Page 85 - Maharashtra

1,088 farmers committed suicide in 8 Maharashtra districts in 2023: Report

As many as 1,088 farmers committed suicide in eight districts of the Marathwada region in central Maharashtra in 2023, a report from the divisional commissioner's office revealed. The figure has gone up by 65 compared to 2022, an official said. Of the 1,088 suicides in 2023, Beed recorded the highest 269 such deaths, followed by 182 in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 175 in Nanded, 171 in Dharashiv and 103 in Parbhani, the report stated. Jalna, Latur and Hingoli reported 74, 72 and 42 such deaths respectively. As per the report, 1,023 farmer suicides were reported in 2022 in Marathwada, which comprised Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Hingoli, Dharashiv, Latur, Nanded and Parbhani districts. The administration probed into each case, and ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh was disbursed to the kin in the eligible cases, the official said. Out of 1,088 cases, 777 were eligible for ex-gratia, which has been disbursed, and 151 cases are currently under inquiry, he said.

Sena Vs Sena: SC seeks response of Maha CM Shinde on Thackeray group's plea

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other lawmakers of his group on a plea of the Uddhav Thackeray faction challenging Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's order declaring the Shiv Sena bloc led by Shinde as the "real political party" after its split in June 2022. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Thackeray faction, and sought response of the chief minister and other MLAs within two weeks. At the outset, the top court said the plea can be heard by the Bombay High Court as well. The senior lawyers for the Thackeray faction, however, opposed the idea and said the top court is more equipped to handle the case. Your Lordships have to decide it. If we go to the high court, then it will be delayed further, Sibal said, adding the speaker's decision had come in ...

Scuffle breaks out between 2 communities in Maha ahead of Ram temple event

While chanting slogans, some of the persons allegedly burst firecrackers, following which a group of locals came out with wooden sticks

Shinde announces survey by commission to assess backwardness of Marathas

The state Commission for Backward Classes will conduct a survey from January 23 to asses the social, economic and educational backwardness of the Maratha community, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Saturday. The Maratha community has been demanding reservations in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. The chief minister directed the administration to carry out this survey in three different shifts on war footing. Shinde chaired a meeting on Maratha reservation issue at his official residence here and gave instructions to divisional commissioners, collectors, commissioners of municipal corporations and other senior officials via a video link. The survey announcement comes on a day when Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange embarked on a protest march to Mumbai from Jalna with thousands of supporters. He has announced to launch an indefinite fast for the Maratha quota in Mumbai from January 26. Jarange has demanded the issuance o

ED summons Sharad Pawar's grandnephew in MSCB money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Maharashtra MLA Rohit Pawar, a grandnephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, for questioning on January 24 as part of its money laundering probe into the alleged Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam, official sources said Friday. The federal agency had raided the premises of Baramati Agro, a company owned by Rohit Pawar, and some linked entities on January 5 in Baramati, Pune, Aurangabad and some other locations. Rohit Pawar, 38, is a first-time NCP MLA from the Karjat-Jamkhed seat in the Maharashtra assembly and is the owner and CEO of Baramati Agro. He belongs to the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Rohit Pawar is the nephew of Baramati MP Supriya Sule, and the state's deputy chief minister and Baramati MLA Ajit Pawar. The Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank money laundering case stems from an August 2019 FIR of the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing. Reacting to the raids, the Nationalist Congress Pa

My government draws inspiration from Lord Ram: PM Modi in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government is inspired by Lord Ram's principles of governance with honesty and urged people to light Ram Jyoti on January 22, stressing that it will be an inspiration to remove poverty from their lives. Modi's guarantee means guarantee puri hone ki guarantee'. Lord Ram taught us to honour commitments made and we are fulfilling all goals we set for the welfare of the poor and their empowerment, he said. The PM was addressing a gathering in Maharashtra's Solapur after laying the foundation stone of 8 AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) projects worth around Rs 2,000 crore in the state. He also dedicated more than 90,000 houses completed under PMAY-Urban in Maharashtra. The Prime Minister dedicated 15,000 houses of Raynagar Housing Society in Solapur, whose beneficiaries comprise thousands of handloom workers, vendors, power loom workers, rag pickers, beedi workers and drivers. He also kickstarted the distribu

