CHANDIGARH: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will urge the central government to have the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appeal to a higher court for a death sentence for Sajjan Kumar, said the partys national spokesperson, RP Singh. BJP National Spokesperson RP Singh, accompanied by State General Secretary Jagmohan Raju, said the verdict was possible only due to the consistent efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The verdict has come as a major breather fo

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said incidents of suicides in IITs and IIMs were extremely unfortunate and assured a robust mechanism to check such cases. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was informed by senior advocate Indira Jaising that in past 14 months, 18 suicides took place in Indian Institutes Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). It is extremely unfortunate what is happening. We will create a robust mechanism to check this situation. We

RANCHI: Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday handed over tablets to teachers of 28,945 government primary schools at a function organised by the School Education and Literacy Department in Ranchi. Addressing the gathering, Soren emphasised the importance of digital literacy to move forward in this fast-changing world. Soren also launched the School Report Card and introduced a mandatory 50-hour integrated continuous capacity development program for teachers, aimed at improving education quality

NEW DELHI: TheSupreme Court on Friday in its order refused to entertain a PIL filed by a lawyer seekingdirections to all the respondents, Union and all the States to coordinate and work collectively by constituting an expert Committee which shall frame guidelines and measures to Prevent the Incidents ofStampedes. The two-Judge Bench of the apex court, led by Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra asked the counsel for the petitioner, Vishal Tiwari, toapproach the Delhi High Court w

NEW DELHI: India will be able to eliminate tuberculosis by the end of this year, five years ahead of the global target, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said Friday. He said India, which tops the list of 30 countries with high-burden TB cases, has witnesseda noteworthy 17.7% decline in tuberculosis incidence from 2015 to 2023, a rate that is over twice the global average decline of 8.3%. Citing the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global TB Report 2024, which had said that Indias TB incidence reduc

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has given Police Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) a three-month deadline to eliminate drugs from the state. He also announced that the government will set up special courts to fast-track drug-related cases and ensure that drug peddlers and their families are denied government subsidies, including free power and water, as a deterrent. At a high-level meeting with top police officials, Mann reaffirmed h

LUCKNOW: A Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employee from Agra reportedly died by suicide on Monday (February 24), leaving behind a video clip where he is seen accusing his wife of pushing him to take the extreme step. Manav Sharma, 30, who was employed at TCS as recruitment manager, was a resident of Defence Colony in Agra but had been based in Mumbai. According to police sources, he was married to Nikita Sharma on January 30 last year. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sadar, Agra, Vinayak Bhon

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat has emerged as the national leader in mangrove afforestation, covering 19,020 hectares in just two years under the Centres MISHTI scheme. Launched in 2023, the initiative aims to expand Indias mangrove cover while strengthening coastal livelihoods. With Gujarat spearheading the efforts, the program is rapidly transforming the nations coastal ecosystem. The Central government launched the MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes) scheme in 2023 to

IMPHAL: Amid mass surrender of firearms by village volunteers in strife-torn Manipur, unidentified militants on Friday opened fire at a Meitei religious site in Imphal East district from adjoining hills, officials said. However, no casualties were reported in the incident. The incident took place around 9.30 am when a group of devotees, under heavy security cover, visited Kongba Maru, a sacred site for Meiteis, to offer prayers, they said. A total of seven rounds were fired from adjoining hills

RANCHI: Projecting robust mining growth to be a key driver of the state's economic development, Jharkhand Economic Survey on Friday estimated mining royalties will fetch Rs 19,300 crore in the ongoing fiscal. The total value of mineral production in Jharkhand as of March 2024 stood at approximately Rs 75,358 crore, underscoring the state's rich reserves of coal, iron ore, and bauxite, it said. As a state endowed with approximately 40 per cent of India's total mineral resources, Jharkhand holds s

