Motown alarmed over higher GST on EVs

Mumbai: Electric carmakers are strongly objecting to a proposed increase in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on premium electric vehicles, warning that it could stall momentum in the country's shift to clean mobility just as adoption is accelerating.The Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST rationalisation has reportedly proposed that EVs priced above ₹20 lakh be taxed at 18%, up from the current 5% concessional rate. While the GST Council, the apex decision-making body on the indirect tax, has yet to take a final decision, even speculation about the move has rattled carmakers, who say it is affecting consumer sentiment.Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, pointed to the rapid strides EVs have made in the past year-real-world ranges of up to 500 km, more than 24,000 public chargers nationwide, and on-road price parity with ICE vehicles in several SUV segments. The concessional rate has been instrumental in overcoming consumer hesitancy, he said."It is therefore imperative that the 5% GST rate for EVs be retained," said Chandra. "Any upward revision would adversely impact EV adoption in India and slow down the transition to clean mobility, diluting environmental gains, and impacting India's aspirations towards zero-emission mobility."123621654A total of 15,528 electric cars were retailed in India in July, a 93% surge from a year earlier, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). During the month, EVs had a 4.7% share of the broader passenger vehicle market, nearly doubling from 2.4% in July 2024.Automakers fear if the GoM's proposal is accepted, prices of around a fourth of EVs above ₹20 lakh could rise sharply, potentially slowing the adoption trajectory.A spokesperson for Mahindra & Mahindra said the 5% rate is critical to maintain parity with ICE vehicles and to scale the ₹10-40 lakh EV segment, a key component of India's global competitiveness.The industry also flagged the importance of policy consistency to support long-term investment."To sustain EV adoption, we need stable long-term policies, accelerated CAFE norms, and zero percent GST on fully electric vehicles," said Anurag Mehrotra, MD, JSW MG Motor India. "Investments in charging infrastructure and easing home charging will also be critical."Luxury carmakers warned that the entry-level luxury EV segment could be most affected, though high-end buyers are less price-sensitive.Prevailing low GST rates have supported threshold volumes and accelerated BEV adoption, said Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.

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Steelmakers call for more protectionism

Domestic steelmakers have urged the government to impose a minimum import price, seeking further support as prices remain under pressure despite a 12% interim safeguard duty. The levy is inadequate amid falling global prices, said industry executives.The move comes ahead of the interim duty expiring next month.According to data shared by local manufacturers with the Centre, hot rolled coils (HRC), the benchmark product, has been trading at 10-15% lower than the ₹52,900 per tonne since the safeguard duty was imposed.Sector watchers say major Indian steel producers can manage net profit margins of just 2.1-2.3%, dipping in some quarters to as low as 0.3%."The industry will need extended support to continue investing to meet steel output goals," a company representative said on condition of anonymity.Increasing safeguard duty isn't the only measure to provide support to the domestic industry, according to analysts, who said the Centre needs to protect consumers as well."The safeguard duty can be increased only to an extent... It can't move one way, ignoring the price steel consumers pay," Amit Bhargava, partner and national head mining and metals, KPMG in India, told ET.He said global steel supply is expected to outpace demand and raw material prices for steel production are projected to remain flat or even decline."There's not going to be any significant demand revival in major steel-consuming centres such as China or Europe. The iron ore prices will also remain range-bound," Bhargava said.

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2 Reasons Why Jan Suraaj Has Good Chance In Bihar: Prashant Kishor To NDTV

Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor is already in full campaign mode for the upcoming Bihar assembly election. Mr Kishor gave two reasons why his new political outfit has a better chance this time - the declining physical and mental condition of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the Jan Suraaj's movement's rise as a strong people-backed force.

"For us, the election isn't just about the election period. We have been working hard for three years. We walked through Bihar's villages for three-and-a-half years. After two years, we brought together one crore people and formed a group. After forming the group, we set up an organisational structure. We started our election campaign three months ago," Mr Kishor told NDTV.

"From my experience on the ground, I feel that Bihar's masses want a big change. No matter the party, caste, or religion, every supporter wants change, and in this wave of change, prominent leaders in Bihar will be swept away. This time, a new system is emerging - a system of people's self-rule," he said.

On a question about some surveys predicting a 20 per cent rise in Mr Kishor's chance of becoming chief minister, but forecasting seat wins in single digit, he said, "Every person does their work, surveyors do their job. Look at it this way - when we started Jan Suraaj, people said nothing could happen in Bihar. People doubted anything could change. Now, at least everyone is acknowledging the X-factor. Everyone is saying that to predict the Bihar election results, two things are crucial - the declining physical and mental condition of Nitish Kumar and how the Jan Suraaj movement rose as a force. Without understanding these, one can't predict the outcome."

Mr Kishor explained the math that he has done - while RJD's Lalu Yadav and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar are still big factors, the Congress is like Lalu Yadav's tail-end ally, and the BJP is Nitish Kumar's support. But Lalu Yadav is not in the campaign due to age and health, and Nitish Kumar's health is also public knowledge.

"All these factors will harm the NDA. Jan Suraaj, however, creates a new setup. Without understanding both, commenting on the election means people don't grasp the situation," he said, adding the voters of his outfit will likely be former RJD or NDA supporters, but who want change.

On his comments about the future of the BJP, who would come after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Kishor said he stands by his comment about calling PM Modi a moderate compared to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

"Who will be the BJP leader after PM Modi? My response is you can't predict the person, but you can see the ideological trend. When (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee and LK Advani led, Vajpayee seemed liberal, Advani seemed hardline. Now, between Advani and PM Modi, Advani seems liberal, PM Modi seems hardline. But in future, Modi may seem liberal compared to Yogi Adityanath. BJP's leadership trajectory is clear. Don't focus only on people, understand the evolving ideology. To counter this, a system based on an opposing ideology is needed, and be ready for a long struggle," Mr Kishor said.

The upcoming Bihar election is preceded by the controversial special intensive revision (SIR) exercise of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear a clutch of applications seeking an extension of the September 1 deadline for filing claims and objections to the draft electoral rolls published by the ECI following the first phase of the SIR exercise in Bihar.

As per the cause list on the Supreme Court website, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi will take up for hearing the petitions filed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other political parties seeking an extension of the ECI's deadline for submitting the claim form.

On Friday, the Justice Surya Kant-led Bench agreed to list the applications filed in the batch of pleas challenging the SIR exercise after lawyer Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter.

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Israel Kills Hamas Spokesperson Amid Expanding Gaza Offensive Discussion

The Israeli military announced Sunday that it killed the longtime spokesperson for Hamas' armed wing, as the country's security cabinet met to discuss the expanding offensive in some of Gaza's most populated areas.

There were no plans to discuss negotiations for a ceasefire at the meeting, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz identified the spokesperson as Abu Obeida, the nom de guerre for the official who represented Hamas's Qassam Brigades. He was killed over the weekend. Hamas has not commented on the claim.

Abu Obeida's last statement was issued on Friday as Israel began the initial stages of the new offensive and declared Gaza City a combat zone. His statement said the militants would do their best to protect living hostages but warned that they would be in areas of fighting. He said the remains of dead hostages would "disappear forever."

Israel's military said the spokesperson, whom it identified as Hudahaifa Kahlout, had been behind the release of videos showing hostages as well as footage of the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war. The military also reiterated a threat against remaining Hamas leaders abroad.

Israel has killed many of Hamas' military and political leaders as it attempts to dismantle the group and prevent an attack like the one on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in southern Israel.

At least 43 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday, most of them in Gaza City, according to local hospitals. Shifa Hospital, the territory's largest, said 29 bodies were brought to its morgue, including 10 people killed while seeking aid and others struck across the city.

"Where are the resistance fighters that (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu claims he is bombing? Does he consider stone resistance fighters?" said a relative of one of the dead at Shifa Hospital, who did not give her name. She said they would not be displaced.

Hospital officials reported 11 other fatalities from strikes and gunfire. Al-Awda Hospital said seven of them were civilians trying to reach aid.

Witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire on crowds in the Netzarim Corridor, an Israeli military zone that bisects Gaza.

"We were trying to get food, but we were met with the occupation's bullets," said Ragheb Abu Lebda, who saw at least three people bleeding from gunshot wounds. "It's a death trap."

The corridor has become increasingly perilous. Civilians have been killed as United Nations humanitarian convoys are overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds, or shot on their way to sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed U.S. contractor.

