Category: India

At least 116 people, many of them women and children, were killed in a stampede at a Hindu religious gathering in northern India on Tuesday, authorities said, in one of the country’s worst such tragedies in years.
The stampede happened in a village in Hathras district in Utter Pradesh, about 200 km (125 miles) southeast of the national capital New Delhi, where authorities said thousands had gathered in sweltering late afternoon temperatures.

Another senior state official, Chaitra V., told broadcaster India Today that people may have lost their footing as they sought water in the heat.

“There was wet mud at one place where people may have slipped. Also because of the heat, people may have made their way to the spot where water was kept and that could have caused the incident as well,” she said, adding that 18 were injured and in hospital.

Police said they had launched an investigation and promised action against anyone found to be responsible, adding that the gathering may have been larger than had been permitted.
“Lapses by authorities will also be investigated and action will be taken on the basis of the report which will be available within 24 hours,” state police chief Prashant Kumar said.
Video clips recorded by news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake, showed bodies piled into the back of trucks and laid out in vehicles.
Purses and bags covered in dust, were heaped up at the venue, with people sitting on their haunches sifting through them to identify their belongings.

Mobile phones were similarly piled together, waiting to be claimed by their owners.

A video on social media showed a large crowd packed into a tented area, standing and listening to devotional tunes as they waved their hands in the direction of the religious leader who sat on a stage.
It also showed some women hanging on to the bamboo poles holding up the canopy to get a better view above the heads of the large crowd.
Reuters could not immediately verify the social media images.
“There must have been about 50,000 people…at the gate on the highway, some people were going left and some people were going right, the stampede was caused in that confusion,” Suresh Chandra, a witness who was at the gathering, told local media.
Seema, a woman who travelled from a town almost 60 km away to attend the event, said she was leaving the venue when the stampede occurred. She was accompanied by three relatives, two of whom were killed.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/least-27-dead-india-stampede-ndtv-reports-2024-07-02/

Congress MP KL Sharma appealed to the state government that when such events are organised, they should ensure the proper safety of the people.

After the Uttar Pradesh police carried out a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district in search of ‘Bhole Baba’, who hold a Satsang in Hathras where a stampede took place claiming the lives of 116 people, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar revealed that Baba ji was not found inside the campus.

“We did not find Baba ji inside the campus…He is not here…” said Deputy SP Sunil Kumar.

Aligarh DM Vishak G Iyer said that as many as 23 bodies have been brought to Aligarh and a total of three injured people are receiving treatment and out of them one is in critical condition.

“A total of 23 bodies have been brought to Aligarh…Three injured people from the Hathras incident are getting treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. Out of them, two are in stable condition whereas one is in critical condition. We have talked to the hospital administration and the procedure to take the (critical) patient to the ICU is underway…” said Aligarh DM Vishak G Iyer.

Hathras Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Manjeet Singh said that the procedure of identifying the bodies brought is underway. 19 out of a total of 32 have been identified.

116 Killed In Tragic Incident

“A total of 116 people have died so far…32 bodies were brought here and 19 of them have been identified. We are identifying the rest of them…” said Hathras Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Manjeet Singh.

Congress MP KL Sharma appealed to the state government that when such events are organised, they should ensure the proper safety of the people.

“I want to appeal to the state government that if such events are organised, they should also take care of the preparation and ensure proper safety of the people. I got to know that several women have lost their lives. The compensation amount should have been more, keeping the condition of the family in mind…” said Congress MP KL Sharma.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/hathras-stampede-we-did-not-find-baba-ji-deputy-sp-sunil-kumar-after-search-operation-at-satsang-campus

A video of the incident has surfaced online, showing passengers jumping off the moving bus, although it was moving at a slow speed.

Security personnel averted a major accident after a bus carrying pilgrims of the Amarnath Yatra lost control on National Highway 44 in Ramban district on Tuesday.

According to reports, with around 40 pilgrims onboard bus was returning to Hoshiarpur in Punjab.

It is reported that the driver failed to stop the vehicle upon reaching Nachlana near Banihal due to brake failure.

Ten people, including six men, three women, and one child, were injured in the incident.

Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant will tie the knot on July 12 in Mumbai’s Jio World Centre. Singers like Adele, Drake, and Lana Del Rey are expected to perform at the star-studded event.

Ahead of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding later this month, billionaire couple Nita and Mukesh Ambani performed a good deed and organized a mass wedding in Thane, Mumbai.

On June 2, nearly 800 people gathered at the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) in Navi Mumbai to watch 50 couples get married at the mega event. It has now been reported that the newly-wedded couple were gifted gold and silver jewelry along with Rs 1 lakh cash.

Nita and Mukesh Ambani gift gold, silver, and Rs 1 lakh cash to 50 couples at the mass wedding
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are all set to get married on July 12. But before they get into matrimony, the Ambanis hosted 50 couples to tie the knot at a mass wedding. The event took place at the Thane situated Reliance Corporate Park at 4 pm on July 2, 2024.

A report by Hindustan Times stated that after the couples got married together, the Ambanis gifted them gold jewelry, including mangalsutra, wedding rings, nose rings, and silver ornaments like toe rings and anklets. Along with that, they were also presented with some groceries and 36 other household items like utensils, a gas stove, a mixer, a fan, a mattress, and pillows.

Not just this, the brides were also gifted a cheque of Rs 1.01 lakh as her ‘streedhan’ by Nita Ambani and her daughter Isha Ambani Piramal. Mukesh Ambani, Akash Ambani, Shloka Ambani, and Anand Piramal were also present at the occasion.

Source: https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/news/anant-ambani-radhika-merchants-wedding-nita-mukesh-ambani-gift-gold-silver-and-rs-1-lakh-cash-to-50-couples-at-mass-wedding-report-1323534

The wheel of a bus carrying students got stuck in an 8-metre pit on Tuesday afternoon after a portion of the four-lane Gurugram-Sohna elevated flyover caved in again.

Gurugram: The wheel of a bus carrying students got stuck in an 8-metre pit on Tuesday afternoon after a portion of the four-lane Gurugram-Sohna elevated flyover caved in again within 8 months, officials said.

However, a major incident was averted as another bus was used to pull it from behind, after which the school bus resumed its journey.

The pit, approximately 8-metre deep and two-feet wide, was formed on the road towards Sohna, in front of SD Adarsh Vidyalaya, an official said.

Upon receiving information, a team from the road construction company and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) arrived at the scene and set up barricades around the pothole.

About 30 per cent of the road lane has been closed to vehicular traffic, a senior GMDA officer said, adding that the repair work would commence soon.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/haryana/portion-of-gurugram-sohna-flyover-caves-in-again-in-8-months-school-bus-wheel-stuck-3090225

In a shocking case from Chennai, a souvenir shop by the airport has been exposed as a front for a Sri Lankan gold smuggling syndicate

A recent investigation at Chennai airport has unveiled a shocking gold smuggling operation disguised as a souvenir shop. The New Indian Express reported that Mohammed Sabir Ali, the shop’s owner, was enlisted by a Sri Lankan gold smuggling syndicate to aid in their illegal activities. Ali, along with seven of his employees, has been arrested by Customs for smuggling a staggering 267 kg of gold worth ₹167 crore over a span of two months.

The scheme revolved around a retail souvenir shop named Airhub, strategically located in the departure lounge of Chennai airport. Sources reveal that a syndicate member residing in Abu Dhabi paid ₹70 lakh to secure the shop’s lease for Ali. Despite having no prior retail experience, 29-year-old Ali was targeted for recruitment after the syndicate discovered his YouTube channel, shoppingboyz. Recognizing an opportunity, the syndicate suggested Ali open a shop at the airport to facilitate their smuggling operations.

The smuggling operation was meticulously planned and executed. Ali and his employees were trained by the syndicate to use the shop as a conduit for smuggling gold. The modus operandi involved receiving gold from transit passengers and then passing it on to receivers outside the airport. This intricate process allowed Ali and his team to earn a hefty commission of ₹3 crore over two months. However, the operation was exposed on June 29 when a vigilant Customs official, suspicious of one of the employees, discovered 1 kg of gold powder at the shop. This led to the immediate detention of the employee and the transit passenger involved, followed by the arrest of Ali and the remaining staff.

Source: https://www.spotboye.com/trending/trending-news/shocking-chennai-based-youtuber-sets-up-shop-at-airport-for-a-sri-lankan-gold-smuggling-syndicate-earns-rs-3-crore-in-two-months/6683ffd3ed47ace07512159d

IMD issues ‘orange alert’ in Delhi, ‘red alert’ in Gujarat amid heavy

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an ‘orange’ alert for 15 states in northern India on Tuesday and Wednesday amid a forecast of moderate to heavy rainfall. A ‘red’ alert was also issued for Gujarat as the IMD forecasts extremely heavy rainfall in the state on July 3, after southwest monsoon took over the country this week.

A commuter wades through a waterlogged road in Industrial Area, Chandigarh, following the rain on Tuesday morning. (Keshav Singh/HT)
A commuter wades through a waterlogged road in Industrial Area, Chandigarh, following the rain on Tuesday morning. (Keshav Singh/HT)
An orange alert was also issued for northeastern states on July 3, with the weather agency predicting isolated heavy rainfall for several areas in northwestern India.

It is expected that moderate to heavy rain will lash Delhi on Wednesday, as the national capital continues to deal with waterlogging in many areas after isolated rains on Tuesday. The Met office this morning predicted moderate to heavy rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

The orange alert is in place for July 3 in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Northeastern states are receiving above-normal levels of rainfall over the past week, leading to heavy flooding, landslides and waterlogging in some areas. Rivers in Arunachal Pradesh are now flowing above danger levels, while floods in Assam and Manipur have damaged hundreds of homes.

The weather agency said Tuesday that the southwest monsoon covered the entire country on July 2, six days ahead of schedule, despite making delayed progress in June when the country reeled under the heatwave. The monsoon arrived in Kerala and the northeastern region on May 30, two and six days earlier than usual.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/imd-issues-orange-alert-for-delhi-red-alert-in-gujarat-amid-rainfall-weather-updates-july-3-2024-101719971382977.html

Section 69 of the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita has provision for up to 10 years’ jail for sexual relationships by deceit, including on the pretext of marriage. Experts worry that Section 69 could be used to harass and jail men for breaking up with their partners. Here’s what experts have to say about the new law.

Relationships, consent and marriage have always been tricky terrain for law enforcement. This tricky terrain is back in focus as the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) replaced the 164-year-old Indian Penal Code (IPC) on July 1. Among the provisions of the BNS, Section 69 has experts particularly worried. Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita states that if a promise to marry is made without any intent to follow it up and a sexual relationship is established, a person can face up to 10 years of imprisonment.

“Whoever, by deceitful means or by making a promise to marry a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine,” reads the Section 69 of the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Section 69 is new and unprecedented as the Indian Penal Code did not have a specific provision for sexual intercourse by concealing facts or by deceit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his “moral victory” in the Lok Sabha elections and referred to him as a child who is happy his performance.

Replying to the debate on Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister also twisted Bollywood iconic movie to slam the Leader of Opposition.

“A small kid has taken out his cycle and if he falls and starts crying. An elder comes and say that you have not fallen. It is just an ant which has died. The elder just tried to divert the mind of that kid. This is being done right now,” he said.

“A kid was roaming around with pride that he has got 99 marks. People were also congratulating him. Then his teacher came and said he got 99 marks out of 543, not 100,” the PM added.

“The statements of Congress leaders have surpassed even the film Sholay. You all must remember Mausi ji from the film Sholay. Teesre baar toh haare hain lekin Mausi, moral victory toh hai naa. (We have lost third time but Mausi ji, it is a moral victory) Are Mausi ji 13 Rajyon me zero seat aayi hai to kya hua hero to hai na.. (Mausi, we got zero seat in 13 states but I am a hero,” he said.

Over 116 people died and several others were injured in a stampede at a spiritual congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday. The congregation was organised by Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavana Samagam Committee and was being led by a spiritual leader who is known as Bhole Baba aka Narayan Sakar Hari in Hathras’ Phulrai Mugalgadhi village.

The stampede broke out during the religious programme for which the organisers had obtained permission but the arrangements were insufficient, News18 has learned.

The stampede apparently occurred due to overcrowding, Sikandra Rao police station SHO Ashish Kumar also said earlier in the day while speaking to media outlets.

The event saw a large gathering of people and the event’s posters were also displayed in various places in Hathras, attracting more visitors to the event. The poster names Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavana Samagam Committee and several others as organisers.

The spiritual leader Bhole Baba, aka Narayan Sakar Hari, is from Patiyali in Etah and the stampede broke out during the ‘satsang’ event that he held.

Unlike other godmen and godwomen, who are often seen donning saffron, Narayan Saakar Hari who also has the alias ‘Sakar Vishwa Hari Baba of Patiali’ is seen decked in white dress. His events usually attract hundreds of followers. He also is seen preaching with his wife.

He said he quit his job to begin his spiritual journey as a preacher after retiring as a cop.

Virat Kohli replied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special post for him after his retirement from the shortest format of the game following India’s 2024 T20 World Cup title win. Kohli won the Player of the Match (POTM) award in the final against South Africa, which was his final game for the national team in the T20I format.

