National News
BJP govt should not cite lack of funds for Mahila Samman scheme: Atishi
New Delhi, Feb 14: Dishing out data on the AAP government’s good financial performance, outgoing Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Friday sought to plug any chance for the next BJP government offering an excuse of lack of funds for not implementing schemes like Rs 2,500 monthly financial assistance to women.
Addressing the media here, Acting Chief Minister Atishi took pains to justify the AAP government’s freebies or free social welfare schemes, dispelling doubts that the Arvind Kejriwal brand of welfare politics did not mean ‘bad economics’.
The Acting Chief Minister said she was sharing the data about the AAP government’s good economic performance so that BJP leaders do not blame the outgoing government for the alleged poor state of finances and delay the implementation of the BJP’s poll promises.
“I hope the new BJP government will not make financial excuses and fulfil all its promises made to women and others,” she said.
She said Delhi’s Budget outlay under Central rule in 2014-15 was Rs 31,000 crore and under the Congress government in 2009-10 the outlay was Rs 25,000 crore, she said.
After the 10-year rule under the AAP government, in 2024-25 the city’s Budget outlay was Rs 77,000 crore, marking a rise of 2.5 times, she said.
Talking about the debt that the AAP government acquired in legacy from the previous Congress government, she said the debt to GDP ratio in 2014 was 6.6 per cent and it came down in 2023 to 3.9 per cent and in 2024 the figure stood at 3 per cent.
“Under Arvind Kejriwal, the city’s debt to GDP ratio was halved from 6.6 per cent to 3 per cent,” she said, highlighting how well the AAP government managed the finances.
Acting CM Atishi also tried to showcase the poor performance of BJP governments in other states by sharing debt to GDP ratio in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
“In BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, the debt to GDP ratio is 32.5 per cent and in Madhya Pradesh, the debt to GDP ratio is 33 per cent,” she said.
She also highlighted a CAG report in 2022 which complemented the AAP-led Delhi government for being the only revenue-surplus state in the country since 2015.
National News
Mega Block On Sunday, 23-11-2025: Mumbai Local Train Services To Be Affected On CR’s Main Line, No Block On Harbour & Trans-Harbour Line; Check Details

Mumbai, Nov 22: Central Railway, Mumbai Division will operate Mega Block on its main line suburban sections to carry out various engineering and maintenance works on Sunday, 23th November.
UP and DOWN FAST Lines between Thane and Kalyan stations from 10.40 am to 3.40 pm
Down Fast/Semi-Fast local services departing CSMT Mumbai from 09.34 am to 15
3.03 pm will be diverted on Down Slow line between Thane and Kalyan stations halting at Kalva, Mumbra and Diva stations in addition to their respective scheduled halts and will arrive destination 10 minutes later than their scheduled arrival.
Up Fast/Semi-fast services departing Kalyan from 10.28 am to 3.40 pm will be diverted on Up Slow line between Kalyan and Thane stations halting at Diva, Mumbra and Kalva stations in addition to their respective scheduled halts and further re-diverted on Up Fast line at Mulund station and will arrive destination 10 minutes later than their scheduled arrival.
Down Mail/Express trains departing CSMT/Dadar will be diverted on 5th line between Thane and Kalyan stations.
Up Mail/Express trains arriving CSMT/Dadar will be diverted on 6th line between Kalyan and Thane/ Vikhroli stations.
There will be no Mega block on Harbour line & Trans-Harbour line-Only special traffic block between Belapur & Panvel.
According to Railway, these maintenance mega blocks are essential for infrastructure upkeep and safety. Passengers are requested to bear with the Railway Administration for the inconvenience caused.
National News
Navi Mumbai: Overturned Tar Tanker Causes Traffic Snarl On Nerul–Uran Road; Cleared After 12 Hours

Navi Mumbai, Nov 22: After close to 12 hours of operation, the tanker filled with tar that overturned on Friday was finally cleared from the Nerul–Uran road, bringing relief to thousands of motorists who were stuck in day-long congestion.
The tanker, carrying highly flammable liquid bitumen from Chembur to Uran, had overturned near Ekta Vihar Society around 6.30 am, choking traffic on the busy stretch for several hours. Although police managed to allow movement through a single lane, vehicles headed towards Uran crawled through the day, leaving commuters frustrated.
According to officials, the driver lost control of the tanker, causing it to topple in the middle of the road. Senior Police Inspector Pramod Bhosale of the Belapur Traffic Division and his team rushed to the spot along with the fire brigade soon after the accident.
With the bitumen inside the tanker at a temperature of nearly 180°C, there was a significant risk of ignition, prompting the fire brigade to launch cooling operations and prevent any spillage on the road. The tar was carefully transferred to another tanker over several hours.
By around 5 pm, a crane was used to lift and remove the overturned vehicle, allowing authorities to restore normal traffic flow, Bhosale said.
The Nerul–Uran route, which sees heavy movement of JNPT-bound trucks as well as routine traffic to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters, remained clogged for most of the day. Many motorists were stuck in long queues, bearing the brunt of the prolonged congestion caused by the accident.
Business
New labour codes to boost formalisation, gender parity of India’s workforce: Industry leaders

New Delhi, Nov 22: India’s top industry bodies and staffing leaders on Saturday labelled the implementation of the Four Labour Codes a landmark step toward formalising the workforce, expanding social security, and aligning India’s labour framework with global standards.
The India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) said the reforms would significantly benefit the high-technology sectors by enhancing workforce stability, improving safety standards, and enabling labour flexibility with social protection.
“Mandatory appointment letters, universal minimum wages, and pan-India social security coverage (including ESIC expansion) ensure greater formalisation. This strengthens worker confidence — critical for skill-intensive manufacturing such as fabs, ATMP, component manufacturing and design centres,” said Ashok Chandak, President, IESA and SEMI India.
Provisions for fixed-term employment, faster dispute resolution, single licensing, and simplified compliance directly support the scaling of high-tech manufacturing clusters, the statement said.
Meanwhile, parity of benefits for Fixed-Term Employees (FTE) and expanded social security protections ensure a balanced, worker-centric ecosystem, he added.
Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services, a technology and digital talent provider, said the reforms were long overdue for India’s gig economy and will offer protection to a fast-growing but previously unorganised workforce.
The new laws are also expected to promote gender parity in the workforce by opening doors to wider opportunities across diverse sectors. Additionally, other groups such as”
He also pointed out that new laws will promote gender parity and contract workers, youth workers, and fixed-term employees will benefit from clearer working-hour norms, expanded social security, minimum wage protections, and health benefits.
“By simplifying compliance and unifying the regulatory framework, the codes can significantly expand formal employment, bringing millions of workers, especially in industries that rely on contract, temporary, and project-based roles, into the fold of structured, protected work,” said Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services.
“National floor minimum wage creates a consistent benchmark across states and is an important step in India’s evolution from a minimum-wage economy to a living-wage economy,” he noted.
Suchita Dutta, Executive Director of Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), said the codes simplify compliance for employers, reduce regulatory burdens, and foster a more flexible hiring environment — crucial for the staffing industry, which has long advocated for such changes to unlock formal job creation.
The government, on November 21, implemented the Four Labour Codes — the Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Code on Social Security (2020), and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code (2020) — repealing and rationalising 29 existing central labour laws.
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