Uddhav Thackeray takes oath as Maharashtra CM

Shiv Sena Chief and Maha Vikas Aghadi nominee Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He is the 29th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He was named as the leader of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance called the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’. Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to Thackeray at Shivaji Park, Dadar in Central Mumbai. He is the first Thackeray family member to become Maharashtra’s CM. The alliance is yet to decide the candidate for the Deputy CM post.

Read More

SC stays Maharashtra Government's 10% reservation to EWS

Supreme Court today stayed Maharashtra Government's order on 10% reservation to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category students in PG medical admissions this year in the state. The Supreme Court said that "At this stage, the State can act under the enabling provisions and introduce reservation but unless additional seats are created by Medical Council of India,  the existing seats cannot be subjected to the EWS reservation amendment.

Earlier on Monday, Supreme Court had asked the Maharashtra government to apprise it of the status of admissions for PG medical and dental courses under 10 per cent quota for students belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS) across all classes.

Read More

Vidarbha wins Ranji Trophy 2017-18

Vidarbha cricket team has created history by winning the Ranji Trophy tournament 2017-18 with a thumping 9-wicket win over Delhi at the Holkar stadium in Indore on the 4th and penultimate day of their final on January 1, 2018. It is Vidarbha’s first Ranji Trophy title. 

The Faiz Fazal-led side beat Delhi by nine wickets to win their maiden Ranji Trophy title. There were several players who stood out for Vidarbha at various stages in the final - in both batting and bowling. After conceding a 252-run first innings lead, Delhi were bowled out for 280 in their second innings, setting a target of merely 29 runs for Vidarbha. Vidarbha lost only one wicket and took only five overs to chase down the target which gave them their first Ranji Trophy title. Rajneesh Gurbani’s 6 for 59, including a hat-trick and a century from Akshay Wadkar were the key moments in Vidarbha scripting a fairytale run.

Read More

MP, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana reach ODF milestone

Five more States viz., Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Haryana have reached the milestone of making all cities and towns ‘Open Defecation Free(ODF)’ as the Swacch Bharat Mission completed three years today. This was announced by the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri while speaking at a programme here today on the occasion of the third anniversary of the mission.  Giving an account of the progress towards Swacchata in urban areas of the country, Shri Puri informed that as against the target of building about 66 lakh individual household toilets in urban areas, 38 lakh toilets have already been built and construction of another 14 lakh toilets is in progress. Over two lakh community and public toilet seats have been built as against the mission target of five lakh toilet seats. 

Stating that focus in now being laid on Solid Waste Management, Shri Puri said that efforts are on to generate over 500 MW of electricity and over 50 lakh tons of compost from municipal solid waste to enable processing of the entire solid waste being generated in urban areas.  Shri Puri said that sanitation is a birth right and individual responsibility as well. He informed that the fortnight long ‘Swacchata Hi Sewa’ campaign concluding today has witnessed participation of over 80 lakh people spread over 3.50 lakh activities in urban areas.  The Minister stressed on the need for ‘life style change’ to realise the objective of Swacch Bharat as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. 

Read More

Veteran actor Tom Alter dies at 67

Padma Shri awardee and veteran theatre, film and television actor Tom Alter has passed away on 29 September 2017 at his residence in Mumbai. He was 67. Indian actor of American descent, Alter was the son of American missionary parents. He was born in 1950 in Mussoorie. He studied at Woodstock School in Mussoorie and later at Pune's Film and Television Institute. The actor appeared in over 300 films which included Satyajit Ray's acclaimed movie "Shatranj Ke Khiladi" and "Junoon". His first Hindi film to be released was Ramanand Sagar's Charas in 1976. His acting credits also include "Aashiqui", "Parinda", "Sardar Patel" and "Gandhi".

Read More

President Kovind visits Deekshabhoomi

President Ram Nath Kovind on 22nd September visited Deekshabhoomi to pay respects to Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in Nagpur, Maharashtra.  He was accompanied by Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, State’s Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Mayor Nanda Jichkar. President will inaugurate a Vipassana Meditation Centre at Dragon Palace temple in Kamptee. He will also attend a special Buddha Vandana at the temple. The President will also inaugurate Suresh Bhat Auditorium in the afternoon at Nagpur.