“Dear@narendramodi sir, thank you so much for your very kind words and your support and encouragement always. It has been a privilege to be a part of this team, which has brought the cup home. We are deeply touched & overwhelmed with the happiness it has bought the entire nation,” wrote Kohli on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“Dear @imVkohli, Glad to have spoken to you. Like the innings in the Finals, you have anchored Indian batting splendidly. You’ve shone in all forms of the game. T20 Cricket will miss you but I am confident you’ll continue to motivate the new generation of players,” wrote Modi.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/we-are-deeply-touched-virat-kohli-replies-to-pm-narendra-modis-special-t20-cricket-will-miss-you-post-article-111409831

Police received a PCR call regarding suicide after which a team from the Dwarka North police station reached the CISF camp in Dwarka Sector-16 where they found a man hanging from a tree.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/delhi/cisf-jawan-27-found-hanging-from-tree-in-delhis-dwarka-suicide-suspected-article-111417537

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday wrote a letter to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy, proposing a face-to-face meeting on July 6 to address unresolved bifurcation issues. “It has been 10 years since bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. There have been multiple discussions concerning issues arising from the Reorganization Act. which hold significant implications for the welfare and advancement of our states. It is imperative that we address these issues amicably with utmost diligence and resolve. In light of this, I propose that we meet at your place on 6′ July. Saturday afternoon,” read Naidu’s letter.

In his letter to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Naidu wrote, “It has been 10 years since bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. There have been multiple discussions concerning issues arising from the Reorganization Act. which hold significant implications for the welfare and advancement of our states. It is imperative that we address these issues amicably with utmost diligence and resolve. In light of this, I propose that we meet at your place on 6′ July. Saturday afternoon.”

“I firmly believe that a face-to-face meeting will provide us with the opportunity to engage comprehensively on these critical issues and collaborate effectively towards achieving mutually beneficial solutions for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. I am confident that our deliberations will lead to productive outcomes,” the letter read further.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/chandrababu-naidu-proposes-one-on-one-meeting-with-telangana-cm-revanth-reddy-whats-at-stake-article-111417553

The group had been enjoying drinks when the alcohol ran out late at night. In their inebriated state, an argument erupted over the lack of booze. Tensions escalated when the victim, feeling insulted, smashed an alcohol bottle over his friend’s head and demanded that all three friends leave his home

A man celebrating his 25th birthday tragically died after being thrown off a fourth-floor balcony by his friends during a party in Chinchpada Gaon in Kalyan, due to a shortage of alcohol. The incident reportedly occurred on June 27, involving the victim, Kartik Vayal and his three friends, Nilesh Kshirsagar, Sagar Kale and Dheeraj Yadav.

According to a report by Hindustan Times citing police reports, the group had been enjoying drinks when the alcohol ran out late at night. In their inebriated state, an argument erupted over the lack of booze. Tensions escalated when Kartik, feeling insulted, smashed an alcohol bottle over Nilesh’s head and demanded that all three friends leave his home. After the confrontation, Kartik went to his bedroom and fell asleep.

Enraged Friends Threw Kartik Off His Balcony

The situation took a deadly turn when an enraged Nilesh, along with Sagar and Dheeraj, entered Kartik’s room, dragged him onto the balcony and threw him off. Kartik suffered severe injuries from the fall and was found lying in a pool of blood.

Upon discovering Kartik’s condition, his family alerted the police. In an attempt to cover up their actions, the three friends cooked up a story, claiming that Nilesh was injured by Kartik’s bottle attack and had been taken to the hospital. They reportedly stated that they had no knowledge of how Kartik fell from the balcony. However, Kartik’s family insisted that the police investigate further, leading to the uncovering of the true sequence of events that transpired during the birthday party, according to the report.

TV actress Hina Khan recently revealed that she’s been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. On Monday, Hina shared a video of her visiting a hospital for her first chemotherapy session right after attending an award show. The video begins with Hina posing for the paps on the red carpet and receiving an award at an event. The actress is then seen walking into the hospital for her chemo.

“All glam is gone and I’m ready for my first chemo in the hospital. Let’s get better,” a visibly emotional Hina said in the video. Sharing the clip, Hina wrote, “This award night, I knew about my cancer diagnosis, but I made a conscious choice to normalise it – not just for myself, but for all of us. This was the day that changed everything, it marked the beginning of one of the most challenging phases of my life. So Let’s do some affirmations.”

She continued, “We become what we believe in and I have decided to take this challenge as an opportunity to reinvent myself, again. I have decided to keep the spirit of positivity as the first tool in my toolkit. I choose to Normalise this experience for me and I have consciously decided to manifest the outcome I desire. For me, my work commitments matter. For me my motivation, passion and art matters. I refuse to bow down. This award that I received right before my first chemo was not my motivation alone, in fact I attended this event to reassure my self that I am living up to the benchmark, I have set up for myself. MIND OVER MATTER. I attended the event and went straight up to the hospital for my first chemo. I humbly urge everyone out there too to first Normalise the challenges of your lives then set goals for yourself and try to live up to them all along the way. No matter how hard. Never back down. Never give up.”

Source: https://www.news18.com/movies/hina-khan-gets-emotional-as-she-shares-video-from-her-first-chemo-i-refuse-to-bow-down-watch-8951155.html

A five-member team from Bandra police arrived in Bhadrak three days ago. They traced the suspects using mobile tracking and conducted raids with the assistance of local police, the officer said.

Bhadrak (Odisha): A police team from Mumbai arrested five persons in a cybercrime case from Odisha’s Bhadrak town and its adjacent villages, police said on Monday.

The suspects were identified as Hariram Choudhury (25), Nirakar Das (30), Rabindra Kumar Behera (22), Amar Kumar Parida (23), and Anadi Kumar Parida (29).

Two FIRs had been lodged against these persons in Mumbai’s Bandra police station for allegedly defrauding one Moses Vincent of approximately Rs 35 lakh through cyberfraud, a police officer said.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/maharashtra/mumbai-police-arrests-five-persons-from-odishas-bhadrak-in-cybercrime-case-3087615

NEET PG 2024 Date Live Updates: The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is expected to announce the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate or NEET PG 2024 revised exam date today, July 2. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had last week informed that the announcement will be made on Monday or Tuesday. The NBE will share the NEET PG exam date through its official website, natboard.edu.in.

IAF chopper rescues 13 fishermen stranded on flooded Brahmaputra in Assam

Thirteen fishermen, stranded on a sandbar due to rise in water levels of Brahmaputra river in Assam’s Dibrugarh, were rescued by an Indian Air Force helicopter on Tuesday morning, official said.

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials, the IAF conducted the rescue operation following a request by the state government after efforts to reach the fishermen by boats had failed on Monday.

“ASDMA requested IAF to airlift these 13 stranded fishermen. A medical checkup has been done and all are safe,” said an ASDMA official.

The fishermen had been left stranded on the sandbar, which is located in the middle of the Brahmaputra, since Friday after water level on the Brahmaputra rose due to heavy rainfall.

According to ASDMA, the water level in Brahmaputra has been hovering above 105 metres for the past five days and has also crossed the danger level of 105.70 metres at Dibrugarh several times. The exact number of times can’t be ascertained as it changes depending on the water flow in the river.

“This is due to high rainfall in the upper catchment areas of the Brahmaputra, namely Siang and Lohit (rivers) and other tributaries in Arunachal Pradesh. The other nearby rivers like Burhidihing and Sessa are also flowing above the danger level,” ASDMA stated.

On Sunday, ASDMA had deployed another IAF helicopter to rescue eight State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel and one revenue official of Jonai, Dhemaji when they were stranded in a sandbar while going for relief operations.

“High flood level and turbulent water prevented sending other boats, so as a last resort Assam Police and Fire and Emergency Service requested ASDMA to help them. Accordingly, ASDMA contacted the central government and with their necessary permission deployed a helicopter to rescue them,” the official stated.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/iaf-chopper-rescues-13-fishermen-stranded-on-flooded-brahmaputra-in-assam-101719893895110.html

A video of the incident showed 9-10 persons holding on to each other while water gushed around them, before a woman, a boy and then a girl get swept away.

The bodies of all five people swept away in a waterfall near Bhushi Dam in Pune’s Lonavala area were found on Monday with that of the last missing person, a 4-year-old boy, being fished out in the evening, an official said.

The five — a woman and four children — had drowned at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday and the bodies of three of them were recovered later, while that of a girl was fished out on Monday morning, he said.

“The body of Adnan Ansari was recovered this evening, after which the search was called off,” said Suhas Jagtap, senior inspector of Lonavala police station.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maharashtra/pune-waterfall-tragedy-all-5-bodies-found/article68358092.ece

As per officials, the NIV experts are likely to discuss the SOPs to prevent the Zika outbreak in the city. The containment and surveillance activities will be discussed with the officials.

Amidst growing concerns regarding the Zika virus situation in the city, scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)—National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune will train the health officials from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

This month PMC has reported five Zika virus infection cases, including a 28-year-old pregnant woman from Erandwane.

Dr Kalpana Baliwant, health officer of PMC, said the training will be conducted on Wednesday and experts from the NIV, Public Health Department and PMC health staff will be present for the training.

“The training will be conducted online, and the guidelines issued by the experts will be considered for further containment and management of Zika virus infection in the city,” she said.

As per officials, the NIV experts are likely to discuss the SOPs to prevent the Zika outbreak in the city. The containment and surveillance activities will be discussed with the officials.

“As part of PMC’s response to sequestering its population from the new threat, NIV scientists will train us for testing, clinical symptoms, case definitions, and sample collection amongst others,” said the PMC officials.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/pune-news/niv-scientist-to-train-pune-health-staff-to-counter-zika-threat-101719766355140.html

A video that has gone viral, depicting a man assaulting a woman and another man with sticks while bystanders seemingly watch without intervening, has triggered widespread outrage.

“A horrific video has come to light from West Bengal, reminding of the brutalities that exist only in theocracies. To make matters worse, the TMC cadre and MLAs are justifying the act. Be it Sandeshkhali, Uttar Dinajpur or many other places, Didi’s West Bengal is UNSAFE for women,” Nadda wrote on X.

A video that has gone viral, depicting a man assaulting a woman and another man with sticks while bystanders seemingly watch without intervening, has triggered widespread outrage. Times Now cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video, which has stirred public outcry.

The opposition parties, particularly BJP and CPI(M), have blamed the TMC for the incident, labelling it as an example of “bulldozer justice” under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s leadership.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/didis-bengal-unsafe-for-women-jp-nadda-lambasts-mamata-banerjee-on-instant-insaaf-video-article-111392242

The police will be using ‘E Pramaan’ application for carrying out procedures under the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), officials said. “This Will help its personnel record videos and audio of search and seizures related to the crime,” an official said.

The Delhi Police filed its first FIR under section 285 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The case was registered in the Kamala Nagar market. Times Now is in possession of the FIR copy – the first registered by the police under the new criminal law.

The three criminal law have come into effect post midnight.

The sections under Indian Penal Code (IPC) has now been replaced by Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita

All the FIRs of the cases will now be lodged under section 173 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) instead of under section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), officials said.

The police will be using ‘E Pramaan’ application for carrying out procedures under the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), officials said. “This Will help its personnel record videos and audio of search and seizures related to the crime,” an official said.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/delhi/exclusive-times-now-accesses-delhi-polices-first-fir-under-new-criminal-law-article-111391155

Candidates who took the re-exam can now access and download their revised scorecards from the official website at exams.nta.ac.in/NEET/

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced the results of the NEET UG 2024 re-exam, along with the ranks, for all candidates on June 30. Candidates who took the re-exam can now access and download their revised scorecards from the official website at exams.nta.ac.in/NEET/

The re-exam was held on June 23, 2024, for 1,563 candidates who were awarded grace marks after the original exam on May 5, 2024. Out of these, 813 candidates appeared for the retest, while 750 skipped it. The NTA has published revised scores for all 1,563 candidates.

The re-exam was conducted across 7 exam centers in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Meghalaya, and Chandigarh. Candidates who did not appear for the re-exam will have to accept their original scores.

The revised scorecard will include details such as candidate name, roll number, application number, date of birth, category, marks obtained, total marks, percentile score, All India Rank (AIR), category rank, state rank, nationality, qualifying status, and cut-off scores.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/education/neet-ug-2024-re-exam-results-declared-check-revised-scorecards-now

The NDA and INDIA MPs are expected to clash in fiery Parliament session on Monday, with key focus on the NEET row and Agnipath scheme.

The second week of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is expected to see a fiery start, with the Opposition MPs gearing up to attack the NDA government over key issues such as the irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Agnipath scheme, among others. In addition to the paper leak row and inflation, the opposition parties are also likely to raise issues regarding unemployment in India.

The Lok Sabha session on Friday was adjourned till Monday, July 1, amid an uproar in the lower house over the discussion on the conduct of the NEET medical entrance exam and other central competitive exams. The ruckus over the NEET issue broke out after INDIA bloc members sought the acceptance of an adjournment motion to suspend all business and discuss the paper leak issue on priority.

In the midst of the uproar, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House first until 12 noon and then until July 1.

Parliament session today: Top points

• Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the NEET issue is a very important matter for the whole country, and demanded a dedicated discussion in the House regarding the same.
• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said a discussion over NEET could not be allowed as the House was about to take up discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address. This sparked an uproar by opposition MPs.
• The Rajya Sabha had witnessed vociferous protests during the debate with the opposition demanding a discussion on the NEET row and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge trooping into the Well of the House to join fellow members.
• It is expected that the INDIA bloc leaders would attack NDA over other issues such as the Agnipath scheme, inflation and unemployment when the House reconvenes today. The opposition also demands a debate under Rule 267 of the Parliament on the NEET issue.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nda-vs-india-clash-likely-in-parliament-today-neet-row-agnipath-scheme-in-focus-top-points-101719795546107.html

Devotees who went to the temple this morning captured the avalanche, which occurred around 5 am near the Chorabari glacier, on their mobile phones.

