Page 40 - Maharashtra

Recognition given by 'Ladki Bahin' beneficiaries biggest honour: Shinde

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said "Ladki Bahin" (women) in the state recognising him as their "dear brother" is the biggest honour for him. Notably, the Ladki Bahin scheme for financial assistance to women, started during the previous Mahayuti government when Shinde was the CM, is widely credited to have contributed to the BJP-led coalition's big win the state assembly polls in November 2024. The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, registered a landslide win in the polls. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was subsequently sworn in as the chief minister, with Shinde and Pawar as his deputies. Shinde on Monday night attended the Diva Festival in Thane district where a speaker remarked about his transition from chief minister to deputy CM after the state elections. Responding to it, Shinde said, "I am proud and happy that 2.40 crore Ladki Bahin have recognised me as a Ladka Bhau (beloved brother)." "This recognition is my greate

Maharashtra ATS arrests 9 Bangladeshis for illegal stay, 43 held in a month

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested nine Bangladeshi nationals for illegally entering India and staying in the country without proper documents, officials said. With this, the ATS has arrested 43 Bangladeshi nationals in 19 cases last month as part of a special drive, an official said on Tuesday. The latest action was taken with the help of local police in Mumbai, Nashik, Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the last four days. Nine Bangladeshi nationals -- eight males and one female -- were arrested, he said. The accused got Aadhaar cards made using forged documents, the official said. Police have registered five cases against them under the Foreigners Act and other relevant legal provisions, he added.

Sarpanch murder: Dhananjay, Pankaja should resign, says activist Damania

Social activist Anjali Damania has demanded that Maharashtra ministers Pankaja Munde and Dhananjay Munde resign till a probe is underway into the brutal murder of a village sarpanch in Beed district. Talking to a news channel on Monday, Damania claimed that Munde cousins very well know Walmik Karad, an accused in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's murder. BJP leader Pankaja Munde is the state environment and climate change minister, while her cousin Dhananjay Munde, a leader of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), holds charge of the food, civil supplies and consumer protection department. According to police, Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was abducted and killed on December 9 allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some individuals who had demanded money from a windmill company in Beed district. Four persons have been arrested so far in connection with the murder. Opposition parties and a BJP MLA have accused Dhananjay Munde of having clos

CM Fadnavis asks transport department to use AI for road safety measures

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked the state transport department officials to increase the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in order to minimise road accidents. Fadnavis also directed them to enforce policies for scrapping all vehicles above 15 years of age, a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office on Monday said. The Maharashtra government has signed an agreement with Google, it said, adding the CM asked the transport department to increase the use of AI to strengthen the sector's security and sustainability, using the agreement. The CM reviewed the next 100-day action plans for the transport, ports and the state airport authority departments in a meeting at the Sahyadri guest house. He emphasised the need for scrapping all vehicles older than 15 years, both public and private. As per the release, more than 13,000 outdated government vehicles will be scrapped, and the state transport corporation's buses older than 15 years will be replaced or ...

The time when 'carpenter' Carter helped build 100 houses near Lonavala

For 100 low-income families near Lonavala, around 80 km from Mumbai, Jimmy Carter was a godsend as he had helped build their houses in 2006. For a week in October that year, the former US President and his wife Rosalynn worked alongside the families and about 2,000 international and local volunteers to build homes at Patan village near Lonavala, a popular hill station. The volunteers included Hollywood actor Brad Pitt and Bollywood actor John Abraham. The houses were built under the aegis of NGO Habitat for Humanity. Carter volunteered his carpentry skills and raised money to boost the organization's profile. Since 1984, Carter donated one week of his time and his building skills every year to the organization. Carter, who left the White House in 1980 at the end of his first and only term as US President, had said in an interview that his mother Lillian joined the Peace Corps when she was 67 and worked in a leper colony near Mumbai. "She was very near Bombay in a little village

