Chennai, Aug 5 (IANS) Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad on Monday hailed Union Home Minister Amit Shah as the “modern Iron Man” of Gujarat, crediting him with playing a pivotal role in shaping the BJP into the world’s largest political organisation and strengthening India’s internal security framework. Describing Shah as a resilient and visionary leader, Prasad said his political journey – from facing politically motivated legal challenges to becoming the longest-serving Home Min…

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) As sudden cloudburst triggered massive mudslides and landslides in Harshil, Uttarakhand on Tuesday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is on high alert and ready to join the ongoing rescue operations being carried out by the Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). IAF sources confirmed to IANS that helicopters from three major airbases – Chandigarh, Sarsawa, and Bareilly – have been placed on standby for aerial rescue and suppl…

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), on Tuesday, filed an application before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to release details of nearly 65 lakh voters whose names were omitted in the recently published draft electoral rolls in Bihar. In a bid to enable political parties, general public and the petitioners to cross check and verify the draft electoral rolls, the plea demanded the ECI to release constituency and boo…

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) In the run-up to the crucial hearing in the Supreme Court, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday urged the Centre to duly utilise the water of the Chenab river to resolve the long-pending water dispute with Haryana by shelving the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue. Taking part in deliberations at a meeting called by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil over the issue of the SYL canal amidst the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Mann said a…

Amaravati, Aug 5 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh will implement the P4 initiative, aimed at eradicating poverty, from August 19, and the state will achieve its zero poverty goal by 2029, said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday. He is confident that AP’s P4 model will become a benchmark for the nation. He conducted a video conference from the Secretariat to review the programme with MLAs, public representatives, and government officials.The Chief Minister revealed that so far, 9,37,913 Bangar…

Bengaluru, Aug 5 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President, D.K. Shivakumar, said on Tuesday that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and he had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Yellow Metro Line in Bengaluru. Shivakumar, who is also the Minister for Bengaluru Urban Development, inspected the Metro Yellow Line earlier in the day. He spoke to the media during this visit.Earlier, no representative from the state government attended the inauguration of the …

Kolkata, Aug 5 (IANS) The Border Security Force (BSF) arrested two smugglers and seized gold worth over Rs 1 crore from them along the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB) in the Nadia district of West Bengal on Tuesday. “Troops of the 11 Bn BSF of the South Bengal Frontier, posted at the Vijaymath Border Out Post, acted on reliable intelligence inputs and nabbed the smugglers travelling by bus from Karimpur to Krishnanagar. The gold was cleverly hidden in their slippers,” a senior BSF official said. A …

Mumbai, Aug 5 (IANS) Maharashtra Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday approved the revised policy for extending the lease period of commercial use of surplus lands of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), which operates state transport buses across the state. According to the revised policy, the lease period of the MSRTC’s surplus lands has now been increased from 60 years to 98 years in two phases of 49 years.Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had…

Gandhinagar, Aug 5 (IANS) The 20th edition of the Pharma & Labtech Expo 2025 was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Helipad Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, in the presence of State Health Minister Rishikesh Patel. The three-day event brings together industry leaders, innovators, and stakeholders from across India’s thriving pharmaceutical and laboratory technology sectors. Spread across 25,000 square metres, the mega exhibition features over 400 exhib…

Chandigarh, Aug 5 (IANS) From January 1 to July 31 this year, Haryana’s gender ratio improved to 907, up from 899 during the corresponding period last year. This fact came to light on Tuesday at the weekly meeting of the State Task Force (STF) for Improving Sex Ratio held under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Sudhir Rajpal here.The meeting focussed on intensifying efforts to curb illegal abortions and further improve the state’s sex ratio under the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti…