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Economic Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
85.5% Indian households posses at least one smartphone, 99.5% youth use UPI: MoSPI survey
A recent survey by MoSPI reveals that over 85% of Indian households now own smartphones, with internet access available within the premises for 86.3%. Among young adults aged 15-29, smartphone ownership is nearly universal, and UPI dominates digital banking transactions. The survey highlights the increasing digital penetration across both rural and urban India. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: Over 85% Indian households own smartphones and UPI dominates digital banking among youth, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said per the results of Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025, around 86.3% of Indian households had access to the internet within household premises. In the age group 15-29 years, around 95.5% of persons own a smartphone among those persons who own a mobile phone (including smart phone) in rural areas. In urban areas, about 97.6% persons own a smartphone in the same age group.'In the age group 15-29 years, around 99.5% of person reported ability to perform online banking transaction through UPI, among those persons who reported ability to perform online banking transactions,' the ministry survey was conducted from January to March, 2025.'This initiative marks a significant step by National Statistics Office NSO ) towards implementing short-duration, focused surveys,' MoSPI 85.5% of households possessed at least one smartphone, according to the survey rural areas, around 79.2% males and 75.6% females in the age group 15 years and above own a smartphone among those who own a mobile phone. However, in urban areas, this is estimated at around 89.4% and 86.2% for male and female, respectively, for the same age survey covered the whole of India except some villages of Andaman and Nicobar Islands which were difficult to access. At the all-India level, the total number of first-stage units (FSUs) surveyed was 4,382 (2,395 in rural areas and 1,987 in urban areas). The total number of households surveyed was 34,950 (19,071 in rural areas and 15,879 in urban areas) and the total number of persons enumerated was 1,42,065 (82,573 in rural areas and 59,492 in urban areas).The major reason for not using internet were collected for ten categories including internet service is not available in the area, do not know how to use it or what internet is, not allowed to use the internet, high cost of equipment or service, lack of local content, privacy or security concerns, internet service is available but it does not correspond to personal/household needs, and do not need the internet.
The Print
4 days ago
- Business
- The Print
India's GDP victory over Japan is still a year away. Here's why
Equally clearly, the database presents estimates of India's GDP for fiscal year 2025-26 as $4.187 trillion and Japan's as $4.186 trillion—that is, India's GDP exceeds Japan's by 0.02 per cent in 2025-26. From this, many, if not most, analysts have erroneously concluded that this won't happen until March 2026. Why erroneous? Because it is a fiscal year conclusion, and the 'centre of gravity' of an April-March fiscal year is September. So, it is likely that the NITI Aayog CEO, in making his hasty conclusion, was wrong by only four months. As it happens, Subrahmanyam was hasty by approximately a year. Critics of the government's assertion make two points, one relevant and the other 'noisy'. The relevant point is that the IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO) database clearly shows that for the fiscal year 2024-25 (ending in March 2025), India's GDP was $3.9 trillion while Japan's was $4.0 trillion—that is, Japan was 2.6 per cent ahead. Fortunately, both Japan and India have the same fiscal year—April-March—hence adjustments to WEO data are not needed. There has been much discussion about the assertions made by BVR Subrahmanyam, the CEO of NITI Aayog, India's only official think tank. Speaking at a press conference following the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and presumably attended by senior bureaucrats, Subrahmanyam said that 'as I speak', India has overtaken Japan in current dollar GDP. Note that his conclusion and inference pertains to current dollar GDP, and we have to contend with the conversion from rupees to US dollars, and from Japanese yen to US dollars. India and Japan numbers First, let us look at the Indian estimate. Data just released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday shows that India's GDP in current prices for January-March 2025 quarter was Rs 88.17 trillion, or annualised Rs 352.7 trillion. On 23 May, the last market day before Subrahmanyam's assertion, the exchange rate was Rs 85.4/$—that is, current GDP in March 2025 was 352.7/85.4 or $4.13 trillion. Indian nominal GDP is growing by about 10 per cent a year. So, by March 