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Business Standard
24 minutes ago
- General
- Business Standard
Mahima Gosain Express derails near Sambalpur; no casualties: Railways
The incident took place between the Sambalpur city station Sambalpur junction, shortly after the train departed from Sambalpur city at 9:18 am at a very slow speed Press Trust of India Bhubaneswar A general compartment of the ShalimarSambalpur Mahima Gosain Express derailed near Sambalpur railway station on Thursday, but there was no report of any injury, an official statement said. The incident took place between the Sambalpur city station Sambalpur junction, shortly after the train departed from Sambalpur city at 9:18 am at a very slow speed, the East Coast Railway said in a statement. "No loss of life or property in this incident reported," the railway statement said. The guard of the train said that a major accident was avoided as the speed of the loco was very slow. Railway officials and local police have reached the site and shifted the passengers to another coach. The East Coast Railway statement said that the rear trolley of a general coach next to the guard van of 20831 Shalimar-Sambalpur Express derailed near Sambalpur City Station at a very slow speed. "Train already left for Sambalpur with all passengers. No one injured," it said. Railway officials including the DRM have reached the site and overseeing early restoration of traffic. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Business Standard
6 hours ago
- General
- Business Standard
AI Express Delhi-Mumbai flight aborts takeoff due to technical snag
The pilot decided to abort takeoff as there was a glitch with the screens displaying the speed parameters in the cockpit Press Trust of India New Delhi A Mumbai-bound Air India Express plane, with around 160 passengers onboard, aborted takeoff due to a technical snag at the Delhi airport on Wednesday evening, according to a source. An Air India Express spokesperson said the crew of one of our flights from Delhi elected to reject takeoff prioritising safety following a minor technical issue. The source said that the pilot decided to abort takeoff as there was a glitch with the screens displaying the speed parameters in the cockpit. The spokesperson said that passengers were deboarded and accommodated in an alternative aircraft, which has departed for Mumbai. "We regret the inconvenience while reiterating that safety remains paramount in all our operations," the spokesperson said in a statement. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Why China refuses to resolve the border issue
India's defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar visited China recently in connection with the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Beijing later this year, and aimed at preparing the ground for a possible prime ministerial visit that could be the first in seven years. What is striking is the different tones adopted by the two ministers with their counterparts. During his visit in June, Singh created a minor flutter when he told his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, that there was a need 'to have a permanent solution of border demarcation by rejuvenating the established mechanism on the issue'. Jaishankar's tone during his meeting with his counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing last week was quite different. He spoke of the 'steadily improving' India-China relations as a result of the 'resolution of the friction along the border and our ability to maintain peace and tranquility there.' Peace on the border, he told Wang, was the fundamental basis of good relations. After the disengagement that had taken place in 2024, the time had come to undertake de-escalation that would see the reduction of the additional forces the two countries had massed in the eastern Ladakh-western Tibet region, he added. The Chinese could not have been too happy about Singh raising the border issue the way he did. As Jaishankar noted, the two sides are in the process of repairing their ties that were shattered by the Chinese 2020 misadventure in Eastern Ladakh. They have barely agreed to restore status quo ante there, and now the Indians appeared to be taking a huge leap forward by suggesting that the two sides move to settle their long-running border dispute that has prevented the demarcation of their border. According to the government press release of June 27, Singh stressed the issue of border management and the need 'to have a permanent solution of border demarcation by rejuvenating the established mechanism on the issue'. The Chinese response to Singh came a day later when Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning pointed out that the two sides indeed have such a mechanism, that of the office of Special Representatives who had worked out the 'Agreement on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India-China Border Question'. When the Press Trust of India reporter pointed out that there had been '20 rounds of special representative talks,' Mao's reply was the standard Chinese retort that 'The boundary question is complicated, and it takes time to settle it'. In the meantime, she hoped that the two countries would maintain communications and keep 'the border areas peaceful and tranquil. The Political Parameters agreement was signed a quarter century ago in 2005, and the two Special Representatives have held 23 rounds of meetings, the last in December 2024. The meeting of the Chinese Special Representative Wang Yi (who is also foreign minister) and his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, in Beijing in June, was at the sidelines of an SCO meeting. They did not take