The GHF told The Associated Press that there was "no incident at or near our site today." Israel's military did not respond to questions about Sunday's casualties.

Israel, for weeks, has been operating on the outskirts of Gaza City and the Jabaliya refugee camp to prepare for the offensive's initial stages. The military has intensified air attacks on coastal areas of the city, including Rimal. More smoke rose over Gaza City on Sunday.

In Rimal, quiet Palestinians looked through the rubble after a strike, some venturing into the upper floors of shattered buildings that were still standing. A child tried to pull a shopping cart loaded with plastic jugs over the debris.

The military has urged the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City to flee south, but many say they are exhausted after repeated displacements or unconvinced that any safe place in Gaza remains.

The United Nations says about 65,000 Palestinians have evacuated since Aug. 1, including 23,199 in the past week. More than 90% of the over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced at least once during the war, many of them multiple times, according to the UN

Israel has signalled that aid to Gaza City could be cut, and it has announced new infrastructure projects in southern Gaza - steps that Palestinians say amount to forced displacement.

Seven more Palestinian adults died of malnutrition-related causes over the last 24 hours, Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday.

That brought the adult death count from malnutrition-related causes to 215 since June, when the ministry started to count them, it said, and 124 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began.

In the largest attempt yet to break the long Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea, a flotilla of ships departed Sunday from Barcelona for Gaza with humanitarian aid and activists on board. Similar attempts in the past have failed.

At least 63,371 Palestinians have died during the war, said the ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians, but that around half have been women and children.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes the figures but has not provided its own.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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UK Nurse Wins Rs 30 Lakh After Co-Worker's Eye-Rolling Sparks Panic Attacks

A dental nurse who faced constant eye-rolling and belittling from a colleague has been awarded over 25,254 pounds (Rs 30 lakh) in a groundbreaking employment tribunal, according to The Times. The decision establishes that non-verbal actions like eye-rolling can count as workplace bullying, making employers responsible if staff use such behaviour against others. This case shows how small actions can create a toxic work atmosphere and result in significant legal consequences.

According to The Times, Maureen Howieson, 64, a dental nurse with more than 40 years of experience, was awarded the compensation after an Edinburgh tribunal concluded she was a victim of "rude, isolating, bullying and belittling" behaviour at the Great Junction Dental Practice in Edinburgh.

The tribunal heard that Howieson's relationship with a new dental therapist, Jisna Iqbal, became "strained" shortly after Iqbal was hired following the practice's acquisition in July 2024.

Iqbal, who was a qualified dentist in India but not yet eligible to practise in the UK, began taking over Howieson's receptionist duties, a role she had held for years.

According to The Metro, Maureen Howieson accused Mrs Iqbal of being 'rude and disrespectful' when they worked together.

She also claimed her colleague repeatedly ignored her and rolled her eyes if she spoke.

Mrs Iqbal rejected the claims, but the panel accepted the other woman's version of events.'

The situation escalated further in September 2024 when Ms Howieson was brought to tears at work, prompting her to have a meeting with the clinic owner, Dr Fary Johnson Vithayathil.

She had told a colleague she had been 'reduced to being a cleaner'.

The following day, Mrs Iqbal allegedly refused to leave the reception when Ms Howieson was meant to start her afternoon shift.

She was told that Dr Vithayathil's wife, the business manager, would speak with Mrs Iqbal, which didn't happen.

Ms Howieson ended up having a panic attack due to stress.

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The spectacle of the sports handshake

Tennis features a fiendish scoring system and at-times ambiguous rules. It feels designed to cause irritation and aggravation like few other sports. The handshake at the end of a match is its apex. Two elite athletes who have spent the previous few hours on a rectangular battlefield with tensions gradually ratcheting up are then provided with the perfect incubator for all of those simmering resentments, in the name of politely saying "well done." Wednesday at the U.S. Open, Jelena Ostapenko, the tennis player most synonymous with fractious handshakes, furiously confronted Taylor Townsend at the end of their second-round match. Ostapenko, who had just been beaten, 7-5, 6-1, told Townsend she should have apologized for a shot that clipped the top of the net but stayed in play, known as a net cord. Townsend said she did not have to apologize before Ostapenko appeared to repeat the phrase "you have no education" three times. Townsend walked away, shook hands with the chair umpire and asked the crowd to make some noise for her win. Ostapenko's behavior with Townsend went far beyond her usual handshake protocol, which had until Wednesday become a harmless meme in the tennis world. Eight years ago at this venue, Ostapenko -- at the time the French Open champion -- introduced herself to the U.S. Open crowd by pointedly looking away from Daria Kasatkina when they shook hands at the end of their second-round match. "Notice the frost on the fingers," broadcaster and former player Mary Carillo quipped on the Tennis Channel. Despite being an outlier, the handshake altercation Wednesday exposed the theater of politeness at the heart of one of tennis's fundamental traditions. After engaging in the sporting equivalent of hand-to-hand combat, players show respect to each other for their endeavors. They also put aside any emotions they are feeling in a moment of artificial grace broadcast to the world. An important moment of respect between competitors has morphed into a moment analyzed almost as much as any tennis match, with the coldness of the exchange monitored and any possibility for drama teased out. At the start of 2024, Ostapenko lost to two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus three times in seven weeks. The first two post-match handshakes were no-look, while on the third occasion, Ostapenko held out her racket rather than her hand, prompting an eye roll from her opponent. "I can't speak for how she feels and why she does it," Azarenka said at the time. "Some of her line callings, I mean, it can be a bit comical that's just how she is. I don't necessarily judge. I'm just there to play a match." At the time of the Azarenka triptych, Ostapenko's frostiness appeared partly geopolitical. Ostapenko has Ukrainian family and, at the time, had a Ukrainian doubles partner; Belarus is a supporter of Russia and its ongoing war in Ukraine. No sport pits Russian and Belarusian athletes against Ukrainians and their allies as regularly as tennis, and no other sport has a designated moment of coming together like tennis does. After the invasion in February 2022, players from the warring nations stopped shaking each other's hands. Fans booed players who refused to shake hands because of this gap, before they slowly became acquainted with what was going on. That policy continues to this day. "There is a reason behind it," Ostapenko said of her snubs of Azarenka in an interview last May, before demurring to elaborate on those reasons and evading a direct question about whether it related to Ukraine. The Russia-Ukraine situation underscores the quandary at the heart of the handshake. It is on one level a cursory gesture; on another, it is freighted with meaning beyond the scope of two tennis players saying "good match" to each other. While Ostapenko may be the face -- or palm -- of the handshake's cultural relevance in tennis, the idiosyncrasies go beyond one player. This year has had a steady stream of handshake controversies, most of them in the usual realm of disputes: gloriously petty. Yulia Putintseva, also known for her at-times tense nature on the court, was involved in a scrap with Maria Sakkari in June after losing to the Greek player at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany. Sakkari took exception to Putintseva's no-look handshake and said during their subsequent exchange, "Nobody likes you." On the men's side, Alexander Zverev could barely look at rising French star Arthur Fils after the Hamburg Open final. Zverev, who lost the match, said at the Australian Open: "I think Hamburg, against Arthur, the handshake wasn't great from my side. I didn't like some of the things that, yeah, happened in the match." A couple of months later, Fils and Stefanos Tsitsipas had a testy handshake after an incident in which Tsitsipas smashed a passing shot at Fils' body from close range -- a legal tactic, but frowned upon. A common denominator in these confrontations is the way in which a small incident can build up in players' minds over the course of a match before spilling over at the handshake, often inflated far beyond its actual significance. At the Madrid Open in April, there was the odd sight of Damir Dzhumur going to shake Mattia Belucci's hand, Belucci refusing it then going back in for the handshake, which was in turn refused by Dzhumur. "When he moved his hand, there is no way I would give you another hand because I'm not a fool," Dzhumur said in an interview afterward.Some players simply refuse to follow the forced niceties of handshake convention. Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, who is missing the U.S. Open with an injury, has developed a reputation for unfriendly handshakes but is straightforward about why. "If I lost, I will give you just a basic respect and that's it," she said at a news conference in January. "That's why you will not see me lose one match with a happy face to the opponent." She added, with a laugh: "If you saw that on me, that is very strange, which means I don't care about that match on that day." This is another of the fundamentals of the handshake: It is an accord of respect that has been pushed beyond its basic requirement of acknowledging that a tennis match has taken place. Zheng even forgot to shake hands with Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Tour Finals in November, something Tsitsipas also did after beating Jan-Lennard Struff at the Madrid Open in April. Daniil Medvedev, himself no stranger to controversy, including being given a $42,500 fine this week for his antics against Benjamin Bonzi on Sunday, said in January that he thinks tennis players should be "a bit more open" to cold handshakes. "I can understand some people when they lose, you're frustrated, you don't want to smile at your opponent that just beat you."For Townsend, the Ostapenko incident plays out along a binary of its own. It was disrespectful and unpleasant. But it was also something, she said, that she could put on her TikTok and leave in the past. The spectacle of the handshake, this piece of tennis stagecraft that distills hours of intense competition into two hands clasped together, is likely to endure far longer. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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Singapore PM to visit India next week

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'Jab We Met' In Indore: Woman Flees To Marry Lover, Returns Wedded To Another

In 2007, the Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor starrer 'Jab We Met' won hearts with its unique script, direction and acting. 18 years later, Indore has seen a strikingly similar storyline play out.