Hyundai completes Talegaon plant acquisition, to invest Rs 6,000 cr in Maha

Hyundai Motor India on Friday said it has completed the acquisition of General Motors India's manufacturing plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra. The country's second-largest carmaker also announced that it will invest Rs 6,000 crore in Maharashtra as part of an agreement inked between the company and the state government in Davos. The acquisition of the Talegaon facility has been completed after the fulfilment of certain conditions and the receipt of regulatory approvals from relevant government authorities and relevant stakeholders, Hyundai Motor India said in a statement. "India is a very important market for Hyundai Motor Company, and we are committed to provide benchmark creating products and technologies to Indian customers," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) MD & CEO Un Soo Kim said. As the company looks forward to the next decade of progress, it is critical to augment manufacturing capacity in India, he added. "The Talegaon manufacturing plant will play the role of a catalyst in

Adani Group to invest Rs 50,000 cr to set up data centre in Maharashtra

Adani Group will invest Rs 50,000 crore over the next 10 years in setting up a 1 GW data centre in Maharashtra, the apples-to-airport conglomerate said on Wednesday. Adani Enterprises Ltd, the flagship company of the group, and the Maharashtra government, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up the 1 GW (gigawatt) hyperscale data infrastructure. The MoU was signed in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, it said in a statement. "The data centre infrastructure, which will be set up in key locations such as Mumbai or Navi Mumbai and Pune, will be powered by renewable energy, which will enhance the green energy infrastructure in Maharashtra, and provide direct and indirect employment to 20,000 people," it said. Adani Group also intends to make deemed distribution investments to power the proposed data centre infrastructure. The Maharashtra government is interested in

Maharashtra signs MoUs totalling Rs 1.4 trillion at Davos on 1st day

Maharashtra has signed MoUs totalling Rs 1.4 lakh crore here on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, following Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's meetings with a number of business leaders, the state government said on Wednesday. Shinde also held discussions with senior delegates from South Africa and other countries. He met senior representatives from Schneider Electric and Louis Dreyfus, among others. MOUs have been signed with global giants like Berkshire Hathaway and Greenko Energy Projects. These agreements are poised to generate over one lakh jobs in vital sectors across Maharashtra, affirming the state's role as India's stable and dependable gateway for global investors, the state government said. The chief minister is actively engaged in strategic discussions to forge impactful collaborations and showcase Maharashtra's stability, dependability and commitment to global economic progress at the WEF 2024, it added.

Sugar output declines by 7% to 14.87 MT during Oct 1-Jan 15: Industry body

Maharashtra's sugar production fell to 5.1 million tons from 6.09 million tons, while Karnataka's production dropped 12.7% to 3.1 mn tons, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories said

MLA disqualification: Notice issued to Maha Speaker on Shinde faction pleas

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notice to Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar and the 14 MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray group on petitions filed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena challenging Narwekar's order to not disqualify the lawmakers. A division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Firdosh Pooniwalla also issued notice to the Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat and directed all the respondents to file their affidavits to the petition. The bench posted the matter for hearing on February 8. The petitions filed by Bharat Gogavale, the chief whip of Shinde-led Shiv Sena, against the 14 MLAs said it was challenging the legality, propriety and correctness of the January 10 order passed by Speaker Narwekar dismissing the disqualification petitions filed by him against the lawmakers from the rival camp. Gogavale has sought HC to declare the speaker's order as bad in law, quash it and disqualify all the 14 MLAs from the Thackeray group Sena (UBT). Issue notice to

Inox Air Products signs $3 billion MoU with Maha for green ammonia plant

Inox Air Products on Tuesday said it has signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government here for setting up the state's first Green Ammonia Plant with a capacity of 500,000 MTPA and a planned outlay of USD 3 billion. The project is aimed to be commissioned in a 3-5 years timeline, the company said in a statement. The plant would produce Liquid Ammonia, which would be a climate-neutral Hydrogen carrier. The MoU was signed here at the Maharashtra pavilion which the state has set up to promote Maharashtra as an investment decision at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Those present included Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Industries Minister Uday Samant, Principal Secretary, Industries and Mining Harshdeep Kamble, and Siddharth Jain, Promoter and Director, INOX Group.

