The Times of India

The row comes weeks after PDP president Mehbooba Mufti pitched for a separate administrative division comprising Rajouri and Poonch in Pir Panjal along with Chenab valley districts, citing remoteness, hilly terrain and lack of infrastructure a demand BJP opposed. The region refers to the mountainous belt along the Pir Panjal range south of Kashmir valley and close to the LoC.

Govt also sought clarity on the financial burden of granting Ladakh full statehood with a legislature, including salaries, provident fund liabilities and other expenditures for about 19,000 employees. Running a state or a Union territory with a legislature involves managing deficits and long-term fiscal responsibility, prompting the panel to press Ladakhi activists for detailed projections, the sources said.

the Delhi CM asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led administration prioritised policy decisions and accountability after forming government on February 20, 2025.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Malaysia on February 7-8 to strengthen ties and expand cooperation under a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He will hold bilateral talks with PM Anwar Ibrahim, review key sectors like trade and defense, and address the Indian community. The visit aims to deepen engagement with the ASEAN region and boost business ties.

Pollution is a legacy problem resulting from the negligence of previous governments. If we look at pollution only from the perspective that the air should be clean, we will not get results. You have to work on dust, air and water together, with a holistic vision, she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a strong speech in Rajya Sabha criticising the Congress for decades of misgovernance and alleged deep hatred towards him. Modi also targeted Rahul Gandhi's recent comments, calling them an insult to Sikhs. The Prime Minister stated that much of the NDA's work involves correcting past mistakes.

Reacting on X, Tharoor wrote: The bizarre thing about this so-called business decision by The Washington Post is that @ishaantharoors column flourished on the Internet, adding that Ishaan Tharoor had 500,000 (half a million plus!) individual subscribers for his WorldView newsletter. He said he had met foreign ministers, diplomats and scholars around the world who read the newsletter daily, and argued that the newspaper could have tried monetising that reach instead of abolishing it.

Lok Sabha was adjourned amid security concerns over alleged Congress plans to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite his presence. Opposition rejected the claims, accusing the government of stalling proceedings. The Prime Minister is expected to address the Rajya Sabha later.

The Ministry of External Affairs has firmly denied a Bloomberg report alleging National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding a trade deal. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called the claims baseless, stating no such meeting occurred. This rebuttal follows recent announcements of a trade agreement between India and the US.

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AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday raised concern over the safety and security of vulnerables after 807 people, mostly women and children, went missing in the first 15 days of the year 2026.

The Supreme Court has ordered West Bengal to pay dearness allowance to its employees as per the 2008 pay rules, stating financial constraints are no excuse. While upholding the entitlement to DA under state rules, the court clarified it's not a fundamental right, unlike a previous High Court ruling.

Online symptom checkers and social media are leading many to self-diagnose mental health conditions, often bypassing professional help. This trend, fueled by accessible yet often inaccurate content, risks misdiagnosis, inappropriate self-treatment, and delayed care, especially in regions with limited mental healthcare access. Experts urge caution, emphasizing the complexity of clinical diagnosis.

Egg freezing in India is increasingly seen as a fertility preservation choice for all women, not just the married. Experts emphasize it empowers women to plan their reproductive future independently, offering flexibility to pursue careers and education without biological clock pressure. This proactive step is gaining traction among unmarried women, promoting informed decisions beyond societal norms.

The New JalpaiguriChennai Central Superfast Express derailed near Jakhapura station in Odisha's Jajpur district at 8:51 am. One AC coach and two general coaches jumped off the tracks. No injuries or fatalities were reported, and passengers have been accommodated while the cause is investigated.

Amid reports of a division in the family, Pawar, Sunetra, her sons Parth and Jay, and other relatives held a closed-door meeting in their hometown late Wednesday, reigniting the reunification buzz. Pawar Senior and his wife Pratibha offered condolences to Ajit Pawars family, and together, they all met locals who visited them.

After learning that issues relating to bail and pleas for suspension of sentence after conviction were pending in HCs for months and getting routinely adjourned, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said, We are extremely disappointed over the manner in which matters relating to personal liberty of individuals are dealt with by the HCs.

Dubeys move was seen as BJPs bid to turn the heat on Congress, which has been attacking Modi over bits of the unpublished book authored by ex-Army chief Gen M M Naravane (retd), and it further riled up the protesting opposition MPs in LS, who turned up the noise and tore papers, but not before the fourth-term member had his say for over a couple of minutes.

The exchange which took place at the main entrance of the Parliament building, where Rahul was standing in solidarity with the eight MPs who are on protest since being suspended from the Lok Sabha a day earlier was caught on video and promptly went viral. It was also circulated by Congress.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said voters names should not be struck off the electoral rolls because of errors creeping into spelling of names during translation from Bengali to English or vice-versa. We will ensure that it is rectified, the bench said.

Governor AK Bhalla also administered the oath of office to BJP's Konthoujam Govindas and Khuraijam Loken Singh of NPP as cabinet ministers at the Lok Bhavan ceremony, which ended almost a year of Presidents rule since N Biren Singh resigned over criticism of the previous govt's handling of the violence that erupted in May 2023.

Dr Reddy, who turns 93 Thursday, lobbied PM Indira Gandhi to ensure import duties on equipment fell from 300% to zero. Banks funded the build; cement and steel came cheap, and he built Apollo Chennai, Indias first multispecialty hospital, in 1983 with a promise to offer treatment to 25% of patients free.

As on Dec 31, 2025, the special PMLA courts have delivered judgments, on merits, on the issue of money laundering in 58 cases, out of which conviction orders have been passed in 55 cases, convicting 123 accused, MoS for finance Pankaj Chaudhary told Rajya Sabha in a written response to a question.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Anil Ambani group, said such a sale was a public process, whether the buyer was a brother or anyone else. But the CJI-led bench said, Unfortunately, IBC proceedings are misused nowadays. The assets of a company in debt are undervalued. Then it is put on a sham auction and, in a planned manner, a family member or a friend buys it.

SC had earlier directed authorities to conduct Wangchuks medical examination by a specialised doctor and file a report before it. The activist is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail. The medical report was placed before the apex court during the last hearing. Wangchuk was detained on Sept 26 last year under the National Security Act following protests in Leh over demands of statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh.

Bengaluru-based Kartikeya Rawal had moved CCI after his flight on Dec 5 last year was cancelled and alternative ones were available only at higher prices. He alleged the overcharging by IndiGo was abuse of dominance. The airline contested the claim, while arguing that CCI did not have jurisdiction in the case.

Comparing smooth conduct of SIR in other states to that in Bengal where those involved in the roll revision have been targeted, EC, in its affidavit, said, It unequivocally illustrates that the challenges encountered in West Bengal are not intrinsic to the SIR process itself, but are a direct result of the inadequacies of the state machinery and the prevailing climate of political interference therein.

The adjournment was a fallout of the stand-off between the two sides over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhis insistence on citing the unpublished book of former Army chief, Gen M M Naravane. The confrontation intensified due to what was seen as a tit-for-tat response by BJP member Nishikant Dubey, who sought to quote from books replete with unflattering references to members of the Gandhi-Nehru clan.