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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday appealed to the people to turn out in large numbers to vote in the civic polls, saying widespread participation was key to building better cities. Speaking to reporters after exercising his franchise in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation polls, Fadnavis said not voting amounts to a dereliction of responsibility. Voting was underway on Thursday for 29 municipal corporations in the state, including Mumbai and Nagpur. "I appeal to everyone to come out and vote to create better cities," he said. Fadnavis slammed the Opposition for casting doubts on institutions like the State Election Commission. "They should write a new script and stop practising what they will speak tomorrow after defeat. Our win is sure in all the 29 corporations," the senior BJP leader said. Fadnavis also said that the Opposition's criticism of the Printing Auxiliary Display (PAD) units during the civic elections was unnecessary, and asserted that the machine
State-owned Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) on Tuesday posted 26.5 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,779 crore for the third quarter ended December 2025 with rising interest income. The Pune-based lender had posted a net profit of Rs 1,406 crore in the October-December period a year ago. Total income increased to Rs 8,277 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 7,112 crore in the same period previous year, BoM said in a regulatory filing. The bank earned an interest income of Rs 7,344 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 6,325 crore a year ago. Net Interest Income (NII) grew 16 per cent to Rs 3,422 crore in Q3FY26 as against Rs 2,943 crore in Q3FY25. The board has approved an interim dividend of 10 per cent on the equity shares of the bank i.e., Rs 1 per share having face value of Rs 10 each for financial year 2025-26, BoM Managing Director and CEO Nidhu Saxena said during a media interaction. The bank was able to reduce gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) to 1.60 per cent of
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said his government will not release the January instalment under the 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' for eligible women in advance in compliance with a directive from the State Election Commission (SEC). Practice so far has been to give an advance instalment during major festivals to poorer women under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, but monthly stipend under the scheme (Rs 1,500) will now be credited in their accounts after January 16, the day when votes polled in 29 civic corporations are counted, he told reporters in Pune. The SEC on Monday barred the government from releasing the January instalment under the scheme (Rs 1,500) in advance, citing the enforcement of the model code of conduct for the January 15 elections to 29 municipal corporations in the state. The SEC's clarification came after it received several complaints following media reports claiming that beneficiaries of the scheme would receive Rs 3,000 - covering the December and ..
The stock markets will remain closed on Thursday, January 15, on account of the Maharashtra civic polls, according to BSE and NSE. Trading in the equity segment, derivatives, commodity and electronic gold receipts would remain closed. In a circular on Monday, the National Stock Exchange (NSE), "notified Thursday, January 15, 2026, as a trading holiday in the capital market segment on account of Municipal Corporation Election in Maharashtra". Earlier, the bourse had stated that it would observe January 15 as a settlement holiday, while trading would be open on the day. Separately, BSE also announced that trading will remain closed on January 15 due to the Municipal Corporation Election. In total, exchanges usually have around 15 trading holidays in a year, apart from regular weekly closures on Saturdays and Sundays. On January 10, the Maharashtra government declared a public holiday for January 15 in Mumbai for civic polls. The holiday will apply to government and semi-government
The Pune police have launched a probe into former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar's allegations that a house help had rendered her and her parents unconscious and committed theft at their residence, an official said on Sunday. Puja Khedkar informed the police late on Saturday night about the alleged incident that occurred at the family's bungalow on Baner Road, the official said. According to police, she claimed that a house help hailing from Nepal, who had been employed recently, administered sedatives to her and her parents, Dilip and Manorama Khedkar, rendered them unconscious, tied them up, and decamped with their mobile phones and some valuables. Puja Khedkar claimed that she managed to free herself and alerted the police using another phone, the official said. Khedkar reported the incident over the phone and has not lodged a written complaint yet or provided details about any other valuables she claimed to have been stolen, the official said, adding that a probe has been ...