Read More

PM Modi, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe lay foundation stone of Bullet train

PM Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe jointly laid the foundation stone for the high-speed bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai on 14th September 2017.  The train will cover a distance of over 500 km in around two hours. The project is expected to be completed by 2022. Japan has extended a soft loan for the ambitious project conceptualised by Mr Modi. The two leaders also laid foundation stone for the dedicated High Speed Rail Training Institute for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train to be established inside the existing campus for the National Academy of Indian Railways at Vadodara. 

The two leaders will also hold the 12th Indo-Japan annual Summit meeting at Gandhinagar today after which agreements will be signed. Gujarat chief secretary JN Singh said 15 agreements will be signed for investments in the state during the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister. Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Modi held an 8-km road show with his Mr Abe and his wife in Ahmedabad. The road show, which began from Ahmedabad airport ended at the Sabarmati Ashram. The road show, designed to showcase India's cultural diversity, saw artistes from several states performing on 28 stages erected by the roadside.

Read More

PowerTex India

Government has launched PowerTex India, a comprehensive scheme for powerloom sector development, simultaneously at over 45 locations in the country. Launching the scheme in Bhiwandi, Thane district, Maharashtra, the Union Textiles Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani said that Bhiwandi will be known for resurgence in Powerloom sector. Recalling that the powerloom sector alone employs over 44 lakh people, the Minister said that the scheme will especially benefit small powerloom weavers.

The comprehensive scheme has the following components:

• In-situ Upgradation of Plain Powerlooms
• Group Workshed Scheme (GWS)
• Yarn Bank Scheme
• Common Facility Centre (CFC)
• Pradhan Mantri Credit Scheme for Powerloom Weavers
• Solar Energy Scheme for Powerlooms
• Facilitation, IT, Awareness, Market Development and Publicity for Powerloom Schemes
• Tex Venture Capital Fund
• Grant-in-Aid and Modernisation & Upgradation of Powerloom Service Centres (PSCs)

Read More

Hand in Hand 2016, Indo China Joint Military Exercise

An opening ceremony of the sixth India China Joint Training Exercise “Hand – in – Hand 2016” was held at the parade ground in Aundh Military Camp, Pune today. Maj Gen Y K Joshi, Additional Director General of Military Operations of Indian Army and Maj Gen Wang Haijiang of the People’s Liberation Army and other senior army officers of both the countries were present. The parade was commanded by Lt Col Li Guanghua, Commanding Officer of People’s Liberation Army. Both the senior military officers addressed the contingents before Maj Gen Wang Haijiang of Chinese Army declared the Joint Exercise open. The aim of the joint exercise is to acquaint both the Armies with each other’s operating procedures in the backdrop of counter terrorism environment. 

The Opening Ceremony was followed by both the contingents displaying their weapons which included assault rifles, grenade launchers and other sophisticated equipment. The Ceremony concluded with an enthralling and mesmerising display of India martial arts of Kalyaripattu, Khukri dance and Malkhamb by soldiers of Indian Army and a massed martial arts display by the Chinese contingent. The exercise will terminate on 27 Nov 2016. 

Earlier on 15 November, the Chinese contingent from the 13 Group Army, Chengdu Military Region comprising of one Infantry Company along with supporting staff landed at the Lohegaon airfield in two IL- 76 Aircrafts from China. The 13 day schedule is focused upon training on crossing of obstacles, special heliborne operations, firing of various weapons, handling & neutralization of improvised explosive devices and conduct of cordon & search operations in insurgency and terrorism environment. 

Read More

Germany’s KfW to give 500 million Euro loan to Nagpur Metro

German Government’s Development Bank KfW will provide a loan assistance of EUR 500 million (about Rs.3,750 cr) for the modern and sustainable metro system for Nagpur city being executed by Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRCL). An agreement in this regard was signed today in New Delhi by the Department of Economic Affairs and KfW. Shri S.Selvaraj, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Shri Roland Siller, Director General of KfW. 

