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President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday greeted people of Uttar Pradesh on their statehood day and expressed confidence that it will continue to advance on the path of continuous progress. "I wish for a bright future for the hardworking and talented people of this state," Murmu said in a post on X in Hindi. Uttar Pradesh was earlier known as United Provinces. On January 24, 1950, it was recognised as Uttar Pradesh. "My best wishes to the people of the state on the occasion of Uttar Pradesh Day. This land of glorious history and rich culture has been a strong pillar in India's journey of development. I am confident that Uttar Pradesh will continue to advance on the path of continuous progress," the president said.
Uttar Pradesh government will honour five distinguished luminaries, including Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, who have brought laurels to the state at the national and international level. This year, the personalities include those who have made remarkable contributions in diverse fields such as space science, education, literature, women empowerment and agriculture. They will be honoured with 'Uttar Pradesh Gaurav Samman' during the three-day event, Uttar Pradesh Day 2026, which will begin on Saturday. The event is being organised this year at the newly-constructed Rashtra Prerna Sthal in Lucknow, and Union home minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the programme, the UP government said in a statement on Friday. Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, Lucknow's local boy, is among those to receive UP Gaurav Samman. Shukla created history by reaching the International Space Station (ISS) after launch by SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on June 26, 2025. He beca
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged manipulation in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Uttar Pradesh electoral roll under pressure from the ruling BJP and termed it a case of "vote theft". The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh was published on January 6, with 12.55 crore voters making it to the list and the names of 2.89 crore deleted, according to official data. In a statement issued here, Yadav said the Election Commission (EC) conducted the SIR of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly voter list and the State Election Commission simultaneously conducted the exercise for panchayat elections. In both exercises, the work was done by the same booth-level officers, he said. "Surprisingly, after the assembly SIR, the total number of voters in the state dropped by 2.89 crore to 12.56 crore. On the other hand, after the panchayat SIR, the number of rural voters increased by 40 lakh to 12.69 crore," he added. Questioning the EC, the SP chief said, "Tell us whic
A 17-year-old girl went live on Facebook, apparently attempting suicide. The video, showing her consuming pills while a melancholic song played on, triggered an automatic alert from Meta AI to the Gorakhpur police, who rushed in only to find it was a prank. She captioned the video, addressing it to her friends, "If I die, don't ask why I died. Just think for yourself what could have been the reason." Responding promptly upon receiving the alert, a police team traced her location and reached a rented room in the Gulriha area. During questioning, she revealed that the video was merely a prank for her friends, a police officer said. The girl, a native of Gopalganj district in Bihar, works as a chef at a local hotel and is active on social media, Gulriha Station House Officer (SHO) Vijay Pratap Singh said. She also told the police that the "pills" in the video was chewing gum, and she had no intention of harming herself. Confirming the incident, the officer said, the police responded
The Sambhal administration has issued an ultimatum to a committee overseeing a shrine and a mosque built on land recorded as a graveyard in the Chaudhary Sarai area to remove the "illegal" structures, officials said on Wednesday. Tehsildar Dhirendra Pratap Singh visited the site and served a notice, warning of legal action if compliance is not ensured. Speaking to reporters, the tehsildar said the land is officially recorded as a graveyard, but a mosque and a shrine associated with Dada Fakhruddin Rehmatullah have been constructed on it. He said that a large market is held at the site every Friday, but its organisers now must obtain permission from the sub-divisional magistrate before holding it. "The land is registered as a graveyard. It should be used only for burial purposes and not for a mosque or any other structure," Singh said. He added that the committee has sought 15 days and assured the administration that the weekly market would be discontinued and the structures remove
Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the leading state in implementing reforms for making business operations simpler, transparent and investment-friendly in the 23 key priority areas identified by the Centre, officials said on Monday. As per the state-wise ranking under the 'Deregulation 1.0' report of the central government, the state has been ranked first, a statement issued here said. The assessment focused on the effective implementation of 23 priority reform areas spanning five major sectors -- land, building and construction, labour, utilities and permissions -- along with overarching reform priorities. Uttar Pradesh is the first state in the country to fully implement all 23 priority areas in a comprehensive manner, the statement said. Under the land-related reforms, the state adopted a flexible zoning framework enabling mixed-use development, simplified and digitised the land-use change process and rationalised minimum road width norms for industries in rural areas, it noted. "In
