Latest news with #Malviya
Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
‘Rakshak' to safeguard rly staff from accidents on tracks
1 2 Prayagraj: To enhance safety of railway track workers, the Prayagraj Division of the North Central Railway (NCR) is set to introduce a device named 'Rakshak'-- an advanced approaching train warning system. "This innovative system aims to protect trackmen, keymen, patrolmen and other employees working on railway tracks from accidents caused by approaching trains. The system is especially effective in foggy conditions when visibility is low," said senior public relations officer of NCR, Amit Malviya. Malviya said it was observed that workers on the tracks often become deeply engrossed in their tasks, occasionally overlooking safety instructions issued by supervisors. This distraction sometimes led to tragic consequences when trains approached unexpectedly. To prevent the recurrence of such accidents, the railway administration is equipping track workers with the 'Rakshak' device. The initiative was first launched in the Agra Division of NCR. Malviya explained that 'Rakshak' is a Very High Frequency (VHF) based radio warning system directly linked to the railway's signal control system. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gold Is Surging in 2025 — Smart Traders Are Already In IC Markets Learn More Undo This handheld walkie-talkie style device provides alerts through LED indicators, audible buzzers and vibrations, warning workers of incoming trains. When the railway signals in the worker's section turn green, the device emits a loud beeping sound to alert them immediately. This timely warning helps workers stay vigilant and take necessary precautions to avoid accidents. The device will soon be distributed among employees in the Prayagraj Division.
Scroll.in
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Why the Supreme Court's new push to regulate social media threatens free expression
This week, three separate benches of the Supreme Court spoke of restricting freedom of speech on social media. On Monday, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Justice KV Viswanathan was hearing a petition by Kolkata-based Wazahat Khan seeking the consolidation of first information reports registered against him in Assam, Maharashtra, Delhi and Haryana over his social media posts. In his posts, Khan had made allegedly offensive remarks about Hindu deities and festivals. Since last month, he has been under arrest for the posts by the West Bengal Police. The bench continued the interim protection the court had granted Khan from arrest in the cases registered outside Bengal. But during the hearing, Nagarathna called for citizens to 'regulate themselves' on social media and exercise 'self restraint … to enjoy' the right to free speech and expression. She noted that the 'abuse of that freedom' was leading to the 'clogging of courts' – without providing any data to support this claim. She then called for 'guidelines to be issued to the citizens to comply'. Over Monday and Tuesday, another bench of the court comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Arvind Kumar heard an anticipatory bail plea by Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya. Malviya had been booked in May for hurting religious sentiments. His offence? Posting on social media a cartoon he had made in 2021 depicting a satirical situation featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a man dressed in what may appear to some as the uniform of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Earlier this month, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had not only rejected his application for anticipatory bail but also called for his arrest. The bench of Dhulia and Kumar granted Malviya interim protection from arrest. However, it called his cartoons 'inflammatory', 'immature' and 'offensive'. Describing this as a widespread problem, Dhulia said on Tuesday that the court would 'have to do something on this', adding that 'there should be a test', presumably about what may be permitted to be posted online. That same day, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi heard three petitions that it was hearing together. Two of the petitions were by YouTubers Ranveer Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani to club the FIRs filed against them in parts of the country and one by charitable organisation SMA Cure Foundation against comedians Samay Raina, Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar for making jokes about persons with disabilities. During the hearing, Kant told the attorney general that any guidelines framed by the government to regulate online content must 'balance' freedoms and duties. To be clear, under India's constitutional framework, fundamental duties are not grounds to restrict the freedom of speech and expression – or any other fundamental right. In February, while hearing Allahbadia's petition, Kant had first nudged the government to regulate obscene content on YouTube and said that the court 'would like to do something' and not 'leave this vacuum'. Each of these cases illustrates judicial overreach. In none of these cases had the parties sought regulations on online speech. Ideally, the court would have restricted itself to the actual subject of the petitions and adjudicated on them. Instead, it went into the tone and tenor of specific items of online content – not whether these constituted criminal offences – and has called for an online censorship regime. This trend does not bode well for free speech in India. It has revived the Union government's efforts to push for a sweeping Broadcasting Bill. Last year, it had mooted such a bill ahead of the Lok Sabha elections but withdrew it in August amid allegations by news associations and civil society organisations that it impinged on free speech online. It also leads to the right to free speech being circumscribed by public outrage and the sensibilities of judges. The Supreme Court, and all other courts, would do well to remember the judgement delivered