Page 8 - Chhattisgarh

In ChatGPT era, Chhattisgarh FM presents 100-page handwritten Budget

In an age where even court rulings are drafted using AI-powered chatbots, Chhattisgarh's Finance Minister OP Choudhary showcased his personal dedication by presenting a 100-page handwritten budget in Hindi, reflecting his hands-on approach and commitment to the budget preparation process. Choudhary, a former IAS who quit service to join politics as he saw it as a bigger medium to serve the public, literally burnt midnight oil, hardly sleeping for a couple of hours in the days leading to the March 4 presentation of the Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1 in the Chhattisgarh assembly. The rare act that displayed a sense of ownership and dedication to the state's financial planning and goals stood out, especially since most budget documents are typically prepared by a team of officials or typed out on computers. "I was writing my own (Budget) speech and I realised that a handwritten document expresses my feelings, my emotions, my vision, my commitment, and my attachment more. A

CBI court discharges ex-Chhattisgarh CM Baghel in 2017 sleaze CD case

A special CBI court here has discharged senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in a 2017 alleged sex CD case purportedly featuring a former BJP minister, citing lack of evidence, his lawyer said. Special Magistrate (CBI), Raipur, Bhupesh Kumar Basant considered Baghel's discharge application and granted him relief on Tuesday, noting there was no sufficient evidence to prove the allegations levelled against him in the chargesheet filed in the case, senior counsel Manish Datt told PTI. The court noted no case is made out against the 63-year-old Congress leader, the counsel said, adding the order copy will be made available on Wednesday. Elated over the development, Baghel, who stepped down as CM after the Congress lost the 2023 assembly polls, took to X and posted "Satyamev Jayate" (truth alone triumphs). A discharge application is a request to end a criminal case before the trial begins. A court may allow such a plea if it finds lack of sufficie

Chhattisgarh Budget gives 'GATI' to infrastructure, industrial growth

According to economic experts, the Chhattisgarh Budget for 2025-26 focussed on accelerating economic growth in the state with emphasis on infrastructure and industrial development

Cultivation shift helps Chhattisgarh farmers earn Rs 2,641-cr profit

Parastarai village in Chhattisgarh's Dhamtari district, once grappling with severe water shortage, is now a beacon of agricultural transformation

ISRO to back technological innovations across key sectors in Chhattisgarh

A state government spokesperson said as part of the initiative, a high-level team of ISRO experts would soon visit Chhattisgarh to conduct a comprehensive study leveraging satellite imagery

Chhattisgarh allows shops, cafes to run 24/7; women can work night shifts

Traders have the flexibility to decide their operational hours, and all workers will be entitled to a weekly off, and no employee can be made to work beyond eight hours a day

SECL exceeds statutory CSR budget for projects in Chhattisgarh, MP

SECL has 64 coal mines in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Of these, 39 are in Chattisgarh, and the rest are in Madhya Pradesh

31 Naxalites, 2 cops killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur

Twelve Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Sunday, police said. Two security personnel were also killed and as many others injured in the face-off, they said. With this incident, 62 Naxalites have been gunned down by security forces in separate encounters in the state so far this year. The latest gunfight took place at a forest in Indravati National Park area in the morning when a joint team of personnel from different security forces was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P said. Bodies of 12 Naxalites have been recovered so far following the encounter, he said. A huge cache of weapons and explosives has also been seized from the site, the official said. Two security personnel, one belonging to the state police's District Reserve Guard and the other from the Special Task Force, were also killed in the gunfight and two others suffered injuries, he said. The two injur

Chhattisgarh misses paddy procurement target, sets purchase record

The state government had set the target of purchasing 16 mt of paddy during the season

Naxalite camp destroyed, eight killed, arms recovered in Bijapur encounter

Earlier in the day, a gunfight broke out around 8:30 am in the forest area under Gangaloor police station, where eight Naxalites were killed during an encounter with security forces

Chhattisgarh to grab bigger piece of NMDC's Rs 70,000 cr capex pie

NMDC unveiled the plan at a vendor meet in Hyderabad on Tuesday. The company aims to bolster its production capacity to 100 million tonnes per annum

Security forces have broken backbone of Maoists in Chhattisgarh, says Guv

Chhattisgarh Governor Ramen Deka on Sunday said violent ideologies are the biggest threat to democracy and security forces have "broken the backbone" of Maoists by eliminating them in their safest hideouts of the state in the last one year. In his Republic Day address at the Police Parade ground here, Deka also said his government's focus is on rapid economic growth of Chhattisgarh. There is a possibility of an investment of Rs 2.5 lakh crore in the state in the next five years, which will open employment opportunities for five lakh persons, he said. "The biggest threat to our republic is violent ideologies. For the past several years, the state has been struggling with the menace of Maoism. My government has worked hard to weaken Maoists by carrying out an intensive (anti-Maoist) campaign within a year," he said. "Our soldiers, full of enthusiasm and zeal, have broken the backbone of Maoists. They have killed Maoists in their safest hideouts," he added. In the areas where the lig

Chhattisgarh welcomes FDI for the first time at Mumbai Investor Meet

Chief minister said that since the launch of the new industrial policy the state had attracted Rs 1 trillion investments from the Investor Connect meet organized in Raipur, Delhi and Mumbai

Who was top Maoist leader Chalapati, and how was he finally killed?

Jayaram Reddy, alias Chalapati, a top Maoist leader with Rs 1 crore bounty, was killed in a Chhattisgarh encounter

Chhattisgarh encounter ends, neutralised Naxals being identified: Police

The operation, carried out jointly by the Chhattisgarh Police, CRPF, and Odisha's Special Operations Group (SOG) started on Sunday, and led to the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition

Chhattisgarh to open doors to 300,000 houses under PMAY-Gramin scheme

More than 847,000 houses have already been sanctioned under the scheme, said state government officials

18 school students hospitalised in Chhattisgarh, locals blame cement plants

At least 18 students of a government school were hospitalised on Wednesday after they complained of uneasiness in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, officials said. While officials said the exact reason behind the situation was yet to be ascertained, locals claimed pollution from nearby cement plants was causing serious health issues for them. During the day, the authorities, however, shut down the Alternate Fuel Resources (AFR) centre at one cement plant in the area over the alleged violation of green norms. At least 18 students of Government Higher Secondary Girls School at Khapradih village complained of uneasiness and drowsiness following which they were shifted to the Community Health Centre in nearby Suhela, Balodabazar-Bhatapara Collector Dipak Soni told PTI. Later, six of them were referred to different facilities, including the district hospital, he said. Their condition was reported to be stable, he said. Complaints were received about pollution at AFR centr

Encounter between security forces, naxals continues in Chhattisgarh

According to Gariaband SP Nikhil Rakhecha, the encounter was underway in the middle forest of Kulhadighat Bhabadighi hill, under Mainpur police station area

GAIL, BPCL to set up plants to produce compressed biogas in Chhattisgarh

While GAIL will set up plants in Ambikapur, Raigarh, and Korba, BPCL will execute the agreement in Bilaspur, Dhamtari, and Rajnandgaon

14 Naxals killed at Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, big blow to Naxalism: Shah

According to the police, a member of the Naxal group, who had a bounty of 1 crore rupees on his head, was also killed