Page 34 - Maharashtra

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

Over 403K crop insurance claims rejected in Maharashtra: Manikrao Kokate

More than 4.30 lakh crop insurance applications under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) were rejected in Maharashtra during the Kharif 2024 season due to irregularities, the legislative council was told on Monday. State Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate stated in a written reply that the rejections were primarily due to discrepancies such as insurance on government-owned land, municipal land, areas exceeding actual landholdings, and non-eligible crops. "No financial loss has occurred to the government as no premiums were paid for these invalid claims," Kokate stated while responding to a question asked by BJP MLC Chitra Wagh. As many as 4,30,443 crop insurance applications under the PMFBY were rejected during the Kharif 2024 season. In comparison, 2,85,468 applications were rejected during the Kharif 2023 season, the minister stated. Kokate said the scrutiny process had flagged several irregularities including fraudulent geo-tagging of non-agricultural land as ...

MSRDC secures $2.5 bn funding commitments for Mumbai's ring road project

The new road, part of an ambitious infrastructure makeover of the world's densest metropolitan region, is intended to reduce traffic congestion near Mumbai and improve road quality

6 labourers killed, 11 injured as speeding truck overturns in Maharashtra

Four labourers were killed and 13 others injured when their speeding truck overturned in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in the early hours of Monday, police said. The incident took place in Pishor ghat section when the sugarcane-laden truck was going from Kannad to Pishor, an official said. As many as 17 labourers were travelling on the truck, he said. Its driver lost control over the wheels at the Pishor ghat and as a result, the vehicle overturned. The labourers fell down on the road and got trapped under the heap of sugarcane, the official said. Later, four labourers were found dead and 13 were pulled out alive, he said. The injured labourers were rushed to a hospital and were undergoing treatment, the official said.

Scribe held for 'derogatory' comments against Maharashtra minister's aide

Police have arrested a journalist with a local news channel for allegedly making derogatory remarks against an aide of Maharashtra minister Jaykumar Gore, and also booked him in a case of attempt to extort Rs 5 crore from the minister, officials said on Monday. The Satara police arrested Tushar Kharat, the editor of Lay Bhari, a local YouTube channel, from Mumbai on Sunday, they said. Some opposition leaders recently demanded Gore's resignation over allegations of him harassing a woman and sending objectionable photos to her. The state rural development minister has dismissed the charges. Last week, Gore submitted breach of privilege notices against Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Tushar Kharat, accusing them of defaming him. Gore last week said the court acquitted him of all charges in 2019 and directed that the material be destroyed. The BJP minister had said his image was maligned by raking up an old issue. "BJP's social media co-ordinator and Gore'

Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar to present state budget in Assembly today

Notably, this will be the first budget for the newly-formed Mahayuti government and Pawar's 11th Budget as Finance Minister

'Budget is for people', says Dy CM Eknath Shinde ahead of state budget

Shinde further stated that the Maharashtra government will continue to carry out similar work for the people of the state in the next five years

Uddhav urges 'Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhavani' as counter to BJP's slogan

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday accused the BJP of poisoning society and asked his supporters to respond to the ruling party's favoured 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan with 'Jai Shivaji' and Jai Bhavani'. Addressing Sena (UBT) workers in the eastern suburb of Mulund, bordering Thane, he also drew a comparison between the current BJP-led regime and Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler. If anyone says Jai Shri Ram, do not let the person leave without making sure that he says Jai Shivaji and Jai Bhavani. The BJP has poisoned our society. I am going to give the BJP a tough time for what they have done to our society, he said. Thackeray also questioned the BJP's commitment to the country, pointing to its stance on international sports events. He said that the BJP previously opposed sporting events with Pakistan, yet India now engages in cricket matches with both Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Sena (UBT) chief also responded to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's recent j

Don't act against women for one murder': NCP(SP) leader's bizarre request

Rohini Khadse, president of the women's wing, addressed a letter to the President stating that women seek to eliminate oppressive mentalities, rapist mindsets, and ineffective legal system in India

Gender equality only on paper, must be imbibed in families: Maharashtra CM

Gender equality is currently only on paper and there was need to imbibe it in families by teaching the value that girls and boys are equal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday. Interacting with journalists on the occasion of International Women's Day, the CM also said he was happy to be the parent of a girl, adding "daughter's are God's blessings" and that he was fortunate to have received it. "Gender equality is a value that needs to be taught from childhood that girls and boys are individuals who needed to be treated equally. Gender equality is only on paper and needs to be imbibed within families, while governments can make interventions," Fadnavis said. On the personal front, the CM said he never felt pressure from society or family since he only has a daughter. Asserting that his wife is an independent individual, Fadnavis said, "I may not agree with all her views and actions, but as an independent individual, she is free. She is often trolled and has

