Page 8 - Maharashtra Government

MPSC exams to be conducted in Marathi language, says CM Devendra Fadnavis

All competitive examinations conducted through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) will be held in Marathi, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. Fadnavis made the announcement in the state legislative council on Wednesday while responding to a question raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Milind Narvekar. Narvekar pointed out that some examinations related to agriculture and engineering disciplines were conducted only in English. He asked why the engineering-related exams were not being conducted in Marathi. Addressing the query, CM Fadnavis said, "These exams are already conducted in both Marathi and English. However, court had ruled in certain cases that some exams, particularly those related to agricultural engineering, should be conducted only in English." "When the matter was taken to the court, a discussion was held at the government level, and it was noted that textbooks for these subjects were not available in Marathi. This was brought to the court's ...

Those responsible for flawed MSRTC tender will face action: CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday promised a probe into a tender process for leasing buses for MSRTC which is estimated to have caused a loss of Rs 1,700 crore. Speaking in the legislative council, he said work orders were issued at the level of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) through "collusion" with contractors, and action will be taken against those responsible within a month. Fadnavis was responding to a starred question raised by Congress's Rajesh Rathod. "The work orders for the tender process to acquire 1,310 buses were issued when the government formation was underway (after the November 2024 elections), a full cabinet was not in place, and neither the chief minister nor the deputy chief minister had approved it," he said. "This led to an estimated loss of around Rs 1,700 crore to the state exchequer. Following this revelation, the tender process was halted, and an inquiry was ordered under the additional secretary of the ...

'Eating halal not in Hindu religion': Nitesh Rane on 'Malhar' controversy

Rane said this certification will help in accessing "rightful mutton shops" with a "100 per cent Hindu community" and without any adulteration

Activist Damania seeks reopening of all criminal cases against Walmik Karad

Activist Anjali Damania on Tuesday said she would demand reopening of all criminal cases registered against Walmik Karad, the prime accused in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case. Talking to reporters, she said Karad faces multiple criminal cases. "As per my information, there were 16 cases and all of them have been disposed of except two to three cases. Hence, I am going to demand re-opening of all those cases against him," she said. All the disposed cases should be brought before the judicial committee again, she said. "I am going to write to the committee and have also asked (deceased sarpanch's brother) Dhananjay Deshmukh to do the same," Damania said. Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was kidnapped and tortured to death in December last year, allegedly for thwarting attempts to extort money from a windmill company. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who hails from Beed district, resigned as Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minist

Maharashtra Budget 2025: New airport, job generation, road development

Ajit Pawar presented his 11th Maharashtra budget, making him the second-most frequent budget presenter in the state's history

Maha to prevent Rs 60,000 cr sops 'stress' from hitting investments: CM

Pre-election sops like the Ladki Bahin scheme is extracting Rs 60,000 crore from the Maharashtra government and attempts are being made to ensure that it doesn't impact capital investments, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. Assembly elections were held in Maharashtra in November 2024. Days before the announcement of the state budget on Monday, Fadnavis said Maharashtra is trying to channelise the money paid to the beneficiary women into productive purposes by helping them pool the resources for sustainable businesses. "It is true that when you undertake such expenditure (on welfare schemes), it has a stress on the budget but we are able to manage it. And we are attempting that this does not impact our capital investments," Fadnavis said at a Moneycontrol event on Friday evening. "We are trying to balance budget without reducing the capital investment," he added. It can be noted that the sops have been widely credited for being among the factors leading to the MVA governme

Maharastra's economy to clock 7.3% growth in 2024-25: Economic Survey

Maharashtra's economy is expected to grow at 7.3 per cent as per the advance estimates of 2024-25, according to the government's pre-Budget Economic Survey tabled in the assembly on Friday. The report was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar who holds the finance portfolio. The survey said the Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.5 per cent during 2024-25. In the financial year 2024-25, agriculture and allied activities, industry and services sectors are expected to grow at 8.7 per cent, 4.9 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively, it said. The nominal GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) for 2023-24 is estimated at Rs 40,55,847 crore as against Rs 36,41,543 crore in 2022-23, said the Economic Survey. The real GSDP is estimated at Rs 24,35,259 crore for 2023-24 compared to Rs 22,55,708 crore for 2022-23, it said. As per revised estimates, the share of Maharashtra's nominal GSDP in the all-India nominal GDP was the highest at 13.5 per cent during 2023-24, said the survey.

