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BJP and its allies have outdone their political opponents in wooing this segment through targeted welfare schemes including Ladki Behen yojana, training women to become “drone didis”, more sops for aaganwadi workers, Ujjwala LPG cylinder scheme, and registering homes given under the PM Awas Yojana in the name of women. Ex-Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar lead the pack as far as women welfare schemes are concerned. Chouhan launched the highly successful Ladli Lakshmi yojana for girls on April 1, 2007, nearly two decades back and reaped political dividends from it. Buoyed by its success, Chouhan tried uplift his waning popularity in 2023 just months ahead of the Assembly elections by inaugurating another scheme for women- Ladli Lakshmi yojana. While all intended beneficiaries could not be added in the six months before the code of conduct kicked in, most women who got the funds backed BJP.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a «direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts» to end the war.

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said India's forgotten pride should be reintroduced. Speaking at Lokmanthan-2024, a colloquium of "nationalist thinkers" here, Bhagwat talking about the importance of science having the consent of country's philosophical knowledge, cited the example of scientists stressing on ethics in the use of Artificial intelligence. India's value system emphasizes on the individual's wisdom, he said. There is logic, wisdom in India's approach to issues and the country need not follow other approaches to problems. India can take good things from foreign countries but it should have its own soul and structures.

Cross Season 2, speculation swirls around the return of Ryan Eggold as Ed Ramsey, the enigmatic “Fanboy Killer.” With Season 1 concluding on a high-stakes note, Ed was apprehended, facing a grim future in prison with only one murder and one kidnapping officially tied to his name. The series left viewers questioning whether this cunning antagonist’s story is truly over. Eggold himself remains tight-lipped about his involvement in the upcoming season. Speaking with TV Insider, he confessed, “I’m not allowed to say anything… The possibility exists. We’ve discussed things, but yeah, I don’t know what to say.”

air quality index continued to fluctuate between the «severe» and «very poor» categories in Delhi. The city's 24-hour average air quality index, recorded until 4 pm on Sunday, was 318 (very poor), improving rom the severe category recorded the previous day when it was 412, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). None of the 38 monitoring stations in Delhi recorded AQI in the severe category on Sunday, compared to 20 stations that recorded severe air quality the previous day, according to the SAMEER app, which provides hourly updates on the National Air Quality Index. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered «good,» 51-100 «satisfactory,» 101-200 «moderate,» 201-300 «poor,» 301-400 «very poor,» 401-450 «severe,» and above 450 «severe plus.»

Kanwal Sibal argued on Sunday that these allegations represented an extraterritorial application of US laws. In a post on X, Sibal argued that simply because some money was raised in the US by a company and that company allegedly paid bribes in India, it cannot be argued that the principal cause of action lies in the US. «Have US investors lost financially or morally?» Sibal questioned.

«Odisha has always been a land of seers and scholars. The way the scholars here took our religious texts to every household and connected the public with those, it has played a crucial role in the cultural prosperity of India. »There was a time when India's eastern region and the states there were called backward. However, I consider India's eastern region as the country's growth engine. That is why we have prioritised the development of India's eastern region," he said.

non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, thyroid, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's remain a growing challenge due to reliance on expensive, reactive care, healthcare experts suggest building a community healthcare system and ‘operating at scale’ in rural and urban areas to help India pave the way to Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Swami Subramaniam, Physician Scientist, and Aparajithan Srivathsan, hospital strategist, spoke to ET on the sidelines of a discussion of their new book in which the duo has proposed seven principles to make UHC a reality in the country. Underlining some of the challenges in the current system, the book highlighted that “Primary healthcare in its current form is in its death throes. For its revival, it should be transformed into a new version called Comprehensive Health Care.” To strengthen the community healthcare system, India needs to think beyond traditional methods and “apply industrial concepts,” Srivathsan said, while adding, “Currently, ASHA workers, though involved in project-based interventions, are not equipped for continuous monitoring, as non-communicable diseases require long-term, consistent care. Therefore, a dedicated cadre of trained health workers is essential, and NGOs are stepping in to fill this gap."

Reserve Bank of India’s gold purchases has helped the central bank to hold up foreign exchange reserves amidst a huge pullout by foreign portfolio investors that saw reserves contracting by $47 billion in five weeks. While the value of foreign currency assets dipped $1.1 billion on an incremental basis since the beginning of the fiscal 2024-25 upto November 15, value of gold in reserves rose $13 billion in the same period and help shore up overall foreign exchange reserves by $11 billion, the latest Reserve Bank of India data shows. Reserves including gold, foreign currency assets and SDR are now at $ 658 billion. The central bank added 44.76 tonnes to its stock of gold between March 29 and October 25 this year, ramping up gold stocks from 822.09 tonnes to 866.65 tonnes during the period according to the latest Reserve Bank of India data.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the meeting of the deputy foreign ministers of Iran, France, Germany and the United Kingdom would take place on Friday, without specifying a venue. «A range of regional and international issues and topics, including the issues of Palestine and Lebanon, as well as the nuclear issue, will be discussed,» the spokesman said in a foreign ministry statement.