A massive avalanche hit the Gandhi Sarovar located four kilometres above the Kedarnath Dham here early Sunday morning but there was no loss of life or property, a district official said.

Devotees who went to the temple this morning captured the avalanche, which occurred around 5 am near the Chorabari glacier, on their mobile phones.

The temple currently has a significant presence of devotees as the Char Dham Yatra, to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines in Uttarakhand, is underway.

A huge cloud of snow was seen sliding down the mountain with speed and stopped after falling into a deep ravine. The avalanche occurred in the upper region of the Gandhi Sarovar in Chorabari glacier, below the snow-covered Meru-Sumeru mountain range located at the upper end of the Kedarnath valley.

Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said there was no loss of life or property due to the avalanche.  The entire area, including the Kedarnath valley, is safe, Rajwar said.

The landslide blocked the Kishtwar-Paddar road in Kishtwar district, forcing the suspension of the vehicular movement.

A massive landslide today blocked a road in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar region as light to moderate rainfall hit isolated places in the region. The landslide blocked the Kishtwar-Paddar road in Kishtwar district, forcing the suspension of the vehicular movement.
A video of the landslide shows a large portion of the hillside caving in with loose mud cascading off it. People could be heard screaming and leaving the place in panic, video shows.

Machines were later moved to the scene to clear the road at the earliest, officials told news agency PTI.

The weather department has also issued an advisory of flash floods, landslides and shooting stones at a few vulnerable places due to moderate thunderstorms or lightning in the coming week.

Light To Moderate Rainfall In Jammu Region

In most regions of Jammu, the weather remained overcast throughout the day. There were reports of light to moderate rains in different areas, especially in the hilly districts of Kishtwar, Doda, Rajouri, Poonch, Udhampur and Ramban, as per a PTI report.

Jammu city also witnessed a light rainfall in the early hours on Sunday. Rainfall was also witnessed in some areas of the district this evening.

The region recorded a high of 36 degrees Celsius and a low of 26.3 degrees Celsius, which is near normal during this part of the season, a spokesperson of the meteorological department told PTI.

At least five people, including four kids, drowned in the water body after the Bhushi dam overflowed due to incessant rain in Maharashtra’s Lonavala on Sunday.

The incident happened at 1:30pm, following which search and rescue teams rushed to the spot.

“2 bodies have been recovered. Search and rescue operations are underway. All five people are from one family belonging to Pune Sayyed Nagar,” Pune SP Pankaj Deshmukh said.

“We have recovered the bodies of a 40-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl. Two 6-year-old girls and a 4-year-old boy are missing in the incident. It seems they are part of a family and slipped into a waterfall some two kilometres away from Bhushi Dam and drowned at the reservoir downstream,” Deshmukh was quoted by PTI as saying.

Later in the day, one more body was recovered before the search and rescue operations were halted, Pune rural police said. The search operations will resume on Monday.

Indian Navy divers are currently conducting a search and rescue operation for two missing bodies following a drowning incident.

The YouTuber, identified as Nileshwar, and known online as Nileshwar22, attempted the perilous climb to boost his online viewership.

In a quest for social media fame, a YouTuber’s daring stunt on a mobile tower in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida turned into a five-hour ordeal, culminating in a high-stakes police rescue. The YouTuber, identified as Nileshwar, and known online as Nileshwar22, attempted the perilous climb to boost his online viewership.
Nileshwar, who operates his YouTube channel with 8.87 thousand subscribers, decided to undertake the risky venture to garner more attention and views. Accompanied by a friend who was filming the stunt for a live stream, Nileshwar scaled the tower, while his partner stayed below to capture the event. The bizarre stunt unfolded in Greater Noida’s Tigri village.

When local residents noticed the dangerous activity and approached the scene, Nileshwar’s friend, startled by the growing crowd, fled, leaving him stranded atop the tower.

As Nileshwar remained precariously perched on the tower, a crowd gathered, observing the unfolding drama. The police arrived promptly but faced challenges in persuading Nileshwar to descend. It took five hours of concerted effort and coordination to safely bring him down.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/youtuber-climbs-noida-tower-for-online-fame-rescued-after-5-hour-op-6007117

The organisations appealed to the PM to ensure that the laws are stayed from implementation on July 1 until re-examination and debate.

As the three new criminal laws are set to come into effect from Monday, civil society groups have requested the prime minister to stay the implementation alleging them as draconian in nature. The organisations have raised concerns regarding the laws alleging lack of deliberations in the parliament and can transform the country into a fascist state.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will be implementing the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, as the replacement for Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Evidence Act.

Bombay Catholic Sabha, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Maharashtra Democratic Front, Vote For Democracy and other organisations came together on Friday to discuss the shortfalls of the new laws. Alleging multiple drawbacks, the organisations have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Supreme Court Bar Association president Kapil Sibal appealing to stay the implementation and ensure elaborate parliamentary debate on the proposed changes.

“Our major concern is that the laws have been passed without any deliberations. They deal exclusively with matters of life and liberty and criminal harm that can be caused to an individual in other multiple and various ways. They deal with civil liberties of citizens more particularly in the matter of freedom of speech, right to assembly, right to associate, right to demonstrate, and their other civil rights, which can be criminalised as part of the law-and-order provisions of these three laws. The new laws in fact violate the principles of liberty, equality and non-discrimination enshrined in the Constitution of India,” the letter stated.

The letter requested special attention on features like criminalisation of legitimate, lawful, non-violent democratic speech or action as terrorism, broadening of the offence of sedition in a new and more vicious avatar, expansion of the potential for selective prosecution, exponential enhancement of ‘police raj’ and shielding some of the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-civil-society-groups-urge-pm-modi-to-stay-implementation-of-new-criminal-laws-citing-draconian-nature-and-lack-of-deliberation

While West Bengal Police registered a case over the incident and arrested Tajmul, Chopra MLA Hamidul Rahaman said the woman’s activities were “unsocial”.

The Opposition in West Bengal has hit out at the ruling Trinamool Congress after a video clip of a brutal assault on a couple allegedly engaged in a relationship went viral. The man, who was seen in the video beating up the two with a bunch of bamboo sticks, has been identified as Tajmul alias “JCB” – allegedly a local TMC leader of Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur district. The incident took place following a decision of a kangaroo court, news agency PTI reported.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

While the West Bengal Police on Sunday registered a case over the incident and arrested Tajmul, Chopra MLA Hamidul Rahaman said the woman’s activities were “unsocial”. He, however, denied the TMC having any links with Tajmul.

Hamidul Rahaman said it was a village matter and had nothing to do with the party.

“We condemn the incident. But the woman also did wrong. She left her husband, son, and daughter and became an evil beast. There is some code and justice according to Muslim rashtra. However, we do agree that what happened was a bit extreme. Now, legal action will be taken in this case,” the Trinamool MLA told reporters.

While the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and CPI(M) slammed the Mamata Banerjee government for the incident, the TMC said the matter will be investigated.

Union minister and Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar said statements from TMC’s Hamidul Rahaman referring to a “Muslim Rashtra” and discussing punishments under ‘certain rules’ are “deeply concerning”.

“Is TMC declaring West Bengal a state where Sharia law will be applied?” Sukanta Majumdar posted on X.

What Bengal Police said

In a statement, Islampur Police district said, “Efforts are being made from certain quarters to spread misinformation about an incident in Chopra PS under Islampur PD. The fact is, police have promptly identified and arrested one person who had publicly assaulted a lady.”

The statement said the victim couple has been provided with police security.

Islampur Police superintendent Joby Thomas K earlier on Sunday said the police watched the video clip on social media and registered a case after verifying it.

The viral video clip showed the accused beating up the woman, who grimaced in pain, as a large number of people were watching. He was seen pulling her by the hair and kicking her. The accused also thrashed a man with the sticks.

Days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Russia, the Indian government publicly criticized the United States of America. Delhi and Washington are at odds over the latter’s international religious freedom report. The US State Department, in a report, has accused the Indian government of failing to protect minority groups in 2023. Watch the full video for more.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/videos/news/india-usa-fight-days-before-pm-modis-russia-trip-for-putin-bilateral-amid-ukraine-war-watch-why-101719600005878.html

IBM and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, entered into an MoU to establish and promote an “AI Cluster” to foster innovation and collaboration among financial institutions at Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City, it said.

The Gujarat government on Saturday signed memorandums of understanding with software giants IBM and Microsoft, and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) for promoting the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies in the state.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, a government release said.

IBM and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, entered into an MoU to establish and promote an “AI Cluster” to foster innovation and collaboration among financial institutions at Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City, it said.

Enhancing AI Capabilities

Microsoft and the Department of Science and Technology signed an MoU to establish an Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence in GIFT City.

In addition to Delhi, several northern states are also expected to see rainfall as the Southwest Monsoon advances. The IMD predicts isolated heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan from June 30 to July 3.

Delhi and its surrounding areas are set to experience continuous rainfall as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for moderate to heavy downpours from June 30 (Sunday) to July 2 (Tuesday).

During the coming week, Delhi’s maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to range between 37 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius, respectively, according to the IMD’s daily bulletin.

The IMD uses four colour-coded warnings: green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).

On Saturday, various parts of the national capital, including Rohini, Burari, and central Delhi, experienced rain. The primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded 8.9 mm of rainfall, while Lodhi Road noted 12.6 mm between 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm, said a report by India Today.

Heavy Rainfall To Hit Several States

The monsoon advanced further into the remaining parts of east Uttar Pradesh and some areas of west Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. Conditions are favourable for the monsoon to spread into more parts of west Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab and the remaining areas of west Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu over the next two to three days.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/delhi-rains-national-capital-to-witness-continued-heavy-showers-till-july-2-uttarakhand-punjab-among-states-to-see-similar-conditions

Rashmi Belur speaks to Karnataka Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar on having a state-level medical entrance exam and the future of CET.

As controversy over NEET rages across the country, Congress-ruled Karnataka is thinking of following Tamil Nadu’s footsteps by waging a legal battle to seek exemption from the all-India test. But Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar tells DH’s Rashmi Belur that having a state-level medical entrance exam will require the Supreme Court’s nod. He also talks about the future of CET. Excerpts:

Will the delay in NEET process affect CET schedule for other courses?

Even KCET ran into controversy this year.

There are reports that the government is planning to amend the Karnataka State Universities Act.

Why haven’t recruitment orders been issued to 1,200 assistant professors?

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/we-can-oppose-neet-but-have-no-powers-to-conduct-our-own-exam-3086499

The court says such allegations need to be looked at with an element of realism and not merely pedantically or hyper-technically.

Expressing displeasure over woman misusing Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with cruelty by husband and his family members, the Bombay High Court observed that when such provisions are invoked, the same need to be looked at with an “element of realism and not merely pedantically or hyper technically”.

The court has quashed an FIR filed by the Pune police in 2012 against a man, his mother and his two aunts, in a complaint by his wife alleging cruelty. It noted that the woman had made allegations of a similar nature against the man and his parents in 2006, which was later withdrawn after a compromise between the parties.

“This is yet another case where welfare provisions such as Section 498-A etc of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 enacted to address dowry-related harassment and other forms of cruelty, both physical and mental have been misused to harass the in-laws by roping them in a false case,” a bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Neela Gokhale said on Friday.

The bench remarked that setting criminal law in motion has serious consequences which violates the sanctity of the investigating agency and makes a mockery of the judicial system. “Setting into motion law enforcement machinery leads to serious consequences for innocent family members. Elderly parents, siblings and distant relatives of the accused are often implicated in the complaint without direct involvement. This case is an example where the complainant and her family members have violated the sanctity of law enforcement agency and even made a mockery of the judicial system,” the bench added.

Comparing the allegations made by the woman in the 2006 FIR with those made in the 2012 complaint, the court noted that there is no marked difference in the same. Surprisingly the 2012 FIR and the 2006 FIR indicate the alleged date of commission of offence to be April 16, 2006 onwards till date

Prepaid customers of Reliance Jio and Airtel have 4 days to dodge upcoming price increases set to start July 3, 2024. Postpaid users, however, cannot avoid the hike.

Jio’s price increases range from 12-25%, while Airtel’s are between 11-21%. For example, Jio’s popular Rs 239 monthly plan with 1.5GB daily data will now cost Rs 299, a 25% jump. The price difference for annual data packs could be up to Rs 600 for both companies.

Prepaid recharges made before July 3 will keep their current pricing, even if the plan is later discontinued or increased.

This offers a chance for savings, especially on long-term plans.

If you are a Jio or Airtel subscriber, you can schedule your recharges in advance. All you need to do is recharge for the desired time period before July 3, and your recharges will be activated successively. Please note that this option is only available for Jio and Airtel subscribers. Vodafone Idea subscribers cannot schedule their recharges, and if they do multiple recharges, their plans will all start at the same time.

If you are a Jio or Airtel subscriber, you can schedule your recharges in advance. All you need to do is recharge for the desired time period before July 3, and your recharges will be activated successively. Please note that this option is only available for Jio and Airtel subscribers. Vodafone Idea subscribers cannot schedule their recharges, and if they do multiple recharges, their plans will all start at the same time.

