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☆ India's opposition parties unite for 2024 national elections, BJP says not worried
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Their campaign got a shot in the arm in May when Congress trounced BJP in a key state election, exceeding expectations and gaining fresh momentum ahead of more state elections due this year and national elections in April-May 2024. Gandhi said the fight against BJP was an "ideological battle" and opposition parties were united in it. India's opposition parties have formed alliances to challenge governments - led by both Congress and BJP - in the past and win elections but have a mixed record of sticking together and running governments smoothly. BJP leaders said they were not worried as there was little hope for such alliances. "I want to tell leaders of the opposition, join as many hands as you want but opposition unity is not possible.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Rahul Gandhi, Modi, Nitish Kumar, Kumar, Gandhi, Amit Shah Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Congress, Aadmi Party, AAP, Modi, ji’s, YP Rajesh, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Patna, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi

New Delhi CNN —Nearly half a million people in northeast India have been affected by severe flooding after heavy rains battered the region, turning roads into rivers and submerging entire villages. More than 495,000 people spread across 22 districts in the state of Assam have been impacted by floodwaters, its disaster management authority said in a statement Thursday. Men trying to cross the flooded street in Nalbari district of Assam India on Tuesday June 21, 2023. Assam, a state of more than 31 million people, experiences heavy rain and flooding during India’s unrelenting monsoon season which can last from April to September. A man carries belongings from his partially submerged house in the flood affected Dhamdhama village of Nalbari district, in India's Assam state on June 22, 2023.

Persons: Dasarath Deka, Biju Boro Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, ZUMA Press, Getty Locations: New Delhi, India, Assam, Nalbari district, Assam India, Nalbari, India's Assam, AFP, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar

☆ Crematorium fills up as heatwave scorches northern Indian town
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Adnan Abidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Women rest under a tree on a hot summer day in Ballia District in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiBALLIA, India, June 21 (Reuters) - A Hindu priest in northern India says the number of bodies brought to a crematorium by the River Ganges has doubled in the past week as a heatwave ravages parts of the country. Yadav, confirmed a surge in admissions at the main district hospital and said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of deaths. Brijesh Yadav, 28, said he rushed his 85-year-old grandfather to the hospital on Tuesday after he complained of difficulty in breathing. India has an average of five to six heatwave events annually over its northern parts between March and June and sometimes until July, according to the World Health Organization.

Persons: Adnan Abidi BALLIA, Rajesh Pandey, Yadav, Brijesh Yadav, Yogi Adityanath, Saurabh Sharma, Shivam Patel, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, S.K, Indian Express, State, NDTV, World Health Organization, University of Cambridge, Thomson Locations: Ballia District, Uttar Pradesh, India, Ballia, Bihar

☆ Scores die in northern India as heat wave scorches region
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert warning last week for extreme heat in some regions of the country, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. There is no concrete evidence of heat wave behind these deaths." The government fired Diwakar Singh, the chief medical official at the main state hospital in Ballia, for saying that the deaths were due to heat. While the heat wave was expected to continue in some regions on Monday, parts of India's northeastern Assam state reeled under floods triggered by heavy rains. Many pockets are expected to receive heavy to extremely heavy rainfall this week, which could lead to flooding," said a senior official with the IMD.

Persons: Ravindra Kumar, Diwakar Singh, Brajesh Pathak, Singh, Rajendra Jadhav, Sudipto Ganguly, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Indian Meteorological Department, IMD, Reuters, Hindustan Times, Thomson Locations: LUCKNOW, India, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh's Ballia, New Delhi, Ballia, Patna, India's, Assam, Mumbai

☆ Northern India Endures a Heat Wave, and a Wave of Deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Alex Travelli | Hari Kumar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An unusually intense heat wave has swept across northern India in the last four days, with some hospitals in the state of Uttar Pradesh recording a higher-than-usual number of deaths. Dozens of deaths were recorded at hospitals there on June 15, 16 and 17. “The number of deaths has been more than normal,” Dr. Kumar said. He told the Press Trust of India, a news agency, that on average, eight people usually die per day. “Most of these are natural deaths,” he told The Times in a phone interview, “most of the dead being elderly people suffering from different ailments like diabetes.”

