The New Indian Express

Look, an investor A recent startup event in Kochi had young entrepreneurs, some right out of college, putting up stalls detailing their ambitious projects. It so happened that this correspondent was accorded a warm welcome to the venue, with the organisers and the top Kerala Startup Mission officials going out of their way to extend greetings. People, especially those manning the stalls, took note. Unaware of the buzz around my entry, I walked up to the stall of a startup that developed games. T

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bringing the long-running Fort Kochi Pappanji tradition to Kovalam, a 40-feet-high effigy has been set up at the Kerala Arts and Crafts Village and will be set on fire at midnight on December 31 as part of the New Year celebrations. This is the first time Kovalam is formally adopting the Pappanji ritual, believed to symbolise bidding farewell to the old year and its troubles. The effigy has been built over 10 days by a team of around 10 artists. The structure has been designe

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Personal laws have been disguised as unchangeable divine words against modern Muslim women who are progressing with education and a sense of democratic rights, former Kerala Sahitya Akademi vice-president Kadeeja Mumthas said on Monday, adding that the persistence of these laws was the greatest challenge faced by them. She was delivering the Vakkom Moulavi Memorial Lecture organised by the Vakkom Moulavi Memorial Research Centre (VMMRC) at Christ Church Centenary Hall in Thir

KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday interrogated Malayalam actor Jayasurya and his wife Saritha Jayasurya, in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged cheating scam involving an online investment platform. According to sources, the ED received information indicating that Jayasurya had entered into an agreement to serve as the brand ambassador of an online bidding application named Save Box. The platform is an alleged fraudulent investment scheme operated by Swat

GURUVAYUR: The long-standing shortage of silver lockets at the Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple has come to an end with the arrival of fresh stock manufactured at the Hyderabad Mint, a Central government undertaking. A total of 9,000 lockets, each weighing five grams and bearing the official emblem of Lord Guruvayurappan, have now been delivered to the Guruvayur Devaswom. The lockets were produced using 100 kg silver. Devotees will be able to purchase the lockets once official procedures, including

SABARIMALA: The Sabarimala Ayyappa temple will be opened on Tuesday for the 22-day long Makaravilakku season, marking the concluding phase of the annual pilgrimage. Melsanthi E D Prasad will open the sreekovil at 5 pm in the presence of Thantri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru. As per the prevailing temple practice, no rituals will be performed at the sreekovil in the evening. Key events during the Makaravilakku season include the three-day long procession carrying the Thiruvabharanam -- the golden att

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala stands out as a land where tradition and modernity go hand in hand, said Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan. He was addressing the Trivandrum Fest, organised by the CSI Church in association with various Christian organisations and Kerala Tourism to spread the message of Christmas and communal harmony, at the state capital on Monday. Kerala is renowned for its religious harmony and rich culture. It presents a fine confluence of tradition and modernity, he said. Stressing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a sharp criticism, the CPI has come down heavily on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM alleging that their actions created distrust among the voters and contributed significantly to the LDFs setback in the local body election . At its state secretariat and state executive meetings held on Monday, the CPI concluded that strong anti-incumbency against the state government is the key factor behind the poll defeat. Members stated that certain positions taken by the CM on

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After reviewing the unexpected setback in the recent local body elections , the CPM is set to reach out directly to the masses. The party is set to initiate a massive review exercise similar to the comprehensive corrective measures undertaken following its defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. As part of the exercise, party leaders will conduct statewide house visits from January 15 to 18 to engage with the people directly. We will conduct door-to-door visits to understand how

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala faces delays in the release of central funds under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), aimed at ensuring piped drinking water to rural households, according to senior officials. Before the implementation of the project, just 17.50 lakh (25.06% of the total) rural households in the state had access to piped drinking water. Since the Union government launched JJM in August 2019, the number of connections has increased to 38.71 lakh households, covering nearly 55.54% of the tot

