New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde on Sunday said that preparations for the upcoming municipal elections, referring to the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, have been intensified with party branch heads playing a pivotal role.Addressing a meeting of all branch heads and office bearers in Mumbai, Shinde underscored that the grassroots leadership of the party forms its backbone and will be central in ensuring v…

New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan at the ‘Vice-President’s Enclave’ here.“Called on Vice President Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji and had an insightful discussion with him on a wide range of subjects,” PM Modi said on X.Similarly, the newly elected Vice President expressed his happiness, after meeting the PM.“Delighted to meet our Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji today at Vice-President’s Enclave, New Delhi,” th…

Karur, Sep 28 (IANS) What was meant to be a night of excitement ended in unspeakable grief for two young lives in Tamil Nadu’s Karur. Among the 40 victims of the stampede that broke out during Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader and actor Vijay’s political rally on Saturday night were childhood sweethearts and soon-to-be-engaged couple, M. Akash (26) and S. Gokulasri (26).Akash, an IT professional, and Gokulasri, a guest lecturer at the Valluvar College of Science and Management, were planning…

Raipur, Sep 28 (IANS) In a major breakthrough for security forces, top Maoist commander Shravan Madkam, alias Vishwanath a.k.a. Budhram Punem, was killed in an on-going encounter between Maoists and police forces in the Tiarpani forests of Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district.The operation, which began on Sunday, is being jointly conducted by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel. Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elisela confirmed the death of Shravan, who se…

New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) As many as 27 collaborative agreements have been signed with an investment potential of over Rs 66,000 crore in India’s maritime and shipbuilding sector between public and private sector stakeholders, state governments, and international partners, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.With their collective industrial, socio-economic, and strategic impact, these projects are set to re-position India as a leading global maritime and shipbuilding hub in the …

Guwahati, Sep 28 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Sunday, appealed for political restraint in the wake of cultural icon Zubeen Garg’s untimely death, stressing that the matter should not be exploited for personal or political mileage at a time when the state is still reeling with grief. Speaking to the reporters here, Chief Minister Sarma said the entire state was emotionally affected by Garg’s passing, and any attempt to politicise the issue would only deepen the wounds.”At a…

Chennai, Sep 28 (IANS) Former Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai, on Sunday, demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the Karur rally stampede that killed 40 people, alleging serious lapses by the state police and local administration. Speaking to reporters after visiting the affected families, Annamalai said that the tragedy could have been averted with better planning and security deployment.”It is not (TVK Chief) Vijay’s fault. It is for the state police and intelligen…

New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) On a cold Friday in March 1806, within the halls of the British House of Commons, a seemingly technical debate unfolded regarding shipping statistics and commercial regulations. To the parliamentarians present, it was a question of national interest, of profits, and of the proper management of their “immense eastern dominion”. To us in India, whose land, labour, and resources were the subject of this distant deliberation, the debate was something else entirely.It was a s…

Bokaro, Sep 28 (IANS) Four contractual workers sustained serious burn injuries on Sunday as fire broke out at Jharkhand’s Bokaro Steel Plant, officials said. The incident occurred when fire broke out in the Steel Melting Shop-2 (SMS-2) of the steel plant earlier in the afternoon.The injured persons have been identified as Ranjit Mahata, Brajesh Mahata, Omprakash Mahali and Praveen Kumar.Sources said that after the incident, all the injured were first taken to the plant medical unit, where after …

New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) NAVYA, an initiative aimed at empowering adolescent girls through vocational training in emerging sectors, is currently being piloted in 9 districts across 9 states, the government said on Sunday.These districts have been identified as ’aspirational’ by the NITI Aayog and span Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Himachal Pradesh.The programme aims to prepare these adolescent girls for jobs in emerging sectors …