Bhujbal's exclusion from Maharashtra cabinet NCP's issue: Shiv Sena leader

Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Bharat Gogawale has said Chhagan Bhujbal's exclusion from the cabinet is an internal issue of the NCP and not of the ruling Mahayuti coalition. It is the discretion of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to pick ministers, like the allies Shiv Sena and BJP, Gogawale told reporters on Sunday. "Others can't comment on this issue. The exclusion of Bhujbal from the council of ministers is the issue of the NCP and not of the Mahayuti coalition," he said. Bhujbal has blamed NCP president and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for not inducting him in the expanded cabinet of the BJP-led government. The former minister claimed CM Devendra Fadnavis had favoured his induction into the state cabinet. A total of 39 legislators took oath as ministers on December 15, including 33 as cabinet ministers and the rest as ministers of state.

Massive fire breaks out in two chemical units in Boisar MIDC in Maharashtra

A massive fire broke out on Sunday in a chemical factory in Boisar-Tarapur MIDC in Palghar district of Maharashtra, officials said. The raging blaze at UK Aromatic and Chemical Company also engulfed an adjacent chemical unit in the Salwad Shivaji Nagar area. A firefighting operation is underway to douse the blaze, the officials said, adding that no report has been received so far about any injuries. A major disaster was averted as workers rushed out of the premises of the fire-ravaged UK Aromatic and Chemicals Factory, officials added. The cause of the blaze cannot be known immediately. Visuals showed thick plumes of black smoke emanating from the burning industrial unit. The Palghar fire control room received a call about the incident around 6:20 PM, following which a fire-fighting operation was launched immediately. Several fire engines and water tankers were dispatched to the spot to douse the blaze which is yet to be brought under control even after almost two hours.

Dharavi Redevelopment Project changes name to Navbharat Mega Developers

Company says it is to avoid being mistaken for the government authority in the same space, which is Dharavi Redevelopment Authority (DRA)

Beed sarpanch murder: CM Fadnavis asks CID to seize properties of accused

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked the police's Crime Investigation Department (CID) to confiscate properties of the accused in the murder case of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. A Home department official on Saturday also said Fadnavis has asked the authorities to cancel the arms licenses of people whose pictures or videos showing them firing in the air or flaunting guns in public have circulated on social media. Fadnavis, who took over as CM on December 5 following the BJP-led coalition's election victory and who holds the Home portfolio, is facing heat from the opposition over the brutal murder of the sarpanch in Beed district earlier this month. The Maharashtra police's CID has taken over the probe into the murder case. "Chief Minister Fadnavis has asked the CID to confiscate properties of the accused in the murder case," the official said. Meanwhile, participants of a huge protest rally in Beed on Saturday, attended by MLAs and local leaders of opposit

Maharashtra RTOs to deploy radar-equipped vehicles for enhanced e-challan

The Maharashtra motor vehicles department (MMVD) will procure interceptor vehicles equipped with radar systems capable of detecting multiple traffic violations simultaneously, officials said on Friday. The deployment of such radar-mounted interceptor vehicles, which will be the first for any state in the country, is expected to significantly increase the number of e-challans issued by flying squads of Regional Transport Offices (RTO), in turn improving enforcement efficiency, they said. The radar-based system will be installed on 96 interceptor vehicles, the majority of which arrived about a month ago and are awaiting fitment, and will then be handed over to RTO flying squads, the officials said. While 69 Mahindra-made interceptor vehicles have been delivered and are awaiting installation of the new system, procurement of 27 more is in process. This procurement comes after MMVD introduced 187 AI-powered laser speed gun mounted interceptor vehicles earlier this year using road ...