Shraddha Tiwari, a young woman ran away from home to marry her lover, Sarthak, but returned home a week later as another man's bride.

On August 23, Shraddha, a resident of MIG police station area, left home to marry Sarthak. But when she reached the railway station, Sarthak didn't show up and told her on the phone that he did not want to marry her. Heartbroken, Shraddha boarded a train without a destination in mind. A few hours later, she got down at Ratlam - a place made famous by 'Jab We Met' - lost and confused about her future.

It was at Ratlam station that Shraddha met Karandeep, an electrician who worked at her college in Indore. Seeing her sitting alone, Karandeep approached her and asked what had happened. After hearing her out, he advised her to return home and inform her parents.

But Shraddha was determined. "I left home to get married. If I go back unmarried, I cannot live," she told him. Despite his repeated attempts to convince her, Shraddha stood firm. Finally, Karandeep proposed to her, and Shraddha accepted.

Shraddha and Karandeep travelled to Maheshwar-Mandleshwar and tied the knot. From there, they went to Mandsaur.

Meanwhile, Shraddha's father, Anil Tiwari, had launched a frantic search and announced a reward of Rs 51,000 for anyone who could provide information about his daughter. He even hung her picture upside down outside their home to get the attention of passersby in the hope of getting some news of her.

On Thursday, Shraddha finally called her father and informed him that she was safe in Mandsaur. Relieved, her father asked her to stay in a hotel for the night and return home the next morning. But when some hotels refused to give the couple a room, he transferred money to Karandeep to buy train tickets.

Back in the city, Shraddha and Karandeep went to the MIG police station, where Shraddha recorded her statement.

Indore's Additional DCP Rajesh Dandotia confirmed that both Shraddha and Karandeep are being questioned.

Anil Tiwari said that while he is relieved to have his daughter back, the family will keep Shraddha and Karandeep apart for 10 days. If, after that, Shraddha still insists on living with Karandeep, the family will accept the marriage, he said.

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Mohammed Shami's Estranged Wife Shares Cryptic Post: "Pagal Awara Kutto..."

Indian cricket team fast bowler Mohammed Shami's estranged wife, Hasin Jahan, took to social media to share a cryptic post following his recent interview. Jahan hinted that efforts were made to 'scare' her but she claimed that she has never succumbed to pressure in the past and will not let anyone ruin her life. In her social media post, Jahan also said that she did not have any fear in 2018 as well. It was a reference to the FIR that she lodged against Shami and his family members at the Jadavpur police station where she accused them of domestic violence and the cricketer of match-fixing.

"Pagal awara Kutto se darna hota mujhe, to 2018 me hi dar jaati. Jitna chahe jor lagale mujhe darane ki, jhukane ki, barbad karne ki mai Allah ke karam se aur mazboot aur mazboot bante jaungi inshallah. (If I were to be afraid of mad dogs, I would have gotten scared in 2018 itself. Try as hard as you want to scare me, ruin me, but with Aallah's grace, I will only get stronger.)," Jahan posted on Instagram.

The social media post comes just after Shami appeared in an interview where he spoke at length about his personal life and said that he did not want to dwell in the past. When asked whether he has any regrets, he said - "Leave that. I never regret the past. What's gone is gone. I don't want to blame anyone, including myself. I want to focus on my cricket. I don't need these controversies."

Shami and Jahan got married in 2014 but fours years later, the couple started living separately. In a divorce battle that grabbed headlines, Jahan accused the Indian cricket team star of physical and mental torture. Recently, she even called Shami a 'womaniser' and alleged that he did not take care of their daughter's education and instead, spent money on his girlfriends.

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"Why Did This Cat Become 4?" 5 Classes In 1 Room Leave Students Puzzled

In one corner, a teacher helps students learn the English alphabet - A for Apple, B for Ball, C for Cat - in another, some are taught the Hindi alphabet, and, in yet another, a blackboard reads "2+2 = 4". In the cramped classroom, a student pipes up, puzzled, "Sir, why did this cat become four?"

This scene, which seems straight out of a satirical show on the education system and infrastructure, is an unfortunate reality in the Uchehra block of Madhya Pradesh's Satna, where the Dudha Primary School has redefined what a classroom can be. After a building collapsed, 95 children from five different grades were crammed into a single hall, with five different blackboards and five different subjects being taught, sometimes simultaneously.

This leaves the students searching for education in the cacophony.

Teacher Lavkush Kori explained the reality: "Without classrooms, the only option was to combine classes. Boards were needed and festivals reduced attendance, and when all the children came together, the real challenge was not teaching, but ensuring the students were protected from the rain."

Sometimes classes were held under a tree, and then children had to be rushed indoors to avoid the weather. One student summed up the struggle succinctly: "It is very difficult to study. Voices come from everywhere. Sometimes we understand, sometimes we don't. There is too much noise."

Dudha is not an isolated case. More than 70 schools in Satna are battling similar conditions. Files are shuffled between government departments, like batons in a relay race without end, while children are left waiting for classrooms that are never built. Pushpraj Sharma, the headmaster of one such school, said the building had been demolished two years ago and many letters had been written, but no action followed.

Approvals Pending

Sunil Saraf, Assistant Engineer at the District Education Centre in Satna, admitted that proposals had been sent and approvals were pending, and work would begin only once that happened.

Even the state capital is not spared. In a school just behind the Raj Bhavan in Bhopal, classes up to the fifth standard have been squeezed into one room for years. There is no playground and even the mid-day meal is served in the same cramped space.

In Madhya Pradesh government schools, more than one crore children were enrolled in Classes 1 to 8 in 2010-11 and the number has nearly halved to 54.58 lakh now. Hundreds of schools have seen zero admissions this year, 7,217 schools continue to operate with a single teacher and more than 5,600 either have no buildings or function in crumbling ones.

The government insists it is responding. School Education Minister Uday Pratap Singh said that, under Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's leadership, plans had been prepared for maintenance and new classrooms, with proposals sent to the finance department and funds allocated. He acknowledged shortages but maintained that the government is striving to provide the best possible resources.

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Festive sales hit as credit tightens for brands

