August 28, 2026

In the last five months, a little over 1.4 lakh households surrendered their LPG connections. NEW DELHI: Only about 20% of LPG consumers who have a PNG network in their neighbourhood and can switch to the cleaner fuel have actually converted to piped gas despite govt’s push following the military conflict in West Asia earlier this year.Of the 21.7 lakh consumers identified by city gas distribution (CGD) companies as having access to a PNG network and being eligible to switch, only 4.4 lakh have applied so far, while connections of 3.3 lakh consumers have been activated, govt data showed.These consumers are spread across more than 72,000 housing societies in 311 geographical areas where PNG networks are available through oil companies, and public sector and private CGD entities.Data also showed that more than 21 lakh households were sent WhatsApp messages and eight lakh were given physical notices to switch to PNG. More than 33,000 camps were also organised, but conversion remained low. In the last five months, a little over 1.4 lakh households surrendered their LPG connections.While the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board had launched two campaigns to promote PNG, the real push came from govt during the peak of the West Asia conflict in March and April, when supplies through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupted and India faced a squeeze on LPG imports.Of the 33 million tonne of LPG consumed in 2025-26, India domestically produced about 13 MT, while the remaining requirement was met through imports, mostly from West Asia. In comparison, India is relatively more comfortable with LNG supplies and domestic gas production.The petroleum ministry in March issued an order to accelerate pipeline infrastructure, ease approvals and promote a shift from LPG to PNG to strengthen energy security. It also asked CGD and oil companies to communicate with LPG consumers who had a PNG network in their area, asking them to switch to piped gas within three months or risk discontinuation of their LPG cylinder supply.Officials said a task force constituted by the ministry for enhancing PNG penetration and mapping LPG-PNG consumers met on Wednesday, with poor conversion rates being discussed. Companies were asked to expand the PNG network. A thorough de-duplication exercise will also be carried out to identify consumers who have both LPG and PNG connections.To accelerate the adoption of piped gas, petroleum secretary Neeraj Mittal recently wrote to the chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories, asking them to provide district-level administrative support and appoint nodal officers to coordinate with gas distributors and oil marketing companies to expand the network.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesGovt has also launched an incentive scheme for CGD entities, effective from Sept 1, promising them an additional 200 standard cubic metres of domestically produced, lower-priced APM gas for activating each previously unbilled connection.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAtul MathurAtul Mathur is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Times of India with over 27 years of experience in journalism. Based in Delhi, he has spent much of his career reporting on governance, public policy and politics, churning out researched, data-driven stories that impact daily lives. Atul is known for investigative depth and strong human-interest narratives as he strives to bring clarity and context to complex issues. He currently tracks the energy sector, writing on power, renewable energy, coal and mines.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos18 Rounds, Point-Blank: How Haryanvi Singer Ankit Balyan Was Gunned Down Outside Gym In UPIndia-China Talks Yield 8-Point Consensus; New Military Hotlines, Border Talks On The TableSkardu Base Was India’s Target During Operation Sindoor, Ex-CDS Reveals Why Strike Was Aborted’Gone In Seconds’: Kailash Mansarovar Pilgrims Missing, 77 Isha Foundation Members Among ThemSinger Mary Millben Hits Back Over ‘Anti-Modi’ Politics Over Mohan Bhagwat New York Event105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original Estimate123Photostories7 houseplants that may help keep mosquitoes away: From basil to mintCan infections such as mumps affect male fertility years later?Psychology says why the sibling you couldn’t stand as a child can become the person you trust most as an adultFrom working in Bhojpuri cinema, signing random films to pay his rent to earning Rs 1.5 lakh for one episode of Comedy Circus; When Krushna Abhishek opened up about his journeyLoro Piana to Zegna: Lesser-known luxury sneaker brands the old-money tribe knows by heart10 baby boy names with powerful meanings and fascinating ancient rootsIntuition or fear? 5 ways to tell what your gut is really telling youPrincess Diana’s ‘Last Ring’ from Dodi Al-Fayed: The mystery behind the ‘Dis-moi Oui’ ringRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right way123Hot PicksNepal floodUPTET Result 2026Sunny LeoneKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuDelhi murderNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAnkit Balyan MurderDelhi MurderSamay RainaIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

Vamsikrishna03 mins mins