Bihar Industries Minister Nitish Mishra on Sunday said the upcoming global business summit in Patna will be a huge success and attract more investment proposals than about Rs 50,000 crore it received in the 2023 edition. The second edition of 'Bihar Business Connect' will be held from December 19-20, 2024 in Patna. «Last year, we received investment proposals of around Rs 50,000 crore. I am very much confident that this year we will get more investment proposals,» Mishra told reporters in the national capital. He said the upcoming investors' meet will lead to the start of a new industrial era in Bihar.

multi barrel rocket launchers (MBRL), India has started the supply of the highly capable Pinaka rockets to Armenia. The supplies of the DRDO-developed rocket launchers have started around the same time India has started deliveries of the Akash air defence missile system to that country. The first lot of the Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher systems has been supplied to Armenia, defence sources told ANI.

Delhi Capitals (DC) for a hefty sum of Rs 11.75 crore. This comes after the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opted not to retain the fast bowler, who was previously the most expensive player in IPL history following his acquisition for Rs 24.75 crore in the 2024 auction. Starc, known for his express pace and ability to thrive under pressure, had an impressive season last year, claiming 17 wickets, including five crucial scalps in the Qualifier and final matches. Despite his standout performance, injuries and international commitments hampered his participation throughout the season.

Mohammed Shami was sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 10 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction on Sunday at Jeddah. Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were in the initial fight for the pacer. CSK pulled out at Rs 8 crore and Lucknow Super Giants entered the bid Rs 8.50 crore. However, when the bidding stopped at Rs 9.75 crore, SRH made their bid and the player was sold for Rs 10 crore. Shami represented Gujarat Titans in 2023, where he was the purple cap holder. The right-arm pacer missed the 2024 IPL season as he was recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Despite his recent setbacks, Shami remains a formidable force, having bagged 127 wickets in 110 IPL matches at an economy of 8.43 runs per over..

Lucknow Super Giants bought Rishabh Pant for Rs 27 crore, creating the record for the most expensive buy in the history of the tournament. Minutes after Shreyas Iyer was sold fo Rs 26.75 crore to Punjab Kings, LSG made the highest bid for the Indian wicket-keeper batter. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), one of the two new franchises introduced in 2022, had a decent start as a franchise, when they finished fourth in 2022 and 2023, with Gautam Gambhir as the mentor and KL Rahul as their captain. After letting go of Rahul, the franchise still retained five players, which included three bowlers and two middle-order batters.

National Consumer Helpline (NCH) is set to introduce artificial intelligence-based features including speech recognition and multilingual chatbots as part of a major upgrade to its consumer grievance system. The helpline has also announced partnerships with over 1,000 companies to expedite complaint resolution. The new AI capabilities, dubbed NCH 2.0, will allow consumers to file complaints through voice input in their local languages, marking a significant technological transformation of the consumer protection platform that currently operates in 17 languages. The helpline has seen dramatic growth in usage, with monthly calls surging to 141,817 in January 2024 from 14,795 in January 2015. Monthly complaint registrations have tripled to 112,468 in 2024 from 37,062 in 2017.

Maharashtra Assembly polls where her party-led Mahayuti alliance trounced the Congress-led MVA. Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the actor-politician said she believed that he was born for the «salvation of the country and is invincible». Ranaut and then-Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had a bitter run-in in 2020 with the then-undivided Shiv Sena-led Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation demolishing alleged illegal alterations at her Bandra bungalow. The BJP-led Mahayuti on Saturday retained power in Maharashtra, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats, as the Congress-led MVA's dream of wresting power fizzled, with the opposition combine managing to garner just 46 seats.

Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday said leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the BJP leadership will decide who will be the next chief minister of the state. Addressing a press conference here, Bawankule also said the people of Maharashtra have rejected the Congress, and pointed to its state unit chief Nana Patole winning by a margin of just around 200 votes in Sakoli seat. The BJP-led Mahayuti, which also comprises the Shiv Sena of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and NCP of deputy CM Ajit Pawar, on Saturday retained power in the state by bagging 230 of the 288 assembly seats. The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi's dream of wresting power fizzled, with the opposition combine managing to garner just 46 seats.

Sheikh Hasina from 2009 to 2024," an official statement said. The statement, issued by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus's office, said the committee was currently reviewing seven major energy and power projects, including the Adani (Godda) BIFPCL 1234.4 MW coal-fired plant, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Power Limited. The six other agreements include one with a Chinese company that built a 1320 MW coal-fired power plant, while the rest are with Bangladeshi business groups said to be close to the past regime.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) held a rally here on Sunday demanding the withdrawal of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The rally organised by BJD Minority cell was held near the Raj Bhavan here where protestors raised slogans demanding the withdrawal of the bill as they claimed it would affect harmony among the community. The government has listed 16 bills, including the Waqf Amendment Bill, , for consideration in the Winter Session of Parliament beginning on Monday. The protestors also submitted a memorandum to President of India through the District Collector of Khurda where they made certain suggestions and expressed concerns regarding the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995.

Virat Kohli swapped fluency with spunk to score his 30th Test hundred which took him past the incomparable Sir Donald Bradman's tally here on Sunday, and it was also one of the most significant knocks in a stellar career that is in its final chapter. Kohli's unbeaten 100 (143b, 8x4, 2x6) against Australia at the Optus Stadium was his first hundred after the 121 against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023, and since then 15 innings have passed without a three-figure mark. It was a massive climb down for a man who churned out hundreds for fun, and the 36-year-old was also a befuddled batter in the turners at home. But at Perth, the venue of his majestic hundred in 2018, and against a favoured opposition, Kohli pushed behind the agonies of the past.