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Friday issued directions to conclude an ambitious free trade agreement by end of this year as the two leaders vowed to expand India-EU strategic partnership in areas of defence, security and critical technology. In his media statement after talks with Von der Leyen, Modi described India-EU strategic partnership as atural and organic and one that it is based on rust and shared belief in democratic

BHOPAL: Perhaps for the first time in the country, cats have been found infected with the deadly H5N1 bird flu (avian influenza) virus in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh. Three cats domesticated by separate families in Ward No 30 and Mohan Nagar localities of Chhindwara city, were recently found infected with the H5N1 virus. All three cats died a few days after veterinary researchers from Bhopal collected their samples in Chhindwara. According to sources in the state veterinary department

NEW DELHI: Highlighting the need for greater transparency in the operations of the UN Security Council's subsidiary bodies, India said that the reasons for rejecting or delaying requests to blacklist terrorist organisations are not disclosed publicly and remain confined to a select group of individuals, describing it as a disguised veto. Indias Permanent Representative to the UN, P. Harish, speaking at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations Plenary on Working Methods on Thursday, also urged improve

NEW DELHI: The ISRO will resume experiments on the SpaDeX mission in mid-March by trying to separate the two satellites 'Chaser and Target' and re-dock them again as it attempts to master the technologies for future projects. The SpaDeX mission was launched on December 30 last year when it placed in orbit two satellites 'SDX01 and SDX02' to demonstrate the docking experiment in space. After several attempts, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was successful in docking the two satellit

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday came down heavily on Chhattisgarh Police for booking a man under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) days after it gave him interim protection from arrest in a murder case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the UAPA charge was added by the police with an intent to defeat its January 2 interim bail order and granted him bail. Considering fact that it is so apparent that appellant was arrested only to defeat January 2 order, appe

At least 47 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers were feared trapped after an avalanche struck near Mana in Uttarakhands Chamoli district on Friday, officials said. Officials said 57 workers engaged in road construction were trapped, with 10 rescued and sent to an army camp near Mana in critical condition. Rescue operations are ongoing. A massive avalanche has occurred near the Border Roads Organisation camp in the border area of Mana in which 57 workers engaged in road construction have been

GUWAHATI: Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday extended the deadline for voluntarily surrendering looted and illegally held weapons by another week, giving people a final chance to do so by 4 pm on March 6. He warned that police and security forces would launch extensive operations once the extended deadline expires. On the last day of the previous seven-day deadline, which ended on Thursday, a total of 355 weapons, along with ammunition, grenades, bulletproof vests, helmets, and other w

NEW DELHI: Flagging issues of low consumption expenditure and inequality, the Congress on Friday said the way out of this quagmire is to shift the focus of policymaking from cronyism to bottom-up empowerment and that it must begin with kickstarting rural incomes. In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh cited the Indus Valley Annual Report 2025, an examination of India's economic landscape and start-up ecosystem by the noted VC firm Blume Ventures, to att

CHANDIGARH: Himachal Pradesh has been severely impacted by heavy snowfall and widespread rainfall, leading to the closure of more than 200 roads and disruptions in power and water supply. Several areas, particularly in the districts of Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu, Kinnaur, and Chamba, have been cut off from the rest of the state. The weather conditions have also forced the closure of educational institutions in Lahaul and Spiti and Chamba districts. Due to heavy snowfall, several key routes, includi

MAHOBA: Four devotees returning from Prayagraj after attending the Maha Kumbh were killed when their car collided with a truck on the Kanpur-Sagar highway on Friday, police said. The deceased have been identified as Naresh Nagar (35), Awadhesh Nagar (35), Bhura Gurjar (35) and Pooja Nagar (23), all from Madhya Pradesh. The accident occurred near Bara Nala in the Srinagar Kotwali area in the early hours of Friday, police said. Preliminary investigations suggest the driver may have fallen asleep,

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad High Court on Friday directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to clean the premises of Jama Masjid in Sambhal but did not pass an order for whitewashing of the mosque. The order was passed by Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on an application by Committee of Management, Jama Masjid seeking permission for whitewashing and cleaning of the mosque ahead of Ramzan. On Thursday, the court directed the ASI to immediately inspect the mosque site and appoint a team of three

