Latest news with #Himanshu
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Time of India
4 murders in 3 years: How 2 Rohtak gangsters sparked a deadly rivalry
Rohtak: A deadly gang war that began over a car dispute six years ago claimed its fourth life in Rohtak in three years on Saturday. Anil, an uncle of gangster Ankit alias Baba was shot 15 times by members of rival gang led by Himanshu alias Bhau, a rival of the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, while he was on his way to the fields. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Once school friends, Himanshu Bhau and Ankit, both from Ritoli village, turned against each other in 2019 following a dispute over a private bus and a car, according to villagers. Ankit's associate Hansraj purchased a bus and sought security from Himanshu's gang to manage scuffles during operations. In return, Himanshu demanded a car, which was purchased on loan using documents from Ankit's family. When EMIs defaulted, the car was asked to be returned, but Himanshu's gang refused, and hostilities escalated. In 2019, Himanshu shot at Ankit's brother Sunny during a stadium altercation. Arrested, Himanshu fled from a juvenile home. Ankit, in retaliation, expanded his gang and began targeting Himanshu's allies, sparking a series of revenge killings and extortion rackets. On March 2, 2022, Ankit's gang killed Himanshu's cousin Rohit alias Bajrang. Another villager, Rajender, was also shot dead when he tried to intervene. In retaliation, Himanshu's men murdered Ankit's associate Hansraj just five days later. Himanshu, by then operating under the alias "Bhau" fled India on a fake passport and is currently residing in the US, still orchestrating operations remotely. Ankit and his brother Sunny are in jail but reportedly continue to run their gang from behind bars. The latest killing of Ankit's uncle Anil, who was involved in earlier criminal surveillance, was allegedly carried out on Himanshu's orders, according to local sources. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Both gangs have lost two members each in this turf war. The Bhau gang reportedly controls half of Ritoli village and has operatives across states, while the Baba gang comprises 25–30 members in the village and over 150 in surrounding regions. Locals, terrified, now refrain from speaking openly about the feud. BOX Goon at 17, from Rohtak village to US Gangsters Ankit alias Baba and Himanshu alias Bhau belong to Ritoli village in Rohtak district. Ankit's first criminal case was filed in 2016 under the SC/ST Act and assault. He was later charged with murder in 2022 and arrested in 2023. His brother Sunny also has multiple cases, including attempted murder and extortion. Himanshu Bhau, who was once a regular student, turned criminal at age 17. After opening fire during a dispute, he was sent to a juvenile facility in Hisar but escaped. Since then, he has been linked to multiple crimes in Rohtak, Jhajjar, and Delhi, and has ties with the Neeraj Bawana and Naveen Bali gangs. In 2022, Himanshu fled to Portugal on a fake passport and later reached the US. Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against him in 2023. Haryana Police announced a Rs 1.5 lakh bounty, while Delhi Police placed Rs 1 lakh on his head Despite being overseas, he continues to extort businessmen in Delhi-NCR and Haryana MSID:: 121572671 413 |
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
2 H'bag boys defeat penury to bag third positions in science
1 2 3 4 Hazaribag: Kishore Kumar, the son of a daily wager in Pankri Barwadih of Barkagaon, and Himanshu Kumar, the son of a shopowner at Sariya village under Tatijharia block, became joint third toppers in science, securing 94.8% (474 marks). A student of Barkagaon +2 High School, Kishore has cleared JEE (Mains) exams and is waiting for the JEE (Advanced) result. "I hope to get admission to NIT, Jamshedpur," he said. An elated father, Sainath Kumar Sahu, said. "My son worked hard to clear the first step of achieving his dream. Many challenges lie ahead in his path of becoming an officer." The principal of Barkagaon +2 High School, Krishna Kumar Kanhaiya, said, "Kishore has been a topper in his class all through." Himanshu, a student of Vishnugarh Inter College in Hazaribag district, said, "I did not take the help of any coaching institute. My dream is to serve the society by becoming a doctor and hence, I am preparing for NEET." The youngest among two brothers and a sister, Himanshu said, "Our father did not let his limited financial resources affect our education." His elder brother, Priyanshu Kumar, is a student of IIT- Kharagpur.
