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Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian national and a doctoral student at Columbia University, has voluntarily left the United States after her visa was revoked for allegedly «advocating violence and terrorism.» In a statement on Friday (local time), US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said that Srinivasan, a student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, self-deported using the CBP Home App. «Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that one of the Columbia students who had her student visa revoked for advocating for violence and terrorism self-deported using the CBP Home App and ICE arrested a Palestinian student for overstaying her expired F-1 visa,» according to a release by the the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The US Department of State revoked Srinivasan's visa on March 5, alleging her involvement in «activities supporting Hamas.» «Ranjani Srinivasan, a citizen and national of India, entered the United States on a F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University. Srinivasan was involved in activities supporting Hammas, a terrorist organization. On March 5, 2025, the Department of State revoked her visa. The Department of Homeland Security has obtained video footage of her using the CBP Home App to self-deport on March 11,» the release stated.

Piyush Goyal on Friday said that he had a «forward looking» discussion with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement. «Our approach will be guided by 'India First', 'Viksit Bharat' and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,» the Commerce Minister wrote on his X timeline, sharing a photograph of the meeting. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was in the US last week. His visit to the US followed US President Donald Trump and PM Modi's plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025. The two leaders had committed to designating senior representatives to advance these negotiations. During the recent meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two leaders resolved to expand trade and investment to make their citizens more prosperous, nations stronger, economies more innovative, and supply chains more resilient. They resolved to deepen the US-India trade relationship to promote growth that ensures fairness, national security and job creation. To this end, the leaders set a bold new goal for bilateral trade — "Mission 500" — aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030.

Goa Bench of Bombay High Court has struck down a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, that allowed the creation of zones within zones, holding that it was concerned with private land owners' interests. Three citizen organisations had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the HC contending that section 17 (2) of the Act was «mutilating» the Regional Plan. Notified in March 2023, the section was aimed at allowing the authorities to correct inadvertent errors or rectify inconsistent or incoherent zoning. The Regional Plan is a long-term land-use development blueprint prepared by the Town and Country Planning Department of Goa to guide infrastructure, zoning, and environmental conservation in the state. A division Bench of Justices Nivedita P Mehta and M S Karnik on Thursday struck down section 17 (2), holding that it was not in «furtherance of development in the public interest by maintaining a balance between sustainable development vis-a-vis environmental issues», but was concerned with private land owners' interests. The petitioners had argued that the section was being misused to change the status of large tracts of land for commercial purposes. According to the state, between March 2023 and January 2 of this year, there have been 353 approvals under section 17(2) which affect an area of about 26,54,286 square metres, noted the bench.

retaliatory tariffs until Washington shows respect.

Vedanta, Ola Electric, Jaiprakash Associates, BEML, Infosys among others will be in focus due to various news developments. Vedanta Vedanta's promoters will maintain over 50% stake in each of its demerged entities, as the focus remains on creating pure-play companies which will be better placed to capitalise opportunities.

Priyank Kharge said. The state's digital infrastructure at the panchayat level is «extremely good», said Kharge, who handles the portfolios of rural development, panchayat raj, information technology and biotechnology. «I have close to around 6,000 panchayats, and all the gram panchayat meetings have moved online. We are at a beta level, but more than 136,000 meetings have been conducted online,» Kharge said at the second edition of the Salesforce Economic Times Digital Transformation Dialogues. The meetings are open to people and have been viewed online by 25,6 million people, out of which 11.7 million are women, the minister said. The state has also mapped around 15 million properties with Geographic Information System (GIS) tagging, bringing them under panchayats' tax ambit.

Introduced as part of broader government cost-cutting efforts, the idea has yet to gain firm ground in Congress, despite initial enthusiasm from some political quarters and the public.

Krishna Byre Gowda on Wednesday. Under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, by the central government, any will or gift deed made in favor of neglectful children can be legally revoked, he said while speaking in the Legislative Council. «In recent times, we have seen a growing number of cases where elderly parents are left without care,» Gowda said while responding to a question from Balkees Banu, a member of the council. " If children or relatives neglect their elderly parents, the seniors have the legal right to revoke any will or gift deed made in their name,” he added. The Central Government enacted the law in 2007, but awareness remains low, the minister noted. The legislation mandates that children or relatives must provide financial and medical support to senior citizens. If they fail to do so, elderly parents can file a complaint under Section 9, after which authorities can take action. “If a complaint is proven, and children or relatives who have inherited property fail to take care of their parents, Section 23 allows for the cancellation of any will or gift deed made in their favor, restoring ownership to the parents,’ Gowda informed. The responsibility for handling these cases lies with the sub-divisional officers. The revenue minister stressed that thousands of such cases are already being heard by the officers

