The New Indian Express News

DEHRADUN: Chairperson of Uttarakhand Women's Commission Kusum Kandwal has issued a statement condemning the growing hostility against women on social media platforms. She emphasised that while women are making vital contributions across all sectors, the increasingly toxic digital environment actively discourages their participation. Women are proving their worth in every field, strengthening our democracy and making policy more inclusive ... Certain elements are using abusive, objectionable, and

NEW DELHI: In view of the threats received by intelligence agencies ahead of the upcoming Republic Day parade in Delhi, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sanctioned the deployment of 53 additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in the national capital to strengthen security and maintain peace during the event. Officials said, these companies of the forces will be deployed in a phased manner in addition to companies already positioned in the national capital. Accordin

KOLKATA: Two students held a poster reading ''there is no place for Islamophobia at Jadavpur University'' while receiving their citations and certificates from the Vice-Chancellor (VC), triggering controversy. Speaking to media, the students alleged that during an English semester examination held on Monday, an invigilator had asked a third-year undergraduate female student wearing a head scarf to help her classmate partially remove her hijab to verify whether she was using any wireless headphon

NEW DELHI: Top Maoist commander Ganesh Uikey was killed by security forces in Odisha's Rampa forest area on Thursday. Five other Maoists, including two women cadres, were also killed in the encounter. Uikey was a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist) and head of Odisha's Naxal outift. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in a social media post, In a significant milestone towards Naxal-free Bharat, 6 Naxalites, including Central Committee member Ganesh Uikey, have been neutralised so far in

NEW DELHI: The Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) announced a flash strike on Thursday demanding for better wages and a national policy for gig and platform workers. Nearly 40,000 workers in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru participated in the protests. There are nearly one crore platform workers in India. A mega strike has been planned on December 31, which is expected to create disruption in the e-commerce delivery market. Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary

PATNA: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was shot dead by unidentified criminals in Bihars Samastipur district, hours after deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary, who also holds the home portfolio, said that criminals would be driven out of the state in the next three months. The victim, Rupak Sahni, 45, was attacked when he was in his shop located at Sadikpur under Khanpur police station limits on Wednesday evening. He was rushed to Samastipur Sadar hospital where doctors declared him brou

PATNA: All is not well within Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) as three of its four MLAs abstained from a 'Litti Chokha' party held at party chief and Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha's residence in Patna. Meanwhile, the absent MLAsMadhav Anand, Rameshwar Mahto and Alok Singhwere in a meeting with BJPs national working president Nitin Nabin in New Delhi on Wednesday. RLM is a part of BJP-JD(U) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which registered a landslide victory in recently concluded Bihar a

SHIMLA: A day after the Himachal Pradesh government terminated the services of a senior resident doctor for getting into a physical altercation with a patient at the Indira Gandhi Medical College here, a prominent doctors' body threatened to go on a mass casual leave on Friday, demanding immediate reinstatement of the medic. The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) also threatened to go on strike from Saturday if their demand to revoke the termination o

JAIPUR: Row over redefining the Aravalli range continues to escalate in Rajasthan despite the Centre's assurance that no new mining leases will be granted in the Aravallis. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma termed the Centres decision historic. Former CM Ashok Gehlot responded that there is nothing new in the announcement. In a post on X, CM Sharma accused the Congress of protecting the illegal mining mafia for decades and alleged that the party was misleading the public by spreading lies and conf

GUWAHATI: People in Assam marked Christmas with what was described as an anguished celebration, a day after members of right wing extremist groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal vandalised and set fire to Christmas decorations at a diocesan school in Nalbari district. According to an official statement, Nalbari police on Thursday arrested four persons, based on a written complaint lodged by Fr Baiju Sebastian, principal of St Marys English School, Panigaon, in Nalbari district. A case has

RANCHI: After being denied any seat in Bihar by the Mahagathbandhan during the Assembly polls, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has begun exploring avenues in other tribal-dominated states across the country. According to party leaders, a four-member delegation will soon visit Assam to assess ground realities by holding a series of meetings with local party workers. Despite being a key coalition partner during the Bihar Assembly elections, the RJD did not concede a single seat to the JMM, while

DEHRADUN: The Ankita Bhandari murder case has once again come under political and social scrutiny following the release of a video by actress Urmila Sanavar. In the video, Sanavar claims to have named a purported VIP linked to the case and levelled serious allegations against several Bharatiya Janata Party leaders. The development has triggered a sharp response from Ankita Bhandaris mother, Soni Devi, who has demanded swift action based on the new claims. Speaking emotionally, Soni Devi urged Sa