There is no information about the number of recharges Airtel subscribers can queue up. However, Jio has confirmed that its subscribers can queue up to 50 recharges, either on a monthly or yearly basis.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/jockey-juniors-times-nie-colour-splash-a-splash-of-creativity/articleshow/110585873.cms

During an administrative meeting in the state secretariat, Banerjee on Thursday claimed that ‘Women have informed her they are afraid to visit Raj Bhavan due to recent incidents reported there’.

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday filed a defamation case against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Calcutta High Court, a day after she said that women complained to her saying that they were afraid to visit the Raj Bhavan because of the activities there, a source said.

Bose earlier in the day criticised Banerjee for her remarks and stated it was expected of public representatives not to create “erroneous and slanderous impressions.”

The Bengal governor also filed defamation suit against certain TMC leaders for making similar remarks, the source said.

During an administrative meeting in the state secretariat, Banerjee on Thursday claimed that “Women have informed her they are afraid to visit Raj Bhavan due to recent incidents reported there.”

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/west-bengal/bengal-guv-files-defamation-suit-against-mamata-for-slanderous-remarks-3085659

The Civil Aviation Ministry issued an advisory on Friday to airlines following the collapse of a portion of Terminal 1’s roof at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport instructing them to avoid any “abnormal surcharges” on flights to and from Delhi.

The govt carried a survey in which public health facilities from states and UTs covered under the National Health Mission (NHM) were asked to fill in details related to infra, doctors, nurses, equipment, etc.

Nearly 80 percent of public health facilities in India do not meet the minimum essential standards for either infrastructure, manpower, equipment, or benchmarks set by the government, according to a report by Times of India, based on a survey.

The govt carried out a survey in which public health facilities from states and UTs covered under the National Health Mission (NHM) were asked to fill in details related to infra, doctors, nurses, equipment, etc.

The Union Health Ministry on June 28 launched a dashboard that will aid the national, state and district health facilities in quickly monitoring compliance with respect to Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) and taking action accordingly.

There are more than two lakh public healthcare facilities, including district hospitals, community health centres, primary health centers, and Ayushman Arogya Mandir (erstwhile sub-health centres) that are covered under NHM. Of them, data on the dashboard shows, 40,451 filled in key statistics about their respective facilities.

As per the report, only 8,089, which is almost 20 percent of the facilities, scored 80 percent or higher which is needed to qualify as IPHS compliant. Only these facilities had the required infrastructure, human resources, drugs, diagnostics and equipment available to provide essential services as desired.

17,190 of the facilities that participated in the self-assessment exercise scored less than 50 percent while the rest, 15,172 facilities, scored between 50 to 80 percent, the report added.

Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/almost-80-of-public-health-facilities-do-not-meet-minimum-standards-report-12758563.html

The Centre on Friday kept the interest rates of all small savings schemes unchanged for the July-September quarter of FY2025. In the last quarter too, the government kept the interest rates unchanged for the April-June quarter ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

In a notification, the Finance Ministry said: “The rates of interest on various Small Savings Schemes for the second quarter of FY 2024-25 starting from 1 July, 2024 and ending on 30* September, 2024 shal remain unchanged from those notified for the first quarter (1 April, 2024 ot 30* June, 2024) of FY 2024-25.”

The Public Provident Fund (PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), and National Savings Certificate (NSC) are among the popular small savings schemes available to investors.

The last revision of interest rates was done in December 2023 for the January-March quarter of FY24. In the last revision, the Centre hiked the interest rates of some of the small savings schemes, such as Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme, 3-year Time Deposit, by up to 20 bps for the Q4 FY24.

The PPF rates were kept unchanged for more than 3 years. It was last tweaked in April-June 2020, when it was slashed to 7.1 per cent from 7.9 per cent.

For the Post Office Saving Account, the interest rate remains at 4 per cent compounded annually. The Senior Citizen Savings Scheme’s interest rate is 8.2 per cent (paid quarterly), while the Sukanya Samridhi Account’s interest rate will be 8.2 per cent for the next quarter.

The current rates are:

Scheme                         Interest Rate FOR Q2 FY25

Savings deposit              4.0%
One-year time deposit    6.9%
Two-year time deposit    7.0%
Three-year time deposit    7.1%
Five-year time deposit    7.5%
Five-year recurring deposit    6.7%
Senior Citizen Savings Scheme    8.2%
Monthly Income Account    7.4%
National Savings Certificate    7.7%
Public Provident Fund Scheme    7.1%
Kisan Vikas Patra    7.5% (115 months)
Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme    8.2%

How are interest rates calculated?

The government conducts regular assessments of the interest rates applied to small savings schemes. The methodology for determining these rates was put forth by the Shyamala Gopinath Committee. As per the suggestions made by the committee, the interest rates offered on different schemes should ideally range between 25 to 100 basis points above the yields on corresponding government bonds.

The first incident of a bridge collapse was reported on June 18 in Araria. The latest one took place in Madhubani.

An under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihar, making it the fifth such incident in the past 11 days. The bridge collapsed in Madhubani district’s Jhanjharpur.

The latest bridge, measuring 77 meters in length, saw a section of its long girder between two pillars collapse. To hide this negligence, the administration covered the broken section with plastic, aiming to prevent public awareness of the collapse.

This bridge, being built under the Prime Minister’s Rural Road Scheme by Bihar’s Rural Development Department, had an estimated cost of around Rs 3 crore.

Documents obtained by India Today TV reveal that this bridge had collapsed before June 24. On that date, Executive Engineer of the Rural Works Department, Ramashish Paswan, informed the contractor, Amarnath Jha, via a letter that a section of the bridge had hung precariously and needed to be rebuilt.

In response, contractor Amarnath Jha argued that the sudden rise in water levels in the Kosi River just three days after casting the girder led to the section hanging. He claimed that reconstruction would occur once the water levels receded.

This latest incident highlights ongoing issues of negligence and corruption in bridge construction in Bihar. Over the past 11 days, four other bridges have collapsed, raising serious questions about construction standards and oversight.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/five-bridges-collapsed-in-bihar-madhubani-jhanjharpur-2559814-2024-06-28

After 18 years of separation, a woman in Kanpur reunited with her lost brother when she recognised his chipped tooth in an Instagram reel, leading to an emotional homecoming.

In a heart-warming turn of events, a sister in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur found her lost brother after 18 years through an Instagram reel after she spotted his broken tooth in the video.

Rajkumari, a resident of Hathipur village, had been scrolling through Instagram reels when a familiar face sent shivers down her spine. A young man featured in a reel from Jaipur had a chipped tooth – the same one her brother, Bal Govind, had since childhood.

Eighteen years ago, Bal Govind had left for a job in Mumbai from their village of Inayatpur in Fatehpur but never returned. After reaching Mumbai, he left his friends and started a job at a different place. He had initially kept in touch with his friends, but gradually all contact ceased. All his friends returned to their village, but Bal Govind continued in Mumbai.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will represent India at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana next week as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to skip it.

Modi is set to visit Russia from July 8 to 9 in his first trip to that country in nearly five years. After concluding the visit to Russia, Modi is likely to travel to Austria on July 9 on a two-day trip.

It is learnt that Modi decided to skip the SCO summit in view of his planned two-nation trip to Russia and Austria. There is no official confirmation on Modi’s visit to the two countries yet.

The SCO summit to be held on July 3 and 4 is expected to focus on the regional security situation and ways to boost connectivity and trade.

“The Indian delegation at the SCO summit will be led by external affairs minister S Jaishankar,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing on Friday.

The situation in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict and boosting overall security cooperation among the SCO member countries are expected to figure in the summit.

The SCO comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

Generally, the Indian prime minister participates in the SCO summit.

In a phone conversation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi conveyed to Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev India’s full support for the success of the summit.

Amarnath Yatra 2024: This year, the 52-day-long pilgrimage would culminate on August 19.

The annual pilgrimage to Amarnath shrine commenced on Saturday with the first batch of pilgrims leaving the Baltal base camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district for the darshan of the holy cave.

Amid the blowing of conch shells and chants of “Bum Bum Bhole”, “Jai Baba Burfani”, and “Har Har Mahadev”, the first batch of pilgrims left the base camp for the holy shrine located at an altitude of 12,756 feet above sea level.

The first batch, consisting of 4,603 pilgrims, reached the Kashmir valley on Friday amid stringent security arrangements.

This year, the 52-day-long pilgrimage would culminate on August 19. The online registrations for the 52-day-long yatra began on April 15 on Shri Amarnath Shrine Board’s (SASB) website and portal.

Comprehensive arrangements, including three-tier security, area dominations, elaborate route deployment and checkpoints, have been made to ensure a smooth yatra. According to reports, more than 3.50 lakh people have registered for this year’s yatra. As many as 125 community kitchens (langars) have been set up along the two routes to the cave shrine and are supported by over 6,000 volunteers.

The Amarnath Yatra, which takes place every year amid tight security and vigil, takes place from twin tracks – the traditional 48-km-long Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km-long shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/amarnath-yatra-2024-begins-today-1st-batch-of-pilgrims-leave-for-holy-cave-101719620628086.html

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said the question paper was leaked on the darknet and circulated on the Telegram app. The matter is being probed by the CBI.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/ugc-net-to-be-conducted-afresh-from-aug-21-sept-4-national-testing-agency-3085679

Currently, the Hazarat Nizamuddin (New Delhi) to Agra rail route supports high speeds of up to 160 kmph, allowing only Gatiman Express and two Vande Bharat trains to operate at this speed.

At present, only Gatiman Express and two Vande Bharat trains run at 160 kmph between Hazarat Nizamuddin (New Delhi) and Agra rail route due to suitable track conditions.

On June 24, the Railway Board’s executive director (signal) issued a letter to the general manager of NCR zone and said that the issue of speed of these trains was examined.

“…it is decided that as advised earlier, Zonal Railways to expedite IR-ATP Kavach works in the section and till the time the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system is operational, trains to run at maximum speed of 130 kmph in the section,” the letter said.

Directing the NCR zone to ensure the instruction, the letter said that the direction of reduction in speed has also been approved by the Railway Board’s Member, Infra; Member, Traction and Rolling Stock; and Member, Operation and Business Development.

“The Board took the decision on its own in the wake of the recent Kanchanjunga Express accident in West Bengal in which a goods train hit the passenger train from the rear killing 10 people including the freight train’s driver,” a source in the Board told PTI, adding that the speed restriction has been in operation since June 25.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/why-railways-decided-to-reduce-speed-of-vande-bharat-and-gatimaan-express-article-111327373

The victims from Shivamogga, were returning from Savadatti in Belagavi district after a pilgrimage to pay obeisance to Goddess Yallamma.

At least 13 people were killed and two more critically injured after their mini-bus crashed into a stationary truck in Byadagi Taluk of Karnataka’s Haveri district early Friday, officials said.

The victims, who were from Shivamogga, were returning from Savadatti in Belagavi district after a pilgrimage to pay obeisance to Goddess Yallamma, they said.

The opposition is set to push adjournment motions in both houses of the Parliament today for a debate on the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG 2024.

The Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc is set to push adjournment motions in both houses of the Parliament today for a debate on the alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024. This decision was taken by the INDIA bloc parties during a meeting at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Thursday.

This comes a day after President Droupadi Murmu mentioned the paper leak issue while addressing the joint sitting of the Parliament.

Here are the latest updates on the NEET row:

1. President Droupadi Murmu, during her address to the joint sitting in the Parliament, said that the government is committed to a fair investigation in the case and urged people to “rise above partisan politics”. Responding to the President’s address, Congress’ Kharge said, “The Modi government cannot run away from its responsibility by just simply saying that ‘we should rise above partisan politics’…The youth is demanding justice.”
2. According to the Opposition leaders, if the NEET issue is not taken up for discussion in the Parliament today, then they will stage a protest inside the House.
3. On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made its first arrest in the NEET UG paper leak case and took two people into custody in Patna. According to reports, the two arrested accused, identified as Manish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar, allegedly provided safe accommodation to the medical entrance exam aspirants before the examination and gave them leaked question papers and answer keys.
4. The CBI also recorded statements of three candidates in Gujarat who had allegedly solicited help to clear the exam, reported PTI.
5. The NEET question paper may have been leaked on May 3 while being transported from the Ranchi airport to an office of courier company Blue Dart, and then to the Hazaribagh branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) with the help of employees of either the transport company or the courier agency, officials said.
6. Earlier, an eight-member team of the CBI visited the main branch of the SBI in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district, as the bank manager was reportedly the custodian of the NEET-UG 2024 exam question papers.
7. A total of 20 people have been arrested in the case so far, including the 18 accused held by the Economic Offence Wing (EOU) of the Bihar Police.
8. The Delhi police have registered a case against members of the Congress’ National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) as they barged into the NTA office during a protest against the NEET issue.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/opposition-to-raise-neet-in-parliament-cbi-makes-first-arrest-10-updates-101719537497895.html

Govind Ram, a junk dealer living on the outskirts of the Indian capital, Delhi, bought an air conditioner in May after his children pleaded with him.
A fiery heatwave was scorching the city and its neighbourhood, and his school-going children complained of “choking” heat. Using his savings, Mr Ram bought the air conditioner for his children’s bedroom. This relief, he says, has come at a cost – his electricity bill last month soared to seven times the usual amount.
“I’ve endured the worst summers under just a fan. But this year, my children suffered so much that I had to buy our family’s first air conditioner,” Mr Ram said.
Over the past five decades, India has faced over 700 heatwaves but this summer’s severe and unrelenting heat has to count among the worst, experts believe. Some 97% of Indian households are electrified, with 93% relying on fans for comfort, according to think tank Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW). But this year, India’s air conditioning market has surged like never before.
“In my 45 years in the air-con industry, I’ve never seen anything like this. The spike in demand is a complete surprise, with sales likely to more than double this summer compared to last year,” says B Thiagarajan, managing director of Blue Star, a leading cooling and refrigeration company.

