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Mint
08-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Sensex, Nifty 50 fall amid rising India-Pakistan tensions: 10 key highlights from Indian stock market today
Nishant Kumar Updated 8 May 2025, 03:39 PM IST The Sensex and the Nifty 50 closed in the red on May 8. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times)(Hindustan Times) Frontline indices—the Sensex and the Nifty 50—ended lower on Thursday, May 8, amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the government announced that Indian armed forces had targeted air defence radars and systems at multiple locations in Pakistan. The Sensex closed at 80,334.81, with a loss of 412 points, or 0.51 per cent, while the Nifty 50 ended 141 points, or 0.58 per cent, down at 24,273.80. Broader indices underperformed, as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices fell 1.90 per cent and 1.05 per cent, respectively.
Hindustan Times
08-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Swift and ready: Mumbai clears mock drill in 3 minutes
MUMBAI: A fire in a building caused by an 'air strike' at Cross Maidan in South Mumbai saw civil defence volunteers, including NCC cadets, NDRF and NSS cadets converging at the site, cordoning off the area and evacuating people. Fire tenders and ambulances, sirens blazing, arrived in minutes. With speed and precision, fire fighters 'rescued' an individual 'stranded' on the fifth floor of the burning building. Mumbai, India - May 7, 2025: Civil Defence Services, NDRF and Mumbai Fire Brigade personnel take part in Mock Drill as per MHA guidelines at CIvil defence ground, Marine Lines in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times) Conducted at 4pm, this mock drill was part of Operation Abhyas (Operation Exercise), a nation-wide exercise to assess citizens' preparedness in the event of a war or war-like situation. Mock drills have been ordered across the country by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in light of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Similar drills were last conducted 54 years ago, during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. On Wednesday, Mumbai was put to the test, with a mix of air-raid sirens, evacuation simulations, injury response exercises and blackouts. These will continue for the next five days, said Maharashtra's director of civil defence, Prabhat Kumar. 'We tracked everyone's response time, and it was satisfactory as per the situation. The average time was around three minutes, but this was a planned drill and not a spontaneous one,' added Kumar. 'The rain felt like a natural hurdle, which only made the drill better as it would prepare everyone for real-life situations.' Unlike soldiers who are trained in active combat, he added, these exercises are meant to empower and train citizens to tackle emergency situations or any man-made emergency to minimise the loss of lives. At Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), commuters were shown how to quickly drop to the ground and lie down, to minimise the risk to themselves. The drill, which took place at around 3pm, saw 30 personnel from the Civil Defence Organisation of the Central Railway take part, accompanied by air-raid sirens. They demonstrated how civilians should respond, as a precautionary measure. An 'injured' person was lifted and transported sans a stretcher. A few feet away, another 'emergency' scenario was unfolding. Trained personnel demonstrated how to manage severe blood loss and other life-saving techniques to minimise haemorrhaging. Volunteers also showed civilians what to do in a fire emergency, when no fire extinguisher is present. They also demonstrated how to operate a fire extinguisher, so that everyone from railway staff to passengers would know how to use them, if the need arose. K K Mishra, Deputy General Manager of the Central Railway, and Dr Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer, were present to oversee the proceedings. Similar drills were conducted at other important railway stations and workshops on the Central Railway network, including Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Dadar, Matunga, Manmad, and other key locations. At Bandra Railway Colony, around 150 residents assembled outside their buildings to the sound of a siren at 11am. Four buildings were evacuated, with residents briefed by civil defence volunteers regarding precautions to be taken during an air strike, steps to protect oneself and family, along with a live demonstration on how to take cover during bombings. Around 650 railway staff at the Lower Parel workshop were instructed on how to tend to the injured and shift them to safer places. Further away, at Kalyan, a large-scale mock drill was conducted at Maxxi Ground under the guidance of the Thane District Collector and Civil Defence Controller, Ashok Shingare, at 4pm. The simulated event was an air strike on Jai Ganesh Society, resulting in 14 'injuries' and one 'fatality'. Four sirens sounded simultaneously across Kalyan and surrounding areas, simulating an air/bomb attack. Citizens were swiftly directed to safe zones, and 'rescue operations' commenced, including search missions, evacuation of injured and trapped civilians, and the provision of first aid. A total of 26 agencies participated in this massive exercise, including Civil Defence, revenue and police departments, Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation, Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF), Fire Brigade, Home Guards, and national Service Scheme. More than 100 police officers, 15 TDRF personnel, 25 disaster volunteers, and 14 NCC cadets were involved. Bringing Operation Abhyas to a close on Wednesday was a blackout at 8pm in Anushakti Nagar in Govandi and the Atomic Colony in Tarapur.
