 4 per cent effective interest rate.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/economy/rbis-big-gift-to-farmers-raises-collateral-free-agricultural-loan-limit-to-rs-2-lakh-to-aid-farmers-article-116319076

The anti-drone system was activated on Friday and it successfully intercepted two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Uttar Pradesh government statement said.

Mahakumbh Nagar: A robust anti-drone system has been deployed here to ensure the safety of devotees who will attend the Maha Kumbh 2025, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement on Saturday.

The anti-drone system was activated on Friday and it successfully intercepted two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), it said.

According to the release, experts have been roped in to manage the anti-drone system.

These experts are stationed at a central location, continuously monitoring all drones flying in the vicinity. They have the capability to disable any suspicious drone mid-flight, if necessary, the statement said.

“An anti-drone system has been activated in the Maha Kumbh fair area. On the very first day on Friday, the hi-tech system successfully shot down and deactivated two drones flying without permission. Notices have been issued to the operators,” Senior Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi said.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com//india/uttar-pradesh/anti-drone-system-deployed-to-ensure-safety-of-devotees-in-maha-kumbh-3318147

Limited medical resources, long transit times and poor quality of care are leading to preventable maternal mortalities in the state.

Hubballi: Everything seemed to be going according to plan when Nandini, a 27-year-old college lecturer entered the labour ward of Ballari District Hospital on November 11 at 9 pm.

By 10 pm, she had delivered a baby boy, and the doctors informed her family that the C-section was successful. Both the mother and baby seemed fine.

Nandini was shifted to the ward at around 10:30 pm. She breastfed the baby and complained of weakness. The doctors administered a saline bottle close to midnight. This was when her health began deteriorating. “Six doctors and nurses tried to revive her at the ICU. At 2 am, they declared her dead,” says her brother Veeresh.

A few days before Nandini’s demise, Lalithamma of Ballari’s Basarakoda suffered a similar fate. At 5 am on November 9, she delivered a healthy baby boy after a caesarian surgery.

“Just 10 minutes after administering intravenous (IV) fluids at the district hospital, she suffered a seizure. Then, she was shifted to the ICU of Ballari Medical College and Research Centre, which has better facilities. She battled for life for two days. Doctors informed us that she died of multiple organ failure,” says her husband Manjunath.

In 45 days, two major public health institutes in Ballari have witnessed the death of six mothers under similar circumstances.

The government and doctors at the institutes blamed the supply of substandard Ringer’s lactate solution IV fluid by a West Bengal-based pharmaceutical company for the deaths. However, activists and experts believe that substandard medicine is part of a systemic issue that is leading to maternal mortalities.

Severe anaemia in expectant mothers, post-partum haemorrhage, pregnancy-induced hypertension, sepsis, stunted growth and unscientific abortions are some common issues that cause maternal death.

Other factors like poor nutritional intake, limited access to medical facilities and poor adherence to medical recommendations also contribute to the issue.

The state’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has declined over the years. Karnataka Health Department documents say that the strict implementation of antenatal care (ANC), improvement in institutional deliveries, distribution of iron and folic acid tablets, follow-up of high-risk pregnancies and provision of postnatal and newborn care have substantially decreased the MMR from 178 per lakh live births in 2007-09 to 64 in 2024, as against the national average of 93.

Karnataka has also achieved the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) set by the United Nations to restrict MMR below 70.

However, activists point out that Karnataka is the worst performing among the five southern states — Kerala has achieved 19 MMR, Tamil Nadu (54), Andhra Pradesh (45) and Telangana (43). In the last five years, Karnataka has lost as many as 3,364 new mothers.

“A majority of maternal deaths were preventable in Karnataka, had we learnt lessons from the previous incidents,” says activist Teena Xavier of Karnataka Jan Arogya Chaluvali.

Working in the backward districts of north Karnataka over the last 35 years, she says there has been a substantial increase in public health institutes in Karnataka, but the state is still missing trained human resources and adequate medical equipment, particularly in primary and community health centres.

Non-availability of doctors, poor connectivity to referral hospitals through ambulances, inadequate availability of blood, and poor allocation of funds to improve medical facilities have also worsened the situation.

Tina cites the instance of Mariyamma (23), from Raichur’s Sangapur. “This was in 2018. Mariyamma developed labour pain and was rushed to the nearest PHC. As the doctor was not available, she was taken to Manvi Taluk Hospital. By then, she began bleeding. But the taluk hospital neither had blood nor a doctor. She was then taken to two private hospitals in Sindhanur but was refused admission due to complications. After nearly 10 hours in transit, she reached Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences, where she lost her life after delivering a baby,” says Teena.

In terms of connectivity and referral, it seems little has improved over the years. Families continue to run from one hospital to another, hoping for safe institutional deliveries. Just last October, Sindhanur taluk recorded four maternal deaths.

Bengaluru-based activist Akhila Vasan says that since 2005, the Union government has made it mandatory to audit every maternal mortality. A committee headed by the deputy commissioner should thoroughly investigate the reasons for the deaths and fix the fault lines. But instead of taking these review meetings seriously, the stakeholders usually end up finding faults with Asha workers, medicines and patients who did not take prescribed medicines on time.

“There have been hardly any steps taken to fix the broken system,” she feels.

Doctors, Asha workers and activists from across the state, who have attended several such review meetings, say that monthly maternal mortality meetings have lost purpose and focus on finding scapegoats.

Akhila adds that the government needs to ensure full-time specialists are appointed at taluk hospitals, which are the first referral units. “What is the point in asking women to deliver in hospitals if there are no qualified specialists?” she asks.

As per the Health Management Information System (HMIS), 99.9 per cent of deliveries took place in institutions in 2019-20, out of which 61.2 per cent of deliveries took place in public health facilities.

There has also been an increase in the number of sub-centres, PHCs and Community Health Centres since 2005. As per the Rural Health Statistics report released in 2022, rural areas in Karnataka have 9,188 sub-centres, 2,176 PHCs, and 189 CHCs. This is over the required 8,024 sub-centres, 1,318 PHCs and 329 CHCs.

In urban Karnataka, there is a 38 per cent shortage of PHCs against the requirement of 575 centres. In addition, there are 26 district hospitals, 150 sub-district hospitals and 24 government medical colleges.

However, many institutions grapple with a shortage of gynaecologists or obstetricians, anaesthetists, nurses, midwives and other specialists, making these options non-starters for patients in the state.

This issue is underlined by data in the NFHS-5 report, which states that Karnataka has a 53.26 per cent gap in the human resources in public health institutes. Of the required 6,497 MBBS doctors, the state has only 3,281.

The state has only 2,971 out of 5,091 specialists including gynaecologists. There is a gap of 18,342 staff nurses and 13,405 multi-purpose health workers, all required for the smooth functioning of health facilities.

Santosh Sogal, a researcher at the Institute of Public Health has been studying access to maternal health in Karnataka. He observes discrepancies in the number of PHCs in south, central and north Karnataka.

In the 18 districts of south and central Karnataka, there is one PHC for every 13,641 people. On the other hand, there is one PHC per 23,734 people in 12 districts of north Karnataka.

“The fact that eight high-priority districts selected by the Union government to address maternal mortality are located in North Karnataka highlights the need for targeted interventions and equity-focused attention,” he says.

Lost in transit

Another major challenge has been identifying the exact area with high maternal mortality rates. Currently, a maternal death is registered in the referral hospital and not at the domicile of the victim. As a result, the numbers are high in districts with major hospitals while patients’ districts of origin might have lower numbers.

“Pregnant women are bypassing PHCs due to the over-medicalisation of maternal healthcare and the unavailability of basic laboratory services. This is placing an additional burden on taluk and district hospitals, as well as medical colleges, which are intended to provide specialised care,” Santosh says.

Santosh, who has worked for the National Health Mission in Dharwad, says that the district has ranked among the districts with high MMR over the last 10 years. Data shows that the district registered 93 MMR annually in the last decade. “The district has not shown consistent or significant reduction in MMR,” he says.

About 60 per cent of maternal deaths that took place in Dharwad hospitals are referral cases, with patients coming in from neighbouring districts. As the tertiary referral hospital, the most complicated cases from Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Haveri, Gadag, Koppal and Bagalkot are referred to the Karnataka Medical College and Research Institute, Hubballi.

Shashi Patil, the Dharwad district health officer, says that they conduct regular auditing to identify PHCs and regions from where the district gets a high number of patients. During division-level meetings, they share the data with other districts so that preventive measures can be undertaken.

