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Nitish Kumar maintains silence on Prashant Kishor’s political announcement

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 A day after political strategist Prashant Kishor hinted about launching a political party, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar maintained a studied silence on the development.

While interacting with media on the occasion of Eid on Tuesday, the chief minister initially ducked the question, but on being asked repeatedly, he stated that he has nothing to do with it.

On Monday, Prashant Kishor hinted at launching a political party from Bihar. Taking to his official Twitter handle, he tweeted: “My quest to be a meaningful participation in democracy and help shape pro people policy led to a 10 years rollercoaster ride.”

“As I turn this page, time to go to the Real Masters. The people to better understand the issues and to path to Jan Suraj – People good governance starting from Bihar,” he tweeted.

His tweets evoked sharp reactions by RJD and BJP, but JD-U chose not to react.

It is well known that Nitish Kumar has good relations with Prashant Kishor, which the former has admitted several times on public platforms.

Several, however, see it a political ploy of Nitish Kumar to indirectly promote PK in the state so that the parties can be merged.

Currently, JD-U is undergoing a deep crisis especially after the second expansion of the Narendra Modi government. In that expansion, R.C.P. Singh was given the charge to bargain with BJP but he opted otherwise and secured the cabinet berth for himself.

This led to other prominent leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh being upset with him. Nitish Kumar realised it and made him the party’s national president.

At present, there is a RCP Singh group, Lalan Singh group, Upendra Kushwaha group, active in JD-U.

Taking this in view, the JD-U has issued an official notification directing that every poster and advertisement will have Kumar’s photograph only. No other leaders are entitled to promote themselves through poster politics in Bihar.

It is well known that except Nitish Kumar, there is no political successor in JD-U who could hold the party together at present. Neither RCP Singh, nor Lalan Singh or Upendra Kushwaha.

In that context, the political capability of PK is well established across the country. Hence, Nitish Kumar could give ideal play ground in Bihar to grow as a party and then merge into JD-U so that it would be easy for Nitish Kumar to hand over the responsibility to hold his legacy.

Though, this is just an assumption of political analysts in Bihar, they also believe that no one, including his closest allies, know Kumar’s take on it.

Business

Ban on sale of open cooking oil, strict action on refilling used containers and reusing frying oil

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Mumbai A complete ban has been imposed on the sale and purchase of open cooking oil. It is harmful to health and poses a risk of fatal diseases. Therefore, FDA Commissioner Takaram Munde has issued an order to ban it. This order has been issued earlier. In this effective manner, FDA will comply with it. A state-wide comprehensive compliance order has been issued by the Food Safety Commissioner, in which the entire supply from producer to retailer and online seller has been banned and it is prohibited. No concession will be made in the matter of safety of cooking oil, which is directly related to the daily diet of citizens. Under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, Commissioner of Food Safety and Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra, Takaram Munde has issued a comprehensive state-wide compliance and enforcement order for the edible oils and fats sector. The fourteen-point order is effective with immediate effect and is not limited to retailers but is mandatory for the entire supply chain, from oil expeller unit to online sellers.
The Food and Drug Administration’s inspection has found widespread and consistent lack of compliance in the edible oil supply chain. Operating a business without a valid license or in the wrong business category, mixing cheap and undeclared oil with declared oil, sale of substandard oil with acid value and industrial trans fat exceeding the limit, illegal adulteration of mustard oil, re-labeling to hide the source and date of origin of oil, re-packing of expired oil, use of packaging unfit for food, in view of these issues, this order has been issued to provide a uniform and clear compliance framework across the state. This order will be applicable to oil expeller units, solvent extraction units and oil refiners
Producers of banaspati, interesterified banaspati fat, bakery shortening, margarine and table spreads
Blenders of multi-source edible vegetable oil
Repacking and re-labeling importers, wholesalers, distributors, superstockists and transporters
Granny shops, supermarkets, departmental stores and e-commerce and online sellers
Groundnuts, This order is applicable to all edible oils and fats like mustard, soybean, sunflower, cardi, banola, rice bran, palm and palmolein, coconut, sesame, corn, multi-source edible vegetable oil and banaspati, irrespective of the size and business of the establishment. There are 497 edible oil producers in Maharashtra: Centrally licensed: 212, State licensed: 285, Total: 1247. A total of 1142 edible oil samples were taken in the year 2025-2026, out of which 1142 were found to be substandard, 77* substandard, 13 unsafe and 15 mislabelled.
Important instructions of the order
A valid FSSAI license or registration is mandatory under “License and Laboratory”. The license should be prominently displayed in the establishment.

