Explore Business Standard
Maharashtra Government
Godrej Agrovet on Tuesday said it has signed an initial agreement with the Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission to empower over 5,000 women farmers and promote sustainable agriculture in nine key cotton-growing districts in Maharashtra. "Through this partnership, we aim to equip women farmers with practical high-impact agronomy so they can achieve better yields and uplift their families. We are committed to building models that scale responsibly," Godrej Agrovet CEO and Managing Director Sunil Kataria said. The three-year partnership aims to mobilize Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and women farmers to adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), improving farm productivity and creating resilient livelihoods. In its first year, the program will focus on nine key cotton-growing districts: Nagpur, Amravati, Yavatmal, Washim, Parbhani, Jalgaon, Beed, Akola, and Nanded, covering over 5,000 women farmers and more than 50,000 acres of farmland while engagin
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has held wide-ranging talks with US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on strengthening cooperation between the state and America, with a focus on boosting investments and expanding business ties. The discussions, held at the chief minister's official residence in Mumbai on Saturday, were also attended by Consul General Michael Schreuder, Fadnavis said in a post on X. The two sides explored opportunities to enhance US investments in Maharashtra and support state-based companies looking to expand their presence in the US, he said. The CM said he also briefed the US delegation on the state's flagship and strategic initiatives, including the Navi Mumbai International Education City. "Both sides agreed to work more closely to deepen US-Maharashtra partnership," he added.
The Maharashtra cabinet on Saturday extended toll relief extension for electric vehicles at Atal Setu by another year and cleared a slew of decisions related to infrastructure and urban transport, a day after the BJP-led Mahayuti scored a decisive victory in the civic polls. The cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, also okayed the revised cost and the state's share for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-2), aimed at improving suburban rail and urban mobility infrastructure. It also waived the premium for a plot allotted at Ulwe in Navi Mumbai to the Tirupati Devasthanam for the construction of the Padmavati Devi temple. The cabinet cleared the restructuring of 1,901 posts in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics and approved renaming it as the Commissionerate of Economics and Statistics. Revised staffing patterns were also approved for district planning committees, divisional commissioner offices, and special development programmes, according to an ...
The Maharashtra government has waived stamp duty on documents related to agricultural and crop loans of up to Rs 2 lakh to reduce the financial burden on farmers and simplify the loan process, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Saturday. "The decision was taken after it was noticed that farmers were facing an additional financial burden even while availing loans. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed that revenue laws and rules be made simpler and more people-friendly, and accordingly, this decision was taken," he said. The revenue and forest department issued a government gazette notification in this regard on January 1. The waiver has come into effect from that date. As per the notification, stamp duty will not be levied on legal documents required for loans up to Rs 2 lakh, including title deeds, deposits, mortgage and pledge papers, guarantee letters, mortgage deeds and loan agreements, according to Bawankule. Earlier, crop loans attracted stamp duty at t
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cancelled the licences of 13 medical stores and suspended those of 32 in Nanded district over alleged sale of intoxicant tablets, officials have said. As part of a drive, the FDA had issued show-cause notices to 48 medical stores for selling intoxicant tablets without a doctor's prescription and for violating the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Assistant Commissioner (Drugs) AT Rathod said in a release on Wednesday. After the explanations submitted were found unsatisfactory, the licences of 32 medical stores were suspended, while the licences of 13 stores were permanently cancelled. Action has been proposed against the remaining three medical stores, it said. In some cases, the FDA said, the medical stores have secured stay orders at the government level, and proceedings against them are currently pending before higher authorities.
The Maharashtra government routed routine procurement of medicines and medical equipment through the state-run Haffkine institute using Advance Contingent bills, leaving 559 bills worth Rs 2,226.32 crore pending for adjustment at the end of 2024-25, CAG has said. Advance Contingent (AC) bills are a type of government bill used to draw money in advance for urgent or unforeseen expenses, when it is not practical to wait for detailed bills or vouchers. According to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), tabled on the last day of the winter session of the state legislature on Sunday, pending AC bills accounted for 63.03 per cent of the total AC bills, in violation of Rule 282(2) of the Maharashtra Treasury Rules, which bars withdrawal of funds unless required for immediate disbursement. The report identified the Medical Education and Drugs Department as the biggest defaulter with Rs 2,212 crore of Detailed Contingent (DC) bills pending, followed by the Public Health ...
Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar on Saturday told the legislative council that the state government was "not happy" with Union minister Jitendra Singh's remark made last month on not changing IIT Bombay's name to IIT Mumbai. The state government is not just unhappy, but it has written a letter to the Centre expressing its opinion on it, Shelar, who is Minister of Cultural Affairs, said. Shelar, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was replying to a query raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) member Anil Parab about the government's stand on Singh's statement. Addressing a function in the last week of November, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Science and Technology, said, "As far as IIT Bombay is concerned, thank God it still is this name. You have not changed it to Mumbai. So that's another compliment to you. And also true for Madras. It remains IIT Madras." The remark invited a sharp reaction from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, who said it shows the
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said road works valued at Rs 1.50 lakh crore have been approved for Maharashtra for 2026. The works will begin in the next three months, he told reporters on the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan, where the state legislature session is underway. The Nagpur MP visited the legislature complex to attend an event marking the centenary celebration of the Vidhan Parishad. Gadkari told reporters that MSIDC (Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation) will construct a new Pune-Sambhajinagar expressway for Rs 16,318 crore, and an MoU has been processed. The new expressway will reduce the travelling time from Pune to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to two hours and from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Nagpur in two-and-a-half hours. He said the 'bhoomipujan' (ground-breaking) of Talegaon-Chakan-Shikrapur Elevated Road, which is being constructed for Rs 4,207 crore, will be done after the local body elections are over. Gadkari said that the DPR proc
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said officials responsible for registering documents should have refused to process agreements that were not permissible under the law and clearly informed the parties concerned about such limitations. His comments come against the backdrop of a notice issued by the deputy registrar to the firm of his son, Parth Pawar, seeking Rs 21 crore in stamp duty and penalties in connection with a controversial land deal in Pune. Recently, the Bombay High Court raised sharp questions regarding the police probe into the land deal, suggesting authorities might be shielding Parth Pawar by failing to name him in the FIR. Ajit Pawar sought to dispel perceptions stemming from a bill cleared by the legislative assembly on Friday, which empowers the revenue minister to hold hearings in contentious cases related to the IGR. Pawar said those who registered such documents were at fault, and officials should have exercised due diligence at the time
More than 1.28 lakh people in Mumbai were bitten by stray dogs in 2024, raising concerns about the safety of citizens and prompting authorities to undertake measures like sterilisation and vaccination of free-roaming canines to control their population. This information was shared by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in the state legislative council on Friday in a written reply to queries by MLCs Sunil Shinde, Vasant Khandelwal, Sandip Joshi and others. These legislators raised concerns about the increasing number of stray dogs in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits and a similar menace in Nagpur. Shinde stated that more than 9,400 people were bitten in Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, in 2024. He said that a survey conducted by the BMC via Human Society International, as per the Animal Welfare Board rules, revealed that the number of stray dogs had come down from 95,172 in 2014 to 90,757 in 2024. In Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) limits, 9,427 peop
The Maharashtra cabinet has approved a scheme to construct all-weather motorable approach roads connecting agricultural fields across rural parts of the state. The decision was taken at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday, an official statement said. The 'Mukhya Mantri Baliraja Shet-Panand Raste Yojana' allows 100 per cent mechanised construction, replacing earlier limitations under the MGNREGA framework where dependence on manual labour had slowed execution in several regions. The scheme will ensure all-weather motorable farm-to-field roads in rural Maharashtra, the statement said. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who will head the monitoring committee for the scheme, said farmers have faced persistent challenges with damaged or inaccessible roads during the monsoon, affecting crop sowing, harvesting and transportation. The scheme provides for 100 per cent use of machinery for speedy and quality construction. There will be no depend
Maharashtra is looking to undertake a phased equity listing of state-owned energy utilities starting with the transmission company in 2026, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday. He said it is essential to undertake the process to make the entities more efficient and agile. "It is the right time to start the listing process for government entities and corporations. We have decided that we will certainly list the electricity transmission company at first," Fadnavis said at an event here. Later, he shared that the government expects the listing of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company in 2026. The transmission company's listing will be followed with generation company's listing in second phase and the distribution company's in the next, the chief minister said without giving a timeline.