In the last five months, a little over 1.4 lakh households surrendered their LPG connections. NEW DELHI: Only about 20% of LPG consumers who have a PNG network in their neighbourhood and can switch to the cleaner fuel have actually converted to piped gas despite govt’s push following the military conflict in West Asia earlier this year.Of the 21.7 lakh consumers identified by city gas distribution (CGD) companies as having access to a PNG network and being eligible to switch, only 4.4 lakh have applied so far, while connections of 3.3 lakh consumers have been activated, govt data showed.These consumers are spread across more than 72,000 housing societies in 311 geographical areas where PNG networks are available through oil companies, and public sector and private CGD entities.Data also showed that more than 21 lakh households were sent WhatsApp messages and eight lakh were given physical notices to switch to PNG. More than 33,000 camps were also organised, but conversion remained low. In the last five months, a little over 1.4 lakh households surrendered their LPG connections.While the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board had launched two campaigns to promote PNG, the real push came from govt during the peak of the West Asia conflict in March and April, when supplies through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupted and India faced a squeeze on LPG imports.Of the 33 million tonne of LPG consumed in 2025-26, India domestically produced about 13 MT, while the remaining requirement was met through imports, mostly from West Asia. In comparison, India is relatively more comfortable with LNG supplies and domestic gas production.The petroleum ministry in March issued an order to accelerate pipeline infrastructure, ease approvals and promote a shift from LPG to PNG to strengthen energy security. It also asked CGD and oil companies to communicate with LPG consumers who had a PNG network in their area, asking them to switch to piped gas within three months or risk discontinuation of their LPG cylinder supply.Officials said a task force constituted by the ministry for enhancing PNG penetration and mapping LPG-PNG consumers met on Wednesday, with poor conversion rates being discussed. Companies were asked to expand the PNG network. A thorough de-duplication exercise will also be carried out to identify consumers who have both LPG and PNG connections.To accelerate the adoption of piped gas, petroleum secretary Neeraj Mittal recently wrote to the chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories, asking them to provide district-level administrative support and appoint nodal officers to coordinate with gas distributors and oil marketing companies to expand the network.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesGovt has also launched an incentive scheme for CGD entities, effective from Sept 1, promising them an additional 200 standard cubic metres of domestically produced, lower-priced APM gas for activating each previously unbilled connection.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAtul MathurAtul Mathur is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Times of India with over 27 years of experience in journalism. Based in Delhi, he has spent much of his career reporting on governance, public policy and politics, churning out researched, data-driven stories that impact daily lives. Atul is known for investigative depth and strong human-interest narratives as he strives to bring clarity and context to complex issues. He currently tracks the energy sector, writing on power, renewable energy, coal and mines.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos18 Rounds, Point-Blank: How Haryanvi Singer Ankit Balyan Was Gunned Down Outside Gym In UPIndia-China Talks Yield 8-Point Consensus; New Military Hotlines, Border Talks On The TableSkardu Base Was India’s Target During Operation Sindoor, Ex-CDS Reveals Why Strike Was Aborted’Gone In Seconds’: Kailash Mansarovar Pilgrims Missing, 77 Isha Foundation Members Among ThemSinger Mary Millben Hits Back Over ‘Anti-Modi’ Politics Over Mohan Bhagwat New York Event105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original Estimate123Photostories7 houseplants that may help keep mosquitoes away: From basil to mintCan infections such as mumps affect male fertility years later?Psychology says why the sibling you couldn’t stand as a child can become the person you trust most as an adultFrom working in Bhojpuri cinema, signing random films to pay his rent to earning Rs 1.5 lakh for one episode of Comedy Circus; When Krushna Abhishek opened up about his journeyLoro Piana to Zegna: Lesser-known luxury sneaker brands the old-money tribe knows by heart10 baby boy names with powerful meanings and fascinating ancient rootsIntuition or fear? 5 ways to tell what your gut is really telling youPrincess Diana’s ‘Last Ring’ from Dodi Al-Fayed: The mystery behind the ‘Dis-moi Oui’ ringRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right way123Hot PicksNepal floodUPTET Result 2026Sunny LeoneKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuDelhi murderNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAnkit Balyan MurderDelhi MurderSamay RainaIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy


Only 20% LPG consumers applied for PNG connections
In the last five months, a little over 1.4 lakh households surrendered their LPG connections.

