Month: February 2025

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Sufi music festival Jahan-e-Khusrau has made a place in the hearts of people, calling it its biggest success over the years.

Addressing the audience, PM Modi emphasised the significance of such festivals for the country’s culture and art.

“Before coming to the mehfil, I had the opportunity to visit THE Bazaar… Moments like these are not only important for the country’s culture and art but also bring a sense of relief,” he said.

“Jahan-e-Khusrau’s journey is completing 25 years. Over these years, this festival has carved a place in people’s hearts, which is its greatest success,” PM Modi added.

The Prime Minister also extended Ramzan greetings on the occasion.

“I extend my greetings to the entire country as Ramzan is about to begin. Since I am here at Sunder Nursery, it is important to remember Aga Khan. His contribution to beautifying Sunder Nursery has been a blessing for many artists,” he said.

“In the ‘Nazr-e-Krishna’ presented here, we saw glimpses of our shared heritage. There is a unique fragrance in this event of Jahan-e-Khusrau–the fragrance of Hindustan’s soil!” he added.

PM Modi stated that Amir Khusrau described India as greater than all the big countries of the world at that time

“Hazrat Amir Khusrau described India as greater than all the big countries of the world at that time…He called Sanskrit the best language in the world…He considers the wise men of India to be greater than even the greatest scholars,” he said.

Speaking about Sufi culture, he remarked, “When Sufi culture came to India, it felt connected to its roots.”

The three-day festival, held from February 28 to March 2, brings together artists from across the world to celebrate the legacy of Amir Khusrau.

Organized by the Rumi Foundation, the festival was started by renowned filmmaker and artist Muzaffar Ali in 2001 and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

During the event, the Prime Minister visited the TEH Bazaar (TEH: The Exploration of the Handmade), which showcased One District-One Product crafts, exquisite artifacts from across the country, and short films on handicrafts and handlooms.

He also interacted with shopkeepers during his visit to the Bazaar. (ANI)

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday urged people to stay away from rivers and streams as the parts of the state, including the district of Kullu, battled heavy rains and snowfall

The chief minister urged people to remain cautious and follow the guidelines issued by the administration.

“I have been taking stock of the situation since morning. All people are requested to be cautious and follow the guidelines issued by the administration. Stay away from rivers and streams,” Sukhu said while talking to reporters.

The Himachal Pradesh CM stated that the authorities have been directed to open the gates for one of the power project dams as heavy downpours gripped the Kullu valley, causing floods and landslides in the district.

“I spoke with the Deputy Commissioners of Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti. We welcome the rains, but Kullu witnessed heavy downpours. We have directed to open the gates for one of the power project dams,” Sukhu said.

Intense snowfall was reported in the upper Himalayan regions of Lahaul and Spiti. The Meterological Centre in Shimla issued an alert for heavy rain and snowfall in many parts of the State, including the districts of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, and Mandi.

Torrential rains have caused flooding and landslides in lower areas in Kullu district. In several areas of the district, roads have been blocked, and vehicles have been trapped or swept away in flash floods.

In several areas, electricity and drinking water services remain unavailable, and traffic has been halted. The administration has issued an alert to people living near the rivers and drains.

Deputy Commissioner Kullu Torul S Ravish has appealed to people to remain indoors till the water level goes down.

“Many link roads and the main road on the left bank are blocked due to rains for the last 15-16 hours. I request the public to remain where they are as the water level has also increased in rivers and nalas. Due to sudden landslides, water flow in the river can increase. Work is underway to restore electricity in Manali and Kullu,” Ravish said.

“There is a report of one-feet snow in Manali. Educational institutions in the district are closed today due to heavy rain. The main national highway from Jalori side is closed,” he added.

Executive Officer of Kullu Municipal Council Anubhav Sharma said that information on landslides has been recieved from several places.

Kullu Municipal Council President Gopal Krishan Mahant said that a landslide occured around 7 am, due to which the drains were blocked, and the water was diverted to the Gandhinagar and Shastrinagar markets, causing heavy losses.

“The flash flood started around 7 am in drains (in Kullu district), which blocked the drain, diverting the water to Gandhinagar and Shastrinagar markets and causing heavy losses”, he said. (ANI)

Wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul found it hard to express in words how great a servant of Indian cricket Virat Kohli has been and further affirmed hope that many more “games and centuries” are left for the stalwart in international cricket.