the opportunity to meet as the Special Representatives whose stated task is to resolve the border issue. The Political Parameters Agreement was indeed a far-reaching one. It certified that the two sides were seeking to resolve their boundary question not through historical claims and maps, but on 'political' grounds. Article III of the agreement said that both sides should make mutually acceptable adjustments to their respective positions 'to arrive at a package settlement'. Articles IV and VII seemed to suggest that the framework suggested would essentially freeze the border on an 'as is where is' basis — China retaining control of Aksai Chin and India of Arunachal Pradesh. But, almost immediately, China began to walk back from the agreement. In 2006, Chinese ambassador Sun Yuxi declared that China claimed all of Arunachal Pradesh, including Tawang. At the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting in 2007, Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi told his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherji that the 'settled populations' part did not apply to the Tawang tract. The Chinese shift seemed to have been occasioned by some internal re-thinking. This is related to the Dalai Lama and Tibet. The monastery in Tawang was founded at the instance of the fifth Dalai Lama, the 'Great Fifth'. The Tawang region was also the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama, who was not Tibetan, but a Monpa. The Chinese worry that the next Dalai Lama could well be incarnated in the region. Since that time, the Chinese have stuck to their position that unless Tawang was conceded, there can be no border settlement. Not surprisingly, India has told them that keeping Tawang on the Chinese agenda was the surest way to block a border settlement. Leave alone demarcating a permanent border, China has steadily refused to even clarify the Line of Actual Control that currently marks the border, creating the potential for conflict. It was the Chinese blockade preventing India from exercising its right to patrol several areas where there were overlapping claims that led to the 2020 crisis in eastern Ladakh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to persuade the Chinese in 2014 and 2015 to clarify these points on the LAC, but to little avail. The first time was when Xi Jinping visited India in October 2014, and the second was when Modi made a return visit in May 2015. The only conclusion that arises from the Chinese equivocation on permanently settling the border is that they want to keep open a means of stoking conflict with India. The aim is to not only pressure New Delhi to accept a border on Chinese terms, but also use it as leverage against India in relation to Chinese interests in South Asia. Manoj Joshi is a distinguished fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. The views expressed are personal.
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Business Standard
15 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Mobile phone exports soar to ₹2 trillion, up 127 times in 10 years: Govt
The minister said that 75 per cent of the total mobile phone demand in the country was met through imports in 2014-15, which has now dropped to 0.02 per cent in 2024-25 Press Trust of India New Delhi Export of mobile phones from India increased by 127 times to reach ₹2 trillion in the last 10 financial years, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. According to data shared by Minister of state for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada in a written reply to Lok Sabha, the export of mobile phones "increased 127 times" from India from₹ 1,500 crore in 2014-15 to₹ 2 lakh crore in 2024-25. "The PLI Scheme for LSEM has already attracted a cumulative investment of INR 12,390 crore, led to a cumulative production of ₹8,44,752 crore with exports of ₹4,65,809 crore and generated additional employment of 1,30,330 (direct jobs) till Jun'25," the minister said. The production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing was mainly meant for mobile phone manufacturing. The minister said that 75 per cent of the total mobile phone demand in the country was met through imports in 2014-15, which has now dropped to 0.02 per cent in 2024-25. "PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing has significantly impacted the mobile manufacturing sector in India particularly in transforming India from a net importer to a net exporter of mobile phones. Bharat is now the second largest mobile manufacturing country in the world," the minister said. Prasada said the PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT hardware has attracted a cumulative investment of ₹717.13 crore, led to a cumulative production of ₹12,195.84 crore and generated additional employment of 5,056 (direct jobs) till June. "Total FDI in the field of electronics manufacturing in the last 5 years (i.e. since FY 2020-21) is $4,071 million, cumulative FDI of $2,802 million has been contributed by MeitY PLI beneficiaries," the minister said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Star
17 hours ago
- General
- The Star
India brothers marry same woman in ancient custom defying legal ban, and sparking criticism