2026, we should expect current India GDP to reach $4.54 trillion. Now we examine the fortunes of Japan's GDP. The seasonally adjusted quarterly estimate of Japan's GDP is 624.9 trillion yen for Q1 of 2025. On 23 May, the exchange rate was 142.6 yen/$; hence Japan's GDP in March 2025 was $4.38 trillion, some 6.1 per cent ahead of India's GDP on the same date. Given that exchange rates change every day, we need to decide as to what exchange rate we should use. Amongst many, we can use a calendar year estimate, a quarterly estimate or a 23 May estimate. But no matter which one we use, it will be wrong because exchange rates do not remain constant, and the future is not asked to see, que sera sera. All of us are concerned with the 23 May estimate, hence the discussion and this note. Japan's nominal GDP growth has averaged 3.4 per cent for the last three years. Assuming this to be the average for 2025-26, the estimate for March 2026 is $4.53 trillion GDP (as 4.38*1.034). So it will be sometime in March 2027 that India's GDP will exceed Japan's in current dollars. Again, que sera sera, the conclusion will depend on what happens to exchange rates. Changes in exchange rates affect nominal dollar GDP calculations. Assume in March 2027 all estimates come true except the $ yen exchange rate changes from 142.7 to 135 (the yen has become stronger by 5.7 per cent), then Japan's GDP will be 5.7 per cent higher and the day of decision will be delayed beyond March 2027. How do we interpret the dash to conclusion by the CEO? As a sports junkie, I recall countless occasions over the last 50 years when a sprinter looked over his shoulder to see his competitor – and lost the race. Also read: GDP data revisions—why India still struggles with sharp variations Lesson for India—good data, bad data What do we learn from his data-heavy exercise? First, haste makes wrong. Second, and more importantly, what difference will it make to the price of tomatoes (as I am often inclined to say) if India GDP is equal to Japan GDP? Third, and most important, and as pointed out by many, what matters is equivalence in per capita GDP, and on this, we are decades away—whether measured in current $ or PPP $ or constant dollars. One final comment. It is unfortunate that in the last ten years, most of the decision-making bureaucracy has lost respect for the data. The bad quality household consumer expenditure data for 2017-18 has still not been released. Several analyses of the 2017-18 data (see the 2022 IMF Working Paper authored by me and my colleagues Karan Bhasin and Arvind Virmani, and several other documents and books) conclude that the 2017-18 data was of such bad quality that the world, and India, needed to examine why it was of such bad quality. By not releasing that data, we have created an atmosphere where it is 'open sesame' for domestic and international scholars to question good Indian data. Food for thought for Niti and decision-making bureaucrats. Surjit S Bhalla is a former Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund. He tweets @surjitbhalla. Views are personal. (Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Editors pick newsletter GDP growth at 6.5% in 2024-25, slowest since the pandemic
While a significant uptick in economic activity in the fourth quarter (Q4) of financial year 2024-25 pushed Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the full year to 6.5%, as per the provisional estimates for 2024-25 released by the government on Friday, this is the slowest since the pandemic year 2020-21. As per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, real GDP growth in Q4 of 2024-25 accelerated to 7.4%, the fastest quarterly growth in the year. It was still slower than 8.4% growth seen in Q4 of the previous financial year. Quarterly GDP growth in Q3 stood at 6.4%. Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran, in a press briefing following the release of the data, sought to downplay the post-COVID slowdown of the economy, saying that India has held its own in a 'growth-scarce' global environment. 'If you look in real terms, India's growth rate differential in comparison to the average growth rate of advanced economies was on the lower side during the 'boom era' between 2003 and 2010,' Mr. Nageswaran explained. 'The growth differential post COVID is higher than the growth differential in the 'boom era'.' 