Virat’s much-awaited resurgence finally unravelled in the high-stakes clash against arch-rival Pakistan in Dubai at the ongoing Champions Trophy. The atmosphere reverberated with the echoes of his famous T20 World Cup 2022 heist in Melbourne against the Men in Green.

In his 299th ODI match, the ‘Chase Master’ put one of his specials on exhibition while calibrating a flawless route for India’s route to success. Pakistan’s 241-run total crumbled as Virat paced his knock to effortlessly chase down the target without breaking a sweat.

With a shot struck clean as a whistle, Virat hit the winning runs, celebrated his 51st ODI century and became the fastest to 14,000 ODI runs.

Now, he is on the verge of adding another feather to his hat. India’s final group-stage match against New Zealand on Sunday will mark Virat’s 300th ODI appearance, making him just the seventh Indian to achieve the feat.

“No, that’s a lot of ODI games and a lot of international games, and yeah, he’s been. I mean, words fall short to express how good a player he’s been and what a great servant of Indian cricket he’s been. Yeah, I’m really happy to see that he got the 100 last game as well, and he’s been batting really well, and for a player of his calibre, it was about time that he scores that big century and a match-winning century,” Rahul said in a press conference on Friday.

India’s batting has sung in harmony after a debacle during a Test tour of Australia. India captain Rohit Sharma hammered a century during the ODI series against England before the tournament.

His deputy, Shubman Gill, has found his rich vein of form at the right time. He kicked off the tournament with a blistering 101* against Bangladesh. He topped it up with a solid 46(52) in the blockbuster clash against Pakistan.

Shreyas Iyer has returned to the ODI fold with his mojo. The experienced middle-order star has offered stability in the middle with a touch of aggression in his approach.

“So yeah, it’s a great place for us as a team to be in, where Rohit’s in real good form, Shubman’s in real good form, Virat is in real good form, and Shreyas has played and done his part as well. He got a good 60 last game, and even against England, he was striking the ball really well. So overall, the team is looking really good, and Virat is obviously a very important part of the team,” he said.

“Virat and Rohit are the senior players, and you are always looking up to them to step up and score when the big games come. And that’s what they’ve been able to do for so many years. So yeah, hopefully, there are many more hundreds left for him and many more games of international cricket,” he added. (ANI)

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday slammed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for creating a ruckus over the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, stating that “all this drama is just an excuse.” The CAG report in question has flagged a Rs 2,000 crore loss due to the AAP government’s liquor policy.

“All this drama is just an excuse because they could not listen to the facts written in the CAG reports… I will not let even a single penny of the state treasury go to waste…,” said the Delhi CM.

She also accused AAP of misusing Delhi’s tax revenue for election campaigns in other states 1. Gupta claimed that the AAP leaders are rattled by the release of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports, which expose their misdeeds.

“They were the people who collected tax from Delhi and used it for elections in other states… We are releasing all the CAG reports one by one, so they (AAP leaders) are rattled by it. They cannot dare sit in front of us in the house and listen to their deeds,” added Rekha Gupta.

The Delhi CM said that the AAP leaders couldn’t bear to face the truth and therefore created a drama around the removal of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s portrait. She emphasised that the Narendra Modi government has ensured Ambedkar receives the respect he deserves, more than any previous government.

“They just needed an excuse to get out of the house, so they picked up this issue of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s portrait… Narendra Modi government has ensured that Babasaheb Ambedkar gets his due respect, which no government could do…,” added Gupta.

On Tuesday, 21 AAP MLAs were suspended for disrupting Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s inaugural address by raising slogans against the alleged removal of portraits of BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s office in the assembly.

The Delhi CM remarks came after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on Delhi’s health infrastructure was tabled in the Assembly on Friday, which highlighted significant shortcomings in Delhi’s healthcare infrastructure, including staff shortages, inadequate facilities, and poor management of healthcare services.

The 2025 CAG Report on Performance Audit on ‘Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health Services’ (Report No. 3 of the year 2024) was placed in the Legislative Assembly of Delhi on February 28, 2025.

This audit aimed to assess the availability of health infrastructure, manpower, machinery, and equipment in health institutions, the adequacy of financial resources allocated, and the efficacy in managing health services in NCTD. This report contains audit findings pertaining to secondary and tertiary hospitals only.

The report, which covered the period from 2016-17 to 2021-22, found that there was a 21 per cent shortage of staff in the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).

The report also highlighted that the shortage of specialists, including super-specialist doctors, was as high as 30 per cent. It further pointed out a lack of essential medicines, equipment, and consumables in hospitals.

