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Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on Saturday lauded the Tripura State Cooperative Bank Ltd (TSCBL) for recording the highest credit deposit ratio (CDR) of 66 per cent in the 2025-26 fiscal among the lenders operating in the northeastern state. The state's overall CDR stands at 49 per cent as against the national average of 83 per cent, officials said. "TSCBL has been relentlessly working to boost grassroots-level banking system across the state. Due to the all-out efforts to ensure credit flow to small and micro enterprises, the bank's CDR has increased to 66 per cent during 2025-26," the minister told reporters here on the sidelines of the lender's 43rd annual general meeting. The minister said that TSCBL's net profit has risen from Rs 36 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 70 crore in 2025-26. On future expansion plans, TSCBL Chairman Nagadhiraj Datta said the bank plans to open six more branches by September, taking the total branches to 73 across Tripura.
The joint committee of Parliament examining the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, on removal of PMs, CMs and ministers from office if they are detained for over 30 days for serious crimes has received support and suggestions on the proposed legislation and found no resistance to its intent to decriminalise politics, panel chairman and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi said on Wednesday. The 30-member committee held a stakeholders' meet at the Delhi Secretariat with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, departments of Law and Home of the Delhi government, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and NGO Common Cause. Addressing a press conference, Sarangi said that the stakeholders extended support to the bill and also submitted some written comments and suggestions. Sarangi said the committee has held 11 meetings so far and visited nine states and Union Territories, including Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Punjab. She claimed
The Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht on Monday declared Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann 'Guru Dokhi' (anti-Guru) and 'Khalsa Panth virodhi' (anti-Khalsa panth), directing the Sikh community to "shun ties" with him as he was accused of lying regarding a purported objectionable video that hurt Sikh sentiments. The Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs. The Sikh clergy also summoned all Sikh MLAs, regardless of party affiliation, from the state and the Punjab Cabinet before the Akal Takht on June 29 in connection with an anti-sacrilege law. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj pronounced the edict from the 'faseel' (podium of the Akal Takht) after the 'five Singh Sahiban' (Sikh clergy) held a meeting in Amritsar. The edict followed a meeting with various Sikh bodies, which was convened to discuss issues including the anti-sacrilege law--Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026. During the meeting, serious deliberations were held regarding a
The West Bengal government has asked the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to explain why its board should not be dissolved, issuing a show-cause notice after senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim resigned as mayor and plunging the city's civic administration into fresh uncertainty. The Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department served a show-cause notice on the KMC under provisions of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, directing it to explain within three days why action should not be initiated against the civic body. The move came less than 24 hours after Hakim quit as mayor on Friday, saying he was no longer in a position to function effectively and did not wish to continue merely occupying the chair without authority. In the notice, the BJP government contended that the civic body was failing to discharge its obligations towards Kolkata's residents and that the resignation of the mayor could adversely affect the normal functioning of the corporation and delivery of
School students, college-goers, competitive exam aspirants and parents were among those who gathered at Jantar Mantar here on Saturday for a protest organised by the supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), with many saying concerns over the education system had brought them to the demonstration. The crowds that started assembling from Saturday morning, kept swelling through the day. Several participants who spoke to PTI said recurring controversies around examinations, uncertainty over results and a lack of accountability from authorities have shaken their confidence in the system. Some also expressed disappointment with both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the opposition parties, saying issues affecting young people are not receiving adequate attention. Parents accompanying children said the concerns extend beyond students. Nusrat Parveen, who attended the protest with her three daughters, said she has seen the pressure students face while preparing for .