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has appointed former additional government pleader and public prosecutor M Salahudeen as the special public prosecutor in the sensational suicide case of a young female doctor, who was a student of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital in 2023. Dr Shahana A J, a second-year PG student in the surgery department, died by suicide on December 2, 2023, at her apartment near the MCH. She took the drastic step after her lover, Dr EA Ruwais, who was also he

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new city corporation council will verify all allegations raised by previous BJP-led opposition, said Mayor V V Rajesh . In a brief interaction, Rajesh shared with TNIE his vision about the new city, corruption allegations, stray dog management, waste management reforms, electric buses, streetlights, and BJPs political prospects. Over the past five years, the BJP has raised several allegations against the corporation, including corruption and backdoor appointments. What ac

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a move to facilitate smoother communication between parents, teachers and department authorities, the state government has decided to revamp the structure of parent teacher associations (PTAs) in the government and aided schools of the state. The move comes following the departments observation of improper practices within PTAs of certain schools. A workshop regarding this will be held in the first week of January, according to department sources. Speaking about the new in

KOCHI: For decades, silver in Keralas temples lived in the shadows always the bridesmaid to glittering gold, rarely the bride. Offered by devotees as lamps, vessels and ornaments, and tucked away in backspaces and strongrooms, the white metal was long treated as ceremonial surplus rather than serious wealth. That changed dramatically in 2025 as the global silver prices crossed the $77-an-ounce mark this week, gaining over 167% so far this year. A stunning surge in silver prices has pushed the o

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The SIT probing the Sabarimala gold theft cases has arrested a former Travancore Devaswom Board member alleging that he had played a role in the incidents. N Vijayakumar, who was a member of the TDB during 2019, was arrested after he failed to respond to the summons issued earlier. K P Sankardas, who is the second board member of that time, and Vijayakumar had approached the Kollam Vigilance court seeking anticipatory bail. The pleas are still pending before the court. The SI

KOZHIKODE: Congress leader N Subramanian was questioned by police here on Monday in connection with the sharing of a photograph on social media depicting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with Unnikrishnan Potty, an accused in the Sabarimala gold case. Police had earlier courted controversy after Subramanian, a member of the Congress state unit's Political Affairs Committee, was taken into custody on Saturday. Following protests, he was released after being issued a notice to appear for questionin

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A dispute over an office space between a ruling CPI (M) MLA and a newly elected BJP councillor took a fresh turn on Monday with the Congress party wading into the stand-off, suggesting that the legislator should move to the MLA hostel for the remainder of the Assembly term. In a Facebook post, former Congress MLA and now a councillor, K S Sabarinathan, said the issue of MLAs office functioning in the Corporation office at the Sasthamangalam ward should be examined by the civi

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Organisational weakness and overconfidence were among the key reasons behind the LDFs setback in the recently concluded local body elections, CPM leaders observed at the two-day state committee meeting that began on Sunday. They said this prevented the benefits of the LDF governments good governance from effectively reaching the public. The party leadership was criticised for its failure to take timely disciplinary action against Pathanamthitta district committee member and f

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when certificate courses are in vogue on a variety of subjects, imagine earning one in traditional toddy tapping! In what could give a new push to toddy production in the state, the Kerala Agricultural University is joining hands with the Kerala Toddy Industry Development Board (KTIDB) to provide a month-long Toddy Technician Course. With admissions expected to start as early as February next year, the course will combine both theoretical and practical knowledge wit

KALPETTA: The CPM has questioned the Congresss announcement on the construction of houses for victims of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide, accusing the party of making hollow promises ahead of the elections. Wayanad CPM district secretary K Rafeeq strongly criticised the Congress leader T Siddique, pointing out that the Congress had publicly claimed that house construction would begin on December 28. Just days before the elections, Kalpetta MLA and Congress leader T Siddique had stated that t

KASARAGOD: Condemning the bulldozing of houses at Yelahanka near Bengaluru, Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama president Syed Muhammad Jiffiri Muthukoya Thangal on Sunday urged the Karnataka government to implement development projects only after ensuring the rehabilitation of the evicted people. Samastha is not against development projects but it cannot condone the act of rendering the poor people homeless, Thangal told reporters in Kasaragod, adding that the destruction of around 200 houses wo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Stating that the inspections centred on six Super League Kerala (SLK) franchises were part of a routine scrutiny, the state GST department has said that a report on the checks conducted on December 23 will be submitted to the headquarters in the coming days.Documents were examined as part of the routine inspection and no further information regarding this can be shared at this point. The report would be submitted to the headquarters, an official with the department said. Mean

IDUKKI: Despite the holiday season, prolonged traffic congestion caused by ongoing development works on the Kochi-Dhanushkodi national highway has begun to affect tourist movement in and around Munnar, with the impact most evident at Eravikulam National Park. Tourists heading to the hill station continue to face long hours of gridlock, especially along the Neriamangalam-Munnar stretch and within town limits. The congestion, which worsens during weekends and peak hours, has discouraged many from

KOCHI: Setting aside a previous order of the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT), the Kerala High Court recently held that a passenger who lost his legs while attempting to board a moving train was entitled to compensation. Justice S Manu delivered the ruling on a petition filed by Siddharth K Bhattathiri, 26, a journalist, challenging the RCTs decision denying him compensation on the ground that the injury he sustained in the 2022 incident was self-inflicted. The RCTs counsel had opined that since th

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: R Sreelekhas demand to vacate the Sasthamangalam office used by Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth was a challenge to the democratic system, General Education Minister V Sivankutty said on Sunday. Alleging political vendetta behind the move, he said Sreelekha had neither the right nor the authority to raise any claim over a corporation building. He claimed the attempt to disrupt the functioning of an office that served thousands of people in Vattiyoorkavu over the past seven year

KOZHIKODE: The political landscape of Vadakara is in a state of upheaval following a high-stakes presidential election at the block panchayat that saw the LDF lose due to a single erroneous vote. What began as a procedural exercise soon spiralled into a saga of midnight attacks, disciplinary purges and shifting alliances. The fallout turned physical in the early hours of Sunday when the residence of RJD member Rajani Thekkethayyil was targeted. Assailants pelted stones at the house, shattering t

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Organ donation pledges in Kerala rose in 2025, crossing the 10,000-mark with around 6,000 new commitments in the year. The whopping 161% surge also improved the states national ranking from 13 to 10. However, Kerala remains far behind states such as Maharashtra and Rajasthan, which registered nearly one lakh pledges each, underscoring a gap between its reputation as a health pioneer and actual performance. Experts caution that the improvement is built on a low baseline; for a

MALAPPURAM: For the past several days, Keralas CPM leadership has trained its political fire on demolition sites in Bengaluru, unleashing a sustained attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government over what it describes as an anti-Muslim action. Yet, within Keralas political corridors, the sudden intensity of the partys intervention is being read less as minority outreach and more as political damage control aimed at reclaiming a slipping Muslim vote base. The backdrop is unmistakable. The Indi

KOZHIKODE: Four days after she was brutally attacked by her drug-addict husband, a 32-year-old woman died of her injuries in Kozhikode on Sunday. M K Muneera, a supermarket employee and mother of two, died at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital after battling for her life. Her husband, Abdul Jabbar, 38, is currently in judicial remand, accused of orchestrating the attack that has left their eight-year-old and six-year-old children motherless. The horror unfolded on Wednesday morning around 9.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A phone call by newly-elected Sasthamangalam councillor R Sreelekha on Saturday evening to Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth, requesting him to vacate the MLA office functioning in the Sasthamangalam office building of the Thiruvananthapuram corporation kicked off a political storm on Sunday. The issue spilled into the public domain in the morning when former Thiruvananthapuram mayor Prasanth reached the corporation building to clarify his stand, drawing a large number of media