NEW DELHI: Only about 20% of LPG consumers who have a PNG network in their neighbourhood and can switch to the cleaner fuel have actually converted to piped gas despite govt’s push following the military conflict in West Asia earlier this year.Of the 21.7 lakh consumers identified by city gas distribution (CGD) companies as having access to a PNG network and being eligible to switch, only 4.4 lakh have applied so far, while connections of 3.3 lakh consumers have been activated, govt data showed.These consumers are spread across more than 72,000 housing societies in 311 geographical areas where PNG networks are available through oil companies, and public sector and private CGD entities.Data also showed that more than 21 lakh households were sent WhatsApp messages and eight lakh were given physical notices to switch to PNG. More than 33,000 camps were also organised, but conversion remained low. In the last five months, a little over 1.4 lakh households surrendered their LPG connections.While the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board had launched two campaigns to promote PNG, the real push came from govt during the peak of the West Asia conflict in March and April, when supplies through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupted and India faced a squeeze on LPG imports.Of the 33 million tonne of LPG consumed in 2025-26, India domestically produced about 13 MT, while the remaining requirement was met through imports, mostly from West Asia. In comparison, India is relatively more comfortable with LNG supplies and domestic gas production.The petroleum ministry in March issued an order to accelerate pipeline infrastructure, ease approvals and promote a shift from LPG to PNG to strengthen energy security. It also asked CGD and oil companies to communicate with LPG consumers who had a PNG network in their area, asking them to switch to piped gas within three months or risk discontinuation of their LPG cylinder supply.Officials said a task force constituted by the ministry for enhancing PNG penetration and mapping LPG-PNG consumers met on Wednesday, with poor conversion rates being discussed. Companies were asked to expand the PNG network. A thorough de-duplication exercise will also be carried out to identify consumers who have both LPG and PNG connections.To accelerate the adoption of piped gas, petroleum secretary Neeraj Mittal recently wrote to the chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories, asking them to provide district-level administrative support and appoint nodal officers to coordinate with gas distributors and oil marketing companies to expand the network.

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NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu minister P Viswanathan on Friday dismissed calls to project TVK chief Vijay C Joseph as the INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, asserting that Rahul Gandhi is the “definitive” choice.“As Congress leaders, we are very clear. Our beloved leader and leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is the INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate for 2029,” Viswanathan said.His remarks came after several TVK leaders pushed for Vijay to be projected as a prime ministerial candidate for 2029 Lok Sabha polls , drawing sharp reaction from Congress.TVK leaders, including KA Sengottaiyan and D Sarathkumar, have compared Vijay with former Tamil Nadu chief ministers MGR and Jayalalithaa, claiming he would not only rule Tamil Nadu but also lead the country in the future.TVK legislator Kallanai, who organised an event marking the party’s 100 days in office, said people had immense faith in Vijay’s leadership. He expressed confidence that Vijay would eventually lead the country and hoist the national flag at the Red Fort as a representative of the Tamil people, news agency PTI reported.Meanwhile, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that while party workers may have deep admiration for their leader, national leadership ultimately depends on securing the numbers required to form a government.“I fully accept that they have great love, affection, expectation, and admiration for their party leadership. This is their party. What they say within their party makes no difference to the public discourse. In public discourse, what you should ask about is policy and the law. Their wishes within a party make no difference to me,” Chidambaram told reporters, according to ANI.