Brands and retailers are flagging some restrictions on the hitherto easy availability of consumer finance ahead of the festive season, especially for consumers who have multiple loans and are staying in localities with high default rates.Banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are not giving easy credit to such consumers as they want to control loan loss and improve credit quality, instead of just pursuing volume, they said. This, industry executives said, is affecting their business.Tata Group AC manufacturer Voltas' chief financial officer, KV Sridhar, told analysts this month that the consumer durables sector was experiencing headwinds, including tightening of credit flow.123570167In Karnataka, NBFCs have completely blocked over 700 localities, including more than 200 in Bengaluru itself, with high default cases after the state government earlier this year brought in a law that prohibits finance institutions from using coercive tactics to recover loans, industry executives said. The law makes such practices a non-bailable offence that could attract a fine of up to ₹5 lakh or a jail term of up to 10 years."Business is getting affected in Karnataka due to the difficulty of accessing consumer finance with several genuine customers being left out," said Rajkumar Pai, managing director at Pai International Electronics, which runs more than 220 electronics and mobile phone stores.Consumer finance accounts for 50-65% of purchase of high-value products like mid-to-premium smartphones, large-screen TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, laptops and ACs. Even for luxury fashion and accessories, finance has been picking up as a mode of payment.Consumer leverage is an area of concern, Bajaj Finance MD Rajeev Jain told analysts. The company, one of the largest NBFCs, reported a 26% year-on-year increase in loan losses and provisions to '2,120 crore in the April-June quarter."Company across lines of businesses continue to take several actions across all products to reduce the contribution of customers with multiple loans. That's the single univariate pain point that you have identified, which has significant high bearings on loan loss and provisions," he said.Citing an example, Jain said 14% of customers used to have multiple loans that went all the way to 21% and has been now brought down to 17%. "And we are watching it," he said.Banks' outstanding consumer durable loans contracted 3.9% year-on-year to '23,715 crore at the end of May from '24,683 crore a year back, as per latest data from the Reserve Bank of India. Such outstanding loans had increased 15% a year earlier.Kailash Lakhyani, founder-chairman of the All India Mobile Retailers Association, which represents more than 150,000 cell phone stores, said consumer loan frauds have gone up whereby fraudsters would buy phones costing over a lakh rupees like Apple's iPhone or Samsung's Fold and S Series handsets on credit and then sell it to get the cash. "After which, they become untraceable. The retailer is then unjustifiably pressured by the NBFC to get the repayment. So, NBFCs have also increased their scrutiny of the buyer," he said.Central bank data show growth in credit card outstanding as of end-May slowed to 8.5% from 26.2% a year earlier. Credit cards are one of the preferred modes of transaction, especially in urban areas.The contraction in consumer loans has slowed down the overall personal loan offtake of banks. Personal loan growth slowed to 12.1% year-on-year in June 2025 from 25.6% a year earlier, said Care Ratings. "The deceleration stemmed from weaker demand in housing, vehicles, credit cards and other consumption loans amid RBI's regulatory tightening and stress in unsecured lending," the ratings firm said in a report.

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"Like Mouse Hitting Elephant": American Economist On US Action Against India

American economist Richard Wolff said that the United States is acting like the "world's tough guy" against India, but is only shooting itself in the foot, as it is pushing the BRICS to be an economic alternative to the West.

"India is now, according to the United Nations, the largest country on earth. The United States telling India what to do is like a mouse hitting his fist to an elephant," he said.

US tariffs of 50 percent took effect Wednesday on many Indian products, doubling an existing duty as US President Donald Trump sought to punish New Delhi for buying Russian oil. Trump has raised pressure on India over the energy transactions, a key source of revenue for Moscow's war in Ukraine, as part of a campaign to end the conflict.

In an interview with Russia Today, Wolff said that India will find other places to sell its exports if the US is shut off to India, and the move will only strengthen the BRICS nations. He said, "But like Russia found another place to buy its, to sell its energy, India will sell its exports no longer to the United States, but to the rest of the BRICS."

Economist RIchard Wolff tells RT that America is "hothousing" BRICS with its aggressive tariff threats.

"If you shut off the US to India by big tariffs, it will have to find new places to sell its exports.

Just like Russia found new markets, India will sell its exports not to… pic.twitter.com/xEO4lGp0zS

— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) August 28, 2025

The BRICS is a group involving ten countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The bloc aims to counterweigh Western financial dominance and is exploring alternatives in order to challenge the dollar's dominance.

"If you take China, India, Russia and the BRICS, the total share of world output those countries produce is 35%. The G7 is down to about 28%," Wolff noted in the podcast.

Wolff, an American Marxian economist, warned about Trump tariffs nourishing the BRICS bloc, "And what you're doing is your hothouse fashion, developing the BRICS to be an ever larger, more integrated and successful economic alternative to the West. We are watching a historic moment."

Trump has dismissed BRICS on multiple occasions, as a "little group" that is "fading out fast" and also said in February that "BRICS is dead". He also threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on the group in case they pursue creating a common currency and said, "They can go find another sucker Nation."

The economist explained that India has a long standing relationship with the US since the Soviet era and reminded, "You are playing with a very different adversary".He proceeded to say, "But for those with some humour, it will be the spectacle of the United States acting like it's the world's tough guy, as what it actually does is shoot itself in the foot."

New Delhi has criticised Washington's move as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable." 
 

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Denmark Apologises For Forced Birth Control Scandal In Greenland

Denmark's prime minister on Wednesday presented a long-awaited apology to the victims of Denmark's forced contraception campaign in Greenland, lifting a key point of tension with its autonomous territory.

From the 1960s until 1992, Danish authorities forced around 4,500 Inuit women, around half of those of child-bearing age, to wear a contraceptive coil -- or intrauterine device (IUD) -- without their consent.

The aim was to reduce the Inuit birth rate.

Many of the women were left sterile and almost all of them have suffered from physical or psychological problems. 

Around 150 of them have sued the Danish state for violating their rights and demanded compensation.

"We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility. Therefore, on behalf of Denmark, I would like to say: I am sorry," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement.

The victims, who have sought an official apology for several years, welcomed her remarks.

"My clients are happy, it's a big step," Mads Pramming, the lawyer representing the 150 women. 

"Now it remains to be seen if the state will recognise its legal responsibility and offer compensation. Until that is done, I won't be opening the champagne," he said.

One of the victims, Henriette Berthelsen, told AFP she was pleased.

"I'm happy but it has perhaps come belatedly," she said, adding: "It generates a lot of thoughts."

She was 13 years old when she had a coil inserted for the first time, without her or her family's consent.

The scandal came to light when one of the victims spoke out in the media several years ago about the trauma she experienced. 

A podcast series by Danish public broadcaster DR in 2022 then revealed the full extent of the campaign.

'Like a rape'

Naja Lyberth was the first woman to come forward and publicly describe what happened to her.

She was around 13 or 14 when she and the other girls in her class were sent to the doctor's office.

"His tool penetrated me to insert the coil. It was very cold and felt like a knife stabbing my insides. It was very violent," she recalled.

"I could clearly see that the tools looked much too big for my little girl's body, but at the time I didn't realise they were for adult women."

"It was like torture, like a rape," she said.

The scandal is one of several sensitive dossiers tainting Denmark's ties to its autonomous territory, including forced adoptions and the forced removal of Greenlandic Inuit children from their families.

"We know that there are also other dark chapters that deal with systematic discrimination against Greenlanders. Just because they were Greenlanders," Frederiksen said.

"My apology on behalf of Denmark is also an apology for these other failures for which Denmark is responsible, where Greenlanders have been systematically treated differently and worse than other citizens of the kingdom."

Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, and did not gain home rule until 1979.

The practice of forced contraceptions continued on a smaller scale after 1992, when Greenland took over responsibility for its health system.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen also apologised in the same statement for the cases that happened under Greenland's control.

"I apologise to those of you who have been exposed to -- and lived with the consequences of -- interventions you did not ask for nor had control over," he said.

The apologies came the same day that Danish public television DR reported that US officials close to President Donald Trump have been observed in Greenland trying to gather information on sensitive topics which could be used to present Denmark in a bad light.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to take over Greenland for security reasons, and has refused to rule out the use of force to secure the strategically located, resource-rich island.

Denmark's foreign ministry has summoned the US charge d'affaires for talks over what it said was "interference" in its affairs.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Trump’s 50% tariffs hit India: Impact & next steps

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Auto parts firms consider offshore plants

Auto parts makers in India are weighing options to diversify into other markets besides setting up plants overseas to navigate the effects of 50% tariff. Nearly half of India's auto parts exports to the US will attract the new duty effective today, doubling from the 25% tariff implemented from August 7. This is expected to impact exports worth $3.08 billion to the US, the largest destination for Indian auto parts. Components for cars and small trucks valued at $3.58 billion will continue under the existing 25% duty."The 25% tariff was already a disability, but 50% makes it almost impossible to do business with US customers under current circumstances," said a senior executive at an auto parts maker asking not to be named. "We are left with no choice but to evaluate other markets or rethink our manufacturing footprint."123532653Indian companies shipped $6.6 billion worth of auto parts to the US in 2024. Companies are now exploring whether manufacturing for the US market can be shifted to plants in locations such as Mexico where tariffs are comparatively lower than India. "Several Indian players already have units abroad, and they are examining whether supplying to the US from these bases makes economic sense," said another industry executive.Some firms, however, see opportunity in adversity. Bengaluru-based Sansera Engineering, which supplies engine and chassis parts, said it is fast-tracking plans to set up a plant in the US. "We were considering setting up a facility and are now looking to expedite it," said FR Singhvi, joint managing director. The US contributes 6-7% of Sansera's exports, with several leading passenger vehicle makers on its customer roster.Singhvi noted that Sansera's highly-engineered products cannot be quickly replaced or sourced locally in the US despite the increased tariffs. "Reviving US manufacturing after years of decline is not feasible within 3-5 years, making immediate substitution impractical. Setting up a greenfield plant will allow us to better serve the market and mitigate tariff risks over the longer term," he said, adding that the firm is also scouting for alternative export destinations.

