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India Today
25 minutes ago
- Politics
- India Today
Did they give us water? Omar Abdullah rejects canal idea to divert water to Punjab
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had a no-holds-barred approach when asked about a canal that India is reportedly building for diverting excess water from three western rivers of the Indus system in the Union Territory to Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan."Why should I send water to Punjab?" he told reporters on Friday, in a fiery tone that showed the J&K Chief Minister hasn't forgotten the years-long dispute between the two will never permit this. Let us use our water for ourselves first... There is a drought-like situation in Jammu. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already had water under the Indus Water Treaty. Did they give us water when we needed it?" he added. In his statement, Abdullah invoked the 45-year-old dispute between the Punjab and J&K governments over the construction of the Shahpur Kandi barrage in Pathankot. Signed in 1979, the agreement between the two regions saw fruition only in 2018 after the Centre's mediation. The barrage is meant to stop the flow of water from River Ravi to Pakistan."Kitne saal unhone humein rulaya. (They made us cry for so many years)," Omar Abdullah told reporters on 55-year-old Chief Minister made his stance clear on the proposed 113-km-long canal, saying "for now the water is for us". "We will use the water first, and then we will think about others," Abdullah May, media reports said that the Indian government had decided to divert water meant for Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty for use in the northern states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana. The Jal Shakti Ministry is working on infrastructure development on a war-footing to implement the decision, news agency ANI ministry's aim is to ensure not a single drop of water meant for Pakistan goes to waste. The report surfaced last month, soon after India launched Operation Sindoor and officially suspended its adherence to the Indus Waters Treaty. Signed in 1960, the treaty governs the distribution of waters of six rivers - Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, Indus, Chenab and Sutlej - between India and Indus treaty suspension and Operation Sindoor were in retaliation for the April 22 massacre in J&K's Pahalgam, where Pakistan-backed terrorists gunned down 22 people, mostly Watch IN THIS STORY#Omar Abdullah#Jammu and Kashmir#Punjab#Pakistan#India-Pakistan
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Business
- Time of India
Indian aviation set to grow by 10% by FY2026, but financial losses likely to persist: ICRA report
Representative image India's aviation sector is projected to continue growing in FY2026, with domestic air passenger traffic expected to rise by 7–10% year-on-year, reaching between 175 and 181 million passengers, according to a report by ICRA. This projection follows a 7.6% increase in FY2025, when domestic traffic touched 165.4 million, marking a strong recovery at 16.8% above pre-pandemic levels recorded in FY2020. However, despite the steady growth in passenger numbers, the industry is likely to remain in the red. ICRA estimates a net loss of Rs 20,000–30,000 crore in FY2026, in line with the losses expected for FY2025. This is a sharp contrast to the Rs 1,600 crore net profit posted in FY2024, said ANI citing the report. According to the report, continued financial strain is being driven by elevated operating costs, including high aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices and increasing lease obligations tied to new aircraft acquisitions. While the interest coverage ratio—a measure of a company's ability to meet interest payments—is forecast to improve to between 1.5 and 2.0 times, it still reflects a cautious outlook. On the international front, Indian airlines are also projected to see strong growth. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2 BHK homes starting at ₹ 72.6 Lakh at Mahindra Happinest Tathawade . Mahindra Happinest Tathawade Get Quote Undo International passenger traffic is expected to increase by 15–20% in FY2026. In FY2025, Indian carriers flew 33.86 million international passengers, a 14.1% rise over the previous year and nearly 49% higher than the FY2020 figure. Recent monthly data supports this growth trend. Domestic air travel in May 2025 was estimated at 14.36 million passengers, representing a 4.1% increase over May 2024. However, traffic remained largely stable compared to April 2025. Airlines also expanded capacity by 5.1% year-on-year during the month. Despite positive trends in traffic and capacity, ICRA cautioned that profitability will remain under pressure. Persistent high fixed costs, elevated fuel prices, and increased interest expenses from aircraft leasing are expected to weigh heavily on financial performance. Additionally, carriers may face pressure on yields as they work to sustain high passenger load factors amid rising operating costs. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
NDTV
an hour ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Video: President Turns Emotional As Visually Impaired Children Sing Birthday Song
Dehradun: President Droupadi Murmu, who is on a three-day visit to Uttarakhand, was moved to tears on Friday as a group of visually impaired children sang a song to wish her on her 67th birthday. Ms Murmu visited the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD) here. Addressing the children, the president said she got emotional as they sang beautifully. "I could not hold back my tears. They were singing so beautifully. They were singing from their heart," she said. #WATCH | Dehradun | President Droupadi Murmu gets emotional as the students of the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities extend birthday wishes to her with a song. — ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2025 The president said the talent possessed by the group reaffirmed her view that children born with disabilities are blessed with certain special abilities. She also encouraged them to move ahead with confidence, saying their success is certain. Ms Murmu asserted that the government policies are designed to empower people with disabilities and provide them equal opportunities to grow. She commended everyone associated with the institute for working with dedication to empower children born with disabilities. "India's history is full of instances of human kindness and inclusiveness," she said and asked the children to contribute to nation-building by getting empowered through education. Addressing the children, Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retd) said the country is passing through a transformative phase. "We are moving steadily towards achieving the vision of a strong India by 2047 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. You are an integral part of this journey of nation-building," the governor said. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami wished the president a long and healthy life so that the country continues to get the advantage of her guidance. "Her life has been full of struggles. Coming from a very humble background, she rose to positions of eminence and always worked for the uplift of the deprived sections," the chief minister said. The president arrived in Uttarakhand on Thursday. She would inaugurate a renovated President's Retreat -- renamed Rashtrapati Niketan -- for the public here later in the day. She would also inaugurate and lay the foundation of various projects on its sprawling campus. The president will leave for Delhi on June 21 after participating in a yoga demonstration programme at the Police Lines here on International Yoga Day.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
