CET conducted smoothly with coordinated efforts, says Haryana CM
Around 13.48 lakh candidates were eligible to appear in the examination. Such teamwork ensured that CET set a perfect example of efficient administration, he said, while interacting with the media in Panchkula, near here.
Earlier, the Chief Minister participated in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' programme at Panchkamal in Panchkula.
He said the monthly address showcases inspiring stories of people who have contributed to society and highlights India's cultural values, encouraging citizens nationwide.
Making a mention of CET arrangements, the Chief Minister said that the government ensured hassle-free facilities so that candidates could appear for the exam in a positive and comfortable environment.
Administrative officers, police personnel, and roadways staff worked in close coordination, while parents and residents also extended support by setting up refreshment points for candidates at various locations. This combined effort turned CET into a meaningful and well-organised event across the state, the Chief Minister added.
The CET concluded on the second day, on Sunday, amid tight security across the state. It was held in morning and afternoon shifts.
The Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) conducted the CET for the Group C posts recruitment.
Arrangements were made across 22 districts of Haryana, and in Chandigarh too, where exam centres were set up.
Special bus services were arranged by the state Transport Department to ferry candidates to the exam centres. HSSC Chairman Himmat Singh visited Rohtak to take stock of the arrangements.
Candidates were allowed in only after a thorough check, officials said. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 (power to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) of 2023 were enforced within a 500-m radius of all exam centres.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
PM Modi talks of Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Tamil Nadu: What is this initiative, who benefits
During his recent visit to Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the country's railway infrastructure has entered a new era of modernisation. While addressing a public rally in Thoothukudi on Saturday (July 26), Modi said, 'Tamil Nadu is a major center of the modernisation campaign of railway infrastructure. Our government is redeveloping 77 stations in Tamil Nadu under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.' Launched in 2022, the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) aims at development and upgradation of stations over the Indian Railways network. The ABSS has a long-term vision that involves creating master plans, promoting multimodal connectivity, better station accessibility for passengers, etc. The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched to make railway stations cleaner, more comfortable and future-ready. After the revamp, the railway stations are supposed to have better circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lifts, escalators, free Wi-Fi, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. These facilities are to be developed keeping in view the necessity at each station. How many railway stations are covered under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme? The Ministry of Railways is executing the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in a phased manner. Under the ABSS, over 1,300 stations have been identified for development. In May, PM Modi inaugurated 103 redeveloped railway stations, situated in 86 districts across 18 states and Union Territories. These stations have been developed at a cost of over Rs 1,100 crore. Redeveloped railway stations These railway stations have been covered under phase-I of the project: Andhra Pradesh: Sullurupeta Assam: Haibargaon Bihar: Pirpainti, Thawe Chhattisgarh: Dongargarh, Bhanupratappur, Bhilai, Urkura, Ambikapur Gujarat: Samakhiali, Morbi, Hapa, Jam Wanthali, Kanalus Junction, Okha, Mithapur, Rajula Junction, Sihor Junction, Palitana, Mahuva, Jam Jodhpur, Limbdi, Derol, Karamsad, Utran, Kosamba Junction, Dakor Haryana: Mandi Dabwali Himachal Pradesh: Baijnath Paprola Jharkhand: Sankarpur, Rajmahal, Govindpur Road Karnataka: Munirabad, Bagalkot, Gadag, Gokak Road, Dharwad Kerala: Vadakara, Chirayinkeezh Madhya Pradesh: Shajapur, Narmadapuram, Katni South, Shridham, Seoni, Orchha Maharashtra: Parel, Chinchpokli, Vadala Road, Matunga, Shahad, Lonand, Kedgaon, Lasalgaon, Murtizapur Junction, Devlali, Dhule, Savda, Chanda Fort, NSCB Itwari Junction, Amgaon Puducherry: Mahe Rajasthan: Fatehpur Shekhawati, Rajgarh, Govind Garh, Deshnoke, Gogameri, Mandawar Mahuwa Road, Bundi, Mandal Garh Tamil Nadu: Samalpatti, Tiruvannamalai, Chidambaram, Vriddhachalam Junction, Mannargudi, Polur, Srirangam, Kulitturai, St Thomas Mount Telangana: Begumpet, Karimnagar, Warangal Uttar Pradesh: Bijnor, Saharanpur Junction, Idgah Agra Junction, Goverdhan, Fatehabad, Karchana, Govindpuri, Pokhrayan, Izzatnagar, Bareilly City, Hathras City, Ujhani, Siddharth Nagar, Swaminarayan Chappia, Mailani Junction, Gola Gokarannath, Ramghat Halt, Suraimanpur, Balrampur West Bengal: Panagarh, Kalyani Ghoshpara, Joychandi Pahar Anish Mondal is a business journalist with over nine years of experience. He writes on diverse subjects such as Infrastructure, Railways, Roadways, Aviation, Politics, Market, Parliamentary affairs, Corporate earnings, General and International news etc. ... Read More
Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Rajasthan school building collapse: Deaths of children demand more than government's ‘condolences'
