Trump administration agrees to temporarily freeze 'slush fund' for allies
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema barred the administration last week from taking any further action to create or operate the fund ahead of a June 12 court hearing.
Court allows CBI to arrest former Reliance ADAG executive Jhunjhunwala in bank fraud case
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Mumbai court allowed the CBI's application to formally arrest the accused as per provisions of law.
Lebanon's U.S. Embassy says Hezbollah accepted U.S. proposal on 'mutual cessation of attacks'
The Lebanese authorities received confirmation of Hezbollah's acceptance of the U.S. proposal providing for a mutual cessation of attacks, an Embassy statement published by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's office said.
IMEC is caught between commerce and geopolitics
The Iran conflict strengthens the case for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) while simultaneously complicating its execution
Orbital rivalry the challenge of Chinas space power
Chinas counter-space rise demands stronger resilience and deterrence from India
Perfect storm: On illicit liquor in India
Weak enforcement and poor regulation sustain illicit liquor among the poor
The FemTech industrys approach to PMOS
Discussions around PMOS rarely engage with broader environmental factors such as adulterated food, pollution, chronic stress, and toxins
HC issues directions for upkeep of Chottanikkara temple premises
Vizag data centre is a major challenge
If India needs Googles hyperscale hub, it is not yet ready for the facility
Cochin Port trade union forum threatens to escalate stir
Police officer suspended pending inquiry into alleged sexual harassment of head constable
HC directs local bodies to act on plaints to clear overgrown vacant plots
If the owners of overgrown abandoned properties are unknown, local bodies should clear them and later recover the cost from the owners once they are identified
Sribharat arrives in Norway to attend Norway India Business Days event
Delhi cabinet approves 75,000 per hectare relief for farmers hit by heavy rain
TVK continuing DMK schemes, says Ezhilan
The ruling party has not announced any flagship schemes, says DMK medical wing secretary
Victim inKoyambeduflyover hit-and-run case was sexually harassed by accused at pub
One of the accused had misbehaved with the girl and forced her to dance with his group. The police have arrested seven persons, including three college students, in connection with the case so far
BAI serves buttermilk to 3,500 attendees at PGRS events
Sheep Farming: A Key to Economic Growth and Employment in J&K
For an economy looking for resilience, and for thousands of unemployed youth seeking dignity in work, sheep farming may be the quiet engine J&K has overlooked for too long HAKIM MOHD YASEEN Sheep farming has always been part of rural life in Jammu & Kashmir, but its still treated as a backyard activity rather than a serious economic sector. If given focuscredit, training, market supportit could become one of the regions most reliable tools for generating jobs and keeping money circulating locally. A Natural Fit for the Land Much of J&Ks terrain is suited to grazing rather than intensive crop farminghigh pastures, orchard undergrowth, village commons. Sheep convert that grass into meat, wool, and manure with very little external input. Unlike fragile cash crops, flocks survive drought years and disease shocks better, which makes them a steady base for incomes in remote districts like Kupwara, Doda, or Poonch. Jobs Beyond the Farm The direct employment is obvious: rearers, grazers, and shearers. But the multiplier effect runs deeper. Every flock needs feed suppliers, vets, transporters, and traders. Wool moves into spinning and weaving, meat into local butcher networks, and hides into leather work. Organised cooperatives could run collection centres, bulk auctions, and chilling unitseach creating clerical and logistical posts. For young people in villages, that means work that doesnt require moving to Srinagar or Jammu city. Import Substitution and Cash Retention Today, a large share of mutton sold in J&K comes from outside the region, often frozen imports that drain cash outward. Boosting local sheep rearing would replace part of that demand with a home-grown supply. Even a modest shiftsay, raising local production by 20%would keep hundreds of crores inside J&K every year. That money then flows to feed sellers, transport drivers, and small shopkeepers, strengthening the whole rural economy. Reducing Unemployment Pressure Unemployment in J&K is highest among rural youth, many of whom lack formal qualifications but are ready to work with livestock. Sheep rearing doesnt demand high literacy, just training in breed management, health care, and marketing. Government-backed programs that pair small credit with veterinary extension could quickly turn jobless young men and women into flock owners. With 510 sheep per household, an unemployed rural worker can earn a regular income while staying at home. Scale that across districts, and the impact on unemployment figures becomes measurable. A Concrete Path Forward The potential will only materialise with three things: reliable micro-finance for flock purchase, mobile veterinary services to cut losses, and regulated mandies so farmers get fair prices. Add support for wool processingcarpets, tweeds, knitwearand the sector grows horizontally too. Sheep rearing wont replace tourism or horticulture, and it doesnt need to. It can act as a cushiona steady rural employer that stabilises incomes when snowfall cuts off roads or apples face disease. For an economy looking for resilience, and for thousands of unemployed youth seeking dignity in work, sheep farming may be the quiet engine J&K has overlooked for too long. ( The author is a former Joint Dir. Sericulture and Resource Person Livelihood Mission)
