Devendra Fadnavis

Gender equality only on paper, must be imbibed in families: Maharashtra CM

Gender equality is currently only on paper and there was need to imbibe it in families by teaching the value that girls and boys are equal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday. Interacting with journalists on the occasion of International Women's Day, the CM also said he was happy to be the parent of a girl, adding "daughter's are God's blessings" and that he was fortunate to have received it. "Gender equality is a value that needs to be taught from childhood that girls and boys are individuals who needed to be treated equally. Gender equality is only on paper and needs to be imbibed within families, while governments can make interventions," Fadnavis said. On the personal front, the CM said he never felt pressure from society or family since he only has a daughter. Asserting that his wife is an independent individual, Fadnavis said, "I may not agree with all her views and actions, but as an independent individual, she is free. She is often trolled and has

No intention to control media: Maha CM on setting up of monitoring centre

The Maharashtra government does not intend to control the media through the monitoring centre that it plans to set up, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday while asserting the mechanism was to "take note" of what is printed and broadcast for response and clarification purposes. The media monitoring centre (MMC) to be set up under the state government's Directorate of Information and Publicity has come in for criticism and is being dubbed as a move to control the media. A government resolution issued earlier this week said the requirement of such a centre was felt because of the growth of publications, channels and digital platforms and there was need for monitoring under one umbrella how the news related to government schemes, policies are given. A professional consultant will be hired to collect government related news in PDF format and bifurcate into various categories like issues, individuals, departments, positive and negative, the GR stated. "We have no intention

Maha to prevent Rs 60,000 cr sops 'stress' from hitting investments: CM

Pre-election sops like the Ladki Bahin scheme is extracting Rs 60,000 crore from the Maharashtra government and attempts are being made to ensure that it doesn't impact capital investments, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. Assembly elections were held in Maharashtra in November 2024. Days before the announcement of the state budget on Monday, Fadnavis said Maharashtra is trying to channelise the money paid to the beneficiary women into productive purposes by helping them pool the resources for sustainable businesses. "It is true that when you undertake such expenditure (on welfare schemes), it has a stress on the budget but we are able to manage it. And we are attempting that this does not impact our capital investments," Fadnavis said at a Moneycontrol event on Friday evening. "We are trying to balance budget without reducing the capital investment," he added. It can be noted that the sops have been widely credited for being among the factors leading to the MVA governme

Maharashtra received record FDI in just nine months of 2024-25: Fadnavis

Maharashtra has received record FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows of the past ten years in just nine months of 2024-25, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday. Fadnavis quoted the Centre's DPIIT foreign investment report for December 2024 to back his claim. As per the report, Maharashtra has crossed the highest annual foreign direct investment in the last 10 years in just 9 months of the current fiscal, he said. A total of Rs 1,39,434 crore has been received in the first 9 months of the financial year 2024-2025, he said. This is the highest foreign investment received in Maharashtra in any single year in the last 10 years, he said. According to the data compiled by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) for the end of December 2024, Maharashtra tops the country in FDI inflow, followed by Karnataka and Gujarat. In doing so, the Mahayuti government has broken its own record for the financial year 2016-17. Of course, there is still one quarter

'Marathi is Mumbai's language': Fadnavis amid row over RSS leader's remarks

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it, after a Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA pointed to comments of a RSS leader. Fadnavis was speaking in the state assembly, in response to Shiv Sena (UBT) member Bhaskar Jadhav's demand that the government clarify its stand on senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments that a person coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi. "Mumbai does not have one language. It has many languages. Certain areas have their own language. The language of Ghatkopar is Gujarati. In Girgaum, you will have fewer Hindi speakers and more Marathi speakers. So it is easy that any individual coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi," Joshi had said. As Jadhav sought the government's response on it in the assembly, Fadnavis said, "I haven't heard what Bhaiyyaji said, but the language of Mumbai an

Munde resignation eyewash, he'll be back after case cools down: Sena UBT

Neither Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis nor his deputy Ajit Pawar, who heads the NCP, can claim that resignation was sought on moral grounds,

Beed sarpanch murder causes political storm in Maharashtra: All we know

Deshmukh, a sarpanch in Beed's Massajog village, was tortured and murdered on December 9, 2024 by seven men

Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigns after aide held in murder case

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed the news, saying he had received the resignation of Dhananjay Munde

Raksha Khadse's daughter harassed in Jalgaon; seven named in FIR, one held

Union Minister Raksha Khadse on Sunday lodged a police complaint regarding the harassment of her daughter and some of her friends by a group of boys at an event in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, however, said that the accused belong to a political party, and some of them have been arrested. Khadse lodged a complaint at Muktainagar police station in connection with the incident that occurred at Sant Muktai Yatra in Kothali village in Muktainagar on Friday night. Talking to reporters, the Union minister and BJP leader said, "I was in Gujarat, so my daughter called me to ask for permission to go. I asked her to take a guard and two to three staff members along. My daughter and her friends were followed and pushed, and their photos and videos were taken. When my staff objected, the boys resorted to unruly behaviour, and a mob of 30 to 40 people gathered." Khadse said when she returned home this morning, her daughter told her that the same group of boy