Written by Jyotika Kalra It's difficult to imagine that a country that enshrines the Right to Education as a fundamental right could allow its classrooms to become death traps. But that's precisely what unfolded at Piplod village, in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, where the roof of a government primary school collapsed, killing seven children and leaving more than two dozen injured, including nine in critical condition. The children, most of them under the age of 14, had gathered in the classroom for the day's lessons. Moments before disaster struck, one girl stepped outside and warned teachers that 'kankar (gravel)' was falling from the ceiling. Her plea went unheeded. Minutes later, the roof caved in on the children. The teachers who were reportedly outside at the time of the incident were unhurt. The incident is a culmination of long-standing oversight failures and a deeper, often unspoken reality: Children from underprivileged communities are rarely treated as a priority. The school building had long shown visible signs of structural decay, cracked beams, water-stained ceilings, and sagging concrete slabs, which became even more vulnerable during the monsoon. The Rajasthan government, while expressing grief, has announced a high-level committee to investigate the matter. But one wonders what is left to investigate? More so when the building was visibly unsafe. Immediately after the accident, the District Magistrate acknowledged on record that there was already a list of school buildings in dangerously poor condition. But when it came to the government's plan for making those buildings safe, he had nothing concrete to offer. The only 'solution' in place, it seems, was to shut the schools down. No thought was given to what would happen to the students in the meantime. Where would they go? How would they continue learning? From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, everyone extended their condolences over the tragic deaths. State Education Minister Madan Dilawar also expressed sorrow and stated that the government would cover all the medical expenses for the injured students. At the same time, he also acknowledged that a large number of government school buildings in the state are in a dilapidated condition. Repair work, he said, has begun, and Rs 200 crore has been earmarked for the effort. Announcing free medical treatment for the injured may sound generous, but let's be honest — that's a bare minimum. The painful truth behind these failures is that schoolchildren do not constitute a political constituency. Aged under 14, they don't vote, don't protest, and don't march. Their parents, often daily wage workers or small farmers, rarely have the clout to compel urgency. The result? School safety isn't prioritised, and it becomes just another forgotten line item in a forgotten budget. What makes the situation even worse is that the mindset is reactive: Wait for the accident, then offer the bare minimum compensation and sympathy. This same quiet neglect plays out in cities like Delhi, just with a different backdrop. I've been representing the petitioner in WP (C) No. 8828 of 2017, Kush Kalra vs. Union of India, a Public Interest Litigation. This is a case that brings to the fore disturbing questions about the safety of school buildings in the nation's capital. The petition highlights problems we'd all like to believe are unthinkable in a modern city: Narrow entrances, broken staircases, and classrooms without fire exits. You'd expect urgency, but instead, we've been stuck in limbo. The case is still pending before the Delhi High Court. In this petition, we've drawn the Court's attention to the Supreme Court's 2009 judgment in Avinash Mehrotra vs. Union of India, a case that should've set the baseline for school safety nationwide. That ruling clearly laid out minimum safety standards for schools, including mandatory adherence to the National Building Code of India, 2005 (specifically Part IV on fire and life safety), and compliance with the Bureau of Indian Standards' fire safety protocols for educational institutions. These aren't just technical guidelines; they're safeguards meant to prevent exactly the kind of tragedies that we keep on witnessing. And yet, the data presented by the government in response is deeply troubling. According to their own submissions in Court, at least 202 schools in Delhi don't even qualify for the No Objection Certificates (NOC) by the fire department because they're tucked away in lanes too narrow for fire engines to access. Another 198 schools don't even have the basic safety features; there are unfinished electrical setups, staircases are too narrow or single, there's a lack of water tanks or fire pumps, and even something as basic as proper exit doors in classrooms is absent. We often speak of India@2047, a developed, global power, one of the world's largest economies. But how do we reconcile that ambition with a country where children still die in collapsing classrooms? What does 'Viksit Bharat' mean when we can't guarantee that a child sitting on a classroom bench will be safe? The writer is an Advocate, Supreme Court of India and former member, NHRC
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
RIC Returns: The Russia-India-China Trilateral Builds Leverage For India
By keeping the RIC option open, India signals to the West that its partnership shouldn't be taken for granted, while also strengthening the ongoing reset in relations with China The old idea of Russia-India-China (RIC) coming together as a powerful trilateral force is making a quiet return. It was once a bold vision: an idea floated over three decades ago to reshape the global order by bringing together the three largest Eurasian powers outside the Western bloc. But as talk of its revival grows louder, especially from Moscow and Beijing, it's India's measured response that stands out. The coming months will be crucial. Prime Minister Narendra Modi might attend the SCO summit in Beijing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is expected to visit India for the Russia-India annual summit—and India is also going to be hosting the Quad summit. The question is whether the RIC can see the light of day in the middle of all this. There are opportunities and obstacles in this time frame. While the USA-China-Russia dynamic boosts the relevance of RIC to Moscow and Beijing, the India-China equation weakens it. Ultimately, it depends on where India-US ties stand, the message India chooses to send to Trump, and