'In other words, in a growth-scarce environment post COVID and despite the rising uncertainties due to political conflicts and trade tensions, India is holding up its growth numbers better than many advanced economies,' he added. The agriculture sector continued its strong performance in Q4, leading to a relatively strong showing for the full year. The 'Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry & Fishing' sector grew 5.4% in Q4 of the year, up from 0.9% in Q4 of 2023-24. This helped propel the full year's growth for the sector to 4.6% in 2024-25, up from 2.7% in 2023-24. The manufacturing sector's growth stood at 4.8% in Q4 of FY25, the second fastest quarterly growth in the year, on a high base of 11.3% in Q4 of the previous year. The sector grew 4.5% in the full financial year 2024-25, down from 12.3% in 2023-24. The construction sector returned to double-digit growth of 10.8% in the fourth quarter, the fastest in the year, and faster than the 8.7% seen in Q4 of 2023-24. The sector's full-year growth stood at 9.4% in 2024-25, down from 10.4% in 2023-24. Growth in the tertiary sector — a composite of all the services sectors — stood at 7.3% in Q4, in line with the growth in Q2 (7.2%) and Q3 (7.4%). Growth in Q4, however, was slower than the 7.8% seen in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. In the full year 2024-25, the tertiary sector grew at 7.2%, lower than the 9% in the previous year. The data released on Friday also showed that growth in household consumption quickened to 7.2% in 2024-25 from 5.6% in the previous year. Gross Fixed Capital Formation, a measure of asset creation by the public and private sector, saw growth slowing to 7.1% in 2024-25 from 8.8% in 2023-24. This is despite growth in this spending quickening to a six-quarter high of 9.4% in Q4. For FY26, the Reserve Bank of India has cut India's growth forecast to 6.5% from 6.7% estimated earlier for the current financial year on account of impact of global trade and policy uncertainties. In another set of numbers, the Government has met its fiscal deficit target of 4.8% of GDP in 2024-25 though total receipts came in slightly lower than expected, as per data released by the Controller General of Accounts. The Centre's total revenue — counting tax, non-tax and capital receipts — came in at ₹30.78 lakh crore in 2024-25 or 97.8% of its revised estimates for the year. Total expenditure stood at ₹46.55 lakh crore, also 97.8% of the estimates. The fiscal deficit, the difference between total expenditure and total revenue, at ₹15.77 lakh crore, stood at 4.8% of GDP based on the latest provisional estimates for the year. As part of the Centre's fiscal consolidation glide path, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had, in Budget speech in February, targeted fiscal deficit of 4.4% of GDP for FY26. Closer examination of the data show total revenue fell short of the revised estimates due in large part to a shortfall in miscellaneous capital receipts, that includes disinvestment proceeds. There was also a minor shortfall in tax revenue. The Centre earned ₹17,202 crore as miscellaneous capital receipts or just 52.1% of revised estimates for FY25. Department of Investment and Public Asset Management data show the government earned ₹10,131.32 crore via disinvestments in 2024-25. Corporate tax collection at ₹9.87 lakh crore in FY25 was 0.7% higher than revised estimates. Income tax collections, on the other hand, at ₹11.83 lakh crore were almost 6% lower than revised estimate. The Hindu's Editorials The Hindu's Daily Quiz Which of the following States has been under President's rule since February 13? Assam Meghalaya Manipur Nagaland To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
India releases provisional GDP estimates: What the data show
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday released two interrelated data sets on India's national income and the size of its economy. The first provides an estimate of India's economic growth in the fourth quarter (Q4, January to March) of the last financial year (2024-25 or FY25). The second provides provisional estimates of economic growth for FY25. Economic growth is measured using two metrics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is calculated by adding up all the expenditures made in the economy, including expenditures by Indians in their individual capacity, expenditures by governments, expenditures by private businesses, etc. This provides a picture of the demand side of the economy. Gross Value Added (GVA) looks at the supply side. It effectively measures the contribution of each sector of the economy by calculating and summing the value added (or income) at each stage of production. Both GDP and GVA are linked: they measure the same economic performance but through different routes. Their relationship can be spelled out using the following equation: GDP = (GVA) + (taxes earned by government) — (subsidies provided by government) MoSPI provides GDP and GVA data both in nominal terms (in present day prices) and real terms (after taking away the effect of inflation). Both nominal and real data have their own analytical significance. What makes the estimates released on Friday 'provisional' is that they will be revised over the next few years. For any financial year, GDP estimates go through several revisions. In January, the government releases the First Advance Estimates (FAEs) for that financial year. At the end of February, after incorporating the data from Q3 (third quarter, October to December), MoSPI comes up with the Second Advance Estimates (SAEs). By May-end come the Provisional