Mumbai/Jalna, Sep 7: As Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna on Monday entered its tenth consecutive day, the Maharashtra Government issued four key Government Resolutions (GRs) and official directives providing major educational, financial, and employment benefits to the Maratha, Kunbi, and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) categories.

The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) issued immediate instructions to all divisional offices and universities across the state. Starting from the 2026–27 academic year, students from the Maratha community will receive all educational concessions and benefits on par with the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The Higher and Technical Education Department sanctioned and released Rs 200 crore to address pending hostel maintenance allowances for students under the Economically Backward Class (EBC), Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and SEBC categories. The funds were approved and allocated via supplementary demands during the Monsoon Session of the Assembly.

The Planning Department has revised the foreign scholarship framework operated by Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI) to align with the Social Justice Department’s policy.

Under the updated norms, tuition fees will now be directly remitted to foreign universities, effectively removing upper caps on benefit amounts. Students will receive an additional annual living/contingency allowance of $1,500 (£1,100 GBP for UK students). Selection will now follow a revised merit process based on QS World University Rankings.

SARTHI, Pune has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Institute of Driving Training and Research Services (IDTRS) Pimpri-Chinchwad to launch specialised Light Motor Vehicle (LMV), Heavy Motor Vehicle (HMV), and conductor training programs for 1,440 Maratha and Kunbi youth. Commencing on October 1, 2026, the program mandates securing employment or self-employment for at least 1,000 beneficiaries.

In a parallel development, Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil convened a high-level review meeting with divisional commissioners and district officials from across Marathwada to expedite the verification of Kunbi records based on the Hyderabad Gazetteer.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District Collector confirmed that all identified records have been uploaded to the official district website for public viewing via mobile devices. Other district collectors have been instructed to follow suit.

Authorities have been directed to publish verified village-specific records directly on the notice boards of respective Gram Panchayats to ensure complete transparency at the local level.

Meanwhile, Jarange Patil on Monday issued a passionate appeal to the Maratha community across all districts of Maharashtra to gather at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district on September 12 for a key strategic meeting, urging everyone to refrain from heading to Mumbai immediately.

Emphasising the importance of physical presence, Jarange Patil urged community members from every corner of the state — ranging from Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Navi Mumbai, and Mumbai to Nagpur, Kolhapur, Nanded, Sangli, Satara, Hingoli, Parbhani, Latur, Dharashiv, Beed, Jalna, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar — to attend the meeting in person rather than following updates from home.

Jarange Patil stated that the final date and plan for the Mumbai march will be formalised during the September 12 gathering. Large-scale arrangements, including seating, LED screens, and sound systems, are being put in place to accommodate the incoming crowds, regardless of whether attendance reaches thousands or lakhs.

Placing the blame for ongoing tensions entirely on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, pro Maratha quota activist Jarange Patil absolved the police department of blame, reiterating that the movement’s grievance is strictly with the Maharashtra government, not law enforcement.

Demonstrators were advised not to panic, flee, or cause stampedes if confronted by police action. Jarange Patil instructed supporters to maintain peace and ensure that law enforcement personnel are not targeted or harassed under any circumstances.

Issuing a stern warning to the state administration, Jarange Patil declared that if any Maratha demonstrator is injured during the movement towards Mumbai, a complete shutdown (Maharashtra Bandh) would be enforced across the state within 10 minutes.

The upcoming September 12 meeting is expected to determine the next major phase of the Maratha quota agitation as pressure mounts on the state government.

Mumbai, Sep 7: The Mumbai Crime Branch Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) on Monday has arrested a 45-year-old security guard from Jammu and Kashmir in connection with an investigation into an alleged threat issued from a Pakistan-based phone number.

The accused, identified as Mohammad Sharif, is originally from Jammu and Kashmir but has been living in Mumbai for the past few years. He was working as a security guard in the city.