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Renowned art director and designer K Shekhar, 72, best known for his path-breaking work in My Dear Kuttichathan, passed away on Saturday morning at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram. Shekhar was the art director of My Dear Kuttichathan, Indias first 3D film. He is especially remembered for designing the famous rotating bedroom set seen in the song Aalipazham Perukkan, where children appear to walk on walls and the ceiling. The scene was created using a real mechanical rotat

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LDF retained control of the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat on Saturday with V Priyadarshini assuming office as its ninth president. She was sworn in by District Collector Anu Kumari at a function held at the district panchayat hall. Priyadarshini, an LDF member elected from the Kallambalam division, secured 15 votes in the presidential election. UDF candidate Agnes Rani, representing the Venganoor division, polled 13 votes. LDF member B P Murali, elected from the N

CPM stalwart V S Achuthanandan passed away on July 21 at the age of 101, leaving an indelible imprint on not just the Communist movements political markings, but on every milestone woven into the states socio-cultural fabric. Poverty eradication sustained? On November 1, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared Kerala free of extreme poverty making it the first state in the country to achieve the status. Though the nature of the announcement, with Mammootty in attendance, made it seem as much a

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The streets along Kanakakunnu Palace were flooded with people and crammed with vehicles not a new sight to a Trivandrum resident in the festive days. Big-sized reindeer leading the way for Santa Claus sleigh at the mega entrance to the palace, trees lit up in colourful lights, and thematic light designs the Vasantholsavam light and flower show has become the best weekend getaway for all Trivians, with people of all age groups coming up to see how lights tell tales! The 8-ye

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Aryancode police have arrested six persons for allegedly creating a fake Instagram profile using a young womans photographs to cheat and extort money from a man, and for brutally assaulting him when he came to meet them. The arrested are Nidhin, 24, his brother Nidheesh, 25, Sreejith alias Sreekuttan, 24, Akhil alias Sachu, 26, and two Plus-II students. According to the police, the gang targeted Mahesh Mohanan, 40, a native of Kunnathoor in Kollam, by creating a fake Inst

KOCHI: Moved by the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 this year, a kathakali artist has composed a 45-minute dance drama that conveys the shock, grief, and outrage over the incident. Kalamandalam Vijayakumar, a kathakali artist settled in the UK for the past four decades, has choreographed a solo performance incorporating four evergreen Malayalam film songs composed by legendary music director G Devarajan to deliver the anguish over the attack. The first performance will be stage

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A confident Congress is moving to finalise the first list of its assembly election candidates by February 2026. The candidate announcement is expected to coincide with the conclusion of a UDF state tour led by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on February 28, according to party sources. The tour, slated to begin from Kasaragod on February 1, is intended to gauge public opinion ahead of the preparation of UDFs election manifesto. Like the Congress, other partners have also be

MALAPPURAM: The Nilambur tribal community has called off its 221-day-long land struggle in front of the Malappuram collectorate, launched against the violation of a written assurance given by the district collector on land allocation. The Tribal Land Struggle Committee has now decided to pursue a legal battle, with a case already filed before the High Court. One of the key assurances given during the settlement of the first Nilambur land struggle was the allocation of 50 cents of land each to 60

KOCHI: Despite several record- and ground-breaking films, 2025 was a challenging year for the Malayalam movie industry. Big releases such as Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra , L2: Empuraan , and Thudarum set box office records, pointing to the industrys ability to produce sweeping films. However, the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) maintains that only 15 of the 184 Malayalam films released this year were profitable. It has also been a year in which the industry encountered several challenges f

IVARMADOM: Dying into a dance, An agony of trance, An agony of flame that cannot singe a sleeve W B Yeats, Byzantium It was an unlikely setting for a theyyam performance. But the grim backdrop provided by the still-burning embers of funeral pyres set the stage for the ritual dance of Chudala Bhadrakali, the ferocious deity associated with death, and Pottan Theyyam, a manifestation of Shiva. The theyyam ritual is performed in the early hours of December 26 on the grounds of the crematorium where