Estimates (PEs) after incorporating data from Q4. The PEs are then revised over the next two years: the First Revised Estimates come a year later, and the Final Estimates two years later. For FY25, these will come in 2026 and 2027 respectively. Each revision benefits from more data, making GDP estimates more accurate. There are four key takeaways from the data released on Friday. India's nominal GDP grew to Rs 330.7 trillion (lakh crore) by the end of March 2025, a growth of 9.8% over the GDP in FY24. When converted into US dollar terms (dividing by the dollar- rupee exchange rate of 85.559) for international comparisons, by March-end, the size of India's economy was $3.87 trillion. It is noteworthy (Table 1) that the growth of the nominal GDP is less than 10%: at 9.8%, FY25's growth was the third-slowest since the current government took charge in 2014, and the sixth slowest growth rate in nominal GDP since India liberalised its economy in 1991. Table 1 also shows how the nominal GDP growth rate has been decelerating. The Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) since 2014-15 stands at 10.3% while the CAGR since the start of the second term of the NDA government in 2019 stands at 9.8% While the size of the economy uses nominal GDP data, international comparisons of growth rate are done based on the growth rate of real GDP. This is because inflation differs from country to country, and only real GDP provides a genuine understanding about how many actual new goods and services were produced in a particular year. India's real GDP grew by 6.5% in FY25 to reach a level of Rs 188 trillion. The deceleration in the pace of real GDP growth — compared to FY24, when the growth rate was 9.2% — is even more stark than in the case of nominal GDP growth. The gap between the real and nominal GDP shows the effect of inflation in prices of goods and services. Table 1 shows the CAGR of real GDP now stands at just above 5% since 2019. India's economy has lost its growth momentum over the past decade, with the CAGR being just above 6% since 2014. Table 2 shows the real GVA across the three main sectors of the Indian economy: 🔴 Agriculture and allied activities (such as forestry, etc.); 🔴 Industry (including sub-sectors such as manufacturing, construction etc.); and 🔴 Services (including fields like financial services, trade and hotels etc.) For FY 25, the real GVA grew by 6.4%, losing a step over the 8.6% growth in FY24. But notably, none of the sectors have grown at a CAGR anywhere close to 6% since 2019-20. The GVA data best captures the true momentum of the Indian economy; not only does it provide insight into the health of each sector, it also excludes the effects of taxes and subsidies, which can distort GDP figures. Since 2019-20 (Table 2), manufacturing GVA has registered a slower growth rate (CAGR of 4.04%) than even agriculture and allied activities (4.72%). This explains, to some extent, the high urban — in particular, youth — unemployment in India. It also provides an understanding of why labour has been moving back to Indian villages, and joining agriculture and allied activities. Boosting manufacturing growth has been a cornerstone for all governments, none more than the current one, which started the Make in India initiative in 2016. Indeed, manufacturing is the new battleground globally with the US, Europe, and China getting locked in a trade war to protect domestic manufacturing. The weakness in the Indian manufacturing sector is the most important and worrisome takeaway from the latest economic growth data. Udit Misra is Deputy Associate Editor. Follow him on Twitter @ieuditmisra ... Read More
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
GDP growth at 6.5% in 2024-25, slowest since the pandemic
While a significant uptick in economic activity in the fourth quarter of financial year 2024-25 pushed GDP growth for the full year to 6.5%, as per the provisional estimates for 2024-25 released by the government on Friday, this is the slowest since the pandemic year 2020-21. As per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, real GDP growth in Q4 of 2024-25 accelerated to 7.4%, the fastest quarterly growth in the year. Quarterly GDP growth stood at 6.4% in Q3. Nevertheless, growth in Q4 of 2024-25 was slower than the 8.4% seen in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year. Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran, in a press briefing following the release of the data, sought to downplay the post-COVID slowdown in the Indian economy, saying that India has held its own in a 'growth-scarce' global environment. 'If you look at India's growth differential in real terms, India's growth rate differential in comparison to the average growth rate of advanced economies was on the lower side during the 'boom era' between 2003 and 2010,' Nageswaran explained. 'The growth differential post-COVID is higher than the growth differential in the 'boom era'.' 