also on how China behaves. It's not the first time we're hearing about the Russia-India-China (RIC) triangle. Dreamed up after the Cold War ended in the 1990s, the RIC idea was supposed to be a bold answer to a world order dominated by the West. The Russian Foreign Minister, Yevgeny Primakov, suggested then that three rising Asian giants—Russia, India, and China—should come together to reshape the rules. But while Russia and China are once again talking up the RIC, India has been measured in its approach. However, it is coming around. India describes RIC as a consultative mechanism where the three countries 'come and discuss global issues and regional issues of interest to them". And yet, the dates are yet to be worked out. As per MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, 'It is something that will be worked out among the three countries in a mutually convenient manner, and we will let you know as and when that happens at an appropriate time when the meeting is to take place". This is an old idea being revisited. But there was a reason why it did not take off in the past. When the RIC dialogue began in the early 2000s, Russia and India were inching close on energy and defence collaboration. Two agreements with China in 2003 and 2005 on boundary disputes stabilised India-China ties. Meanwhile, all three countries sought deep ties with the US and Europe. Russia craved a fresh relationship with America after the Soviet collapse. China was riding high on Western investment and trade. India was opening up to the world, and signed a civil nuclear deal with the US. There was no high-intensity friction with the US, and so the triangle never took off. Later, things got more complicated when China flouted boundary agreements, and started the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC, which passes through occupied Indian territory. Meanwhile, Russia's ties with the West were frayed after it took Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. And yet, by 2019, there was a formal leaders-level RIC summit in June 2019, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Vladimir Putin, and President Xi Jinping met and discussed global issues, multilateralism, and reform of institutions like the WTO and the UN. This was significant, but the high was over soon. China's border aggression in the Himalayas led to the bloody Galwan clash, after which India-China ties unravelled. Moreover, if you fast forward from 2019 to today, the world is messier. The West is divided. The US under Trump is unpredictable. Trade wars are heating up. And the Ukraine war and subsequent Western sanctions have pushed Russia even closer to China. Both Russia and China want to revive the RIC format. Russia has openly called for it. China has nodded in agreement. But India hasn't said much—at least not yet. While Russia's crashing ties with the West are a factor in India's hesitation, the real issue is China. There's deep strategic discomfort with China. India and China are in the midst of a reset. Rebuilding rules of engagement and seeking a bare-minimum level of trust is required to normalise economic relations and scale down military build-up on both sides at the border. Most recently, India reopened tourist visas for Chinese nationals after China's resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Yet, there is a giant trust deficit—with China's unwavering support to Pakistan even during Operation Sindoor, its weaponisation of trade dominance in rare earths, its claims on Arunachal Pradesh and an ambitious dam project on the Yarlung Tsangpo which may affect water levels in the Brahmaputra river. Still, the RIC is significant. For India, it's about leverage. By teasing the idea of RIC, India gets to build leverage. It's an obvious geographical mandate that the three Asian giants should come together and build a mutual understanding on matters of concern. Russia and China are craving for it— to seek India out and send a collective message to the West. Meanwhile, Trump threatens 10 per cent tariffs for BRICS countries, and a whopping 100 per cent tariff on nations buying Russian oil. Europe has sanctioned a major Indian refinery. And the US-India trade deal still hangs in the balance, with no certainty. Moreover, with the White House warming up to Pakistan and Trump repeating claims that he ended the India-Pakistan conflict, even when India denies that— there is something fundamentally broken in the India-US relationship. Trump's threats and coercion are challenging and his overtures to Pakistan are further eroding trust. By keeping the RIC option open, India signals to the West that its partnership shouldn't be taken for granted, while also strengthening the ongoing reset in relations with China—both of which are strategically important. RIC for India is not about being anti-western. At its core, RIC was never meant to be anti-Western. It was supposed to be a counterbalance—an alternative centre of power in a multipolar world. A non-West construct. Today's version of RIC seems more loaded. With Russia under Western sanctions, and China increasingly hostile to US allies in the Indo-Pacific, the grouping risks looking like a bloc of grievance rather than a vision. India doesn't want to be part of an anti-West club. It still values its partnerships with the US, Japan, Australia, and Europe. But it also wants to keep its options open. And for that, flirting with the RIC idea makes sense. RIC is not about shifting camps. India doesn't want to be in anyone's camp. It's about hedging bets, playing the field smartly, and maintaining strategic autonomy. About the Author Shubhangi Sharma Shubhangi Sharma is News Editor - Special Projects at News18. She covers foreign affairs and geopolitics, and also keeps a close watch on the national pulse of India. tags : China donald trump India pakistan Russia United states view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: July 28, 2025, 15:29 IST News opinion Finepoint | RIC Returns: The Russia-India-China Trilateral Builds Leverage For India Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