RANCHI: The Jharkhand government will present its budget on March 3. It will be the first budget under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren after the new government was formed in 2024. Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore will present the budget in the assembly. The government will mainly foucus on the rural economy and social sector. In particular, a large amount will be spent on the 'Maiyaan Samman Yojana'. The Finance Minister said that this budget will be to strengthen the rural ec

SRINAGAR: At least five people lost their lives in the Jammu region as heavy rain and snowfall lashed here disrupting air, rail, and road traffic. The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only road link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country, has been closed for vehicular movement. The Meteorological Department has predicted more wet weather in the coming days. Since February 25, Jammu and Kashmir has been experiencing continuous rain and snow. The upper reaches, including tourist desti

JAMMU: A woman and her son were killed, and 12 people rescued from swollen water bodies as incessant rains lashed wide parts of Jammu for the third day on Friday, officials said. The high altitude areas also received moderate to heavy snowfall, prompting closure of various roads, including the strategic 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, they said. Shano Devi (50) and her son Raghu (25) were killed when a boulder from a hillock hit their two-wheeler near Moungari in Udhampur district early

RANCHI: Chief Minister Hemant Soren took a strong stand against the opposition during the third day of the Budget Session of the Jharkhand Assembly on Thursday, asserting, Bullying will not work anymore; the sun has set your troubles will only increase. His remarks came amid disruptions by the opposition, which demanded answers from the government regarding the sand crisis in the state. Attacking the opposition, Soren describes them as useless, calling them cunning and hidden in the skin of wolv

PATNA: Several places in Bihar were jolted by a 5.5-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal early on Friday, with tremors felt in Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and other bordering districts, officials said. Speaking to PTI , Umesh Kumar Singh, meteorologist at the disaster management department (DMD), Bihar government, said, The 5.5-magnitude quake was recorded around 2:35 am, with its epicentre in Nepal's Bagmati area.It caused tremors in districts along the Indo-Nepal border and lasted for a few seco

The United States embassy on Friday granted an emergency visa to the family of an Indian student, Neelam Shinde, who is in a coma after a serious road accident in California. I received a phone call from her roommate on February 16. However, she didn't tell me about the accident. Later, she informed Neelam's uncle about it. She is still in a coma. However, her condition has improved slightly. We came here (to the embassy). They took our interview and granted visas in half an hour. We will leave

PATNA: Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly on Friday exuded confidence that people of Bihar would get rid of the NDA rule in the state assembly elections due in October-November this year. Talking to the media before leaving for state assembly to attend the ongoing budget session of state legislature, Tejashwi launched a blistering attack on chief minister Nitish Kumar. He said the latter has neither a vision nor a road map for development. In response to a media qu

The Mahakumbh has successfully concluded in Prayagraj. A grand Mahayajna of Unity has been completed. When the consciousness of a nation awakens, when it breaks free from the shackles of a centuries-old mindset of subjugation, it breathes freely in the fresh air of renewed energy. This result has been witnessed at the Ekta Ka Mahakumbh (Mahakumbh of Unity) since January 13. On January 22, 2024, during the Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, I spoke about Devbhakti and Deshbhaktidevotio

NEW DELHI: Amid the changing dimensions of US-Europe ties, India is looking to strengthen its trade and investment partnership with the European Union (EU) while emphasing on development of bilateral technologies and defense cooperation. The top brass of India and the EU are expected to provide a fresh push on Friday toward finalising an ambitious trade deal in consideration for the past 17 years as the 27-nation bloc aims to revitalise its economic ties with India amidst growing tariff-related

NEW DELHI: Nine in 10 Indian parents favour the draft digital personal data protection rules (DPDP), 2025, which propose that online platforms, like social media, OTT, and online gaming, identify minor accounts with age misrepresentation by either seeking parental consent or shutting such fake accounts, a nation-wide survey has found. The survey also found that 58% of parents support using profile and content consumption information to determine accounts with age misrepresentation and use AI to