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"Shocking To See...": Sanju Samson On Playing In Kerala Cricket League

Named in India's Asia Cup 2025 squad, Sanju Samson has started his preparations in full swing. The wicket-keeper batter decided to join the Kochi franchise in the Kerala Cricket League, a state-level T20 tournament, to claim top form ahead of the start of the Asia Cup next month. Samson scored a match-winning 121 off just 51 balls to help his team win the thrilling contest. After the match, Samson opened up on his stint for Kochi in the state league, saying he was shocked to see the sort of talent that exists in Kerala.

It was a nail-biting contest between Kochi and Kollam, which saw Samson's team emerge triumphant after batter Muhammad Ashik scored a last-ball six.

"It's not easy to lose a game in front of your home crowd. So I thank all the people who turned up in huge numbers," Samson said after the game.

Sanju Samson turning pressure into PLEASURE since forever #KCL2025 pic.twitter.com/YOvBLdFrB8

— FanCode (@FanCode) August 24, 2025

The wicket-keeper batter also had no qualms in admitting that he doesn't know much about his teammates but is getting to understand them better as he spends time with the them in the dressing room and on the pitch.

"To be very honest, I'm not much aware of the boys. But as much as I'm spending time with them, I'm getting very excited. Very exciting talent in the team. It's a bit shocking to see we have so much talent in Kerala cricket. I request that we have to put in some special eyes in the local games going on, especially all the players. In the next one or two years, we should see one more guy playing for the country. And I can see that happening. With this talent, I don't think that we are much far away," said Samson.

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Trump eyes N.Korea meet as he snubs S.Korea leader

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Why Re 1 means more than crores to Subroto Bagchi

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Paramilitary Force CRPF's Former Chief Named Ajit Doval's Deputy

Former CRPF and ITBP director general Anish Dayal Singh has been appointed the new deputy National Security Advisor (NSA), with a mandate to handle internal affairs, official sources said.

Mr Singh, a 1988-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Manipur cadre, retired from service in December 2024.

He brings extensive experience to the role, having served for nearly 30 years in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) before heading the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and most recently, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

According to officials, Mr Singh will be in charge of internal affairs of the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, and Naxal and Northeastern insurgency, as the deputy NSA.

Former RAW chief Rajinder Khanna is the Additional NSA, while retired IPS officer TV Ravichandran and former IFS officer Pawan Kapoor are the two serving deputy NSAs.

During his tenure as CRPF chief, Mr Singh was instrumental in a number of key initiatives, such as CRPF's strides in combating Naxalism, establishing over three dozen forward operating bases, and introducing four new battalions in the Left-Wing Extremism-affected areas.

He also oversaw the CRPF's role in ensuring security during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the first Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Internally, Mr Singh initiated a comprehensive realignment of over 130 CRPF battalions — the first such restructuring in eight years, which is aimed at improving operational efficiency and providing troops with more "family time," reducing the average distance between units and their parent centres from 1,200 km to 500 km.

He also introduced "samvaad" (dialogue) sessions with company commanders to gather feedback, a move widely appreciated within the force.

The appointment comes alongside the Union government's approval of granting honorary ranks to retiring personnel of the central armed forces, a policy Mr Singh championed.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an order approving a policy aimed at boosting the morale of subordinate officers in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles.

The proposal for this policy was originally moved by Mr Singh himself with a reasoning to overcome the long-standing issue of stagnation in promotional avenues, with some constables waiting as long as 20 years for their first promotion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Adani Agri announces apple procurement rate

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"Her Smile Was Pure Magic": Woman's Gesture To Elderly Lady Melts Internet

A heartwarming video of a woman offering a lift to an elderly lady has gone viral on Instagram, winning the hearts of millions. The video, shared by content creator Sanchita Agarwal, captures a brief yet touching moment that she has described as "straight out of a movie".

In the short clip, Sanchita pauses her car ride to offer the elderly woman a lift. The woman gratefully accepts, her face lighting up with a warm and innocent smile. When asked where she's headed, she gently replies, "Jeevan Bharti." As they part ways, Sanchita says, "Dhyaan rakho" (take care), and the woman responds with a smile that needed no words. An overlay on the video reads, "Her smile was pure magic."

The video, captioned "Sometimes, life offers us scenes straight out of a movie. This was my 'Yuhin Chala Chal Rahi' moment," has garnered over 2.5 million views and continues to receive praise for its genuine and emotional tone.

Watch the video here: 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sanchita Agarwal (@littlesweet_family)

Many social media users praised the simplicity and kindness in the interaction, calling it a beautiful reminder of humanity.

"She was so elated to get a car ride...such a small thing can give someone such a big pleasure," commented a user.

"Whenever I go out and I am on my bike, if I find any person who looks like they are in need of a lift, I always do, and it gives the best feeling," wrote another user.

"I did this once, and the poor lady didn't know the address because she knows it only by walking. I went in circles till we found it with clues," commented a third user.

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US Pauses Visas For Foreign Truck Drivers After Indian Man's Deadly Crash

The United States has immediately stopped issuing visas for truck drivers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday, after a fatal crash raised anger within President Donald Trump's base.

"Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers," Rubio wrote on X.

"The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers," he wrote.

Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) August 21, 2025

Rubio's action came after a truck driver was charged with killing three people on a highway in Florida while making an illegal U-turn.

Harjinder Singh, who is from India, allegedly entered the United States illegally from Mexico and failed an English examination after the crash, according to federal officials.

The case has gathered wide media attention and has been raised prominently by officials in Florida, controlled by Trump's Republican Party, with the lieutenant governor flying to California to extradite Singh personally alongside immigration agents on Thursday.

The truck driver who made an illegal U-turn on Florida's Turnpike that led to the passing of 3 Americans, illegally entered the U.S. through the southern border in 2018.

Harjinder Singh has been charged with three counts of vehicular homic*de.

Singh got his Commercial Driver's… pic.twitter.com/FGZVHDWMGs

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 17, 2025

The crash has taken on a political dimension as Singh received his commercial license and lived in California, which is run by the rival Democratic Party and opposes Trump's crackdown on immigration.

The Trump administration accused California Governor Gavin Newsom of responsibility as the state issued Singh a license.

Newsom's office responded that the federal government under Trump had issued Singh his work permit and that California cooperated in extraditing him.

Even before the crash, Republican lawmakers have been taking aim at foreign truckers, pointing to a rising number of crashes without providing evidence of a direct link to immigrants.

In June, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a directive that truck drivers must speak English.

Truck drivers in the United States are required to pass a test for a commercial license that has long included an assessment of whether they are proficient in English on basics such as road signs.

But 2016 guidance under former president Barack Obama, which was reversed by Duffy, told authorities not to take truckers off the road solely on account of language deficiencies.

Meeting demand, the number of foreign-born truck drivers in the United States more than doubled between 2000 and 2021 to 720,000, according to federal statistics.

Foreign-born drivers now make up 18 percent of the industry -- in line with the United States labor market as a whole, but a departure for a profession long identified with the white working class.

More than half of the foreign-born drivers come from Latin America with sizable numbers in recent years from India and Eastern European nations, especially Ukraine, according to industry groups.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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ET Graphics: Bad loans seen at 15-year low

The share of bad loans is expected to remain at a 15- year low of around 2.3%– 2.4%, in FY26 as pressure from unsecured personal loans and microfinance institutions (MFIs) is offset by corporate deleveraging and a continued decline in the gross non-performing assets (GNPA), as per a report by Care Ratings. As of the June 2025 quarter, system-level GNPA ratio had declined to 2.3%, compared to 2.7% a year ago. GNPA of the banking system reduced by 9.5% year-on year (y-o-y) to Rs 4.18 lakh crore as of Q1FY26. Though bad loans of private sector banks rose by 7.6% y-o-y, driven by an increase in slippages and stress in the microfinance portfolio. Saloni Shukla takes a look at the asset quality situation in the banking sector. 123439713

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AIIMS Doctor Dragged By Car At Hospital Campus, Police Search For Driver

A senior doctor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had a narrow escape after the driver of a car allegedly tried to mow him down inside the hospital campus, the police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on August 18, around 4:00 pm, near Gate Number 1 of AIIMS, when the victim was passing through the campus and noticed a traffic jam being caused by the car.

