Page 10 - Maharashtra

Maharashtra doctors strike against govt nod for homeopaths' registration

Doctors across Maharashtra went on a 24-hour strike on Thursday to protest the government's decision to allow the registration of homeopathic doctors, who have completed a certificate course in modern pharmacology, in the state medical council. Nearly 1.8 lakh allopathic doctors across the state, including in private hospitals, were participating in the strike, Indian Medical Association (IMA) Maharashtra president Dr Santosh Kadam claimed. However, all emergency and critical services were continuing. The doctors' body has claimed the decision (registration of certified homeopaths) poses a serious threat to the safety of patients and quality of healthcare services. Earlier this year, the state government directed the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) to register homoeopaths who had completed the one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP), to allow them to prescribe allopathic medicines to patients in select cases. However, the notification was withdrawn after the IM

Govt committed to empowering women, Ladki Bahin to continue: CM Fadnavis

The Maharashtra government won't stop the popular Ladki Bahin' programme and instead is committed to creating one crore Lakhpati Didis', who will earn Rs 1 lakh every year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday. The government will also provide employment opportunities to women by setting up women-led credit societies in villages, he said after launching the statewide Mukhyamantri Samruddha Panchayat Raj Abhiyan' at Kingaon in Phulambri taluka in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The campaign aims to ensure that every village receives the benefits of the central and state schemes. Maharashtra will not prosper unless villages in the state register progress, he said. It is not possible until the poor, labourers, and villages prosper, he said. The CM asserted that the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana', under which eligible women beneficiaries receive monthly assistance of Rs 1,500, won't be discontinued. Some people claimed that the Ladki Bahin scheme will be scrapped. Our siste

What's PM Modi doing on his 75th birthday? Camps, tribal outreach & more

PM Modi turns 75 today with a day full of events - health camps, tribal schemes, sapling plantation and the launch of a textile park in Madhya Pradesh

SC raps Maha poll panel, directs completion of local body polls by Jan 2026

Pulling up the Maharashtra State Election Commission for non-compliance of its order, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the state local body polls, stalled since 2022, to be completed by January 31, 2026 without further extension. The bench was irked over the failure of the state election commission (SEC) to comply with its order mandating a timely conclusion of the stalled local body elections. Elections of all local bodies, including Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samitis and all municipalities shall be conducted by January 31, 2026. No further extension shall be granted to the state and the State Election Commission. In case any other logistic assistance required, application can be filed promptly before October 31, 2025. No prayer will be entertained thereafter, a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said. The bench was informed that the delimitation for municipalities was underway and the SEC had sought an extension on grounds including insufficient EVMs ...

Maha govt to launch skills courses for gems and jewellery sector: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the state government will launch certificate courses at the Skills University to train skilled manpower in the gems and jewellery sector. Speaking at the inauguration of a gems and jewellery exhibition at the Jio World Convention Centre here, Fadnavis said the gems and jewellery sector has the potential to make India a global leader. He said that the initiative to provide certificate courses at the Maharashtra State Skills University (MSSU) will create manpower and ensure consistent growth of the industry. The chief minister also said that a state-of-the-art Gems and Jewellery Park is being developed at Mahape in Navi Mumbai. "The park will provide facilities to professionals and exporters, enabling a boost in exports. The government is committed to making this sector more employment-oriented in collaboration with the Gems and Jewellery Association," he noted. He said Indian jewellery has a long history and is exported t

Avaada Group commissions 11 solar plants in Maharashtra under MSKVY 2.0

Diversified energy firm Avaada Group on Tuesday announced the commissioning of 11 solar power projects in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana 2.0 to provide reliable power for irrigation. The projects include a 4 MW plant at Kinhi, 3 MW each at Baldi and Dongarkharda, 2 MW each at Bansi and Patan,a 5 MW at Mhasola, 2 MW at Galwa, 4 MW each at Pathrad and Parjana, and 3 MW each at Sawargaon and Sarfali, a company statement said. Avaada Group has commissioned 11 solar power projects in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana (MSKVY) 2.0, a move aimed at providing farmers with reliable daytime power for irrigation and advancing the state's clean energy transition, according to the statement. The projects are expected to benefit nearly 14,900 farmers across 167 villages by improving irrigation facilities, reducing costs, and creating additional income opportunities, while ensuring a reliable supply of

IMD issues yellow alert in Mumbai as it battles heavy rain, traffic snarls

Mumbai faced torrential downpours, causing water-logging, traffic delays, and school closures while thunderstorms and strong winds persist in the city and suburbs

