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A careless mistake by a government official has resulted in a unique situation in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru. For the past ten years, the Chikkamagaluru Tehsildar has been mistakenly paying Rs 90,000 annually to the Kodandarama temple for religious events, far exceeding the allotted amount. This error has now led to the temple's chief priest being asked to return a total of Rs 4.74 lakh.

Every year, the Karnataka government provides financial assistance to temples for conducting pujas and other religious ceremonies called Swasthik. However, for the Kodandarama temple, the Chikkamagaluru Tehsildar consistently paid Rs 90,000 annually since 2013, regardless of the actual allocated amount, which varied between Rs 24,000 and Rs 60,000 during the period.

As the Uttar Pradesh government has released around ₹3,000 crore funds for land acquisition, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) on Tuesday asked the Gautam Budh Nagar administration to acquire at least 5,000 hectares near the upcoming Noida airport in Jewar for the development of industrial and residential use.

The state government has in two parts released around ₹3,000 crore, which is half the funds required to acquire 5,000 hectares of land. The other half -- another ₹3,000 crore -- will be arranged by Yeida for this mega acquisition project.

On the eve of the 75th Republic Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has exhorted the armed forces, the military-civilian bureaucracy, and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to get their act together, erase cost overruns and project delays, and focus on making “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) a success in terms of defence manufacturing.

Media learns that Modi held a high-level review meeting with top officials on January 13 and told them to ensure total accountability in Indian defence planning. The meeting was attended by Dr PK Mishra, principal secretary to PM, Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser, Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff, Giridhar Aramane, defence secretary, and Dr Samir V Kamat, secretary DRDO and chairman DRDO, apart from other top officials.

A massive crowd thronged the entrance of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya Tuesday morning, keeping the security agencies and the temple management busy.

While the administration had expected a large gathering on Tuesday following the consecration ceremony led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, the pilgrims started arriving at the gates around 3 am. By 6 am, the Ram Janmabhoomi Path leading to the temple was full of pilgrims trying to push their way inside.

Officials said the time to open the temple gates after the morning rituals was 7 am, but a huge crowd had already assembled. Sources said additional force was called in to manage the crowd before the gates were opened for 'darshan'.

India's ties with the Maldives seemed set to take another hit with Male effectively declaring that it would allow a dual use "spy" Chinese vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 03, to make a port call, regardless of Delhi's concerns about the vessel's research activities.

The Maldives foreign ministry on Tuesday said the port call was meant only for rotation of personnel and replenishment, and that the vessel would not conduct research in Maldivian waters.