Punjab recorded a growth of 14.59% in GST in May 2026, says Cheema
Traffic Sandwich: A Daily Struggle on the Roads
How unplanned growth, shrinking road space, and rising vehicles are choking the city and its people JAHANZEB MUSHTAQ Srinagar today feels less like a city on the move and more like a city trapped between bumpers. From Pantha Chowk to HMT, from Downtown to Hyderpora, residents find themselves squeezed into what many now call a traffic sandwich, hemmed in by vehicles on all sides, moving inches in what should take minutes. This is no longer an occasional inconvenience; it has become a defining feature of daily life in the summer capital. What makes Srinagars traffic mess particularly worrying is that it is not driven by a single cause that can be fixed with a single intervention. It is the outcome of years of unplanned urban growth, neglect of public transport, encroached road space, and a mindset that equates development with more private vehicles and more concrete, not with better planning or humane mobility. The result is a city where getting from one end to another can feel like an endurance test, especially during office hours, school timings, or tourist season. The numbers tell part of the story. Vehicle registrations in Jammu & Kashmir have risen sharply over the past decade, while the citys effective road space has barely expanded. In many neighbourhoods, roads have in fact shrunk not on paper, but in practice as footpaths disappear under shop extensions, roadside parking, makeshift vendors, and permanent encroachments. A two-lane road functions like a single lane; a single-lane road often functions like a crowded alley. At the same time, public transport has been allowed to decay. Once-familiar large buses are increasingly rare, replaced by a loosely regulated mix of minibuses, cabs, and three-wheelers that often compete, rather than coordinate, for passengers. For many citizens, especially women, students, and the elderly, public transport is either unreliable, unsafe, or simply unavailable at the right time. The predictable outcome is a rush to buy two-wheelers and small cars, adding thousands of new vehicles every year to already saturated roads. There is also a deeper pattern at work. Srinagar has grown outwards without a corresponding vision of how people will move within and across the city. Residential colonies have come up along narrow access roads. Commercial hubs have mushroomed without adequate parking, loading space, or pedestrian facilities. Schools, coaching centres, and offices are concentrated in already congested localities, turning certain intersections into daily choke points. Every morning and evening, the same locations choke, the same people suffer, and the same excuses are repeated. The cost of this traffic sandwich is not merely the time wasted in jams. It is also the stress that seeps into everyday interactions, the lost productivity for students and workers, the impact on small businesses that rely on timely deliveries, and the very real health costs of prolonged exposure to vehicle emissions. For emergency services, the gridlock is not just an irritation; it can be the difference between life and death. The sight of an ambulance wailing helplessly in a sea of unmoving cars should shame us into urgent action. Policing and one-way diversions, while necessary, can only offer temporary relief. Fines and challans have their place, but they cannot substitute for a credible mobility plan. The city needs a clear, time-bound roadmap that addresses both demand and supply: discouraging excessive use of private vehicles in the core areas while offering attractive, dignified alternatives. That means investing in a reliable public transport backbone, reviving and modernising bus services, rationalising routes, and integrating them with last-mile options. (The author is a social activist and researcher)
Above the Law: SpaceXs Orbital Data Centres and the End of Indias Digital Sovereignty
India generates the data. SpaceX processes it. The returns flow to Nasdaq shareholders. This is not a partnership. It is an extraction model with better optics FUTURECRAFT | TECHNOLOGY & MARKETS ARSSH KUMAR India spent the better part of a decade arguing about where to put its data. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, passed in 2023 and brought into force in late 2025, is the culmination of that argument. The answer it arrived at: data generated by Indian citizens must remain answerable to Indian law, wherever it travels. The framework assumes data travels between countries. It does not account for data that orbits above them. On January 30, 2026, SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission to launch up to one million satellites as an orbital data centre network. The FCC formally accepted the filing on February 4. The system would process AI workloads in low Earth orbit, between 500 and 2,000 kilometres above the surface, powered by solar energy, interconnected by laser links, and routed back to ground stations through the existing Starlink constellation. SpaceX expects to begin deploying the first of these satellites as early as 2028. Two weeks before the FCC filing, SpaceX filed its IPO prospectus on Nasdaq, targeting a valuation of up to $2 trillion the largest public offering in history. The company that wants to process the worlds data from orbit is about to become the worlds most valuable publicly listed company. For India, the timing is not incidental. It is the problem. The Law Ends at the Atmosphere Indias data sovereignty framework rests on a territorial assumption. The DPDP Act has explicit extraterritorial reach it applies to any entity processing Indian personal data anywhere in the world. But extraterritorial reach and extraterritorial enforcement are different