Acharya Devvrat takes oath, now to serve as Maharashtra and Gujarat Guv

Acharya Devvrat on Monday took oath as the governor of Maharashtra. President Droupadi Murmu last week appointed Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat to discharge functions of the governor of Maharashtra, in addition to his own duties, after C P Radhakrishnan demitted office due to his election as the country's next Vice-President. Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar administered the oath of office to Devvrat at the Raj Bhavan here on Monday. Devvrat took the oath in Sanskrit. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, other state ministers, top bureaucrats, and police officers were present at the swearing-in ceremony. Devvrat, 66, has been the governor of Gujarat since 2019. He is a postgraduate in Hindi and History, and holds a doctorate degree in Naturopathy and Yogic Science.

Maratha quota row: OBC, other groups turn up heat; CM urges restraint

The political landscape in Maharashtra is hotting up as after OBCs, SC and ST groups have also expressed concerns over a Government Resolution on Hyderabad gazette for Maratha quota, prompting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to caution against the politics of extreme. As a row over the GR, issued earlier this month, threatened to turn into a conflict between Maratha and OBC (Other Backward Class) communities, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday accused the Mahayuti government of weakening the social fabric and trying to widen the divide in society. Acknowledging a growing chasm over the sensitive issue of the Maratha reservation, Fadnavis appealed to leaders from both communities to present facts about the issue before the people. Politics of extremes is taking place on the issue and an atmosphere is being created that OBC reservation is finished. This is affecting the psyche of OBC students, he said. Weeks after the state government issued the GR to quell protests led by activi

Maha govt expands Mission Vatsalya to help all widows, deserted women

The Maharashtra government has decided to expand the scope of its Mission Vatsalya scheme to provide benefits to all widows, single and deserted women, state Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare has said. The scheme was initially launched in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic to support children who had lost both parents to the ailment as well as widowed women. At the time, committees under tehsildars were constituted at the taluka level to ensure such orphans and widows could access government aid and essential certificates, including death and income certificates, caste certificates, widow pension, ration cards, housing support and other social security benefits. Tatkare on Friday said that the government will now organise camps and outreach programmes at the district level to ensure widows and single women receive the benefits of various state welfare schemes under the 'government at your doorstep' initiative. "The expansion of Mission Vatsalya will provide social a

Gujarat stays top state for bank-backed investments; Maharashtra second

Bank and financial institution support for projects stayed high in FY25, with Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh among the top states driving nearly 60 per cent of total project costs

GR on Maratha quota is injustice to OBC community, says NCP's Anil Deshmukh

Senior NCP (SP) leader and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday claimed that the recent GR issued by the state government on reservations to the Marathas is an injustice to the Other Backward Class (OBC) community. Speaking at a press conference, Deshmukh said nobody is against giving reservations to the Marathas, but it should not affect the OBC quota. The OBC community has grown restless after the state social justice and special assistance department issued the GR on implementing the Hyderabad gazette, which will allow eligible members of the Maratha community to apply for Kunbi caste certificates. This will enable them to claim quota under the OBC category after certificates are issued. The GR was issued after the state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation successfully persuaded quota activist Manoj Jarange to withdraw his hunger strike in Mumbai on September 2. "The GR on Maratha reservation is an injustice to the OBC community. Nobody is against .

Jarange warns Maharashtra govt to act on Kunbi certificate GR by Sept 17

Quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday demanded that the Maharashtra government implement a GR issued last week for issuing Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas before September 17, or else he will take a "tough decision" again. Jarange ended his five-day-old fast for quota in Mumbai on September 2 when the government announced forming a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members with historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage, a social group classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in the state. The government made the announcement in a resolution and it followed hectic talks between state ministers and Jarange. The Kunbi is a traditional farming community in the state and they have been included in the list of OBC category in Maharashtra in order to make them eligible for government reservations in jobs and education. The government resolution (GR) issued by the social justice and special assistance department also mentioned about implementing th

Seven dead during Ganesh idol immersion in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh

Ganesh festival culminated on a teary note for lakhs of devotees who bid farewell to the adorable elephant-headed god they consecrated and worshipped for ten days, while at least seven persons died in various incidents, including drowning, after immersing idols in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In Maharashtra, four persons drowned and 13 went missing in various water bodies in Thane, Pune, Nanded, Nashik, Jalgaon, and Amravati districts, officials said on Sunday. In Mumbai city, where immersion processions extend several hours, a man died of electrocution and five other individuals sustained injuries, civic officials said. The incident occurred on Khairani Road in the Sakinaka area on Sunday morning when a Ganesh idol came into contact with a hanging electric wire. In Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, two teenage boys drowned after falling into a stream during the immersion of an idol of Lord Ganesh, police said on Sunday. The boys drowned after falling into a stream during the

Modi great leader whether Trump says so or not: Fadnavis on foreign policy

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a great leader irrespective of whether US President Donald Trump says it or not, and added that India frames its own foreign policy, which cannot be dictated to it by any other country. His statement comes in the wake of Trump's praise of PM Modi. Trump on Friday said, "I'll always be friends with (Narendra) Modi, he's a great prime minister. He's great. I'll always be friends, but I just don't like what he's doing at this particular moment." The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a major downturn after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" When asked about the US President's remarks, CM Fadnavis said, "Whether Trump says it or not, PM Modi is great. All world leaders feel that he is a great ...

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange hospitalised a day after ending fast

A day after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange ended his fast, doctors attend to him in a hospital here on Wednesday said he had dehydration and low blood sugar, and was being administered intravenous (IV) fluids. Jarange, who began his hunger strike in Mumbai on August 29, called off the protest on Tuesday afternoon after the Maharashtra government accepted most of his demands, including granting eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates, which will make them eligible for reservation benefits available to OBCs. The 43-year-old activist accepted a glass of fruit juice offered by senior BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation, at south Mumbai's Azad Maidan, the site of his agitation, marking the end of his fast. Jarange, who hails from Jalna district in the Marathwada region, later left the venue in an ambulance for a medical check-up. He was then shifted to a private hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where he receive

Inox Green inks O&M deals for 189 MWp solar projects across three states

Inox Green Energy Services on Wednesday said it has inked pacts with multiple customers to provide operations and maintenance services for 189.1 MWp of operational solar projects. According to a company statement, the pacts include 96.6 MWp with a global PE-backed Independent Power Producer (IPP) for their projects located in Maharashtra and 92.5 MWp with an IPP for their projects located in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. With these additions, Inox Green's solar O&M portfolio has touched 1.8 GW, taking the total renewable O&M portfolio to 5.3 GW, the statement added. "Being one of the leading renewable O&M services providers in the country, we are confident of capturing a significant portion of the upcoming opportunities and rapidly scaling up our portfolio in the coming years," SK Mathu Sudhana, CEO of Inox Green, said. Inox Green Energy Services is engaged in the business of providing long-term O&M services for renewable energy projects. Its customers include some of ...

Jarange ends hunger strike as Maharashtra govt accepts Maratha quota demand

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange said the Maharashtra government agreed to implement the Hyderabad Gazette granting OBC status to Marathas and withdraw protest cases

Jarange meets delegation, demands Marathwada's Marathas be declared Kunbis

Activist Manoj Jarange on Saturday told a delegation led by retired High Court judge Sandeep Shinde that the government must declare all Marathas of Marathwada as Kunbis and be given reservation. The delegation met Jarange at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai this afternoon. He has been on an indefinite hunger strike since Friday seeking quota in government jobs and education for the Maratha community. Jarange said the committee under retired judge Shinde had studied gazettes related to the issue for the past 13 months and now it was time for the panel to submit its report to pave the way for Marathas to get Kunbi status. Jarange has been seeking a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. He has demanded that Marathas be recognised as Kunbis an agrarian caste included in the OBC category which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education. "Marathas in Marathwada must be declared as Kunbis and given reservation. The Hydera

Shah visits Lalbaugcha Raja, CM residence and meets DyCM Shinde in Mumbai

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is in Mumbai to attend the ongoing Ganesh festivities, visited Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' residence and later took 'darshan' of the famous Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati with his family members. Shah also held a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and state BJP leaders. Shah arrived in the city on Friday night. On Saturday morning, he met Shinde at the state government's Sahyadri Guest House in south Mumbai, where he also interacted with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) joint general secretary Atul Limaye, Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan and newly appointed Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam. Shah later visited 'Varsha', the official residence of CM Fadnavis, party sources said. After that the Union minister visited the famous Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh mandal with his family members as part of his annual tradition. CM Fadnavis and Deputy CM Shinde also accompanied them. Shah is also scheduled to pay a visit to the Ganesh pandals in