The Maharashtra government on Monday ordered an immediate review and cancellation of all wrongly-issued, delayed birth and death certificates across the state that do not meet the prescribed SoP. It also instructed officials to stop treating the Aadhaar card as sufficient proof for recording or altering birth details. Fourteen districts, including Amravati, Jalna, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Latur, Akola, Parbhani, Beed and Nashik, have been flagged for a high number of irregularly delayed certificates. The government has directed revenue, health, and municipal bodies to retrieve wrongly-issued certificates and verify them again. Certificates that do not meet legal criteria must be cancelled on priority, and the entries must be removed from the Civil Registration System portal. A government resolution (GR) issued by the Revenue and Forest Department stated that several delayed certificates were allegedly issued without supporting records such as hospital documents, school admission
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said his government will not only continue the Ladki Bahin scheme for women, but also aims to create one crore "Lakhpati Didis" in the next two years. Fadnavis was addressing a rally to campaign for the Mahayuti's candidates of the Ahmedpur, Udgir, Renapur and other civic body polls. Elections to various municipal councils and other local bodies are set to be held on December 2. Under the government's flagship Ladki Bahin scheme, eligible women are provided a monthly assistance of Rs 1,500. Fadnavis said, "The government will not stop just with the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme now and has the target of making one crore 'Lakhpati Didi'. Half of the target will be completed this year. We will complete the remaining target in the next two years." "People should take care of our candidates on December 2, and we will take care of you for the next five years," he added. On the government's development plans for cities, the CM noted that
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday said it has approved a USD 400 million results-based lending (RBL) program to improve road connectivity in Maharashtra. The loan will be used to improve road connectivity in 34 districts, particularly in the climate-vulnerable and economically lagging Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, linking rural communities to markets, logistics hubs, healthcare, education, and other essential services. Over 1.7 million people living within walking distance of improved roads will benefit, including residents of at least 80 villages and around 410 rural communities, the multilateral development bank said in a statement. These upgrades cover nearly 350 kilometers (km) of state highways and 2,577 km of rural roads. "The program seeks to foster balanced and inclusive economic growth in Maharashtra by improving road connectivity to rural villages, post-harvest centers, and essential social services," ADB Country Director for India Mio Oka said. The RBL moda
Rise from your seats when legislators or MPs visit your office, listen to the them attentively, and use polite language during phone calls to them -- these are some of the new set of guidelines that the Maharashtra government issued for its officials on Thursday. A Government Resolution (GR) issued by state Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar to this effect said, giving due respect to elected representatives is an important part of making administration more reliable and accountable. It also warned of taking action against those officials who do not follow these instructions. This new GR brings together several older circulars and updates them with clearer, firmer instructions. In the recent past, some elected representatives, including those from the ruling parties, had expressed displeasure over officials not giving time to meet them and address their concerns or issues. In the preface of this GR, the government says it considers good governance, transparency and efficiency as top ...
As many as 899 farmers committed suicide in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra during January to October this year, with 537 of them taking their lives in six months when floods caused massive damage to crops, official data shows. Minister of State for Agriculture Ashish Jaiswal said the government is seriously addressing the issue and has increased the spending on dedicated schemes and incentives to Rs 1 lakh crore. The data provided by the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar divisional commissioner's office shows Marathwada recorded 899 farmer suicides in ten months from January to October this year, including 537 in six months (May 1 to October 31) when rains and floods wreaked havoc. Beed and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar districts recorded the highest number of suicides by agriculturists. District-wise, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar recorded 112 suicides, Jalna- 32, Parbhani- 45, Hingoli-33, Nanded- 90, Beed- 108, Latur- 47 and Dharashiv- 70 in these six months. The state government has ...