things. Under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, still the foundational document of space law, any spacecraft is governed by the laws of the country that launched or registered it. An orbital data centre operated by a US company is, legally, US territory. Indian regulators cannot compel operational decisions on hardware flying 550 kilometres above the subcontinent. The jurisdictional gap is not hypothetical. Legal analysis from Foley Hoag published in December 2025 identified the core problem: existing data protection regimes assume data has a physical location within a states borders. Orbital infrastructure breaks that assumption. A data centre in low Earth orbit passes over India, China, the EU, and the United States in a single orbit. Whose rules apply is not a settled question. It is a power struggle dressed in legal language. For countries like India, that power struggle is already lost. Without shared governance or co-ownership, orbital compute risks turning developing countries into data suppliers while control and value remain concentrated in the US. India generates the data. SpaceX processes it. The returns flow to Nasdaq shareholders. The Sovereignty Infrastructure India Built for Ground India has spent significant political capital building a terrestrial data sovereignty framework. The DPDP Acts blacklist mechanism lets the central government restrict data transfers to specific countries. The Reserve Bank of India mandates local storage for payment data. TRAI has pushed for telecom data to remain on Indian servers. These are serious policy instruments built on a serious assumption: that data infrastructure has an address. SpaceXs orbital system has no address. It has a registration with the FCC, under US law. The orbital shells SpaceX proposes to use are in international space. No nation can claim them. But SpaceX can operate in them, and the governance framework it answers to is American. This is not a problem India can negotiate around bilaterally. The Outer Space Treaty has 114 state parties. Amending it requires consensus that does not exist. Indias DPDP enforcement machinery its Data Protection Board, its penalty regime, its government notification powers was designed for a world where data centres occupy land that sovereign states control. That world is ending faster than the regulations. The Starlink Entry Point The orbital data centre question is not abstract for India because Starlink is not abstract for India. SpaceX has been building ten satellite gateways on Indian soil and running government security clearance tests ahead of a commercial launch that could come within this calendar year. TRAI and the Department of Telecommunications have spent months debating pricing and spectrum. India is actively negotiating the terms under which a SpaceX ground network enters its territory. That negotiation is happening with a private company. When SpaceX lists on Nasdaq at close to $2 trillion, it will be happening with the worlds most valuable public entity, one with 85% of voting rights concentrated in Elon Musks hands under a super-voting share structure, and a fiduciary obligation to maximise returns for retail shareholders across 30% of its float. The counterparty India is used to dealing with does not survive the IPO. The leverage calculus shifts. Takshashila Institutions April 2026 analysis of Starlink risks made the operational stakes explicit: in a scenario where US strategic interests require it, Washington could pressure SpaceX to share data from Indian operations, maintain or deny coverage over specific regions, or act in ways that serve American rather than Indian interests. Musk himself said in 2025 that Starlink is the backbone of the Ukrainian front line and would collapse without him. India is inviting that same network to run ground infrastructure for 1.4 billion people, while its parent company builds the capacity to process data from orbit beyond the reach of any Indian regulator. The Honest Counter There is a real argument on the other side. Orbital data centres could ease pressure on Indias strained terrestrial power grid. The economics of solar-powered satellite compute no cooling costs, no land acquisition, near-constant energy could make AI inference substantially cheaper for Indian developers and startups. The IndiaAI Missions subsidised GPU-hours would matter less if inference costs fall across the board. Cheaper compute is not nothing. The counter also holds that the Outer Space Treaty
The Wisdom My Mother Left Behind
You never chased status, yet people respected you deeply. You never spoke loudly, yet your words remained with people for years MUNEEB A FAIQ Dear Mummy, Three years have passed since you left, yet I still find myself speaking to you in quiet moments, as though you have merely stepped into another room. I often think about your last days. You remained in a coma for a week while I travelled back from the other side of the globe, carrying guilt, fear, and hope across oceans. And then, when I finally reached you, you miraculously opened your eyes, looked at me, and smiled and as always, told me some words of wisdom which proved to be true in every sense; those simple, unassuming sentences of yours that always arrived like verdicts wrapped in kindness. It was not a dramatic moment. It was gentle, almost knowing, as if you had simply been waiting to say goodbye in your own dignified way. Waking up from coma to bid a dignified goodbye to your son is nothing short of a miracle. Soon after, you slipped back into silence and left this world. That smile has stayed with me more powerfully than grief itself, and the joke about life that you spoke that time is still a real pearl of wisdom that guides me; one of those quiet Kashmiri truths that sounds like a joke until life proves you wrong for not believing it sooner. Your own divine comedy is in many ways better than Dantes work. You