Maharashtra bets on AI with M-Hub, innovation centre in Navi Mumbai

Fadnavis, who first became chief minister in 2014 and is now in his second term after a break, said the state will launch a startup incubator called M-Hub

French firm accuses MMRDA of corruption, seeks diplomatic intervention

The French company has alleged that MMRDA officials demanded benefits and intentionally delayed payments. Systra has raised these concerns with the Indian government and sought diplomatic intervention

Maharashtra will lead AI and technology revolution: CM Devendra Fadnavis

Chief Minister Fadnavis said that the level of digital services has increased in the state and most government services have become available online

Fadnavis asks to inquire Shinde's previous decision, hinting widening rift

CM Fadnavis issued an order in which he underlined some 'irregularities' in the state's Minimum Support Price schemes and selection of nodal agencies for crop procurement

Maharashtra's 'Ladki Bahin' scheme mainly benefits married women: Study

Married women make up as many as 83 per cent of the beneficiaries of the Maharashtra government's 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', as per official data. The scheme, which is supposed to have played a role in the BJP-led coalition's victory in the November 2024 assembly elections, provides monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to women aged 21 to 65 who are married, divorced, widowed, deserted, or destitute, and whose family income is below Rs 2,50,000 per year. The benefit is also provided to one unmarried woman per family. The scheme has, as of now, some 2.5 crore beneficiaries, though the government is now carrying out a scrutiny to omit those who are ineligible. Data indicates that married women constitute 83 per cent while unmarried women constitute 11.8 per cent of the beneficiaries, a senior official said on Thursday. Widows account for 4.7 per cent of beneficiaries, while 'divorced, destitute or deserted' women collectively make up less than 1 per cent of the cohort. ...

Fadnavis asks to remove objectionable Wikipedia content on Sambhaji Maharaj

The controversy about the respected King Sambhaji Maharaj started after the release of the film Chhaava

"We are thanda thanda, cool cool," Shinde on friction rumours with Fadnavis

The reported standoff between the BJP and Sena- initially sparked by the unresolved allocation of guardian minister posts for Raigad and Nashik- has now spread to other spheres of authority

Nothing wrong with interfaith marriages, fraud alliances must stop: Maha CM

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said there was nothing wrong with interfaith marriages, but steps need to be taken against matrimonial alliances through fraud and false identity. Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said the Supreme Court and Kerala High Court have made observations about the reality of "love jihad". Fadnavis was responding to a question about the state government setting up a committee to study the legal aspects for a new law against forced conversions and cases of 'love jihad". "Love jihad" is a term used by right-wing activists and outfits to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage. The chief minister said, "It is a reality, and in Maharashtra, incidents of being duped into marriage and then abandoned once children are born are on the rise." He clarified that there was nothing wrong with interfaith marriages, but instances of using fake identities and fraud are serious and need to be curbed. The

Maha CM assures to establish better law and order after meeting Amit Shah

He assured that the state government is committed to establishing a dynamic and progressive law and order system through the effective execution of these laws

Fadnavis announces Rs 2 cr aid for kin of constable killed in Gadchiroli

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced that the state government will give a financial assistance of Rs 2 crore to the family of constable Mahesh Nagulwar killed in an encounter with Naxalites in Gadchiroli district. The 39-year-old constable of special commando unit C-60 died of injuries he suffered during an exchange of fire with Naxalites in Gadchiroli on Tuesday. Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, said that during the operation against Naxalites, personnel of the C-60 commando unit successfully destroyed a Maoist camp in Fulnar forest area of Bhamragad taluka in Gadchiroli. However, constable Nagulwar sustained bullet injuries during the encounter. He was immediately airlifted by a helicopter and admitted to the district hospital in Gadchiroli, Fadnavis said in a post on X on Tuesday evening. Despite all efforts, he succumbed to his injuries and attained martyrdom, the CM said. "Constable Nagulwar's sacrifice in the campaign for a Naxal-free India will

Exam centres with mass copying cases will be barred permanently: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said examination centres where mass copying for classes 10 and 12 board exams is reported will be barred permanently. Meanwhile, 42 cases of copying were reported on the first day of the HSC examination for class 12, according to the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE). Fadnavis directed officials to monitor sensitive examination centres through drones and video cameras. He directed the sacking of school employees or teachers if they were involved in facilitating copying. This decision was taken in the state cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Fadnavis also interacted with all district collectors and police officials and took stock of the preparation for exams. The chief minister said district collectors should form special squads which should reach examination centres an hour before the exam starts and wait until the answer sheets are submitted to the custodian. Fadnavis said it is the join