INDIA

New Delhi/Agartala, Sep 30 (IANS) Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday sought higher central support for the agriculture and horticulture sectors, including increased allocations under key schemes and changes in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) guidelines to cover local natural calamities. Nath made the demands while addressing the second day of the National Agriculture Conference-Rabi Campaign 2026 in New Delhi, attended by Union Agriculture, Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.On the second day of the National Agriculture Conference – Rabi Campaign 2026, Union Minister Chouhan chaired a session attended by Agriculture Ministers and senior officials from various states of the country.Minister Nath said th...

Gandhinagar, Sep 30 (IANS) Gujarat Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani has urged the Centre to raise the procurement ceiling for pulses and oilseeds under the PM-AASHA scheme from 25 per cent to 40 per cent of total production and sought the inclusion of castor in the minimum support price (MSP) procurement framework.Vaghani made the demands while representing Gujarat at the two-day National Agriculture Conference – Rabi Campaign 2026 in New Delhi, chaired by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.The conference brought together agriculture ministers from states, senior officials of the Centre and states, and ICAR scientists to discuss preparedness for the Rabi season.The Centre has identified pulses and oilseeds as key areas for the Rabi strategy.Presenting Gujarat’s demands, Va...

Kolkata, Sep 30 (IANS) TS Chanakya, one of the country's oldest maritime training institutes, was served a show-cause notice by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) on Tuesday over the death of a cadet in May this year.TS Chanakya, a shore-based training institute located in Navi Mumbai, is now part of the Indian Maritime University (IMU).The notice is based on an inquiry conducted by the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Mumbai, and the report submitted to the DGMA on September 10, 2026.In this report, the MMD has stated that the cadets consumed alcohol with others inside a hostel room within the campus ahead of his death.In its earlier order, the DGMA issued a total ban on alcohol, tobacco, and drugs on campus, and registered institutes, including government ones...

Hyderabad, Sep 30 (IANS) The Congress party on Tuesday announced candidates for the forthcoming biennial elections to the Telangana Legislative Council from the two Graduates' constituencies.Sama Rammohan Reddy will be the party candidate from Mahabubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad constituency while Ramreddy Sarvotham Reddy will contest on Congress ticket from Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda constituency.Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge approved the names, according to a statement by AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday night.Voter enrolment in the two Graduates' constituencies of the Telangana Legislative Council began on Monday. The enrolment process began with the issue of public notice under Rule 31(3) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C...

Hyderabad, Sep 29 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday urged Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to resolve the proposed construction of the Tummidihatti barrage on the Godavari River through a dialogue with the Maharashtra government. Updating the Union Minister about the submission of the proposal to construct the Tummidihatti barrage to the Maharashtra government, the Chief Minister requested Patil to facilitate the required approvals for the barrage.CM Revanth Reddy, accompanied by State Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, met CR Patil in Delhi on Tuesday evening. According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), he apprised the Union Minister of the important pending issues pertaining to Telangana's projects in the Krishna and Godavari basins.The Chief Minister req...

Mandsaur, Sep 29 (IANS) Police busted an interstate cybercrime racket that allegedly cheated people of more than Rs 11 crore through matrimonial websites in over 100 cases, arresting six people from Rajasthan and Bihar, police said on Monday.The racket also has suspected international links, with callers based abroad allegedly helping the gang target victims by posing as prospective marriage partners, Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Meena said.The investigation began after a woman from Shamgarh lodged a complaint alleging that she was contacted through a matrimonial website by a man claiming to be an NRI."He contacted her through a matrimonial alliance and claimed to be an NRI. He allegedly committed cyber fraud and took around Rs 7.5 lakh from the woman," Meena told IANS.T...

Aizawl, Sep 29 (IANS) Mizoram Governor General (Dr) V.K. Singh (Retd) recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s launch of the 100-week nationwide ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan’ on August 2, aimed at preventing substance abuse among youth, and said the country has set a firm goal of ending the drug trade by December 31, 2029. Launching the 'State Action Plan to Combat Drug Menace 2026-2029', the Governor stressed the need for a collective national effort against the drug menace and illicit drug trade. Referring to the State Action Plan to Combat the Drug Menace, the Governor said it aims to protect young people from drugs through community participation and awareness activities.“This is only the beginning. We will be able to see results in three years. For it to succeed, we must take all...

New Delhi/Gandhinagar, Sep 29 (IANS) Gujarat has stepped up enforcement against violations involving the quality of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, with 276 teams inspecting 6,380 dealers and registering 26 FIRs, Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani said at the 'National Agriculture Conference – Rabi Campaign 2026' in New Delhi.Sharing details of the state’s quality-control measures during the two-day conference, Vaghani said the inspections also resulted in the suspension of 246 licences."Enforcement had continued this year, with 94 teams carrying out inspections at 3,760 locations. These inspections resulted in 136 licences being cancelled or suspended and 15 FIRs being registered," he said.The minister placed the enforcement figures before the conference as part of Gujarat’s preparati...

Bhubaneswar, Sep 29 (IANS) Recognising Odisha's efforts to strengthen urban sanitation and scientific waste management, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has selected Bhubaneswar and Puri among 50 cities across the country under its PRAGATI 50 Initiative, as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0).Officials on Tuesday noted that the initiative aims to transform the selected cities into Model Sanitation Cities through focused monitoring, structured handholding, and accelerated implementation of interventions in solid waste management, used water management, sanitation, cleanliness, and citizen participation. The 50 cities, selected from 24 States and Union Territories, will serve as models of good practices for other urban centres.The initiative was launche...

Hyderabad, Sep 29 (IANS) AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday alleged that the ‘Demography Commission’ of the Central government is targeting Muslims by seeking religion-wise data from the states about vehicle registration and property transactions.The Hyderabad MP took to X to react to media reports about the data sought by the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC).“When we demanded of the Modi government that it gather data on the educational, social, and economic conditions of Muslims, the government would instantly turn its face away. Amit Shah's "Demography Commission" is now asking states for data on how many vehicles people of which religion have bought, how much land they own, and so on,” Owaisi said in a post.“The agenda of this commission is not to formulate ...