NEW DELHI: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of 11 lakh on civil services coaching institute Vision IAS for publishing misleading advertisements related to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE) results for 2022 and 2023. According to the CCPA, Vision IAS, operated by AjayVision Education Private Limited, published misleading information on its official website regarding the performance of candidates in the UPSC examinatio

NEW DELHI: The Railways on Thursday rolled out the second phase of its recent fare rationalisation, introducing calibrated changes to the passenger fare structure with the stated aim of maintaining affordability while ensuring the long-term sustainability of operations. Confirming the implementation of the fare hike with effect from Thursday, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement, Under the revised fare structure, there is no change in fare for suburban services and season tickets, includ

CHANDIGARH: Politics has erupted over the nomenclature of Veer Bal Diwas after the Union government wrote to all states and Union Territories directing them to organise activities in schools on Friday to mark the day, which commemorates the martyrdom of the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh. Despite demands from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Akal Takht, the Congress, several Members of Parliament and Sikh scholars seeking a change in the nomenclature, the Centre has refused to rename Veer B

KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress on Thursday intensified its attack on the BJP, alleging that the lynching of a Bengali migrant worker in Odisha was a direct result of what it called a sustained campaign of harassment against Bengalis in BJP-ruled states. Reacting to the killing of 21-year-old Juel Sheikh from Murshidabad district of West Bengal in Sambalpur, the TMC said the incident reflected a dangerous narrative portraying Bengali-speaking Indians as infiltrators. In a post on X, the party al

AHMEDABAD: An early-morning rescue in Gujarats Surat saw firemen save a 57-year-old man who slipped from the 10th floor of a high-rise and remained suspended between the 8th and 10th floors for nearly an hour, turning a routine winter morning into a race against death. The incident occurred when a middle-aged man fell from the 10th floor of a residential tower in the Jahangirabad area and survived only because his body became wedged between the window grille and railing of the 8th floor, leaving

AHMEDABAD: A storm has erupted in Gujarats Narmada district after Bharuch BJP MP Mansukh Vasava accused AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava of demanding Rs 75 lakh during programmes linked to the Prime Minister, triggering a political clash that has drawn in the district collector and put the ruling BJP government under direct pressure. The controversy revolves around what began as coordination over a Prime Ministerial programme has escalated into allegations of extortion, administrative intimidation and thr

LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the BJP was proud that its government got the opportunity to ear down the wall of Article 370. Modi said this after inaugurating the Rashtra Prerna Sthal in Lucknow on the 101st birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Addressing a public gathering after the inauguration, Modi said, The BJP is proud that our government had the opportunity to tear down the wall of Article 370. He added that the legacy of good governan

CHANDIGARH: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against four Punjab Police officers in the Colonel Pushpinder Bath assault case. According to sources, the apex investigating agency filed the chargesheet in a Mohali CBI court on Wednesday against Punjab Police inspectors Harjinder Singh, Shaminder Singh, Harry Boparai and Ronnie Singh. The charges include grievous hurt and wrongful restraint, among others. However, the attempt-to-murder charge does not figure in the

NEW DELHI: India contributes about one-fourth of the world's tuberculosis (TB) burden, with around 2.5 million new cases and nearly 3,00,000 deaths annually, said an ICMR report released on Wednesday. India has made significant advances through the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), utilising molecular diagnostics, digital health technologies, and social support systems. Despite these improvements, India still bears a high TB burden, contributing to approximately 27% of global T

LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the Rashtriya Prerna Sthal, a landmark national memorial and complex dedicated to celebrating the life and ideals of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The inauguration coincides with the 101st birth anniversary of the former prime minister. PM Modi was accompanied by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and other senior leaders. He was warmly welcomed by people who waved the tricol

NEW DELHI: Malaria cases in India have dropped from 1.17 million in 2015 to around 227,000 in 2024, an 80-85% reduction, said a latest ICMR report released Wednesday. Similarly, malaria-related deaths have fallen from 384 to approximately 83, a decrease of about 78%. India has made significant and steady progress in reducing its malaria burden, said the report, Indias progress towards malaria elimination technical report 2025 by Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria R

A school teacher at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was shot dead by unidentified assailants inside the university campus on Wednesday night, triggering panic among students and staff and prompting a large-scale police investigation. The deceased has been identified as Rao Danish Ali, a computer science teacher at the ABK Union High School of AMU, where he had been teaching for the past 11 years. According to police, the incident took place around 8.509 pm near the library canteen, close to the