  • As per other provisions of Schedule 4, Part-2, it is a condition of eligibility for a license for the edible oil producer to have its own laboratory for sample testing. The agreement with an external laboratory is only additional and not a substitute.
    Mode of sale
    Edible oil shall be sold only in sealed, tamper-proof and fully labelled packs. Sale of open and unpackaged oil is prohibited. The producer or distributor supplying open oil shall be the principal violator. He shall be liable under sections 26 and 27. The retailer shall reject unsealed or tampered goods and give the information of the supplier to the Food Safety Officer.
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Business

Adani Green Energy Sales Jump 42% In Q1, Operational RE Capacity Reaches 15.8 GW

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Key Highlights:

– Energy sales rose 42 percent YoY to 10,479 million units in Q1 FY26.

– Operational RE capacity reached 15.8 GW, the highest in India.

– EBITDA surged 31 percent to Rs 3,108 crore, backed by new greenfield projects.

Ahmedabad: Adani Green Energy Ltd’s (AGEL) energy sales surged 42 per cent (year-on-year) in the April-June quarter (Q1 FY26) to 10,479 million units, as operational renewable energy (RE) capacity grew 45 per cent to 15.8 GW which continues to be India’s largest, the company said on Monday.

While revenue growth increased by 31 per cent (on-year) to Rs 3,312 crore, EBITDA also went up by 31 per cent to Rs 3,108 crore.

According to the Adani Group company, cash profit surged by 25 per cent (on-year) to Rs 1,744 crore in the quarter.

“During Q1 FY26, we added 1.6 GW of greenfield renewable energy capacity, bringing our total increase to 4.9 GW over the past year — an achievement unmatched in India’s transition toward clean energy,” said Ashish Khanna, CEO of Adani Green Energy.

“Our investments in the massive RE development at Khavda in Gujarat as well as other resource-rich sites are delivering results both in terms of superior operational performance and industry-best EBITDA margins,” he said, adding that the company is on track to achieve its 2030 target of 50 GW RE capacity — with at least 5 GW of hydro pumped storage along with battery storage.

Strong revenue, EBITDA, and cash profit growth are primarily backed by robust greenfield capacity addition, deployment of advanced RE technologies, superior plant performance and deployment of new capacities in resource-rich sites in Khavda (Gujarat) and Rajasthan.

“Further, battery storage is also a key part of our future strategy. We remain committed to supporting national energy transition and security ambitions as well as maintaining our ESG leadership, highlighted by our top rankings in the FTSE Russel ESG assessment and recognition at the Reuters Global Energy Transition Awards 2025,” Khanna noted.

AGEL has consistently generated electricity exceeding the overall annual commitment under the power purchase agreements (PPA). In Q1 FY26, AGEL’s PPA-based electricity generation was 31 per cent of the annual commitment.

The company is developing a massive 30 GW renewable energy plant at Khavda in Gujarat. This is spread over an area of 538 sq km, almost 5 times the city of Paris.

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Crime

ED books 29 celebrities for endorsing betting apps

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Hyderabad, July 10: The Enforcement Directorate has booked 29 celebrities in Telugu states for endorsing betting apps.

The central agency has filed an ECIR against 29 actors, influencers, and YouTubers for allegedly promoting illegal betting platforms, in violation of the Public Gambling Act, 1867.

The probe, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, has been taken up based on five FIRs filed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Film actors Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash and Manchu Lakshmi, and Ananya Nagella are among those who have been booked by the ED.

The names of TV actors, TV hosts and social media influencers like Sreemukhi, Shyamala, and Varshini Sounderajan, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shoba Shetty, Amrutha Chowdary, Nayani Pavani, Neha Pathan, Pandu, Padhmavathi, Harsha Sai and Bayya Sunny Yadav also figure in the list.

Most of these celebrities were earlier booked by the Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police. FIRs were registered against them at Panjagutta, Miyapur, Cyberabad, Suryapet, and Visakhapatnam police stations.

The ED suspects endorsements of platforms like Junglee Rummy, A23, JeetWin, Parimatch, Lotus365, and others involved laundering of large sums through paid promotions.

The ECIR has been booked under BNS sections 318 (4), 112 r/w 49, Telangana Gaming Act sections 3, 3 (A), 4, IT Act 2000 and 2008 section 66D.

In March, Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj and others were booked by Cyberabad police for allegedly promoting betting apps. They, however, clarified that they are not promoting any illegal app.

While Rana Daggubati and Vijay Devarakonda stated that they endorsed only legally permitted online skill-based games, Prakash Raj said he did not renew a contract to promote an app in 2017 after realising that he should not have done it.

A case against six actors and 19 social media influencers was registered at the Miyapur Police Station of Cyberabad Commissionerate in March.

The police registered the case on a complaint by one Phanidra Sharma, a resident of Miyapur, who stated that he found several celebrities and social media influencers actively promoting illegal betting apps, websites and other platforms. The complainant said promotion of betting apps was causing harm to individuals and society by encouraging this addictive, short-term, risky money-making behaviour, leading to financial distress.

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