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Himanshu: India's economy is too complex to afford less than robust statistics
Recent months have seen a flurry of data and report releases from the National Statistics Office (NSO). While some of these are routine surveys conducted by it, in some cases the NSO has made significant changes in the nature of data made available and the frequency of releases. India's statistical system had come under criticism for denying or delaying access to survey data. We have seen delays in updating the base year for key variables like the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and National Accounts, both of which have a base which is more than a decade old. Improved survey coverage and data-release frequency would help generate confidence in our statistical system. But it is also essential for statistics to serve as inputs for economic analysis and policy formulation. Regular base-year updates for many macro variables are necessary, given the economy's dynamism. Also Read: Headline labour force survey data masks a pressing employment problem The NSO has expanded the coverage of its annual Periodic Labour Force Surveys (PLFS) and also increased the frequency of data releases from quarterly to monthly, starting with April 2025. Going monthly has meant that the NSO had to increase the PLFS sample size by 2.65 times to 272,304 households, together with changes in sampling design for the generation of monthly estimates. A larger sample also lets the NSO release quarterly estimates for rural areas (done only for urban areas so far). PLFS data has been a valuable tool to track trends and patterns in India's workforce structure since 2017-18. Along with their precursor Employment-Unemployment Surveys (EUS), available since 1972-73, PLFS results provide a comparable data series on employment patterns. However, these also remain the only credible source of information on the quality of job and earnings from them. While there are several sources for the wages and earnings of casual workers, EUS-PLFS data-sets are the only source of information on the earnings of regular workers, who account for almost one-third of all workers in the economy. The monthly report for April 2025 released on 15 May is the first of the monthly series. It presents estimates of the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Workforce Participation Rate (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) by 'weekly status' for rural and urban areas. Also Read: Himanshu: What consumption data reveals of India's economy For the latter, the findings are broadly similar to what was revealed by the quarterly report for October-December 2024. But its rural estimates are significantly at variance with findings of the annual report for 2024, with a lower LFPR and WPR in April 2025, and significantly higher unemployment rate for the 15-29 age group (and also for the country's 15-plus population). While monthly estimates of basic indicators are useful, these are of limited relevance for an economy whose employment structure is very diverse and complex. Unlike rich countries where most workers have regular payroll jobs in non-farm sectors, the Indian workforce relies mostly on informal employment. Even today, almost half of all Indian workers are engaged in agriculture, compared to less than 5% in most developed countries. Variations in the LFPR, WPR and UR are less relevant in an economy with a large proportion of the population vulnerable in terms of job quality and income assurance. If the purpose of the monthly series is to provide meaningful insights into our labour market, it requires detailed data on sectoral shares, the nature of enterprises and earnings from employment. Fortunately, the data lets us generate most of these estimates. The PLFS's re-introduction of land information allows rural analysts to delve deeper. Also Read: TCA Anant: How India's statistical system could win the ongoing war of narratives The principal challenge now relates to how we understand and characterize the labour market. Given the emergence of new employment categories such as gig work and new forms of labour arrangements interlinked with land and credit markets, we need a better understanding of what holds back the creation of quality jobs in the economy. The revamped PLFS series also expands its questionnaire on education and skills, which have emerged as important drivers of changes in the economy's employment structure. While the NSO has stepped up to provide the basic data necessary for us to analyse and understand the complexity of the country's labour market, deeper research is now needed for this move to spell meaningful policy engagement. Research and policy must look beyond basic estimates of the WPR and unemployment rate. Expanding the monthly release to include wages/earnings, job quality and other relevant co-variates would aid the process of analysing India's employment challenge. The author is associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at the Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi.