The complainant informed the police that the car was blocking traffic. When he signalled to the driver to reverse so that other vehicles could pass, the driver, instead of complying, allegedly accelerated and struck him, a senior police officer stated.

"The driver did not stop after the first collision. He struck me two more times and dragged me along with the car before I managed to save my life," the complaint told the police.

Based on the complaint, an FIR under Section 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Hauz Khas Police Station.

The officer noted that CCTV footage from the cameras installed on the campus has been seized, and eyewitnesses are being identified.

"We are taking the matter seriously, and multiple teams are working to identify and nab the accused. The vehicle number has been noted, and technical surveillance is being used to track the suspect," the officer said.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain the motive of the accused and whether he was under the influence of alcohol or any other substance at the time of the incident, the police added.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Dhanashree's Cryptic Post After Breaking Silence On Divorce With Chahal

Dhanashree Verma, social media influencer and ex-wife of Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal, recently broke her silence on the couple's much-publicised divorce. After 18 months of living separately, Chahal and Dhanashree officially parted ways on March 20, 2025. According to reports, the cricketer paid Rs 4.75 crore as alimony to Dhanashree. Speaking to Humans of Bombay, Dhanashree addressed her personal life and the rumors surrounding a "fake marriage". The couple tied the knot in December 2020. As per their petition, they separated in June 2022. On February 5, they filed a joint petition before the family court seeking divorce by mutual consent.

On Thursday, Dhanashree posted a photo on her Instagram story that read: "It's time to rise. A new chapter begins now.

Speaking to Humans of Bombay, Dhanashree addressed her personal life and the rumors surrounding a "fake marriage".

"There is a reason why we say 'personal life'. It has to be private. And look, a coin has two sides. Taali ek haath se to bajti nahi (You can't clap with one hand). Just because I am not speaking it doesn't give anyone the power to take advantage of that. It is not correct. I think it should not happen with anybody," said Dhanashree.

Dhanashree added that while she has her side of the story and could share it in the future, she is currently focused on her career.

"If you want to achieve great things, you don't have to address it again and again. I do have a lot to speak about it, I have my side of my story, do I want to delve into that? No. Do I wish to delve into that? Maybe, in the future," she added.

The Bombay High Court in March requested the family court to decide the divorce plea. The high court also waived the six-month cooling period stipulated for every couple after filing of the divorce plea under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Chahal and Verma had filed a joint petition before the high court, seeking that the cooling-off period be waived in their case as they applied for divorce by mutual consent.

The petition had also prayed for a direction to the family court to decide the divorce petition expeditiously.

The couple challenged the family court order of February 20 refusing to waive the cooling-off period.

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"Insecurity Of Leadership": PM Modi On Why Congress' Young MPs Hang Back

Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the Congress today while talking about parliament proceedings, saying bright and young MPs of the Congress do not get to participate in discussions due to the "insecurity" of its leadership. While he did not name anyone, many thought his target was obvious. 

Sources said PM Modi made the remarks at the customary informal meeting of leaders in Speaker Om Birla's office after the House was adjourned. The Opposition leaders had stayed away from the get-together.

PM Modi, sources said, regretted that some of the bills passed in the monsoon session could not be discussed in the House as the Opposition leaders skipped the meeting. One of the leaders present remarked that it is becoming increasingly difficult to bring the Congress on board since few leaders who attend had any influence on the party's leadership. 

PM Modi then said the Opposition has some bright young MPs who might be making the leadership "insecure", according to the sources.

Congress's Pramod Tiwari responded sharply. "I want to ask you (PM Modi) - who has scope in BJP other than you? Amit Shah has some, but he also works at your behest. Who is left other than you two? Whatever you want happens there," he said.

The Opposition has been vehemently protesting against the Special Intensive Review of electoral rolls in Bihar, which had repeatedly interrupted the proceedings of both houses of parliament in the Monsoon Session. Amid the Opposition protests, the government had pushed through its legislative agenda.
 

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Bigg Boss 19: Full List Of Confirmed Contestants In The Upcoming Season

Bigg Boss Season 19 is all set to premiere on August 24, 2025. The new season is expected to deliver a wild ride filled with drama, fun and non-stop entertainment. 

The intriguing twist this year is the "Gharwalon ki Sarkaar" theme, which indicates a seismic shift in power from outside to inside the house. While 15 celebrities are participating in the show this season, here are the names of the confirmed contestants, as reported by India Today.

Known for his acting stint in the popular television show Anupamaa, Gaurav Khanna is confirmed to be a part of Bigg Boss 19. The actor recently participated in the reality cooking show, Celebrity MasterChef India, and won. He is reportedly the highest-paid celebrity on Bigg Boss this season. 

Child artist turned television actress Ashnoor Kaur is also set to be a part of the reality show. She is known for her roles in Patiala Babes and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.

Content creators Awez Darbar and Nagma Mirajkar have also been signed for the season. The real-life couple reportedly parted ways earlier this year. TV actors Baseer Ali, Abhishek Bajaj, Hunar Hale and Shafaq Naaz are also joining the show, along with Siwet Tomar and Khank Waghnani. 

Baseer has previously appeared on reality series like Roadies, Splitsvilla and Ace of Space. Siwet was also part of Roadies and Splitsvilla. The new season of Bigg Boss promises drama and surprises with its diverse cast.

Other confirmed contestants include gaming creator Payal Dhare and writer-actor Zeeshan Quadri. Fans will get to vote between YouTuber Mridul Tiwari and Shehnaaz Gill's brother, Shehbaz Badesha, to decide who will join the show. 

Other potential contestants that could be part of Bigg Boss 19 are singer Sreerama Chandra, Bigg Boss Marathi's Arbaaz Patel, Anupamaa actress Nidhi Shah, content creator Kirak Khala (Priya Reddy), rapper duo Seedhe Maut, social activist Atul Kishan, and advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh. 

Hosted by Salman Khan, Bigg Boss 19 will stream on JioHotstar at 9 pm and air on Colors TV at 10.30 pm. 

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Housing finance cos under lens over lending

The National Housing Bank is tightening oversight of housing finance companies for breaching loan-to-value (LTV) norms on high-value home loans, two people aware of the development told ET. Supervisory inspections by the mortgage regulator found cases where loans above ₹s75 lakh were sanctioned at up to 90% LTV, in violation of the 75% cap. The National Housing Bank (NHB) has directed individual lenders to reclassify such advances as non-home loans (NHL)."The regulator has taken cognisance of a few mortgage lenders disbursing higher amounts on loans for high-value residential apartments," said an official aware of the NHB cautions. "The NHB has sent communications to these companies to stop such practices and classify them as non-home loans."As per existing rules, loans of up to ₹30 lakh can have an LTV of up to 90%, those between ₹30 lakh and ₹75 lakh up to 80%, and loans above ₹75 lakh up to 75%. The scrutiny is also influencing market transactions, with HFCs purchasing loan portfolios from peers now insisting on explicit disclosures of whether the underlying assets are classified as home loans or non-home loans before adding them to their own books. "Earlier, while buying loan pools, HFCs weren't seeking LTV disclosures. But after the regulatory crackdown, they are asking for explicit home loan and non-home loan classifications in the books," said another official.123394316Both the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and NHB have been cracking down on lenders flouting LTV norms. Regulators have observed that during periods of stress or economic downturns, borrowers with LTV ratios above 80% face significantly higher stress and are more prone to default.The RBI, in December last year, had cautioned lenders against excessive exposure to all types of top-up loans (including home top-up loans), which are additional credit facilities extended to customers against their existing mortgages.While many lenders perceive these loans as low-risk, they are often sanctioned with minimal due diligence, liberal underwriting, and weak adherence to prudential norms on loan-to-value ratios, risk weights, and end-use verification, the central bank had noted.The banking regulator had warned that such practices could create systemic risks, particularly if the value of the underlying collateral turns volatile or faces a cyclical downturn. At the end of September 2024, HFCs had a total outstanding housing loan portfolio of ₹6.25 lakh crore, compared with the overall industry size of nearly ₹34 lakh crore, NHB data showed.

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Ukraine Ghost Sniper Shoots 2 Russian Troops In World's Longest Ever Kill

Ukraine's "Pryvyd" (Ghost) sniper unit has claimed to have set the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill, shooting down two Russian soldiers from a distance of around 4 kilometres. The shot, fired from a Ukrainian-made 14.5mm "Alligator" rifle, was guided to its target with the help of artificial intelligence and drones, according to a report by Defense Express.

