Nagpur

MSRTC to add 3,500 new buses to its fleet in 2025, reduce wait time

The Maharashtra State Road and Transport Corporation will induct 3,500 new buses in its dwindling fleet in 2025 and check issues like breakdown of vehicles and long wait time for passengers, an official said. Addressing a press conference in Nagpur on Wednesday, MSRTC Chairman Bharat Gogawale said they have decided to purchase 2,200 buses for their own fleet, besides hiring 1,300 buses on lease. "These 3,500 buses will begin joining the fleet in January, alleviating issues such as buses breaking down on road or passengers having to wait for long periods," Gogawale said. Currently, the state-run transport body's fleet is facing a significant shortage as the number of its buses has come down to 14,000 from 18,000 before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2018, he said. Gogawale said due to the pandemic and other factors, the MSRTC was not able to purchase new buses in recent years. Hence, the shortage made it difficult for the corporation to provide additional bus services to meet the growing

Uddhav Thackeray meets Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur

Maharashtra ministry expanded as 39 ministers take oath in Nagpur

The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded at Nagpur on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. In the expansion, BJP got 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. While 33 legislators were sworn in as cabinet ministers, six took oath as ministers of state. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held on the eve of the state legislature's winter session being held in Nagpur from December 16 to 21. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, who took oath in Mumbai on December 5, were present. The new cabinet includes state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar. Results of the state assembly elections, held on November 20, were declared on November 23.

Fadnavis gets grand welcome in Nagpur after Mahayuti election victory

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday led a rally organised in his hometown Nagpur by BJP workers to celebrate the Mahayuti's victory in recent assembly polls. The chief minister, who represents the Nagpur South West assembly constituency, underlined the Mahayuti government's commitment to serve the people 24 hours. Fadnavis landed in Nagpur to a grand welcome from party workers and people. The rally started from Nagpur airport and culminated at Fadnavis' residence in Dharampeth. Talking to reporters at the airport, Fadnavis said, "It is a joyous moment that after becoming the chief minister, I have come to my janmabhoomi and karmabhoomi (birthplace and workplace). Nagpur is my family, and it is welcome by my family." He slammed the opposition parties, accusing them of not believing in the Constitution. Fadnavis, accompanied by his wife Amruta Fadnavis, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule and others boarded a decorated open-top vehicle at Nagpur airport. The

Indian Army receives supply of 480 indigenous loitering munitions

In a major success for indigenous weapon systems, the Indian Army has received the supply of 480 loitering munitions made by a Nagpur-based defence manufacturing firm with over 75 per cent indigenous content.The first indigenous Loiter Munition, Nagastra-1, developed by Solar Industries in Nagpur has supplied the complete lot of 480 loitering munitions under a contract signed under emergency procurement powers by the force, defence officials said.The indigenous loitering munition named Nagastra-1 has an indigenous content of more than 75 per cent and has been designed and developed indigenously by the firm.The system is man-portable, and light and is intended to be used for precision strike capabilities by the Army troops, officials said.Solar Industries is working on the advanced versions of the munition named Nagastra-2 and Nagastra-3 with extended performance and warhead carrying capabilities.Solar Industries has also submitted proposals to the defence forces for the Design &

RBI cancels registration of Zavron Finance over irregular lending practices

The RBI on Monday said it has cancelled the certificate of registration of Nagpur-based Zavron Finance due to irregular lending practices. Zavron Finance has violated RBI guidelines on code of conduct in outsourcing of financial services in its digital lending operations by outsourcing its core decision-making functions such as credit appraisal, loan disbursal, fixing of rate of interest, as well as KYC verification process, the central bank said in a statement. It further said the company not only failed to conduct due diligence on the Lending Service Providers (LSPs) to assess their competence, security and internal controls, ultimate beneficial owners, nationality/shareholding pattern, but also failed to carry out periodic review of security practices/control processes deployed by the LSPs so as to secure confidentiality/security of customer data. "The company has violated RBI guidelines on fair practices code by not providing the copy of loan agreement and sanction letter in ...

