A leopard entered a residential building in Bhayander on Friday morning, causing panic among residents. Confirming the incident to mid-day, Deputy Conservator of Forests Sachin Repal of the Thane Territorial Forest Department said the department had received reports of the animal’s presence and immediately dispatched a rescue team to the site. Volunteers from NGO SARRP- India are also at the spot to assist the forest department. The leopard has injured two people. Repal urged locals to stay away from the building and avoid provoking the leopard, warning that any such attempt could trigger a human–leopard conflict. View this post on Instagram A post shared by mid-day (@middayindia)
19 December,2025 11:03 AM IST | | Ranjeet JadhavThe Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, which reframed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with an employment guarantee scheme during the ongoing winter session of Parliament. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who had earlier introduced the bill, moved it for consideration and passing. Speaking in the house Agri Minister Shivraj Chouhan defended renaming the bill and accused the opposition of deviating from Gandhi's ideals. "Bapu is our ideal, our inspiration. We are committed to following the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi Ji, which is why the Bharatiya Janata Party has incorporated Gandhi Ji's social and economic philosophy into its Panchnischay. The opposition is murdering Bapu's ideals. Yesterday in the House, I listened to the honorable members until 1:30 at night. You listen to your own words and don't listen to ours; this too is violence," he said. The Bill aims to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment per financial year to every rural household, in line with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. It also focuses on strengthening rural livelihoods and accelerating overall rural development. On Wednesday, the House held a nearly 14-hour debate on the Bill, with the opposition demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to the Standing Committee, even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly defended the Bill, calling it a decisive step towards achieving a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Opposition members pressed for the bill to be referred to the standing committee for scrutiny. Congress leader KC Venugopal told reporters that the SHANTI Bill and the bill to replace MGNREGA should have been sent to the Standing Committee. Moreover, the Bill envisions aligning rural development with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, focusing on empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation to build a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat. Under the Bill, public works will be aggregated to form the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, prioritising water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related projects, and climate-resilient initiatives. It also aims to ensure adequate farm-labour availability during peak agricultural seasons and to institutionalise Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans for integrated, saturation-driven planning. These plans will be linked with PM Gati Shakti, powered by geospatial systems digital public infrastructure, and district- and state-level planning mechanisms. The Bill mandates a modern digital governance framework that incorporates biometric authentication, GPS and mobile-based monitoring, real-time dashboards, proactive disclosures and Artificial Intelligence tools for planning, auditing, and fraud risk mitigation. The major definitions under the Bill include adult members (aged one year or older), households, Blocks, implementing agencies, unskilled manual work, and the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan. The legislation also establishes Central and State Grameen Rozgar Guarantee Councils, as well as National and State-level Steering Committees to oversee implementation. Highlighting the need for this strengthened framework, the Ball notes that over the past two decades, Mahatma Gandhi NREGA has provided guaranteed wage-employment, but rural transformations, including enhanced social security coverage, connectivity, housing, electrification, financial inclusion, and digital access, require an integrated and future-ready rural development strategy. "To cater to the changing aspirations, stronger convergence is required to establish an integrated, Whole of Government rural development framework covering several complementary Government schemes. It is essential that rural infrastructure creation must transition from fragmented provisioning to a coherent and future-oriented approach, and it is also essential that resources are distributed in a fair manner to reduce disparities and promote inclusive growth across all rural areas of the country based on objective parameters," the Bill cites. The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission aims to transition rural infrastructure development from fragmented provisioning to a coherent, growth-oriented approach, while ensuring equitable resource allocation to reduce disparities and promote inclusive development. Any Indian citizen aged 18 or above and residing in a rural area can apply to this scheme. The applicant receives guaranteed employment within 15 days of the application date. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
