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Maharashtra

Turning universities ‘Atma Nirbhar’: Governor Koshyari holds meeting with VCs of public universities in Maharashtra

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 Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday called upon vice chancellors of public universities in Maharashtra to turn universities ‘Atma Nirbhar’ to attain the goal of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’.

Stating that many private universities are doing well through self-finance and distance education programmes, he called upon the State universities to take steps to implement the National Education Policy in an effective manner.

The Governor who is also the Chancellor of public universities in the State was addressing the full-fledged meeting of vice chancellors of Maharashtra’s non-agricultural universities at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai. 

Stating that the National Education Policy lays thrust on culture and Indian knowledge system, Governor Koshyari asked vice chancellors to create small Advisory Committees comprising dedicated officers, professors, young people and resource persons to advise them on the effective implementation of the policy in universities. The Governor said he will hold a follow up meeting of vice chancellors within six months to discuss the Action Taken on the issues agreed upon in the meeting.

Participating in the meeting, Chief Minister Mr Eknath Shinde asserted that the State will implement the National Education Policy in the best possible manner. He said the state government has decided to make suitable amendments in the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 to make the selection process of vice chancellor and pro vice chancellors in sync with the guidelines of the University Grants Commission. Stating that the process of selection of vice chancellors will be expedited, he said new search committees for the selection of vice chancellors will be constituted soon.

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xpressing strong displeasure over the poor performance of some of the universities in Key Result areas such as declaration of results of various examinations on time, Deputy Chief Minister Mr Devendra Fadnavis asked the vice chancellors to take note of the lacunae and make amends quickly.  

Expressing the need for bringing a robust digital system to make the implementation of National Education Policy effective, Mr Fadnavis called for creating a Live Dashboard to report the 17 Key Result Areas of the Vice Chancellors to monitor the situation from time to time. Laying thrust on greater transparency by educational institutions, the Deputy Chief Minister said the findings of the College Inspection Teams should be made available on the websites of the colleges. He said while good progress is being made in achieving higher Gross Enrollment in the State, the Universities must pay focused attention on bringing excellence in education. Mr Fadnavis expressed concern over the low percentage of voter registration among college students.   

Minister of higher education Mr Chandrakant Patil reminded the vice chancellors that there is no option for universities to implement the four year degree course from June 2023 as mandated by the National Education Policy. He warned that action will be taken against those failing to do so. Patil said a Committee of retired vice chancellors will be constituted by the government shortly to address the concerns of vice chancellors in implementing the National Education Policy.  

Taking note of the dismal percentage of the voter registration by students of universities and colleges, he said the Government will issue a Resolution mandating students to get their voter registration for getting admission to the college.

Stating that as against the goal of attaining the enrollment of 50 lakhs students in the higher education system, Maharashtra has enrollment of only 32 lakh students. He called upon universities to run a campaign to encourage higher enrollment.  He also reminded all to take cognisance of the recommendations of NEP regarding providing education in the mother tongue and skill development. 

Minister of Skill Development Mangal Prabhat Lodha asked all universities to open Skill Departments and design innovative skill programmes that would enable youths to find jobs locally. He said his department has sent Rs 5 crore to all universities for opening skill centres. 

Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra Mr Shrikant Deshpande called upon universities to create Electoral Literacy Clubs to involve the students in the democratic process. He said as many as 90 per cent of University and College students are presently out of the Voter Registration list. He called for efforts by universities and the government to ensure cent per cent enrollment of students as voters.

Principal Secretary Higher and Technical Education Mr Vikas Chandra Rastogi briefed the meeting of the Action Taken Report on the previous meeting of the vice chancellors held on 7th April 2018. He apprised the meeting of the steps taken by the Government for the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020.

The meeting discussed issues such as Areas of Concern for Implementation of NEP 2020, Academic Calendar of Universities, Formation of Students Grievance Redressal Cells, Development of User Friendly Websites, Online Payment Facility and Non Availability of Challan, Execution of Memorandums of Understanding, Designing of Self Finance Courses with CSR Funding and Industry Partnerships, NIRF Ranking of Universities, status of autonomy of colleges, implementation of Choice Based Credit System, Implementation of the Recommendations of Examination Committee Reforms, Academic Audit of University Departments and Centres of Competitive Examinations, etc.  Vice Chancellors of various universities also spoke of their concerns and problems in the meeting.

Maharashtra

Bihar’s crores thief Aamir Kabir arrested from Mumbai

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Mumbai: Mumbai Malad Police has arrested a clever prince thief who used to disguise himself as a woman to escape from the police and used railway tracks to avoid CCTV cameras. Malad Police has seized a gold melting machine, 36 tolas of gold and silver jewellery, women’s clothes and cash from the thief. Police investigation has revealed that the accused thief has many bungalows and flats. He was committing such thefts for a long time, but was not caught yet. However, he has committed dozens of such thefts so far. Malad Police has arrested Prince Aamir Kabir thief after a lot of hard work and further investigation is on.

According to ACP Hemant Sawant of Malad Division, the clever accused Ranjeet Kumar Upendra alias Munna (44) is a resident of Babuganj in Bihar. He was arrested from Malad Malwani area. To escape from the police, the accused used to steal by disguising himself as a woman and sometimes used to walk on the railway track in the guise of a beggar to steal. According to senior Malad police officer Vijay Panhale, property worth about 57 lakhs has been seized from the accused, which includes 16 lakh cash deposited in the bank and jewelry and goods worth 41 lakhs. So far 8 cases have been registered against this clever thief, but he has not been arrested anywhere.