Politics a 'sea of unsatisfied souls' where everybody is sad: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said politics is a "sea of unsatisfied souls" where every person is sad and aspiring for a higher post than his current position. Life is a game of compromises, compulsions, limitations and contradictions, Gadkari added while speaking at the launch of a book, titled '50 Golden Rules of Life', in Nagpur on Sunday. Whether a person is in family, social, political or corporate life, the life is full of challenges and problems and the person should understand the "art of living" to face them, the senior BJP leader said. The minister recalled a programme he had attended in Rajasthan where he said, "Politics is sea of unsatisfied souls, where every person is sad...the one who becomes corporator is sad because he did not get the chance to become MLA, and an MLA is sad because he could not get a ministerial berth." "The one who becomes a minister is sad because he could not get a good ministerial department and could not become chief minister, and chief ...

ELT signal near Nagpur airport causes panic; no sign of plane crash

The detection of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal, which points to a downed aircraft or people in distress after a plane crash, near Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport caused panic for three hours in Nagpur in Maharashtra, officials said on Saturday. An ELT is a battery operated transmitter that emits signals and is designed to get activated automatically when an aircraft experiences strong impact. It can also be manually activated by the pilot using a switch in the cockpit. The ELT signal was detected by Air Traffic Control near Mohgaon Zilpi under Hingna police station limits in the north east airspace near the international airport on Friday, an official said. "Police was alerted at 7:30pm and teams were dispatched for a search operation. Despite a thorough search over a vast area, no sign of any aircraft crash was found. The search was called off at 10:30pm after verification that it was a false alarm," he said. A probe is underway to determine whether the

Bhel-Hitachi receives Khavda Nagpur HVDC project from Power Grid Corp

State-owned engineering firm Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on Monday said it has, along with Hitachi Energy India, secured an order for Khavda Nagpur HVDC (hight voltage direct current transmission) project from Power Grid Corporation. The order was awarded by Power Grid Corporation of India on behalf of its Project SPV (special purpose vehicle) company. According the filing, the order is to design and execute the 800kV, 6,000 MW, 1,200 km High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) terminal stations to evacuate renewable energy from Khavda in Gujarat to Nagpur in Maharashtra. The order will be executed by 2029. Power Grid Corporation secured Khavda Phase V: Part A Power Transmission, the first-ever HVDC project tendered through a tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) process and subsequently selected BHEL and Hitachi Energy India for the implementation of bi-directional parallel HVDC bipoles and associated AC substations for power evacuation. This project is part of the interstate

Congress workers attack car transporting EVM after polling in Nagpur

Congress workers ransacked a car transporting an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to a strong room in Nagpur after polling concluded for the Maharashtra assembly elections, police said. The police clarified that the EVM in question, which escaped damage in the attack, was not used in polling and it was kept on standby. The incident took place in the Killa area of Central Nagpur constituency on Wednesday when polling officials were transporting the EVM from booth number 268 to the designated strong room in a car. Workers of the opposition Congress claimed the EVM was being taken to a photocopy shop to print a document and they started questioning poll party officials over violation of protocols in handling the machines. According to the police, the vehicle was intercepted by a group of individuals, who raised concerns that EVM protocols were being violated. Tensions escalated when Congress workers began pelting stones at the car. Reports suggested officials inside the car were ...

Jobs, caste dynamics may shape poll outcome in Fadnavis' home turf

Fadnavis has represented Nagpur South-West since 2009, when it was carved out of Nagpur West - the constituency the five-time legislator first won in 1999

Maharashtra will reject BJP's hate rhetoric, says AAP leader Sanjay Singh

Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Friday said that the people of Maharashtra will defeat the language of hate used by the BJP in the run-up to the state assembly elections. Singh is in Nagpur to campaign for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates. Talking to reporters at Nagpur airport, the AAP leader claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi meted out a step-motherly treatment to Maharashtra by shifting investments worth Rs 2 lakh crore from the state to neighbouring Gujarat, and said this was a big issue on people's minds. "The people of Maharashtra will defeat the language of hate being used (by the BJP) in the elections here," he said and expressed confidence that the MVA will win the polls with a huge majority. The Aam Aadmi Party is a member of the opposition INDIA bloc. Giving a fresh spin on the saffron party's slogan, "batenge toh katenge", Singh said, "Na batiye, na katiye, milke BJP ko rapatiye (don't get divided, don't perish, together

