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Maharashtra

Maharashtra passes bills to postpone civic elections sans OBC quotas

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 In a major political development, the Maharashtra Legislature on Monday unanimously passed two bills to defer the upcoming elections to the civic and local bodies till the OBC quotas are restored in the state.

The two bills are the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats & Industrial Townships (Amendment) Bill 2022, and the Maharashtra Gram Panchayats Act, 1959, and the Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis (Amendment) Bill 2022.

Under these amendments, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC)’s powers to delimit and fix the wards is proposed to be cancelled and the government shall be empowered to decide delimitation of wards and fix the number of members in these bodies.

The SEC will decide the poll schedules for the civic and local bodies elections in consultation with the state government.

With the new amendments, a majority of the civic bodies whose tenures are ending will be handed over to Administrators, who will govern till the elections are held.

The development came after the Supreme Court on March 3, rejected the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission’s interim report recommending restoration of the 27 per cent political reservations to the OBC communities, proving a setback to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress.

The move, supported by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, assumes significance as 15 top civic bodies including BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), 25 Zilla Parishads, and 232 Municipal Councils were slated to go for elections shortly.

The bills are likely to get the Governor’s assent immediately considering the interests of the OBCs and since the ruling and Oppositoin have also jointly supported it.

With the state getting the powers to delimit and form wards, it will help it collect the empirical data on the political backwardness of OBCs that is mandatory to restore the quotas for the communities in the local bodies’ elections.

The process, already underway for municipal corporations and district councils, has already led to an increase in the number of wards due to the rise in populations in the past decade, and a similar exercise was carried out in adjoining Madhya Pradesh.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said last week that the local bodies elections shall be postponed by three months to enable complete the compilation of the empirical date in the format laid down by the SC, and till then, the local bodies shall be handed over to Administrators.

Ruling MVA leaders including NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase, and Shiv Sena’s Kishore Tiwari have welcomed the government move, saying they are committed from the beginning to ensure quotas for the OBCs.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Mumbai Working President Ruben Mascarenhas slammed the MVA decision to curtail the SEC’s powers and termed it as a “dark hour” for Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s vision of a free and fair electoral democracy with equity in social development.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Cyber ​​Department informs citizens about creation of fake Aadhaar, PAN card using AI, appeals to be careful while alerting citizens

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Cyber ​​Department has informed citizens about the creation of fake Aadhaar, PAN card and other government documents generated by AI. Maharashtra Cyber ​​Cell creates awareness among the public about the dangers and harms related to cyber security and cyber. Creation of fake documents through AI has also become common now. Artificial intelligence AI tools are also being misused to create fake government identity cards like Aadhaar and PAN card. AI provides opportunities for innovation but at the same time it also carries high risks. This is a serious concern. AI has the ability to create fake IDs and identity cards. These cards can also be used in bank, personal transactions and economic crimes. On the other hand, fake documents and cards can also be used to defraud banks, telecom companies and government companies. It can also be used to obtain loans and transactions with banks and for embezzlement. National Security These are also concerns for Maharashtra Cyber.

Maharashtra Cyber ​​has given some important tips and tricks to identify fake documents and cards. Similar fonts, especially typographical differences between Hindi and English text. Typographical differences in English text. Image discrepancies. Unnatural lighting or color discrepancies. AI-adjusted image can be made into a fake Aadhaar, while the original Aadhaar card has a QR code which can be verified in the system. Fake Aadhaar fails to do so. Fake Aadhaar cards can be easily identified due to incorrect procedures. Maharashtra Cyber ​​has appealed to citizens to be vigilant and report any suspicious incidents related to such fake ID cards to the National Cyber ​​Crime Complaint Portal at 1945. This service is available 24 hours a day.

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Business

GreenLine flags off LNG truck fleet for Bekaert to drive sustainable logistics

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Mumbai, April 24: GreenLine Mobility Solutions Ltd., an Essar venture and India’s only green logistics operator of LNG and electric-powered heavy commercial trucks, has partnered with Bekaert, a global leader in tire reinforcement technology, to decarbonise road logistics and support India’s vision of a gas-based economy.

The partnership was flagged off with the deployment of GreenLine’s LNG-powered trucks at Bekaert’s Ranjangaon Plant, marking the beginning of a pilot phase that aims to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of Bekaert’s logistics operations.

Each GreenLine LNG truck is expected to reduce up to 24 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, contributing to Bekaert’s ambition of becoming carbon net-zero by 2050 and achieving 65 per cent of sales from sustainable solutions.

Commenting on the partnership, Anand Mimani, CEO, GreenLine Mobility Solutions Ltd, said, “Our partnership with Bekaert demonstrates the growing commitment of forward-thinking corporates to drive sustainability at scale. At GreenLine, we are proud to offer not just green trucks, but an integrated ecosystem — from LNG refuelling to real-time telematics — that empowers our partners to make meaningful progress on their net-zero goals.”

Dinesh Mukhedkar, Procurement Operations Lead — South Asia and Procurement Global Shared Service Centre Lead, Bekaert, added, “As part of our purpose ‘Establishing the new possible,’ and our ambition to lead in safe, smart, and sustainable solutions, decarbonising logistics is an essential step. This directly supports our commitment to ESG principles and long-term sustainability goals.”

GreenLine’s expanding fleet of LNG-powered trucks has already clocked more than 40 million km, avoiding over 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The company’s ongoing expansion includes plans to deploy over 10,000 LNG and EV trucks, supported by a nationwide network of 100 LNG refuelling stations, EV charging hubs, and battery swapping facilities — targeting a reduction of 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

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Maharashtra

Kashmir Pahalgam attack victims return by special plane; CM Devendra Fadnavis condemns terrorist attacks

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Mumbai: After the Kashmir Pahalgam terrorist attack, the process of bringing tourists from Kashmir to Maharashtra and Mumbai by special aircraft has been started. The victims will be brought back by a special IndiGo plane and the government will bear the entire expenses, this was informed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He said that tourists have been targeted in Pahalgam and it is very sad that they were targeted by asking about their religion. It is too little to condemn. He said that contact with the victims is ongoing and help is also being provided through social media and SMS. In addition, the victims trapped in Pahalgam will be brought to Mumbai as soon as possible. The bodies of the victims of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam have been brought to Mumbai and Pune airports. Along with this, I hope that the Prime Minister will find the mastermind of this terrorist attack and teach him a lesson.

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