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GUWAHATI: An Arunachal Pradesh minister has stoked a controversy by publicly announcing that panchayat seats where ruling BJP loses will be denied the benefits of government schemes. Friends, I am straightforward when I talk. I want to say that government schemes will not go to those panchayat segments where the BJP is defeated. Remember, the panchayat minister is making this statement. I do what I say, the states panchayat and rural development minister, Ojing Tasing, said. He was speaking at a

In a development that has triggered political sparring, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was invited to the official state dinner hosted in honour of Russian President Vladimir Putin at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, while Leaders of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were not extended invitations. This comes a day after Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi alleged the Modi government is going against tradition and doesnt want him or a representative of the Opposition to me

RANCHI: Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Aditya Ranjan has ordered a detailed inquiry into the toxic gas leak incident , which was reported from the Putki Balihari Colliery Area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) in Dhanbad. He also directed officials to immediately relocate the residents living in the affected zones to safer locations. Notably, at least two women allegedly were killed while several others complained of vomiting tendency and headache due to leakage of toxic carbon monoxide gas

The Delhi Polices Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has issued a notice to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar seeking detailed financial and transactional information as part of its ongoing investigation into the National Herald case, officials said on Friday. According to the notice, dated November 29, Shivakumar is believed to possess vital information related to the case registered on October 3 against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He has been asked to appear before

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached over 18 properties and assets worth 1,120 crore belonging to Reliance Anil Ambani Group entities, taking the cumulative attachments in the case to 10,117 crore. The action stems from an investigation into the alleged fraudulent diversion of public funds routed through Yes Bank to Anil Ambani group companies. According to the agency, Yes Bank invested 5,010 crore in group companies between 2017 and 2019, which later turned non-performing. T

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday, in its order, indicated that it would intervene in resolving theongoing impasse over the selectionof vice chancellors for two technical universities in Kerala if CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor-cum-chancellor Rajendra Arlekar do not reach a consensus. The universities in trouble are APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology. Amidst the ongoing tussle between the Kerala government and the sta

CHANDIGARH: Member of Parliament from Chandigarh, Manish Tewari, on Friday introduced a private members bill in the Lok Sabha proposing to extend the tenure of the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation from the current one year to five years. The bill seeks amendments to the Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Act and related provisions to bring the tenure of the three top municipal posts at par with the five-year term of the M

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand Forest Department is grappling with a critical shortage of top-rank officials, casting a shadow over the administration of the State in which 71 per cent of its geographical area is covered by forests. The department is currently experiencing a severe crunch in the position of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), the highest rank in the service, a situation expected to worsen in the coming months due to ongoing, upcoming retirements. Uttarakhand, a Himalayan s

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring warned the AAP government over promoting anarchy and bloodshed by patronising gangsters to win elections. He also accused AAP of following a strategy of manipulation and coercion, citing former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodias saam, daam, dand, bhed approach. Warring warned that AAP turned police officers into `yesmen. We will neither forget nor forgive, he made it categorically clear to all such officers. He said AAPs

NEW DELHI: Taking serious exception to a man being jailed for two years without commencement of trial for allegedly possessing counterfeit currency notes, the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to him saying he cannot be jailed for an indefinite period. Terming the custody as illegal, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta pulled up the Assam Police for not filing the chargesheet within the statutory period under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). It said the max

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha on Friday passed The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, whose objective is to raise additional funds from what is widely called demerit or sin goods -- such as pan masala -- for Health Security and National Security. Replying to the discussion on The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 in Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman thanks the members for participating in the debate. Public health is a State subject, and defence is on th

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill to levy a cess on manufacturing units of pan masala, and utilise the fund for strengthening national security and improving public health. Replying to the debate on the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the cess will be shared with the states, as public health is a state subject. The bill was later passed by voice vote by the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to augment the resources for meeting

KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to intervene in the construction of a mosque modelled on Ayodhya's Babri Masjid at Beldanga in West Bengal's Murshidabad, proposed by suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir. The court's observation comes ahead of the scheduled foundation-laying ceremony for the proposed 'Babri Masjid' on December 6, which also marks the anniversary of the demolition of the original sanctum. The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, after hearing a PIL seek

India and Russia on Friday firmed up a five-year plan to bolster economic and trade partnership in the face of the United States''s punitive tariff and sanctions regime even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to President Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine must be brought to an end through dialogue. Following their summit talks, Modi and Putin unitedly demonstrated their keenness to impart a fresh momentum to the trajectory of the over eight-decades-old partnership between the two nati