Under-reporting is also a common problem as mothers who succumb to health complications post-delivery are classified under ‘general death’ at the referral hospital and not as maternal death.

“This is resulting in the administration being unable to link the chain of treatment and fix the responsibility,” says Teena.

The director of Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences, Ramesh B H, provides a glimpse into the ground reality: RIMS handles nearly 30 complicated maternal cases every day of which 12 to 15 need C-sections. Almost 90 per cent of these cases are referrals from Yadgir, which lacks a multi-speciality hospital. “We also get cases from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. For an institute which is already under stress due to the lack of human resources and limited medical facilities, the additional cases are taking a toll on the staff,” he says.

RIMS medical superintendent Bhaskar K adds that the issue can be addressed only if the taluk-level hospitals and PHCs are strengthened.

“Most lives are lost in transit. The minimum travel time to RIMS from the taluk headquarters is around 90 minutes to two hours. We can save lives if at least the taluk hospitals are well-equipped and have enough doctors and blood availability,” he says.

Ignorance among expectant and new mothers about nutritional intake and medicines also contributes to the crisis.

Anaemia

Anaemia is the single largest reason for birth-related complications among women, especially those in rural areas.

Data from the NFHS-5 shows an increase in the incidence of anaemia among pregnant women in rural Karnataka. About 32 per cent of the pregnant women between the ages of 19 and 49 are anaemic in urban areas. In rural areas, 50.6 per cent of women in this age group are anaemic.

Nagalakshmi Ballari, the secretary of the Asha Workers’ Association, observes that a majority of women who become pregnant for the first time are anaemic in rural Karnataka. “There is ignorance among the new mothers regarding the importance of taking iron tablets and other medicines provided along with the ‘Madilu Kits’. There have been instances where pregnant women refuse to consult with doctors during their antenatal check-ups,” she says.

Her claims are backed by data from the NFHS-5 report, which shows that over 29 per cent of patients did not complete four antenatal care visits. Less than 44.7 per cent of pregnant women took folic acid tablets for 100 days and just 26.7 per cent took the 180-day course.

Tanya Seshadri, a Chamarajanagar-based community health practitioner and researcher, says the time has come for the state to move beyond merely recording MMR numbers.

“We must locate cases of mothers in critical conditions or high-risk pregnancies. The government is patting its back looking at the MMR statistics but we need to address the pregnant women’s health issues at the grassroots,” she says.

She provides the example of Chamarajnagar, which is counted among the districts with the lowest MMR. Of the four maternal deaths last year, two were women from tribal communities, whose population stands at 30,000 in the district.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com//india/karnataka/a-mother-s-trials-system-falls-short-3318089

A fan of Allu Arjun created ruckus outside Chanchalguda Jail on Friday night, demanding release of the actor. In a dramatic turn of events, the fan reportedly attempted to self-immolate by pouring petrol on himself. The police acted promptly and took him into custody, preventing any untoward incident. Despite getting bail, Allu Arjun had to spend the night in jail due to delay in paperwork

A fan of Allu Arjun created ruckus outside Chanchalguda Jail on Friday night, demanding release of the Telugu superstar. For those unversed, the actor was granted bail by Telangana High Court, hours after he was arrested in connection with the death of a 35-year-old woman at Sandhya Theatre during Pushpa 2: The Rule premiere on December 4. Despite getting bail, he had to spend the night in prison due to delay in paperwork.

However, when Allu Arjun was in jail, a fan demanded the immediate release of the actor. In a dramatic turn of events, the fan attempted to self-immolate by pouring petrol on himself. However, according to a report in Sakshi, the police acted promptly and took him into custody, preventing any untoward incident.

A shocking video of the incident is now doing the rounds on social media platforms. Neither police nor Allu Arjun has reacted to the video of the fan yet. Also, The Free Press Journal couldn’t verify the authenticity of the video.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/entertainment/allu-arjuns-fan-attempts-suicide-outside-chanchalguda-jail-demanding-actors-release-shocking-video-goes-viral

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, the initiative is a part of the “Digital Mahakumbh” vision.

New Delhi: As the countdown begins for the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), the government on Friday launched an AI-powered chatbot equipped with multi-lingual capability to assist pilgrims and visitors.

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, the initiative is a part of the “Digital Mahakumbh” vision.

AI chatbot Kumbh Sah’AI’yak will provide real-time, uninterrupted responses, and serve as a free 24/7 guide, offering navigation assistance, and customised cultural insights.

Developed by the Prayagraj Mela Authority and UPDESCO, the Kumbh Sah’AI’yak app is hosted on open-source LLM provided by Ola’s Krutrim.

It supports Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam, Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada and Bengali.

“The platform allows the pilgrims to easily navigate the Mela area, offering guidance on various topics such as the history, rituals, and significance of Maha Kumbh, travel and accommodation options, and key attractions around Prayagraj.

“Additionally, with strong security measures in place to ensure privacy and prevent misinformation, the chatbot offers a seamless, safe, and enriching experience for all attendees,” a statement by Ola Krutrim said.

The 2025 Maha Kumbh mela will be held from January 13 (Paush Poornima) to February 26 (Maha Shivratri) at Prayagraj. The Maha Kumbh is organised every 12 years. The religious festival is anticipated to see around 400 million pilgrims and visitors from all corners of the globe.

“With this innovation, we celebrate the convergence of heritage and progress, while remaining steadfast in our commitment to driving India’s journey towards digital empowerment and technological independence, fueled by our investments in AI, chip designing, and cloud infrastructure,” Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal said.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/uttar-pradesh/multi-lingual-ai-chatbot-to-assist-visitors-during-maha-kumbh-mela-2025-3316705

The Narendra Modi government is likely to introduce The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, which amends Articles 82, 83, 172 and 327 and The Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in Parliament early next week. The Bills may be sent to a Joint Committee of Parliament for scrutiny.

New Delhi: The two proposed legislations to enable simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies provide for “mid-term” polls for Parliament or a state in case a government falls but it will only be for the “unexpired” portion of the five-year fixed term.

The Narendra Modi government is likely to introduce The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, which amends Articles 82, 83, 172 and 327 and The Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in Parliament early next week. The Bills may be sent to a Joint Committee of Parliament for scrutiny.

According to the Bill to amend the Constitution, the President will bring into force the provisions of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) legislations on the first day of the sitting of the Lok Sabha after the next general elections, which is called the “appointed date”.

This would mean that the first simultaneous elections can happen only in 2034, unless the Modi government decides to hold mid-term polls before completing its current five-year term. The Bills were cleared by the Union Cabinet earlier this week.

Subsequently, the Bill says that the term of all Assemblies constituted in an election held after the appointed date will be co-terminus with the five year tenure of the Lok Sabha, at the completion of which simultaneous polls could be held.

The Bill also comes up with the concept of “unexpired” term – the period between the dissolution of the House and five years from the date of the first meeting – in a scenario where the Lok Sabha or an Assembly has to be dissolved midway.

In such a case, an election will be held and a new House could be constituted but its tenure would be the period equal to the unexpired term of the immediately preceding Lok Sabha. This would mean that if a government falls after two years and fresh elections are held, the term of the new House would be for three years only.

Questions were raised by a section of parties about a government falling midway. They had asked whether the government was planning to impose President’s Rule in such a scenario, which they said was against federalism.

If the Election Commission cannot conduct an Assembly election with Lok Sabha polls, the Bill said, it can then make a recommendation to the President, who can issue an order for the poll to be held later. However, the tenure of this Assembly would be co-terminus with the Lok Sabha.

The Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2024 too has similar provisions for the UTs of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/provision-for-mid-term-poll-concept-of-unexpired-term-in-one-nation-one-election-bills-3317500

A wedding invitation of ‘Sharma Ji ki Ladki’ and ‘Gopal Ji ka Ladka’ has been taking rounds online leaving the internet in splits with its unique elements.

Not only has ‘Sharmaji’s’ kid kept up with the wedding season but also managed to best everyone else (not shocking, huh?) with her unique wedding card.

A wedding invitation of “Sharma Ji ki Ladki” and “Gopal Ji ka Ladka” has been taking rounds online leaving the internet in splits with its unique elements.

The card invites people to the wedding of Sharmaji ki Ladki who is referred to as being ‘padhai mein tej’ (studious) and ‘Gopal Ji ka Ladka’ who is apparently doing business now as per the card that described the groom to be- ‘B.Tech karke dukan sambhalta hua’.

