Lucknow, Jan 6: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday that the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission – Gramin (VB-G RAM G) Act is going to prove to be a milestone for achieving Viksit Bharat 2047 and hit out at the Congress and its allies for criticising the new rural job law.

Addressing mediapersons, the Chief Minister said the VB-G RAM G law will boost rural infrastructure and development in states, as a precursor to building a developed Bharat.

“The empowerment of the rural economy and farmers and workers is needed to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat 2025,” said CM Adityanath, congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the revolutionary law.

Chief Minister Adityanath said, “The Congress and its allies are raising various questions regarding this important legislation. It is unexpected that, in the interest of the nation, workers, farmers, and rural development, this crucial step should receive full support and appreciation. The legislation reflects the government’s commitment, and people should acknowledge the Prime Minister and the NDA for this initiative…”

He said fake job cards, weak social audits and administrative shortcomings were plaguing the earlier rural job scheme.

The need for calling the media briefing arose as people who ruled the country for a long period, looted the resources and forced the poor to starve to death, are opposing the VB-G RAM G law as they fear that they would be “exposed” if they praise such a revolutionary reform, he said.

“The people will question them as to why they did not carry out the reform when they were in power,” he said, claiming that the opposition bloc is supporting its old “corruption-riddled” formula instead of thanking PM Modi for the revolutionary reform.

He said the Congress-era rural job scheme was a total “failure” as it could not create a sustainable mechanism for building durable assets.

“Therefore, under the new amendment, the employment guarantee has increased from 100 days to 125 days. Wages will now be paid every week; workers will no longer have to wait months or years. If a labourer works during the week, payment will be made weekly, and if there is any delay, compensation will also be provided,” he said.

Calling the new law a boon for the state, Chief Minister Adityanath said, “Uttar Pradesh has more than 57,600 gram panchayats, and if we talk about revenue villages, the state has over 1,05,000 revenue villages. Even today, nearly 60 to 70 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s population lives in rural areas. Uttar Pradesh is also known as the food basket of India, and naturally, farmers and workers play a crucial role in sustaining the country.”

New Delhi, Jan 6: Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday that as many as 10.41 crore LPG connections have already been provided for the supply of subsidised cooking gas to poor families under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana as the government steadily progresses to achieve its target of covering 10.6 crore families under the scheme.

Puri further stated that the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has succeeded in building a nationwide system that delivers clean cooking fuel reliably with every refill.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ujjwala has transformed clean cooking from a welfare measure into a reliable everyday infrastructure,” the minister said in a post on X.

LPG is being made affordable for the poor through a targeted subsidy of Rs 300 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to nine refills per year under the PMUY scheme. This intervention has resulted in a steady rise in LPG consumption. The average per capita consumption increased from about three refills in 2019-20 to 4.47 refills in FY 2024-25 and further to a pro-rated level of about 4.85 refills per annum during FY 2025-26, indicating sustained adoption of clean cooking fuel, according to figures compiled by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

To clear pending applications and achieve saturation of LPG access, the government approved the release of 25 lakh additional LPG connections during FY 2025-26. Subsidy targeting and transparency were improved with the acceleration of Aadhaar authentication. As on December 1, 2025, biometric authentication covered 71 per cent of PMUY consumers and 62 per cent of non-PMUY consumers, according to an official statement.

Consumer safety was strengthened through the nationwide Basic Safety Check campaign. More than 12.12 crore free safety inspections were conducted at customer premises, and over 4.65 crore LPG hoses were replaced at discounted rates, significantly enhancing awareness and safety standards in domestic LPG usage, the statement added.

Mumbai: As Mumbai prepares for the long-awaited Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on January 15, 2026, the city stands at a crossroads. After nearly four years under an appointed administrator, Mumbaikars are demanding accountability for issues that have been exacerbated by rapid urban growth and prolonged bureaucratic control.

Here are the five most pressing civic issues faced by the city’s residents:

Despite a brief reprieve from unseasonal New Year’s rain, Mumbai’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has frequently dipped into ‘unhealthy and severe’ categories this winter. The city sees major pollution each day, with dust from the Metro projects and real-estate redevelopment contributing majorly to PM2.5 levels.

The ‘concretisation’ of Mumbai’s roads remains a primary campaign promise and a primary failure. Commuters continue to face gruelling travel times due to poorly synchronised infrastructure projects and the perennial return of potholes during monsoon months.

While the BMC announced an ambitious overhaul of health infrastructure, the ground reality for many remains bleak. Several civic surveys in the past have highlighted a severe shortage of public toilets, particularly for women, where the ratio is reportedly 1 seat for every 4 available to men currently.

Mumbai continues to grapple with saturated landfills and black spots where garbage piles up. Furthermore, the fear of flooding looms every year as the city’s aging colonial-era drainage system struggles to cope with intensified rainfall patterns.

With thousands of residents living in dilapidated buildings or stalled Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) projects, the ‘right to a home’ has become a central election theme. Rapid redevelopment is straining existing civic lines, water, sewage and electricity, which were never designed for high-rise densities.

The 2026 election is unique because it follows a period where citizens felt ‘voiceless’ without elected corporators. The mandate of 2026 will likely depend on which party can move beyond identity politics and offer a concrete, measurable roadmap for these basic civic needs.