19 December,2025 10:16 AM IST | New Delhi [India] | ANIThe Delhi government said a noticeable reduction in vehicular movement was observed on the city roads following strict enforcement of anti-pollution measures under GRAP-4, with increased public compliance with the Pollution Under Control (PUC) norms. In response to rising air pollution levels in the capital, the Delhi government on Thursday undertook a comprehensive monitoring exercise to assess the impact of the stringent measures implemented for pollution control, said an official statement. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta reviewed feedback received from her cabinet colleagues and their respective departments, and observed that the measures implemented by the government have delivered positive results on the ground. Following the government's directives, a noticeable reduction in vehicular movement was observed on Delhi's roads compared to normal days. In a significant trend, a large number of vehicle owners voluntarily obtained Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, which the government termed a positive indicator of growing public awareness. The Delhi government asserted that it is fully complying with the directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). In accordance with these directions, Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4) is currently in force in the capital. Under GRAP-4, intensive inspection and enforcement drives were conducted, and strict action was taken against violations, the statement said. According to a joint report of the Delhi Transport Department and the Delhi Traffic Police, a total of 210 enforcement teams were deployed for this special drive, including 126 teams of the Delhi Traffic Police and 84 teams of the Delhi Transport Department. During the campaign, stringent action was taken against vehicles operating without valid PUC certificates, with a total of 3,746 challans recorded against such vehicles. The government said monitoring and strict enforcement will continue in the days ahead to reduce vehicular emissions and provide immediate relief to public health. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 December,2025 10:05 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIOpposition leaders staged a 12-hour overnight protest dharna in Parliament complex on Thursday night, while protesting against the passage of the VB-G RAM G bill that seeks to replace the MGNREGA rural employment programme and said they would take to the streets across the country. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose accused the Union government of bulldozing the VB- G RAM G bill, as opposition MPs sat on a 12-hour dharna in the Parliament complex. The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill was passed by Parliament amid opposition's protests, with the Rajya Sabha giving it its nod post midnight. Ghose said the manner in which the Modi government has brought in this completely "anti-poor, anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-rural poor" VBGRG bill, and has done away with the MGNREGA. "This is an insult to India's poor, it is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi, it is an insult to Rabindranath Tagore. With just five hours' notice, this bill was given to us. We were not allowed a proper debate," Ghose said. "Our demand was such an important bill should be sent to the Select Committee and let the opposition parties examine it, let the opposition parties discuss it, let all stakeholders discuss it, but no, in a display of tyranny, in a murder of democracy," she said. "We are now going to sit on a 12-hour dharna, 12-hour dharna against the manner in which the Modi government has brought this black law against the people of India, against the poor of India, against the rural poor of India,"she said. Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the day as a "sad day for the country's labour force and accused the Modi government as anti-farmer and anti-poor. "This is perhaps the saddest day for the labourers of India. BJP government has attacked the livelihood of 12 crore people by repealing the MGNREGA. They have proved that the Modi government is anti-farmer and anti-poor," he alleged. Congress leader Mukul Wasnik said, "When MGNREGA was drafted, consultations were held for 14 months. It was passed by Parliament with consensus. The scheme would put an extreme burden on states. As a result, this scheme will collapse." DMK leader Tiruchi Siva said they shifted the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar to the back side of Parliament, where people cannot see. "Likewise they have removed Mahatma Gandhi's name himself. Without Gandhi there is no freedom, that is the total belief in this country. Even in Britain parliament we are having Gandhi statue, but here in Indian parliament his statue is hidden somewhere, and now the scheme which bore his name, his name has also been removed," he claimed. He said the entire opposition is agitated, he noted. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 December,2025 09:56 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIThe national capital, Delhi, woke up to very poor air quality on Friday morning, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 387 around 8 am, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). According to the news agency ANI, the air quality worsened further compared to Thursday, when the AQI stood at 373 at 4 pm, as large parts of the city remained blanketed in toxic smog. Anand Vihar reported an AQI of 437, placing it in the severe category. Thick smog also enveloped areas including ITO, Ghazipur, Palam and Greater Noida. According to CPCB data, several areas, including Vivek Vihar (436), Punjabi Bagh (412), R.K. Puram (436) and Nehru Nagar (425), saw further deterioration in air quality and fell into the 'severe' category. Wazirpur also recorded 'severe' air quality with an AQI of 406, reported ANI. However, several parts of Delhi showed slight variations in air quality this morning. For instance, Dilshad Garden recorded an AQI of 356, which was better than at other locations but was poor in air quality. Other areas, such as Mandir Marg (342), Rohini (396), and North Campus (349), also saw marginal improvement, but air quality remained in the 'very poor' range. According to AQI categorisation, 0-50 is 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'. Earlier, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa conducted surprise inspections at several petrol pumps, including those at the Delhi-Gurugram border and Janpath, to review compliance with the 'No PUC, No Fuel' directive. He interacted with pump staff and instructed them to enforce the rules while remaining calm and courteous. He said, "You are the first point of contact in this campaign. Cooperate with people and explain to them that this rule is for their health and the health of their children," reported ANI. The Minister also directed that clear signboards, announcements, and better queue management be ensured. Speaking to vehicle owners on the spot, he said, "This is not a matter of issuing challans; it is a question of clean air. Every valid PUCC issued today is a small victory in our fight against pollution." On December 17, 29,938 PUCCs were issued in Delhi. On December 18, up to 5.20 pm, 31,974 new certificates were issued. Thus, the total crossed 61,000 in nearly one day. The government expects the number of people obtaining PUCCs before refuelling petrol or diesel to increase further. The Minister said, "More than 60,000 people getting their PUCCs in a single day shows that when citizens trust that steps are being taken in the public interest, they extend full cooperation." (With ANI inputs)
