Ahmedabad, Aug 29 (IANS) On the occasion of National Sports Day, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, on Friday, felicitated more than 20 sportspersons and coaches for their achievements in various disciplines at a special ceremony organised by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Gujarat (SJAG) at Karnavati Club in Ahmedabad. Olympic gold medallist and Padma Shri awardee Mirabai Chanu attended the event as a guest of honour, inspiring athletes with her presence.Speaking on the occasion, CM…

Raipur, Aug 29 (IANS) A legal issue is brewing in Chhattisgarh over the recent expansion of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s cabinet, which now includes 14 ministers. A public interest petition challenging the move was heard on Friday by a division bench of the High Court led by Chief Justice Ramesh Kumar Sinha and Justice Bibhu Dutt Guru.The court has asked the petitioner, Basdev Chakrabarty, to furnish details of his social work and background, etc. However, the bench has also asked the state…

Ranchi, Aug 29 (IANS) A special CBI court in Ranchi on Friday convicted former Jharkhand Minister Enos Ekka, his wife Menon Ekka, and seven others, including senior government officials, for their involvement in large-scale violations of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT Act) through fraudulent land purchases and sales.Soon after the judgment, all nine convicts were taken into judicial custody. The court has fixed Saturday for the pronouncement of the quantum of sentence.Ekka, a tribal leader fro…

Agartala, Aug 29 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, on Friday, condemned the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav for ‘facilitating’ abusive and offensive sloganeering against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late mother Heeraben Modi during the Mahagathbandhan’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar’s Darbhanga. After inaugurating the Vivekananda township projects at Kaman Chowmuhani in the heart of capital city Agartala, a furious Chief…

Mumbai, Aug 29 (IANS) The Maharashtra government on Friday signed 17 MoUs for the proposed investment of Rs 34,000 crore, which will generate 33,483 jobs. These MoUs were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Industries Minister Uday Samant. The investment includes sectors, including electronics, steel, solar, electric buses and trucks, defence and related industries. The MoUs have been signed for investment in North Maharashtra, Pune, Vidarbha and Konkan.“The governme…

New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) Aiming to outline priorities for the next phase of Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G), Minister of Jal Shakti C.R. Patil will lead a brainstorming session on September 1 with 17 state ministers in-charge of rural sanitation, an official said on Friday.The “Roundtable Conference on Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) Progress and Brainstorming on SBM-G Next Phase” planned by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) shall review the achievements and …

Bengaluru, Aug 29 (IANS) Amid controversy over Dharmsthala and Chamundi hills in the state, the Karnataka BJP on Friday said that the Congress government was “bending” traditions for appeasement politics. Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, R. Ashoka, claimed that the Congress government knew that selecting International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq for inaugurating Dusshera festivities would stir controversy and hurt religious sentiments.However, the state government still made …

Guwahati, Aug 29 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the newly constructed ‘Brahmaputra Wing’ of Raj Bhavan in Guwahati on Friday, marking a significant milestone in the architectural and administrative progress of the state’s seat of governance. The ceremony was attended by several distinguished dignitaries, including the Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Punjab Governor G…

New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) India’s GDP growth accelerated to a robust 7.8 per cent in the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year compared to the growth of 6.5 per cent during same quarter of FY 2024-25, official figures released by the Ministry of Statistics showed on Friday.The agriculture sector bounced back with a strong growth rate of 3.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2025-26, as compared to the growth rate of 1.5 per cent registered in the first quarter of the last fina…

Manali, Aug 29 (IANS) The decades-old alternate least-maintained road link to this picturesque tourist resort in Himachal Pradesh with a heritage tag via the left bank of the Beas river is coming to the rescue of people whenever the mighty river washes away a major portion of the national highway, which falls on the river’s right side, especially in monsoon floods. Locals say the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should strengthen the left bank road on priority by making it a double la…