Beed sarpanch murder causes political storm in Maharashtra: All we know

Deshmukh, a sarpanch in Beed's Massajog village, was tortured and murdered on December 9, 2024 by seven men

Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigns after aide held in murder case

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed the news, saying he had received the resignation of Dhananjay Munde

Shinde orders Thane municipality to restore increments for MA Marathi staff

Shinde directed the Thane Municipal Commissioner to resume the process, emphasising the government's commitment to employee welfare

Fadnavis asks to inquire Shinde's previous decision, hinting widening rift

CM Fadnavis issued an order in which he underlined some 'irregularities' in the state's Minimum Support Price schemes and selection of nodal agencies for crop procurement

SC seeks response from Maharashtra, Assam govts on Ashish Chanchlani's plea

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response of Maharashtra and Assam governments on a plea of YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani seeking to quash or transfer to Mumbai an FIR registered in Guwahati in connection with a case of allegedly promoting obscenity in an online show. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh issued notice and tagged Chanchlani's plea with influencer Ranveer Allahbadia's pending petition. At the outset, the bench told Chanchlani's counsel that he was already granted bail in the matter. Counsel for Chanchlani admitted that he has got the relief but he was against lodging multiple of the FIR in connection with that one particular show. The bench said it was already hearing the issue and tagged Chanchlani's plea. On February 18, the top court granted interim protection from arrest to podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia over his comments on a YouTube show while calling it "vulgar" and saying he had "dirty mind" which put the society to shame. Several FIRs were lodg

Fadnavis asks to remove objectionable Wikipedia content on Sambhaji Maharaj

The controversy about the respected King Sambhaji Maharaj started after the release of the film Chhaava

"We are thanda thanda, cool cool," Shinde on friction rumours with Fadnavis

The reported standoff between the BJP and Sena- initially sparked by the unresolved allocation of guardian minister posts for Raigad and Nashik- has now spread to other spheres of authority

Maharashtra govt constitutes panel to study, implement MSP schemes

The Maharashtra government on Monday issued an order to form a committee to study and implement minimum support price (MSP) schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA). As per the order, the committee will submit a detailed report within one month, including suggestions and recommendations for the government on effectively implementing the MSP schemes across the state. The state Cooperation, Marketing and Textile Department issued the government resolution (GR) on Monday. The price support scheme (PSF) and price stabilisation scheme (PSS) for the purchase of agricultural produce come under the PM-AASHA. The GR stated that in October 2018, under the Union government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare issued guidelines for implementing these schemes. According to these guidelines, the Central government guarantees the purchase of up to 25 per cent of the total production of essential agricultural commodities at the MSP, and this process

Maharashtra invites realtors to develop 3,360 acres owned by state bus corp

Developers will be given commercial portions on a lease period that is proposed to be extended up to 99 years

Guillain-Barre Syndrome: 167 cases detected, 7 deaths so far in Maharashtra

Further, as per officials, seven deaths have been reported, of which one was confirmed as GBS, while six remain suspected

Activist alleges Rs 88 cr 'scam' in agriculture dept under Dhananjay Munde

Activist Anjali Damania on Tuesday alleged a Rs 88 crore 'scam' in the agriculture department when NCP leader Dhananjay Munde held the portfolio in the previous Mahayuti coalition government in Maharashtra. Despite the Union government's 2016 directive to transfer money directly to farmers' bank accounts under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), the agriculture department purchased equipment and fertilisers for distribution to farmers at inflated rates, she claimed. Reaction from Munde's office to the allegations was awaited. The NCP leader, now minister for Food and Civil Supplies, is already under fire over the arrest of his aide Walmik Karad in an extortion case related to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district. Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat told reporters that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will "certainly take notice" of the allegations and order an inquiry. Speaking at a press conference here, Damania presented documents related to the alleged scam. "These

Maharashtra govt contemplating use of AI in agriculture sector: Ajit Pawar

The Maharashtra government is considering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on an experimental basis in the agriculture sector to boost productivity and reduce production costs for farmers, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Monday. During a review meeting here, Pawar directed the state agriculture department to work with the cooperation department to assess the technical and financial feasibility of the project. State Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate, Minister of State for Agriculture Ashish Jayswal, Minister of State for Cooperation Pankaj Bhoyar, President of the All India Grape Growers Association Kailas Patil, and other senior officials attended the meeting. Pawar said, "As crucial factors like crop health, soil carbon levels and soil health can be monitored using AI, we can use it on an experimental basis in the agriculture sector to boost productivity and reduce product cost for farmers." He said the transformation has to be practical and financially viable f

Maharashtra govt to refund Shah Rukh Khan Rs 9 cr for Mannat lease premium

The Maharashtra Government would be refunding Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan Rs 9 crore that he had paid in excess to convert the lease of his sea-facing bungalow 'Mannat'. Resident suburban collector Satish Bagal said on Saturday that in 2019, Shah rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan converted the lease of the heritage property in Bandra to 'class 1 complete ownership', and paid the government some premium for it. After discovering a tabulation error on the basis of which the premium was calculated, the Khans filed an application before the revenue authority for refund which was sanctioned earlier this week, he said. The actor had reportedly paid upwards of Rs 25 crore in premium, but officials did not confirm the figure immediately.