02 May 2026
Cabinet committee on security cleared purchase of 56 C-295 MW transport aircraft on Wednesday. 10 of the Air Bus’ military planes will be delivered by Spain in flyaway condition and 40 will be manufactured in India by Tata Consortium.
The deal is said to be worth $2.5 billion. Tata will manufacture the military transport aircraft within a timeframe of 10 years. The aircraft will replace IAF’s Avros which were commissioned in the early 1960s.
From 14 crore ration bags printed with his picture to 5 crore “Thank-you Modiji” postcards mailed from booths nationwide, from identifying 71 spots for clean-up in rivers to a high-voltage social media campaign showcasing vaccination videos and seminars on his life and work: these are among the key elements of a three-week-long campaign the BJP will roll out to showcase Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Timed with his 71st birthday (September 17) and 20 years of his public life as an administrator (October 7, 2001, when he first became Gujarat CM), this unprecedented drive holds significance in the wake of the brutal second wave of the Covid pandemic.
The death and distress, both in lives and livelihood, that touched countless homes is widely believed — even within the party — as having dented popular confidence in the Modi government.
The Taliban announced on Tuesday a 33-member team for an interim government that will be headed Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, one of the movement’s founding members who had also been foreign minister and then deputy prime minister in the group’s previous 1996-2001 regime. The group’s co-founder, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, whose negotiations with the US led finally to the latter’s pullout from Afghanistan, will be his deputy.
Akhund, now acting PM, has been the head of the Taliban’s Rehbari Shura, or leadership council, for about two decades. Baradar, or brother, a fighting name bestowed on him by the late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, whom many expected would lead the Taliban government this time, had been deputy defence minister in the group’s last stint in power and had served prison time in Pakistan, the latter distinction possibly costing him the top job.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to begin his two-day Jammu visit from Thursday during which he will also visit Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine on foot from Katra "Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will walk up to Mata Vishno Devi Temple from Katra during his Jammu visit beginning Thursday," said party`s Jammu and Kashmir unit President Ghulam Ahmed Mir.
Sharing more details, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Mir said that Gandhi has special faith in the holy temple and he wanted to visit Vishno Devi Shrine for the past many years.
Announcing the collaboration of Gujarat University with the government think tank in agriculture, innovation and allied sectors, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar Tuesday said that there is not much time left to take care of the planet and warned against “consumerist culture”, referring to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
Kumar, who met Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and senior secretaries in Gandhinagar during his visit to the state, also said that the unique achievement of Gujarat in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) should now be compared with states of developed countries of the world.
Kumar visited the Gujarat University to sign a Statement of Intent between NITI Aayog and the university to collaborate in agriculture, innovation and allied sectors.,
