New Delhi, Feb 1: Presenting her eighth consecutive Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of initiatives for the poor and marginalised sections including the gig workers. Her blueprint for ‘Viksit Bharat’ includes a social security plan for gig workers and a major thrust on addressing the educational gaps in government-run schools.

She announced that broadband connectivity will be provided in all government secondary schools, a move that will bring the students at par with their private counterparts and also open new vistas of opportunities for them.

“50,000 Atal tinkering labs will be set up in schools to foster curiosity and scientific temper. Broadband connectivity to be provided to all government secondary schools,” she said.

“We propose to implement the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak scheme, to help students understand subjects in their language,” she added.

The Finance Minister also spoke about the expansion capacity of higher education institutions.

“Additional infrastructure will be created in 5 IITs created after 2014 for 6,500 students,” Sitharaman announced.

She also announced a social security scheme for the gig workers.

The Finance Minister said that the gig workers of online platforms will be provided with ID cards on the e-Shram portal and will be extended healthcare benefits under the PM Jan Arogya Yojana. This is expected to help about 1 crore gig workers.

The PM SVANidhi scheme, benefiting the street vendors, will also be revamped with enhanced loans from banks and UPI-linked credit cards with Rs 30,000 limit.

Earlier, the Finance Minister reiterated the government’s thrust on meeting and realising the aspirations of the GYAN (Garib, Yuva, Annadata and Nari shakti) poor, farmers, women, and youth.

Mumbai: A day after BJP Minister Nitesh Rane demanded a ban on the burqa in schools during exams, Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator Rais Shaikh on Thursday wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, urging them not to entertain such regressive demands, which target only the Muslim community and could deprive Muslim students of their education.

In his letter to Fadnavis, Shinde, Pawar and Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse, Shaikh stated that for Muslims, wearing the burqa or headscarf is an act of worship. “The Preamble to the Constitution guarantees an individual’s liberty of faith and worship. Article 15 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion,” said Rais Shaikh, SP MLA.

Shaikh further argued that the demand to ban the burqa or headscarf in schools under the guise of exam regulations is nothing but an interference with religion. “This demand is unconstitutional and will not withstand any legal scrutiny. It targets the Muslim community at large, aiming to deprive minority students of their education. Entertaining such demands would only increase polarisation in the education sector,” Shaikh added.

Highlighting the government’s initiatives such as Ladki Bahin, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, and women empowerment, Shaikh said, “While the government launches multiple initiatives to empower women, it now needs to walk the talk and not bow down to such hate-filled demands. This is an attempt to create an atmosphere of hate and fear.”

Shaikh further urged students and their parents not to panic and to focus on their studies for the upcoming exams. “This government will be responsible for jeopardising the careers of millions of students if it gives credence to such hate-filled demands,” he added.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Law Common Entrance Test (LLB CET) 2025 marking structure has undergone an important change. The total marks have now been reduced from 150 to 120 marks for both 3-year and 5-year law courses by the CET Cell, effective for the 2025-26 academic session, as part of the government amendment to the policy of State Common Entrance Examination.

Direct Link of the notice

The total marks for the exam are adjusted; the test time still remains 120 minutes. Nothing has been done to alter the syllabus and topic weightage. The same examination is taken online in English and Marathi languages.

3-year LLB CET 2025

For the 3-year LLB CET 2025, the examination pattern is divided into four major sections. Legal Aptitude and Legal Reasoning consist of 24 questions, and General Knowledge with Current Affairs carries 32 questions. The section of Logical and Analytical Reasoning consists of 24 questions, and that of English is 40. Each question has one mark; therefore, a total of 120 marks carry this examination pattern.

5-year LLB CET 2025

This 5-year LLB CET 2025 has a different distribution over five sections. It comprises 32 questions in Legal Aptitude and Legal Reasoning, 24 questions in General Knowledge with Current Affairs, and 32 questions in Logical and Analytical Reasoning.  The English section comprises 24 questions, while there is an additional Basic Mathematics section of 8 questions. Like the 3-year program, every question carries one mark, adding up to 120 marks.

Both modes have multiple-choice questions with options to choose between four. Negative marking is absent for wrong attempts. The length of the exam remains two hours, and this is an online test.

For this, students should change their strategy of preparing. For up-to-date details and notifications from the examination centre, candidates may log on regularly to the website of CET.