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JAIPUR: A notice sent by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) to a popular Shiva temple is causing quite a stir in the capital of Rajasthan. As part of its road-widening initiative, the JDA issued an encroachment notice to the Shiv Mandir. The notice, issued on November 21st, demanded a response within seven days which angered local residents because the notice was sent directly to the Shiv Mandir, rather than to any manager or management body of the temple. The temple is located in the posh V
Police on Thursday launched coordinated raids and inspections across the Kashmir Valley, targeting locations linked to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and conducting city-wide checks at madrassas and mosques as part of an ongoing crackdown aimed at dismantling what authorities described as the terror support ecosystem. Officials said searches were carried out in Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Budgam and Kupwara. The raids targeted residential premises and business establishments
LUCKNOW: Booth Level Officers (BLOs) on the forefront of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise are facing severe stress and mounting pressure in Uttar Pradesh, with four deaths reported so far and several officers suffering from anxiety-related issues, according to their families and colleagues. Like in other parts of the country, BLOs running the SIR in Uttar Pradesh are facing hardships. So far, four of them have lost their lives. The cause of death has been attributed by their familie
DEHRADUN: Acharya Pramod Krishnam Maharaj, the head of the Kalki Dham in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh and a former prominent Congress leader, has made a startling claim, alleging that senior leaders within the Congress party became displeased with him after he refused to publicly criticise Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The revelation came during a book launch event in Dehradun on Thursday, where Maharaj participated in an event celebrating the achievements of CM Dhami. Pramod Krishna
NEW DELHI: India and Indonesia on Thursday placed defence industrial cooperation at the centre of their growing strategic dialogue and decided to broadly expand joint work on military technologies and supply-chain integration amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific. In wide-ranging talks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and visiting Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin agreed in principle to establish a joint defence industry cooperation committee, a mechanism aimed at fa
The Bombay High Court has slammed the Maharashtra government for blaming volcanic ash from Ethiopia for the poor air quality in Mumbai. The bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A Ankhad pointed out that the visibility in the financial capital was poor well before the volcanic eruption. The High Court heard a suo motu petition over the rising pollution level in Mumbai and sought an urgent report from the state government. During the hearing, the amicus curiae Darius Kham
NEW DELHI: Indian pacer Mohammad Siraj described the cancellation of his Air India Express flight after a four-hour wait as his worst airline experience. Siraj was flying to Hyderabad after the second Test match against South Africa in Guwahati. He asked the public not to fly by the airline. Coming just a day after India's worst Test run defeat by 408 runs ensured the cricketer was at the receiving end of angry fans. Air India Express flight IX 2884, from Guwahati to Hyderabad, was supposed to t
RANCHI: The Jharkhand High Court directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to personally file an affidavit in the case of tribal youths being forced to surrender, branding them as Maoists. 514 tribal youths from the state were allegedly coerced into a staged surrender after being falsely labelled as Maoists, and were later duped and exploited in a systematic manner under the guise of employment. Expressing strong displeasure, the court particularly objected to the fact that in such a sensiti
MUMBAI: The slugfest between the BJP and the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena intensified ahead of the local body elections in Maharashtra, with allegations of large-scale cash distribution surfacing in the high-stakes MalvanKankavali contest involving the Rane family. Shiv Sena MLA Nilesh Rane, son of former Union minister Narayan Rane, alleged that the BJP was distributing Rs 25,000 per vote. He claimed that several bags filled with cash were found at the residence of local BJP leader Vi
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday hit out at the BJP after the Rajya Sabha Secretariat reminded MPs not to use slogans like 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jai Hind' in Parliament to maintain decorum, and said those who did not lose anything in the freedom movement and sided with the British have problems with slogans associated with the independence struggle. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said earlier the British had problems with these slogans which were used in the freedom struggle and now th
CHANDIGARH: Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited various places in Punjab and interacted with farmers, besides reviewing ongoing rural-development initiatives on Thursday. Acknowledging that stubble burning remains a serious issue, he emphasised that with constructive dialogue and appropriate support, crop residue could be turned into a valuable resource rather than a liability. Chouhans discussions with farmers primarily focused on stubble management, a
GUWAHATI: The Assam Assembly on Thursday passed the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill 2025 that prescribed stringent punishment for offenders. Assam moves with resolve. Womens rights will not be compromised. Through the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill 2025, we secure legal protection, strict penalties and real accountability, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The bill will now be sent for the Presidents assent. Sarma said the government had earlier set a target to ban polygamy and chi
