Page 101 - Maharashtra

Maharashtra farmers protest at markets against 40% duty on onion export

Farmers in at least three districts in Maharashtra on Sunday protested at APMCs against the Centre's decision to impose a 40 per cent duty on the export of the kitchen staple. Amid protests, state Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde said he would speak with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday and try to find some "amicable" solution to the issue. A day after the Central government imposed a 40 per cent duty on the export of onions till December 31, 2023, wholesale markets at Satana, Malegaon and Lasalgaon (In Nashik district), in Ahmednagar, and at Manchar and Khed in Pune district saw protests by farmers. Munde's cabinet colleague Chhagan Bhujbal said he would raise the onion export duty issue with the state deputy chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis. "I will request him to discuss this with officials in Delhi. We will try to take steps to find an amicable solution, Bhujbal told reporters. A Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna (SSS) leader said ...

Sharad Pawar won't make 'mistake' of joining hands with BJP: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar will not make the "mistake" of joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party, like his nephew Ajit Pawar. NCP leader Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP government in Maharashtra last month as the deputy chief minister. Eight other NCP MLAs also took oath as cabinet ministers along with him. Sharad Pawar's party is a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state along with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress. "Ajit Pawar can truly be a big leader if he forms his own political party and contests elections. Ajit Pawar's politics will collapse like a sand castle if he does the same with help of the BJP, like Eknath Shinde did. In politics, towers matter and not sand castles," Raut wrote in his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana'. Ajit Pawar grew politically because of his uncle and is now working to finish off his (uncle's) political career

Among state exam boards, highest number of NEET-UG applicants from Maha

The highest number of applications for medical exam NEET-UG in the last five years from among state boards was from Maharashtra, according to the National Testing Agency (NTA). The Karnataka state board is at the second spot followed by Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh in terms of applicants. This year, more than 20.38 lakh candidates had appeared for NEET. It was 14.10 lakh in 2019. The highest number of candidates appearing for the biggest entrance exam in the country from 2019-2023 were from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), according to data accessed by PTI. This year, more than 5.51 lakh applicants were from the board that conducts Class 12 exams at the national level. However, among state boards, Maharashtra tops the chart in terms of applications for NEET-UG or the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Under-Graduate). This year, more than 2.57 lakh candidates from the Maharashtra state board applied for the exam. Last year, more than 2.31 lakh candidates had ..

Maha govt to hold Govinda pyramid formation competition in Mumbai on Aug 31

The Maharashtra government will organise a human pyramid formation competition, the staple of the state's renowned 'Govinda' festivities, on August 31 with participating teams vying for the first prize worth Rs 11 lakh, state minister Uday Samant said on Saturday. The competition will be held at the Worli indoor stadium from morning to evening on August 31, Samant, the state industries minister, told reporters. "We are organising this competition as formation of human pyramid is now recognised as an adventure sport. We want to take this competition to international level," state sports minister Sanjay Bansode said.

Maharashtra: Industrialist Ratan Tata conferred with Udyog Ratna award

Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata was on Saturday conferred the first ever Udyog Ratna' award instituted by the Maharashtra government. The award was presented to the 85-year-old chairman emeritus of Tata Sons by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar at the industrialist's home in Colaba, south Mumbai. The honour comprised a shawl, a citation and a memento from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). Talking to reporters afterwards, Shinde said honouring Tata as Udyog Ratna' has enhanced the prestige of the award. The contribution of the Tata group in all sectors is immense. Tata means trust, he said. The steel-to-salt group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents. In 2021-22, the collective revenue of Tata companies stood at $128 billion.

LoP claims reshuffle in Maharashtra govt, main seat will change; BJP denies

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Saturday claimed there will be major changes in the state government, including the main seat, in the coming weeks. BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, however, differed. He asserted Eknath Shinde will continue to be the chief minister till the assembly elections in Maharashtra next year. The BJP, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and an NCP faction under Ajit Pawar are the ruling partners in the Maharashtra government. Ajit Pawar broke away from the Sharad Pawar-founded NCP and joined the government last month. Speaking to reporters here, Wadettiwar said Maharashtra will witness major changes in the state government in a few weeks. There will be a change in the main seat. I'm not saying that there will be a change of government, but the main seat will change in September, said the senior Congress leader. After joining hands with the ruling dispensation last month, Ajit Pawar became the second deputy CM, while 8 of his

Is the fairy tale of India's sugar sector facing multiple challenges?

The uneven monsoon in 2023 means that industry is already beginning to factor in a drop in production in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat

Dy CM Ajit Pawar, 8 NCP ministers given charge to build party organisation

Nine NCP ministers have been entrusted with the task of strengthening the party organisation in Maharashtra with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar being given charge of Pune, Satara, Sangli and Solapur districts, a statement said on Friday. Praful Patel, national working president of the NCP faction of Ajit Pawar, has been given the responsibility of strengthening the organisation in Bhandara, Gondia, Amravati, Wardha and Nagpur by the state unit chief, it said. In all, the nine ministers have been given the task of building the party organisation in 36 districts. Minister Chhagan Bhujbal will look after Nashik, Mumbai city and Mumbai suburbs, it said. On July 2, Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government, resulting in a vertical split in the Sharad Pawar founded Nationalist Congress Party.