The sale of air conditioners will possibly see an unprecedented growth of 60% this summer in India – March to July – from the usual 25-30% growth in previous years, Mr Thiagarajan reckons. Around a decade or more ago, he remembers, sales would peak in the last week of May. “Now demand peaks in April.” Companies have sold in three months what they would usually sell in nine.
Despite only 8% of India’s 300 million households owning air conditioners, with some having multiple units, India is the world’s fastest-growing AC market. Of the 170 million units sold globally last year, China purchased 90 million, while India bought 12 million.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), a Paris-based energy think tank, predicts a nine-fold rise in home air conditioner ownership in the country by 2050, outpacing growth in ownership of all other household appliances, including TVs, refrigerators and washing machines.
By then, India’s total electricity demand from home air conditioners would surpass Africa’s current total electricity consumption, reflecting the ongoing trends in energy system evolution, according to IEA.
“The rising demand reflects, at once, rising aspirations, disposable incomes and extreme weather,” Mr Thiagarajan said.

Notably, 95% of Indian air-con buyers are aspirational middle-class first-time purchasers; over 65% hail from smaller cities and towns; and more than half buy through zero-interest consumer loans. Also, the average buyer is now in their thirties. Most of the sales come from the hotter northern region – since mid-May, for example, daily temperatures in Delhi have consistently stayed around or above 40C (104F).
Experts say Indian cities have become “heat traps” due to unbalanced development. Nearly a billion people across 23 states are exposed to heat stress, according to CEEW. Green spaces are scarce. Rapid growth is swallowing up water bodies which help cool the environment. Increasing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, factories and construction activities are raising temperatures further. India’s high-rise boom has led to mostly poorly ventilated apartments and glass and chrome office buildings, which absorb and reflect heat. All this is making cities hotter and more uncomfortable to live in.

But this is only one part of the story. To gauge how people were coping with rising temperatures, a recent nationwide survey by Artha Global’s Centre for Rapid Insights (CRI), a think tank, posed the question: “In the afternoon, when it is hot outside, is the inside of your home comfortable?”

About 32% of respondents reported their homes as hot and uncomfortable, highlighting India’s struggle with extreme temperatures. Among those who can cool their homes, 42% rely on energy-intensive air conditioners or coolers, indicating that managing the heat often demands costly solutions.
Also, only one in eight four-wheeler owners found their homes uncomfortable in extreme heat, compared to nearly half of those without any vehicle. Conversely, about 40% of both two-wheeler and four-wheeler owners rely on ACs or coolers for home comfort, while only 16% of non-vehicle owners use these cooling solutions.
The data highlights how the poor face extreme heat even indoors, without direct sun exposure, said Neelanjan Sircar, director of CRI. In other words, the “gap between rich households, who already own air conditioners, and poor households, who are not yet able to buy them, is widening”, according to a study by researchers from University of California, Berkeley and University of Mannheim, Germany on air conditioning and global inequality.
Living in windowless slum hutments with poor ventilation and erratic electricity makes staying indoors unbearable. Many slum dwellers literally work next door in luxury condominiums with 24/7 electricity. One told a newspaper recently: “I don’t want to return to my slum. When I work [in an apartment] I feel like lying down under the cool breeze of the AC”.
India needs to rejuvenate aquatic habitats – lakes, reservoirs, ponds, wetlands, canals. It also requires building cool houses, using cool roofs – white painted roofs to reduce indoor temperatures – supplying chilled water via pipelines to buildings, and installing more energy-efficient air conditioners.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw555ny3q9xo

A viral video showing an Indian truck driver’s 5-bedroom house in the US has received mixed reactions from social media users.

A video of an Indian truck driver’s 5-bedroom house in the US was shared on social media. While the post has impressed many, it has also sparked a conversation about the lives of people in India.

The video was originally posted on YouTube by a travel vlogger last year. It is again going viral after being reshared on X with a caption that compares life in the USA and India.

“A Truck driver in the USA has a Jeep Compass in his garage while in India some IIT/IIM graduate (with the help of his generation wealth) and working 9 to 9 will be hardly able to afford a decent 3 BHK in Noida in 2024. Biggest lie ever told was ‘life is easy in India’,” the X user wrote while sharing the video.

In the video, the influencer first shows the neighbourhood where the truck driver purchased his house. In a conversation, the man reveals that his house has five bedrooms.

Take a look at the viral video here:
The video prompted people to share varied comments on both YouTube and X. “These are wooden houses in the USA, not bricks and concrete houses like in India. Wooden houses are built in 4-5 months. It’s almost like plug and play. Land in the USA costs 1 dollar per square feet, that is 83 rupees per square feet. The USA has more land and less people,” wrote an X user.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/indian-truck-driver-buys-5-bedroom-house-in-the-us-watch-viral-video-101719457367787.html

Parliament Session Updates: It is President’s first joint address after the formation of the BJP-led NDA government for the third time at the Centre

Parliament Session Updates: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday addressed the joint session of the Parliament where she launched a scathing attack on Emergency imposed by the then Congress government in 1975 and said that it was the “biggest” and “darkest” chapter of the direct attack on the Constitution. In her first presidential address after the formation of the BJP-led NDA government for the third time at the Centre post-general elections, she also referred to the alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET UG-2024) and said that the ongoing probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the NEET paper leak case will “fix accountability”.

Amidst ongoing controversey around the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), President Draupadi Murmu while addressing the Joint session of the Parliament said the government would take tough action on the case.

“My government is working towards rectifying the functioning of the agency responsible for conducting the examination (National Testing Agency) along with improving the processes involved in the conduction of the exam,” said President Murmu while addressing the joint sitting of Parliament ahead of the Budget session.

The opposition had earlier raised a demand for a Supreme Court-montioned investigation into the NEET-UG paper leak matter. President Murmu said, “The government is making concerted efforts to allow the youth of the country to showcase their talent and skills and any delay in the conduction of examinations is undesirable.” While urging to abandon party politics on examination related matters, President Murmu said, “The recent paper leak issue should be impartially investigated and my government is committed towards punishing those responsible.

The opposition had raised many demands including an increased transparency and timely conduction of examinations along with filling up vacancies in time.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/parliament-session-live-updates-june-27-lok-sabha-rajya-sabha-bjp-congress-latest-news-today-president-address-101719453741207.html

NEET: CBI questions school principal; 2 accused sent to 3-day remand | Updates

A special team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday questioned a principal of the Oasis school in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh, who was the district coordinator of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET UG-2024) examination, amid its probe into the exam’s alleged irregularities. Along with the principal, a few other staff members of the school were also quizzed at the CCL guest house at Charhi, a town in the Hazaribagh district.

Here are the top updates on the NEET UG probe:

1. The Oasis school principal, Dr Ehsanul Haque, has denied any tampering with question papers in Hazaribag and termed the allegations against him as “baseless”.
2. According to officials, an eight-member team of the CBI visited the main branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district as the manager of the bank was reportedly the custodian of the NEET-UG 2024 exam question papers. The bank had received the question papers sent by a courier service operator in an e-rickshaw, reported PTI, citing sources.
3. A special CBI court in Patna has sent two accused in the NEET question paper leak case – Chintu Kumar and Mukesh Kumar – to CBI remand for three days.
4. Chintu Kumar, who is associated with the notorious Sanjeev Kumar alias Lutan Mukhiya gang, allegedly received the solved answer sheet of the NEET-UG in PDF format on his mobile phone a day before the exam, reported PTI, citing sources. Reportedly, Mukesh is also associated with the gang.
5. According to preliminary investigations, Kumar and his associates printed and distributed the solved answer sheet to students gathered at a safe house in Ram Krishna Nagar in Patna on May 4 for memorisation, reported PTI. It was also found that the leaked NEET-UG question paper was obtained from a private school in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, by the Mukhiya gang.
6. The CBI is trying to nab the other absconding members of the Mukhiya gang, accused of orchestrating multiple interstate paper leaks.
7. On Wednesday, a Delhi team of the CBI visited a guest house in Patna and the housing society of Sikandar Yadavendu, a prime suspect in the case. Reportedly, the guest house was allegedly booked for Yadavendu by an individual, who is reportedly associated with a prominent politician of Bihar.
8. Reportedly, the role of some private colleges and institutes, which allegedly sent solvers on behalf of actual candidates in the NEET exam, is also under investigation. Apart from the Oasis school, St Xavier’s school, DAV Public school, Holy Cross school, and Vivekananda Central school are also being investigated.
9. Earlier, a person associated with a Kolkata-based educational institute was arrested for allegedly taking money from a student’s parent and promising a place on the NEET merit list. Reportedly, the accused had also assured the student in one of the medical colleges in Kolkata. Previously, the Economic Offence Wing (EOU) of the Bihar Police had arrested 18 persons in the NEET paper leak case.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/neet-cbi-questions-school-principal-2-accused-sent-to-3-day-remand-10-points-101719455327654.html

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Wednesday said it has asked the Tamil Nadu state to submit a “detailed report” after a Reuters story revealed that Apple supplier Foxconn rejected married women from iPhone assembly jobs in the country.
In a statement calling for the probe, the federal government’s Ministry of Labour and Employment cited the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, saying the law “clearly stipulates that no discrimination (is) to be made while recruiting men and women workers.”

The ministry said it has requested a detailed report from the Labour Department of Tamil Nadu, site of a major iPhone factory where Reuters uncovered Foxconn’s practice of shunning married women from jobs. The Labour Ministry said it also directed the office of the Regional Chief Labour Commissioner to provide a “factual report.”
Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and Foxconn (2317.TW), opens new tab did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the government statement. The Tamil Nadu state government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment outside office hours.

A Reuters investigation published on Tuesday found that Foxconn has systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone plant near Chennai in Tamil Nadu state, on the grounds they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts.
Foxconn hiring agents and HR sources interviewed by Reuters cited family duties, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons why Foxconn did not hire married women at the plant.

The Ministry of Labour “takes note of media reports on married women not being allowed to work at Foxconn India Apple iPhone plant,” the statement said.
Earlier, in response to questions from Reuters for its Tuesday report, Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said they had worked to address the issues. All the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at the Sriperumbudur plant, however, took place in 2023 and 2024. The two companies didn’t address the 2023 and 2024 incidents.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/modis-govt-calls-indian-state-look-into-reuters-report-foxconn-hiring-2024-06-26/

“I had said Sisodia ji is innocent… AAP is innocent… and I am innocent. But CBI’s plan is to malign us in the media. Please record… CBI sources spread fake news,” Arvind Kejriwal told a Delhi court.

In a brief but significant departure from legal norms, Arvind Kejriwal – who this morning went from anticipating release on bail to being arrested again, this time by the CBI – addressed Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court directly to fend off claims he tried to evade blame for the alleged liquor policy scam.
Mr Kejriwal – first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March, in connection with charges he orchestrated the sale of liquor licences for ₹ 100 crore used to fund the Punjab and Goa election campaigns – spoke up to deny reports he sought to blame Manish Sisodia, his former deputy.

Mr Sisodia was arrested by the ED in February last year and remains in jail.

“A false narrative is being spread by CBI sources in the media – that I put the blame of the liquor policy scam on Sisodiaji. I did not make any such statement blaming him or any other person.”

“I had said Sisodiaji is innocent… Aam Aadmi Party is innocent… and I am innocent. But CBI’s plan is to malign us in the media. Please record… CBI sources spread fake news,” Mr Kejriwal told the court.

The Delhi Chief Minister’s objections came after the CBI claimed in court he tried to pin the blame – specifically for recommending that liquor stores in the city be privatised – on his party colleague.

Mr Kejriwal rubbished the CBI’s allegation.

“CBI is defaming me… defaming AAP. I am innocent and Sisodia ji is also innocent,” he said.

The significance of his speaking up was added to by the court, which held that the available evidence, including that presented by the prosecution, did not suggest such statements were made.

Mr Kejriwal then continued addressing the court, this time revealing what he told the federal agency last year; the AAP leader faced a nine-hour interrogation in August, when he was called as a witness.

“I told them (the CBI) there were three points. First – increase revenue. Second – reduce crowds to handle law and order. Third – open liquor shops in right proportion (i.e., equal distribution across the city),” he told the Rouse Avenue Court.

On communication with Mr Sisodia, the Chief Minister said, “I gave instructions to Manish Sisodia to keep these three things in mind in the policy.”

“Unnecessary Allegations”, Says CBI
Meanwhile, responding to arguments made by Arvind Kejriwal’s lawyers, the federal agency told the court it could have acted against the Delhi Chief Minister at any time, “even during elections”.

However, it chose to, the CBI said, to act only with permission of the court.

Mr Kejriwal’s lawyers had criticised the agency for acting when it did, pointing out it had done nothing since grilling their client last year. “This case is pending since August. I was called as a witness… I appeared and, for nine hours, I assisted. Not a single notice since then…”

No Bail, More Jail For Arvind Kejriwal
Mr Kejriwal faced an action-packed few hours this morning.