in March by a bench comprising Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan. Quashing an FIR registered against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi for an Instagram post, the judgement, written by Oka, said: 'Sometimes, we, the judges, may not like spoken or written words. But, still, it is our duty to uphold the fundamental right under Article 19 (1)(a).' Here is a summary of the week's top stories. Opposition leader's son held. The Enforcement Directorate arrested Chaitanya Baghel, the son of Chhattisgarh's former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in a liquor scam case. The action came after the central agency conducted searches at their home in Durg district. The agency has alleged that a syndicate of officials, politicians and others ensured a state-run firm bought liquor only from select distributors who paid a commission. This action, the authorities alleged, resulted in over Rs 2,000 crore being diverted from the state exchequer between 2019 and 2022. Chaitanya Baghel received the proceeds of crime generated from the bootlegging of alcohol, claimed the Enforcement Directorate. Bhupesh Baghel claimed on Friday that the agency's action was an attempt to stop him from asking questions in the Assembly about the trees being allegedly felled by the Adani Group. Respite for Indian nurse. Yemeni authorities agreed to postpone the execution of Malayali nurse Nimisha Priya, which had been scheduled for Wednesday. No new date has been announced. This came a day after the Union government told the Indian Supreme Court that it could not do much more to prevent the action. Hailing from Kerala's Palakkad, Priya was imprisoned in Yemen for the alleged murder of Yemeni citizen Talal Abdo Mehdi in July 2017. In 2020, Priya had been sentenced to death by a trial court in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. On December 30, news reports claimed that Rashad al-Alimi, the chairperson of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, had approved the sentence. Assam eviction drive turns violent. A 19-year-old was killed and several injured after the Assam Police opened fire at protesters amid clashes at the site of an eviction drive in the Betbari area of Goalpara district. At least two police personnel were among the injured. Ten persons were arrested in connection with the violence. Authorities had cleared 140 hectares of land in the Paikan Reserve Forest on Saturday, displacing 1,080 families, most of whom were Muslims of Bengali origin. Since then, the displaced families have been living in tents and tarpaulin huts, which officials had asked them to dismantle. The clashes broke out on Thursday after authorities dug up the road that provided connectivity to the settlement. The state blames the police. Karnataka Police officers acted like 'servants' of the Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the state government told the High Court hearing the case about the stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium. Eleven persons were killed during the stampede on June 4. The state government also told the court that police officers had started making arrangements for celebrations after the team's victory in the league without ascertaining who had permitted the event. Further, the government claimed that the cricket team had submitted an application proposing a celebration even before the final match. The government defended the suspension of Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash, accusing him of failing to do his duty and causing 'public embarrassment'.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Rahul Gandhi has a 'traitor's mindset', says Amit Malviya
The BJP IT department head Amit Malviya on Saturday lambasted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi , accusing him of having a "traitor's mindset" after he demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on US President Donald Trump 's latest remarks on India-Pakistan military conflict. Speaking at the White House during a dinner he hosted for Republican senators on Friday, Trump said that "five jets were shot down" during the India-Pakistan conflict in May, and repeated his assertion that the fighting ended following his intervention. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Data Analytics Public Policy MBA MCA Cybersecurity Data Science Healthcare Artificial Intelligence Management Leadership Project Management Data Science Others Product Management Operations Management others Degree CXO Design Thinking Finance healthcare PGDM Technology Digital Marketing Skills you'll gain: Data Analysis & Visualization Predictive Analytics & Machine Learning Business Intelligence & Data-Driven Decision Making Analytics Strategy & Implementation Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Applied Business Analytics Starts on Jun 13, 2024 Get Details In an X post on Saturday, Gandhi asked Modi to clarify the US President's remarks, while asserting that the country has the right to know the truth. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Glīd Technologies Delivers: The World's First Autonomous Dual-Mobile Road-to-Rail Platform - TechBullion TechBullion Undo Reacting sharply to the Congress leader's demand, Malviya posted on X, "Rahul Gandhi's mindset is that of a traitor." Underlining that Trump neither took the name of India nor said that those five jets belonged to it, Malviya asked, "Then why did the Congress scion believe that they belonged to India? Why did he not believe that they belonged to Pakistan? Does he have more sympathy for Pakistan than his own country?" Live Events The truth is that Pakistan has not yet recovered from Operation Sindoor, but "Rahul Gandhi is feeling the pain," Malviya wrote in Hindi. "Rahul Gandhi should clarify -- Is he an Indian or the spokesperson of Pakistan?" he asserted. Malviya alleged that whenever the Indian Army teaches a lesson to the enemy, the Congress feels the sting. " Anti-India sentiment is no longer a habit of Congress, it has become its identity," he charged.