BJP bastion Nagpur South-West won't be cakewalk for Fadnavis: Experts

The Nagpur South-West assembly seat in Maharashtra is considered a stronghold of the BJP, but this time its MLA and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to get a good fight from his Congress opponent, say political observers. While Fadnavis has a strong chance of winning the seat in the November 20 state polls, it could be a close contest between him and his Congress rival Prafulla Gudhade Patil, whom the BJP leader trounced in 2014, they said. The flooding in some areas of the constituency after heavy rains last year and inflation are among the most discussed topics among the electorate in the high-profile seat, comprising 4,08,149 voters. The BJP is hoping to blunt the opposition's campaign by highlighting Ladki Bahin Yojana, a financial aid scheme for the poor women, and other welfare measures for different sections of the society, political analysts said. Some prominent establishments like the Multi Modal international Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN), AII

Nagpur police identify suspect behind hoax bomb threats to airlines

Police in Maharashtra's Nagpur have identified a 35-year-old man from Gondia in the state as the person behind a spate of hoax bomb threats that triggered panic, caused flight delays and led to increased security at airports and other establishments, an official said. The Nagpur city police's special branch has identified the man as Jagdish Uikey, an author of a book on terrorism, who was arrested in 2021 in a case, he said. "Uikey is currently on the run after these emails were traced back to him," the senior police official said. The investigation, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shweta Khedkar uncovered detailed information linking Uikey to the emails. Uikey sent emails to various government bodies, including the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Railway Minister, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy, airline offices, the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the official said. On Monday, the Nagpur police stepped up

Watch: Devendra Fadnavis files nomination for Nagpur's south-west seat

Decide on protection for petitioner against freebie schemes of govt: HC

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the city police commissioner to decide on protection to an activist who filed a petition against Maharashtra government's "unregulated freebie" schemes, including the Ladki Bahin Yojana. A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Abhay Mantri on Tuesday said it was the duty of the state to protect the life and liberty of every citizen. The bench directed the Nagpur police commissioner to decide on the applications filed by social activist Anil Wadapalliwar, seeking police protection expeditiously. Wadapalliwar had filed a public interest litigation against distribution of freebies by the state government. The PIL sought that the HC declare as illegal the distribution of state largesse in nature of "unrestricted freebies and unregulated and irrational doles" to a particular section of the public at large. Such schemes were a derogation of fundamental rights and cast a heavy burden on the state exchequer which in furtherance .

Govt plans to link Korba-Raipur stretch with Nagpur industrial corridor

The NIDC had proposed a 1,080-km fast route between Delhi and Nagpur for the industrial corridor

Pernod Ricard to set up malt distillery, maturation facility in Maharashtra

Wine maker Pernod Ricard India on Monday said it will set up a malt distillery and maturation facility in Maharashtra as part of the company's plan to invest up to Rs 1,785 crore in 10 years. The ground-breaking (Bhoomi Pujan) ceremony for the upcoming plant was held at Butibori, Nagpur in the presence of the state's Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the company said in a statement. It is a significant first step in the realisation of the company's Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Maharashtra, signed on February 23, 2024, the statement said. The agreement also underscores Pernod Ricard's commitment to India, backed by a projected investment of up to Rs 1,785 crore over a span of 10 years, the company said, adding that it has already committed about Rs 100 crore of investment in the state. The upcoming plant, the company's largest in Asia with annual production capacity of 13 million pure alcoholic litres, will produce world-class malt spirit, it ...

HCLTech worker dies in Nagpur; firm claims giving emergency care at clinic

An employee of HCLTech died after suffering a cardiac arrest in the firm's office in Nagpur city, with the IT major sharing that he was provided emergency care at the campus clinic before being rushed to the hospital. According to the police, Nitin Edwin Michael (40), who worked as a senior analyst, was found unresponsive after he entered the washroom of the office of HCL Technologies Ltd. in the city's Mihan area around 7 pm on Friday. His colleagues rushed him to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Nagpur where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival, said the official from Sonegaon police station on Sunday. Police sent the body for post-mortem and registered a case of accidental death. Initial autopsy findings indicated Michael died of cardiac arrest, the official said, adding that they are probing the circumstances surrounding his death. Michael is survived by his wife and a six-year-old son, according to police. Calling Michael's death an unfortunate inci

GMR can now run Nagpur Airport; curative petitions of Centre, AAI dismissed

He added that he personally thinks the curative petitions were not maintainable as they did not meet the threefold requirements of bias, lack of hearing, or any other analogous grounds