NEW DELHI:: The Supreme Court on Friday said that money belonging to a temple deity cannot be used to prop up financially distressed cooperative banks. The sharp observations were made by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi while hearing appeals filed by a few cooperative banks challenging a direction of the Kerala High Court asking them to return the deposits to the Thirunelly Temple Devaswom. You want to use the temple money to save the bank? What is wrong w

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday termed the state government's policy to provide 1 per cent reservation for orphans in education and jobs as historic, describing it as a major step towards social justice and equality of opportunity. Marking the first anniversary of assuming office, Fadnavis interacted with beneficiaries of the policy, which he had introduced during his earlier term as chief minister in 2018, and said it was rooted in Dr B R Ambedkar's principle of e

IMPHAL: The Manipur government said strict action would be taken against any individual or organisation trying to disrupt peace and intimidate law-abiding citizens of the state. Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, in a statement on Thursday, said, It has come to the attention of the Manipur government that some organisations are attempting to disrupt the peace in Manipur by threatening and intimidating the law-abiding citizens of the state. The state government's warning comes two days after a co

Heated exchanges between Trinamool Congress and BJP members were witnessed in the Lok Sabha on Friday when TMC member Shatabdi Roy said Bangla-speaking people were being deported to Bangladesh and asserted that language cannot be the consideration for authorities for taking such steps. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the House in Bangla, she referred to the case of a person being deported to Bangladesh in Odisha. When Krishna Prasad Tennati, chairing the proceedings, asked Roy to place her

NEW DELHI: IndiGo said that Friday should be the day with highest number of cancellations, as the airline is taking necessary steps to reboot its systems and schedules for progressive improvement. Short-term proactive concellations are being made to ease operations, decongest the airports to prepare for starting stronger tomorrow, the airline said in a post on X. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and delayed, leaving passengers stranded at airports as the flight disruptions continued for t

Amid widespread chaos over mass cancellations of IndiGo flights across the country, the airlines pilots, cabin crew and ground staff have accused the management of poor planning and failing to protect frontline employees during this weeks disruptions. The allegations were made in an open letter shared on X by aviation expert Sanjay Lazar. The employees said the cancellations and delays, which intensified ahead of a new regulatory deadline, mirrored the timing and scale of the compliance requirem

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to prohibit the sale, circulation, and display of Arundhati Roys book, 'Mother Mary Comes to Me', as its cover depicted her smoking a 'bidi' or a cigarette, which is in contravention of the law. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi dismissed the appeal filed by one Rajasimhan against the Kerala High Court order dismissing a PIL on the issue. She is a renowned author. She has not promoted such a thi

HYDERABAD: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here on Friday received an email issuing a bomb threat to Dubai-Hyderabad Emirates flight, prompting the aerodrome to initiate standard safety protocols after the aircraft landed, sources said. The flight EK526 landed at 8.30 AM safely, the airport sources further said. On 5th December, 2025, a Bomb threat email was received on Hyderabad airport customer support id at 7.30 am for Dubai to Hyderabad flight EK526. The Flight landed safely in Hyderabad

CHANDIGARH: For the first time since its commissioning, the Bhakra Dam is set to undergo a desilting operation, with sedimentation having reduced the storage capacity of the Gobind Sagar reservoir by nearly 25 per cent since 1963. The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has constituted a 10-member committee to oversee the process, following the Himachal Pradesh governments in-principle approval to the Bhakra Beas Management Boards (BBMB) proposal for desilting the Sutlej River at Bilaspur, upstream of the

North India continued to reel under sharp winter conditions on Friday, with large parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana recording minimum temperatures well below normal, even as Kashmir saw a brief improvement in the cold due to overcast skies. Delhi, meanwhile, remained choked under very poor air quality as a cold wave was forecast for the day. Rajasthan recorded the lowest temperature in the region, with Fatehpur in Sikar district plunging to 1.9C on Friday morning. The Jaipur Meteorological

DEHRADUN: Five killed and five were injured as a wedding partys car plunged into a deep gorge in the Lohaghat region of Uttarakhand in the early hours of Friday. According to the District Disaster Control Room, the group was travelling in a Mahindra Bolero jeep returning after wedding rituals, reportedly lost control near Barakot on the National Highway and tumbled into the ravine late Thursday night. The crash occurred near Bagdhar, close to Barakot, and the cause is under investigation. Police