Persons: there’s, Jayant Kumar, Dr, Kumar, ”, “ Organizations: Press Trust of, Times Locations: India, Uttar Pradesh, Ballia District, Bihar, Press Trust of India

☆ How India’s deadly train accident affected poorest passengers the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

On the Howrah they were the farthest from the engine, and were hit by the derailed Coromandel Express carriages. Graphic shows the sequence of coaches behind the engine on the Coromandel Express and Howrah Superfast Express. On the Coromandel Express, the engine is closely followed by non-air conditioned coaches, including three unreserved coaches. Deaths and injuries in Indian railway accidents Graphic shows the number of deaths and injuries in Indian railway accidents annually since 2001. Drone footage shows aftermath of train crash in the Indian state of Odisha Drone footage shows aftermath of train crash in the Indian state of Odisha | ReutersThe site of the accident is rural.

Persons: Bahanaga, Sandeep Mathur, Long, Narendra Modi Organizations: Coromandel, Reuters, Indian Railways, Commission of Railway Safety, Railways, CRS, Superfast Express, Express, Railway Ministry Locations: Chennai, Odisha, Balasore, Indian, Kolkata, Bengaluru, India, Coromandel, Howrah, Bihar, Odisha’s Balasore

REUTERS/Francis MascarenhasBALASORE, India, June 7 (Reuters) - Indian authorities made fervent appeals to families on Tuesday to help identify over 100 unclaimed bodies kept in hospitals and mortuaries after 275 people were killed in the country's deadliest rail crash in over two decades. Following non-stop efforts to rescue survivors and clear and repair the track, trains resumed running over that section of the line on Sunday night. Till Monday evening around 100 bodies were yet to be identified, a senior state health department official told Reuters. Bijay Kumar Mohapatra, health director of Odisha, said authorities were trying to source iced containers to help preserve the bodies. "Unless they are identified, a post mortem cannot be done," Mohapatra said, explaining that under Odisha state regulations no autopsy can be conducted on an unclaimed body until 96 hours has passed.

Persons: Dilip Kumar Sabar, Jyotilal Sabar, Francis Mascarenhas BALASORE, Bijay Kumar Mohapatra, Odisha, Mohapatra, A.M, Chowdhary, Jatindra Dash, Krishn Kaushik, Sudipto Ganguly, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India's Railway, federal Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, Railway, Express, Thomson Locations: Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, Bhubaneswar's, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Kolkata, Howrah

☆ India train crash: Family hopes DNA test will help claim for body
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Francis Mascarenhas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Four days after the disaster, Haq has found no trace of his brother, who was travelling with the boys. "We are left with no option but to do a DNA test to determine whose body it is. The whole process takes really long," a distraught Haq told Reuters at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), one of the main hospitals in Odisha's capital of Bhubaneswar. Authorities had taken DNA samples from all the dead bodies in hospitals across the state, senior police official Prateek Singh told reporters on Tuesday. "In cases where there are multiple claimants, we have taken DNA samples from family members and we will preserve the bodies until the DNA matches," Singh told local media.

Persons: Imam Ul Haq, Tavseer Ansari, Francis Mascarenhas, Mohammed Imam Ul Haq, Haq, Prateek Singh, Singh, Francis Mascerenhas, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Bernadette Baum, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Francis Mascarenhas BHUBANESWAR, Reuters, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, Odisha's, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh

☆ A bridge under construction in India's Bihar state has collapsed -- for the second time
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A four-lane concrete bridge being built across the River Ganges in the east Indian state of Bihar has collapsed for the second time in just over a year, once again raising questions about the quality of its construction. The Sultanganj Bridge has collapsed twice since construction began in 2017, the first time in April last year before Sunday’s catastrophic failure. It’s not clear why the bridge collapsed last year or if those problems had been rectified. Crowds of people on the river bank can be seen filming the bridge and shouting as it tumbles down. The Sultanganj Bridge is not the only one to have collapsed in India in the last year.