Many hospitals lacked basic facilities, including dietary services and radiological diagnostic services, while the waiting time for major surgeries ranged from 2-3 months to 6-8 months.

The report also identified issues in healthcare management, such as delays in the empanelment of drug testing laboratories, staff shortages in the Drugs Control Department, and a lack of accreditation for hospitals and laboratories.

Waiting times for major surgeries in the Surgery and Burn & Plastic Surgery Departments of LNH were recorded at 2-3 months and 6-8 months, respectively. At the same time, six out of 12 modular OTs in RGSSH and all seven modular OTs in JSSH were lying idle due to manpower shortages.

Many ambulances under the Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) were found to be operating without essential equipment and devices. (ANI)

Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Friday set his sights on becoming a major aerospace power by 2047. He said that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has already taken significant steps towards achieving this goal, including educating its personnel to be more space-oriented.

Addressing the ‘Chanakya Dialogues Conclave’, the Air Chief Marshal said, “We would like to be an aerospace power by 2047… We have already taken steps towards educating our people to be more space-oriented.”

The IAF has been actively involved in the Ganganyaan project, India’s ambitious human spaceflight mission. The four Gaganauts, India’s first astronauts, were IAF officers, and the force’s medical and training team played a crucial role in their selection and training. The IAF also contributed to the safety requirements of the mission.

“Indian Air Force has been involved in the Ganganyaan project from the beginning. The four Gaganauts were our officers, and our medical and training team was involved in their initial selection and training… The safety requirements of this manned mission were decided with contributions from the Indian Air Force…,” added Air Chief Marshal AP Singh.

Gaganyaan project envisages the demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bringing them back safely to earth by landing in Indian sea waters.

Shubhanshu Shukla, a serving IAF officer, will serve as the pilot for Ax-4 mission. The Ax-4 mission will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space’s director of Human Spaceflight. The two mission specialists are ESA project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla was recently chosen as the ‘Prime’ astronaut for Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Gaganyaan mission, for Axiom Mission 4, scheduled for Spring 2025.

Looking ahead to 2047, Air Chief Marshal Singh predicts that the IAF will have a fleet of advanced aircraft, including Rafale and upgraded Su-30 class jets.

The force will also prioritize interoperability with ground, land, and maritime forces, enabling seamless communication and data transfer during operations.

“2047 is not going to be much different for (Indian Air Force) compared to now. I foresee that we’ll have all aircraft above 4.5 generation. The simplest aircraft we’ll have will be a Rafale or an upgraded Su-30 class. There will be interoperability in terms of ground forces, land forces, and maritime forces in terms of communication networks,” added Air Chief Marshal Singh.

With automation and advanced technologies, the IAF aims to make faster decisions and stay on par with global aerospace powers.

“We should be able to transfer data while on the flight… With automation, we will be able to sift through the data and make faster decisions… Technology-wise, we will hopefully be at par with what we have around the world,” said Singh.

As India celebrates its 100th year of independence in 2047, the IAF is poised to take a giant leap forward, solidifying its position as a leading aerospace power. (ANI)

A total of 32 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers have been rescued after being trapped under snow during an avalanche that struck near Mana village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, officials said late on Friday. 

Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said, “Out of 57 workers trapped in the avalanche, 32 workers have been rescued.”

Uttarakhand Disaster Management Department said that rescue work is being undertaken on a war footing.

” By 5:00 pm, 32 people had been rescued safely. The process of evacuating the remaining 25 people is in progress. Relief and rescue work is going on on a war footing to rescue people trapped in the avalanche 6 km ahead of Badrinath Dham in Chamoli district,” Disaster Management Department said.

The Uttarakhand government on Friday issued helpline numbers for people to get any assistance or information related to the avalanche.

According to the Uttarakhand government’s Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), people are encouraged to contact the helpline numbers, which are being operated through the state emergency operation centre of the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority.

The Uttarakhand government has issued the following helpline numbers: Mobile No: 8218867005, 9058441404; Telephone No: 0135 2664315; Toll Free No: 1070.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to chief minister Dhami and assured that the government’s priority was to safely evacuate the people trapped in the incident.

“Spoke to Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Dhami ji, DG ITBP, and DG NDRF regarding the glacier burst in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Our priority is to safely evacuate the people trapped in the accident,” he said.

Shah stated that the local administration is fully engaged in rescue operations. “Two teams of NDRF are also reaching the spot soon,” he added.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that he also spoke to Dhami regarding the situation and assured that local army units are providing all possible assistance to those affected.