'In other words, in a growth-scarce environment, post-COVID and despite the rising uncertainties due to political conflicts and trade tensions, India is holding up its growth numbers better than many advanced economies,' he added. The agriculture sector continued its strong performance in Q4, leading to a relatively strong showing for the full year. The 'Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry & Fishing' sector grew 5.4% in Q4 of the year, up from 0.9% in Q4 of 2023-24. This helped propel the full year's growth for the sector to 4.6% in the full year 2024-25, up from 2.7% in 2023-24. The manufacturing sector's growth stood at 4.8% in Q4 of FY25, the second fastest quarterly growth in the year, on a high base of 11.3% in Q4 of the previous year. The sector grew 4.5% in the full financial year 2024-25, down from 12.3% in 2023-24. The construction sector returned to double-digit growth of 10.8% in the fourth quarter, the fastest in the year, and faster than the 8.7% seen in Q4 of 2023-24. The sector's full-year growth stood at 9.4% in 2024-25, down from 10.4% in 2023-24. Growth in the tertiary sector — a composite of all the services sectors — stood at 7.3% in Q4, in line with the growth in Q2 (7.2%) and Q3 (7.4%). Growth in Q4, however, was slower than the 7.8% seen in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. In the full year 2024-25, the tertiary sector grew at 7.2%, lower than the 9% in the previous year. The data released on Friday also showed that growth in household consumption – as measured by the Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) figure — quickened to 7.2% in 2024-25 from 5.6% in the previous year. Gross Fixed Capital Formation, a measure of asset creation by the public and private sectors, saw growth slowing to 7.1% in 2024-25 from 8.8% in 2023-24. This is despite growth in this spending quickening to a six-quarter high of 9.4% in Q4 of 2024-25. Hand over Saeed, Azhar if serious about talks: Rajnath Singh Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that if Pakistan was serious about holding talks with India, it should first hand over Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder Masood Azhar. Speaking onboard INS Vikrant off the Goa coast, Singh described Operation Sindoor as 'India's frontal assault against terrorism' and warned that 'if Pakistan resorted to anything evil, it would face the Indian Navy's firepower.' He said the Navy had transformed into a strategic force, significantly strengthening India's maritime presence. 'It warns the enemy that India is no longer just a regional power, it is becoming a global power,' he said. Addressing officers and sailors onboard the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier, Singh said the Pakistani Navy had not ventured out during the operation, asserting that had it done so, it 'would have faced the consequences.' He said Pakistan must recognise that the 'dangerous game of terrorism it has been playing since Independence' must come to an end. 'Now, if Pakistan instigates any terrorist act against India, it will have to bear the consequences and face defeat. India will not hesitate. It will use every method to root out the menace of terrorism,' he said. Stating that anti-India activities were being conducted openly from Pakistani soil, Singh said India was 'completely free' to carry out operations against terrorists across the border and at sea. 'Today, the whole world is acknowledging India's right to protect its citizens against terrorism,' he added, urging Pakistan to dismantle the 'nursery of terrorism operating on its soil with its own hands.' Regarding the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the Minister reiterated India's position on Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. 'Both of them are not only in India's list of 'Most Wanted Terrorists', they are also UN-designated terrorists… Hafiz Saeed is also guilty of the Mumbai attacks, and justice must be done for his crime,' he said. Responding to Pakistan's repeated calls for dialogue, Singh said, 'If there are talks, it will only be on terrorism and PoK. If Pakistan is serious about talks, it should hand over terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India so that justice is served.' Highlighting the Indian Navy's contribution during the integrated operation, he said that while the Indian Air Force struck terror bases across the border, the Navy ensured maritime dominance. Its 'aggressive deployment in the Arabian Sea, its unmatched maritime domain awareness and supremacy confined the Pakistani Navy to its own shores,' he noted. Singh said that within 96 hours of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, ships from the Navy's Western Fleet conducted successful firings of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes from both the western and eastern coasts. 'It demonstrated the combat readiness of our platforms, systems and crew and our intent and readiness, forcing the enemy to come into a defensive posture,' he said. Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position, the Minister said: 'If any terrorist attack takes place on Indian soil, it will be considered an 'act of war' and responded to in the same way.' He added that Operation Sindoor was 'not yet over; it was just a pause and a warning.' Commending the armed forces for their swift execution and strategic clarity, he said India was prepared for contemporary warfare, which now extended into cyberspace, data dominance, and strategic deterrence. 'It is a matter of pride that the Navy is moving ahead in these areas,' Singh said. A statement from the Ministry of Defence noted that in addition to INS Vikrant, Singh also embarked on other key frontline warships that formed part of the Carrier Battle Group and played a pivotal role in confining Pakistani naval units to the vicinity of the Makran coast. IndiGo to terminate Turkish Airlines plane lease agreement before August 31 IndiGo has given an undertaking to the DGCA that it will terminate its agreement with Turkish Airlines under which it uses the latter's two Boeing 777 aircraft and crew to provide flights to Istanbul from New Delhi and Mumbai. 'In order to avoid passenger inconvenience due to immediate flight disruption, IndiGo has been granted a one-time last and final extension of three months to August 8, 2025 for these damp leased aircraft,' according to a press statement from the aviation regulator. There have been boycott calls for Türkiye following its support for Pakistan during the military strikes along the India-Pakistan border earlier this month. The statement said that though the regulator had initially rejected their request for extending the lease arrangement beyond May 31, 2025 for six months, temporary relief for three months was granted on the basis of an assurance from the airline that it will terminate the agreement before August 31. The airline 'wet-leased' two Boeing 777 aircraft in 2023 to provide flights to Istanbul to overcome the impact of a sizeable grounding of aircraft because of issues with Pratt & Whitney engines as well as technical limitations of using its own narrowbody A321 to fly to the Turkish capital it had originally deployed. The airline was being forced to either take a midway fuel stop or carry fewer passengers because of weight-related considerations on the route. Supreme Court gets three new judges, reaches full strength of 34 The Supreme Court got three new judges in Justices N.V. Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and A.S. Chandurkar, who were sworn in by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai in a short ceremony on Friday. With this, the number of judges of the court has reached its sanctioned strength of 34. This will continue until the retirement of Justice Bela M. Trivedi on June 9, 2025. Justices Anjaria, Bishnoi and Chandurkar were welcomed with warm handshakes by Chief Justice Gavai after they took their oath of office. Justice Bishnoi took the oath of office in Hindi. The Collegium headed by Chief Justice Gavai had recommended Justice Anjaria, who was Chief Justice, the High Court of Karnataka; Justice Vijay Bishnoi, who was Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court; and Justice Chandurkar, a judge of the Bombay High Court, to the top court in a meeting held on May 26, 2025. The government had approved their names for appointment on May 29, in just three days. Justice Anjaria's parent High Court is Gujarat and Justice Bishnoi's is the Rajasthan High Court. Justice Chandurkar started his career in the Bombay High Court itself. Justice Anjaria was born in March 1965 at Ahmedabad, and hails from a family of lawyers. As an advocate, he had been a senior panel counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation, BSNL, the Union Public Service Commission, the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education, and the National Council for Teacher Education. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in November 2011 and confirmed as a Permanent Judge in September 2013. He took oath as the Karnataka High Court Chief Justice on February 25 last year. Justice Bishnoi was born in March 1964 at Jodhpur. He enrolled as an advocate in July 1989. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Rajasthan High Court in January 2013 and became Permanent Judge of the High Court in January 2015. He took oath as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on February 5, 2024. Justice Chandurkar was born in April 1965 and joined the Bar in July 1988. He was elevated to the Bombay High Court Bench on June 21, 2013. Pakistan targeted civilian areas in J&K, and Poonch suffered most damage, says Amit Shah Promising to work out a comprehensive relief package and build more underground shelters for border residents affected by the Pakistan Army's shelling in J&K, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while touring the shelling-affected residential areas of Poonch on Friday, said the damage inflicted on the nine airbases of Pakistan by India forced it 'to come forward for a ceasefire proposal'. 