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Trinamool Congress — met the Election Commission of India separately on Tuesday over the allegations of irregularities in voter numbers, demanding action by the poll body. The BJP also visited the poll panel in West Bengal over the alleged fake voters in the state, claiming that Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas have been included in voters' list. The BJP also alleged the state government of West Bengal has played a role in settling a significant number of Bangladeshi infiltrators and adding them to the voter list. This has weakened our electoral process and these voter lists should be scanned, the BJP demanded. The delegation of Trinamool Congress, led by its Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brian, met the poll panel over the issue of duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). The party, in its memorandum, said that the issue of duplicate EPIC numbers was kept buried, allegedly for several years, until it was flagged by the party supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Anil Thomas Gabriel, who was shot dead in Jordan on February 10, has demanded justice, insisting his son was not a terrorist but an Indian citizen. Anil's father, Gabriel Thomas, spoke to ANI, stating, «Anil Thomas called me after he landed in Jordan on February 7. When he left from here, he carried all the necessary documents, including his visa. He was not alone--his brother-in-law also travelled with him. Later, we were told that someone had been shot, but they couldn't find Anil Thomas. It was only later that we learned he had been killed.» Thomas continued, «We sent an email to the Indian Embassy, and when we received a response, we found out about his death. He was shot in the forehead. We demand justice. Why was my son shot? The government must investigate. As a father, it is my duty to fight for the truth. We have already submitted a petition to the MP. This incident happened in Jordan, not Israel. The embassy may say many things, but they were not there. There are eyewitnesses who saw what really happened--Thomas was shot while walking. The bullet hit the leg of the person accompanying him, but my son was shot in the forehead, which is unacceptable. My son was not a terrorist--he was an Indian citizen. If needed, they could have shot him in the leg, but they aimed to kill. This is an injustice, and the government must take action to ensure we get justice.»

Foreigners Act, 1946, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000. The objective is to enhance national security, control immigration procedures, and introduce stricter penalties on foreigners who violate entry and stay conditions.

EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories will see moderate advancements for India, while EB-4 will remain unavailable for all countries until the end of fiscal year 2025, as the annual limit has been reached. Meanwhile, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that it will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications based on the Visa Bulletin's Final Action Dates chart in April 2025. This allows applicants to file if their priority date is earlier than the listed cutoff date for their category and country.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. US President Donald Trump’s recent declaration of English as the official language of the US may seem relatively benign. Most residents already speak English and a majority of immigrants are eager to learn it.

Jitendra Singh projected the space sector to surge to USD 44 billion in the near future, marking a nearly fivefold growth. According to the Ministry of Science & Technology, Dr Singh pointed to the National Space Innovation and Applications (NSIL) and In-SPACe, which have fostered collaboration between government and non-government entities, driving India's space economy to USD 8 billion. Addressing India's growing stature in global space exploration, Dr Jitendra Singh remarked, «Gone are the days when we used to take the lead from others. Now, India sets the cue for others to follow.»

West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district are pinning their final hopes on police and district administration to end a caste-based discriminatory tradition of three centuries and receive their Constitutionally-guaranteed right to worship their God. The families at Daspara area of Gidhgram village, all having 'Das' surnames and belonging to the traditional community of cobblers and weavers, have allegedly been forced to stay away from the steps of Gidheswar Shiv temple, the only place of worship in the locality, by the shrine committee and other villagers on grounds that they belong to a «low caste», victims alleged. At their wits' end, victims at the receiving end of this discrimination now plan to take «the fight to the end» and even seek legal recourse if the state administration fails to resolve the crisis.

Also read: Maiya Samman Yojana: Rs 2,500 to be credited in only these women's accounts; check date and eligibility Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, while making the announcement on Women's Day, said, «Today is Women's Day. We had our cabinet meeting today, and our cabinet has approved the scheme — the promise that we made during the Delhi elections to provide Rs 2500 to the women. We made a provision of Rs 5100 crores in the Delhi budget for the implementation of the scheme. We have formed the committee, which will be led by me and the registration for the scheme will begin soon — a portal will be launched soon,» as per The Times of India report.

IRCC) had announced that they would be sending no new invitations under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) this year, and would instead only be processing applications submitted in the 2024 intake. This year Canada intends to accept up to 10,000 complete applications for sponsorship under the PGP Program. «Given there remains a number of interest to sponsor forms in the pool from 2020, IRCC plans to send invitations to apply to randomly selected potential sponsors from that pool instead of accepting new forms. This is the same approach taken for the intakes conducted from 2020 to 2024,» said IRCC in a statement. ALSO READ: Canada pauses permanent residency sponsorship applications for parents, grandparents

For generations, women in India have carried the weight of this country in silence. Without applause or acknowledgment. Without policies designed with them in mind. They have fed its workers, raised its citizens, sustained its villages, and powered its cities. And all the while, they have been told they do not count. Not in the ledgers. Not in the GDP. Not in the boardrooms or the balance sheets. Even today, we ask what might happen if women were finally allowed to do more than hold the world together quietly in the background. What if they were given the resources, the safety, and the opportunity to build not just homes but enterprises? Not just families but firms?