First, the Rouse Avenue Court allowed the CBI to arrest him, while in session, after first permitting the agency to conduct a preliminary interrogation. This was hours before his Supreme Court plea – challenging the High Court’s stay on bail given by a different bench of the Rouse Avenue Court.

As it turned out, the CBI’s arrest of Mr Kejriwal – and handing the agency custody of the Chief Minister for five days – rendered that petition moot.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Mr Kejriwal in the top court, withdrew that petition – the ED offered no objection – citing a desire to launch a more substantial appeal at a later date.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/arvind-kejriwal-bail-delhi-liquor-policy-case-kejriwal-arrested-by-cbi-there-were-3-points-what-arvind-kejriwal-arrested-by-cbi-told-court-5974092#pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The 96-year-old former deputy prime minister has been admitted in the old private ward of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) .

Veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani was admitted to the AIIMS here late on Wednesday night, sources said.
“He is stable and under observation,” a source said.

The 96-year-old former deputy prime minister has been admitted in the old private ward of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and is learnt to being treated by doctors from the Department of Urology.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bjp-veteran-lal-krishna-advani-admitted-to-aiims-in-delhi-5978126#pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

ISRO Spying Case: It is not immediately known who has been charge-sheeted in the case registered in 2021 following the Supreme Court’s directions.

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against five individuals in a court here in connection with the alleged framing of space scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage case, sources said on Wednesday.
It is not immediately known who has been charge-sheeted in the case registered in 2021 following the Supreme Court’s directions.

On April 15, 2021, the Supreme Court had ordered that the report of a high-level committee on the role of erring police officials in the 1994 espionage case involving ISRO scientist Narayanan be given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Kerala police had registered two cases in October 1994 after Maldivian national Rasheeda was arrested in Thiruvananthapuram for allegedly obtaining secret drawings of ISRO rocket engines to sell to Pakistan.

Narayanan, the then director of the cryogenic project at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was arrested along with the then ISRO deputy director D Sasikumaran and Fousiya Hasan, a Maldivian friend of Rasheeda.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/cbi-files-chargesheet-against-5-in-1994-isro-spying-case-5978788

NEET, NET Row: The 7 member committee formed by Education Ministry conducted its first meeting on June 24 and decided that their first priority is to take suggestions from parents and students. Their next priority is to build a robust system for starting the tests.

The committee has decided to consolidate the suggestions they will receive in the next two weeks. “The first priority for us is to elicit from the students and parents in the country their concerns and suggestions. We are going to engage with them as far as possible in person, or through electronic media. And in the next fortnight, we would like to consolidate this,” Radhakrishnan told DD News. A source told PTI that the panel also looked into the statistics provided by the Nta about the multiple exams conducted by it and the number of candidates appearing for each exam.

“The next priority for us is to build quickly a robust system for starting the tests. We are also looking at the future, especially to develop in this country a robust system, a tamper-proof system, a system with zero error, and a system that will lessen the difficulties and stress for the students with adequate flexibility built into it,” K Radhakrishnan added.

The committee has been formed to make recommendations on reform in mechanism of examination process, and overlook the functioning of testing agency. The committee also aims to assess the current Grievance Redressal Mechanism of NTA and share suggestions for enhancing its efficiency.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/education/neet-net-row-nta-reform-panel-to-take-suggestions-from-parents-and-students-says-chairman-k-radhakrishnan-article-111271138

The High Court observed that since minors enjoy near immunity from being prosecuted for driving without a license, there has been a rise in road accidents involving them.

The court on Tuesday granted bail to the juvenile accused in the Pune car accident case and ordered the release of the minor into the care and custody of his paternal aunt.

The minor accused involved in the Pune Porsche car crash accident has been released from observation home following the Bombay High Court’s order.

The court on Tuesday granted bail to the juvenile accused in the Pune car accident case and ordered the release of the minor into the care and custody of his paternal aunt. The bench noted the Juvenile Justice Board’s (JJB) remand orders were illegal and passed without jurisdiction.

A division bench of Justices Bharti Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande ordered in this case, and the court also mandated that the minor accused continue sessions with a psychologist and that his paternal aunt will take care of the minor and it contested the juvenile’s detention in an observation home.

Important Observations Made By The Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court made several important observations during the hearing on Tuesday in this case.

The beneficiary students, after securing admission in Class 9, will receive Rs 500 per month for 10 months each year, and the remaining Rs 10,000 will be disbursed after they pass the Class 10 board exam, it said.

Ahmedabad: Nearly 4.37 lakh girls have registered to avail benefits under two schemes launched by the Gujarat government in March to provide financial assistance to eligible female students from Classes 9 to 12, officials said.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/gujarat/437-lakh-girl-students-enrol-for-two-financial-aid-schemes-in-gujarat-3081086

After meeting the Agarwadekar family, Sawant also assured them the government would rebuild their house and the expenses would be recovered from the culprits.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has met the family whose house in Assagao village has been partially demolished by some people allegedly over a property dispute and ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.

After meeting the Agarwadekar family late Tuesday night, Sawant also assured them the government would rebuild their house and the expenses would be recovered from the culprits.

The incident took place at the one-storey house in Assagao village of North Goa at around 11.30 am Saturday. Some persons allegedly kidnapped a man and his son living in the house and later dumped them in the village, an official said on Tuesday.

Police have arrested two people, including one who claims to be the property owner, and are searching for more suspects in connection with incident, he said.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said no one would be spared.

He along with a team of government officials visited the spot and met the affected family.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/goa/house-partially-razed-in-goa-village-cm-sawant-orders-high-level-probe-3081111

Jaipur: Four people have died and 10 more were injured in a fire at a factory in Rajasthan’s Khairthal-Tijara district, police said on Wednesday.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Tijara) Shivraj Singh said the fire broke out at the factory in the Bhiwadi area on Tuesday evening. One person was found dead and 10 injured people were rescued, he said.

After the flames were doused, three more bodies were found, he added.

Two bodies have been shifted to a mortuary for post-mortem examination and two are in the process of being retrieved, Singh said.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/rajasthan/four-killed-in-pharma-factory-fire-in-rajasthans-khairthal-tijara-3081130

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Excise Policy money laundering case on March 21, 2024, and is presently in Judicial Custody in the case.

Delhi CM and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal was brought to Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday. He will be produced by CBI for a hearing in the liquor policy case. The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday examined Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar Jail and recorded his statement related to the Excise Policy case.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Excise Policy money laundering case on March 21, 2024, and is presently in Judicial Custody in the case.

The probe agency on Tuesday also got permission for Arvind Kejriwal’s production before the concerned trial court on Wednesday. He will be produced before the concerned court on Wednesday.

According to the CBI sources, he is likely to be officially arrested in the case before the court today.

Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Lawyer also posted on X and said, “The dirty tricks of the Modi government fears the release of Arvind Kejriwal by SC has asked to CBI to make arrest in the same matter almost a year after he joined the investigation. What it shows nothing changed the vindictive mindset of BJ. Shame.”

Several reports had earlier claimed that claimed that anyone with an Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) account cannot book e-tickets for others with different surname.

The IRCTC stated that rumors about restrictions on booking e-tickets due to passengers having different surnames are “false and misleading.” It further clarified that users can book tickets on personal User ID for friends, family, and relatives.

The post read, “The news in circulation on social media about restrictions in booking of e-tickets due to different surnames is false and misleading. The concerned should be discouraged from spreading such false news. It is clarified that tickets from IRCTC site are being booked as per Railway Board Guidelines.”

Required information is available on the public domain as under:

1. One can book tickets on personal User ID for friends, family, and relatives.

2. Booking can be done for up to 12 tickets per month which in case of Aadhaar-authenticated users can go up to 24 tickets per month, if one of the passengers on a ticket is also aadhar authenticated.

3. Tickets booked on personal User IDs are not meant for commercial sale and such an act is an offense under section 143 of Railways Act 1989.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/irctc-account-holders-cant-book-e-tickets-for-others-with-different-surnames-railways-reacts-to-viral-post-article-111264314

India increased its overseas assets more than it increased its foreign liabilities, largely propelled by a rise in reserve assets.

India’s has increased its overseas assets more than its foreign liabilities, largely due to a rise in reserve assets, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. Reserve assets accounted for 62.9% of India’s international financial assets in March 2024.

What are reserve assets?
Reserve assets are assets such as foreign currencies or gold, that are liquid and can be easily accepted and transferred, especially across countries.

Reserve assets amounting to $23.9 billion ( ₹1.99 lakh crore) was the dominant component of the rise in Indian residents’ overseas financial assets during the last quarter of the financial year 2023-24, followed by currency and deposits, and overseas direct investments, according to the RBI’s press release.

What about India’s foreign liabilities?
Most of the rise in foreign liabilities was due to inward portfolio investments, direct investments, and loans, which made up over three-quarters of the total increase in foreign liabilities during the year.

The ratio of India’s international financial assets to its international financial liabilities improved however, reaching 74% in March 2024, compared to 71.4% in March 2023.

The RBI also mentioned that relative to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current market prices, both India’s reserve assets and the overseas financial assets and liabilities of residents increased during the financial year 2023-24.

The ratio of net claims of non-residents on India to GDP improved to -10.3% in March 2024 from -11.3% a year ago, and 11.6% two years ago. However, India’s reserve assets and residents’ overseas financial assets as well as liabilities both increased as a ratio to GDP.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/indias-foreign-assets-increased-more-than-liabilities-in-2023-24-rbi-data-101719331795587.html

A two-member Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team on Monday collected all material evidence related to the alleged NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case.

A two-member Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team on Monday collected all material evidence linked to the alleged NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case from the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar police, which had been handling the investigation until the probe agency took over. The two CBI officials – a DIG and deputy SP rank officer – also met the officials of the Shastri Nagar Police station in the national capital, where the first case of the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination was lodged, reported PTI. Meanwhile, several student unions have organised massive protests against alleged corruption in NEET examinations.

Here are the top updates of the NEET row:

1. The material evidence collected by the CBI from the EOU of the Bihar police included a partially burnt question paper recovered from a house in Patna, mobile phones of those arrested, laptops, post-dated cheques and reference question papers provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA), reported PTI.
2. Reportedly, a two-member CBI team is expected to record the statements of the 18 arrested persons in the case, including prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, his associates, a few aspirants and their parents – soon. The central agency may also take the accused to Delhi for detailed interrogation by obtaining a transit remand from a court.
3. According to officials, the CBI is likely to file FIRs in connection with the destruction of evidence and register disproportionate assets (DA) cases against some of the accused who are public servants, reported PTI.
4. According to reports, the prime suspect in the case, Yadavendu, has a history of involvement in criminal activities and has served a jail term. He has also reportedly acquired huge assets that are disproportionate to his known source of income.
5. Several student body unions, including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Tribal Students Union (TSU), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Tribal Youth Federation (TYF), have jointly organised a large-scale protest against the corruption in the NEET examinations.
6. The students held demonstrations on Monday in several cities by holding placards and chanting slogans, demanding the immediate resignation of the union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The protesting students also highlighted the emotional and psychological toll on students who prepared for the exams rigorously, only to find their efforts undermined by corrupt practices.
7. Earlier on Monday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged PM Modi to consider abolishing NEET and reverting to the system of states conducting the exam in the wake of the paper leak row.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/neet-cbi-collects-burnt-question-paper-phones-laptops-from-bihar-police-10-points-101719281768094.html

AAP’s Atishi began her hunger strike on June 21 amid a prolonged heatwave in Delhi and has demanded that the BJP-ruled Haryana release water for the national capital.

Delhi Minister Atishi’s hunger strike over the water crisis in the national capital ended on Tuesday after her health deteriorated, her party said.
Addressing a press conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh said that the 43-year-old water minister was admitted to Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital after her blood sugar level dropped to 36.

“After her blood sugar levels dropped, doctors advised us that she should be immediately admitted to the hospital or she may lose her life,” Mr Singh said.

“We then took her to the hospital at around 4 am, where she is currently admitted to an ICU,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the AAP said that Ms Atishi’s blood sugar level dropped to 43 at midnight and to 36 at 3 AM.

“She has not eaten anything for the last five days,” the party said on X and posted pictures of Ms Atishi being taken to the hospital.

Ms Atishi began her hunger strike on June 21 amid a prolonged heatwave in Delhi and has demanded the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Haryana release water for the national capital.

She has accused Haryana of depriving nearly 28 lakh people of Delhi by releasing 100 million gallons per day (MGD) less water.

“There are 2.8 million people in the city who are aching for just a drop of water,” she said on Monday, the fourth day of her fast.

“My blood pressure and sugar levels are dropping and my weight has gone down. Ketone level is very high which can have harmful effects in the long run,” she said in a video message posted on her official X account.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/atishi-delhi-water-crisis-aaps-atishi-in-icu-after-blood-sugar-drops-amid-hunger-strike-in-delhi-5963711

Unfortunately, four individuals breathed in smoke and were taken to the hospital, where doctors later pronounced them deceased, according to the Delhi Fire Service.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/delhi/delhi-4-died-after-inhaling-smoke-during-fire-breakout-in-prem-nagar-article-111245827

The roof of the newly constructed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was leaking after the first heavy showers since it was opened to the public, said Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of the Ram Mandir.

Water was leaking from the roof of the sanctum sanctorum at the Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya after the first heavy showers since it was opened to the public, its chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das said on Monday.

