LUCKNOW: UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Monday defended his govt’s ban on offering namaz on roads, saying prayers should be held at designated places of worship and offered “in shifts” if there is a space crunch, rather than by blocking public spaces.Speaking at an event organised by a news daily in Lucknow, Yogi said roads…
KOLKATA: Bengal’s BJP govt moved Monday to stamp out religion-based aid such as honorariums for mosque functionaries and priests, with CM Suvendu Adhikari asserting that “it was not the govt’s job to distribute doles to imams, muezzins and purohits”.“Financial assistance to imams, muezzins and purohits is being discontinued. A fresh notification will be issued listing…
NEW DELHI: Govt’s fertiliser subsidy bill for 2026-27 may surge by Rs 70,000 crore to Rs 2.4 lakh crore because of rising import costs of urea and other fertilisers amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, officials said on Monday. There is enough stock and imports are lined up to meet the requirement of Kharif crops,…
KOLKATA: Making his intent clear to drive out alleged illegal immigrants from West Bengal, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari Monday said “detection and deletion” from the electoral rolls had already been done, and “deportation” would begin soon. He also said that the state govt had initiated the process for the Census exercise, which he alleged was…
NEW DELHI: With countries developing new defence systems at a faster pace amid ongoing conflicts, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) A P Singh has a word of advice for Indian defence agencies involved in research and development (R&D): they must “innovate at the speed of relevance”.“We need to increase the speed because the system…
NEW DELHI: In another example of women breaking glass ceiling in the Indian armed forces, Squadron Leader Saanya has made history by becoming the first woman officer to achieve the top category qualified flying instructor position in the Indian Air Force.In a post on X, the IAF said, “Excellence takes flight. Squadron Leader Saanya achieved…
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-nation tour to boost defence cooperation, landed in Vietnam capital Hanoi on Monday.Before leaving for Hanoi, Rajnath posted on X, “Today, 18th May, I shall be reaching Hanoi. Looking forward to visiting Vietnam and South Korea this week to further expand the scope of our engagement. I…
NEW DELHI: West Asia conflict has pushed shipping freight charges for cargo bound for the region up nearly ten-fold in the case of containers and more than doubled rates for LPG and crude oil, the shipping ministry said.While average maritime freight charges for LPG have increased from $94 per tonne before the war to around…
NEW DELHI: Govt has tasked country’s premier vehicle testing agency ARAI to carry out a detailed study on the impact of E25 fuel (25% ethanol blended petrol) on different performance aspects, particularly mileage and engine condition, of existing vehicles. The move comes as the government accelerates its plan to increase blending in a bid to…
NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian PM to visit Norway in 43 years, the countries upgraded ties to a green strategic partnership, signed deals for cooperation in outer space, health and technology, while announcing 8 other outcomes from his meeting with counterpart Jonas Gahr Store. PM Modi also announced that…