The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday announced a one-time relaxation of three years in the upper age limit for the upcoming police recruitment drive, offering major relief to aspirants preparing for constable-level posts. The age relaxation will apply to all categories of candidates for the proposed 2025 direct recruitment to the police force, following the directions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, an official government statement issued here said. The decision is expected to benefit aspirants who missed earlier recruitment opportunities due to age limits, especially after delays caused by the pandemic period, officials said. The decision has been taken under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Relaxation of Age Limit for Recruitment) Rules, 1992, it added. The relaxation will cover recruitment to 32,679 posts, including constable (civil police) for men and women, PAC and armed police constables, special security force constables, women battalion constables,
An order for eateries to display their names, termed "religious profiling" by a section, police arrests over 'I Love Mohammad' banners, and waqf property registration hogged the headlines in Uttar Pradesh for a good part of the year. The Uttar Pradesh government persisted in framing laws for the mosques and other Muslim structures, moves that only met with tacit approval from the community, and at times outright rejection. During July-August, Hindu activists inspecting roadside eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route sparked a controversy. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the action, alleging that goons also forced dhaba owners on the Delhi-Dehradun highway to lower their pants to ascertain their religion. Former Samajwadi Party MP S T Hasan condemned the rule that stipulated that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route display their credentials. In April, the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, was implemented after completion of the consultati
The revenue department here on Tuesday carried out the measurement of a graveyard land near a disputed religious site amid tight security and identified 22 houses and shops allegedly built through encroachment, officials said. The administration conducted the demarcation of land in Kot Purvi locality, which has been recorded as a graveyard in revenue records and found that parts of it were under illegal occupation, they said. District Magistrate Rajendra Pensiya told reporters that after receiving an oral complaint followed by a written representation, a revenue team measured plot number 32/2, covering an area of 4,780 square metres, adjacent to the disputed site. "The land is recorded 100 per cent as a graveyard. During the measurement, 22 houses and shops were identified as encroachments. Notices will be issued to the occupants seeking documents, following which action will be taken as per law," he said. Pensiya said the encroachments were both old and recent, some dating back ..
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday termed 2026 a decisive year for Uttar Pradesh's technological advancement, saying the state is emerging as a global hub for artificial intelligence and the digital economy. In a detailed message in Hindi on X, the chief minister said 2025 will be remembered for setting new benchmarks in innovation, data, and, future-oriented development as the state works to become a future-ready investment hub. Adityanath said investment can thrive only when the state and society are secure. He said strong governance has strengthened "Brand UP" globally and transformed the state into a trusted destination of investors. The chief minister said preparations are underway to develop AI cities in Lucknow and Noida, while a semiconductor unit worth Rs 3,700 crore is being set up in Jewar. He pointed out that a data centre policy, which focuses on indigenous centres and secure data, is already showing results. Five hyperscale data centre parks are now operational
Uttar Pradesh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna on Tuesday told the state Assembly that cyber offences, including the circulation of obscene and offensive content on social media, can attract penalties of up to Rs one crore and imprisonment up to seven years, asserting that the government has put in place a robust mechanism to deal with such cases. Replying to a query during the Question Hour, Khanna said immediate action is taken whenever objectionable, defamatory or criminal content is circulated on social media. He said such cases are reported by district superintendents of police and station house officers to the cyber wing, including the DIG (cyber), through which the objectionable content can be swiftly taken down, even when the servers are located abroad. He said that in matters related to national security, the special secretary (home) has been authorised to take cognisance and initiate appropriate action. "Action is taken strictly in accordance with the ..
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday appealed to the citizens to participate in efforts to protect vulnerable people from the ongoing cold wave, urging them to ensure domestic workers, sanitation staff, security guards and others around them have adequate arrangements to cope with the severe cold. "The government is working with full sensitivity and promptness to protect people from the cold wave in north India. Officials have been instructed to adopt a humane and highly sensitive approach," he wrote in a post on X in Hindi. Across the state, he added, night shelters are being operated at full capacity while arrangements for quilts, blankets, drinking water, bonfires and heaters have been ensured at these shelters. "Examinees coming from other places and relatives of patients are also being provided shelter here. For the government, every human life is invaluable," the CM said. He further said woollen clothes and blankets are being distributed to the needy throug