The couple that is slated to get married on January 5 next year, a date they claim has been arrived at by three priests and is in tandem with ‘Tinku’s’ exam schedule seeks the presence of invitees in their marriage saying, “Aapki presence ki humaari shaadi mein bohat zaroorat hai kyunki aap na aaye toh humaari shaadi mein khaane ki burai kaun karega” (Your presence is very important at our wedding, otherwise who else will point out the flaws in the food.)

Where is this unique wedding taking place you ask? How can the answer to such a simple question be simply put in a card that is anything but conventional? So, in case you are looking to gate crash this wedding, be sure to arrive “Jahan pichle saal Dubey ji ka retirement tha. Dhoondhne ke liye wahi confusing gate milega jo har jagah same lagta hai.”

Just when you think the invitation could not get any more interesting, turn to the reception page: “Shaadi ka hangover abhi khatam nahi hua hai, Reception ka drama dekhne zaroor aay” (The hangover of the wedding is not yet over, please come to watch the reception drama).

Fun and games aside, there are guidelines to attend the reception that calls for kid patrolling at the event. “Please apne bachchon ko control karein, itna mehenga stage unka playground nahi hai,” the invite read.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/sharma-ji-ki-ladki-weds-gopal-ji-ka-ladka-viral-wedding-card-taking-dig-at-bua-fufa-leaves-internet-amused-3316301

Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday quashed reports of Indian Visas being granted to Canadians.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred to the reports as an example of Canadian media’s disinformation campaign to malign India.

He said, as quoted by ANI, “We have seen media reports about this. It is yet another example of Canadian media’s disinformation campaign to malign India… Granting of Indian visas is our sovereign function and we have the legitimate right to deny visas to those who undermine our territorial integrity. The commentary that we see in the Canadian media on this matter is akin to foreign interference in India’s sovereign affairs.”

Jaiswal also spoke about three Indian students murdered in violent crimes in Canada.

He said, “In the last week, we have had unfortunate tragedies in Canada. Three Indian students have been murdered in violent crimes. We are saddened by these terrible tragedies that have struck our nationals in Canada. We extend our deepest condolences to the grieving families. Our High Commission in Ottawa and Consulates in Toronto & Vancouver are extending all possible help in the matter. They are in touch with the local authorities for a thorough investigation into these incidents. The safety, security and welfare of Indian nationals, students in particular, in Canada remains of utmost importance to us…”

The MEA Spokesperson mentioned that they have issued an advisory for the Indian nationals and students to exercise extreme caution and remain vigilant.

Source : https://www.livemint.com/politics/india-blocs-no-confidence-motion-to-remove-jagdeep-dhankhar-full-details-opposition-rajya-sabha-vice-president-11733881661890.html

Suchir Balaji was anticipated to have knowledge which was crucial for the legal proceedings in the case against OpenAI.

26-year-old Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI researcher and whistleblower who raised concerns about the artificial intelligence company’s practices, was found dead at his residence in San Francisco, according to reports.

The officials found him dead in his Buchanan Street flat on November 26, the San Francisco Police said. The police arrived at his apartment after his friends expressed concerns over his well-being, and found him dead.

He was confirmed dead that day and the news of his demise has come up now.

The medical examiner has not revealed the cause of Balaji’s death, however, the police said that at present, there is “no evidence of foul play”, according to reports.

His role and knowledge were considered crucial in legal proceedings against OpenAI. Balaji had publicly claimed three months before his death that OpenAI had breached copyright legislation in the development of ChatGPT.

What Were His Allegations?

The late 2022 launch sparked a wave of legal challenges from writers, programmers, and journalists, who accused the company of unlawfully utilising their copyrighted content to train its program, thereby boosting its valuation to over $150 billion.

Balaji said in an interview published on October 23 in New York Times that OpenAI was impacting businesses and entrepreneurs negatively whose information was being used to train ChatGPT.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/openai-whistleblower-indian-american-suchir-balaji-found-dead-in-san-francisco-9155816.html

Farmer Sarwan Singh Pandher said that the group of 101 farmers will march on foot on Saturday in a peaceful manner.

A group of 101 farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha would make another attempt to march on foot on December 14 to Delhi from the Shambhu border.

Farmer Sarwan Singh Pandher said that the group of 101 farmers will march on foot on Saturday in a peaceful manner, reported PTI.

He also said that that the government should hold talks before the farmers intensify stir.

Notably, the protesting farmers had to suspend their foot march to Delhi from the Shambhu border on Sunday after some of them sustained injuries in tear gas shelling by Haryana security personnel, who once again thwarted an attempt by the protesters to go past the Punjab-Haryana border.

According to the farmer unions, they also had to postpone their protest owing to the deteriorating health condition of farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, who has been on fast unto death since November 26.

Farmer leader Dallewal ‘unwell’

Dallewal fast-unto-death entered the eighteenth day on Friday even as several farmers leaders express worry about this health.

Pandher said that Jagjit Singh Dallewal is not keeping well and that the whole country is worried about him.

“…We are receiving information from Khanauri that Jagjit Singh Dallewal is not keeping well. The whole country is worried about his health except for the PM and Home Minister,” Pandher said, according to ANI. “Neither are they worried about our Delhi March nor are they worried about what’s happening in Khanauri… We believe that forming a committee is not a solution to our problem. If the government wants to arrive at a solution, they must arrange talks with us…”

Samyukta Kisan Morcha leader Rakesh Tikait also met the farmer leader from Punjab on Friday and called for unity of farmers’ groups for a “joint fight”, according to PTI.

“Dallewal ji is our big leader and we are worried about his health, farmers of the entire country are worried,” he said.

“We are worried about his health…the government should take cognizance..It does not seem that Dallewal will take back his fast-unto-death till the time the government does not hold talks and meets their demands,” Tikait added.

Tikait also warned that the Centre will have to be shown the might of farmers, and for this, Delhi will not have to be surrounded at the borders like in the previous agitation against now repealed farm laws, but by surrounding the national capital from the KMP (Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway), according to PTI.

“The agitation (against now repealed farm laws) ran for 13 months at Delhi’s borders… the government once again needs 4 lakh tractors. The agitation this time will be on KMP, we will have to make KMP the borders.” “When Delhi will be surrounded, it will be from KMP. When and how that will happen, we will see..,” he said.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/farmers-protest-dilli-chalo-march-jagjit-singh-dallewal-fast-shambhu-border-101734107410995.html

Allu Arjun, who was arrested and sent to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the stampede case by a local court was granted interim bail by the Telangana High Court.

The Telangana High Court on Friday while hearing interim bail petition of Tollywood actor Allu Arjun after his arrest over his alleged involvement in a stampede at the premiere of his film ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ witnessed a parallel to a similarly tragic incident involving Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and his film ‘Raees’, in which also one person died.

While arguing, Arjun’s legal counsel recalled the incident, when Shah Rukh Khan faced charges after a stampede occurred during a promotional event for his film Raees at Vadodara Railway Station in 2017. The lawyer said that Shah Rukh Khan was involved in actions, but Allu Arjun just attended the screening of the film.

“The main question before the court was that is somebody doing a rash or negligent act? In Raees case, the actor threw clothes at the station, which led to a stampede. In that case he was not found criminally liable,” the lawyer said.

“However, in this case, the actor was only watching the film. So, it has to be seen if even negligence stands against him,’ he added.

The lawyer further argued that Arjun was on the first floor of the theatre while the stampede took place on the ground floor where the victims were stuck.

“The allegation is that a surge occurred in the lower area where the victims were stuck. My client was on the first floor at the time and was simply watching the film. Even the police and theatre management did not ask him not to attend,” the legal counsel said in Arjun’s defence.

Arjun’s lawyer also argued that the actor had neither the intention nor the knowledge that his visit to Sandhya Theatre during the screening of Pushpa 2 would lead to such a tragic mishap. As such, the lawyer contended that a case of culpable homicide was not applicable, and at most, negligence could be considered. He further said that the essential elements of criminal intent — such as causing bodily harm — were absent, as the victim’s death resulted from asphyxiation caused by the crowd surge, not any deliberate act by the actor.

Allu Arjun Arrested, Sent to Judicial Custody, Then Granted Bail

Arjun, who was arrested and sent to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the stampede case by a local court was granted interim bail by the Telangana High Court.

The actor was booked under Sections 105 and 118(1) of the BNS Act. He has been accused of criminal negligence and voluntarily causing hurt.