19 December,2025 09:40 AM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentThe highest court of Belgium — Court of Cassation — has rejected the appeal of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi against India’s extradition request, while endorsing a lower court’s view that there are no grounds for his claims of flagrant denial of justice, torture or inhuman and degrading treatment in India, according to the order released on Wednesday. Imposing costs of Euros 104 on Choksi, the court upheld the view of the Indictment Chamber of Antwerp Court of Appeal. India had sent an extradition request to Belgium on August 27, 2024. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 December,2025 07:32 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesThe Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed a bill against hate speech amid a din. The Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, the first such law in the country, has a provision for a jail term up to seven years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh. It was passed amid din by the BJP MLAs. The bill, cleared by the cabinet on December 4, was presented in the House by Home Minister G Parameshwara on December 10. The bill seeks provision for 10 years jail term against hate speech. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 December,2025 07:29 AM IST | Belagavi | AgenciesThe Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA with a new initiative that guarantees rural jobs for 125 days every year amid vociferous protests by the Opposition. Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan responded to the eight-hour discussion on The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, asserting that the government was ensuring that the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi were upheld through various initiatives taken by it.“Congress killed ideals of Bapu, NDA ensured Bapu lives through pucca houses built under the PM Awas Yojana, Ujjwala yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission, Ayushman Bharat,” Chouhan said listing out government schemes for welfare of the poor. Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge The Lok Sabha passed the G RAM G Bill by a voice vote amid uproar by the opposition. The speaker adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day after the bill was passed. Opposition MPs hold protest Several opposition Members of Parliament on Thursday took out a protest march inside the Parliament House complex against the G RAM G bill with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge asserting that there will be a nationwide movement against this “systematic murder of the world's largest employment scheme”.Behind a huge banner of ‘Mahatma Gandhi NREGA’, they marched from the Gandhi statue at Prerna Sthal to Makar Dwar, raising slogans against the government. “The Modi government has not only insulted the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, but has also crushed the right to work, which was instrumental in bringing about socio-economic transformation in India's villages,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said. Kharge added, “This is not merely a case of renaming MGNREGA; rather, it is the systematic murder of the world’s largest employment scheme.” Speaking to reporters, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said, “Today, Parliament is witnessing the murder of democracy. By removing the name of Mahatma Gandhi from NREGA they are trying to kill the democratic values as well as the ideology of the Father of the Nation.” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra vowed to strongly oppose the G RAM G Bill, asserting that the proposed legislation will finish off the rural employment guarantee scheme completely. She asserted that the opposition is united on the issue and will strongly oppose the government move. ‘MGNREGA corrupted’ Chouhan said during the UPA rule, MGNREGA was riddled with corruption and the expected amount of funds was not spent on procurement of material for designated jobs. “Funds were not allotted to the states as expected. As per the Act, 60 per cent of the funds were to be spent on labour and 40 per cent on material. But, only 26 per cent was spent,” he alleged. Chouhan said the G RAM G Bill was brought after extensive deliberations as it was felt that amount should not be spent on merely paying wages, but used for creating permanent assets. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 December,2025 07:26 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesThe National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Jammu and Kashmir resident, a close associate of suicide bomber Umar-un-Nabi, in connection with the Red Fort area blast, making it the ninth arrest in the case, officials said on Thursday. Yasir Ahmad Dar allegedly played an active role in the conspiracy behind the blast that claimed 15 lives and left many others injured on November 10, they said. An active participant in the conspiracy, Dar had allegedly taken an oath for carrying out self-sacrificial operations, the NIA said. "The 9th person to be arrested in the case, Yasir Ahmad Dar is a resident of Shopian, Srinagar (J&K). He was nabbed by NIA from New Delhi, and placed under arrest...," an NIA spokesperson said in a statement. Dar was in close contact with the other accused persons in the case, including Umar-un-Nabi (the deceased perpetrator of the bombing) as well as Mufti Irfan. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 December,2025 05:55 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIThe Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025. The bill has reframed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with an employment guarantee scheme. As reported by news agency ANI, the Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who had earlier introduced the bill during the ongoing Parliament Winter Session, further moved it for consideration and passing. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while defending the renaming of the bill, also accused the opposition of deviating from Gandhi's ideals. The Union Agriculture Minister asserted that "Bapu is our ideal, our inspiration. We are committed to following the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi Ji, which is why the Bharatiya Janata Party has incorporated Gandhi Ji's social and economic philosophy into its Panchnischay. The opposition is murdering Bapu’s ideals,” as cited by news ANI. Shivraj Singh Chauhan further added, “Yesterday in the House, I listened to the honourable members until 1:30 at night. You listen to your own words and don't listen to ours; this too is violence." Bill aims to provide an employment guarantee of 125 days The Bill aims to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment per financial year to every rural household, in line with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. The Viksit Bharat G RAM G bill 2025 also focuses on strengthening rural livelihoods and accelerating overall rural development. Earlier on Wednesday, the House also held a nearly 14-hour debate on the Bill, with the opposition demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to the Standing Committee, even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly defended the Bill, calling it a decisive step towards achieving a Viksit Bharat by 2047, reported ANI. Opposition members pressed for the bill to be referred to the standing committee for scrutiny On the contrary, the Congress leader KC Venugopal, while talking to the media, asserted that the SHANTI Bill and the bill to replace MGNREGA should have been sent to the Standing Committee. Moreover, the Bill envisions aligning rural development with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, focusing on empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation to build a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat. Under the Bill, public works will be aggregated to form the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, prioritising water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related projects, and climate-resilient initiatives. The bill presented by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan also aims to ensure adequate farm-labour availability during peak agricultural seasons and to institutionalise Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans for integrated, saturation-driven planning. The bill mandates a modern digital governance framework that incorporates biometric authentication, GPS and mobile-based monitoring, real-time dashboards, proactive disclosures and artificial intelligence tools for planning, auditing and fraud risk mitigation. (With inputs from ANI)
18 December,2025 05:28 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentResponding to a petitioner in the stray dogs case who objected to some rules framed by the Delhi municipal corporation saying "inhuman" treatment was being meted out to them, the Supreme Court on Thursday said a video will be played in the next hearing, "asking you what is humanity". Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is appearing in the stray dogs case, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that a three-judge special bench which was scheduled to assemble on Thursday to hear the matter was cancelled. "It will come on January 7," Justice Nath said. Sibal said, "The problem is that the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), in the meantime, has framed some rules which are completely contrary". When the bench said it would consider the matter on January 7, Sibal said the authorities will implement the rules in December itself. "They will be implementing it and they will be removing the dogs. They don't have shelters," he said. Justice Nath said, "It is alright Mr Sibal. Let them do it, we will consider." Sibal urged the bench to hear the matter on Friday saying the authorities don't even have dog shelters. "It is very very inhuman what is being done," he said. Justice Mehta told Sibal, "On the next date, we will play a video for your benefit and we will ask you what is humanity". Sibal responded that they will also play a video to show what was happening. "The problem is your lordships has passed an order and we respect that. But the point is, there are statutory rules," he said. The bench said it would consider the matter on January 7. On November 7, taking note of the "alarming rise" in dog bite incidents within institutional areas like educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations, the apex court directed the forthwith relocation of stray canines to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination. A three-judge special bench had also said the stray dogs so picked up shall not be released back in the place they were picked up from. The bench had directed the authorities to ensure the removal of all cattle and other stray animals from state highways, national highways and expressways. It had said recurrence of dog bite incidents within institutional areas, including sports complexes, reflected not only administrative apathy but also a "systemic failure" to secure these premises from preventable hazards. The top court had passed a slew of directions in the suo motu case over the stray dog menace. It is hearing a suo motu case, initiated on July 28 over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
18 December,2025 03:23 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIADVERTISEMENT
-1766042329705_d.png "Supreme Court. File Pic")