Alleging negligence in the construction of the temple, Das claimed that there was also no arrangement for the drainage of rainwater from the temple premises after the showers on Saturday midnight and urged the temple authorities to take necessary corrective measures.

After the senior officials were informed about the incident of water leaking from the roof, the chairman of the temple construction committee, Nripendra Mishra, reached the temple and gave instructions to repair the roof and make them waterproof, temple trust sources said.

Speaking separately to reporters about the progress of temple construction, Mishra said that work on the first floor was on and will be finished by July this year, and expressed the hope that the construction of the temple will be completed by December.

Acharya Satyendra Das told reporters there was heavy leakage from the roof of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum in the first heavy showers that occurred at midnight on Saturday. Rainwater was leaking from the roof directly above the place where the priest sits in front of Ram Lalla’s idol and where people come for VIP darshan, he said.

“It is very surprising that engineers from all over the country are building the Ram temple. The temple was inaugurated on January 22. But, no one knew that if it rains, the roof would leak. It is surprising that the roof of a world-famous temple is leaking. Why did this happen?”

“Such an incident is happening in the presence of such big engineers, which is very wrong,” he said.

Meanwhile, rains on Saturday night caused severe waterlogging on the Rampath road and its adjoining laneshere. While sewer water entered houses in the area, the Rampath road and other newly constructed roads in Ayodhya caved in at some places.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ayodhya-ram-mandir-roof-leaking-heavy-showers-in-uttar-pradesh-acharya-satyendra-das-2557612-2024-06-25

The Supreme Court on Monday took strong exception to the State of Uttar Pradesh filing appeals before it challenging directions to pay pension to retired government servants [State of Uttar Pradesh and Another v. Shashi Srivastava].

A vacation bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Rajesh Bindal was of the view that the State had made it a trend to challenge normal pension matters before the apex court.

“State coming to Supreme Court to stop somebody getting pension. What is this going on? Why are you stopping someone from getting pension. Every time State comes up against grant of pension,” Justice Oka orally remarked.

Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/spouses-can-testify-on-behalf-of-each-other-in-civil-trials-kerala-high-court

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother, former PM Indira Gandhi had imposed the Emergency on June 25, 1975.

A day after the INDIA bloc mounted a massive protest inside the Parliament premises against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said those who imposed the Emergency have no right to profess their love for the Constitution. On the 49th anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency, PM Modi said the dark days showed how the Congress subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution.

“Today is a day to pay homage to all those great men and women who resisted the Emergency. The #DarkDaysOfEmergency remind us of how the Congress Party subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution of India which every Indian respects greatly,” he wrote on X.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother, former PM Indira Gandhi had imposed the Emergency on June 25, 1975, after which most civil rights remained suspended for over two years. She announced elections in 1977.

PM Modi said the then Congress government had disregarded “every democratic principle and made the nation a jail”.

He said those who disagreed with the Congress were tortured during the Emergency, and socially regressive policies were unleashed.

“Those who imposed the Emergency have no right to profess their love for our Constitution. These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a Bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism and violated every aspect of the Constitution,” PM Modi added.

“The mindset which led to the imposition of the Emergency is very much alive among the same Party which imposed it. They hide their disdain for the Constitution through their tokenism but the people of India have seen through their antics and that is why they have rejected them time and again,” he added.

On Monday, INDIA bloc leaders staged a protest by holding out copies of the Constitution inside the Parliament premises. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and DMK M Kanimozhi were among several Opposition leaders who took part in the protest.

As PM Modi took oath as the member of the Lok Sabha later, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi displayed a copy of the Constitution.

Posting an 8-second clip of the incident on X, the Congress later said, “The INDIA alliance will protect the constitution at the cost of its life.”

Meanwhile, union home minister Amit Shah said the episode is the biggest example of the Congress’s long history of attempts to kill democracy.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/those-who-imposed-emergency-pm-modi-slams-india-bloc-amid-constitution-protest-101719288427380.html

During the operation, authorities took eight samples of the adulterated ghee for laboratory testing to confirm the presence of palm oil. They found 10 containers of palm oil on the premises.

Authorities seized over 3,000 kg of ‘adulterated’ ghee during a raid at a facility in Gujarat’s Navsari on Sunday. They also confiscated palm oil, which is believed to have been mixed with the ghee to cut costs.
The raid by a team of the Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA), which resulted in the seizure of goods worth around ₹ 14 lakh, was initiated after receiving actionable intelligence about the malpractices at the facility of Shiv Food Products in Onchi village of Navsari district.

The brand involved, Sukhwant, is now under scrutiny for selling adulterated products.

During the operation, authorities took eight samples of the adulterated ghee for laboratory testing to confirm the presence of palm oil. They found 10 containers of palm oil on the premises.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/gujarat-fdca-seizes-3-000-kg-of-adulterated-ghee-in-navsari-5955331

A gunman opened fire inside a supermarket in US’s Texas on Friday. A 32-year-old man from Andhra was among those killed in the shooting.

A 32-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh was among those killed in a shooting at a supermarket in Texas, the United States. Dasari Gopikrishna, who had moved to the US eight months ago in pursuit of better livelihood, worked at the supermarket.

Earlier, four people were confirmed dead, while several were injured in the shooting.

The shooting took place on Friday at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, a city with a population of about 3,200 people. Texas State Police Director Mike Hagar confirmed that the suspect was also wounded in a shootout with police.

The incident occurred just after 11.30 am while Gopikrishna was working at the check-out counter. An unidentified assailant entered the store and opened fire, critically injuring Gopikrishna.

A CCTV video shows the gunman shooting Gopikrishna, who is seen collapsing on the spot. The assailant then jumps over the counter and lifts something from the shelf.

Gopikrishna was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday while undergoing treatment.

Dasari Gopikrishna is survived by his wife and son.

Reacting to the shooting, Consulate General of India, Houston tweeted, “Deeply saddened to learn about the tragic demise of Indian National Gopi Krishna Dasari, in a robbery shooting incident at Pleasant Grove, Dallas, Texas. We offer our sincere condolences to the family of the deceased…”

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/world/indians-abroad/story/andhra-man-dies-in-us-arkansas-supermarket-shooting-video-2556967-2024-06-23

Buoyed by its good show in this general election that denied a majority to the BJP, the Opposition is gearing up to corner the ruling party on key issues in this session

In what appears to be a trailer to a stormy Parliament session, two senior parliamentarians of the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress traded barbs this morning, hours before the new Lok Sabha meets.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Kiren Rijiju posted a welcome message for members of the 18th Lok Sabha this morning. “The First Session of 18th Lok Sabha begins today, the 24th June, 2024. I welcome all the new elected hon’ble members. I shall be always available to assist the members as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. I’m positively looking forward for co-ordination to run the house,” he said.

The post drew a sharp barb from senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh. “Actions will speak louder than words Mr. Minister. Walk the Talk,” he said in reply to the minister’s post.

Mr Rijiju responded that the Congress leader can be an “asset to the House if you contribute positively”. “Absolutely @Jairam_Ramesh Ji. You are an intelligent member and you will be a valuable asset to the house if you contribute positively. Differences will remain amongst political parties in Parliamentary Democracy but we are united in our service to the nation. Looking forward to your cooperation in maintaining India’s rich Parliamentary traditions,” he said.

In no mood to back down, Mr Ramesh responded with a swipe featuring the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has left the government red-faced owing to irregularities in conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test. “Thanks Mr. Minister. I hope your certificate of my intelligence is not like the NTA grading. Is it with grace marks?,” Mr Ramesh said.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/18th-lok-sabha-parliament-session-teaser-for-stormy-parliament-session-jairam-ramesh-vs-kiren-rijiju-on-x-5956311#pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The ₹1.5-crore bridge was being constructed by the state government’s Rural Works Department (RWD).

An under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihar’s East Champaran district on Sunday, officials said, with this being the third such incident in the state since Tuesday.

No casualty was reported in the incident that took place in Motihari, according to officials.

“The exact cause is not yet known. It is a serious matter and a departmental inquiry has been ordered. We will take strict action against those found guilty,” Dipak Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Bihar’s Rural Works Department (RWD), told PTI.

“The district administration has already dispatched its senior officials. They have reached the spot. A detailed report is awaited,” Singh added.

District Magistrate (DM) Saurabh Jorwal also said that the exact cause of the incident was being ascertained.

“We have reports that a section of locals initially objected to the construction of some pillars of the bridge. Police are also looking into this matter,” the DM stated.

The 16-metre-long structure, being built at a cost of ₹1.5 crore, would have connected Amwa village in Motihari’s Ghorasahan block to other areas of the block. It was being constructed over a canal by the state government’s RWD.

On the previous day, a newly constructed bridge, also built over a canal, came crashing down in the Siwan district. It connected villages in the Daraunda and Maharajganj blocks.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/patna-news/bridge-collapses-in-motihari-third-such-incident-in-bihar-this-week-101719130631864.html

Darshan is among those accused of having carried out the murder of a man named Renukaswamy after the latter made derogatory comments on social media against the actor’s girlfriend.

A trial court in Karnataka on Saturday sent Kannada actor Darshan Thogudeepa and three other persons accused in the Renukaswamy murder case to judicial custody till July 4.

Darshan is among those accused of having carried out the murder of a man named Renukaswamy whose corpse was found on June 9.

It is alleged that Renukaswamy died from injuries sustained in an attack carried out on Darshan’s instructions after he made derogatory comments against the actor’s girlfriend Pavithra Gowda (also an accused) on social media.

There are a total of seventeen persons accused in the case, including Darshan Thogudeepa and Pavithra Gowda.

Darshan had been in police custody since his arrest on July 11. On June 20, the police custody over Darshan was extended by two more days, till June 22.

After the extended police custody ended today, the trial court has now sent Darshan to judicial custody along with three of his alleged accomplices, Vinay, Pradush and Dhanaraj.

Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/renukaswamy-murder-actor-darshan-three-others-sent-judicial-custody

The ISRO has successfully conducted its third and final landing experiment of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV-LEX3) in Karnataka.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted its third and final landing experiment on Sunday, of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV-LEX3) in Chitradurga, Karnataka, news agency PTI reported.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/isro-successfully-conducts-third-and-final-landing-of-reusable-launch-vehicle-rlv-landing-experiment-lex3-in-karnatakas-chitradurga-3077335

India’s Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project has reached a new milestone with the construction of a 120-meter bridge over the Dhadhar river in Gujarat’s Vadodara district. The National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) announced that this bridge, situated between Bharuch and Vadodara, consists of three 40-meter full-span girders and several circular piers.

The NHSRCL stated that the bridge is made up of three full-span girders, each 40 meters long, and several circular piers, ranging in height from 16 to 20 meters with diameters of 4 and 5 meters.

According to a press statement, “There are 24 river bridges on the Bullet Train corridor, with 20 in Gujarat and four in Maharashtra.” It said, “The construction of seven river bridges has already been completed. These rivers are Par, Puma, Mindhola, Ambika, Auranga, Venganiya and Mohar.” The Indian Railways has announced that the first phase of the bullet train project, running between Surat and Bilimora in Gujarat, will be operational by 2026.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/city/ahmedabad/mumbai-ahmedabad-bullet-train-project-hits-another-milestone-120m-bridge-built-over-dhadhar-river-in-gujarat-article-111200159

The controversy erupted after an unusually high number of students scored a perfect 720 in the NEET-UG exam.

New Delhi: A ‘solver gang’ that leaks exam papers and also provides proxy candidates who would sit for an exam has come into the limelight amid a row over the medical entrance test NEET. The NEET-UG exam, held in May, had to be cancelled after an investigation revealed that the paper had been leaked in Bihar. Police believe that Ravi Atri, the head of a nationwide ‘solver gang’, is the alleged mastermind behind the leak that has cast a shadow over India’s prestigious medical entrance examination.
The controversy erupted after an unusually high number of students scored a perfect 720 in the NEET-UG exam. Initially attributed to grace marks due to a faulty question and logistical issues, subsequent investigations by Bihar Police uncovered a different aspect: the exam paper had been leaked to select candidates a day before the exam.

Despite the NTA’s attempts to manage the fallout, accusations of a widespread leak persisted, prompting protests and legal cases nationwide. The Supreme Court also intervened, chastising the NTA for handling the matter.

The Solver Gang And Its Network

Central to the paper leak is Atri’s alleged involvement in a syndicate known as the ‘solver gang’. This network specialized in obtaining and distributing solved question papers via social media platforms, catering to aspirants willing to pay a hefty price for guaranteed success. Atri, already infamous for his involvement in previous exam paper leaks, operated with impunity across various states, leveraging his connections within the ‘exam mafia’.

Atri’s modus operandi involved obtaining the exam papers well in advance, typically a day before the examination, and swiftly disseminating them to paying clients through social media.

The gang also offered students the option of paying more and getting a ‘Munna Bhai’, a proxy who would give the exam in their place. The candidates were assured that the ‘Munna Bhai’ would score high.

Ravi Atri: Medical Aspirant To Exam Mafia

In 2007, Ravi Atri’s parents sent him to Rajasthan’s Kota to prepare for the medical entrance exam. After years of preparation, he cleared the exam in 2012 and was admitted to PGI Rohtak.

But he dropped out in the fourth year, and authorities say that by then he had come in contact with the ‘exam mafia’ and was sitting as a proxy for other candidates. He also started playing a key role in circulating the leaked papers among students.