The court ruled that there was no malafide action associated with the Tollywood actor in the ongoing case. Granting him interim bail for a period of four weeks, the court provided the actor with a significant relief. In addition, the court set a personal bail bond of Rs 50,000.

Source : https://www.news18.com/movies/pushpa-2-stampede-allu-arjuns-lawyer-draws-parallel-to-shah-rukh-khans-raees-stampede-case-during-bail-hearing-9155487.html

Passengers alleged that the IndiGo flights from Turkey to India were cancelled and they were stranded in Istanbul with no food or proper accommodation facilities.

As many as 400 IndiGo passengers en route to Mumbai and New Delhi were allegedly stuck at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey for more than 12 hours without any food or accommodation. Furious passengers vented their anger on social media platforms as the airline said the flight was delayed due to operational reasons.

Taking to X, Parshwa Mehta said the passengers were not provided with proper accommodation facilities, alternative flights, any communication from IndiGo or even reparations. “This delay isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a blatant failure of basic customer service. Where is the accountability? Where is the empathy for the passengers stranded overnight at the airport?” he said.

Mehta also said no person from IndiGo was present at the gate to explain the chaotic situation as several passengers were apparently stranded in Istanbul. They only received the information from the Turkish Airlines crew. Moreover, the passengers were given lounge access, which was far too small to accommodate all of them.

Flights to Delhi were allegedly delayed by around 20 hours. Anushri Bhansali said her flight to India was delayed twice by an hour, then cancelled with no notice and rescheduled 12 hours later. “There’s no Indigo rep at the airport, no accommodation or meal vouchers, and I’m sick with a fever now! My worried parents can’t even get in touch with indigo via call-no one picked, and over 400 passengers are stuck with no support,” she added.

Other passengers also took their frustration out online at the airline, calling out the airline for its poor handling of the situation by not explaining the situation or sending a single representative at the Istanbul Airport. “Worst flight and very irresponsible and unprofessional airline. I booked the flight from Edh to Delhi via istanbul . I have made stuck at the istanbul airport due to an indigo flight being overbooked,” wrote one user.

Some even alleged that Turkish Airlines were misbehaving with the stranded passengers, without any representative from IndiGo to help them.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/several-indigo-passengers-stranded-in-istanbul-passengers-angry-over-no-food-accommodation-9154624.html

Jaishankar earlier told the Parliament that full disengagement has been achieved in eastern Ladakh and that the India-China ties have seen some improvements.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday responded to a query on the border agreement between India and China by Congress MP Manish Tewari in the Lok Sabha, saying the last of disengagement agreements between both sides pertained to Depsang and Demchok.

Speaking in the Lower House of the Parliament, Jaishankar said that the understanding between the two countries envisages that Indian security forces would be going to all the patrolling points in Depsang and would be going to the eastward limit which has India’s patrolling limit in that part.

Tewari asked a question on a paper presented by a senior IPS officer to the Conference of Director-Generals and Inspector-Generals of Police in 2023, which said that 26 out of the 65 patrolling points from Korakoram Pass to Chumar were inaccessible to the Indian security forces as a consequence of Chinese transgressions. Tewari asked whether those patrolling points had become accessible or not.

‘Both Sides Agreed To Put Certain Restraints” EAM

In response to Tewari’s query, Jaishankar said, “What somebody wrote as a paper is for that somebody to answer for. I can answer for the government. Now let me, let me sir through you, remind the honourable member, I gave a very etailed statement on the disengagement and recent developments in the India-China border areas. In that statement, I highlighted that the last of the disengagement agreements had taken place which pertained to Depsang and Demchok.”

Referring to his previous statement in the parliament, where the EAM said a de-escalation between India and China was the next priority, he said, “We have also, the same statement made it clear that we have had some previous disengagement agreements. Those disengagement agreements also had certain provisions where both sides on a temporary basis had agreed to put certain restraints on themselves. So I think the position is very clear in that statement, and I would urge the honorable member to read that statement again.”

On October 21, India announced that it had reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control. The deal was confirmed by China the next day, with Beijing saying that a resolution has been reached on “relevant matters” and that it would work with New Delhi to implement these resolutions.

Earlier this month, Jaishankar said full disengagement has been achieved in eastern Ladakh and that the India-China ties have seen some improvements. He also said the next priority for India would be to continue de-escalation.

“The situation arising after our counter-deployment in 2020 called for multiple sets of responses. The immediate priority was to ensure disengagement from friction points so that there would be no further untoward incidents or clashes. This has been fully achieved. The next priority will be to consider de-escalation, which would address the massing of troops along the LAC with associated accompaniments,” the EAM told the House.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/both-sides-agreed-to-put-restraints-jaishankar-on-india-china-border-agreement-in-ls-9154979.html

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, at the India Economic Conclave, stated the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is not against any religion.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, speaking at the India Economic Conclave (IEC), stated the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is not against any religious group. Attacking the opposition, Dhami stated that the opposition just wants to oppose everything that the government does. Citing the construction of Ayodhya Ram Mandir, he said the temple was a years-old dispute since the time of the Congress government. “People wished to have a temple at the birthplace of Ram; even the opposition believes in Ram and prays to him.”
But he said they did not attend the Pran Pratishta ceremony because they did not want to lose the certain vote bank. On being questioned about favouring the particular community and bringing UCC by the Editor-in-Chief, Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, Navika Kumar, Dhami said, “UCC is not against any religious group.”

He further added, “According to Article 44 of the Indian Constitution, the mention of the UCC is very clear, stating that it should be implemented in the country. At the time when the Indian constitution was in the making, it could not be implemented as there was no consensus.”

In Uttarakhand, we introduced the UCC bill after the people of the state gave us a clear mandate, he said. Before the elections, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we promised the public that if voted to power, the first thing that our government would do is ‘implement UCC.’.
“Hamen jo sankalp liya tha wo hamne poora kiya (We did what we promised the public),” he said further.
“Aur isko lagu krna itna samanaye nahi hai, Uttarakhand devbhoomi hai…Uttarakhand ek sainik bahulaye pradesh hai. Aur Uttarakhand ke har pariwar se koi sena mein hai…koi ardsainiki balo mein hai…koi kisi anaya seema par kaam kar raha hai… Har parivar se koi na koi desh ki seva kar raha hai… (And implementing this was not that simple; Uttarakhand is the land of gods… Uttarakhand is a state rich in soldiers… and from every family in Uttarakhand, there is someone in the army, someone in paramilitary forces, or someone working at some border… Every family has someone serving the nation,” he said.
“”Do dham hain, do-do antarashtriya seemayon se laga hua pradesh hai… isiliye is pradesh mein rehne waale har ek vyakti ke liye… chahe wo kisi bhi jaati ka ho… pant ka ho… samudaye ka ho… sabke liye ek samaan kanoon layenge…” (There are two pilgrimages, and the state is bordered by two international borders… that’s why for every person living in this state, regardless of their caste, religion, or community… we will bring one equal law for all.)

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/india/hamne-sankalp-liya-tha-uttarakhand-cm-pushkar-singh-dhami-on-implementation-of-ucc-iec-2024-article-116291024

Switzerland has revoked India’s ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status clause in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two countries.

Switzerland has suspended the ‘most favoured nation (MFN)’ status for India in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two countries, a decision that would now levy higher taxes on Indian companies operating in the European Union. The Swiss government suspended the MFN status clause in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) citing the Supreme Court of India’s 2023 Nestle ruling.
With this, Switzerland will tax dividends that Indian entities will earn in that country at 10 per cent from January 1, 2025, a report in PTI stated. A statement from the Swiss finance department on December 11 stated that the move follows the Supreme Court of India last year ruling that the MFN clause doesn’t automatically trigger when a country joins the OECD if the Indian government signed a tax treaty with that country before it joined the organisation.
Notably, India inked tax treaties with Colombia and Lithuania leading to lower tax rates on certain types of income than the rates it provided to OECD countries. These countries later joined the OECD, the report added. Later, Switzerland in 2021 interpreted that Colombia and Lithuania joining the OECD meant a 5 per cent rate for dividends would apply to the India-Switzerland tax treaty under the MFN clause, instead of 10 per cent as stated in the agreement.

ED has conducted over 110 searches so far; assets valued at Rs 2426.18 crore have been seized frozen, or attached till now; 12 people arrested to data

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Raipur zonal office has conducted search operations at Kolkata, West Bengal on Thursday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the Mahadev Online Book case. During the search operations, securities/ bonds/ DEMAT accounts worth Rs 130.57 crore were frozen, agency officials said on Friday.