NEW DELHI: Two lawyers have knocked the doors of the Supreme Court by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the suspension of jail sentence and grant of bail by the Delhi High Court to former BJP MLA and convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar in connection with the Unnao rape case. The two lawyers, Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar, through Advocate-on-Record Sanjeev Malhotra, moved the apex court after being aggrieved by the Delhi High Courts December 23 order suspending Sengar's jail term , wh

MUMBAI: The Congress' decision to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently has fragmented the Opposition space in the Mumbai civic battle and turned the January 15 polls into a multi-cornered contest. The party cited the alignment between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's MNS as the reason for opting out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) arrangement for the civic polls. According to political observers, the Congress' move to go solo, fo

NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the dignitaries who attended a prayer ceremony at 'Sadaiv Atal', the memorial of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Thursday to pay tributes to him on his 101st birth anniversary. Former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Ministers J P Nadda, Nirmala Sitharaman, NDA ally JD-U leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, several other minis

JAIPUR: A shocking case of alleged gang rape in a moving car has come to light in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The victim, a manager at a private IT company, has accused her companys CEO, a senior female executive, and the executives husband of sexually assaulting her. The incident allegedly occurred on the night of December 20, while the complaint was lodged at the Sukher police station on December 23. Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation. According to the FIR, the incident took

DEHRADUN: A Kashmiri shawl vendor was allegedly assaulted, robbed and issued expulsion threats by a group of Bajrang Dal activists in Kashipur, Udham Singh Nagar district, prompting the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) to write to the Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) seeking immediate action. The incident has raised serious concerns about the safety of Kashmiri traders operating seasonally in the hill state. The victim has been identified as Bilal Ahmed Ganie, a resident

WASHINGTON: India remains very constantly engaged with the United States to find a mutually beneficial and balanced trade arrangement as early as possible, India's Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra said. On trade and tariff... we remain very constantly engaged with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) with the hope to find a mutually beneficial and a balanced trade arrangement as early as possible, Kwatra told PTI in an exclusive interview here. Our effort all along, right through

ADILABAD: Four members of a family, including children, were killed in a car accident near Devad village in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra late on Wednesday night. All the victims belonged to Khagaznagar town in Kumram BheemAsifabad district. According to sources, six members of the same family had travelled to Nagpur a day earlier for medical treatment. While returning to Khagaznagar, the driver lost control of the car near Devad village, rammed into a culvert, and the vehicle overturned. F

NEW DELHI: In a significant operation against inter-state drug trafficking, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) dismantled a hashish oil trafficking network and arrested five accused during an operation conducted in Visakhapatnam, the agency said. Officers of the federal anti-narcotics agency, with the assistance of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), mounted a targeted operation at Duvvada Railway Station. The action led to the interception of five individuals, including one woman, and the seizu

SRINAGAR: The strategically important 13.150-kilometre-long Zojila Tunnel, which is Asias longest highway tunnel at high altitude and will provide all-weather connectivity between the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, is expected to achieve a crucial breakthrough by AprilMay 2026. Workers and engineers engaged in construction are pushing ahead with one of Indias most challenging infrastructure projects, braving extreme cold, heavy snowfall and avalanche threats. Built at an esti

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend a three-day conference of Chief Secretaries, scheduled to take place from Friday, December 26, to Sunday. This will be the fifth such national-level meeting and is regarded as one of the most significant administrative forums in the country, bringing together the highest-ranking officials from the Centre and the states. During the conference, the Prime Minister will engage in detailed discussions on several key policy priorities, with a st

LUCKNOW: Spread over 65 acres next to the embankment of the River Gomti on Hardoi Road, on the outskirts of Lucknow, the memorial Rashtra Prerna Sthal dedicated to BJP icons Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, and Deen Dayal Upadhyay will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. The complex will open to the public after its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25, which happens to be Vajpayees birth anniversary, an official statement said. Shaped

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a key accused in a sophisticated call centre racket that defrauded US nationals of $15 million between November 2022 and April 2024, the agency said on Wednesday. The illegal call centres operated from Noida and Gurugram, and the accused, charged with money-laundering, has been identified as Chandra Prakash Gupta. Scammers used fake Microsoft security pop-ups to trick victims into calling fraudulent support numbers. Using remote access sof

NEW DELHI: Except the momo cart, everything shall be removed, the Chief Justice remarked. It was said on a lighter note, but it was a telling aside as the Delhi High Court flagged serious safety lapses in one of the capitals most crowded student hubs, Majnu ka Tila. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government, the DDA, and the MCD to act against cafes and restaurants operating in Majnu ka Tila without requisite permissions and in violation of safety norms. Disposing of a PIL

RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh High Court, hearing the appeal against the conviction judgment order of the trial court, ruled that saying I love you, holding hand and pulling woman towards self amounted to offence as it outrages the modesty of a woman. The accused, 19 years at the time of incident in Raigarh district, was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for 3 years besides a fine of `1,000 under Section 354 of IPC (criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and the Protectio

Starter gun firing prompts Guv to order probe An incident involving the firing of a starter gun during flagging-off of a marathon run in the city on December 21 prompted the West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose to order a probe into the matter. The incident occurred when the Governor was firing from the gun to kick-off the event. Bose, on Tuesday, formed a probe committee to assess the matter by exploring multiple angles, officials at the Lok Bhavan said. The order followed a report submitted by

BHOPAL: A day after the first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter roll was completed with the publication of the draft voter list, the opposition Congress targeted the ruling BJP government, with the SIR first phase figures. On the completion of the first phase, the ECI officially stated that more than 42.74 lakh voters, who were part of the October 2025 list of voters, were removed from the SIR draft list on Tuesday. Once the count of unmapped voters is added to it, the figure be

NEW DELHI: Six out of 10 people in India are suffering from mouth cancer due to frequent consumption of alcohol, along with chewing of smokeless tobacco products such as gutkha, khaini, paan, said a first large-scale study published on Wednesday. Authored by a team of researchers from the Center for Cancer Epidemiology, and Homi Bhabha National Institute, in Maharashtra, the study found that as little as under 2 gram a day of beer was associated with a heightened risk of buccal mucosa cancer (BM

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Railways has claimed that India is on course to overtake the United States in total metro network length as ongoing projects are commissioned. Metro and suburban rail networks are currently operational across 1,090 km in 26 cities, including both major metros and Tier-2 cities, making urban mobility faster and more economically affordable for low- and middle-income groups. The Ministry further stated that despite the rapid expansion of metro and suburban rail services,

NEW DELHI: A day after the Delhi High Court suspended the life sentence awarded by a trial court to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case, the survivor on Wednesday said she would move the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, she and her mother staged a protest near Mandi House against the HC verdict. Earlier in the day, the duo met Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi after alleging ill-treatment by Delhi Police. On Tuesday night, the survivor and her mother were rep

CHANDIGARH: Some 30 Indian nationals living illegally in the United States have been arrested in California after being found driving semi-trucks using commercial drivers licenses, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The arrests were made by Border Patrol agents in the El Centro Sector during immigration checkpoint stops and joint enforcement operations over the past few weeks. CBP said 49 undocumented immigrants holding commercial drivers licenses were arrested between November

NEW DELHI: Around 50 lakh students across the country have failed to clear the final exams of Class X and XII in 2024, said Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of the school education and literacy department. It is crucial to help them complete their formal education by introducing them to the Open School system, he said on Wednesday. Nearly 2 crore students took up the Class X final exam in 2024 but over 26 lakh of them could not clear it. It is much higher for Class XII final exam as 30% of the students c

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the 2017 Unnao rape case will immediately challenge in the Supreme Court a Delhi High Court order suspending the jail sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, convicted in the case, officials said on Wednesday. It was decided to file an SLP before the Supreme Court at the earliest against the orders of the high court, which granted bail to Sengar after suspending his life sentence, a CBI spokesperson said in a statement. The CBI fil

RANCHI: Modern facilities has failed to reach Budikai village in Jharkhands Khunti, even after 78 years of independence. Most affected of all amenities is education, as only a handful of students can afford to travel to the nearest school, at least 5 km away. Residents said the region was once considered a Maoist stronghold. Budikai village is home to just 35 families. The village lacks almost every basic facilityroads, schools, electricity and safe drinking waterforcing villagers to depend larg

NEW DELHI: Indias largest domestic airline, IndiGo, said on Wednesday that it has stabilised its operations since December 9 and was ready for the holiday season. The airline said it was operating between 2,100 and 2,200 flights daily and carries one million customers every three days. An official release said, We have been flying to and from all 138 operational destinations across our network while maintaining the IndiGo standards of On Time Performance. We confirm that we are fully prepared to

The Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj have formally announced an alliance for the BMC and other municipal corporation elections, but it is not an easy fight, given the BJP's strong network and well-oiled machinery. Here are the top five challenges in Mumbai for the Thackerays who have reunited after 20 years. Weakened network after party's division : Following the split in the Shiv Sena, the party's once strong network was divided between the two factions. Eknath Shinde aggressively poached sever

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has issued directives to the states for a complete ban on granting any new mining leases in the Aravalli Range. This measure aims to protect the range from unregulated mining activities. The Ministry has also instructed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to identify additional areas or zones within the entire Aravalli Range where mining should be prohibited, beyond those currently restric