were a Kashmiri woman in the truest sense; resilient without announcing your strength, wise without trying to impress anyone, generous without ever making another person feel small. I remember how elegantly you did your charities, and no one knew it, as if goodness, to you, lost its meaning the moment it was announced. You carried the old Kashmiri understanding that life is temporary, that sorrow visits every home, and that dignity lies in how gently we treat others despite all that. You had an extraordinary sense of humour. Even in difficult times, you could say something so unexpectedly sharp and wise that people would fall silent for a moment before laughing; that brief pause where people realise they have just been gently outwitted by truth itself. That is exactly what you did before you bid a final goodbye to this world. You had a way of reducing human arrogance to nothing with a single sentence delivered so softly that it almost sounded like mercy. I realise now that your humour was not merely wit; it was wisdom wearing a smile. You never chased status, yet people respected you deeply. You never spoke loudly, yet your words remained with people for years. You taught us that intelligence without kindness is empty, and that generosity is not measured by wealth but by how much comfort one leaves in another persons heart. Everything I have achieved in life carries your fingerprints. The courage I have, the discipline I learned, the compassion I try to practice, all of it began with you. Like many mothers from Kashmir, you sacrificed quietly, without ceremony, without asking to be remembered for it. But I remember. I remember the way you welcomed people into our home. I remember your laughter. I remember your sayings that sounded simple at first and revealed their depth only years later. Those sentences that entered the mind lightly but stayed for life like permanent residents. I remember how you understood the passing nature of life better than most educated people ever will. Perhaps that is why you lived with such grace. The older I grow, the more I understand that wisdom is not found in books alone. Sometimes it lives in the calm voice of a mother who has seen hardship, understood people, and still chosen kindness. Your life was not loud, but it was luminous. And if I have become anything worthwhile in this world, it is because I first walked through yours. (The author is a student)
Road-sweeper machines benefit only 18% of Capitals population: study
Lost in the Merit Race: Why Kashmirs Youth Need Real Career Guidance
From Kupwara to Qazigund, students chase a few secure options while a world of opportunities passes them by. It is time to make career counselling a core part of education in the Valley DR JAVID QADRI In recent years, the Kashmir Valley has witnessed a powerful transformation. Internet connectivity, expansion of higher education, competitive examinations, and exposure to global trends have opened doors that were unimaginable a generation ago. Yet, when one sits with students in a classroom in Kupwara, a coaching centre in Srinagar, or a higher secondary school in Shopian, the answers to a simple question, What do you want to do in life? remain painfully predictable: Doctor, engineer, government job. This narrow band of aspiration is not because our youth lack talent, curiosity, or ambition. On the contrary, Kashmiri students consistently prove their mettle in national examinations, civil services, entrepreneurship, arts, and sports. The real gap lies elsewhere: in the absence of structured, accessible, and professional career counselling that can help young people understand who they are, what the world offers, and how to bridge the gap between the two. Today, the debate on education in the Valley largely revolves around infrastructure, syllabus, examinations, and results. Career guidance is treated as a luxury, often outsourced to a single annual career counselling session or a glossy brochure. But if we are honest, the stakes are too high for such tokenism. In a region where unemployment remains a burning concern and where decades of conflict have constrained economic options, informed career choices are not merely a personal matterthey are a social, psychological, and economic necessity. A culture of confusion masked as ambition From Class 8 onward, Kashmiri children are pushed into a race that is often poorly defined. The metrics of success are largely confined to marks in Board exams, a rank in NEET or JEE, or the secure comfort of a government post. Parents, driven by genuine concern and lived insecurity, equate stability with respectability. Teachers, overburdened and under-trained in career guidance, repeat the same formula that worked for the few. The child, caught between expectations and limited information, mistakes this tunnel vision for ambition. On paper, we speak of a knowledge economy, 21st century skills, and global opportunities. In practice, most students are unaware of thriving fields like data science, animation and design, clinical psychology, international relations, sustainable agriculture, sports management, social entrepreneurship, or even the diverse and growing avenues within vocational trades. When students do hear of these options, it is often through social media fragmentsnot through structured counselling that can match opportunity with aptitude. The result is a generation that is over-coached but under-guided. They may know how to crack multiple-choice questions, but not how to make life choices. This confusion manifests as anxiety, depression, frequent course switching, and a growing sense of failure among those who do not make it to the handful of socially approved careers. Structural barriers to informed choices To understand the urgency of career counselling in the Kashmir Valley, we must look at the structural realities that shape decisions: Beyond one-off