NEW DELHI: A fresh round of onshore and offshore expeditions at ancient heritage sites in Gujarats Dwarka and Bet Dwarka has begun. A team of the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), led by its Additional Director-General (ADG) Professor Alok Tripathi, is carrying out fieldwork near the 56 Seedhi (steps) in the vicinity of Gomti Ghat, an area known for its archaeological significance. Due to the unavailability of open space around the Dwarkadheesh Temple
LUCKNOW: Tightening the noose around the illegal immigrants living in the state, the Uttar Pradesh authorities are set to launch a major exercise to identify them. The campaign will commence from western UP, the Rohilkhand region of Terai, comprising Bareilly, Badaun, Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur districts falling under Bareilly division. As per the senior officials, the divisional commissioner Bhupendra S Chaudhary has issued directives to all the DMs concerned of Bareilly Division, to set up temp
RAIPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the All India Conference of Director Generals/Inspector Generals of police on 29-30 November at the Indian Institute of Management, Nava Raipur. The three-day conference, scheduled to commence from November 28 (Friday) aims to review the progress achieved in addressing key policing challenges so far and to outline a forward-looking roadmap for building a Surakshit Bharat in alignment with the national vision of Viksit Bharat. Held under the overar
ARRAH: In a change of tack, Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday lavished praise on the prohibition law that has been in place in Bihar for nearly a decade, but pointed out that implementation has left much to be desired. The former chief minister was responding to queries from journalists in Arrah, the headquarters of Bhojpur district, about the ban on sale and consumption of liquor imposed by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016. Prohibition is great. We cannot conceive of a better
BHOPAL: A show-cause notice has been issued by the Madhya Pradesh government to senior IAS officer Santosh Verma over his recent controversial remark about Brahmin girls. The show-cause notice served to him on Wednesday evening mentions that his remarks prima facie amounted to a breach of All India Services (Conduct) Rules and invite disciplinary action under provisions of All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules. The notice issued by the state general administration department also ment
CHANDIGARH: India has the largest national diaspora in the world, with over 3.5 crore people living abroad, prompting calls for dual citizenship to elevate the countrys global stature. Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) form a significant share of the nearly 300 million people living outside their countries of birth. IndUS Canada, a leading forum representing 79 prominent organisations of the Indian diaspora across the United States and Canada, has renewed its appeal to the Union Government to introduc
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale on Thursday questioned the mysterious AI application that the Election Commission has said it will use for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal. In a post on X, the TMC MP said no details about the app and its functionality are available. The ECI's mysterious 'AI app'... Now, the Election Commission says they will use an 'AI app' during the SIR exercise in Bengal. As is typical, there are zero details of who
KOLKATA: After being pulled up by the Calcutta High Court (HC), the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Thursday released a fresh comprehensive list of 1,806 tainted teachers who had been recruited earlier through the State Level Selection Test (SLST) conducted in 2016. The WBSSC, which recruits assistant teachers for these schools through SLST, uploaded the list containing the names of the tainted candidates and their parents, the subjects they taught, their SLST roll numbers, and
CHANDIGARH: The countrys first all-in-one Tesla India Motors centre in Gurugram was inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday. The new facility brings retail, after-sales service, delivery and charging together under one roof. Elon Musk-led EV makers centre is in Sector 48 at Orchid Business Park in Gurugram. The two centres opened earlier at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai and Aerocity in Delhi only displayed vehicles, but this centre will provide all major services. CM
NEW DELHI: Highlighting the need for a stringent law to protect the dignity of the disabled, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to consider framing a statute to make derogatory remarks ridiculing persons with disabilities and rare genetic disorders a penal offence on the lines of the SC-ST Act. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 criminalises casteist slur, acts of discrimination, humiliation, and violence against the members of SCs and STs
CHANDIGARH: The air pollution levels across North India are significantly higher than the national average as per the latest report released by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent research organisation. The report stated that Delhi, along with Punjab, Assam and Tripura, was identified as a year-round pollution hotspot failing to meet PM 2.5 standard even during the monsoons. On the other hand, the southern states recorded the lowest values. The report titled, Beyon
SUKMA: A woman constable was injured when a pressure Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Thursday, police said. The incident took place on a forested hill at around 1 pm when a team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and District Force, both units of the state police, was out on an area domination operation from the newly established Gogunda security camp under Keralapal police station limits, an official said. Constable Muchaki Durga
HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday virtually inaugurated Indian space startup Skyroot's Infinity Campus, here, and also unveiled the company's first orbital rocket Vikram-I, which has capability to launch satellites to orbit. In his address, the PM highlighted the government's 'historic' space reforms and said that opening up the space sector to private players has resulted in Skyroot and others coming up with such innovations. The PM said that today in India's space ecosystem,
