The Environment Ministry has amended forest conservation norms by removing the mandatory requirement of having a nodal officer conduct a field inspection for every project involving more than 100 hectares of forest land diversion.
With this move, it has now allowed conservator, chief conservator or regional chief conservator of fores. The amendment to the sub-rule (12) in rule 9 of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023, formerly known as the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, was notified on Wednesday. Rule 9 pertains to the processing of proposals for forest lands to do such an examination.
Earlier, for every proposal that involved more than 40 hectares of forest land, the conservator of forests of the forest circle in question had to carry out a field inspection -- in addition to the verification by the divisional forest officer (DFO) concerned.
Similarly, for a project involving more than 100 hectares of forest land, apart from the DFO's verification, a field inspection had to be carried out by the nodal officer, who would be holding the rank of chief conservator of forests or above.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday unveiled various development projects worth over Rs 4,570 crore and flagged off three new train services aimed at improving connectivity in Assam's Kokrajhar and the North-East region. The three trains are the Kamakhya-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express, Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Express and the Narangi-Agartala Express.
The Prime Minister is on a 2-day visit to Assam ahead of the assembly elections. He laid foundation stones for various development projects worth over Rs 4,570 crore via video conferencing from Guwahati as he was unable to go to Kokrajhar due to bad weather.
The Kamakhya-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express which will provide direct rail connectivity between the North-East and Southern India, while the Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Express will enhance connectivity between Assam and West Bengal, and the Narangi-Agartala Express will improve connectivity between Assam and Tripura, facilitating smoother inter-state travel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kolkata today, and he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth around 18,680 crore rupees.
In a major boost to road infrastructure in the region, the Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for several National Highway projects with a combined length of more than 420 kilometres, worth around 16,990 crore rupees.
The projects being inaugurated include sections of NH-19 in West Bengal and Jharkhand and NH-114 in West Bengal. These projects are expected to enhance road safety, reduce travel time, ease congestion and pollution, improve regional connectivity, promote tourism and boost economic growth in the region.
During the visit, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for several shipping and port-related projects. He will inaugurate the mechanisation project of Berth No. 2 at Haldia Dock Complex, which will enable efficient, faster and environment-friendly cargo handling. He will also inaugurate the rejuvenation project at Khidderpore Docks.
The Tamil Nadu Government has announced a toll-free number and a WhatsApp number after a distress call from a fisherman stuck in Iran. As of now, a total of 595 fishermen from various districts of Tamil Nadu are stuck in Iran.
The District Collector of Chennai, Rashmi Siddharth Jagade, said that Muthukumaran, a fisherman from Chennai, had left for Iran for fishing from Tharangambadi. He had sent a WhatsApp message to the State Government indicating that many other fishermen are also in Iran.
The Maharashtra government has decided to make permits mandatory for passenger-carrying electric rickshaws and e-bikes to ensure uniformity in rules in the sector, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik announced on Friday.
The decision comes at a time when the transport department has said it would stop issuing new permits for autorickshaws (with yellow-and-black registration plates) in the state, and has temporarily suspended permits issued to three operators to use e-bikes.
Until now, electric rickshaws were not required to obtain a separate permit for passenger transport, Sarnaik's office said in a release. However, considering the rising number of electric vehicles, the state has decided to make permits compulsory for e-rickshaws and e-bikes to ensure uniform regulations in passenger transport, it said.
The Centre has approved ₹1,912.99 crore in additional financial assistance to five states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir affected by floods, flash floods, cloudbursts, landslides and cyclone 'Montha' in 2025, an official statement said on Friday.
The decision was taken by a high-level committee (HLC) chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, it said. According to the statement, the five states are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Nagaland.
"Of the total amount, ₹341.48 crore has been approved for Andhra Pradesh, ₹15.70 crore for Chhattisgarh, ₹778.67 crore for Gujarat, ₹288.39 crore for Himachal Pradesh, ₹158.41 crore for Nagaland and ₹330.34 crore for Jammu and Kashmir," it said.
The Safdarjung Hospital administration will start the country's first online critical care follow-up clinic for patients discharged from the ICU who can get doctors' advice as they recover further in their homes.
The online follow-up clinic will be available via an e-Sanjivani OPD portal from 10 am to 11 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, an official statement said. The portal will be inaugurated by hospital director, Dr Sandeep Bansal, on Saturday.
Patients and their families can log in to the portal and get critical care consultation from the hospital, it said.
Former General Secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Kushal Das passed away yesterday. He was 66. The AIFF condoled the passing of Kushal Das, who served the federation from 2010 to 2022.
A Chartered Accountant by profession, Kushal Das brought extensive experience in sports management and administration to Indian football. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer of the International Cricket Council in Dubai, further strengthening his credentials in international sports administration.
In November 2010, he took charge as the General Secretary of the All India Football Federation, a position he held for more than a decade. He oversaw landmark events and structural changes that helped raise the profile of the sport in India.
International Master Mayank Chakraborty has achieved the final norm in Sweden, to be the 94th Grandmaster of India. 16-year-old International Master Mayank Chakraborty has officially secured his final Grandmaster norm at the 8th GM Tournament in Hotel Stockholm North, Sweden, yesterday.
With this achievement, Mayank became the first-ever Grandmaster from Assam and the North East region. This milestone is seen as a major boost for chess in the region, proving that with dedication, the highest echelons of global sport are within reach.
Sumit Antil has won Gold medal in Men’s Javelin throw at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2026 in New Delhi yesterday with a throw of 69.25 metres. Pushpendra Singh secured the Silver medal with a throw of 56.91 metres, while Poonam Ram took Bronze with an effort of 49.48 metres.
India also dominated the Men’s 400 metres Run T13, with Subodh Bhatt winning gold in 51.88 seconds, followed by Priyanshu Kaushik with silver in 53.19 seconds and Avnil Kumar claiming bronze in 56.91 seconds.