Persons: Bihar’s, Nitish Kumar, McElhanney Organizations: CNN, Singla Locations: Bihar, India, Morbi, Gujarat

☆ India suspension bridge collapses for a second time
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, June 5 (Reuters) - A suspension bridge being built in India's poorest state collapsed for the second time in 14 months, with one person reported missing, Reuters partner ANI reported on Monday. The bridge was being built over the River Ganges in Bhagalpur district of India's eastern state of Bihar. Later we found out the bridge had collapsed," Rakesh Kumar, a local resident, told ANI. Eight men were on the bridge at the time of its collapse on Sunday, with one guard reported missing, ANI said. In October last year, a colonial-era suspension bridge collapsed in the town of Morbi in the western state of Gujarat collapsed, plunging hundreds into the Machchhu river below and killing 135.

Persons: Rakesh Kumar, Amit Raj, Nitish Kumar, Sakshi Dayal, Nick Macfie Organizations: Construction, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Bhagalpur district, India's, Bihar, Morbi, Gujarat

The other passenger train was a Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express train, running from a commuter hub in Bangalore to Kolkata, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal. India’s railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that he had ordered an investigation into the cause and that those affected by the crash would receive compensation. Site of the train crash An initial government report said that the Coromandel Express passenger train derailed while traveling at full speed. Dozens of trains had been canceled but crews were rushing to restore service after pushing off the train cars involved in the crash off the tracks. In 2016, 14 train cars derailed in India’s northeast in the middle of the night, killing more than 140 passengers and injuring 200 others.

Persons: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Derailments, Jitendra Prakash, Narendra Modi, Modi, Modi’s, Amit Dave, Suresh Prabhu, Mr, Vaishnaw, Mujib Mashal Organizations: Chennai Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway, Express, Coromandel, INDIA, Sunday, Economic, Disaster Management, Reuters Rail Locations: India, Balasore, Odisha State, Shalimar, Chennai Coromandel, India’s, Howrah, Bangalore, Kolkata, West Bengal, Bahanaga Bazar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s, Bihar, Pukhrayan, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad

A second passenger train, heading in the opposite direction, then struck some of the dislocated cars. More than 2,200 passengers in all were onboard the passenger trains, according to railway officials, and at least 23 cars were derailed. The other passenger train was a Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express train, running from a commuter hub in the southern city of Bengaluru to Kolkata, the capital of the northeastern state of West Bengal. Site of the train crash An initial government report said that the Coromandel Express passenger train derailed while traveling at full speed. In 2016, 14 train cars derailed in India’s northeast in the middle of the night, killing more than 140 passengers and injuring 200 others.

Persons: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Vaishnaw, Derailments, Jitendra Prakash, Narendra Modi, Modi, Modi’s, Amit Dave, Suresh Prabhu, Mr, Mujib Mashal Organizations: Chennai Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway, Express, Coromandel, INDIA, Economic, Disaster Management, Reuters Rail Locations: India, Balasore, Odisha State, Shalimar, Chennai Coromandel, India’s, Howrah, Bengaluru, Kolkata, West Bengal, Odisha, Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s, Bihar, Pukhrayan, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad

☆ India Train Crash Live Updates: Relatives Identify Crash Victims as Modi Visits Derailment Site
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Sameer Yasir | Mujib Mashal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The other passenger train was a Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express train, running from a commuter hub in Bangalore to Kolkata, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal. India’s railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that he had ordered an investigation into the cause and that those affected by the crash would receive compensation. Site of the train crash An initial government report said that the Coromandel Express passenger train derailed while traveling at full speed. In 2016, 14 train cars derailed in India’s northeast in the middle of the night, killing more than 140 passengers and injuring 200 others. Within hours of Friday’s disaster, some opposition politicians were already calling for the resignation of Mr. Vaishnaw, India’s railway minister.