The ED investigations have revealed that M/s Mahadev Online Book Betting APP, which is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enroll new users, create user IDs and laundering of money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.

On December 6, ED Raipur arrested a Kolkata resident Govind Kumar Kedia under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in alleged connection with the Mahadev Online Book case. Kedia’s interrogation is linked to the ED’s search operations conducted on Thursday in Kolkata, West Bengal. Kedia is one sub-broker and he with the help of his entities and others, knowingly assisted the promoters of the Mahadev App and other accused persons, in introducing, investing and earning profits on proceeds of crime (POC) through various entities.

Earlier, ED conducted searches on the entities and residential premises of Kedia and froze investments of Rs 197 crore made in the Indian share market by Kedia, his family members and his entities.

Last week, the ED official issued a provisional attachment order under the PMLA, attaching additional assets worth Rs 387.99 crore. The attached assets were in the form of movable (investment made by Mauritius-based company, M/s Tano Investment Opportunities and immovable property situated at Chhattisgarh, Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh held in the name of promoters of the multiple betting app/websites, the panel operators and the associates of the promoters.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/mahadev-betting-scam-ed-strikes-big-freezes-assets-worth-13057-crore

Allu Arjun left the jail in his car, with security forces reportedly stationed outside his residence to manage the crowd of supporters gathered to welcome him. His father-in-law, Kancharla Chandrasekhar Reddy, arrived at the jail to accompany him home.

Actor Allu Arjun was released from Hyderabad’s Chanchalguda Central Jail early Saturday morning after being granted bail by the Telangana High Court in connection with the Sandhya Theatre stampede case. The actor had been taken into custody on Friday and sent to 14-day judicial remand by a Hyderabad court earlier in the day.

Allu Arjun left the jail in his car, with security forces reportedly stationed outside his residence to manage the crowd of supporters gathered to welcome him. His father-in-law, Kancharla Chandrasekhar Reddy, arrived at the jail to accompany him home.

Why Did Allu Arjun Spend Night In Jail?

The high court granted Arjun interim bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 late on Friday, providing temporary relief for the actor. Despite the bail order, procedural delays resulted in Arjun spending the night at Chikkadpally Jail before his release early the next morning.

The actor’s arrest came as a result of the December 4 stampede at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad during the screening of Pushpa 2: The Rule. The incident claimed the life of a 35-year-old woman, Revathi and injured her eight-year-old son as hundreds of fans thronged the venue to catch a glimpse of the actor.

Letter Seeking Police Bandobast At Theatre Surfaces

Meanwhile, a letter by the Sandhya Theatre authorities seeking police protection for the event day surfaced on the internet on Friday. The Hyderabad Police later issued a clarification regarding the letter circulating in the media, allegedly requesting police bandobast for December 4 and 5 in connection with the release of the film Pushpa 2: The Rule. The letter, sent by Sandhya Cine Enterprise 70 MM to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Chikkadpally, requested additional security for the film’s premiere.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Central Zone, issued a statement addressing the situation. “The letter circulating in the media, addressed by Sandhya Cine Enterprise to ACP Chikkadpally requesting bandobast on December 4 and 5, is one of many such requests we receive,” the statement read.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/entertainment/allu-arjun-walks-out-of-hyderabad-jail-after-spending-night-in-stampede-case-first-visuals-out

The Su-30 aircraft will have an indigenous content of 62.6%, enhanced due to indigenisation of many components to be made by the local defence industry

The defence ministry on Thursday inked a ₹13,500-crore contract with Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 12 Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft along with associated equipment for the Indian Air Force in a push for the country’s self-reliance drive, the ministry said.

The IAF operates a fleet of 260 Su-30s, and the 12 additional fighters have been contracted to make up for planes lost in accidents.

A ₹7,000-crore deal for 100 more self-propelled K9 Vajra-T guns manufactured by Larsen & Toubro with technology transfer from South Korean firm Hanwha Techwin has also been cleared, HT has learnt.

“The Su-30 aircraft will have an indigenous content of 62.6%, enhanced due to indigenisation of many components to be manufactured by the local defence industry,” the defence ministry said.

The 12 aircraft will be manufactured at HAL’s Nashik division.

“The supply of these aircraft will enhance the operational capability of the IAF and strengthen the defence preparedness of the country,” the ministry said in a statement.

The aircraft manufacturing division at Nashik, set up in 1964, has produced MiG variants and Su-30s under licence.

The army has so far inducted 100 155mm/52 calibre K9 Vajra-T guns under a 2017 contract worth $720 million, and several of them have been deployed in Ladakh after carrying out upgrades to enable operations in the mountains. The guns were originally bought for a desert role.

In September, the defence ministry signed a ₹26,000-crore contract with HAL for 240 aero-engines for the IAF’s Su-30 fighters. HAL will supply 30 AL-31FP engines annually from its Koraput facility in Odisha, with the delivery completed in eight years.

“These aero-engines are expected to fulfil the needs of the IAF to sustain the operational capability of the Su-30 fleet for the country’s defence preparedness,” the defence ministry said at the time.

The engines will be built in Koraput from the raw material stage with technology transfer from Russia, and only some spares, forgings and castings are expected to be imported. By the time the deliveries are completed, the engines will have an indigenous content of up to 63%.

The IAF’s Su-30s will also be upgraded by HAL at around ₹65,000 crore, as previously reported by HT. It will involve equipping the fighters with the indigenous Uttam active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, electronic warfare suites, weapon control systems, avionics and new weapons.

The deal for the K-9 Vajra guns has put the spotlight on the army’s artillery modernisation.

The army plans to enhance its firepower, with a greater emphasis on mobility, precision attacks, range, quick strikes and survivability as it ramps up efforts to buy an array of weapons, including guns, rocket systems and missiles, officials tracking the artillery’s modernisation earlier said.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/defence-ministry-inks-rs-13-500-crore-deal-with-hal-for-12-su-30-fighters-101734018317945.html

The Supreme Court made the oral remarks while hearing a case on the dismissal of two women judicial officers by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Judges should avoid using social media and refrain from expressing their opinions about judgments online, the Supreme Court has said, observing that they must live like a hermit and work like a horse. Stating that there is no place for showiness in the judiciary, the court said, “Judicial officers should not go to Facebook. They should not comment on judgments because tomorrow if the judgment is cited, judge has already expressed one way or the other.”
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh made the oral remarks while hearing a case on the dismissal of two women judicial officers – Aditi Kumar Sharma and Sarita Chaudhary – by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

“It (social media) is an open platform. You have to live life a hermit, work like a horse. So much sacrifice judicial officers have to do. They should not go into Facebook at all,” the court observed.

Echoing the court’s views, senior advocate R Basant – who appeared for one of the terminated woman judges – said no judge or judicial officer should post anything related to judicial work on Facebook.

The remarks followed a submission by senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal – who is an amicus curiae or an adviser to the court – that raised complaints against the terminated judge. In his submission, he had flagged a Facebook post by the judge.

The Supreme Court had taken cognisance of the dismissal of six women civil judges on a performance basis on November 11, 2023. On August 1, a full court of the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided to reinstate four of them – Jyoti Varkade, Sushri Sonakshi Joshi, Sushri Priya Sharma, and Rachna Atulkar Joshi – on certain terms.

The other two judges were left out of the exercise, which is being considered by the Supreme Court.

A report by the High Court had flagged a drop in Aditi Sharma’s performance from very good and good ratings to average and poor since 2019-20, stating that her disposal rate was below 200 in 2022. She, however, told the high court that she suffered a miscarriage in 2021, after which her brother was diagnosed with cancer.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/judges-should-avoid-social-media-live-like-hermits-says-supreme-court-7236700#pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

A 35-year-old migrant worker flew from Kuwait to Andhra Pradesh and murdered a relative, who he accused of sexually abusing his minor daughter.

Anjaneya Prasad, who recently returned from Kuwait beat his physically challenged relative, P Anjaneyulu (59) to death with an iron rod over allegations of sexually abusing his daughter, said Rajampet sub-divisional police officer N Sudhakar.

“Anjaneya Prasad came to India in the first week of December and killed Anjaneyulu in the intervening night of December 6 and 7 when the latter was sleeping outside his home,” PTI quoted N Sudhakar as saying. told PTI.

Police said that the incident took place at Obulavaripalli in Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh. Police said that after the murder, Prasad returned to Kuwait and released a video message, admitting to the crime. In the video, he claimed the police had failed to take action on his daughter’s complaint.