Hans India
5 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
'Numbers speak louder than noise': BJP slams Congress for 'lies' on economy
New Delhi: Claiming that "numbers speak louder than noise", BJP leader Amit Malviya on Friday ridiculed Congress leader Jairam Ramesh for spreading "lies" and "negativity" about the economy, and dished out data on record-breaking growth since 2014. The BJP's information technology cell chief wrote on X, "Another day, another desperate attempt by Jairam Ramesh and the Congress to spread falsehoods about India's economy." "While they wallow in manufactured gloom, the facts tell a different story - one of resilience, reform, and record-breaking growth, even as much of the world grapples with economic stagnation," he said. "The Congress should stop spinning lies and start facing reality. India isn't buying their negativity. The numbers speak louder than their noise," he said. Sharing facts and pointers indicating the economy's good performance, Malviya said, "India remains the fastest-growing major economy, while others are slipping into negative territory. PMI hits 14-month high (61 in June 2025) - Manufacturing PMI up to 58.4, marking 47 consecutive months above 50. Hiring momentum strong - staff costs for manufacturers up 10 per cent." "India is now the world's largest locomotive manufacturer. Inflation at a 6-year low - vegetables down 13.7 per cent YoY, cereals and pulses also easing," he said. Countering Ramesh's claims about GST loopholes, Malviya said, "GST collections hit Rs 22.08 lakh crore in 2024-25, a record driven by formalisation, not tax terrorism." Malviya, himself an ex-banker, went on to dish out data to support his argument about the "rock-solid macro fundamentals". "iPhone exports to the US surged 76 per cent. The stock market added $1 trillion in market cap since March, the highest among the top 10 global markets. Gross NPAs at a 15-year low of 2.3 per cent. E-way bill generation up 19 per cent YoY (June 2025) - clear proof of business momentum," said Malviya. The BJP leader highlighted the government's economic achievements and said, "This government has walked the talk - higher capital expenditure, targeted PLI schemes, and real reforms aimed at businesses and the common citizen alike." Earlier, Congress leader Ramesh targeted the government for what he called economic gloom and GST shortcomings. "It is abundantly clear that the economy needs a huge booster dose. That will happen only when drastic reform of GST takes place, when the atmosphere of tax terrorism ends, and when the fixation on the growth of just one or two big business groups through favouritism is abandoned," Ramesh wrote on X. "A research report issued by Nuvama Institutional Equities day before yesterday has underscored some concerns on the current state of the Indian economy," Ramesh wrote, claiming that key High Frequency Indicators are slowing or remain subdued. "These include credit and exports as well as GST collections. Private Consumption is also not gathering momentum. These include real estate, 2-wheeler, and 4-wheeler sales," he wrote. The former Union ministers added, "Industry is off to a weak start in 2025/26 with a similar trend in electricity and diesel consumption as well as medium and heavy commercial vehicles. Eight core industries are showing poor growth. Agricultural prices, determinants of well-being in rural India, remain weak."
Economic Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
Our courts confirm we're like this only
It is what it is. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court confirmed that India is not a liberal democratic society that puts the right of freedom and speech on par with - never mind above - the right to dignity . In other words, being offended gets a free hand to take punitive action against the person offending. The 2-member bench was hearing pleas against five standup comedians making 'insensitive jokes' - as opposed to 'sensitive' ones - about persons with disabilities. Where criticism would have been an earlier standard response against offensive remarks (that lie outside the ambit of fomenting enmity between communities), Article 21 of the Constitution, providing right to dignity, as part of right to life and liberty, has been stated to legally 'trump' Article 19, the right to freedom and expression. This observation mirrors the reality of how Indian society weighs freedom of expression Hearing a separate case on the same day, another Supreme Court bench granted cartoonist Hemant Malviya interim protection from arrest. He has been booked over a January 2021 cartoon mocking the PM and RSS over Covid vaccination. Such protection can be considered the limit of Indian liberalism's approach to satire, coming as it does a day after the court criticised Malviya for his 'immature' cartoon that portrayed its subjects in an 'undignified' manner after the accused apologised and deleted the cartoon from social does not share the kind of liberal leeway that countries allowing lampoons of PMs, presidents and monarchs still do. Perhaps, in this regard, it is ahead of the curve in a world growing increasingly truculent against sarcasm and jibes that were once frowned upon by hypersensitive parties, but legally tolerated.