Acclaimed Iranian-French cartoonist and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi, a prominent advocate for women's rights, has died at 56, the French presidency said Thursday. "Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure of French culture and an artist devoted to freedom, whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim," the French presidency said in a statement. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife "pay tribute to a remarkable artist who transformed an Iranian childhood into a universal fable," the statement said. News broadcaster BFM TV and other French media reported Satrapi has "died of sadness" a little over a year after the death of her husband, Swedish film producer and actor Mattias Ripa, according to a statement from people close to the artist. The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which she was a member, expressed its deep sadness in a social media statement, paying tribute to "a passionate advocate for cinema and film education" who earlier this y
The Delhi Gymkhana Club on Saturday said it will write to the Land and Development Office seeking clarity on several issues after the Centre asked the club to hand over its premises by June 5. In an official communication to its members, the club said the Centre has asked it to hand over its premises in Lutyens' Delhi to "strengthen and secure defence infrastructure" and for other public security purposes. The club said it received the notice on May 22 from the Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, seeking "re-entry and resumption" of the 27.3-acre land parcel, which is located on 2, Safdarjung Road, adjacent to the prime minister's residence on Lok Kalyan Marg. "Pursuant to the sudden development, the Gymkhana Club met today on an urgent basis and after detailed deliberation decided to file an immediate response to the L&DO requesting clarity on several issues in the interest of the members and employees of the club," it said. The
The Centre on Saturday appointed academician Joram Aniya and scholar-author R Balasubramaniam as full-time members of the Niti Aayog, taking the total number of such members in the government think tank to seven, along with a vice-chairman. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman of the Niti Aayog. "In continuation of the Cabinet Secretariat's notification dated 24.04.2026, the prime minister has approved the appointment of the following persons as full-time members of the NITI Aayog with effect from the date of assumption of charge and until further orders, on the same terms and conditions as are applicable to full-time members: (i) Dr R Balasubramaniam; (ii) Dr Joram Aniya," a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat said. On April 24, while reconstituting the Niti Aayog, the government appointed Ashok Kumar Lahiri as its vice-chairman and economist K V Raju, AIIMS Director M Srinivas, Secretary in the Department of Science and Technology, Abhay Karandikar, scientist ..
The government has fixed the application fee for the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card at USD 275, payable in equivalent Indian rupees for applications in India or local currency when applying through Indian missions abroad, officials said Tuesday. A fee of USD 25 will be charged for reissuance of an OCI card with a change of particulars, reissuance when the cardholder turns 20 years of age, and for renunciation of the OCI card. Reissuance in case of loss of the card will attract a USD 100 fee, according to a post on X by the Bureau of Immigration. Now, the fee for fresh OCI cards will be USD 275, payable in the equivalent local currency where the application is made -- in rupees for applications filed within India, officials said. Earlier, eligible applicants had to pay Rs 15,000 for an OCI card when applying from India. The Home Ministry has also introduced several changes to the OCI application process. The earlier mandatory requirement of a six-month continuous stay in India
The first phase of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha & Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme, which ended on March 31, fell short of meeting its targets, according to a new report. Launched in 2019, the PM-KUSUM scheme is India's flagship programme to promote solar energy in agriculture. The analysis, 'Scaling Solar Power for Irrigation in India: Lessons from PM-KUSUM', was published on Wednesday by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The analysis focused on the scheme's Component A (setting up small-scale grid-connected solar plants on farmers' land) and Component C-FLS (feeder-level solarisation of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps). The report revealed that deployment under Component A stood at just 8.4 per cent of the target, which was 10,000 MW. In case of Component C-FLS, only 38.2 per cent of the 35.6 lakh pumps ...
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday said the contributions of the Santals to the country's freedom struggle have not received due recognition, and asserted that the names of several legends belonging to the community were "not deliberately included in history". After inaugurating the ninth International Santal Conference at Bidhannagar in Siliguri in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, she stressed the need for education for Santal children. "I know how much the Santals have contributed to the country's freedom struggle. But the names of Santal legends have not deliberately been included in history," she said. The President urged the community to ensure that the younger generation receives proper schooling. "I want all children of the Sanal community to get a good education, and this would help them become independent and stronger," Murmu said. The President said the community should also learn languages in addition to Ol Chiki to expand opportunities. In 1925, Pandit Raghunath M