Persons: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Derailments, Jitendra Prakash, Narendra Modi, Modi, Modi’s, Amit Dave, Suresh Prabhu, Mr, Vaishnaw, Mujib Mashal Organizations: Chennai Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway, Express, Coromandel, INDIA, Economic, Disaster Management, Reuters Rail Locations: India, Balasore, Odisha State, Shalimar, Chennai Coromandel, India’s, Howrah, Bangalore, Kolkata, West Bengal, Bahanaga Bazar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s, Odisha, Bihar, Pukhrayan, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad

☆ Opinion: Ambitious, tech-savvy and jobless. Why India’s young people could reshape the internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Opinion Snigdha Poonam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Her book, “Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World,” was longlisted in 2019 for the PEN America Literary Awards. Unlike China, which leveraged its demographic dividend through large-scale factory employment, India’s economic growth does not rely on young workers manufacturing goods. Catering to a market of 750 million smartphone users, India’s fast-growing gig economy is attracting young workers in great numbers. As incidents of abuse and exploitation pile up, many of India’s gig workers are questioning their career choice. Feeding the social media monsterThere are other ways in which India’s young people are shaping the future of technology.

Persons: ”, Raju Rai, Rai, “, ” Rai, Dhiraj Singh, Mithun Kumar, Kumar, hyperlocal, Jewel Samad, Mohit Yadav, Monu Manesar Organizations: PEN, CNN, Delhi CNN, Facebook, Catering, Bloomberg, Getty, YouTube, Big Tech, Twitter, New York Times Locations: Delhi, India, Thailand, Indian, Varanasi, Bangkok, Myanmar, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Southeast Asia, Europe, China, Mumbai, Bihar, Covid, AFP

☆ India builds more hospitals as population surges but doctors in short supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The problem is a lack of doctors, a shortage that is reaching crucial levels as India becomes the world's most populous nation. Inaugurating the first specialised medical institute in northeast India last month, Modi said his government had sought to increase the number of doctors by setting up more medical colleges. The number of public hospitals, excluding specialised institutes, has risen some 9% in Modi’s time at the top, government data shows. The government says there was a near 80% shortage of surgeons, physicians, gynaecologists and paediatricians at community health centres in rural India as of March 2022. Specialist doctors tend to go overseas or join the private sector in metropolitan and other large cities, said Dr K. Srinath Reddy, at the Public Health Foundation of India non-profit.

☆ Column: India's pledge to stop new coal power plants to hit key states
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

IN CONSTRUCTIONThe new proposals make clear that whatever coal capacity is already under construction in India will proceed. A total of 32,000 megawatts of new coal power is currently being built in India, according to the Global Energy Monitor (GEM). India coal capacity under constructionOnce completed, that would boost current operating capacity by close to 14%, and lift total Indian coal capacity to beyond 266,000 MW, GEM data shows. Alongside the widespread swell in coal capacity is even faster growth in renewables energy supply capacity across India. Proponents of immediate cuts to coal power use may be disappointed that several new coal projects will still emerge.

☆ Mystery Gas Leak in India Leaves at Least 11 Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Sameer Yasir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At least 11 people were killed and almost as many injured after a gas leaked in the northern Indian state of Punjab on Sunday. Officials had sealed off a section of in the city of Ludhiana and were evacuating residents as they tried to identify the gas and determine the source of the leak. All the victims were found near three businesses in the Giaspura industrial district — a dairy store, a grocery store and a clinic. Among the dead were two children, local news media reported. She said she saw about half a dozen people lying unconscious on the street near the dairy store.

So how did India’s population get so big, and how long will it last? The rise in population despite a drop in the fertility rate can be explained by “demographic momentum.”“When the fertility rate drops, the population continues to grow for several decades. So, even with a replacement or sub-replacement fertility rate, India’s population will continue to grow slowly because of the considerable number of women entering their reproductive years. India’s population growth is slowing downIndia may have overtaken China in total population, but UN data also shows that its growth rate has slowed. Uttar Pradesh, for instance, is home to 17% of India’s population but has only 9% of its industrial jobs.