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesHe said every political party has its own ambitions and aspirations, but any prime ministerial aspirant must ultimately have the numbers to command a majority in the Lok Sabha.“Every party has dreams, ambitions, and desires. One cannot pass laws to stop that. Everyone expresses their own wishes and talks about their favourite leader in their party. But we know what the political reality is. There are 543 constituencies,” Chidambaram said.According to the Constitution, the leader of whichever alliance wins 272 constituencies, or whichever party wins, will be the Prime Minister of India. Anyone who achieves that number can become the Prime Minister, individually or collectively. You and I both know what that political reality is,” he added.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.Here are more Raksha Bandhan wishes, Bhadra kaal and Shubh Muhurat from The Times of India.About the AuthorRohitashwa RanjanRohitashwa Ranjan is a digital journalist with The Times of India, where he decodes Indian politics as a carefully staged production with scripts, subtext and everything behind. His stories track elections, party dynamics and the things that often are buried beneath the headlines. When not parsing vote shares or alliances, he is usually reading between the lines, where the real story tends to reside.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos469 Dead In Nepal Floods; 3 Bodies Found In Uttar Pradesh; Kathmandu Declines Foreign Rescue TeamsCongress Alleges ₹36,000 Crore ‘Sugar Scam’, Slams Modi Govt Over Festive Price RisePM Modi’s Central Asia Visit: SCO Summit, Uzbekistan Ties, Putin Meet In FocusCM Suvendu Adhikari Urges Skilled Bengalis Abroad To Return, Promises Jobs Under Double-Engine Govt’Blind Pakistan Activated Spies To Locate India’s S-400′ During Op Sindoor, Ex-Air Marshal RevealsCamac Street Showdown: TMC Blocks Police During Billboard Removal, Banerjee Announces Court MoveNepal Floods: 288 Indians Uncontactable, 21 Rescued So Far, MEA Shares Key Updates | WatchFour Killed, One Missing In Manipur Ambush As Naga-Kuki Tensions Erupt Again, Probe Launch | WatchFake IAS Officer Tripti Rajput Under Probe, Police Recover CBI Cards And Government DocumentsWhy A Supreme Court Judge Wants The Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Transferred?123PhotostoriesLock Upp 2 fame Akanksha Chamola’s luxurious Mumbai home: Elegant interiors, cosy living room and beautiful mandirH1N1 Or COVID-19? 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NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu minister P Viswanathan on Friday dismissed calls to project TVK chief Vijay C Joseph as the INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, asserting that Rahul Gandhi is the “definitive” choice.“As Congress leaders, we are very clear. Our beloved leader and leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is the INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate for 2029,” Viswanathan said.His remarks came after several TVK leaders pushed for Vijay to be projected as a prime ministerial candidate for 2029 Lok Sabha polls , drawing sharp reaction from Congress.TVK leaders, including KA Sengottaiyan and D Sarathkumar, have compared Vijay with former Tamil Nadu chief ministers MGR and Jayalalithaa, claiming he would not only rule Tamil Nadu but also lead the country in the future.TVK legislator Kallanai, who organised an event marking the party’s 100 days in office, said people had immense faith in Vijay’s leadership. He expressed confidence that Vijay would eventually lead the country and hoist the national flag at the Red Fort as a representative of the Tamil people, news agency PTI reported.Meanwhile, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that while party workers may have deep admiration for their leader, national leadership ultimately depends on securing the numbers required to form a government.“I fully accept that they have great love, affection, expectation, and admiration for their party leadership. This is their party. What they say within their party makes no difference to the public discourse. In public discourse, what you should ask about is policy and the law. Their wishes within a party make no difference to me,” Chidambaram told reporters, according to ANI.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesHe said every political party has its own ambitions and aspirations, but any prime ministerial aspirant must ultimately have the numbers to command a majority in the Lok Sabha.