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that India is not neutral but firmly on the side of peace in the Ukraine war, echoing the position he conveyed to Donald Trump earlier this year. In their high-profile bilateral meeting in New Delhi, Modi hailed Putin as a visionary leader and stressed that this is an era of peace, expressing confidence that recent global efforts would steer the world back toward stability. In his televised opening remarks at the summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a two-day state visit to India, was accorded a tri-services guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday morning in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan were among the dignitaries present. Putin arrived in New Delhi on Thursday, where Modi received him at the airport with a warm embrace and a firm handshake, underscoring the personal r

TRICHY: As the long-pending demand for launching an Air Courier Service at Tiruchy International Airport has continued for more than a decade due to various operational hurdles, airport authorities have now proposed an 'Own and Operate' model, seeking private operators to take over the facility. Although the airport has invested several lakhs in setting up equipment and allocating dedicated space, the facility has remained idle for nearly two years, with no business enquiries from any leading co

The Lok Sabha will take up the Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025, for further consideration and passage on the Day 5 of the Winter Session of parliament on Friday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the bill which introduces a cess on pan masala as the existing compensation cess under the GST regime is set to end. That portion will now shift into a 40% cess. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju will make a statement regarding Government Business for the week commencing Dece

SRINAGAR: For the second consecutive year, the Omar Abdullah government has been unable to restore the public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir on December 5, the birth anniversary of the ruling National Conference founder and former J&K Prime Minister and ex Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah also known as Sher-e-Kashmir. The failure of the NC government to reinstate a holiday on its founders birth anniversary highlights the limits of authority faced by the elected government in the Union Terri

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised IndiGo's ongoing operational crisis, calling it a consequence of the governments monopoly model and asserting that India deserves fair competition in every sector, rather than match-fixing monopolies. The remarks came after IndiGo cancelled over 550 flights on Thursday and around 400 on Friday, severely disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of passengers. Gandhi said ordinary Indians bear the brunt of the delays, cancellations, and helplessness

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal has directed booth-level officers (BLOs) involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to re-check enumeration forms and ensure that the names of all deceased, absent, or duplicate voters are removed before the first phase concludes on December 11. The deadline for the first phase of the SIR has been extended from December 4 to December 11. In a message to BLOs, Agarwal emphasised the need for utmost care while uplo

NEW DELHI: Amid concerns by the opposition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025, in Lok Sabha on Thursday, asserting that the proposed cess will be levied only on demerit goods, like pan masala, and not on essential commodities, and revenue from the levy will be shared with states for spending on health schemes. The purpose of the bill is to create a dedicated and predictable resource stream for two domains of national importance h

NEW DELHI: Parliament on Thursday passed the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, after the Rajya Sabha approved it and returned it to the Lok Sabha. The Bill amends the Central Excise Act, 1944, with the key objective of increasing excise duties and cess on multiple tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco, chewing tobacco, zarda and scented tobacco. Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused the West Bengal government of ob

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Thursday clarified in detail on the scope and permissible use of Rule 267, stressing that the provision cannot be invoked to raise matters unrelated to the days listed agenda. His remarks come amid a sharp rise in notices from Opposition MPs seeking to suspend scheduled business and take up other issues. Throughout the ongoing winter session, all notices moved under Rule 267 have been rejected by the Chair for failing to meet the requirements

NEW DELHI: At a meeting with the parliamentary panel on One nation, one election, the Law Commission said that the proposed power to the Election Commission that seeks to lay a legal framework to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies is not excessive. However, the provision of giving unfettered power to the EC in the proposed legislation has come under criticism from various quarters. The law panel top brass briefed the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Bills on

NEW DELHI: To reduce prevalence of child marriages to 10% by 2026 and to make India child marriage free by 2030, a 100-day intensive awareness campaign for a child marriage-free Bharat was launched on Thursday by Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Annapurna Devi. The campaign will focus on targeted outreach each month: beginning with schools and colleges, followed by religious institutions and service providers, and culminating with local self-governments. Speaking at the launch of the i

RANCHI: Putting an end to speculation that Jharkhands political equations might change in the coming days, the INDIA bloc in the state displayed unity during a meeting of alliance partners conducted by CM Hemant Soren on Thursday. The meeting, held ahead of the Winter Session of Jharkhand Assembly beginning December 5, was significant because rumours had circulated after Soren and his MLA wife, Kalpana Soren, visited Delhi, claiming they had allegedly met senior BJP leaders. These reports sugges