sessions: Rethinking counselling as a system It is tempting to think that inviting an expert to address students once a year will solve the counselling problem. But effective career guidance is a process, not an event. It must be woven into the schooling system from middle school onward, evolving as students grow. A meaningful model for the Valley would include: The psychological dimension: Healing through guidance Career counselling, when done well, does not simply say, Do this course, get that job. It helps a young person answer deeper questions: What kind of life do I want? What values matter to me? What am I good at? How can I contribute to my family and society? This clarity can reduce anxiety, build resilience, and offer a sense of purpose that goes beyond marks and money. Moreover, the Valley has seen a worrying rise in mental health concerns among students, ranging from examination stress to clinical depression. Schools and colleges that invest in professional counsellors, who can handle both academic and emotional concerns, will not only produce better professionals but also healthier human beings. Technology as an enabler, not a substitute With the spread of smartphones and internet access, a new ecosystem of online career guidance platforms, webinars, and mentorship networks has emerged. For Kashmiri students, especially those in far-flung areas, these platforms can be a lifeline. They can connect with mentors across India and the world, access information on scholarships, watch career talks, and participate in virtual counselling sessions. However, technology is not a magic wand. Without local facilitationteachers who guide students to the right resources, community centres that host webinars, NGOs that curate content in Urdu or Kashmirionline opportunities can easily be lost in the noise of social media. The challenge is to blend digital possibilities with on-ground support. Role of the state, schools, and civil society Improving career counselling in the Valley cannot be left to individual effort alone. It demands coordinated action. The School Education Department and Higher Education institutions must treat career guidance as a core service, not an add-on. This means allocating budgets for counsellor posts, training programmes, and resource centres in every district. Collaboration with national bodies and universities can help develop context-specific modules for Kashmiri students. Educational institutionsgovernment and private alikeneed to go beyond boasting about toppers and selections. They should create active counselling cells, host regular interactions with professionals, track the progress of alumni in diverse fields, and open their doors to NGOs working in guidance and skill development. Kashmir University, cluster universities, and professional institutes can play a pivotal role by setting up robust career and placement cells, organising job fairs, internship drives, and soft skills training. This not only benefits their students but can also create role models who inspire schoolchildren. Local NGOs, youth clubs, and media houses can amplify positive stories of Kashmiri youth succeeding in varied fieldsjournalism, research, sports, arts, entrepreneurship, and technology. Newspapers, including this one,
Magam, Kunzer, Tangmarg See Civic Development Push
Arif Rashid Tangmarg, June 1: In a concerted effort to improve civic amenities and public infrastructure, the Municipal Committees of Magam, Kunzer and Tangmarg have launched a series of development and sanitation initiatives across their jurisdictions. The measures aim to enhance cleanliness, strengthen basic infrastructure and ensure better public services for residents ahead of the peak summer season. Executive Officer of the Municipal Committees of Magam, Kunzer and Tangmarg, Ishtiyaq Ahmad, said that extensive sanitation and development measures are underway across the three municipal areas to improve public facilities and civic infrastructure. In an interview with Rising Kashmir, Ahmad said that a large influx of visitors was witnessed in public parks and tourist destinations of Kunzer and Tangmarg during Eid-ul-Azha, placing additional responsibility on municipal authorities to maintain cleanliness and public amenities. We are collecting garbage and cleaning markets across all wards on a daily basis. The waste generated in wards and marketplaces is being scientifically segregated at designated dumping sites, Ahmad said. He added that the dumping sites of the Municipal Committees of Kunzer and Tangmarg, which had remained closed for several months due to technical issues, have now been made operational. Highlighting ongoing infrastructure projects, Ahmad said that drainage construction work in Tangmarg has reached nearly 60 percent completion and is expected to be finished within a month. He also said that several other developmental works have been initiated in Tangmarg with the support of the MLA Gulmarg constituency. Expressing gratitude to the MLA of Beerwah Assembly constituency, Ahmad said a major project has been sanctioned for Magam town. Under the project, a pathway costing Rs 2.19 crore will be constructed at the site of the old dumping ground, which has already been closed. The pathway will connect to the municipal park, and a new park is also planned at the location following approval from the Rural Local Bodies Department, Kashmir. We are also planning the construction of lanes, drains and footpaths in all wards of the Municipal Committee Magam. The project, estimated to cost around Rs 1 crore, is expected to receive approval shortly, after which work will commence, he said. Ahmad further said that the municipal authorities are preparing a road macadamisation project worth approximately Rs 50 lakh in response to numerous public requests. The proposal is awaiting approval, following which work will begin in various wards.