Meanwhile, the police have filed a murder case against Prasad and are actively searching for his arrest.

Anjaneya and his wife, Chandrakala, are employed in Kuwait, while their 12-year-old daughter was living with her grandparents. The girl later moved in with Chandrakala’s sister, Lakshmi, and her husband.

During her stay, she was allegedly molested by Lakshmi’s father-in-law while she was asleep. When she reported the incident to her aunt, she was instructed to remain silent.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/man-flies-from-kuwait-to-andhra-kills-relative-who-sexually-abused-daughter-police-101734048952995.html

A fire at City Hospital in Chennai claimed the lives of at least six individuals due to suffocation.

At least six people, including a boy, lost their lives in a fire at a private hospital in Chennai on Thursday, police and Fire Department officials said. The incident took place on Thursday night at the City Hospital on Trichy Road.

The victims were found unconscious in a lift and were immediately transported to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead by doctors.

The cause of death was determined to be suffocation, and Fire and Rescue Services personnel discovered the victims after evacuating around 30 patients from the hospital. The evacuated individuals were then admitted to the district’s Government Hospital, officials said.

“A fire broke out at a private hospital about two hours ago. The patients here have been rescued and admitted to nearby government and private hospitals,” Dindigul District Collector MN Poongodi told news agency ANI.

Initial investigations by the police suggest the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit. TV footage showed smoke and flames rising from the hospital, with fire trucks deployed to control the blaze.

Deadly Jhansi fire

In November, 11 newborns were killed in a fire at Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. The devastating blaze at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the hospital could have been prevented had hospital authorities addressed the recommendations from a safety audit conducted five months earlier.

The safety audit report, dated June 20, 2024, was based on an inspection conducted on June 17 and 18 this year by a two-member team: Chandra Bhushan Chaubey, assistant director of electricity safety in Jhansi, and Mulayam Singh Yadav, electricity safety officer in Jhansi.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/child-among-6-dead-after-fire-breaking-out-at-private-hospital-in-tamil-nadu-dindigul-101734049423223.html

Several schools in Delhi have received a bomb threat via emails on Friday morning. The police and bomb detection squad have reached the premises. The threats were issued to Bhatnagar Public School, Paschim Vihar, Cambridge School, Sriniwaspuri, DPS, East of Kailash, South Delhi Public School, Defence Colony among others.

As many as sixteen schools in Delhi on Friday morning received bomb threat through emails. The police and fire officials have reached the schools, and started a thorough search on the campuses to find out anything suspicious carrying potential threat. The email stated that there are a number of explosives in the school premises, which are powerful enough to take down a building. The person who sent these notes knew that there were sports activity and parent-teacher meeting scheduled on December 13 and 14. The note warned the schools indirectly that the bombs could be in the bag of one of the students entering the school.

Kambli himself revealed that the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Ajay Jadeja have reached out to him in support.

The former Indian cricketer, Vinod Kambli, has gone on to suggest that he is ready to go into rehabilitation amid concerns over his declining health.

Earlier, a video had gone viral where Kambli had held on to Sachin Tendulkar’s arm, refusing to let go during a public event. But Kambli has gone on record that he is willing to get himself checked into rehabilitation to get himself back in good health.

“I’m ready to go for rehab. I want to go there because I don’t fear anything. My family is with me,” Kambli shared in an interview with Vickey Lalwani on YouTube.

Many former cricketers have come out, speaking their opinion on Kambli’s declining health. Some have gone on to offer him support, while others have implied that he needs to help himself. Kambli himself revealed that the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Ajay Jadeja have reached out to him in support.

“Gavaskar was the one who spoke to me first,” he shared.

“Jadeja is a very good friend of mine. He came to meet me and said, ‘Come on, get up.’ A lot of people have called me lately. Everyone saw me,” Kambli added. “Definitely, they [BCCI] will help. Abey Kuruvilla (former India pacer) is with BCCI; he is in touch with me, and he is also in touch with my wife.”

The former India batter said he has no shame in admitting that his drinking habits landed him in trouble but added that he hasn’t consumed a single drop of alcohol lately.

“No, no. I had stopped drinking and smoking six months ago. Did it for the sake of my kids. I used to do it earlier, but I’ve left it behind now,” said Kambli.

Kambli’s record for India

Kambli played a total of 17 Tests and 104 ODIs for India during his nine-year-long international career. He made his debut against Pakistan in Sharjah during an ODI match played on October 18, 1991, and his last international match was against Sri Lanka at the same venue on October 29, 2000.

Source : https://www.news18.com/cricket/vinod-kambli-expresses-willingness-to-enter-rehab-amid-health-concerns-9154470.html

News reports say that the Supreme Court recently laid down eight factors for deciding alimony in divorce cases. A Bar & Bench fact check found otherwise.

Following the recent suicide of Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash due to alleged harassment by his estranged wife and in-laws, the media has shifted its focus towards matrimonial laws, reporting how they may be tilted in favour of women.

News reports state that the Supreme Court recently laid down eight factors for deciding alimony in divorce cases.

However, a reading of the judgment dated December 10 reveals that the top court has only summarised what has been held before.

Bar & Bench takes a closer look.

A retired IAF officer lost Rs 76.5 lakh to a Facebook investment scam involving a fake app and WhatsApp group.

A 65-year-old retired officer of the IAF fell victim to an investment scam where he lost a massive sum of Rs 76.5 lakh. The retired group captain based in Bengaluru saw a legitimate-looking Facebook ad promising lucrative returns on stock market investments. Little did he know that this would end up being his way to financial fraud. His ordeal is a tale of how unverified online ads can trap one in a scam and, above all, a vivid reminder of just how easy it is for someone to get swindled in this digital age.

In March this year, a High Level Committee headed by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind had batted for the idea of ‘One Nation One Election’.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday reportedly approved the One Nation, One Election policy and is likely to table a comprehensive Bill on the same during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

In March this year, a High Level Committee headed by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind had batted for the idea of ‘One Nation One Election’, a proposal mooted by the Central government as per which elections to the Lok Sabha and the State legislative assemblies will be held simultaneously.

The panel in its report said that there is overwhelming support for holding simultaneous elections and that it will aid development and deepen democratic roots in the country.

While some of the Constitutional amendments needed to bring in simultaneous elections would require ratification by states, certain amendments can be done by Parliament without the states’ concurrence, the report said.

On September 18, the recommendations of the High-Level Committee were accepted by the Union Cabinet.

Notably, four former Chief Justices of India (CJIs) who were consulted by the Committee had expressed their support for its implementation.

Former CJIs Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi, Sharad Arvind Bobde and UU Lalit participated in personal consultations and submitted written responses, all expressing support for simultaneous elections.

Source : https://www.barandbench.com/news/union-cabinet-approves-one-nation-one-election

Rajan Chauhan (58), a skater with 28 years of experience, said that one doesn’t feel cold once on the rink.”We are expecting that the season to go on until January 26,” he added.

Shimla: Shimla’s winter charm was elevated with the commencement of the season’s first ice skating session on Wednesday. Skating enthusiasts gathered at Asia’s largest natural ice skating rink here to enjoy the thrill of gliding across the ice.

The ice skating season began on December 18 last year and was initially scheduled to start on December 9 this year. However, heavy rains and snow disrupted the schedule, delaying the opening by two days.

Clear skies and low temperatures are necessary for the ice rink to form. Although water started freezing and a trial session was successfully conducted on December 8, the inclement weather delayed the official start.

The sharp drop in temperatures following the snowfall proved beneficial for skating enthusiasts, as the water froze again within two days, creating a thick layer of ice.

After a successful trial session 2-3 days ago, the first morning session officially began today, said Rajat Malhotra, organizing secretary of the Shimla Ice Skating Club. “Evening sessions will start in 4-5 days if the weather remains favourable,” he said, adding that the crowd will increase once school examinations are over.

The Shimla Ice-Skating Club currently has around 300 members.

Juvan, a teenager born and raised in Shimla who has been skating since she was five, shared that school and college students eagerly await the ice skating season each winter. “We may feel lazy about going to school or college, but when it comes to skating, we’re always the first ones there,” she said.

Rajan Chauhan (58), a skater with 28 years of experience, said that one doesn’t feel cold once on the rink.”We are expecting that the season to go on until January 26,” he added.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/himachal-pradesh/ice-skating-season-begins-at-asias-largest-natural-rink-in-shimla-3313028

Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) chief executive K Dinesh Kumar noted that people can inform the government and officials through a whatsapp message or a sound clip.

