उर्वरक वितरण व्यवस्था में बड़ा बदलाव, 15 जिलों में अगले सप्ताह से लागू होगा नया फ्रेमवर्क

The CEO of a Gurugram-based company, Jasveer Singh, has put forward a compelling argument against the longstanding tradition of touching the feet of elders. He claims that this gesture, often perceived as a sign of respect, is more a product of social conditioning than a genuine expression of admiration. Jasveer, who is the co-founder and [...] The post Gurugram CEO Sparks Debate After Challenging Feet-Touching Tradition, Calls for Merit-Based Respect appeared first on The CSR Journal .

SEBI settles adjudication proceedings after accepting ₹24.70 lakh settlement over alleged financial statement and LODR violations.

Chairing the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in Tamil Nadu's Mahabalipuram, the Union home minister said: "The people of South India and the governments have also established many excellent traditions in the fields of innovation and revenue generation." He said that "the whole of India should learn from South India in these two areas," as per the home ministery's statement.

India’s core sector growth moderated to 5.4% in July 2026 from 6% in June, according to provisional data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Thursday.

The Opposition BJP, which is staging a protest in the Legislative Assembly demanding the resignation of Minister B. Nagendra, has accused the Congress government of taking advantage of the situation to prevent debate on serious issues haunting the State, like the drought and irregularities related to KPSC.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) The UPT20 League Governing Council Chairman Sanjay Kapoor predicted that Uttar Pradesh's franchise T20 league - UPT20 League - will rise to the top in India across states and will be only behind the lucrative Indian Premier League in the next five years. The league, which is in its fourth season, has been one of the most popular state leagues in the country, with footfall from several Indian internationals and the IPL making it one to watch out for. Rinku Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohsin Khan, Sameer Rizvi, Prashant Veer and Swastik Chikara, among others, are part of the recently started season of the league. Speaking exclusively to IANS, Kapoor emphasised that the league is doing "equivalent" to what the IPL does. "It's immaculate (the platform). You can say this platform is equivalent to the IPL (in terms of what it is doing). We are doing what is in the IPL. We broadcast on Jio, on Star Sports," Kapoor told IANS. The Governing Council Chairman further detailed that the league has already crossed the viewership of the past season and that it will only grow. "We have 55 million (views) now right after eight league matches. So this year, in video coverage, views, Instagram, we are all in all the places on the positive side. Leaving interactivity aside, we will be No.1 in the country after IPL in positive cricket (in five years)," Kapoor added. The league also provides the opportunity for budding cricketers to rub shoulders or share the dressing room with experienced cricketers like Rinku and Bhuvi. Kapoor highlighted that playing alongside such cricketers remains the dream of many of the players. "When you share your dressing room with stalwarts, then your dreams come true in a way. You are sitting with them, talking to them, seeing their body language. When you follow them, see them, learn from them, you take their positives; you get to learn a lot. "When you learn, you become a big player. And a platform like UPT20 League is being broadcast in 150 countries," he added. The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) has launched a 'speed hunt' initiative to identify, track and bring fast bowlers to the UPT20 League. The organisers audition budding speedsters to show their potential from across the state in a bid to pick them for the league. A prime example of this was Noida Kings picking young fast bowler Shubham Gautam from the speed hunt for a handsome amount of Rs 21.5 lakh. Kapoor also emphasised the "beauty" of this initiative. "The beauty of this (initiative) is that we audition young fast bowlers for our league. We bring them to the auction, and they end up earning a heavy amount of money. From 2 lakhs, they can get up to Rs 21.5 lakh (Shubham Gautam). The beauty of this is that it allows us to pick talented youngsters from around the state. That was the vision of Rajiv Shukla ji," he further stated. --IANS vm/bsk/