No intention to control media: Maha CM on setting up of monitoring centre

The Maharashtra government does not intend to control the media through the monitoring centre that it plans to set up, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday while asserting the mechanism was to "take note" of what is printed and broadcast for response and clarification purposes. The media monitoring centre (MMC) to be set up under the state government's Directorate of Information and Publicity has come in for criticism and is being dubbed as a move to control the media. A government resolution issued earlier this week said the requirement of such a centre was felt because of the growth of publications, channels and digital platforms and there was need for monitoring under one umbrella how the news related to government schemes, policies are given. A professional consultant will be hired to collect government related news in PDF format and bifurcate into various categories like issues, individuals, departments, positive and negative, the GR stated. "We have no intention

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

Ladki Bahin Yojana: 2.52 cr women to receive 8th, 9th instalments tomorrow

Ladki Bahin Yojana Installment Date: Ahead of International Women's Day 2025, the Maharashtra government has promised to deposit the 8th and 9th installment of Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana

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.

Maharashtra received record FDI in just nine months of 2024-25: Fadnavis

Maharashtra has received record FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows of the past ten years in just nine months of 2024-25, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday. Fadnavis quoted the Centre's DPIIT foreign investment report for December 2024 to back his claim. As per the report, Maharashtra has crossed the highest annual foreign direct investment in the last 10 years in just 9 months of the current fiscal, he said. A total of Rs 1,39,434 crore has been received in the first 9 months of the financial year 2024-2025, he said. This is the highest foreign investment received in Maharashtra in any single year in the last 10 years, he said. According to the data compiled by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) for the end of December 2024, Maharashtra tops the country in FDI inflow, followed by Karnataka and Gujarat. In doing so, the Mahayuti government has broken its own record for the financial year 2016-17. Of course, there is still one quarter

Maharashtra govt to set up media centre to monitor news content

The Maharashtra government will set up a media monitoring centre to analyse news content of the print, electronic and digital media, and has allocated a budget of Rs 10 crore for the purpose. The centre will collect and analyse all factual and misleading news reports in print and broadcast media, and prepare a factual report, according to a government resolution (GR) published on Wednesday. If there is a misleading news, it will be clarified in real-time. If there is a negative news, clarification will be given expeditiously, it said. The requirement for the centre was felt because of the growth of publications, channels and digital platforms, and there was a need for monitoring under one umbrella how the news related to government schemes, policies is given, the government order said. The centre, to work from 8 am to 10 pm every day, will be handled by the Directorate of Information and Publicity. The government has given the administrative and financial approval for setting up t

SP MLA Abu Azmi says suspension arbitrary, alleges threats to life, family

Earlier on Wednesday, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar suspended Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for the entire duration of the ongoing budget session

'Hatred for Maharashtra… in Goa,' says Ayesha Takia on case against husband

Actor Ayesha Takia's husband, Abu Farhan Azmi, was booked by police in Goa at a public place at Candolim village in North Goa. In a post, the actress said her family was 'brutally bullied' by goons

Munde resignation eyewash, he'll be back after case cools down: Sena UBT

Neither Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis nor his deputy Ajit Pawar, who heads the NCP, can claim that resignation was sought on moral grounds,

Tiger count in Maharashtra up at 444 from 101 in 2000, says forest minister

Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik on Wednesday said the state's tiger count has gone up to 444 this year from 101 in 2000, and the government has approved funds of Rs 200 crore for solar fencing of villages near tiger habitats. Naik was replying to a debate in the state assembly on the issue of man-animal conflicts in a wildlife sanctuary near Bhandara. The minister said two persons were killed in the area in tiger attacks this year. Naik assured the House that he would pursue the demand for fencing of villages which are close to forests and fall on the route of tiger movement. "The number of tigers in the state has gone up to 444 now compared to 101 in 2000," he told the House. Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said there was anger among locals over tiger attacks. Farmers were living in fear as tigers and leopards destroy crops as well, he said. Members cutting across party lines expressed concern over the increasing incidents of human-wildlife ...