LUCKNOW: A major mishap was narrowly avoided late Wednesday night when a trailer truck loaded with wooden plies fell off the RamnagarFatehpur flyover in Barabanki and crashed onto the up-line track near Burhwal Junction on the BarabankiGonda route. The incident occurred just as the AmritsarSaharsa Garib Rath Express (12204) was passing on the adjacent down line, but no passengers were injured. The truck broke through the bridge railing and plunged nearly 25 feet onto the tracks, while a large st
CHANDIGARH: A staggering 62.50 per cent of groundwater samples from Punjab have uranium levels above the safety threshold limit, the highest contamination intensity ever recorded in the country, followed by Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. This fact was revealed in the latest Annual Ground Water Quality Report 2025 by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Meanwhile, across the country, nitrate contamination was the most widespread, followed by fluori
Nearly 1,400 primary and mid-level government schools in 'char' and rural areas across Assam lack drinking water and toilet facilities for students, the state assembly was informed on Thursday. In all state-run schools in these areas, almost 28,000 teaching posts are also lying vacant, the government said. In a reply to a query by Congress MLA Wajed Ali Choudhury, Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu informed the House that a total of 1,391 Lower Primary (LP) and Middle English (ME) schools prese
KATHMANDU: Nepal's central bank on Thursday issued new Rs 100 denomination bank notes that have a revised map of the country, including the controversial Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura territories, termed as artificial enlargement by India. The new note from the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) bears the signature of previous Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari. The date of issuance of the bank note is mentioned as 2081 BS, which denotes the previous year, 2024. During the Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli-le
PHAGWARA: Two motorcycle-borne men opened fire at the house of a ruling AAP leader near Darvesh Pind village on the Phagwara-Jandiala road early Thursday, police said. No one was injured in the incident. Phagwara coordinator of ruling AAP's 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' drive (drive against drugs) Daljit Singh Raju told reporters that 23 rounds were fired at his house around 1.13 am, shattering window and door panes. Raju is considered a close confidante of Hoshiarpur MP Raj Kumar Chabbewal. Phagwara Su
DEHRADUN: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the Uttarakhand government after confirming that an illegal stone crusher is operating inside the ecologically sensitive Shivalik Elephant Reserve and the active floodplain of the Song River. The tribunals directive followed a petition by concerned Dehradun residents, represented by Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, highlighting severe ecological violations caused by the stone crusher in a protected zone, which t
MUMBAI: In a swipe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's 'vote or no funds' remark, NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar on Thursday said it was inappropriate to seek votes based on financial assurances. Speaking to reporters at Baramati in Pune district, Sharad Pawar also said the aid provided by the state government to farmers for losses due to rains and floods is not sufficient. Ajit Pawar, who heads the rival NCP, last week told voters at Malegaon in Baramati tehsil of Pune district that h
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday slammed the Modi government over the Environment Ministry reportedly recommending a new definition of Aravalli Hills, saying this will have very grave environmental and public health consequences, and calls for an immediate review. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh claimed that the new definition is meant to restrict mining but in reality would mean that 90 per cent of the Aravalli Hills would not be counted as Aravalli any more
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on December 3 a plea concerning the deteriorating air quality in the Delhi's National Capital Region, saying the issue needed to be monitored on a regular basis. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of the submissions of senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the bench as an amicus curiae in the air pollution case, that there is an alarming situation in Delhi-NCR and it is a health eme
NEW DELHI: In a show of collective appreciation and organisational discipline, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday evening hosted a grand dinner in New Delhi to felicitate more than 45 leaders and workers who played significant roles in securing the NDAs historic mandate in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections . The event, held at the official residence of outgoing BJP national president J P Nadda, brought together senior party heavyweights, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, national gen
MUMBAI: After securing a majority in the recent Assembly elections, the BJP is looking to consolidate its dominance in Maharashtra by winning as many seats as possible in the upcoming local body polls. Elections to 42 Nagar Panchayats and 246 Nagar Parishads will be held on December 2, with counting on December 3. Even before the results are out, the BJP has begun projecting early gains. Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan claimed that 100 party councillors have already been elected unoppo
MUMBAI: Nearly 10.64 per cent or more than 11 lakh of Mumbai's 1.03 crore electorate have duplicate enrolments in the electoral roll, as per data shared by the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC). The data shows that a majority of wards with the highest number of duplicate voters were previously represented by Opposition corporators. The SEC on Wednesday extended the deadline for submitting objections from November 27 to December 3. The final voters' list will be published on December 10