NEW DELHI: With the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 expected to be introduced in the second leg of the Budget Session on March 10, Parliament may witness fierce resistance from the Opposition parties determined to block the Bill. According to sources, the Union Cabinet on February 19 approved the updated Waqf (Amendment) Bill with the changes suggested by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), setting the tone for the contentious Bills introduction. An Opposition member who is a part of the JPC sai

BHOPAL: With the Supreme Court on Thursday refusing to interfere with the direction of the Madhya Pradesh High Court waste disposal from the Bhopal Gas Tragedy site, the process of conducting a three-phase trial run of the defunct Union Carbide plants waste in Pithampur of western MP has begun. Hours after the apex court order on a petition by Indore-based Gandhian activist Chinmay Mishra, challenging the MP High Court directive, the process of disposing of the waste locked in 12 containers star

Former Chief Secretary is JPSC Chairman Former Jharkhand Chief Secretary L. Khiangte has been appointed as the new Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) chairman. The state government had proposed his name, and Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar approved the appointment on Thursday. The Governor expressed hope that this appointment would accelerate the recruitment process in the state, ensuring that all examinations conducted by the commission adhere to a scheduled calendar in a timely and effi

SRINAGAR: Security experts have linked recent ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri to militancy incidents in Jammu region, terming it Pakistans strategy to weaken Indias security measures by prompting the Army to redeploy some of its forces from Kashmir to Jammu, thereby allowing militants to regain foothholds in the Valley. They also view these violations as an attempt by the Pakistan army to divert the attention from ongoing political uncertainty and eco

NEW DELHI: The External Affairs Ministry (MEA) has raised an urgent request with the US for a visa for the family of student Neelam Shinde from Maharashtra who is fighting for her life after a road accident in California, sources said. The External Affairs Ministry has taken up the matter and the US side is looking into formalities of for early granting of visa for the visa to the applicants family, sources said. According to Shindes family, she was involved in an accident on February 14 while o

PUNE: Pune Crime Branch has detained Dattatraya Ramdas Gade , accused of raping a 26-year-old woman inside a bus at Swargate bus station, from a village in Shirur Tehsil on Friday. Gade had been on the run since the incident on Tuesday, when the survivor, a working woman, was waiting for a bus to return home to Phaltan, about 100 km away. The accused allegedly approached her, falsely claiming that her bus was parked elsewhere, and led her to an MSRTC Shivshahi bus inside the depot, where he repo

BHOPAL: A five-year-old girl with severe wounds across her body is battling for life in the ICU of Gwaliors Kamla Raja Hospital, five days after being raped and brutally assaulted by a teenage neighbour in Madhya Pradeshs Shivpuri district. The child is in excruciating pain, unable to sleep due to multiple wounds across her body, including severe tears in her privates, face, and jaw. Even the slightest movement on the hospital bed makes her scream in agony. The 17-year-old accused has been taken

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a high-level meeting to review the Ayush sector, emphasising its significant contributions, including its role in promoting preventive healthcare, boosting rural economies through medicinal plant cultivation, and enhancing Indias global standing in traditional medicine. During the meeting, Modi was briefed on the sectors remarkable economic growth, with the manufacturing market size surging from USD 2.85 billion in 2014 to USD 23 billion i

LUCKNOW: Jail inmates from Uttar Pradesh actively participated in Mahakumbh, generating a revenue of Rs 10 lakh over the 45-day mega event through a stall showcasing their handmade products. The stall, set up in Sector-01, Triveni Road, exhibited and sold over 150 prison-made items, including paintings, footwear, deity attire, eco-friendly bags, carpets, wooden furniture, herbal products, artefacts, and bakery goods. These products were part of the state governments initiatives like One District

