Author: Indmedia

NEW DELHI: Despite the surge in gold and silver imports upsetting the trade balance, the trends for the two precious metals are very different. With the average price of gold rising nearly 25% on a year-on-year basis to $94,554 a kg during April-Dec, buyers became cautious, resulting in demand falling. Data released by the commerce department slowed gold import volume dipped 18.3% to 522 tonnes during the nine-month period. But higher unit value meant that the value of imports was 1.8% higher at $49.4 billion. In contrast, despite silver price (unit value) soaring 46.7% to $1,357 a kg, imports shot…

MUMBAI: Even as property prices continued to rise at a faster pace – 2.2 % in the Dec quarter, rental demand declined by 2.4% quarter-on-quarter across India, indicating a market adjusting to yield compression rather than a broad-based slowdown, Magicbricks said in a report. Chennai emerged as the top market in terms of gross rental yields at 4.16%, followed by Ahmedabad at 3.98% and Hyderabad at 3.93%. Bengaluru and Kolkata reported similar yield levels at 3.88% each. “A key structural takeaway is the sustained outpacing of rental growth by capital value appreciation across cities, resulting in visible yield compression,” analysts…

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat’s electoral strength contracted 13.4% to 4.4 crore voters on completion of a special intensive revision (SIR) that saw 77 lakh-odd names being deleted from the 2025 rolls and 9.5 lakh new electors getting added to the final list published Tuesday. The double-digit percentage decline caps two rounds of scrutiny, starting with 73.7 lakh deletions when the draft rolls were published last Dec after updating mortality records, migration data and incorrect registrations. Another 3.9 lakh names were removed before the final rolls were put out. Between the publication of the draft and final rolls, the electorate expanded 1.3%, a…

New Delhi: Underage driving poses a serious threat on Delhi roads. Last year, traffic police challaned 125 minors for the offence. In 2024, the figure was over 350. This year, till Feb 15, nine minors were challaned, compared to five during the same period last year. Many of them are fascinated by driving, police say, and often slip away with the keys to their parents’ cars or two-wheeler. When the authorities interact with these parents following an accident, most claim they were in the dark and assure police they will take steps to ensure it does not happen again.Apart from…

Bengaluru: Central Crime Branch sleuths arrested a 36-year-old Nigerian on charges of drug peddling and recovered 5kg of MDMA worth over Rs 5 crore from him. Police records show Ibrahim Bakayoku was earlier arrested by Himachal Pradesh cops in 2019 and by Marathahalli police in 2024 on similar charges.In another arrest, drug peddler Oc Okiol, 30, a Senegalese living in Huskur, was caught with MDMA, cocaine, hydro ganja, LSD pills and strips, all worth Rs 1.5 crore.Okiol was arrested in 2024 on drug-peddling charges. Source link

Hyderabad: At least 250 private hospitals in Hyderabad district — including 224 in the city and Secunderabad and 26 in Medchal-Malkajgiri — are set to receive show-cause notices from the respective district medical and health officers (DMHOs) for operating without mandatory registration, which is required before starting any healthcare facility.The action follows a survey launched by the district collector’s offices to identify quackery and unregistered hospitals. Officials stated that registration is compulsory before commencing operations, and action is being initiated against facilities that violated the rules. Hospitals employing doctors or staff without notifying the authorities have also been flagged.According to…

The state govt’s interim agriculture Budget on Tuesday highlighted an increase in paddy cultivation and overall cropped area in the state. Attributing the growth to sustained state intervention, the budget signalled a fresh push for agroforestry in the coming years. The policy will enable farmers to cultivate high-value trees such as teak, sandalwood, red sanders and mahogany.Presenting the Budget in the Assembly, agriculture minister M R K Panneerselvam said the allocation for the sector has been increased to 47,248 crore from 45,661 crore the previous year. The exclusive agriculture budget was introduced after the incumbent DMK govt assumed office. Over…

Ahmedabad: State Congress president Amit Chavda on Tuesday issued a formal demand to the Election Commission of India, insisting on total transparency regarding the recent updates to the state’s electoral rolls. The ECI should make a comprehensive booth-wise disclosure of every new voter, as well as all cancelled voters, during the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, Chavda argued. In the final electoral roll published on Tuesday, 9.56 lakh new voters were included while 3.95 lakh names were permanently cancelled from the official voter list.”The ECI must make a transparent booth-wise disclosure of all the newly added voters, as well as…

Prayagraj: Petition was filed by Ashutosh Maharaj, one of the petitioners in Krishna Janmabhoomi case, against seer Avimukteshwaranand and his disciples, alleging attack on a Krishna Janmbhoomi Mukti Yatra procession at Magh Mela, Prayagraj on Jan 18.Acting on this petition, additional chief judicial magistrate, Prayagraj Sandeep Parcha directed for it to be registered as criminal complaint and issued notice to opposite parties, directing to record the statement of petitioner. Court fixed Mar 17, as next date of hearing. Earlier, Ashutosh Mahraj had filed a petition before the court below seeing lodging of FIR against Avimukteshwarand for alleged sexual exploitation of…

Bhubaneswar: Class X and XII examinations, conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), began on Tuesday.Authorities at CBSE’s regional office here said that this year 60,000 Class X and 40,000 Class XII students registered to appear for the examinations in the state. Day 1 of the examinations was conducted smoothly, they said. While Class X exams will continue until March 10, Class XII papers will conclude on April 9.Earlier, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi suggested that the students remain confident and calm. “Remember, these examinations are milestones in your journey of learning and growth, not a measure of…