A video of the military action is being widely circulated on social media, showing the moment a Ukrainian soldier fired the "historic" shot near the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine during fighting on August 14.

Ukraine's former deputy minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, shared the video on X and wrote, "A Ukrainian sniper from the Pryvyd (Ghost) group made the first successful shot in the history of wars using artificial intelligence, eliminating two Russian occupiers in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad direction."

A historic sniper shot at a record distance of 4,000 meters!

A Ukrainian sniper from the Pryvyd (Ghost) group made the first successful shot in the history of wars using artificial intelligence, eliminating two Russian occupiers in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad direction.

The unique… https://t.co/102ULlYDuA pic.twitter.com/Afh8jRto7V

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 15, 2025

"The unique shot, made without line of sight, was guided by a UAV system and fired from a 14.5 mm Aligator rifle equipped with a Ukrainian-made thermal imaging sight," he added.

The previous world record for a confirmed sniper kill from the largest distance was also held by a Ukrainian soldier, Viacheslav Kovalskyi. The 58-year-old veteran sniper from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reportedly killed a Russian troop from a distance of 3.8 kilometres in November 2023, using a UK-made Horizon's Lord sniper rifle. Last week's shot reportedly beat the previous world record. 

According to Ukrainian military expert Yuri Butusov, the bullet went through the window behind which the Russian soldiers were standing.

About The "Alligator" Rifle

The "Alligator" rifle is a 14.5mm calibre sniper rifle with a muzzle velocity of between 3,215 and 3,281 feet per second, according to Defense Express report. 

It is manufactured by Kharkiv-based arms company XADO-Holding and has an effective range of 1.2 miles. The rifle weighs 25 kilograms, and was reportedly designed to disable equipment rather than kill targets.
 

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Cap makes micro borrowers fall in line

The number of bottom-of-the-pyramid borrowers taking loans from four or more lenders has come down 44% from a year ago, reflecting the impact of prudential lending in the most vulnerable economic strata where mounting delinquencies dented the performance of Indian lenders in the last five quarters.The number of such borrowers queuing up at more than three financiers fell to 3.1 million at the end of the June from 5.7 million a year ago, showed the CRIF High Mark data, illustrating the efficacy of a three-lender exposure cap that took effect from the start of this fiscal. The latest count represents about 4% of an active borrower base of 79.8 million.The 3.1 million customers, who could be considered 'higher risk' have ₹35,712 crore of outstanding borrowing between them at the end of June. That amounts to about a tenth of the sector's outstanding loan portfolio of ₹3.6 lakh crore.The portfolio relating to borrowers transacting with more than three microfinance lenders remains very vulnerable to slippages, especially after the guardrail 2.0 regime limiting fresh loans from more lenders to such borrowers, Crisil Ratings' director Malvika Bhotika said a fortnight ago.123371696"As per our estimates, almost a fourth of the portfolio with more than three lenders is in the PAR (portfolio at risk) 31-180 days bucket as on June 30, 2025," she said.The portfolio exposure of borrowers with high lender associations declined from 19.2% of the book over the past 12 months, CRIF data showed.While this transition has lowered the exposure of MFIs to over-leveraged borrowers, slippages from the legacy portfolio will keep asset quality under pressure, experts said.The issue of borrower overleveraging has been at the heart of the high delinquencies over the past one years leading to severe asset quality stress and loss in income for lenders. It's ironic that lending to the micro borrower segment, which was once known for their robust repayment behaviour, is now being considered risky."The industry is prioritising risk management and portfolio stabilisation over aggressive growth, reflected in subdued lending activity and a stronger focus on liquidity," CRIF said. This moderation aligns with the implementation of guardrails by self-regulatory organisation Microfinance Institutions Network to mitigate overleveraging risks. This led to a 17% year-on-year contraction in the size of the microfinance market to ₹3.59 lakh crore.The active loan accounts fell to 132 million from 159.3 million, with the live customer base declining to 80 million from 86.6 million between June 2024 and June 2025, data compiled by CRIF showed.The sector's portfolio at risk for more than 90 days past due remained elevated at 15.54% of the total on- and off-balance sheet book. This means the gross non-performing assets without excluding the technically written-off loans stood at ₹55,820 crore at the end of June. Loans are classified as NPA when borrowers fail to pay interest or principal for more than 90 days.

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Taxman sets out to draw up a crypto code

MUMBAI: India's apex tax body has asked the cryptocurrency players whether the country needs a new law on virtual digital assets (VDA), which agency should administer such a statute, and whether the present tax regime has driven out traders and businesses to foreign shores. Crypto platforms have been also asked by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) if the 1% tax-deducted-at-source (TDS) on every sale was too high, what should be the preferred TDS rate and why, and whether traders should be allowed to set off VDA losses to make the levy more equitable.A flurry of such questions, raising several other issues on the travails of the trade, have stoked hopes in the crypto industry which has been battered by stiff taxes, regulatory void, and Reserve Bank of India's customary aversion towards cryptos.Not only are crypto gains taxed at the income tax rate of 30% (unlike the lower capital gains tax on stock profits), VDA traders can't offset profits with losses to lower the tax outgo. Many high-street banks are reluctant to offer accounts dedicated to pay or receive funds from crypto trades following central bank senior officials occasionally voicing their reservations on VDAs. Besides, there is no clarity under RBI rules and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) on whether residents can buy and sell cryptos on offshore platforms.A combination of such factors has caused many large crypto investors to shift their trades-and in some cases even relocate-to Dubai which plans to position itself as the world's crypto capital.Chances are India too may change tack, thanks to the crypto adaptation by advanced markets and the digital coins emerging as an asset class and underliers of US mutual funds.123350724According to Purushottam Anand, advocate and founder of Crypto Legal, a blockchain and crypto-focused law firm, "Considering the G20 Synthesis Paper, Finance Track Communique, and the recent Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance announcement selecting VDAs for a detailed examination this year, it is likely that the government will introduce a comprehensive VDA regulation. India has consistently emphasised that regulation or banning can be effective only with significant international collaboration."Since China remains the only major economy to impose a blanket ban, the global consensus today clearly leans towards regulation rather than prohibition, said Anand.SEBI, RBI, MeitY, or FIU-IND?Crypto platforms were asked to share their views by mid-August to the data analytics cell of CBDT. Here are some of the specific questions raised by CBDT:(a) Do you think the current VDA regulation in India is adequate or a comprehensive VDA law is required and the agency which you consider should be authorised to administer it (e.g, Sebi, RBI, MeitY, FIU-IND)?(b) What percentage of trading volumes has moved offshore, and under what circumstances (eg tax concerns, regulation, liquidity)? Which are the jurisdictions where users/businesses are shifting?(c) How would you compare India's VDA tax framework with major jurisdictions?(d) Have you observed any market impact due to the disallowance of loss set-off or carry-forward? In your view, how has the 30% flat tax affected volumes, liquidity etc?(e) What is the biggest challenge in implementing the TDS-identifying counterparty's residency status, calculating the market value of VDA, handling peer-to-peer transactions, or reporting to the income tax department's centralised processing centre?(f) Should there be different TDS treatment for market makers, or retail or institutional transactions?(g) What measures could be considered to ensure a level playing field between domestic and offshore VDA exchanges, particularly in relation to tax compliance for Indian customers?Since two years some exchanges have begun offering derivative products like crypto futures and more recently crypto options where the TDS impact is considerably lower. CDBT in its questionnaire has asked whether there was lack of legal clarity in derivatives, cross-border VDA transactions, and even in the very definition of VDA. Platforms have to also spell out whether they are ready for OECD's crypto-asset reporting framework (CARF)-a global plan to curb tax evasion and money-laundering.

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Man's Body Found Rotting In A Drum In Rajasthan, Wife And Children Missing

A man's rotting body has been recovered from a drum on the first floor of his rented home in Rajasthan's Alwar, said the police Sunday, sparking memories of the murder in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut  where a man was found buried in a blue drum.   

The incident was reported from Adarsh colony in Tijara district. 

The landlord, an elderly woman, who was visiting the first floor for some work had to return because of the foul smell. Upon return, she called in the cops. 

The man, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was working at a brick kiln and has been identified as Hansraj, said the police, adding that his wife and three children are missing since the incident. 