In a post on X, he said, “An unfortunate avalanche has occurred in the Mana area of Joshimath (Uttarakhand) today, impacting the GREF camp of BRO. Spoke to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the situation. The administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected.

“Rescue efforts by local Army units are also underway. All efforts to rescue the trapped personnel are being undertaken by utilising all available resources,” he added.

Dhami said personnel from ITBP and the Army are engaged in the rescue operation. (ANI)

Lovebirds Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani are all set to embark on the journey of parenthood. The duo is expecting their first child.

On Friday, the couple took to Instagram and shared the good news with their fans and followers.

“The greatest gift of our lives(baby emoji) Coming soon,” Kiara wrote, adding an adorable image in which the couple can be seen holding a baby’s pair of socks.

Kiara and Sidharth’s “pregnancy” announcement left everyone elated. In no time, netizens, including friends and members from the film industry, flooded the comment section with heartiest congratulations.

” Congratulations are in order,” actor Shilpa Shetty commented.

“Congrats guys! And bless up, lil one! Safe journey,” wrote Ishaan Khatter.

“Omg Congratulations,” actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu commented.

Sidharth and Kiara tied the knot in Rajasthan in February 2023 and officially began their “happily ever after” chapter. The two, who fell in love during the shoot of their film ‘Shershaah’, left everyone star-struck with their wedding festivities. They opted for a grand destination wedding in the Suryagarh Hotel, Jaisalmer, where their family members and only close friends were present.

After taking “saat pheres”, Sidharth and Kiara posted adorable pictures from their wedding ceremony and wrote,”Ab humari permanent booking hogayi hai.”

In 2022, Sidharth and Kiara appeared on different episodes of Koffee with Karan Season 7, where Karan Johar got them talking about their relationship for the first time.While Kiara confirmed that they were “more than friends”, Sidharth said, “I am manifesting a brighter and happier future. If it was her, it would be great.”

Meanwhile, on the work front, Sid was last seen in Yodha with Raashii Khanna and Disha Patani. His next project is titled ‘Param Sundari’. iT also stars Janhvi Kapoor.

Kiara, on the other hand, was recently seen in ‘Game Changer’ with Ram Charan. She has ‘Don 3’ and ‘War 2’ next in her kitty. (ANI)

Bollywood actor-politician Kangana Ranaut and veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar have successfully resolved their five-year-long defamation case.

On Friday, Kangana took to her Instagram Story and posted a picture with Akhtar from the court, sharing that the duo had settled their legal matter. She also said that Akhtar was “kind and gracious” during the mediation process.

“Today, Javed ji and I have resolved our legal matter (defamation case) through mediation. In the mediation, Javed Ji has been very kind and gracious. He also agreed to write songs for my next directorial,” Kangana wrote with the post.

Both Kangana and Akhtar shared a smile as they posed for the camera.

In November 2020, Akhtar filed a criminal defamation complaint against the actor over her reported remarks dragging his name in her feud with Hrithik Roshan. The legal dispute intensified when Kangana filed a counter-complaint against Akhtar.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kangana is currently working on a new movie, which reunites her with her ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ co-star R Madhavan. The two actors, who previously delighted audiences with their performances in the successful romantic comedy series, will now collaborate again in a psychological thriller.

The announcement came shortly after the release of Kangana Ranaut’s film Emergency, in which she portrayed former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Akhtar, on the other hand, came up with his docuseries ‘Angry Young Men’ last year. It explores his formidable creative partnership with Salim Khan. (ANI)

Mumbai Traffic Police on Friday received a message from a Pakistani number, threatening to attack Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, officials said.

According to Mumbai Police, the person introduced himself as Malik Shahbaz Humayun Raza

“Mumbai Traffic Police received a WhatsApp message from a Pakistani number sent by a person introducing himself as Malik Shahbaz Humayun Raza, threatening to attack Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis,” Mumbai Police said.

Following the threat, the Worli Police registered a case and launched an investigation.

Further investigation is underway.

Earlier on February 21, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also received a death threat.

Eknath Shinde responded to a recent death threat, stating that such threats were not new to him.

“Threats have come before too. There were many threats when the dance bar was closed. There were threats to kill me, and attempts were made, but I was not afraid. The Naxalites had threatened me, but I did not give in to their threats… I did the work of starting the first industrial project in Gadchiroli,” he said.

The Mumbai police arrested two persons from Buldhana in connection with an email threatening to bomb the car of the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. (ANI)