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh government is working towards enabling people to lodge complaints over the issues they are facing through whatsapp for resolution, said an official on Wednesday.

Addressing the second district collectors conference, Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) chief executive K Dinesh Kumar noted that people can inform the government and officials through a whatsapp message or a sound clip.

“We are soon bringing a platform for people to lodge their complaints through whatsapp with the government and officials. If they cannot type their complaint, then they can just record their voice (complaint). We are working on the feasibility of this feature,” said Kumar.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/andhra-pradesh/andhra-working-towards-enabling-people-to-lodge-complaints-through-whatsapp-3313907

Atul Subhash news: Each sentence by the parents of Atul Subhash was punctuated with tears. At one point, unable to come to terms with the enormity facing them, the mother fainted.

They were right in the centre. A posse of cameramen and reporters had surrounded them. They kept crying and speaking into the microphones. The man and the woman at the centre of this are the father and mother of Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash – who died by suicide alleging harassment by his wife, Nikita Singhania, and her family members.
Mother: “Mera bachha bahut torture hua hai (My child was tortured a lot)”.
Father: “Bahut torture hua, itna torture hua ki humko nahi bataya (He was tortured a lot but he never told us anything)”.
Mother: “Mere bachhe ko torture bahut kiya gaya hai (My child was tortured a lot)”.
Father: “Torture karna bhi ek hatya hai (Torture is also murder)”.
Mother: “Mera bachha bahut pareshan hua (My son suffered a lot)”.

Each sentence by the parents was punctuated with tears. At one point, unable to come to terms with the enormity facing them, the mother fainted.

The family retuned to Patna on Wednesday after cremating their 34-year-old son in Bengaluru, who was found dead at his city home on Monday morning.

Hours before his death, Atul had sent a mail to his brother at 1 in the night, his father Pawan Kumar had told the media.

“He had said to us that those in the mediation court do not work as per law, not even as per the rules of Supreme Court. He had to go to Jaunpur from Bengaluru at least 40 times. She (his wife) used to frame one charge after another. He must have been frustrated but never let us feel that. Suddenly, we received the information about the incident – he sent a mail to our younger son around 1 am,” his father Pawan Kumar told news agency ANI.

Before he took the extreme step, Atul Subhash recorded an 80-minute video in which he accused his estranged wife Nikita Singhania and her family of slapping multiple cases on him and his family to extort money from them. He also criticised the justice system in his 24-page suicide note.

A case of abetment of suicide has been filed against Nikita Singhania, her mother Nisha, father Anurag and uncle Sushil by Atul’s family.

“I feel that I should kill myself because the money I earn is making my enemies stronger. That same money will be used to destroy me, and this cycle will keep going,” Atul is heard saying in the video.

A “Justice is due” placard was found in Atul’s room where he allegedly ended his life.

The case of Atul Subhash has reignited a broader debate over the misuse of dowry laws in India. The Supreme Court has previously raised concerns about the growing trend of misusing Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which addresses cruelty by husbands and their relatives against married women.

“There are all types of people. There should not be any gender bias. It should always be a question about who is wrong and who is right,” said Bikas Kumar, Atul’s brother.

Asked if the family ever felt that Atul exhibited suicidal tendencies, the brother said: “There was never any such discussion, even if I had got the slightest hint, I would not have allowed him to take this step. He was very frank with our father. He used to speak to papa and mummy every day. We never felt he could do something like this. If I were ever upset, he would tell me ‘I am there, why do you worry’. He supported me in everything. I don’t know how I will handle all this,” said the brother, fighting back tears.

“He was a lively person who used to get along well with everyone. He was very calm, gentle and composed,” said D Patil, a friend of Atul and also a member of Save Indian Family Foundation.

Another friend claimed that Atul’s estranged wife demanded ₹ 30 lakh just to show him his son’s face.

“Nine cases were registered against him (Atul). As soon as one case would end, another would be filed against him. She (Nikita Singhania) didn’t even let me see him see his son. She asked for ₹ 30 lakh to show Atul his son’s face,” said Naveen Kumar, a friend and member of Save Indian Family Foundation.

Atul and Nikita met on a matchmaking website and married in 2019. The couple became parents to a boy the following year.

Atul Subhash has alleged that his wife’s family would repeatedly demand money running into several lakhs. When he refused to give more money, his wife left the Bengaluru home with their son in 2021.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/atul-subhash-nikita-singhania-suicide-torture-is-also-a-kind-of-murder-parents-of-bengaluru-techie-after-his-suicide-7226107

Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed Raj Kapoor’s impact on Central Asia.

The Kapoor family is all set to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of the legendary Raj Kapoor on December 14. To mark the special occasion, family members of the Kapoor clan even headed to the national capital to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the celebrations. During his meeting with the Kapoors, Narendra Modi requested them to make a film about Raj Kapoor’s impact on the people of Central Asia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Ek kaam ho sakta hai kya? Khas kar ki Central Asia… koi aisi film bane jo wahan ke logo ke dil main, dimaag par, Raj sahab… aaj itne dino ke baad bhi unka poora control hai, main batata hoon (Can something be done? There should be a film that depicts Raj Kapoor’s impact on the hearts and minds of people in Central Asia. Even after all this time, he still has control over them, I’m telling you).”

He added, “Unke jeevan ka prabhav hai. Mujhe lagta hai ki Central Asia main bohot badi takat hai ji. Hume isko punarjeevit karna chahiye. Hume isko nayi peedhi tak jodna chahiye. Ek link bane, vaisa koi creative work karna chahiye (His life has had an impact. I think Central Asia has a lot of power. We should revive his legacy and teach the younger generation. We should do something creative for this).”

Source : https://www.news18.com/movies/prime-minister-narendra-modi-asks-the-kapoor-family-to-make-a-film-about-raj-kapoors-impact-today-watch-9152910.html

Ahead of its anticipated launch, the first prototype of the Vande Bharat Sleeper train has already been manufactured and is scheduled to undergo field trials soon.

New Delhi: In a bid to enhance the passenger experience, Indian Railways is set to introduce the Vande Bharat Sleeper Train, with the aim of offering a more comfortable and efficient option for long-distance travel. The Railway Ministry has confirmed that efforts are being made to launch the sleeper version of the Vande Bharat train series at the earliest. Once operational, this will be the third variant of the Vande Bharat trains, following the Vande Bharat Express (Chair Car) and Vande Metro (Namo Bharat Rapid Rail).
Ahead of its anticipated launch, the first prototype of the Vande Bharat Sleeper train has already been manufactured and is scheduled to undergo field trials soon. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made this announcement in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. However, he noted that the timeline for the rollout of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Train will depend on the successful completion of these trials.
Vaishnaw further stated that the introduction of new train services, including variants like the Vande Bharat series, is an ongoing process. These additions are evaluated based on factors such as traffic justification, operational feasibility, and resource availability.

• Kavach automatic train protection system
• Compliance with the latest fire-safety standards
• Crashworthy semi-permanent couplers
• Regenerative braking system for energy efficiency
• Quicker acceleration and deceleration for improved average speeds
• The introduction of the sleeper train also promises to bolster the efficiency and safety of long-haul train travel, offering an elevated experience to passengers.

The Labour Ministry is modernizing EPFO systems, enabling ATM-based provident fund withdrawals by 2025. Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra highlighted ongoing improvements and efforts to provide gig workers with social security benefits. She also noted India’s unemployment rate has dropped to 3.2%, with rising workforce participation and employment ratios.

The Labour Ministry is upgrading its IT systems to provide enhanced services to the country’s massive workforce.
Starting next year, EPFO subscribers will be able to withdraw their provident funds directly from ATMs, according to Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra.
“We are settling claims quickly and are working to make the process easier to improve the ease of living. A claimant, beneficiary, or insured person will be able to access their claims conveniently through ATMs, with minimal human intervention,” the Labour Secretary said.

“Systems are evolving, and every two to three months, you will notice significant improvements. I believe there will be a major enhancement by January 2025,” she told ANI.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has more than 70 million active contributors.
The Labour Secretary also underlined the government’s efforts to strengthen EPFO services in order to make life easier.
Dawra said progress was being made on proposals to extend social security benefits to gig workers, but he did not provide a date.
“A lot of work has been done, and we have outlined a scheme that is now in the finalisation process,” she said. These benefits could include medical health coverage, provident funds, and financial support in cases of disability.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/personal-finance/epfo-subscribers-to-access-provident-funds-via-atms-starting-2025-says-labour-secretary-article-116216423

In its affidavit, the agency said that Chavan played a “pivotal role” in securing the BMC contract through “political connections”. Of the misappropriated amount, Rs1.35 crore was allegedly credited to his firm and later layered into investments to launder the “proceeds of crime”.