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested WinZO Games Pvt. Ltd. directors Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda from Bengaluru in connection with an online betting case. The accused were produced before the home office of a judge, who granted their custody to the agency and directed that they be presented again today for detailed arguments on the EDs remand application. The agency had conducted search operations at four locations in Delhi and Gurgaon between November 18 a
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it will consider a plea to revive the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) to replace the current collegium system for appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made the remarks after an oral request for the NJAC was made by advocate Mathews Nedumpara during the hearing. The Supreme Court in 2015 had rejected the NJAC Act and the 99th Constitutional amendment, which sought to give politicians a
RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh governments push to introduce a Hindi-medium MBBS course has met with what officials describe as indifferent and lukewarm response from students who are inclined to study the course in a language they are comfortable with. Although the scheme was announced with fanfare last year, none of the 10 government medical colleges in the state has begun Hindi-medium classes even after the new academic session opened in September. Officials say the core issue is not eligibility bu
Is Bihar ready to adopt Yogi Model to tackle crime? The issue is now a topic of discussion among people after DCM and senior BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary was given home portfolio. Soon after assuming charge, Chaudhary announced that Anti-Romeo Squads would be formed to prevent eve teasing. The squad members will be deployed near schools and colleges to keep an eye on such elements. Also, the government will use bulldozers to run over the criminals houses. So far, 400 mafia gangs have been identif
SRINAGAR: The row over reservation policies in Jammu and Kashmir has flared up again after the Finance Department advertised 600 posts of Accounts Assistants, with only 240 of those allocated to the Open Merit (OM) category. This has upset the youth falling under OM category, leading them to renew their demand for a review of the existing reservation policy in the Union Territory. Of the 600 posts of Accounts Assistants advertised by J&K Services Selection Board, only 40% posts (24O) were kept f
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday approved four key projects, including manufacturing of rare earth magnets, second phase of Pune Metro project and multi-tracking of two railway lines worth `19,000 crore. Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, during a post cabinet meeting briefing, told reporters that the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (SREPM) has been approved with a financial outlay of Rs 7,280 crore. The aim is to establish 6,000
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would not hesitate to extend the deadline for the publication of the draft electoral rolls in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu if the petitioners make a strong case, while the Election Commission of India (ECI) claimed that some political parties were trying to create a scare about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made the oral observation while hearing petitions ch
CHANDIGARH: The craze for fancy vehicle registration numbers in Haryanas rapidly growing digital auctions has reached a new high, with the number HR-88-B-8888 fetching a whopping Rs 1.17 crore. If confirmed, this would reportedly make it the costliest registration number bid in the country, though this could not be independently verified. The successful bidder must deposit the full amount by Monday to claim ownership, after which the number will be formally considered sold. Sources said the regi
NEW DELHI: Indigo flights across the country suffered extensive delays from Wednesday evening into the night, with the airline repeatedly citing operational reasons. While Indigo also mentioned air-traffic congestion at Mumbai and Delhi, officials at Delhi airport completely denied any such congestion. Passengers, meanwhile, alleged that the non-availability of pilots for certain flights was among the key causes. Multiple attempts to obtain an official response from Indigo yielded no result. How
NEW DELHI: Lakhs of employees across different sectors in the country staged protests on Wednesday against the new labour codes which came into effect from November 21. The nationwide protest was called by a platform of ten central trade unions and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of 40 farmer unions. They have demanded an immediate withdrawal of the move and the introduction of farmer-friendly policies. The groups also submitted a joint representation to President Droupadi Murmu hig
PATNA : The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Wednesday expressed apprehension that it may lose its lone MLA in Bihar, with party leaders alleging that Satish Kumar Singh, who won from the Ramgarh Assembly seat in Kaimur district, is being approached by the ruling dispensation to defect. The issue was discussed at a state-level meeting of the party held in Patna to assess its performance in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly election. BSP national convenor Akash Anand was also present at the meeti
RANCHI: Five migrant workers from Hazaribagh and Giridih districts of Jharkhand are stranded in Cameroon after not being paid their wages for the past five months. In a video message sent to their families, the workers said they have run out of money and are facing serious difficulties in managing accommodation and food. In the video, the stranded workers described their plight and appealed for their immediate repatriation to India. Speaking to TNIE , one of the migrants said that despite repeat
NEW DELHI: Arbitrary actions by China involving an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh are most unhelpful to ongoing efforts by both countries to build mutual trust and gradually normalise bilateral ties, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. The remark came in response to questions about the impact of the detention of an Arunachal Pradesh-born Indian national at Shanghai airport on bilateral relations. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly briefing, Arbitrary

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