Migrant worker killed, 48 injured as staircase collapses during IPL screening in Nandambakkam
Pride flag hoisted amid calls for inclusion and action
Ladakh Records Significant Drop In Adult Obesity Levels: NFHS-6
Mansoor Peer Srinagar, June 1: Ladakh has witnessed a marked decline in overweight and obesity among adults over the past five years, according to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) (2023-24). The survey shows that the proportion of overweight or obese women aged 1549 years fell from 28.3 percent in NFHS-5 to 22.8 percent, while the corresponding figure for men declined sharply from 37.8 percent to 27.8 percent, reflecting an overall improvement in nutritional and health outcomes. As per the key indicators of the NFHS-6, in terms of non-communicable diseases among adults aged 15 and above, high or very high blood sugar levels (or taking medication to control it) marginally increased for both genders, standing at 6.7 percent for women and rising to 8.8 percent for men (up from 8.3 percent). As per the report, elevated blood pressure followed a mixed trend: elevated blood pressure among women rose slightly to 16.3 percent from 15.7 percent, whereas among men, it saw a minor decline to 16.5 percent from 17.4 percent. Married women participating in key household decisions jumped significantly to 93 percent from 80.4 percent. Additionally, women owning a bank or savings account they personally use rose to 95.5 percent from 88.4 percent, and mobile phone usage among women increased to 89 percent from 81.2 percent. Menstrual hygiene also improved, with 87.8 percent of young women (aged 1524) using hygienic protection methods compared to 79.1 percent previously. Conversely, the percentage of women who worked in the last 12 months and were paid in cash declined sharply to 16.2 percent from 28.3 percent. The latest fact sheet shows that 96 percent of households in Ladakh now have at least one member covered under a health insurance or financing scheme, a sharp increase from 17.1 percent recorded in NFHS-5 (2019-21). In maternal healthcare, 96.3 percent of mothers had an antenatal check-up during the first trimester compared to 85.7 percent in NFHS-5. Mothers receiving at least four antenatal care visits increased to 94.6 percent from 78.9 percent, while institutional deliveries rose to 98 percent from 95.1 percent. Births attended by skilled health personnel also improved to 99.1 percent from 97 percent. The survey recorded remarkable progress in postnatal care. Mothers receiving postnatal care within two days of delivery increased to 93 percent from 79.6 percent, while postnatal care for newborns rose to 93.1 percent from 76.7 percent. Child immunisation indicators remained among the highest in the country. Full vaccination coverage among children aged 1223 months increased to 94.1 percent from 88.2 percent. Coverage of three doses of rotavirus vaccine surged to 92.2 percent from just 10.6 percent in NFHS-5. Nearly 99 percent of children received at least one vaccine, while 98.1 percent received the first dose of measles-containing vaccine. Nutrition indicators among children also improved. Stunting among children under five years declined to 26.0 percent from 30.5 percent, wasting reduced to 10.6 percent from 17.5 percent, severe wasting fell to 5.1 percent from 9.1 percent, and underweight prevalence dropped to 14.5 percent from 20.4 percent. The proportion of overweight children under five years also declined to 6.4 percent from 13.4 percent. However, exclusive breastfeeding among children below six months declined sharply to 52.1 percent from 70.9 percent recorded in NFHS-5. The percentage of children aged 623 months receiving an adequate diet also fell to 17.4 percent from 23.1 percent, indicating continuing nutritional challenges despite improvements in other child health indicators. The survey shows that the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Ladakh stands at 1.6 children per woman, up slightly from 1.3 in NFHS-5 but still below the replacement level fertility rate. Women aged 1519 years who were already mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey stood at 0.8 percent. Family planning coverage also improved, with use of any modern method increasing to 57.1 percent from 48 percent. However, total unmet need for family planning rose marginally to 8.4 percent from 7.9 percent. The survey further noted improvement in educational and social indicators. Women with 10 or more years of schooling increased to 58.2 percent from 50 percent, while female school attendance rose to 69.3 percent. Pre-school attendance among children aged 24 years increased significantly to 46 percent from 30.4 percent.
No more in-person visits for planning approvals: Corpn.
All scrutiny must be done only online and the permits must be processed within the specified timelines, as per a circular issued by the Corporations Town Planning Department. The maximum time for approval of a planning permission application would be 27 days in cases involving queries or clarifications
New Accommodation Block Opens at Circuit House
RK News Service Srinagar, June 1: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday inaugurated the newly constructed additional accommodation block at Circuit House, Church Lane, Srinagar, aimed at enhancing hospitality infrastructure and improving facilities for visiting dignitaries and guests. The project has been executed by the Public Works (R&B) Department under the Capex budget at a cost of 781.34 lakh. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Member Legislative Assembly Lal Chowk Sheikh Ahsan Ahmad (Pardesi), Secretary Hospitality & Protocol Avny Lavasa, Director Hospitality & Protocol Ashwani Kumar and other senior officers were present on the occasion. The newly added facility is a three-storeyed structure comprising a basement, ground floor and two upper floors. The block houses 18 accommodation rooms, including 12 standard rooms and six suites, designed to provide comfortable and modern lodging facilities. The building has been equipped with several contemporary amenities, including a 13-passenger OTIS lift, central heating system, air conditioning, three linen/store rooms and a ramp facility to ensure accessibility for differently-abled persons. The accommodation units have been aesthetically designed with a blend of modern interiors and traditional Kashmiri architectural elements. The standard rooms feature wallpapered walls, carved rubberwood bed-back panels, Khatamband ceilings and laminated flooring. The suites have been furnished with premium interior finishes, including laminated wall panels, MDF slat walls, Duco-finished fittings and Khatamband ceiling work, reflecting a refined and elegant ambience. The Chief Minister inspected various sections of the newly constructed block and took a detailed tour of the facility. He appreciated the aesthetics of the building, quality of construction and the thoughtful incorporation of traditional design elements in its interiors. He observed that the enhanced accommodation facilities would further strengthen the hospitality infrastructure of Jammu and Kashmir and improve the experience of guests visiting Jammu and Kashmir.