P'THITTA: Unperturbed by the controversies surrounding the alleged theft of gold from the Sabarimala temple, devotees continued to throng the hill shrine in large numbers and made generous offerings during the mandala pilgrimage season. As the temple closed its sanctum sanctorum on Saturday night, marking the end of the mandala season, the total revenue stood at a record Rs 332.77 crore, according to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). During the previous season, the total revenue after 41 days

KALPETTA: Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi came in for sharp criticism on social media after she released a New Year calendar featuring photographs of her visits to the district, with critics arguing that the gesture was insensitive as the Congress failed to build the houses the party had promised to families affected by the Chooralmala-Mundakkai landslide even 16 months after the disaster. One comment under a critical post by a CPM cyber page Red Beats read: Our dear MP Priyanka Gandhi set an example

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a move to account for the list of untraceable voters that has surfaced as part of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the state government will set up help desks across village offices to ensure the inclusion of all eligible persons. In a government order issued by the general administration department on Friday, district collectors have been instructed to deploy two officers each to these help desks to ensure that eligible voters are not left out of t

THRISSUR: In a dramatic turn of events, eight Congress councillors who resigned from the party joined hands with the BJP to elect independent candidate Tessy Jose Kallarakkal as the president of Mattathur grama panchayat on Saturday. Of the 24 wards in Mattathur, the UDF won eight, the LDF 10 and the NDA four, while two independents were also elected. The LDF fielded one of the independents, Ouseph, as its presidential candidate, while the UDF backed the other independent, Tessy. Tessy won the e

BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday lashed out at Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan for interfering in evictions in an encroached land in Bengaluru. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the DyCM said it is unfortunate that senior leaders like Pinarayi Vijayan has commented on this without knowing the facts of the matter. The land which was cleared of encroachment was a solid waste pit. There are many health-related issues in the area due to this. We also have humanity,

KOZHIKODE: The probe into the Sabarimala gold heist has turned into a major political confrontation in Kerala, with the police taking a Congress leader, N Subrahmanian, into custody over a controversial social media post linked to the case. N Subrahmanian, a member of the KPCC Political Affairs Committee, was taken into custody by the Kozhikode Chevayur police for allegedly sharing a photograph depicting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alongside the prime accused in the gold theft case, Unnikris

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the mayoral election, 97 valid votes were polled out of the 101-member council. V V Rajesh won the election with 51 votes, including the support of Independent councillor M Radhakrishnan. Two votes were declared invalid. LDF candidate R P Sivaji secured 29 votes, while Congress-led UDF nominee K S Sabarinadhan managed to get 17 votes. Two UDF votes those of K R Cletus, councillor from Nanthancode, and S Lathika, councillor from Venganoor were declared invalid due to erro

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LDF has decided to initiate legal action in connection with the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation mayoral election. CPM leader S P Deepak alleged that 20 BJP councillors took their oath of office in violation of rules and that their votes should not be counted in the mayoral election. According to the petition of S P Deepak, 20 BJP councillors took the oath in violation of rules. Chempazhanthy Udayan of Mannanthala ward and Sugathan R both of them swore in the name of Sree N

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Newly elected mayor V V Rajesh and Deputy Mayor Asha Nath on Friday evening visited BJP councillor R Sreelekha at her residence, amid reports that she was unhappy over being denied the mayoral post. Sreelekha had left the council hall soon after Rajesh took oath and before he delivered his first address, even as Opposition councillors were still present. She did not participate in the celebrations, triggering speculation within political circles. Following the visit, Rajesh s

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The special investigation team probing the Sabarimala gold theft cases has extended the probe to additional areas in Tamil Nadu as part of its effort to verify information provided by a businessman that a racket involved in trafficking idols could have played a role in the gold heist. The SIT knocked on the doors of a Dindigul-based man, identified as M S Mani, under the suspicion he was the same person the businessman had mentioned in his testimonial. The businessman, a clos