Author: Indmedia

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday announced the provision of official vehicles and a concomitant monthly allowance to MLAs as measures to aid their capacity in addressing public grievances in their respective constituencies.The CM announcing under rule 110 in the state assembly said the new measures would encompass a vehicle and an allowance for the MLAs which would help them to travel across their constituencies to monitor government projects and public grievances without external help. Source link

Pune: In a move aimed at reducing deaths and long-term disabilities caused by snakebites, the Maharashtra public health department has declared snakebite a notifiable disease, making it mandatory for govt and private healthcare facilities to report every suspected, probable and confirmed case to health authorities.Public health and family welfare minister Prakash Abitkar said, “The decision will make the state’s snakebite prevention and treatment system more disciplined, prompt and effective.”The move comes a week after three tribal schoolgirls lost their lives to snake bite and others had to be hospitalised after a venomous snake bite incident in Gadchiroli district. Critical victims…

Union Public Service Commission has issued an important notice on what to carry to the exam centre while appearing for the UPSC Mains Exam 2026. Candidates who will appear for the Civil Services (Main) Examination – 2026 can find the notice on the official website of UPSC at upsc.gov.in.UPSC Mains Exam 2026: Important notice issued on things to carry at the exam centre, check here (HT_PRINT)As per the official notice, candidates who will appear for the exam are advised to bring 2 recent’ passport-sized photographs’ in each session.UPSC Mains Admit Card 2026 released at upsc.gov.in, direct link to download hereThe…

Nick Jonas has revisited an audition that could have changed his connection with one of Disney’s biggest animated franchises. The singer and actor revealed that he once tried out for the role of Kristoff in ‘Frozen’.Nick Jonas discussed the experience during an episode of his Hey Jonas Podcast. He spoke with Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel, who are closely associated with the franchise. The audition did not turn out as Nick Jonas had hoped. He admitted that he arrived without knowing what song he would perform. The situation eventually left him struggling in front of the casting team.Nick…

Aged soy sauce can have terroir, techniques and flavour notes, just as wine or whisky. On the Japanese island of Shodo, umami-rich soy sauce is fermented in centuries-old wooden barrels, that gives it a nuanced rich flavour. On August 22 and 24, Oberoi Hotels in Bengaluru and Mumbai are hosting a dinner that pairs these soy sauces with a curated Japanese multi-course meal, bringing together history and craft. Soy sauce being brewed in Yamaroku Shoyu, a historic soy sauce company, that has been family-owned for 150 years | Photo Credit: Special arrangement The dinner, titled Kioke Dojo, is helmed by…

The rupee depreciated 13 paise to close at 95.74 against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday (August 18). File | Photo Credit: Reuters The rupee rose marginally by 1 paisa to 95.73 on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) assisted by RBI intervention, as heightened tensions in West Asia kept global markets on the edge.A rise in global crude oil prices added pressure to the local unit while a decline in the dollar index and FII inflows provided support, forex traders said.At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.72 before slipping to 95.73, up 1 paisa from its previous close.The rupee…

Five players in the Australian Football League (AFL) have been banned for late-night drinking and inviting women to a hotel after a weekend match in Melbourne.The Sydney Swans’ Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice have been stood down from Australian Rules football’s top league for the rest of the season, the club announced.The suspension comes after detectives in Melbourne began an investigation into an alleged sexual assault, said to have to taken place in the early hours of Monday morning at the Pullman Hotel where the players were staying after the match.None of the players…

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch the GISAT-1A satellite in September, in a mission that will be watched closely for many important reasons. Since the two successive PSLV mission failures, in 2025 and early 2026, ISRO had paused launches as it investigated the reason why its workhorse rocket had suffered such an uncharacteristic setback. In this time, important satellites were parked on the launchpad waiting for the clearance.While Union Minister Jitendra Singh told The Hindu on June 13 that the government had determined the cause of the failures and had resolved them, he said the government…

ETF inflows, central-bank buying and softer US data are keeping the medium-term setup constructive. Gold price prediction today: Gold prices are seeing positive momentum, and while volatile, the near-term outlook remains optimistic, says Vedika Narvekar, Research Analyst – Commodities & Currencies, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.Gold gained around 0.7% last week and extended the move above $4,400 at the start of this week, briefly testing the $4,450 mark, before Tuesday’s global bond selloff pulled prices back toward 4,340-4,360. The broader trend, however, remains positive. The rally has been supported by softer US inflation and retail-sales data, which reduced expectations…

A civic official, based on cursory calculations, illustrated how the property tax on a 1,000-sq-ft flat purchased in 2026 in Balkum, Majiwada-Manpada, would rise from Rs 25,039 to Rs 28,305 Thane: The 12% hike in property tax for residential properties, 20% for non-residential properties and revised valuation for transfer fees, approved by the Thane general body, has drawn mixed reactions from the real estate industry.Jitendra Mehta, past president of Credai-MCHI, Thane, said the hike is unlikely to affect sales of new properties but could hit the rental market—both residential and commercial—as well as the resale segment.A civic official, based on…