This disclosure has been made after the team of Malad Police Station’s investigating officer Tushar Sukhdev, Santosh Satwase, Amit Govind, Avinash Jadhav, constable Mahesh Doifode examined more than 150 CCTV cameras from the railway track and other places. The police is expecting more such serious revelations as the accused has been cleverly escaping from the spot while committing countless such crimes for the last 10 years and has become the owner of flats, land and bungalows worth crores.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: 3 arrested for fraud in the name of providing gold at cheap price

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police has busted a gang that claimed to import gold from abroad and provide gold to people at cheap prices by becoming a self-styled police. The police have claimed to have arrested three members of this gang – according to the details, they gained the trust of the complainant by promising to import pure gold from abroad and sell it at a low price. It may be noted that the accused cheated the complainant by calling him Rs 2 lakh in cash and disguising himself as a police officer on May 27, 2025 at around 3:30 pm at BMW Showroom, CST Road, Kalina, Santa Cruz East Mumbai and not giving the gold to the complainant. The police have registered a case of cheating in this case.

During the search for the accused in this crime, information was received from technical investigation and confidential informant that the said accused was going to come to CST Road, Kalina, Santa Cruz Mumbai on June 2. Accordingly, the BKC Police Station Crime Detection Team had laid a trap at the said place. When the accused CST reached there around 4 pm, the police team identified the accused and kept an eye on him. However, as soon as they suspected the matter, the accused fled from Kurla and got into his motor car parked in front of the BMW showroom. The said motor car and the accused were chased by the police team. At that time, the said accused and his accomplices fled the car leaving the car on the road. The police team chased the accused who had snatched the motor car and out of the 04 accused who were riding in the motor car, 3 accused were arrested and arrested at different places.

The arrested 3 accused are criminals and criminal cases are registered against them in different police stations.
The identity of the accused whom the police have arrested in this case is, Muhammad Mohsin Abu Bilal Chaudhary, 33 years old, against him, Other cases including cheating are registered in BKC, Nowghar, Ghatkopar.
Cases have been registered against Tabrez Younis Qureshi, 39, at BKC, Gujrat, and Nowghar police stations. Cases have been registered against Pradeep Dadaram Thorat, 37, at BKC, Parghar police stations, including cases of assault and violence. DCP Manish Kalaniya has not ruled out further arrests in this case and the police are hopeful of more revelations in the investigation. DCP Manish said that this group used to cheat under the guise of providing gold. The investigation is also underway to find out how many people this group has fooled and cheated through this method so far and the investigation is underway under the guidance of senior officers.

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Maharashtra

The decision to keep cattle markets closed on Eid-ul-Azha in Maharashtra was withdrawn

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Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also withdrawn the proposal to ensure peace and order on Eid-ul-Adha in Mumbai and to keep the cattle market closed. Earlier, a proposal was made to keep the cattle market closed during Eid-ul-Adha, which was opposed by Muslims, and after that, this decision has also been withdrawn. Before Eid-ul-Adha in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has issued necessary orders for Eid-ul-Adha in a peaceful atmosphere. In a meeting of Muslim representatives, the Chief Minister accepted all the demands of Muslims and assured them of taking necessary steps during the sacrifice, from providing facilities at the goat market in Deonar to providing necessary facilities. Abu Asim Azmi said that BJP leaders Kirit Somaiya and Nitish Rane are trying to spoil the atmosphere.

They are announcing that there will be no sacrifice to put pressure on the society, but this demand was also made to the Chief Minister that there should be no obstruction in the process of sacrifice in those societies where sacrifice is done. Muslim representatives also demanded to keep an eye on the mischief of miscreants during the sacrifice and take necessary action against anti-social elements. The Chief Minister assured that like every year, the sacrifice process will end peacefully this year too. He has accepted all the demands of the Muslims and given special consideration to every issue. Abu Asim Azmi said that there is a need to curb the mischief of miscreants during the sacrifice so that the situation remains peaceful. Instructions have also been given that animal traders in Deonar do not face any kind of problem. At the same time, the distress of the traders due to the animals’ carts not being emptied for 36 hours was also discussed. The Chief Minister has also banned the collection of additional fees.

In an important meeting, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that like every year, facilities will be provided on Eid-ul-Adha this time too, and peace and order will be maintained. The proposal to close the animal market was withdrawn and the fee for sacrificial animals was reduced from Rs 200 to Rs 20. The Chief Minister also issued an order to take action against those involved in corruption. Those spreading hatred are trying to spoil the atmosphere on Eid by creating Hindu-Muslim differences. Azmi has also demanded a ban on the language of these sectarians. The Chief Minister has directed to pay special attention to maintaining order during the sacrifice.

Abu Asim Azmi told the Chief Minister that an additional fee was collected for emptying the animal cart, Rs. 500 instead of Rs. 200, Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 was collected for parking, the fee of the goat of the trader who is not sold during Eid-ul-Adha should be refunded, earlier the fee of the goat for deonar was Rs. 20, it should be increased to Rs. 200, five gates and five push gates should be set up for unloading the goat in deonar, along with this, there is a rush of buyers during the sacrifice, three windows should be started for the convenience of the customers, the Chief Minister approved all these demands and issued necessary orders.

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