Overloading, violation of SOPs have made Kashmirs Gondola cable car vulnerable to technical snags
Set up in 1998, Gondola has two phases of rides:one from Gulmarg to Kongdoori (10 minutes ride) and another from Kongdoori to Apharwat(12 minutes ride), with the highest point located at an altitude of 4,390 metres (14,403 feet).
Saini unveils Make in Haryana 2026 policy; eyes 5-lakh-croreinvestment,10lakhjobs
After partial collapse, push to restore Radhakrishnan heritage site
Watch: Arrest me if you want: Mamata Banerjee says TMC will protest in Kolkata
Belthangady police arrest three persons in murder case
Food Safety officials raid restaurant, case booked
Karnataka mango produce falls by 5 lakh tonnes this year due to climate extremities
Due to late mango harvest and low yield, the state level mango mela organised in Lalbagh has delayed by a month
New district and sessions court begins operation in Puttur
Industries, colleges must pay dues to Gram Panchayats: Pawan Kalyan
Empowered committee to examine tax compliance as Deputy Chief Minister flags widespread undervaluation of properties and 160-crore arrears owed to local bodies
The steel and the CBAM issues will figure prominently during the meeting between U.K. Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on June 2
Priya Ravichandran assumes office as Collector of Ranipet
The officer is also the recipient of the Presidents Award for Gallantry, the Presidents Police Medal for Meritorious Service, and the Anna Medal for Bravery
Karnataka Cyber Command cracks down on illegal betting network, blocks 8,750 betting URLs
Kohli, Bhuvneshwar and the band that believed
The veterans showed they still have enough fuel left in the tank to dominate as Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained the IPL crown with ease; Patidar, unperturbed by the expectations, scripted his own piece of history by winning back-to-back trophies
New Madurai Collector Akash assumes office
Factory output grows at slower pace of 4.9% in April, shows government data based on new series
This is the first data released after the revision of the base year to 2022-23 and the rejigging of the index constituents. The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), expanded by 5.7% in April 2025.
MSR group to establish RISM in collaboration with University of Albany, New York
India moves ahead on Rafale deal, IAF chief holds talks in France
France is expected to respond within the next two-three months, and negotiations are likely to conclude within a year in the deal estimated to be worth 3.25 lakh crore
Chief Minister Vijay promises inclusive and corruption-free government
TheTVKgovernment will never compromise on secularism, State rights, sharing of river water, or social justice, he says at a public meeting organised to thank the voters ofTiruchiEast, from where he was elected to the Assembly, besides Perambur in Chennai
ED attaches properties worth 1,000 crore in Chhattisgarh liquor scam case
Attachments include Goa hotel bought using money physically transported allegedly at the instance of ex-CM Bhupesh Baghels son, claims agency
IPL finals was taken away from us
Doctors body barred from Parliamentary panel meeting on NEET after BJP objections
UDF representatives, listed as witnesses, stopped from deposing before panel reviewing National Testing Agency amid row over neutrality
Products of PSG Products Expo to be held in Coimbatore from December 9
Ethical use of AI in cultural space to be a key area of focus at BRICS culture meetings
Varanasi is set to host 2nd Culture Working Group Meeting; Union Culture Secretary Vivek Agrawal unveils comprehensive roadmap and calendar for the 2026 BRICS Culture Track
Signpost India plans to expand network to 100 cities by FY27
FY26 revenue surges to 576 crore, PAT up 107%
Lionel Messi statue in Kolkata, found to be structurally unstable, removed over safety concerns
The move by the newly elected BJP government came after local residents alerted the authorities when the statue was seen swaying in the wind
U.K. blocks visit by two left-wing U.S. political commentators
The U.K. Home Office confirmed to The Hindu that the travel authorisations for both individuals were cancelled because their presence would not be conducive to the public good
Justice Mohammed Shaffiq directs Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police to take appropriate action on the complaint lodged against Karuppan Chetty by V. Palaniappan
Pedestrian corridor with utility ducts planned at a cost of 71.9 cr. in Tondiarpet
The project includes provision for underground ducts to carry electric cables, drinking water and sewer pipelines, and data network lines
Centre backtracking on draft agreed on May 22: Sonam Wangchuk
May 22 meeting agreed that elected representatives will have supreme powers over bureaucracy; however, the draft shown to leaders was not the same, he says
Patidar eyes a hat-trick after best birthday gift
It is the best gift. Nothing can be better than this to win the IPL for two successive years, says Patidar
BSF, BGB to hold Director General-level talks next week
First such meeting following formation of new government under Bangladesh Nationalist Party in neighbouring country and after BJP came to power in West Bengal for first time.