Denying the allegation of illegal arrest levelled by Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary Suraj Chavan, the accused in the Rs3.68 crore khichdi scam dating back to Covid, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the Bombay High Court (HC) that his arrest adhered to procedural requirements.

Held on January 17, Chavan had moved the HC after the special PMLA court remanded him to the ED custody, noting his “active involvement in money laundering.

In its affidavit, the agency said that Chavan played a “pivotal role” in securing the BMC contract through “political connections”. Of the misappropriated amount, Rs1.35 crore was allegedly credited to his firm and later layered into investments to launder the “proceeds of crime”.

Representing the accused, advocate Harshad Bhadbhade said that his arrest was illegal and that he was not provided with grounds of arrest in writing as mandated in law. The ED contended that Chavan’s custodial interrogation was necessary to uncover the conspiracy and trace the proceeds of crime. The agency highlighted that Chavan’s release could lead to evidence tampering and witness intimidation, which would hamper the ongoing investigation.

Treating the Mumbai police’s FIR under the Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) as the predicate offence, the ED had registered a case against Chavan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency alleged that Chavan, through his firm Force One Multi Services, enabled the misappropriation by subcontracting khichdi distribution work to ineligible entities, which supplied underweight packets. The proceeds of crime, amounting to Rs1.35 crore, were transferred to Chavan’s personal and firm accounts. The money was used to purchase immovable properties, projecting the funds as untainted, the ED claimed.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/khichdi-scam-suraj-chavan-leveraged-political-connections-to-bag-contract-ed-informs-bombay-hc

The bus service has been stopped at Kurla station on Tuesday and Wednesday, currently the bus service is running only up to Kurla depot.

After the bus accident in Kurla on Monday, citizens are facing major problems regarding bus services. After this accident, the bus service has been stopped at Kurla station on Tuesday and Wednesday, currently the bus service is running only up to Kurla depot.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/mumbai-kurla-bus-accident-disrupts-services-citizens-face-major-inconvenience

With the scores tied at 6.5-6.5 and only one game of chess to go, it is only likely that the match will be played to the tie-break stage where games of shorter duration will decide the winner.

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh tried his best but could not break past a resilient defending champion Ding Liren of China and had to settle for a draw after 68 moves in the 13th and penultimate game of the World Chess championship here on Wednesday.

With the scores tied at 6.5-6.5 and only one game of classical chess to go, it is only likely that the match will be extended to the tie-break stage where games of shorter duration will decide the winner. As was expected and predicted, the 18-year-old Gukesh went for the King pawn on his opening move and yet again faced Liren’s first-choice opening in French defense.

The Chinese yet again spent a lot of time in the opening phase of the game when Gukesh came out with a novel idea early, but it was clear right from the beginning that there was little for the white.

The middle game saw the exchange of a couple of minor pieces that gave Gukesh’s white only a small advantage optically. And as the game progressed, it was clear that the exchange of pawns on the queen side will only lead to an equal endgame.

Gukesh, knowing fully well that this could be his last chance with the favourable colour, left no stone unturned as he kept looking for more but Liren kept his cool and traded pieces when necessary to reach a queen-plus-rook endgame that was just level.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/sports/world-chess-championship-d-gukesh-draws-against-ding-liren-in-13th-game

The Port of Colombo is the largest and busiest transhipment port in the Indian Ocean. It has been operating at more than 90 per cent utilisation since 2021, signalling its need for additional capacity.

Billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate on Tuesday said it will use its own resources to fund a Sri Lankan port project and not seek US funding.

In an exchange filing late on Tuesday, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd said the project “is on track for commissioning by early next year” and added that the company will fund the ongoing project through “internal accruals”, aligning with its capital management strategy.

The company said it has withdrawn its 2023 “request for financing from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)”.

The US International Development Finance Corp, in November last year, agreed to provide a $553 million loan to support the development, construction, and operation of a deep-water container terminal called the Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

The CWIT is being developed by a consortium of Adani Ports, Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc, and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

DFC financing was part of the US government’s broader efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the region and was seen as an endorsement of Adani’s ability to develop world-class infrastructure.

However, the loan process stalled after the DFC asked that the agreement between Adani and the SLPA be amended to align with their conditions, which then went under review by Sri Lanka’s Attorney General. As the project is nearing completion, Adani Ports, which holds 51 per cent of the venture, chose to proceed with the project without funding from the DFC, officials privy to the process explained.

The US agency had recently stated that it was “actively assessing the ramifications” of the bribery allegations against the Adani group executives. It had so far not disbursed any money to the ports-to-energy conglomerate.

Last month, the US Department of Justice charged the Adani group’s founder chairman Gautam Adani, and seven others over allegedly conspiring to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure lucrative solar power supply contracts that were expected to yield USD 2 billion in profits over 20 years.

Adani group has denied all charges as baseless and vowed to pursue all possible legal recourse.

The Port of Colombo is the largest and busiest transhipment port in the Indian Ocean. It has been operating at more than 90 per cent utilisation since 2021, signalling its need for additional capacity.

The geopolitically sensitive port project in Sri Lanka is as much of a move by the US to counter Chinese influence in the island nation.

Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to become commercially operational by Q1 2025.

The new terminal will cater to growing economies in the Bay of Bengal, taking advantage of Sri Lanka’s prime position on major shipping routes and its proximity to these expanding markets.

The Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) project was initiated in September 2021, when Adani Ports signed an agreement with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings, pledging over USD 700 million to expand the capabilities of Colombo Port.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/business/companies/amid-bribery-charges-adani-group-opts-out-of-us-funding-for-its-colombo-port-project-3312171

During his visit early this week, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri conveyed New Delhi’s ‘concerns’ over the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh.

Washington: The United States has said that it wants India and Bangladesh to resolve their differences peacefully.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miler said this at his daily news conference on Tuesday.

“We want to see all parties resolve their disagreements peacefully,” Miler said, responding to a question on the recent visit of India’s foreign secretary to Bangladesh.

During his visit early this week, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri New Delhi’s “concerns” over the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/world/want-all-parties-to-resolve-disagreements-peacefully-us-on-india-bangladesh-ties-3312570

The fire was confined to the second and third floors of the three-story structure, a closed cinema theatre building. It primarily affected electric wiring, installations, tarpaulin sheets and other electrical materials within the premises.

A fire broke out late Tuesday night at the Silver Cinema Building on Khambatta Street, Ninth Grant Road East, Mumbai. The incident was reported to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) at 11:15 pm, and an update was issued by 11:50 pm. Fortunately, no injuries or casualties were reported during the incident.

Details Of The Incident

The fire was confined to the second and third floors of the three-story structure, a closed cinema theatre building. It primarily affected electric wiring, installations, tarpaulin sheets and other electrical materials within the premises. Visuals of the blaze have surfaced on the internet showing the structure engulfed in huge flames.

Multiple agencies, including the MFB, Police, BEST and municipal ward staff, were swiftly mobilised to handle the situation. The MFB efficiently brought the fire under control and extinguished it by 11:20 pm, just five minutes after it was reported.

Cause Of Fire Yet To Be Ascertained

The prompt response by emergency services ensured that the fire was contained before it could escalate, minimizing potential damage to the structure and nearby areas. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and authorities are expected to conduct further inquiries to ascertain the details.

MFB To Launch Major Recruitment Drive

Meanwhile, facing a critical shortfall of 550 firemen, the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) is set to launch a major recruitment drive in January 2025. To ensure transparency and avoid controversies like those that marred last year’s hiring process, the MFB is considering engaging an external agency to oversee the recruitment.

The shortage of firemen has been a persistent issue for the MFB over the past three years. In January 2024, the brigade initiated a recruitment drive to fill 910 vacancies. Candidates who met the eligibility criteria participated in rigorous ground tests held in Dahisar, which included demanding physical tasks such as pull-ups, an 800-meter run in under three minutes, rope climbing, and a 19-foot jump. The final merit list was published in May 2024.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-fire-breaks-out-at-silver-cinema-building-in-grant-road-no-casualties-reported-visuals-surface