Dhaka, Aug 20 (IANS) India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, on Thursday assured that New Delhi would take all necessary steps following the deaths of Bangladeshi nationals in a hotel fire in Kolkata, local media reported. “It's very sad. We will certainly do whatever needs to be done,” he said while addressing reporters following a meeting with Bangladesh's Health and Family Welfare Minister Sakhawat Hossain at the Secretariat in Dhaka. Hossain described the meeting as a courtesy call and said the issue of Bangladeshi nationals' deaths in India was not discussed, Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported. Reports suggest that at least nine persons, including a child and a woman, were killed as a major fire broke out at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata early Wednesday morning. The Kolkata police on Thursday disclosed the identities of all nine persons killed in the fire incident at the hotel building. Of the nine killed, seven are nationals of Bangladesh, one from Giridih in neighbouring Jharkhand state and one from Siliguri in Darjeeling district in North Bengal. The police, in a statement, have also disclosed the passport numbers of the seven Bangladeshi citizens killed in the fire. The nine deceased persons include six males, two females and one child. Four among these seven Bangladeshi citizens are from the same family. They are Debasish Dutta (39); his wife, Afsana Shirmiin (27); their toddler son, Swarnasish Dutta; and Afsana’s father Mohammad Akram Ali (74). They had come to Kolkata for Akram’s medical treatment and were residents of Kushtia district in Bangladesh. The fifth Bangladeshi victim was identified as Babu Ahmed (37), a resident of Dhaka. The other two are Rebati Sarker, a female, and M Alimuzzaman, both residents of Kaliganj in Bangladesh. Their ages have not been disclosed by the city police. Meanwhile, citing relatives, local media on Thursday reported that Alimuzzaman and Rebati had gone to Kolkata for treatment and lost their lives in the hotel fire. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday launched a scathing attack against the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government over the fire incident, describing the mishap as a result of constant negligence and carelessness by the previous administration. Separately, the Indian High Commissioner on Thursday called on Bangladesh’s Finance Minister, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, with the two sides discussing economic cooperation and development projects between the two countries. Following the meeting, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka took to X and posted: “High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi paid a courtesy call on the Honourable Minister of Finance and Planning of Bangladesh, Mr. Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, and held discussions on matters of mutual interest such as economic cooperation and bilateral development projects between India and Bangladesh.” --IANS scor/as

Seoul, Aug 20 (IANS) Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said Thursday that Washington's recent decision to scale down the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise has placed Seoul "in a poor plight of cancelling 'war games' it liked very much." Kim Yo-jong made the remarks in a statement as South Korea and the United States scaled down the summertime annual combined exercise after US President Donald Trump ordered the drills to be reduced, Yonhap News Agency reported. "Trump issued a sudden order to reduce the scale of the drill. This has placed Seoul in a poor plight of cancelling 'war games' it liked very much," Kim said. Kim also said that President Lee Jae Myung's "double-dealing remarks" show the uneasiness and impatience of South Korea, referring to Lee's remarks that he respects the scaling down of the drills while also pledging for the "independent buildup of military capabilities." "It will be something like the first 'trouble' to the ROK, unprecedented in the history of US-ROK joint military exercises, in the context that they have never seen the scale of war games reduced to become coreless after its kick-off with no prior discussion," she added, calling South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea. Kim added that the reduced scale of the exercise is "an evident disaster" for South Korean authorities that have been "blinded by their firm belief in the US master." "The world witnesses that the US security aids are no longer free of charge," Kim said. "The whole territory of the ROK would be insufficient to gain favour with the cruel master." Earlier in the day, North Korea fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected roughly a dozen short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area at around 5 pm, adding that further analysis is under way in cooperation with the United States. The military has stepped up surveillance and vigilance for possible additional launches while closely sharing related information with the US and Japan as they maintain a full readiness posture, the JCS said. "Under a staunch South Korea-US combined defence posture, our military is closely monitoring various North Korean activities as we maintain the capability and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation," it added. –IANS ksk/as

