Author: Indmedia

Lucknow: A private medical college on Thursday launched a maternal and child healthcare initiative under which normal and caesarean deliveries will be provided free. Under ‘Shishu Maa Suraksha (SMS) Yojana’, pregnant women will receive free services, including medicines, diagnostic tests, surgery, hospital stay and meals at the time of admission, labour and post partum care.The hospital said women undergoing normal or C-section delivery will receive Rs 2,500 financial assistance and baby care kit at the time of discharge from hospital. The scheme aims to encourage institutional deliveries and reduce maternal and infant mortality and remove financial barriers faced by all,…

Image used for representation Patna: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped at gunpoint in Munger district after her family refused a marriage proposal from one of the accused. The incident took place on May 19. Police arrested the main accused, Tuntun Mandal, on Thursday following a complaint filed by the victim’s family. A search is on for the remaining accused, police said.The victim’s family said Tuntun often talked to their daughter. Four months ago, he came to their house proposing marriage. “Our daughter is a minor, so we clearly refused. He still stayed in contact and often spoke to her…

Jodhpur: In an age of CCTV footage, cyber forensics and digital surveillance, a jewellery theft investigation in Rajasthan briefly wandered into the supernatural — and the Rajasthan High Court was not amused.The Jodhpur bench Wednesday pulled up Nagaur police after allegations surfaced that a theft probe was influenced by a tantrik’s inputs. Hearing a petition filed by 80-year-old Khema Devi, Justice Munnuri Laxman made it clear that a criminal investigation cannot be conducted on the “directions or opinions of a tantrik”.The court ordered the Nagaur SP to replace the investigating officer and transfer the probe to another officer of sub-inspector…

Nagpur: The Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) signed an MoU with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for strategic and advisory collaboration to develop a single window clearance system under its ambitious 11,300cr New Nagpur Business District project.The agreement was signed in New Delhi during the national conference on ‘16th Finance Commission and Local Public Finance System,’ organised by ICAI and Indian Institute of Public Administration IIPA. Through the collaboration, NMRDA aims to strengthen ease of doing business, digital governance systems and investor facilitation through transparent and technology-driven mechanisms.Metropolitan Commissioner Sanjay Meena attended the conference as chief…

Long queues for diesel were seen across rural Saurashtra Rajkot: At this time of the year, long queues of people with jerry cans (kerbas) are mostly spotted around water tankers in villages and towns of Gujarat.But for the fourth consecutive day, roads were clogged with tractors, farmers were endlessly waiting with cans in blistering heat, and import-export cargo was piling up at ports as the diesel shortage that began from Kutch spread across Saurashtra and Kutch regions.Along with transportation, farming activities came to a standstill and fuel pumps were forced stringently ration the essential fuel for running the economy.Transporters associated…

Ramgarh: Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (PVUNL), a joint venture between NTPC Limited and Jharkhand govt in Ramgarh district, is set to make the state not only self-sufficient but also power-surplus by around 600MW, enabling it to sell electricity to other states and spur industrial growth and employment generation.Talking to TOI, PVUNL chief executive officer (CEO) Ashok Kumar Sehgal said that unit-1 of the plant, with an installed capacity of 800MW, has been operational since Nov 5 last year and is already supplying 85% of its power to Jharkhand, as per the MoU between NTPC Limited and the state. “Unit-2…

The bereaved family mourning the loss on Thursday Surat: A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Pandesara late on Wednesday night, after a quarrel with another 16-year-old boy over a dispute linked to a damaged mobile phone.Police have detained the accused and initiated murder proceedings.Deva Gupta was allegedly attacked by the 16-year-old boy when he went to latter’s house to sort out a dispute between his friend and the accused.His father, Santosh Gupta (43), a food cart owner in Pandesara, filed a complaint.Santosh stated that he was at home on Wednesday night when he was told that his son…

Vadodara: Vadodara rural police on Thursday arrested two members of the notorious Vasuniya gang for allegedly robbing a jeweller in Waghodia town 10 days ago, while four other accused remain absconding.According to police, the six-member gang had meticulously planned the robbery after conducting a recce of the area and identifying jeweller Jignesh Shah as their target.“Our team scanned over 450 CCTV footage clips from the area to identify and trace the movements of the robbers,” said Vadodara rural SP Sushil Agrawal.Investigators found that after committing the robbery, the gang spent the night at a hospital in Goraj village of Waghodia…

Varanasi: The academic council of BHU has approved a series of reforms aimed at making the PhD admission process more accessible, transparent and student-friendly. The meeting was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prof.Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi.One of the key proposals passed by the council allows university departments to conduct a screening test before interviews for PhD admissions, if required. Earlier, all eligible candidates could directly appear for interviews. Under the new system, departments will have the flexibility to shortlist candidates through a screening examination before the interview stage.Officials said the format and operational details of the screening test will…

T’puram: Kerala State Chalachitra Academy will organize a film appreciation camp for children in Kollam from Friday to Monday with the aim of fostering film literacy and appreciation among young audiences.The camp will be inaugurated by tourism minister P C Vishnunath at Sree Narayana Guru Cultural Complex at noon on Friday. Kollam mayor A K Hafeez will preside over the function.Among those attending the inaugural event are cultural affairs director Divya S Iyer, district child welfare committee secretary D Shine Dev, camp director and actor Jolly Chirayath and academy secretary C Ajoy.A total of 70 children selected from different parts…