Kolkata, Aug 5 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, reiterated her allegation that the BJP-led Union government wants to impose the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal through Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. “A plan to slap NRC is being hatched in the name of conducting SIR. Ensure that your name is on the voter’s list. Every individual must have his name on the voter’s list. If anyone’s name is excluded, then br…

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 5 (IANS) Kerala’s Education Minister V. Sivankutty has initiated steps to set up a committee of experts to identify the most suitable model for the state’s education system — one that may include eliminating the concept of “backbenchers” from school classrooms.Taking to his social media handle, Sivankutty wrote: “I wish to eliminate the concept of ‘backbenchers’ from our school classrooms. This idea can negatively affect a student’s confidence and learning.”The …

Mumbai, Aug 5 (IANS) The Maharashtra government on Tuesday, in a minor reshuffle, transferred five bureaucrats. Tukaram Mundhe (IAS: RR: 2005), Development Commissioner (Un-organised Labour), Mumbai, has been posted as Secretary, Divyang Kalyan Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai.Nitin Kashinath Patil (IAS: SCS: 2007), Managing Director, Maharashtra State Cotton Growers Marketing Federation, Mumbai, has been appointed as Special Commissioner, State Tax, Maharashtra, Mumbai.Abhay Mahajan (IAS: NON-SCS…

Hyderabad, Aug 5 (IANS) Upset over being denied a Cabinet berth, Telangana Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy said on Tuesday that he is once again ready for a “sacrifice” for the people of his constituency.The MLA from Munugode in Nalgonda district said that he was promised a Cabinet berth when he returned to the Congress in 2023. He, however, claimed that he was not running for any position.Rajagopal Reddy, who is the brother of Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, said…

Bhubaneswar, Aug 5 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday advised the officials of the state forest department to show empathy towards tribals and other local people during the enforcement of various forest protection rules. While speaking at the conference of Divisional Forest Officers (DFO) here on Tuesday, CM Mohan Charan Majhi said one-fourth of our population belongs to various tribal communities.They primarily reside in the forest and its surrounding areas. It is the mo…

Washington/New York, Aug 5 (IANS) US President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday morning that he will impose higher tariffs on India in the next 24 hours for buying Russian oil and reselling products abroad, even though he asserted New Delhi was going to offer zero tariffs.Trump, who announced a 25 per cent tariff on India last week, told CNBC: “I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil.””India went from the highest tariffs ever (t…

Mumbai, Aug 5 (IANS) As India observes the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Shiv Sena-UBT leader and MLA Aditya Thackeray on Tuesday said that while the removal of the constitutional provision was a necessary and proud step, the promised restoration of statehood remains unfulfilled. “Removing Article 370 was a necessary step, and we are proud of it. But the statehood that was to be granted after this has not y…

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has strongly refuted recent media claims suggesting a closed-door meeting between Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Udaipur Files producer Amit Jani. The PIB, through its official fact-checking handle on August 5, labelled the claim as “Fake News” and clarified that no such meeting ever took place.”Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw has not held any such meeting,” the…

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held a meeting with German MP Jurgen Hardt in New Delhi on Tuesday, discussing bilateral cooperation and various other global developments. In a post shared on X, EAM Jaishankar stated, “Always nice to catch up with German MP Jurgen Hardt. Discussed our bilateral cooperation and global developments.”In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada’s Kananaski…

Bhopal, Aug 5 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate seized incriminating documents related to benami companies and properties during a search on the premises of a company, Advantage Overseas Pvt. Ltd, in a Rs 1,266 crore bank fraud case, an official said on Tuesday. The Bhopal Zonal Office conducted search operations in the case of Advantage Overseas Pvt. Ltd. (AOPL) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.The search operation led to the recovery of substantial i…