'On the night of May 7, terror headquarters and other centres in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan were destroyed in response to the cowardly Pahalgam attack. Precise intelligence and measured targets by the security agencies saw no civilian deaths or the Pakistan Army being targeted. Though hundreds of terrorists were killed. 'Shaken Pakistan took it as an attack on itself. It proved before the world that Pakistan provides safe havens to terrorists. The next day, J&K's residential areas were targeted by shelling by Pakistan, with Poonch being the worst affected. It was only when Pakistan's nine air bases were damaged that it came forward for a compromise (ceasefire proposal),' Shah said in his speech in Poonch. The Union Home Minister said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new defence policy, India demonstrated that the response to such condemnable attacks 'would be of the same intensity'. 'It's clear any aggression or attack on civilians or on borders will be responded to strongly and forcefully. Our army demonstrated it,' he said. On the alertness and dedication shown by the Border Security Forces (BSF) during the three-day military confrontation, Shah said, 'The BSF has been vigilant during peacetime too. It was evident from the fact that 118 Pakistani posts were destroyed or damaged in minimum time by the BSF selectively. It will take the enemy four to five years to rebuild them.' He reiterated India's position on talks with Pakistan. 'Terror and talks, terror and trade can't go together. Blood and water can't flow together,' Shah said. Admitting that recent events impacting the development process in J&K, Shah said, 'J&K's path of development may have slowed down for a short time. It will resume its pace soon and no one can hinder J&K's development,' he added. He expressed his indignation over the shelling of residential areas and on the religious places, including a temple, a gurdwara and a madrasa in Poonch, by Pakistan. 'It was for the first time since 1947, Poonch saw shelling that also hit a gurdwara, a temple and a madrasa. The entire world condemned the attack by Pakistan,' the Union minister said. Meanwhile, Shah handed over job letters to the kin of those civilians who died in Pakistani shelling in Poonch and promised to work out a comprehensive package for the affected population. At least 14 civilians, including four children, died in Pakistani shelling. 'No relief or compensation can compensate for the loss of lives. However, it reflected the Centre's, the J&K government's and 1.4 billion people's sentiment towards the victims. We stand with them like a solid rock,' Shah said. He praised the J&K government, officials and elected representatives for standing with border residents and ensuring their safety. 'After Narendra Modi took over as the PM, we constructed 9500 bunkers in border areas and managed to save lives. Taking into consideration the recent shelling by Pakistan. more bunkers will be built to face any eventuality in the future,' the Minister said. In brief: Kerala rains: IMD declares red alert for eight districts With heavy rainfall continuing to batter Kerala districts, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday (May 30, 2025) upgraded the rainfall alert level for the State by putting eight districts on red alert for extremely heavy rainfall (above 20 cm in a 24-hour period). Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod are on red alert. All the remaining six districts are on orange alert for isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall. Indications are that rainfall is likely to taper off in most districts after Saturday (May 31, 2025). Only isolated heavy rainfall is expected in all 14 districts on Saturday (May 31, 2025). Some of the northern districts are also likely to receive isolated heavy rainfall till at least June 3, according to the latest update. Trump administration orders extra vetting of all visa applicants linked to Harvard University The U.S. State Department ordered all its consular missions overseas to begin additional vetting of visa applicants looking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose, according to an internal cable seen by Reuters on Friday (May 30, 2025), in a move that significantly expands President Donald Trump's crackdown against the academic institution. In a cable dated May 30 and sent to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed the immediate start of 'additional vetting of any non-immigrant visa applicant seeking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose.' Harvard University failed to maintain 'a campus environment free from violence and anti-Semitism', the cable said, and that the enhanced vetting measures were aimed at helping consular officers identify visa applicants 'with histories of anti-Semitic harassment and violence.' Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