My actions based on SC guidelines: Speaker on Uddhav tirade against ruling

Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday defended his decision to recognise Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena, and asserted that his actions were based on the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court. He spoke to the media here immediately after Thackeray, at a press conference, attacked his January 10 ruling on disqualification petitions filed by both Shinde and Thackeray camps against each other's MLAs following a split in the party in June 2022. The speaker also justified his decision not to accept the undivided Shiv Sena's amended constitution of 2018. The party had then informed the Election Commission only about Uddhav Thackeray being the party chief but not submitted the amended constitution, he said. In his ruling, Narwekar held that the Sena's 1999 constitution was the valid one for deciding which faction was the real Shiv Sena. "My actions were based on the Supreme Court's guidelines," he said. Rules framed by a party should not

Over 1,000 join hands to set up police post in Naxal-hit area in Gadricholi

More than 1,000 police personnel joined hands to set up a "police post" in the remote Gardewada area in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district in just 24 hours, a facility that will strengthen surveillance of about 750 sq km area, earlier considered a stronghold of Naxalites, officials said on Tuesday. This police post will pave the way for permanent police presence in the sensitive area for the first time after 1947, they said. Talking to PTI, Superintendent of Police Gadchiroli Neelotpal said around 600 commandos, engaged in the "road opening" exercises to counter landmines and ambush attacks, walked for more than 60 km till Gardewada on Monday. "The new police post will strengthen surveillance of about 750 sq km area, which was earlier considered a stronghold of Naxalites. It will help in the construction of a pond, the Gatta-Gardewada-Todgatta-Wangeturi-Panawar interstate road to Chhattisgarh, and the erection of 10 4G mobile towers," the official said. As per a release issued by th

Uddhav moves to SC against order declaring Shinde group as real Shiv Sena

The Thackeray faction has alleged that Shinde has "unconstitutionally usurped power" and is heading an "unconstitutional government" in Maharashtra

Growth-rate gap clouds India's biggest states' $1 trn dream, shows data

Maharashtra is the closest to reaching the $500 billion mark. It would have to add nearly $600 billion in the next seven years to reach the $1 trillion mark

Why Milind Deora ended his family's 50-year association with Congress party

Milind Deora, former Union minister, resigned from the Congress party on Sunday. Here's why he ended his family's 50-year association with the grand old party.

WeLead to Credible India: Indian lounges dominate Davos promenade

About a dozen Indian lounges have dominated the main Promenade street of Davos as the snowcapped resort town readies for the five-day World Economic Forum Annual Meeting beginning Monday. Adorning the event are WeLead Lounge - set up to showcase women leadership, India Engagement Centre, pavilions by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka, and IT majors like Wipro, Infosys, TCS and HCLTech showcasing power of AI and technology. And this time, in addition to Indian tea, coffee, 'samosas' and 'kachoris', there will also be Indian liquor flying off the shelves during 'Spirit of India Hour' on two evenings at a few bars, restaurants and lounges. In all, 60-70 lounges and pavilions have been set up by governments and corporates from across the world, of which about a dozen are Indian ones. Indian participation is also significant with three union ministers, as many chief ministers and a large number of officials and CEOs expected to speak over the next five days. Apex industr

Milind Deora quits Congress, joins Maharashtra CM Shinde-led Shiv Sena

Son of late Congress leader Murli Deora - who was a former Union petroleum minister, multiple-term MP and trusted aide of the Gandhi family - 47-year-old Milind was recently appointed joint treasurer

Shinde gives Rs 5 lakh each to kin of mob lynching victims from party funds

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde handed over cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to kin of three persons, including two sadhus, lynched by a mob in Palghar district in 2020. He handed over the cheques while attending a function in Virar here on Saturday. Sadhus Kalpavriksha Giri Maharaj (70), Sushil Giri Maharaj (35) and their driver Nilesh Telgade (30) were killed by a mob while their vehicle was passing through Gadchinchale village late night on April 16 that year in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown. The case had made national headlines at the time and several persons who were allegedly part of the 500-strong mob were arrested and are facing trial. Speaking on the occasion, Shinde said then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has never bothered to meet the kin of these three persons. Shinde said his Shiv Sena has now given them assistance from its own funds.