Vatican City, Sep 17 (IANS) In a moment of spiritual diplomacy and global goodwill, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV extended his blessings to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of his 75th birthday.The gesture took place during the weekly Papal Audience at St Peter’s Square, where over 30,000 pilgrims and visitors gathered to receive teachings and blessings from the head of the Catholic Church. The Papal Audience, held every Wednesday, is a revered tradition where the Pope addresses…

New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Former India captain and talismanic batter Virat Kohli has extended his best wishes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 75th birthday. In his social media post, Kohli also praised the Prime Minister for his efforts for the nation that PM Modi has put in, which “have put India on a very high pedestal among all the countries of the world”.”Wishing our honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji a very happy birthday with the warmest wishes. May God bless you with go…

Kolkata, Sep 17 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Wednesday, observed that the decision by a group of industrialists to approach the Calcutta High Court against the decision of the state government to revoke an industry incentive scheme in the state was inevitable.The said scheme, meant for offering incentives by the state government, was introduced in the financial year 2001-02 by the previous Left Front government under the leadership of former West …

Srinagar, Sep 17 (IANS) Former Chairman of Hurriyat conference and senior separatist leader, Abdul Gani Bhat passed away on Wednesday at his home in Botingoo village of Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir. Family sources confirmed that Prof Bhat, a resident of Botingoo village in Sopore area of Baramulla district, breathed his last at his residence after a brief illness today evening.A prominent political figure, he remained active in Kashmir’s separatist politics for several decades. According to the…

Gandhinagar, Sep 17 (IANS) The Gujarat government has introduced satellite image–based verification and digital crop surveys for registrations under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme for groundnut procurement. During the verification, less than 10 per cent of the registered survey numbers were found without groundnut cultivation. Farmers linked to such plots have been notified via SMS.Officials clarified that these messages should not cause panic. Farmers who have indeed sown groundnut on…

New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) On the final day of the Combined Commanders’ Conference (CCC) 2025 on Wednesday, a decision by all the Chiefs and Commanders for merging of education branches of the three services to form a single Tri Services Education Corps was announced.The decision on the formation of three Joint Military Stations was also announced.Additionally, CDS Gen Anil Chauhan also reviewed the directions given by PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed the roadmap o…

Siddhpur (Gujarat), Sep 17 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the Matrushri Heeraba Sarovar, a newly built reservoir at Matrugaya Tirth in Siddhpur, dedicated to the late Heeraba Modi, mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of the PM’s 75th birthday. The project has been developed under the state’s Narmada, Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpasar Department with support from Dholaakia Foundation’s Fuliba Trust as part of the Saraswati River rejuve…

Patna, Sep 17 (IANS) In a bid to make voting more transparent and voter-friendly, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has amended its guidelines under Rule 49B of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, introducing a new design for EVM ballot papers.According to the ECI’s notification issued on Wednesday, EVM ballot papers will now feature colour photographs of candidates, with their faces covering three-fourths of the image area for easy recognition.Candidates’ names will be printed in bold …

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Sep 17 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday that the government will provide financial support to beloved sisters (beneficiaries under the Ladki Bahin Yojana) in every village by providing them with an interest-free loan of Rs 1 lakh through the district central cooperative banks He added that with this initiative, they will be self-reliant through business.The CM announced the state government’s resolve to make 1 crore beloved sister…

Chandigarh, Sep 17 (IANS) Punjab Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Wednesday said the devastating floods have caused extensive damage to 4,658 km of roads and 68 bridges in the state.Presiding over the review meeting regarding the assessment of losses, he said under Plan Roads, 19 bridges and 1,592.76 km roads have been damaged along with R-walls and B-walls measuring 4,014.11 metres and 92 culverts. Similarly, under the National Highways, four bridges and 49.69 km of roads have been …