National News
TN to form Marine Elite Force to protect Olive Ridley turtles
Chennai, Feb 15: The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has decided to establish a new Marine Elite Force to prevent the deaths of Olive Ridley turtles, a vulnerable species.
This initiative comes in response to reports that over 1,308 Olive Ridley turtles have died along the Tamil Nadu coast after becoming entangled in fishing nets.
Currently, Tamil Nadu has two Marine Elite Force units that combat marine wildlife crimes such as poaching, smuggling, and illegal fishing — particularly in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere and Palk Bay.
However, the alarming rise in turtle deaths has prompted authorities to set up an additional unit to strengthen conservation efforts.
The primary cause of these turtle deaths is the use of trawl nets within five nautical miles of the coast, a practice banned under existing regulations.
The worst-affected areas include the Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, and Chennai coasts.
To enhance protection, the Tamil Nadu State Wildlife Board has proposed designating specific turtle congregation sites as turtle conservation reserves.
The department will also deploy volunteers to raise awareness among fishermen about sustainable fishing practices.
Authorities will enforce restrictions on artificial lights near beaches, as these can disorient hatchlings.
The forest department will ensure the periodic removal of garbage from coastal areas. The state government has also proposed procuring patrol boats for the Forest Department, allowing independent surveillance alongside the Fisheries Department.
Currently, the government allocates ₹80,000 per month for renting boats, but with hiring costs reaching ₹20,000 per boat, this approach is deemed unsustainable.
Enforcement actions have already begun, with 342 fishermen found illegally fishing within five nautical miles using trawler boats.
Of these, 208 fishermen have been chargesheeted, and their diesel subsidies worth ₹3.20 lakh have been revoked.
As part of conservation initiatives, the forest department has collected approximately 1 lakh Olive Ridley eggs from across the state.
So far, 345 eggs have hatched, with ongoing monitoring efforts in place.
The department is also working on protecting Green Turtles using telemetry technology, which helps track their movements for better conservation planning.
The Olive Ridley turtle is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
These classifications have helped curb large-scale commercial exploitation of Olive Ridley skins.
Crime
Delhi Police bust interstate cryptocurrency fraud syndicate; three arrested

New Delhi, Oct 1: The Cyber Police Station of Delhi’s South District has busted an interstate cyber-fraud network involved in Telegram-based task and cryptocurrency investment fraud, arresting three accused persons from Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, police said on Thursday.
According to police, the case came to light after a complainant reported being cheated of Rs 7,86,300 in a Telegram-based task and cryptocurrency investment fraud. The complainant allegedly came in contact with the fraudsters through a Telegram group, where he was induced to undertake online tasks and invest money in cryptocurrency with the promise of substantial returns.
Believing their representations, the complainant transferred Rs 7,86,300 in two instalments of Rs 4,66,300 and Rs 3,20,000, as directed by the accused, police said.
However, the accused neither provided the promised returns nor returned the invested amount and subsequently stopped responding to the complainant.
Following the complaint, e-FIR No. 0149/2025 under Sections 318(4), 319 and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at Police Station Cyber South, and an investigation was initiated.
The police team comprised Sub-Inspector Raj Kumar Singh, Head Constable Sunil Kumar Bairwa and HC Rajkumar Bairwa, under the leadership of Inspector Hansraj Swami, SHO, PS Cyber South, and the supervision of ACP/Operations Balram Singh Beniwal.
During the investigation, technical and financial analyses were conducted to trace the flow of fraudulent funds. Police identified several mule bank accounts allegedly used to route the proceeds of the cyber fraud. An amount of Rs 4.66 lakh was traced to one mule account, while another account had received Rs 5.22 lakh.
Based on the investigation, the accused Karan Biswas and Mohit Sarkar alias Monu were traced and arrested in Udham Singh Nagar.
Further investigation led to the formal arrest of Vinay Mandal, who was already in custody in connection with another cyber-fraud case registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Rohtak, Haryana. He was subsequently taken on a three-day police custody remand.
Police said the accused operated Telegram-based task and cryptocurrency investment schemes to lure victims into transferring money. Mule bank accounts were allegedly arranged through intermediaries on commission and used to receive, route and withdraw the fraudulent funds. The proceeds were also allegedly utilised for cryptocurrency transactions, including through USDT.
The police recovered two mobile phones, one Canara Bank passbook and relevant digital and financial evidence from the accused.
According to police, Karan Biswas and Mohit Sarkar have no previous criminal involvement, while Vinay Mandal was previously involved in FIR No. 148/25 registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Rohtak, Haryana.
Police said the investigation resulted in the identification and arrest of three alleged members of the network and uncovered the use of mule accounts to route cyber-fraud proceeds.
Business
Adani Green Energy expands battery storage capacity to 6.63 GWh in just 14 months