Mineral recovery plant inaugurated in Gummidipoondi
Disabled person held for selling liquor illegally; consumes poison after confronting police
A tourist taxi carrying seven visitors from Bengaluru and a local driver is feared to have plunged into a deep gorge along the treacherous Bairagarh-Sach Pass-Killar road in the remote Churah subdivision of Himachal Pradeshs Chamba district on the night of May 29, leaving all eight occupants feared dead
End-user public cloud spending in India to surpass $17 billion in 2026
Gartner predicts that by 2030, over 60% of enterprises will perform intensive AI model activity in one cloud but leverage it with their data in another, up from less than 10% today
Meeting with Rahul for final call on cabinet formation today
Lobbying for ministerial berths reaches crescedo as most leaders camp in Delhi
The plea sought the top courts intervention to address existing gaps in the functioning of these oversight bodies and ensure meaningful protection of disability rights across India
Snap a Reel at the Airport? You Could End Up Grounded for Good
Gangtok, June 01 : Indias aviation regulator has drawn a hard line on terminal filming, and the worst offenders could lose the right to fly [] The post Snap a Reel at the Airport? You Could End Up Grounded for Good appeared first on The Voice Of Sikkim .
Couple held for murdering daughter
Watch: What is changing for UPI and LPG from June 1, 2026? Everything to know
June 1, 2026, brings several important changes that could affect your daily finances, digital payments and household expenses.
World Veg Council welcomes cow slaughter ban in T.N.
Man stabs wife to death during quarrel over theft case
Free eye checkup camp to be held in Saidapet
Release of 14 abducted Kukis cancelled after protests in Manipur
The United Naga Council had issued a statement earlier in the day, proposing the release of the 14 hostages at 2 p.m. on June 1, 2026
Residents of Tambaram Corporation shocked by arbitrary revision of water tax
Tambaram City Municipal Corporation has been levying water charges of 50.50 per month, but from April this year, the Corporation, without any prior intimation to consumers, has revised the charges to 150.50 per month
Twelve years of dedication, a legacy of achievement
The fact that Narendra Modis Prime Ministership and his government have been in place for 12 years is a direct indication of the publics steadfast faith in him
Steps to be taken to pass Act to check honour killing, says Vanni Arasu
Watch: Supreme Court refuses CBT mode for NEET-UG 2026 re-test
The Supreme Court of India has declined to direct the National Testing Agency to conduct the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination in a computer-based test (CBT) format, observing that changing the mode at this stage would create practical difficulties.
TARATDAC asks for installation of tactile flooring in govt. offices
District administration takes elaborate preventive measures to mitigate natural disasters, says DC
Incident commanders are appointed in urban and rural local bodies to respond to emergencies and be in regular touch with district control room
Trinamool MLAs facing threats, not being allowed to attend party meetings: Mamata
The statement comes a day after only one fourth of MLAs showed up at a party meeting which led to the event being called off
Watch: Iran suspends talks as Israel widens Lebanon offensive | Above the Fold | 01.06.2026
From West Bengals cabinet expansion to while Israels military pushes deeper into Lebanon amid ceasefire talks, we look at the major stories of the day. We also look at key changes to UPI and LPG distribution, the hostage crisis in Manipur, the start of SIR enumeration in four States, and actor-turned-politician Vijays first major public address.
Six refugees who went illegally by boat from T.N. to Sri Lanka arrested
NMDCs May iron ore output 20% up, sales lower
388 cells on 2 floors, this cemetery beats the space crunch in Vallakkunnu
Close call as roof of building on school campus in Kerala capital collapses
Structure in the compound of Central High School, Attakulangara, housed district project office of Samagra Shiksha Kerala. No casualties were reported in accident that occurred on Monday evening
Farmers stage protest demanding cooperative crop loans waiver
Traffic diversion for CMs event leave commuters stranded in Tiruchi
Many had walk long distance as buses were diverted or stopped midway; students, women and daily wage-earners bear the brunt as police divert vehicles as part of security arrangement
Suzlon shares tank 6% after SEBI penalty
Kodaikanal Summer Festival, Flower Show draws tourists from far and near