Third meeting of INDIA aims to oust Modi govt from Centre: Nana Patole

The party held the Wednesday meeting to review preparations - the third in the series after the earlier ones in Patna and Bengaluru - ahead of the crucial INDIA bloc meeting

Maha coop sugar mills mull paying more to farmers as tax demand settles

In Maharashtra, the welfare of sugarcane farmers is a major political issue, particularly during elections

NIA carries out raid in Pune ISIS case, seizes incriminating material

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried out a raid in connection with the Pune ISIS module case and seized a host of incriminating material exposing the banned terrorist organisation's conspiracy to disrupt peace and communal harmony in the country, an official said. The raid was conducted on the house of arrested accused Shamil Saquib Nachan, an alleged member of an ISIS sleeper cell, at Padgha in Thane in Maharashtra. Several mobile phones, hard disks and some handwritten documents were seized during the raid and are being examined, a spokesperson of the anti-terror central agency said. Nachan was arrested earlier for participating in bomb-making workshops and in the fabrication and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the agency said. "He had been working with five other accused - Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi and Abdul Kadir Pathan - and some other suspects as part of a bigger conspiracy t

BJP breaks govt in states while talking about stability: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday accused the BJP of breaking duly elected governments in various states, even as the ruling party spoke of providing a stable government. You talk of providing a stable government but break duly elected governments in states, Pawar said, addressing a public rally in Beed town of Maharashtra. Pawar also said PM Narendra Modi is following in the footsteps of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis by including a mi punha yein' (I'll come back again) element in his Independence Day speech. Fadnavis did not return as CM, but came back at a lower position. One wonders what will he (Modi) return as, he said.

Police, Naxalites exchange fire on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border

In a joint operation, the police in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra and neighbouring Chhattisgarh recovered explosives, Maoist literature and other material following an exchange of fire with Naxalites along the border of both states, an official said on Thursday. The incident occurred on Wednesday, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Nilotpal said. "The Gadchiroli police had received intelligence inputs on August 15 night about the presence of a Naxalite camp of Sandra LOS (local organisation squad) and other such formations in north of Bhopalpatnam in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district along the border of the two states," he said. The information was immediately shared with the Bijapur SP. After discussions, a joint team headed by Additional SP of Aheri (in Gadchiroli) Satish Deshmukh with nine C-60 parties comprising around 200 commandos and also comprising of Bijapur Deputy SP and 70 District Reserve Guard (DRG) commandos was formed for the combing operation, he added. C-60 is

Maharashtra: Software professional loses Rs 17.2 lakh to cyber fraud

A 42-year-old software professional from Maharashtra's Thane district lost Rs 17.2 lakh after he was scammed by two persons who promised him easy money through a part-time job, an official said on Thursday. A man and a woman got in touch with the complainant, who is employed with a top Indian IT firm, on August 3 and offered him a part-time job related to hotel bookings, the official said. The duo sent him a link through the Telegram app to carry out the job, the police said. The techie was first told to make some payment towards registration. The duo then smooth-talked him to pay more on some pretext or the other promising him easy money. After extracting Rs 17.28 lakh from the IT professional over the next few days, the duo became evasive when he asked them about the money promised to him, the official said. Based on a complaint from the techie, the Ambernath police on Tuesday registered a case under the IT Act. The police gave the names of the accused as Rahul Sharma and Sneha.

Sharad Pawar's rally in Beed: NCP chief sets sights on 2024 LS election

Pawar will today address a rally in Parli, Beed the constituency of key rebel NCP Leader Dhananjay Munde. This is his second rally which is aimed at targeting those who split from the NCP

Nagpur police bans transgenders from visiting public places to seek alms

The police authorities in Nagpur city of Maharashtra have reissued an order prohibiting transgenders from visiting public places, houses, wedding ceremonies and other events to seek alms from people, an official said on Wednesday. This order was earlier issued in January this year. It was issued under Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), he said. The order issued by the city Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar said it was issued in view of the incidents of beggars harassing motorists and other passersby, obstructing the smooth flow of traffic and pedestrians, and causing a nuisance. A violation of the order is punishable with a jail term of one month to six months, depending on the impact of the disobedience of the public order. The order will be in force from August 16 to October 14 this year. Violation of the order would attract registration of offence under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 143 (unlawfu

Hyundai signs deal to acquire General Motors' Talegaon manufacturing plant

Facility in Maharashtra has annual production capacity of 130,000 units

CCEA approves 7 multi-tracking projects to increase railway network

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved seven multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways at an estimated cost of around Rs 32,500 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The proposed projects will help increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation. The projects covering 35 districts in nine states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal -- will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2,339 km.

Hyundai Motor's India unit to buy General Motors' Maharashtra plant

The South Korean firm said it intends to upgrade the existing infrastructure at the Talegaon unit and start manufacturing in 2025. The plant currently has an annual production capacity of 130,000 unit

Sharad Pawar will not join hands with BJP in his lifetime: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed that Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar will not join hands with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in his lifetime. Talking to reporters, Raut further claimed a prime minister of the opposition INDIA alliance will hoist the national flag at the Red Fort in Delhi next year 2024 and the country is waiting for that auspicious moment. I don't think Sharad Pawar will join hands with the BJP till the time he lives. He is rebuilding his party, the Rajya Sabha member said. Sharad Pawar's party is an ally of the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress in Maharashtra. A meeting between Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is his nephew, at the residence of a businessman in Pune on Saturday has created a buzz in political circles. Asked whether Ajit Pawar gave any offer to Sharad Pawar during the meeting, Raut said, When did Ajit Pawar become so big to give an offer to Sharad Pawar." "It is Sharad