The case came to light after a Mumbai resident allegedly received threatening WhatsApp calls and voice messages from a number linked to Pakistan. During the investigation, the Crime Branch found that Sharif was in contact with the Pakistan-based number from which the alleged threats were issued.

According to officials, police examined Sharif’s mobile phone and found evidence of conversations and other contact with the individual using the Pakistan-based number. Following this, Sharif was detained and questioned by the investigators before being formally arrested.

The investigation is being conducted against the backdrop of a demolition in Mumbai’s Bandra area, following which a threat was allegedly received from a Pakistan-based number. The Crime Branch is now probing the circumstances surrounding the threat and the nature of Sharif’s alleged connection with the person in Pakistan.

Investigators are also examining whether Sharif had any direct or indirect role in the alleged threat calls and voice messages. The police are trying to establish the identity and motive of the person who allegedly issued the threats and determine whether Sharif’s communication with the individual was connected to the incident.

The investigation has taken on a wider dimension after police learnt that Sharif’s father lives in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Investigators are now examining whether this connection has any relevance to the case and are verifying the circumstances surrounding Sharif’s contacts in Pakistan.

At present, the Mumbai Crime Branch is focusing on the communication trail between Sharif and the Pakistan-based number. Investigators are expected to examine the contents of their conversations, the frequency of communication, and other digital evidence to establish the exact nature of the alleged link.

Police are also likely to scrutinise the circumstances in which contact was established between Sharif and the person based in Pakistan and whether the communication had any connection with the alleged threats received by the Mumbai resident.

The Crime Branch is continuing its investigation and questioning Sharif to gather further information. Officials are examining the available digital evidence and other details to determine whether the accused had any role in the alleged threat and whether other individuals may also be involved.

Further details are expected to emerge as the investigation progresses and the Crime Branch establishes the identities, motives and links of those allegedly connected with the threat.

Mumbai, Sep 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the seventh edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 in Mumbai on Tuesday, marking the commencement of one of the world’s largest annual fintech gatherings that brings together policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, technology companies, investors and academia.

The four-day event, scheduled from September 8 to 11, will focus on emerging technologies and their role in advancing inclusive finance. Since its inception in 2020, GFF has evolved into a global platform for discussions on the future of finance and digital innovation, according to a Press Information Bureau statement.

The theme of GFF 2026 is “Potential to Impact: Agentic AI, Tokenisation, Quantum – Trusted, Connected, Global Systems for Inclusive Finance”.

GFF 2026 has been designed as a convergence point for policy, regulation, technology, capital and industry on a common platform. It seeks to build on India’s leadership in digital payments and financial inclusion and move from potential to impact. The discussions will focus on how Agentic AI, programmable finance, quantum technologies and other critical and emerging technologies can create trusted, inclusive and measurable outcomes for citizens, enterprises and economies globally, a government statement said on Monday.

Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently positioned Mumbai not just as the financial capital of India, but as the country’s Fintech Capital. He emphasised that Mumbai historically under-leveraged its standing as India’s financial hub. By marrying traditional banking and capital markets with cutting-edge digital infrastructure, the city is evolving into an integrated fintech ecosystem.

Addressing perceptions around tech hubs like Bengaluru or Hyderabad, CM Fadnavis highlighted that Maharashtra leads the country in absolute numbers of startups, venture funding, and total unicorns, driven heavily by fintech enterprises. He further stated that Maharashtra currently houses over 60 per cent of India’s total data centre capacity (exceeding 1 GW operational capacity).

The state’s power-surplus status and dedicated cloud infrastructure provide the technical backbone required for low-latency financial transactions and digital payment processing. ​

The state government implemented dedicated fintech policies offering plug-and-play parks, single-window clearances, and rapid land allotments (often within 24-36 hours) to lower the cost and friction of doing business.

Through broader initiatives — including AI Innovation Parks, cyber-security centres, and digital public infrastructure — the administration is aligning the fintech domain with emerging technologies to secure financial networks and scale solutions globally, said the industry department sources.