SHIMLA, (India): A pair of brothers in rural India have married the same woman, upholding an ancient custom and sparking criticism from a women's rights group after photos of the wedding went viral. Polyandry is banned in India but is legal in some of the tribal pockets, including Himalayan territories, allowing preservation of some ancient traditions. The grooms, Pradeep and Kapil Negi, married Sunita Chauhan in a three-day wedding witnessed by hundreds of villagers and relatives on July 12 in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh. During the ceremony, the trio from the Hatti tribe circled a fire considered sacred as villagers sang folksongs. "We followed the tradition publicly as we are proud of it and it was a joint decision," Pradeep said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. His brother Kapil added: "We're ensuring support, stability and love for our wife as a united family." One of the brothers is a government employee and the other works overseas. The bride, Sunita, mentioned that it was her decision, albeit a mutual one, to marry Pradeep and Kapil. She shared that she was not at all pressured, and actually, she has faith in the bond they formed. Sunita could be quoted as saying: 'This was my choice. I was never pressured. I know this tradition, and I chose it willingly. We've made this commitment together, and I believe in the bond we've formed.' Under the custom, the wife shifts between brothers on a mutually agreed schedule and the family raises the children together. The eldest brother is named the legal father. - Illustrative photo The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), a women's rights group, condemned the wedding. "Such acts of women's exploitation... go against the fundamental rights of a woman," AIDWA general secretary Mariam Dhawale told local media. Around 300,000 members of the Hatti tribe live in small villages in the remote Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Local lawmaker Harshwardhan Singh Chauhan defended the practice, saying polyandry has long been a tradition of the Sirmaur people. "We have a customary law to protect polyandry," he told reporters, after photos of the marriage went viral on social media. A local Hatti leader justified the custom by citing the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, in which the character Draupadi married five brothers. According to Kundan Singh Shastri, general secretary of the Kendriya Hatti Samiti, the polyandry system helped prevent the division of ancestral land among multiple heirs. 'This tradition was invented thousands of years ago to save a family's agricultural land from further division,' PTI quoted him as saying. Shastri explained that beyond preserving land, polyandry fosters unity among brothers and preserves the joint family system, which is vital in remote hilly terrains. 'If you have a bigger family, more men, you are more secure in a tribal society,' he said, adding that the tradition helps manage scattered agricultural lands requiring long-term collective care. He also noted that Jajda encourages brotherhood and mutual understanding, especially when brothers from different mothers marry the same woman. Economic needs and the demands of farming in far-flung areas have translated into this socio-cultural practice. How is the wedding performed? The wedding, called Jajda, begins with the bride's procession to the groom's village. A ritual named Seenj is performed at the groom's residence, where a priest chants mantras in the local dialect and sprinkles holy water. The ceremony ends with the couple being offered jaggery and blessings from the Kul Devta (family deity), symbolising a sweet and harmonious life ahead. Despite its historical and cultural significance, polyandry is declining due to rising literacy, changing socio-economic conditions, and evolving gender roles. Many communities now solemnise such marriages discreetly. - Illustrative photo Is it legal? The custom is recognised under Himachal Pradesh's revenue laws. The Hattis are governed by the Hindu Marriage Act and for official purposes. However, there are provisions in Indian laws to protect the customs and traditions of other tribal communities. In an interview with last year, Kundan Singh Shastri, general secretary of Hatti Central Committee, said 'Jodidaran' will die a slow death as more villagers become educated and shift to cities for jobs. Reacting to the recent polyandry in Sirmaur district, Ransingh Chauhan, a lawyer, said the practice has been prevalent in the region for decades and stressed it was legally recognised by the Himachal Pradesh High Court under the 'Jodidar Law'. "Hundreds of marriages happen through polyandry and other age-old traditions. Media highlighted the marriage in Shillai prominently and they should not be astonished as this is a regular phenomenon. The practice is being done to ensure that families stay united and lands are not divided among themselves," Chauhan, a legal advisor for the Central Hatti Committee, told India Today's TV sister channel, Aaj Tak. Who are the Hattis? Hatti, a close-knit community located on the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border, was officially recognised as a Scheduled Tribe three years ago. Polyandry was a longstanding custom within this tribe for centuries. However, due to increasing literacy among women and the economic development of communities in the region, reports of polyandrous marriages have become rare. Village elders noted that such marriages still occur, but they are conducted discreetly and socially accepted, although these instances are fewer in number. Experts explain that a primary reason behind this tradition was to prevent the division of ancestral land. Despite this, the issue of tribal women's share in ancestral property remains a significant concern. The Hatti community consists of nearly 300,000 people residing across approximately 450 villages in the Trans Giri area of Sirmaur district. Polyandry continues to be practiced in some of these villages. The tradition was also common in Jaunsar Babar, a tribal region in Uttarakhand, as well as in Kinnaur, a tribal district in Himachal Pradesh. - AFP, Agencies