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the state government will request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone of the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in Mumbai. Talking to reporters here on Saturday evening, Fadnavis said his government was committed to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) and all eligible persons will get homes of 350 sq ft. "We will request PM Modi to lay the foundation stone of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project," he said. The project last year released its first eligibility list, with over 75 per cent of tenement holders qualifying for new homes under the ambitious slum redevelopment scheme. All bona fide residents who settled in Dharavi before January 1, 2000, are eligible for a 350 sq ft flat within Dharavi. All such residents will qualify for the resettlement unless they do not provide documents, according to data released by the DRP. Those who settled between January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2011, may receive 300 sq ft
Former Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) Rashmi Shukla had recommended registration of an FIR against Sanjay Pandey, a former top cop, and two others over an alleged conspiracy to implicate Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde in a false case in 2016, sources said on Saturday. Reacting to the reports, BJP leaders demanded a thorough investigation to find out at whose instance Pandey, who was director general of police during the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, was acting. Before she retired on January 3, Shukla submitted a report in this regard to the home department based on an inquiry conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), sources said. The report suggested that then DGP Sanjay Pandey, Deputy Commissioner of Police Laxmikant Patil and Assistant Commissioner of Police Sardar Patil were involved in a conspiracy to implicate Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (who was then Leader of Opposition in the assembly) as well as current deputy CM Shinde
The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Friday announced that Thursday, January 15, will be a public holiday in areas falling under the 29 municipal corporations where polling for civic elections will be held, an official said. The holiday will apply to government and semi-government offices, corporations, boards, public undertakings, banks and central government offices within the jurisdiction of the civic bodies. The poll commission said administrative preparations, including readiness of EVMs (electronic voting machines), have been completed, and urged the public to take an active part in the democratic exercise. In a separate order, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare directed that adequate numbers of polling and counting personnel be appointed and that all such officials complete required training in time. He said strict action will be taken against those officials who skip the training. Waghmare issued the instruction during poll review meetings on January 6 and
Even as the Maharashtra legislative assembly has not had a leader of opposition for the last three sessions, opposition parties may be unable to appoint a chief whip under a new government resolution as the strength of each of them is below the 10 per cent threshold. A consolidated government resolution (GR) issued on Wednesday standardised the status, facilities and honorarium of chief whips and whips of political parties in the state legislature. The GR made it clear that parties must have at least 10 per cent of the total House strength to be eligible to appoint a chief whip and a whip who are entitled to state-funded facilities. The Speaker, meanwhile, has not yet accepted opposition parties' demand to appoint a leader of opposition. The strength of the Maharashtra assembly is 288. Of the ruling combine, the BJP has 132 MLAs, Shiv Sena 57 and the NCP 41. Of the opposition parties, Shiv Sena (UBT) has 20 members, the Congress 16 and NCP (SP) 10. Smaller parties and independents
Police in Maharashtra have unearthed a massive international syndicate that defrauded hundreds of people of more than Rs 200 crore by luring them into online forex and gold trading schemes, officials said on Tuesday. Seven persons, linked to more than 50 criminal cases lodged across several states in India, have so far been arrested in Maharashtra, with the police suspecting the masterminds were operating the racket from outside the country, they said. The fraudsters targeted victims by building trust through matrimonial websites and social media platforms before inducing them to invest in fraudulent schemes, Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik said at a press conference. The breakthrough came on November 12, 2025, when a police team, while probing a complaint of fraud, conducted a raid at the Shivsai Residency Lodge and Boarding on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway, he said. Initially, five individuals were apprehended for conspiring to receive illegal funds ..
Germany's Bayer AG on Monday said it has extended its partnership with US agribusiness ADM by three years to support soybean farmers in Maharashtra, scaling the programme fourfold to reach 1,00,000 growers. The partnership, launched in June 2022, reached 25,000 farmers by May 2025 and will now expand coverage from 35,000 hectares to 200,000 hectares, Bayer said in a statement. The expanded programme will cover seven districts in Maharashtra, adding Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli, and Solapur to the original areas of Latur, Dharashiv, and Beed. The initiative focuses on sustainable farming practices through the ProTerra Foundation framework, covering production management, biodiversity protection, programme monitoring, crop documentation and post-harvest management, the company said. Bayer has delivered training programmes on good agricultural practices and integrated pest management, reaching over 58,000 farmers through audio bridge calls, while ADM's agronomist team receives regular ..