PM Modi in Bihar: CM Nitish Kumar praises PM for caste census; asks Bihar voters to express gratitude
PM Modi with CM Nitish Kumar at Siwan rally (ANI photo) NEW DELHI: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday asked people of his poll-bound state to express gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who decided to hold a caste census along with population census in 2027. Addressing a rally in Siwan, which PM Modi also attended, Nitish Kumar said: "Ordering a caste census is a great thing that the Centre has done. I thank the Prime Minister for the same," said Kumar, and addressing the people, "you all may please express your gratitude towards him". A caste census involves systematically recording individuals' caste identities during a national census. In India, where caste influences social, economic, and political life, such data can offer valuable insights into the distribution and socio-economic status of various caste groups. Caste enumeration was a regular feature of census exercises during British rule from 1881 to 1931. However, with the first census of independent India in 1951, the government chose to discontinue the practice, except for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Interestingly, under the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government, which included Lalu Yadav's RJD and the Congress party, a caste census was conducted in Bihar between 2022 and 2023 to collect detailed data on the state's caste composition. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Doutor: Manter a massa muscular após os 50 anos depende deste hábito noturno Revista do Homem Saiba Mais Undo Later, in the second half of 2023, the Bihar government released its statistical data on the caste-based headcount. The data showed that the politically sensitive 113-caste group known as the extremely backward classes (EBCs) constitute the largest portion at 36 per cent, along with the other backward classes at 27 per cent, which amounts to 63 per cent of the total 13.07 crore population of the state; together they constitute the social hefty segment of backward classes. Muslims constitute 17.7 per cent of the state's population, including EBC and 'upper caste' Muslims. After the figures were out, CM Nitish Kumar and his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav, decided to call it a "caste-based headcount", and not a "caste census", to escape a legal tangle as Union junior home minister Nityanand Rai had told Lok Sabha in 2021 that it would not be legally tenable to hold a "caste census" as the law provides for only count of SC/ST groups. The caste-wise breakup shows that the 'upper caste' groups among Hindus, considered BJP's mainstay, account for only 10.6 per cent, Brahmins 3.7 per cent, Rajputs (Thakurs) 3.4 per cent, Bhumihars 2.9 per cent and Kayasthas 0.6 per cent. The Bihar caste count appeared to have a little deviation in the caste-wise population of 2023 Bihar compared to the 1901 figures for the erstwhile combined region of Bihar and Jharkhand. Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha were carved out of Greater Bengal in 1912. As Stephen Henningham notes in his book Peasant Movements in Colonial India: North Bihar in 1901, the 'higher' or upper castes in Bihar then accounted for 15.6 per cent of the population, middle castes such as Koeri, Kurmi, and Yadav made up 19.8 per cent, Muslims constituted 16.1 per cent, and lower middle castes along with Scheduled Castes formed 47.9 per cent. The total Hindu population in 1901 stood at 83.3 per cent, compared to 82 per cent in present-day Bihar as revealed by the 2023 caste survey.
India Gazette
an hour ago
- Sport
- India Gazette
Indian stars upbeat, confident ahead of high-stakes series opener against England
Leeds [UK], June 20 (ANI): Indian players have exuded confidence in their young and talented squadron to get the job done in England ahead of the series opener on Friday at Headingley, a venue India has not conquered since 2002. A new sunrise is hours away from engulfing the sky of Indian cricket. The modern-day behemoth will begin its first assignment without the batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who bid farewell to the Test format last month. Along with the batting wizards, crafty offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin pulled the curtain on his international career midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. 'It is a new group. We are missing a few senior players, and yeah, it is a young team led by a really young captain,' seasoned batter KL Rahul said in a video posted by the BCCI on X. Shubman Gill was deemed Rohti's long-term successor and was crowned the new Test skipper. Gill would look to restore India's dominance in the red-ball setup, which came under question following their shortcomings against New Zealand and Australia. The unprecedented defeats ended their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final despite being the favourites. Amid the lack of experience, the youngest Test captain in Indian cricket history sees the positive side of a young squad and said, 'Everyone is so young and it will be relatively easy and exciting to be able to mould this team into what we would want we want in the next 10-15 years of Indian cricket to becomes.' After Ashwin, Rohit and Virat's departure, India infused youth and proven skilled stars into the squad to replace the cover-up for the lost stars. One of the seniors present in India's current Test fold, Ravindra Jadeja, reflected on the squad's composition and said, 'As a team, our balance is very good. We will play good cricket.' Shardul Thakur, who has played four of his 11 Tests in England, looks forward to relishing the challenges England offers, which force players to make tweaks in technique to survive. He said, 'I think it is very exciting to play in this part of the world. Sometimes it is cloudy, and sometimes it is bright sunny, and as a player, you need to make adjustments to your game, whether you are batting or bowling.' As the five Tests will mark the beginning of India's campaign in the latest World Test Championship cycle, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav highlighted the importance of the five Tests and said, 'This is a big series, and if we win, it will be a massive achievement.' Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, who earned his maiden call-up, added, 'To start off, here it is said that it is a tough series, if we seal it off well, it will be fun.' Young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who enchanted the spectators with his bewitching performances in Australia, is excited for the next assignment and said, 'It always pumps you and always want to give your best, and just super excited to play in this England series.' Frontline speedster Mohammed Siraj added, 'It is a proud feeling to play with such an extraordinary group of talent.' Prasidh Krishna, who ended IPL 2025 with the Purple Cap, hopes India can win the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with fun and enjoyment and said, 'All of us are upbeat, always joking around. If that fun leads to winning a tournament here, it will be great. All of us will be jumping around for sure and maybe come up with a dance for a celebration.' India's squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav. (ANI)