The loan period is 20 years with a moratorium of five years and disbursal will be based on the progress of the project over three years.  Costing Rs.8,680 cr (EUR 1,240 million), Nagpur Metro is the first metro to be financed under the Indo German partnership for clean, socially inclusive and climate friendly mobility for people in cities.  German Ambassador Dr.Martin Ney, OSD (Urban Transport) in the Ministry of Urban Development Shri Mukund Sinha, Managing Director of Nagpur Metro Shri Brijesh Dixit and others were present on the occasion of signing of agreement. 

Read More

Actress Sadhana passes away

Veteran actress Sadhana Shivdasani passes away at Hinduja hospital, Mumbai. She was 74. Sadhana Shivdasani, she was one of the top actors of the 1960s and 70s. She is remembered for her roles in blockbusters like Love in Simla, Hum Dono and Arzoo including evergreen musical hits Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar (Hum Dono), Jhumka Gira Re (Mera Saaya). However, it was the Sadhana cut, a hair style first fashioned by her in the early 1960s, that made her name a part of popular Indian culture.
Born in a Sindhi family in Karachi, British India, Shivdasani was named after her father's favorite actress-dancer Sadhana Bose. Her father was the brother of actor Hari Shivdasani, father of actress Babita. The family fled from Karachi during the post-Partition riots and settled in Mumbai. Her mother home-schooled her until she was 8 years old after which she studied at Auxilium Convent, Wadala and Jai Hind College.

Read More

Japan to help set up Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail link

India and Japan on Saturday signed an agreement to set up a high speed rail corridor in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector with a Japanese loan of $12 billion on very easy terms. "No less historic is our decision to introduce high speed rail on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector through the Japan's Shinkansen, known for its speed, reliability and safety," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a joint press conference with his visiting Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe after delegation level talks between the two sides. "We greatly appreciate Prime Minister Abe's extraordinary package of approximately $12 billion and technical assistance, on very easy terms, for this project," he said.

Read More

George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology, Goa

George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology: 

• Konkan Railway would establish first-of-kind tunnel technology institute at Goa’s Margao town, as announced by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 19 October 2015. 
• The proposed tunnel technology institute will be named as ‘George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology’, after former Railway Minister George Fernandes. Fernandes is said to be the driving force behind the Konkan Railway. 
• The institute will be established to enable training for the technology hitherto unavailable in the country. This will be the first such institute in India. 
• The objectives of the institute would be a depository of knowledge, experience and data for tunnels and underground structures, to provide training of tunnel technology and consultancy services for tunnels and underground construction.
• The training imparted at the institute would be specially adapted to suit the geology of Indian subcontinent.

Read More

Supreme Court allows dance bars to reopen in Maharashtra

Supreme Court allows dance bars to reopen in Maharashtra which was banned  under controversial law in Maharashtra, which provided employment to thousands of women, was put on hold by the Supreme Court today. However, the court did give power to licensing authorities to regulate indecent dance performances. It said that the state must ensure that the dignity of women artists is protected. 

Maharashtra's law - that banned dance performances -- was very similar to a previous law that was declared unconstitutional by the apex court, said a bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant. The apex court had, in 2009, struck down a similar law saying that banning dance performances was unconstitutional. After that, the state government passed another law in 2014 with similar provisions. 

Read More

Death sentence to 5 convicts in 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts

The MCOCA court in Mumbai today awarded capital punishment to five of the 12 convicts involved in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts. These five were convicted for planting the bombs. The remaining seven convicts were awarded life imprisonment. A look at the timeline of 7/11 mumbai train blasts case in this report. On 11 July, 2006, seven RDX bombs rip first class compartments of Mumbai local trains between Churchgate & Bhayander station in a span of 11 minutes. Over 185 people died while over 800 were injured.