Hindustan Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
SC paves way for local body elections in Maharashtra
Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the path for elections to 687 urban and rural local bodies in Maharashtra, some of which haven't had any elected representatives for over five years and are ruled by state government-appointed administrators due to ongoing litigation over reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and delimitation exercises. Mumbai, India - Feb. 21, 2017:People cast their vote during the BMC elections at Byculla in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO) A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh asked the state election commission (SEC) to notify the elections in four weeks and hold them within four months, while allowing the SEC to seek more time in appropriate cases. It also stated that reservation for OBC candidates in the elections will be as it existed before the submission of the JK Banthia Commission report in 2022—a flat 27% quota. The commission had recommended a quota up to 27% for OBCs. According to SEC officials, the Supreme Court's order has brought clarity on when to hold the polls, although ambiguities remain on the way to conduct them. 'It is for sure that the elections will be conducted in October-November, but questions remain on the process to be followed related to the formation of wards, reservation, etc. It will be clear once the court uploads the order online, and we expect it to be done by late night,' said a senior official from the SEC who requested anonymity as they aren't authorised to speak to the media. If the Supreme Court says that ward formation will be similar to how it was before 2022, only one month would be required, the officer said. The ward formation and reservation process can be conducted simultaneously. The SEC has to invite suggestions and objections from stakeholders, followed by the publication of the electoral rolls based on the ward formation. This entire process can be completed in three and a half months, the official added. 'We, however, are expecting clarity on whether the OBC quota directives are restricted to 96 local bodies whose elections were stayed or to all bodies. Similarly, it is unclear how many wards are to be considered—the number decided by the Uddhav Thackeray government or the subsequent Eknath Shinde government,' said another SEC official. It is also unclear whether the Supreme Court's order will apply to the BMC polls, as a petition related to the Mumbai civic body was not part of the bunch of petitions heard by the top court on Tuesday, said the SEC officer. 'The SC has directed the SEC to take a call on the elections to all the local bodies, and it may move the apex court in case of any ambiguity over the elections to the BMC. The SEC can even mention the BMC-related petition in the apex court in the coming weeks and hold the elections,' added the official. However, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told HT that the BMC elections will be held along with other corporations. 'I thank the Supreme Court for directing that the elections be held within four months. We will request the State Election Commission to complete the process promptly so that the elections are conducted on time.' State election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said, 'We will study the SC judgement to chalk out a plan for ward formation, delimitation and reservation. It is, in a way, easier for us as the OBC reservation prevailing before 2022 has to be followed for ward formation and reservation.' The SEC is expected to request the court to allow the elections to be held after the monsoon, in October-November, and at least in two phases, officials said. Mini assembly elections The elections will be the first major electoral battle between the ruling Mahayuti and opposition parties after the BJP-led alliance's massive victory in last year's assembly elections. Since these elections will be held in urban and rural local bodies across the state, they are being touted as mini assembly elections. While the opposition MVA coalition did well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by winning 31 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, the Mahayuti turned the tables in the assembly elections held six months later. It won 230 out of 288 seats and returned to power with a thumping majority. The MVA then alleged foul play by the Mahayuti, which was denied by the latter and the Election Commission of India. Relations between the two sides have turned bitter over the past four months, and the ruling parties have poached from the three MVA parties to damage them further. The outcome of the elections will decide whether the three MVA parties, especially the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), have a better future. The most significant election will be the Mumbai civic polls, which could decide the fate of Shiv Sena (UBT). For over three decades, the undivided Shiv Sena controlled the BMC. Following the split in the party in 2022 and its crushing defeat in last year's assembly elections, Thackeray will try hard to win power in the BMC. His bête noire, Shinde, will, however, leave no stone unturned to deny Thackeray a chance to bounce back. The BJP, too, is determined to win power and put its own mayor in Mumbai for the first time. 'The ruling parties still seem comfortable, although there have been issues that were concerning for them, especially the state finances,' said Padmabhushan Deshpande, a Mumbai-based political analyst. 'However, it seems the elections will be a bigger challenge for the opposition parties. Both NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) are yet to fully recover from their [assembly election] defeat. The Congress is making some efforts, but it remains to be seen if they succeed. It's barely four months since the assembly elections, and the mood of the people is still not against the ruling alliance. It will be interesting to see how the electoral battle plays out.'