All agreed there was a marked increase in awareness among Indian Muslims about birth control and family planning. The 2021 census has been delayed but the United Nations has projected India's population will touch 1.42 billion this month. "There is a misconception among Muslims that Islam doesn’t allow the use of birth control measures," said Maulana Khalid Rasheed, the imam of the Lucknow Eidgah in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. [1/5] FILE PHOTO-Members of a Muslim family sit down for a meal in an old quarter of Delhi, India March 3, 2023. Experts say the public health system is now unable to keep up with the demand for birth control services from people who are aware about their usefulness, also called an unmet need.

☆ How India's birth control battle falters in rural district
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Zamerun Nisha, 33, lies down after giving birth while a doctor holds and cleans her newborn baby, at the labor ward of a community health center in Bahadurganj subdivision of Kishanganj district, Bihar, India, March 21, 2023. India’s fertility rate, fell to 2.0 in 2019-21, but State health officials estimate Kishanganj's fertility rate at 4.8 or 4.9, creating a population growth problem that the state is trying to curb with the distribution of condoms and birth control pills, as well as the paying 3,000 Indian rupees ($36.50) to women who get sterilized, 4,000 rupees to men, and 500 rupees per surgery to the health workers who perform them. "I talk to women while they are experiencing labor pain and nudge them to undergo sterilization immediately after delivery," said Parvati Rajak, a medical officer in one of Kishanganj’s seven government health centers. "But the final choice is always made by the family." REUTERS/Anushree FadnavisClose

☆ India, soon world's most populous nation, doesn't know how many people it has
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Students come out after appearing in the Bihar Board class 10th examination at Bankipur Girl's High School on Feb. 14, 2023 in Patna, India. Santosh Kumar | Hindustan Times | Getty ImagesIn two months, India is projected to become the world's most populous country with over 1.4 billion people. "In the absence of latest census data, the estimations are based on data that is one decade old and is likely to provide estimates that are far from reality," Sharma said. The office of the Registrar General of India, which is responsible for the census, did not respond to a request for comment. Teachers' travailsThe United Nations has projected India's population could touch 1,425,775,850 on April 14, overtaking China on that day.

☆ Despite India's economic growth, few jobs and meagre pay for urban youth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

He has since remained unemployed, unable to pay back a 100,000 rupee ($1,224) loan he took to buy a two-wheeler scooter. The rising unemployment in India belies other indicators suggesting the economy is undergoing a healthy rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the surge in people looking for work, many of them rural migrants, raises concerns about consumption and longer term growth prospects. The urban unemployment rate swelled to 10.1% in December, although the total number of jobs in India touched a pre-pandemic level of 410 million, data compiled by Mumbai-based think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed. Urban unemployment spiked during the pandemic years, largely because of lockdowns, but before that it hovered between 6%-7%, according to CMIE data.

☆ As India debates demographics, small mountain state wants more babies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters GraphicsThose calls come as India's population gains slow. India's total fertility rate (TFR) - children per woman - fell to 2 in the latest assessment period, for 2019-2021, from 3.4 in 1992-93, according to a government report issued in October. Quraishi, the country's former chief election commissioner who has written a book titled: "The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India". "India as a whole country will take at least 25 years." Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Editing by Krishna N. Das and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Delhi fog delays flights, cold wave closes schools
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"Due to dense fog, flight operations at Delhi Airport may get affected," it said on Twitter. It also said power lines could trip in areas with dense fog. Many private schools were to reopen on Monday. The lowest for Sunday was 3.8 degrees Celsius, which the IMD said was 3 degrees below normal for this time of year. A cold wave is declared in the plains of India when the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius or falls 4.5 degrees below normal to 10 degrees Celsius or below.

☆ Why Fox Nuts (Water Lily Seeds) Are So Expensive
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Claudia Romeo | Pj Rickards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Makhana, as they are known locally, are the seeds of the prickly water lily plant. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyOnce popped, water lily seeds look just like popcorn. But a bag of these seeds, also known as fox nuts, will cost you much more: over $170 per kilogram. Farmers in India work tirelessly for over four days, partially submerged in 4-foot-deep water, kneeling in the scorching sun, and roasting the seeds in blazing-hot woks. So are water lily seeds worth it?

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