New Delhi, August 20 (IANS) The feud within Pakistan’s ruling alliance stood wide open with the recently concluded sham elections in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari openly warning Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that his party would not cooperate with the government on any matter tills its concerns, particularly over the polls, were addressed. The partners have been at loggerheads ever since the staggered elections began in PoJK, with the PPP repeatedly alleging that its ally had resorted to rigging the polls, according to recent reports in Pakistan’s media. Additionally, the issue once again highlighted the contradictions in Islamabad’s narrative of the region being "Azad" or independent. Bhutto-Zardari has now accused PML-N of "robbing the votes of the people through bullets, batons, and coercion", calling the elections a theft of mandate. With PPP being a federal alliance partner, the rivalry in PoJK has deepened mistrust, with the clash undermining the coalition government’s credibility, risking paralysis in Islamabad. Far from being a free exercise of democratic will, the polls were marred by violence, coercion, and widespread allegations of manipulation. Early results showed the PML-N securing a majority of seats even before the final round of voting. The process was overshadowed by bloodshed, with dozens killed in clashes and protests. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which spearheaded demonstrations against Islamabad’s repressive policies, called for a boycott, citing the lack of autonomy and the continued imposition of refugee-reserved seats. Internet shutdowns and information blackouts further delegitimised the exercise, underscoring the extent of Pakistan’s control over the region it insists is "free". Meanwhile, the elections exposed the fragile alliance between the PML-N and PPP. While the two parties are coalition partners in Islamabad, their rivalry in PoJK has been fierce. That these parties hold sway in PoJK itself amplifies Islamabad’s control over the region. Bhutto-Zardari accused the PML-N of "robbing the votes of the people through bullets, batons, and coercion", framing the elections as a theft of votes rather than a legitimate contest. The PPP has taken its grievances to the PoJK’s “High Court”, arguing that government formation is unconstitutional until polling is completed in the remaining districts. This legal challenge, combined with Bhutto-Zardari’s latest fiery rhetoric before the media, has deepened mistrust between the coalition partners and cast doubt on the stability of the federal government. The implications of this standoff extend far beyond PoJK. Pakistan is already grappling with multiple crises. These include an economy in freefall, inflation at record highs, dwindling foreign reserves, and IMF-imposed austerity measures that have fueled public anger. And at the same time, insurgency and secessionist movements are gaining ground, with the JAAC-led protests in PoJK evolving into one of the largest anti-Pakistan mobilisations in years. Other parts of the country, like Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, also continue to face secessionist movements. Now Bhutto-Zardari’s warning of "Your countdown has begun", directed at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is particularly significant. It signals PPP’s intent to challenge beyond PML-N dominance in PoJK to its willingness to even destabilise the coalition government in Islamabad. For Sharif, already struggling to maintain credibility amid economic collapse, public discontent and a mounting Army supremacy, Bhutto-Zardari's challenge represents a serious threat. If the PPP escalates its opposition, the ruling alliance could break, leading to governance paralysis at a time when Pakistan can least afford it. The elections in PoJK thus loom as a part of Pakistan’s broader political and economic crisis. They reveal a government losing legitimacy, a coalition tearing at itself, and a society boiling with discontent. Islamabad’s claim of “Azad Kashmir” rings hollow when elections are conducted under bullets and batons, and when not only the Opposition, but allies too accuse each other of stealing the mandate. Bhutto-Zardari’s warnings now sharpen the knife hanging over Sharif’s fragile government, which now faces the daunting challenge of surviving amid an imminent collapse. Overall, the PoJK fig leaf of an election may be remembered less for the outcome than for what it revealed about a state struggling to maintain control, a political system riddled with contradictions, and a government teetering on the brink of collapse. --IANS jb/vd

Bengaluru: A video allegedly showing a woman police officer interacting with a jailed inmate through a WhatsApp video call has triggered controversy after it surfaced on social media. The officer has now approached the Cubbon Park police, alleging that the video was recorded and circulated by two history-sheeters. According to the complaint filed on Thursday, ... Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

In a personal message, Rahul reflected on his parents’ life together and the years Sonia Gandhi faced following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.

Delhi’s Master Plan 2047 lays out a sweeping roadmap for housing, transport, redevelopment, jobs and environmental protection. The plan projects Delhi’s population to reach 3.2 crore by 2047, with nearly 40 lakh additional homes needed. The metro network is targeted to expand to 695 km, alongside six new RRTS corridors and stronger bus connectivity. The blueprint also proposes 24-hour city zones, affordable housing, redevelopment of unauthorised colonies and ‘Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makan’. For the Yamuna, it proposes treating 22 drains, restoring floodplains and developing a 200-km Ridge-Yamuna cycling network.

Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. The FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2026 was officially unveiled on Wednesday, bringing together leading figures from Indian motorsport, government representatives, championship teams and members of the media ahead of the upcoming championship season.

Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue produced five-wicket hauls each as England bowled Pakistan out for 171 at Headingley. With both pacers wanting the prized match ball, they found a bizarre solution: cutting it in half.