Ahmedabad, Oct 1: Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) on Thursday said it has expanded its operational Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capacity to 6.63 gigawatt-hours (GWh) at Khavda, Gujarat, from 3.55 GWh in June 2026.
India’s largest renewable energy company now accounts for more than 50 per cent of the country’s operational BESS capacity of about 12.6 GWh.
“Reaching 6.63 GWh of operational battery storage in just 14 months is a significant milestone for AGEL and India’s clean energy transition. At this scale, storage can make renewable power firmer, more reliable and dispatchable when the grid needs it,” said Sagar Adani, Executive Director, Adani Green Energy.
“As India’s power demand grows, we will continue to scale energy storage solutions, both battery and pumped storage, to support a more resilient, lower-carbon grid,” he noted.
The 6.63 GWh BESS can store enough clean energy to power around two million homes a day, and support peak electricity demand of cities like Nagpur, Patna or Vizag for several hours.
This BESS capacity at Khavda is equivalent to battery storage capacity of more than 150,000 mid-sized EVs and can store enough energy daily to meet almost twice the Delhi Metro’s estimated daily electricity requirement, underscoring the unprecedented scale of the installation.
The scale-up to 6.63 GWh strengthens the integration of renewable energy into the grid by enabling clean power to be stored and dispatched when required, said the company.
This milestone also consolidates Khavda’s position as the world’s largest operational battery energy storage installation at a single location.
The BESS is integrated with AGEL’s renewable energy (RE) development at Khavda, where the company is developing a 30 GW RE plant across 538 square kms of barren land.
The BESS uses lithium-ion battery technology, integrated with an Energy Management Systems (EMS) and automated telemetry to manage charging and discharging, optimise system performance and support grid services. Battery storage can improve grid stability, manage peak demand, reduce energy curtailment, and enable renewable power to be delivered when required.
AGEL said it is on track to add over 10 GWh of BESS capacity in FY 2026-27 and is targeting 50 GWh of storage capacity over the next 5 years.
National News
Bihar Mahagathbandhan echo in Oppn’s UP seat-sharing debates?

New Delhi, Sep 30: As Uttar Pradesh gears up for Assembly election early next year, the emerging dispute between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) over seat-sharing somewhat resembles the tensions that surfaced within Bihar’s Mahagathbandhan during the 2025 state poll.
In both cases, the Congress chose to seek a larger role, while a stronger regional ally appeared resisting to concede its space.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress-SP partnership produced impressive results in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, giving the INDIA bloc a significant boost and reducing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dominance in the state.
Perhaps encouraged by that performance, Congress leaders have been pushing for an early seat-sharing arrangement where they reportedly want a “respectable” number for themselves.
That number, as per indications, could be “anything above 150 seats” in the 403-member strong uttar pradesh Assembly where other alliance partners would also seek “respectable” allocations.
The SP is believed to be more comfortable with an allocation of up to some 80 seats to its principal partner in the alliance.
The disagreement has already triggered public sparring between leaders of the two parties with reports of leaders on both sides exchanging barbs over respective political stature, organisational strength, and electoral contributions.
But the sparring politicians have mostly admitted that a final call will be taken by the “Central leadership” — implying Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav.
The situation overall bears certain similarities to Bihar, where Congress entered the 2025 Assembly election-negotiations buoyed by a perceived momentum generated by Rahul Gandhi’s new political outreach.
Congress leaders sought to convert what they considered renewed visibility into greater bargaining power within the Mahagathbandhan.
Yet, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav remained unwilling to accommodate all of Congress’ demands.
Congress had continued to press for around 70 seats, the same number it contested in the 2020 Assembly election.
Tejashwi Yadav reportedly reiterated that electoral performance would be a more important criterion than aspiration.
The RJD leadership pointed to Congress’ poor strike rate in 2020, when it won only 19 of the 70 seats it contested, and used that argument to justify limiting Congress’ ambitions.
Friction grew, as did speculations about widening differences.
At one stage, Tejashwi Yadav even declared that the RJD was prepared to contest all 243 Assembly seats, a move widely interpreted as pressure tactics directed at the Congress.
Despite Rahul Gandhi exhibiting more involvement in Bihar politics, the final terms of seat-sharing were implied as to be dictated primarily by the regional heavyweight.
Eventually, the Congress reconciled itself to a marginally lesser allocation of 61 seats, but Tejashwi portrayed a dominant position within the alliance structure.
In the final result, the Congress won only six seats, 13 less than in 2020 polls, while the Opposition challenge was crushed under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) juggernaut.
The Bihar experience also offered the Opposition alliance another lesson in the dangers of excluding smaller partners while larger constituents battle over numbers.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), an important ally of Congress and RJD in neighbouring Jharkhand, spent months seeking meaningful accommodation within Bihar’s Mahagathbandhan framework.
JMM leaders alleged that assurances were not honoured and accused the Mahagathbandhan leadership of failing to respect its interests.
The tensions escalated to the point where JMM openly threatened to chart its own course.
The party announced plans to contest independently and publicly accused alliance partners of betrayal and marginalisation.
Though it did not, but the episode led to the Opposition alliance winning one and losing the other among the two seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Bihar.
Among the four other seats that the JMM intended to contest, the RJD won one while the rest went to NDA constituents.
At the same time, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) repeatedly sought entry into the Mahagathbandhan.
AIMIM leaders wrote to the RJD leadership, and publicly expressed willingness to join the Opposition bloc and even offered to contest a limited number of seats.
However, those overtures were reportedly ignored, as claimed by AIMIM leaders who complained that despite approaching Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav for a tie-up, the proposal was not accepted.
The AIMIM formed a separate alliance and contested 28 out of the 79 the third bloc contested, and won five seats in a repeat of its 2020 state poll performance.
But overall, in a stunning show, the NDA broke into the Muslim-dominated Assembly constituencies in Bihar, traditionally seen as the Opposition’s strongholds, securing some 16 of these seats.
About 32 Bihar seats are Muslim-dominated, most of which lie in districts along the Nepal border, called the Seemanchal region that largely witnessed increased turnout in 2025 state polls.
Whether the Congress and SP can avoid repeating the Bihar story in Uttar Pradesh may ultimately determine not only the Opposition’s prospects against the ruling BJP in India’s most politically consequential state, but its political future as well.
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