Sanjeev Mukhiya, Another Key Figure

Sanjeev Mukhiya, who is a member of the ‘solver gang’, has been identified by police as a central figure in the NEET paper leak. Police are conducting raids at possible locations linked to him.

Mukhiya does not stand alone in his family’s criminal background. Sources reveal his son’s arrest in connection with the leaked question papers for the third phase of teacher recruitment exams conducted by BPSC.

The investigation has revealed a network extending from constable recruitment exams to teacher recruitment exams across multiple states, illustrating the scale and reach of the operation.

Sources say that Mukhiya may have fled to Nepal after the controversy snowballed, complicating extradition procedures due to the bilateral agreements between India and Nepal.

Suraj Revanna row: The Holenarasipura police booked the JD(S) MLC under IPC sections 377 (unnatural sex) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna, the brother of jailed politician Prajwal Revanna, was booked by the Karnataka police on Saturday for allegedly sodomising a party worker. The police also booked the complainant and his brother-in-law for allegedly attempting to extort ₹5 crore from the politician.

27-year-old Chethan KS has told the police that Suraj Revanna, the eldest son of Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna, sodomised him at his farmhouse in Ghannikada in Holenarasipura Taluk on June 16.

The Holenarasipura police booked the JD(S) MLC under IPC sections 377 (unnatural sex) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Suraj Revanna’s close aide Shivakumar on Friday filed a complaint with the police that Chethan KS was trying to extort money from the politician by threatening to lodge a false case of sexual assault against him.

He claimed the man had demanded ₹5 crore from Suraj Revanna. The demanded amount was later reduced to ₹2 crore, he added.

The MLC has also been booked under sections that deal with wrongful confinement and common intention.

Per Shivakumar’s complaint, accessed by HT, the JD(S) worker had met Suraj six months ago and again in June, seeking a job. The threat was made after the MLC said it wouldn’t be possible for him to help the man get a job at present “but it might be considered in the future”.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rs-5-crore-demand-sodomy-at-farm-house-what-2-firs-say-in-suraj-revanna-sexual-assault-row-101719110524038.html

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the law was implemented after several “scams” and termed it a move to “damage control.”

The Congress on Saturday slammed the Narendra Modi-led Central government’s decision to implement a law to prevent the use of unfair means in competitive examinations.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the law—the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024—was implemented after several “scams” and termed it a move to “damage control.”

Several opposition political parties and student associations, including the Congress, have held protests across the country over alleged irregularities in medical entrance exams NEET-UG and the UGC-NET.

Amid this row and reports of paper leaks, the Centre on Friday enforced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The law aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations and entails provisions for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to ₹1 crore for offenders.

The law was passed by the Parliament in the Budget session, which concluded on February 10 earlier this year.

On Saturday, Ramesh claimed that while the law was needed but added that it deals with question paper leaks and other irregularities after they have occurred.

“On Feb 13 2024, the President of India gave her assent to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means), Bill, 2024,” Ramesh wrote on X. “Finally, just this morning the nation has been told that this Act has come into force from yesterday, that is June 21, 2024. Clearly this is damage control to deal with the NEET, UGC-NET, CSIR-UGC-NET and other scams.”

He added: “This law was needed. But it deals with leaks after they have occurred. More important are laws, systems, processes, and procedures to ensure that leaks don’t happen in the first place.”

The law comes amid a massive row over alleged irregularities in the conduct of medical entrance exam NEET and UGC-NET.

There have been allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar and other irregularities in the prestigious exam. The allegations have led to protests in several cities and petitions in several high courts and the Supreme Court.

The Opposition has demanded a probe under the supervision of a sitting Supreme Court judge. Some leaders have also demanded the removal of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the disbanding of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/congs-damage-control-jab-at-centres-anti-cheating-law-amid-neet-row-101719052197659.html

Deaths are being reported from the village every day as many patients remain under treatment since the tragedy earlier this week.

The police have arrested a key suspect in the toxic liquor tragedy in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi. The cops believe that it was Chinnadurai who had supplied distilled liquor to Karunapuram, the village that is now mourning 55 of its residents who lost their lives to toxic liquor.
Deaths are being reported from the village every day as many patients remain under treatment since the tragedy earlier this week.

Until last evening, the bodies of 29 victims were handed over to their families and either cremated or buried, according to District Collector Prasanth MS.

Three affected men had recovered but dozens others are still critical, he said on Friday.

A one-man commission comprising Justice B Gokuldas (retired) has begun its inquiry into the incident. He has been given three months to file a report. In a crackdown, the state government has also suspended several police officers and transferred the Collector.

Three alleged bootleggers with a criminal history were also arrested after the incident.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/tamil-nadu-news/man-who-supplied-toxic-liquor-arrested-days-after-55-die-in-tamil-nadu-5944604

Indian Intelligence and financial investigating agencies have also found that there was large-scale misuse of the e-visa scheme prior to 2020.

National security planners have found several irregularities in the operations of Chinese companies and the import of Chinese products into India – ranging from improper documentation for visas, evading local taxes, and bypassing scrutiny by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) — according to people aware of the matter.

Indian Intelligence and financial investigating agencies have also found that there was large-scale misuse of the e-visa scheme prior to 2020, with some Chinese nationals not only overstaying in India without the mandatory visa renewals but also travelling to the border states and UTs such as Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, the people added.

Officials in three ministries dealing with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the current visa regime was also being exploited by some Chinese companies by mis-declaring visa categories. For instance, some Chinese firms were applying for business visas for the installation and commissioning of industrial units though the correct category for this purpose is an employment visa.

While officials have been are concerned about the impact of importing billions of dollars worth of furniture, lighting, fixtures and sanitaryware annually from China, and its impact on the local industry – just as Chinese telecom companies flooded the Indian market, setting back domestic phone makers — a pattern they have observed is some Chinese firms claiming “Make in India” benefits to establish units in India and then importing or sourcing up to 80% parts in those units from China.

This problem, the officials said, even extends to some Chinese firms that have been operating in the country for roughly two decades. The officials asked that the firms not be named until formal complaints are registered against them and action is initiated.

There have also been quality concerns over Chinese products — many of which are cheaper than Indian products but of inferior quality — and it was during the Modi government that the Union commerce ministry started issuing quality control orders (QCOs) post Galwan clash in June 2020 to set benchmarks and implement standards.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/agencies-unearth-serious-irregularities-in-chinese-companies-operations-in-india-101719022364119.html

Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader Suraj Revanna– brother of Prajwal Revanna who is accused of sexually assaulting multiple women–has accused a party worker and his kin face of attempting to extort money from him by threatening with a false sexual assault case of sexual assault in Karnataka’s Hassan.

The complaint was filed by Suraj Revanna’s lose aide Shivakumar on Friday against a JD(S) named Chethan KS and his brother-in-law alleging that they demanded Rs 5 crore by threatening to lodge a false case of sexual assault against MLC Suraj Revanna if their demands were not met.

Meanwhile, Chethan too lodged a police complaint on Friday, accusing Suraj Revanna of sexually assaulting him.

Suraj Revanna is the son of Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna and the elder brother of former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna who is in police custody for allegedly sexually assaulting several women.

In the police complaint, Shivakumar alleged that Chethan became his friend and started working for the ‘Suraj Revanna Brigade’.

Recently, Chethan asked for money to meet family expenses but when Shivakumar refused, the accused threatened to lodge a police complaint, accusing Suraj Revanna of sexually assaulting him, Shivakumar said in the complaint.

Shivakumar claimed that Chethan demanded Rs 5 crore and later the demand was reduced to Rs 2 crore.

Source: https://www.news18.com/india/prajwal-revannas-brother-claims-jds-worker-threatened-him-with-false-sexual-abuse-case-2-booked-8940446.html

The employees have been directed to use the biometric attendance system and not the register-based attendance. “For any reason, if the employee is not able to attend office on a particular day, it should be informed in advance and casual leave should be applied for,” the circular said. Most of the staff members have not been using it since the Covid outbreak four years ago.

The DoPT has directed senior officers to monitor the attendance and punctuality of employees in their sections.

While Central government offices are open from 9am to 5.30pm, staff members are infamous for reporting late to work and leave early, including those in departments that deal with public, inconveniencing people.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/reach-by-915-am-or-lose-1/2-day-cl-central-government-cracks-whip-on-latecomers-article-111180794 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina will hold wide-ranging talks on June 22 to give a new momentum to the bilateral ties.

Hours after Hasina began a two-day state visit to India, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met her and discussed various bilateral issues.

“Delighted to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh this evening. Her State visit to India underlines our close and abiding ties.

Appreciate her guidance on the further development of our special partnership,” he said on X.

Bangladesh is a key partner and trusted neighbour of India and PM Hasina’s visit will give a major boost to the “celebrated bilateral partnership”, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

It is the first incoming bilateral state visit by a foreign leader after the formation of the new government in India following the Lok Sabha elections.

The Bangladesh Prime Minister was received at the airport by the Minister of State in the External Affairs Ministry Kirti Vardhan Singh.

Mr. Modi and Ms. Hasina are scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks on Saturday during which both sides are likely to firm up a raft of agreements providing for cooperation in several sectors.

Ms. Hasina was among seven top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Mr. Modi and the Union Council of Ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 9.

Apart from holding bilateral consultations with Mr. Modi, the visiting leader is scheduled to call-on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

The talks between the two Prime Ministers are expected to focus on taking the bilateral ties to new heights, said a source.

The overall strategic ties between India and Bangladesh have been on an upswing in the last few years.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sheikh-hasinas-india-visit-underlines-close-ties-between-india-and-bangladesh-eam-jaishankar/article68319472.ece

The Court said that it is reserving the matter for a detailed order which will be pronounced in two to three days. In the meantime, the operation of trial court’s bail order will remain stayed, the single-judge directed.

The dispute pertained to a video uploaded on the YouTube channel of Rathee in which he depicted how Real fruit juice affects the health of consumers, especially children.

Nearly a year-old litigation between Dabur India and popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee came to an end on June 18 with the latter agreeing to blur the packaging of Dabur’s product, Real fruit juice, in his videos [Dabur India Limited vs Dhruv Rathee].

The video showed the impact of packaged fruit juices on health in comparison with fresh fruit juices. The video used the logo and trademark of “REAL” fruit juice.

Single-judge Justice Krishna Rao closed the suit filed by Dabur after recording the contentions of the parties with both agreeing to Rathee’s suggestion to blur the packaging of Real fruit juice.

“The defendant no.1 without prejudice to his rights and contentions, including, inter alia, his right to freedom of speech and expression and to make fair comment, proposed to blur and/or use generic fruit juice packaging by an e-mail dated 15th of March, 2024. Such proposal was accepted in principle by the plaintiff by its e-mail dated 19th March, 2024. In furtherance of the above, the defendant no.1 through its advocate’s e-mail dated 12th June, 2024 forwarded a video containing the generic fruit juice packaging proposed to be used in the video in place of packaging alleged to be identical and/or deceptively similar to that of the plaintiff,” Justice Rao recorded in the order passed on June 18.

The Court further recorded that the plaintiff has agreed to the changes made by Rathee in the video, at all places so as to remove any reference or use of ‘REAL’ trademarks, copyright, content, labels, packaging, advertisements etc.

It added that since the changes have been made and accepted by Dabur, the company also does not have any objection to the video being circulated or published on social media.

“The parties have agreed that no useful purpose would be served by keeping the suit and the applications therein pending and the suit itself may be disposed of in terms of the settlement agreed between the plaintiff and the defendant,” the Court said.

The dispute pertained to the use of ‘REAL’ trademarks by Rathee in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel. Dabur moved the Court taking objection to the same.

In a detailed order passed in March 2023, another bench of Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur had ordered YouTube and other social media platforms to take down or block public access to the video in question.

The Court had then said that the content creator had crossed the “lakshman rekha” and targeted Real by comparing it with fresh fruit juices and showing how it affects the health and hair growth of people, especially children.

Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/calcutta-high-court-closed-dispute-dhruv-rathee-dabur-real-fruit-juice

Another defence lawyer representing the managers of Cosie restaurant and Club Blak confirmed that the court also granted bail to his clients.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/maharashtra/pune-porsche-crash-sessions-court-grants-bail-to-juveniles-father-vishal-agarwal-3075946

The revised schedule for the conduct of this examination will be announced later through the official website.

The Joint CSIR-UGC-NET Examination, which was supposed to take place on June 25–27, 2024, has been postponed by National Testing Agency (NTA). It is being postponed because of logistical problems in addition to unforeseen situations. The updated timetable for the examination will be announced later through the official website.

“The candidates are hereby informed that the Joint CSIR-UGC-NET Examination June-2024 which was scheduled to be held between 25.06.2024 to 27.06.2024 is being postponed due to unavoidable circumstances as well as logistic issues. The revised schedule for the conduct of this examination will be announced later through the official website,” read the official notification.

The purpose of the Joint CSIR-UGC NET is to evaluate candidates and shortlist them for admission to PhD programmes, assistant professorships, and junior research fellowships (JRFs) at UGC-affiliated colleges and universities. This year, the exam is being administered by the NTA. The candidates should note down these changes and keep a check on the official website for the new exam dates. The candidates are advised to visit the official website: https://csirnet.nta.ac.in. for the latest updates. For any queries or /clarifications, candidates can call the NTA Help Desk at 011-40759000 or 011-69227700 write to NTA at sirnet@nta.ac.in.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/education/nta-postpones-joint-csir-ugc-net-examination-2024-new-dates-awaited