New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) As part of the ongoing celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Ministry of Textiles has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women handloom weavers through various central sector schemes. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita shared that over 14,000 women weavers have been trained under the SAMARTH scheme across the country in the past three financial years (2022-23 to 2024-25).The Ministry is implementi…

Bhubaneswar, Aug 8 (IANS) The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday sharply criticised the state government, accusing it of showing complete neglect toward the agriculture sector over the past year. Addressing a press conference on Friday, BJD leaders alleged that none of the promises made to farmers have been fulfilled. They accused the government of acting against the interests of the farming community.The party claimed that the growth rate of the agriculture sector has sharply declined -…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Union Cabinet on Friday approved four new components under the existing Central Sector Scheme of Special Development Packages (SDPs) for Assam and Tripura with a total outlay of Rs 4,250 crore.According to a Cabinet statement, Rs 500 crore will be given for the development of infrastructure in Adivasi-inhabited villages/areas of Assam as per the Memoranda of Settlement (MoS) signed by the Central government and the Assam government with the Adivasi groups of Assam.Thr…

Chengdu (China), Aug 8 (IANS) India’s campaign in the mixed team compound archery event at the World Games 2025 came to an end in the quarterfinals here on Friday, as Madhura Dhamangaonkar and Abhishek Verma suffered a narrow loss to the South Korean duo of Moon Yeeun and Lee Eun Ho. The top-seeded Indian pair, who topped the qualification round with a score of 1415 to be seeded first, went down 151-154 against the eighth-seeded Korean duo, ending India’s hopes of repeating their success fro…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Liverpool head coach Arne Slot refused to comment on Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak after the Swedish striker was linked with the Merseyside club. As per reports, Liverpool made an offer in the region of 110 million Pounds but their approach was instantly turned down by Newcastle United who are said to be looking for close to 150 million Pounds. At the moment, Liverpool have seemed to backed off but with Luis Diaz having joined Bayern and Darwin Nunez rumoured to…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) A total of 224 cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) — a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes — have been reported from 11 states in 2025, the government informed the Parliament on Friday.In a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha, Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, shared the number of recorded cases of encephalitis — inflammation of the brain, often due to bacterial or viral infection — in the country during the last five years.C…

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS) Veteran actress Lillete Dubey took to social media to mark National Handloom Day, sharing her deep-rooted love for handlooms. In a recent post on Instagram, the ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ actress reminisced about her college days in Delhi when she first fell in love with sarees from across India. Calling herself a lifelong handloom enthusiast, the actress paid a heartfelt tribute to the country’s weavers and celebrated the timeless beauty of India’s textile heritage. Lillete poste…

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS) In the upcoming episode of ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ season 3, host Kapil Sharma celebrates Raksha Bandhan with a special guest lineup featuring sibling duos Shilpa and Shamita Shetty and Huma Qureshi and Saqib Saleem. The episode promises laughter and light-hearted banter as the stars share fun family moments, playful secrets, and engage in witty exchanges with Kapil. In a new promo, Shilpa brings full-on matchmaker vibes as she appears with her sister Shamita, dete…

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS) Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey has opened up about the unpredictable weather conditions that have tested the cast and crew during the shoot of “Special Ops 2.” In an interview with IANS, the director revealed that the team has had to constantly adapt to changing weather, making last-minute decisions to shuffle schedules and switch locations — all while racing against time to stay on track. Pandey also spoke about dealing with sudden rain and shifting schedules, saying that th…

Jerusalem, Aug 8 (IANS) Opposition leaders have criticised Israel cabinet’s approval of plan to occupy Gaza City, terming it a “disaster that will lead to many more disasters” and that will result in the deaths of Israeli hostages and soldiers. Opposition leader Yair Lapid termed cabinet’s decision “a disaster that will lead to more disasters.” He stated that Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich “dragged” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…