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand, the first state in independent India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), is experiencing a tepid response in the live-in relationship registration category since its enactment a month ago. Since the UCC came into effect on January 27, only seven couples have chosen to register their live-in relationships under this new law. In stark contrast, marriage registrations have seen a much more enthusiastic response, reflecting a positive trend among residents. Local offici

NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the state if it was willing to make necessary changes in the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) implemented in the state recently. A division bench of Justices Manoj Tiwari and Ashish Naithani posed the question to solicitor general Tushar Mehta while hearing a PIL challenging the provisions in the UCC over live-in relationships. Mehta appeared for the hearing in court via video-conferencing. While hearing another plea against the UCC previously, the high cou

NEW DELHI: While the just-concluded Mahakumbh has made history with over 66 crore pilgrims visiting Prayagraj, Indian Railways has also set a record by operating more than 17,000 trains for the 45-day religious festival. The nine railway stations in Prayagraj managed the movement of over 4.5 crore passengers during the Mahakumbh. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited Prayagraj on Thursday and expressed his gratitude to all railway employees and others who helped manage the massive influx of

GUWAHATI: On the final day of the seven-day deadline set by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla for people to surrender looted and illegally held weapons, Meitei radical group Arambai Tenggol voluntarily laid down 246 weapons along with ammunition to the 1st Battalion of Manipur Rifles in Imphal on Thursday. Another 61 weapons were surrendered elsewhere in the state on the same day. Over the past few days, several weapons were handed over across different parts of Manipur. The Honble Governors request fo

JAIPUR: The deadlock stalling proceedings in the Rajasthan Assembly for the past week finally came to an end with an apology from Leader of Opposition Tikaram Julie. Offering an apology on behalf of the Congress party, Julie expressed his sentiments poetically, saying, Aao milkar koi wajah dhoond lein ek hone ki, Yoon bikhre na tum acche lagte ho, na hum. (Lets find a reason to unite; we dont look good when we are scattered like this.) Julie further stated, Whatever happened was wrong, and I apo

LUCKNOW: With the completion of the Mahakumbh and the budget session of the state assembly nearing its end on March 5, the Yogi Adityanath cabinet may soon witness a rejig for which the party top brass is believed to have completed the homework. As per party insiders, while 2-3 ministers may be relieved of their responsibilities, 4-5 new faces may be inducted in the reshuffle. Sources also claimed that leaders who had been working in the organisation for a long time may find a place in the cabin

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet has approved the Excise Policy for 2025-26, aiming to generate Rs 11,020 crore in excise revenue, an increase of Rs 874.05 crore (8.61 per cent) over the previous financial years target. Additionally, the government has proposed setting up excise police stations across the state. Meanwhile, the Congress and BJP have criticised the move. The decision was taken during a Council of Ministers meeting held today at the official residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

NEW DELHI: In a dramatic turn in the high-profile murder case of international motorbike racer Asbak Mon Tharoth, his accused wife, Sumera Parvez, has approached the Supreme Court for bail, citing the urgent need to care for her young child. On Thursday, the Supreme Court granted the State of Rajasthan three weeks to respond to Parvezs bail plea. Considering that she has been in custody for nearly three years, a two-judge bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sanjay Karol firmly state

NEW DELHI: The top leadership of India and the European Union (EU) is expected to infuse on Friday a fresh momentum in sealing an ambitious trade deal at the earliest as the 27-nation bloc is keen to re-energize the two-way economic ties amid its looming friction with the US on tariffs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by the EU College of Commissioners or senior political leaders of the bloc, began a high-profile two-day visit to India on Thursday afternoon. In an

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police have arrested six youths, alleged Khalistan sympathisers, for hoisting a Khalistani flag and writing pro-Khalistan slogans on the boundary wall of a government school in Satoj village, Sangrur districtthe native village of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Superintendent of Police (Investigation), Sangrur, Palwinder Singh Cheema, shared details of the case, stating, On February 12, a video went viral on social media. It was released by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who runs the