Read More

Marathi film 'Court' is India's entry for Oscars 2016

Marathi film 'Court'  is India's official entry for the Oscars 2016. Filmed on a shoestring budget of Rs 3.5 crore, debutant director Chaitanya Tamhane's film will now represent the country in the Best Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards. The winner will be announced in February 2016. Court, which stars a mostly unknown cast other than Marathi stage veteran Geetanjali Kulkarni and Vivek Gomber, was tipped to be the favourite in the Oscar race, with fellow Marathi film Killa and Cannes hit Masaan. Rumour has it that there was strong lobbying from Bollywood producers for Vishal Bhardwaj's Haider, Rajkumar Hirani's PK, Anurag Kashyap's Ugly and the sports biopic Mary Kom. The jury also reportedly watched Tamil-Telugu blockbuster Baahubali.

An elated Chaitanya Tamhane, who debuted as a director with ‘Court’, expressed both joy and surprise at the development. “At every juncture of the film’s journey, we have felt that it has given us more than we could ever imagine. Once again, this has come as a genuine surprise to both Vivek (producer) and me. Ever since we started making the film, we kept our expectations low. Especially in this case, since these results tend to be so unpredictable, it just felt like a wise thing to not expect too much. Now that it has actually happened, we would like to thank the jury for their decision and everyone who has supported the film so far,” said Chaitanya.

Read More

Pro Kabaddi 2015 Winner is Mumbai

Pro Kabaddi League 2015 Winner is U Mumba (Mumbai) in finaly played today. Mumbai wins the Pro Kabaddi League 2015 by defeating Bengaluru Bulls. U Mumba leads by six points with under a minute left in the game. Shabeer bapu has had a dream final as he wastes a bit of time to play out the clock. Manjeet Chillar is in for a raid he gets a single point with 15 seconds to go. Finally U Mumba beat Bengaluru Bulls 35-30 in a thrilling final to win Pro Kabaddi League 2015.

Read More

6 New IIM at Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha) and Amritsar (Punjab)

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the country. These new IIMs will be located at Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha) and Amritsar (Punjab). These IIMs will begin functioning from assigned temporary campuses and shift to their permanent sites after construction of their campuses. It is intended that these six new IIMs will commence their first academic session from 2015-16. Each Institute will start with an intake of 140 students in the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) courses. It is expected that the annual intake will increase to reach a level of 560 students each year by the end of seven years.
The PGP in Management would be the flagship programme of these institutions. Admission to the PGP will be through the open and competitive Common Admission Test (CAT) being conducted by the IIMs. The Institutes would train young graduates to undertake management responsibilities and carry out research and consultancy in the field of management and allied areas. Their programmes will provide the country, potential leaders in diverse fields of endeavour and enterprise.

Read More

IPL 2015 Winner is Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians wins IPL 2015 crushing 41-run win over Chennai Super Kings in a lop-sided summit clash. Mumbai Indians posted an imposing 202 for five as skipper Rohit Sharma (50) and Lendl Simmons (68) rattled up a 119-run stand off just from 67 balls after being invited to bat. The Mumbai captain, who has an ODI world record of 264 and also a debut Test hundred at the Eden Gardens, yet again exploded at his favourite venue. Sharma (6 fours, 2 sixes) and Simmons (8 fours 3 sixes) plundered 19 boundaries in their partnership.
CSK have reached their sixth final in eight editions of IPL; a testament to the fact that they are hands down the most consistent side of IPL. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have made it to their third final. Co-incidentally, both of Mumbai's finals have been against CSK. Mumbai had won their first title in 2013 at this very venue, defeating the same rivals. Chennai have now lost four finals (2008, 2012, 2013, 2015) in six appearances.

Read More

cartoonist RK Laxman passes away

Eminent cartoonist RK Laxman passed away on January 26, 2015. Following his ill health Laxman was put back on ventilator support on Sunday morning. A legendary cartoonist, who created the `The Common Man` was admitted in a private hospital earlier this month following multiple-organ failure. Whereas, his condition was better until today morning when he was admitted again to a hospital in Pune. His demise has left a major void. PM Narendra Modi took to Twitter to pay his condolences

Read More