Mint
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Andy Mukherjee: Watch out for food and fuel volatility in India-US trade talks
From dismantling its protectionist 'inspector raj' to cutting duties on Tesla cars and treating Amazon and Walmart on par with domestic retailers, India is under pressure on many fronts in its trade talks with the US. While concessions in several of these areas will be beneficial to Indians, the sticking points will be food and fuel. Take ethanol blending in petrol. New Delhi has, over the past quarter century, modelled its intercity transport network on America's by centering it on highways, rather than rail. To manage the pollution from cars and trucks, and to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, the government has mandated the addition of 20% bio-ethanol in petrol. Also Read: Himanshu: Trade deals mustn't hurt the interests of Indian farmers But the programme has a politically important third goal: Enhancing local farm income with the creation of a market in agricultural surplus and byproducts. This is where trade interests will collide. American farmers are allowed to sell corn-based ethanol to India for industrial use, but not for blending in transport fuel. Washington views this as an unfair non-tariff barrier. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is reviewing a US request to lift the restrictions, Bloomberg News reported this month. It's easy to see why prizing open the fast-growing market for ethanol mixing may be important to US President Donald Trump. In theory at least, estimated annual demand of 10 billion litres is big enough to absorb all of the corn grown in Indiana. A big win in agriculture will help the US president at a time when his trade war has all but closed off the opportunity to export sorghum from Kansas and Texas to China, where it is used in feedstock and to make Baijiu liquor. American corn, too, will need new buyers in Asia as Chinese demand retreats. Trump is threatening to scuttle India's manufacturing ambitions. He has warned Apple of a 25% tariff if it assembles iPhones meant for sale in the US anywhere overseas. [To New Delhi's dismay], he has also repeatedly claimed to have been the peacemaker who engineered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in their recent hostilities. It seems New Delhi has no option except to be conciliatory; it must at least reach a preliminary deal to avoid the 26% reciprocal tariff ahead of its 9 July deadline. Also Read: Genetically modified crops: Widen consultations to reduce food security risks Yet, when it comes to food and fuel, India's Narendra Modi government will have to proceed carefully. Domestic sources of biofuels range from maize to broken rice, rotten potatoes, sugarcane and molasses. These first-generation sources of ethanol achieve 30% to 40% reduction in carbon emissions. Homegrown clean-tech firms are investing billions of dollars in second-generation bio-ethanol. Hyderabad-based AM Green has acquired a Finnish technology company to extract green fuel and chemicals from bamboo, grass and bagasse, the pulp of crushed sugarcane stalks. Blending gasoline with 2G ethanol can cut carbon emissions drastically. The bigger advantage is that these fuel sources don't compete with food. That isn't true of corn. Amid low global oil prices, there is no economic case for India to grow a new dependency on an imported fuel-mixer that will leave its own farmers earning less from crop residues. They will, in turn, want higher subsidies for their main produce. Politically, they're too important a constituency for their demand to be ignored. Farmers in the country's north have been asking for legally guaranteed minimum prices. So far, the Modi administration has resisted the pressure, but caving in to the White House on ethanol could spawn fresh unease. Also Read: Ajit Ranade: Decode Trump's trade strategy for India's own game plan Washington is also pushing New Delhi to allow genetically modified food, especially corn and soybean, its two biggest farm exports by volume. India allowed GM cotton in more than 20 years ago. But that's where it drew the line. Food security for 1.4 billion people is a strategic concern and policymakers aren't keen to let multinational seed companies gain control. Even a locally developed variant of mustard, which received its environment clearance three years ago, is stuck in legal limbo. Yet, here a concession may be in India's own interest. The population has already been exposed to GM soybean and canola seeds via imported edible oils. Besides, China, the second-largest seed market after the US, has already laid down a clear roadmap for GM crops. Farmer organizations in India want to follow the same path. A boost to farm productivity may help lower urban factory workers' inflation expectations by making food prices less volatile. That will keep a tighter lid on manufacturing wages without a drop in living standards. Assembling iPhones in India could become more competitive, even with Trump's tariff threat. ©Bloomberg The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services in Asia.
Mint
27-05-2025
- General
- Mint
Toxic spill: Clean up first, invoke the law later
In the early hours of Sunday, a cargo ship capsized and sank off the coast of Kochi, Kerala, spelling trouble for a vast coastal stretch. Apart from over 84 tonnes of diesel and more than 367 tonnes of furnace oil, the Liberian-flagged vessel was carrying over 640 containers, many full of hazardous cargo. Also Read: The real significance of Kerala's – and India's – first water budget Alarmingly, a dozen had calcium carbide, which reacts with water to release acetylene, a highly flammable gas that puts marine life at harsh risks. The ship sank about 70km off Kochi's coast, but flotsam has shown up on the shores of Kollam and Alappuzha. Also Read: Why a bountiful monsoon matters more this year, in five charts A significant oil spill has been confirmed by the Indian Coast Guard and clean-up equipment has been despatched aboard a special ship. Skimmers and oil dispersants are reportedly being used. Also Read: Himanshu: India needs official poverty data for effective policymaking The director of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute has warned that an oil slick could harm marine productivity, especially during the current breeding season, a crucial period for pelagic fish on which fisherfolk depend for livelihood. Fishing has been banned within a radius of about 37km from where the vessel went down. Clearly, the ecological threat must be tackled first. How the law deals with any damages can come later.
