Home Minister Amit Shah has announced an investment of Rs 2.5 lakh crore in the NorthEast, aiming to prevent youth migration for employment within the next 10 years. The Modi government has significantly increased the region’s budget and improved infrastructure, resulting in a 70% reduction in violent incidents and the surrender of 10,500 insurgents.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has condemned the National Education Policy (NEP), labeling it a ‘destructive plan of Nagpur.’ At a welfare meeting in Chengalpattu, Stalin criticized the policy for pushing students out of education, encouraging privatization, and imposing communalism. He reiterated DMK’s refusal to accept NEP, despite any financial incentives.
India ranked as the fifth most polluted country worldwide in 2024, with Byrnihat in Meghalaya being the most polluted metropolitan area globally. High pollution levels are linked to rapid industrialisation and unregulated emissions. Despite some improvement, Delhi remains the most polluted capital, and India’s cities continue to exceed WHO PM2.5 guidelines.
An Indian startup’s space surveillance satellite, SCOT, was commissioned last Saturday after capturing images over South America. Bengaluru-based Digantara launched SCOT on January 14 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12 rocket. The satellite tracks objects as small as 5cm in Earth’s orbit and captured a stunning image featuring the city of Buenos Aires.
Lalit Modi challenges Vanuatu government’s decision to revoke his passport in court. Modi, currently in Vanuatu, has appealed the cancellation of his citizenship. India’s high commission in London had refused his request to surrender his Indian passport. Vanuatu’s Citizenship Commission will await the court’s outcome before proceeding with citizenship revocation.
Karnataka’s Congress government has launched a probe into DGP Ramachandra Rao’s potential involvement in a gold-smuggling racket linked to his daughter, actress Ranya Rao. An inquiry led by ACS Gaurav Gupta will investigate allegations that Rao directed a constable to escort Ranya with 14.2kg of gold from Bengaluru’s airport. Other aspects being probed include possible links to a bitcoin scam.
The Rajasthan High Court has allowed a 13-year-old rape survivor to have a medical termination of her 27-week pregnancy. The court instructed that if the fetus survives, it should be incubated and cared for at the state’s expense. An FIR was lodged after discovering the pregnancy, and the medical procedure is to be supervised by the medical board.
Opposition parties continued their protests in and outside Parliament over issues like duplicate EPIC numbers, the three-language formula, and delimitation. TMC, Congress, and BJD walked out of Rajya Sabha, while TMC and BJD approached the Election Commission. DMK MPs protested the three-language policy, and Congress MPs from Tamil Nadu joined them.
Bengal’s opposition leader, Suvendu Adhikari, has caused controversy by stating the BJP would forcibly remove Muslim MLAs from the assembly upon forming the next government. The Trinamool Congress criticized the statement as hate speech, questioning Adhikari’s mental stability following recent political defections.
The Election Commission has asked for suggestions from political parties on unresolved voter list and photo identity card issues by April 30. Delegations from BJP, TMC, and BJD have raised concerns about duplicate voters and EPIC numbers. The Commission aims to address these issues and strengthen electoral processes through interactions with party leaders.
Congress has stated that states which controlled population will lose seats due to delimitation based on population criteria. States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh are expected to lose seats, while Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan are among the gainers. Tamil Nadu’s chief minister has invited various parties to join a joint action committee against this exercise.