Mandatory hi-security number plates in Maharashtra to cost Rs 531-879

As per SOP, the vehicle owner is responsible for getting HSRP and a third registration mark sticker installed by March 31, 2025

Cong didn't want Ambedkar to grow bigger than Nehru-Gandhi family: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday demanded that Congress apologise to the nation for insulting Dr B R Ambedkar repeatedly. The Opposition party distorted Union home minister Amit Shah's speech in Parliament, he said, speaking at a 'meet-the-press' program here. "Congress should apologise to the nation for always insulting Ambedkar. Its anxiety was that no one should grow in stature above the Nehru-Gandhi family. Congress distorted Amit Shah's comments on Ambedkar to mislead the people. BJP and Shah can not insult Ambedkar even in their dreams," Fadnavis said. Even his own speech in the Maharashtra assembly where he said that Naxalites do not believe in the country 's Constitution was distorted in such a way that it appeared he did not believe in the Constitution, the chief minister said. "We now have the technology to get the entire digital footprint for identifying those who are circulating such messages," said Fadnavis who also holds the home ...

Maha farmers to drive second green revolution with green energy: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday that adopting green energy will allow farmers in the state to lead the second green revolution soon. He said solar-powered villages are being developed across the state to ensure electricity is available to farmers during the daytime. "Adoption of green energy will pave the way for Maharashtra's farmers to lead the second green revolution in the near future," the chief minister said. Fadnavis inaugurated projects at Umbratha in Washim district and Narangwadi in Dharashiv district under the Chief Minister's Solar Agriculture Feeder Project 2.0 via video conferencing. He said the Solar Agriculture Feeder Scheme would provide farmers with sustainable and free electricity during the day. Currently, 16,000 MW of electricity is supplied to agriculturists in Maharashtra. Fadnavis said the initiative to shift all feeders (a power line that transmits electricity from a substation or generating station to distribution points) to s

Transfer of Rs 1,500 aid under Ladki Bahin scheme resumes in Maharashtra

The disbursement of monthly instalments to beneficiaries of the Maharashtra government's Ladki Bahin scheme resumed from Tuesday after a break due to the model code of conduct, state minister Aditi Tatkare said. The instalments will be disbursed in phases, the women and child development minister said. The state assembly elections were held last month, due to which the model code was in place till the completion of the poll process. The Mukhyamanti Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, launched earlier this year to provide a monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to eligible women, is believed to have contributed to the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the state assembly polls. Talking to PTI, Tatkare said there are 2.34 crore beneficiaries under the scheme as of now. "The direct benefit transfer (DBT) of the instalment has begun from today. Rs 1,500 will be transferred and after four days we will get to know how many beneficiaries were given the amount. The number of beneficiaries will increase as per

Switzerland-based TIL to invest Rs 20,000 crore in Vadhvan Port project

Terminal Investment Limited Sarl (TIL) invests in, develops, and manages container terminals across the globe

Filmmaker Shyam Benegal passes away at 90 after prolonged illness

He breathed his last at 6.30 pm at Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai

Rahul to meet family of deceased Suryawnashi in Maharashtra's Parbhani

The Maharashtra Police are making efforts to strengthen the security arrangements ahead of Gandhi's visit

Sharad Pawar urges Maharashtra CM to address Beed, Parbhani cases

: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday had a telephonic conversation with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the murder of a sarpanch in Beed and the death of a man following violence in Parbhani. Pawar on Saturday visited the families of Santosh Deshmukh, the slain sarpanch, and Somnath Suryawanshi, who allegedly died in judicial custody after his arrest in connection with the violence in Parbhani. The NCP (SP) chief attended the Bhimthadi Jatra at the College of Agriculture in the city on Sunday. While at the event, he called the chief minister, urging him to take note of the Beed and Parbhani cases. Fadnavis on Friday announced judicial probes into the Parbhani violence and the sarpanch's murder and financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of Deshmukh and Suryawanshi. Talking to reporters here, Pawar said, "I had a word with the chief minister about the places I visited yesterday. I told him that the situation was serious and asked him to take not

Fadnavis presents blueprint for comprehensive development of Maharashtra

Additionally, a blueprint for a developed, balanced, and comprehensive Maharashtra was outlined, informed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

News updates: GST Council has deferred decisions on tax rates on food delivery platforms, says FM

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