The J&K HC has allowed PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, who is facing trial under UAPA, to travel outside the UT and within the country without the trial courts permission. A division bench passed the order on an application moved by the MLA seeking relaxation of condition of 2022 bail order, which required him not to leave J&K without prior approval of the trial court. He has been asked to inform about his location and purpose of visit to the trial court. Para was arrested by NIA on Nov 25, 2020

NEW DELHI: The India-Russia collaboration is not directed against any country and it is solely aimed at safeguarding the national interests of the two sides, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said against the backdrop of Washington's aggressive approach towards New Delhi and Moscow. In the context of India's energy ties with Russia, Putin said certain actors dislike New Delhi's growing role in international markets in view of its close relations with Moscow and these elements are aiming to co

NEW DELHI: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court's order quashing the prohibitory order issued by the Madurai District Collector in the Thiruparankundram region. The prohibitory order had been issued following clashes that erupted during the implementation of a court order passed on Wednesday, which allowed devotees to visit the temple and light lamps at the stone pillar. Tamil Nadu government sources told The New Indian Expr

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, IndiGo airlines on Thursday informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it expects to fully restore normal and stable operations by February 10, 2026. The airline said that flight cancellations would continue over the next three days and that it would start scaling down flight operations from December 8 to minimize disruptions. IndiGo has also sought exemptions for its A320 aircraft from certain Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms,

NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) lashing out at Indigo on Wednesday for the freeze on pay as well as hiring of pilots, another leading organisation, the Association of Indian Pilots, on Thursday said the spate of cancellations raise significant questions about the airlines management, the regulatory oversight by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the alleged slot hoarding' tactics by the airline. In a release on behalf of the organisation, Capt. S

AHMEDABAD : The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Gujarat has revealed that more than 17 lakh deceased voters were still included in the existing voter list across the state, said a release by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Thursday. The SIR exercise began in Gujarat on November 4 with booth level officers (BLO) distributing enumeration forms in their designated areas, said the release, adding the campaign is to continue till December 11. Duri

BHOPAL:Tourists craving to relish rides on the Shikara boats, but finding the iconic Dal Lake in Kashmir or backwaters of Kerala too far, now have the option to enjoy the same ride in the heart of India Madhya Pradesh. With a 20-strong fleet of Shikaras, the Shikara Boat service was launched in the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopals Upper Lake on Thursday. The 20 Shikaras, which were launched by Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, are equipped with food and comfortable seating arrangements for visitors,

RANCHI: At least two women allegedly died while several others complained of vomiting tendency and headache due to leakage of toxic carbon monoxide gas for the last two days near Children's Park in Dhanbad's Kenduadih, affected by underground fire for more than a century. Though efforts are being made to seal the leaking spots, authorities have urged people to vacate the area as a precautionary measure. According to locals, the impact of the gas is being felt in the Rajput Basti, Masjid Mohalla

GUWAHATI: Assams Tribal Affairs (Plains) Minister Ranoj Pegu on Thursday met the leaders of the Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations, Assam (CCTOA), amid concerns that the state governments decision on granting Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to six communities will affect the interests of existing tribals . Pegu, who laid the report of the three-member Group of Ministers (GoM) in the Assembly recently, took to X, stating that he had explained the GoMs recommendations to the CCTOA leaders

BHOPAL: A South African female cheetah, Veera, and her ten-month-old twin cubs were released into the free-ranging forests of Madhya Pradeshs Kuno National Park (KNP) on Thursday. The release by Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav, marked International Cheetah Day at KNP, the first Indian home to African (Namibian and South African) cheetahs since September 2022. The mother and cubs, born in India in February, were released in the Parond forest area, a designated tourism zone. Their presence is expec

JAIPUR : A bomb threat to Ajmers revered Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah has triggered panic among security agencies just days before the annual Urs celebrations. An anonymous email claimed that the shrine would be blown up using RDX and IEDs and alleged that explosives had been planted at four locations inside the complex. The sender also warned that the blast would coincide with Russian President Vladimir Putins visit to India. Following the threat, security agencies were placed on high alert

SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha MP Aga Ruhullah has alleged that he was prevented from raising in Parliament the demolition of Jammu journalist Arfaz Daings house and the humanitarian gesture of his Hindu neighbour, Kuldeep Sharma, who gifted Daing five marlas of land after the demolition. For the last three days, I have been submitting notices in Parliament to raise the issue of the demolition of Arfaz Ahmads house in Jammu and the demolition of houses in Ganderbal district. I want