Chandigarh: Buoyed by the Centre’s aggressive push for Deregulation 2.0 — a sweeping initiative to slash compliance burdens and unlock land and construction potential — the Chandigarh administration swiftly embraced an ambitious reform blueprint earlier this year, promising streamlined approvals, higher floor area ratios (FAR), flexible zoning, relaxed building norms, and the first-ever amendments to…
Patiala: ANNAM.AI, the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture set up at IIT Ropar by the Union ministry of education, on Wednesday announced a set of initiatives aimed at accelerating AI-led, data-driven farming in India.As part of the plan, ANNAM.AI launched the deployment of 100 AI-based weather stations, with Punjab as the first…
Punjab air improves; 3 cities still among world’s worst (File Photo) BATHINDA: Two towns in Punjab apart from Chandigarh have ranked below 100 in the most polluted cities across the world as per its annual average particulate matter (PM2.5) in 2025. BATHINDA: Mandi Gobindgarh has been found to be most polluted in the state, which…
Chandigarh: Punjab govt has reassigned the portfolios previously held by sacked minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, with chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday—three days after the former’s resignation—allocating transport department to finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and jails department to Ravjot Singh.This reallocation follows an initial notification on Monday, which stated that the governor formally accepted…
With her tenure set to end on March 28, PU Vice-Chancellor Renu Vig has sought an extension, citing unfinished reforms and long-pending structural issues. In a conversation with TOI, Vig defends key decisions, flags funding gaps and concedes how the controversial ABVP star night went ahead despite her announcing its cancellation, backed by an all-party…
Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda on Monday targeted Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, alleging that he was acting as a “puppet” of the BJP in Haryana politics.Dhanda referred to the 2016 and 2022 Rajya Sabha elections, claiming that BJP-backed independent candidates won despite the Congress having adequate numbers, and alleged…
NEW DELHI: Haryana Police on Monday said that 857 online links related to rapper-musician Badshah’s controversial song ‘Tateeree’ have been removed in coordination with various social media platforms, following proper legal procedures.The action comes after an FIR was registered in Panchkula on March 6, citing objectionable lyrics and visuals in Badshah’s music video. Authorities have…
Kullu: The Himachal police have arrested an accused from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir in a case of charas smuggling. A spokesperson of the state police department said on Sunday that Vijay Kumar alias VK, a resident of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, was arrested from his residence on March 22 by a CIA team…
CHANDIGARH: Police have registered a case against former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar in connection with the alleged suicide of a Punjab State Warehousing Corporation official, officials said on Sunday.Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, district manager of the corporation in Amritsar, allegedly died by suicide after consuming a poisonous substance.Bhullar’s father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and his personal…
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday presented the state budget for the financial year 2026–27, with a total outlay of Rs 54,928 crore. The budget reflects a reduction of Rs 3,568 crore compared to the previous year, primarily due to the discontinuation of the revenue deficit grant (RDG) and the state’s…