A stone lay atop the blue drum, sealing its mouth, possibly to cut off the foul smell. 

Pictures from the terrace showed a policeman, dressed in civilian clothes and his face covered with a handkerchief, dropping the stone to the floor and lifting the lid. He then pulled out a bedsheet and peered in.  

"There was a report of foul smell coming from a house in Adarsh Colony. When the police team reached the spot, the body of a young man was found in a blue drum on the roof of the house. The victim has been identified as Hansraj alias Suraj," said Rajesh Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police.

"The victim was a resident of Uttar Pradesh and worked at a brick kiln in Kishangarh Bas area. He had taken a house on rent one and a half months ago. He lived here with his three children and wife. Hansraj's wife and children are missing from home since the incident. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory is also here. The police are trying to collect evidence from the spot," said the officer.

It is not known for how long the man's body was there in the drum or the reason behind his murder, said the police.

The police are also trying to contact the family members of the victim. 

In March this year, a man was murdered in UP's Meerut, allegedly by his wife and her lover. The man's wife and her lover chopped up the body into pieces and buried them under wet cement in a drum. The crime came to light as the daughter kept telling the neighbours, "Papa drum main hain". 

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Why Several Voters' Homes Listed As "House Number 0"? Poll Body Clarifies

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said instances of a person holding multiple voter identity cards arise due to migration or administrative lapses and the poll authority is working to rectify such mistakes.

Addressing a press conference here, Kumar also said the 'House number zero' issue flagged by political parties also arises as several voters do not have a home or their homes have not been given numbers by the panchayat or their respective municipality.

Kumar said the Commission had also addressed the issue of the same voter identity card number allotted to different persons in different states and corrected 3,00,000 such instances.

"Even if a person has votes in two places, he goes to vote at only one place. Voting at two places is a crime and if any person makes a claim of double voting, then proof is required. Proof was asked but was not given," the CEC said.

Kumar said knowingly or unknowingly, some people have ended up having multiple voter identity cards due to migration and other issues, and exercises like the special intensive revision (SIR) would rectify such discrepancies.

On the issue of several voters listing their homes as 'house number zero', the CEC said: "Many people do not have a home, but their name is also in the voter list. The address that is given is the place where that person comes to sleep at night. Sometimes on the side of the road, sometimes under the bridge." "If such voters are called fake voters, it would be a big joke on the poor voters," he said.

Kumar said crores of people have 'zero number' in their house addresses because the panchayat or the municipality has not given the number to the house.

"There are unauthorised colonies in the cities, where they do not have a number, so what address should they fill in their form? So the instructions of the Election Commission say that if there is any such voter in this country, the Election Commission stands with him and will give him a notional number," he said.

"Just because when he fills it in the computer, he sees zero, it does not mean that he is not a voter. In the conditions of becoming a voter, your address is not as important as your citizenship and your completion of eighteen years of age and as long as you live in the vicinity of that booth," Kumar said.

On the issue of a person holding multiple identity cards, Kumar said this was because there was no website of the Election Commission before 200 that had all the data at one place.

"So, since technical facilities were not available before 2003, many such people who migrated to different places, their names were added to many places. Today there is a website, there is a computer, you can select and delete it," Kumar said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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1.4 Lakh Users Buy New FASTag Annual Pass On Day One

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has successfully implemented the 'FASTag Annual Pass' facility at about 1,150 toll plazas on National Highways and Expressways across the country.

The annual pass has received an overwhelming response from the National Highway users, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Till 7:00 pm on the first day of implementation on August 15, around 1.4 lakh users purchased and activated the annual pass and around 1.39 lakh transactions were recorded on toll plazas.

Around 20,000-25,000 concurrent users are using Rajmargyatra App at any point of time and annual pass users are receiving SMS messages for zero deduction of toll fee, according to the NHAI.

"NHAI officials and Nodal officers have been appointed on each toll plaza to ensure a smooth travel experience for the pass users. NHAI is addressing queries of the pass users through various channels. Also, to address the grievances of pass users, 1033 National Highway Helpline has been further strengthened with the addition of over 100 executives," said the highways authority.

Providing a seamless and economical travel option to the National Highway users, the FASTag Annual Pass eliminates the need to frequently recharge FASTag through one-time fee payment of Rs 3,000 for one year validity or 200 toll plaza crossings.

The FASTag Annual Pass is applicable for all non-commercial vehicles with a valid FASTag and gets activated within two hours of the one-time fee payment through Rajmargyatra App or NHAI website.

With a penetration rate of around 98 per cent and over 8 crore users, FASTag has revolutionised the Electronic Toll Collection system in the country.

The introduction of the Annual Pass facility will not only enhance the FASTag user experience but will also make journeys on the National Highways and Expressways more economical and seamless, said the ministry.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Human Extinction Could Be Imminent, Mouse Experiment Suggests

In 1968, Dr John B Calhoun, a behavioural researcher at the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), began a groundbreaking study that may hold chilling warnings for humanity's future. Nicknamed Universe 25, officially titled the "Mortality-Inhibiting Environment for Mice", the experiment placed mice in a sealed, predator-free habitat measuring 4.6 feet (1.37 m) per side, stocked with unlimited food, water, nesting material, and climate control. The enclosure featured 256 nest boxes linked by mesh tunnels, creating a supposed rodent paradise, but what unfolded hinted at the potential path to human extinction.

Universe 25 began with just eight healthy albino mice, four male and four female. After about 3 and half months, the first offspring were born. Thereafter, the mice population doubled every 55 days. 

By around month 19, the population peaked at approximately 2,200 mice. Despite the environment being capable of supporting up to 3,800-4,000 mice, reproduction began to slow as density increased. 

Watch the video here: 

With overcrowding came social breakdown. Young male "dropouts" unable to attain dominance amassed in the pen's centre, often engaging in violent brawls. Dominant males could no longer protect females, who in turn neglected or attacked their young. Females abandoned litters before weaning; some even turned aggressive towards their pups. 

Abnormal behaviours intensified: females isolated themselves, while certain males, termed "the beautiful ones", spent their days grooming, eating, and sleeping but avoided mating or social interaction. This phenomenon was described by Calhoun as the "behavioural sink", a collapse of social behaviour under extreme overcrowding. 

As social pathology increased, births ceased within about 600 days of the experiment's start, and the population rapidly declined toward extinction. By the early 1970s, all the mice in Universe 25 had died.

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Trump-Putin meet: US warns India of more tariffs if...

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US Priest Accused Of Having Affair With Teen Stripper, Paying Her Money

A 61-year-old Catholic priest in Alabama is under investigation for allegedly initiating a relationship with a 17-year-old stripper in 2009 and paying her hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep silent about it, the Guardian reported. Robert Sullivan, the pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Homewood, Alabama, has been placed on leave after being publicly accused by the woman, Heather Jones, now 33. According to Ms Jones, she met Sullivan while dancing at a strip club he regularly visited.

While tipping her, he allegedly offered $273,000 for a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for "an ongoing relationship" involving financial support for private companionship, which also included sex. Ms Jones, who was raised in foster care due to her mother's severe neglect, said in her letter to the diocese that she was hesitant but agreed due to his persistence and her vulnerable state of mind.

Days later, she allegedly received two wire transfers of $136,500 each from an attorney's office. Sullivan, posing initially as a doctor, allegedly took her shopping, dining, drinking, and to hotels in at least six Alabama cities during their relationship, which she claims continued until this year.

Ms Jones further alleged that the priest purchased a phone for her and funded her rehab treatment while she struggled with addiction and depression. She claimed that between July 18, 2024, and March 2025, a Venmo account in her name transferred nearly $120,000 to her. She explained that she felt obligated to share the allegations publicly due to Sullivan's close work with families and children at his church.

"Others may be vulnerable to the same type of manipulation and exploitation," she told the Guardian.

Sullivan has served as a priest for over 32 years and previously held the position of president at John Carroll High School for six years. 

In a letter to the diocese this week, Bishop Steven Raica, who leads the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, addressed the allegations, stating that there is insufficient evidence to warrant a criminal investigation into Sullivan's actions.

"While the Alabama Department of Human Resources determined that the allegations did not match the requirements for opening an investigation, a diocese investigation was initiated, again, according to Church law and our diocesan policies and guidelines," Mr Raica wrote.

"Our diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator has continued to be in contact with the woman who brought forth the allegations and has provided appropriate support," he added.

The Bishop also said that the allegations are being reported to the Vatican. 

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