“Every party has dreams, ambitions, and desires. One cannot pass laws to stop that. Everyone expresses their own wishes and talks about their favourite leader in their party. But we know what the political reality is. There are 543 constituencies,” Chidambaram said.According to the Constitution, the leader of whichever alliance wins 272 constituencies, or whichever party wins, will be the Prime Minister of India. Anyone who achieves that number can become the Prime Minister, individually or collectively. You and I both know what that political reality is,” he added.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.Here are more Raksha Bandhan wishes, Bhadra kaal and Shubh Muhurat from The Times of India.About the AuthorRohitashwa RanjanRohitashwa Ranjan is a digital journalist with The Times of India, where he decodes Indian politics as a carefully staged production with scripts, subtext and everything behind. His stories track elections, party dynamics and the things that often are buried beneath the headlines. When not parsing vote shares or alliances, he is usually reading between the lines, where the real story tends to reside.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos469 Dead In Nepal Floods; 3 Bodies Found In Uttar Pradesh; Kathmandu Declines Foreign Rescue TeamsCongress Alleges ₹36,000 Crore ‘Sugar Scam’, Slams Modi Govt Over Festive Price RisePM Modi’s Central Asia Visit: SCO Summit, Uzbekistan Ties, Putin Meet In FocusCM Suvendu Adhikari Urges Skilled Bengalis Abroad To Return, Promises Jobs Under Double-Engine Govt’Blind Pakistan Activated Spies To Locate India’s S-400′ During Op Sindoor, Ex-Air Marshal RevealsCamac Street Showdown: TMC Blocks Police During Billboard Removal, Banerjee Announces Court MoveNepal Floods: 288 Indians Uncontactable, 21 Rescued So Far, MEA Shares Key Updates | WatchFour Killed, One Missing In Manipur Ambush As Naga-Kuki Tensions Erupt Again, Probe Launch | WatchFake IAS Officer Tripti Rajput Under Probe, Police Recover CBI Cards And Government DocumentsWhy A Supreme Court Judge Wants The Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Transferred?123PhotostoriesLock Upp 2 fame Akanksha Chamola’s luxurious Mumbai home: Elegant interiors, cosy living room and beautiful mandirH1N1 Or COVID-19? 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Vamsikrishna 0
From Tagore’s streets to 10-minute delivery: The business of Rakhi In August 1905, as Bengal braced for a partition designed by the British to split its Hindu and Muslim population along communal lines, Rabindranath Tagore walked through the streets of Kolkata asking strangers to tie threads on each other’s wrists. It was Raksha Bandhan, and Tagore had repurposed a domestic ritual, sisters protecting brothers, into a public act of protest. Hindus tied rakhis on Muslims, Muslims tied them on Hindus, and for one day at least, the colonial administration’s attempt to engineer division through the Bengal Partition met a street-level answer in silk thread. The gesture was Tagore’s response to a strategy of divide and rule that he saw threatening the nationalist movement at its foundations; the rakhi, in his hands, stopped being only a family custom and became a symbol of a shared, non-negotiable bond between communities.When Tagore turned a ritual into protestMore than a century later, the thread has kept its symbolism but acquired a balance sheet. Raksha Bandhan is now one of the biggest festival-linked retail events in the Indian calendar, and the story of how it got there says as much about India’s e-commerce boom, its gig economy and its small-manufacturing base as it does about siblings and sentiment.A festival with a turnoverThe Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) estimates that India’s rakhi trade could reach nearly Rs 25,000 crore this year. The broader Raksha Bandhan-related trade, including sweets, dry fruits, gifts, apparel, electronics, decorative items, puja articles and other festive products, is expected to cross Rs 30,000 crore nationally. Delhi alone is estimated to account for around Rs 4,000 crore, with major markets such as Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Gandhi Nagar, Khari Baoli and Laxmi Nagar seeing increased shopping activity ahead of Raksha Bandhan. These figures are CAIT estimates based on inputs from traders and trade associations, rather than audited market data.Much of the physical production still runs through India’s traditional craft clusters. Kolkata remains a major wholesale and manufacturing hub, supplying rakhi traders across the country. Khadi rakhis from Nagpur, Sanganeri prints from Jaipur, seed rakhis from Pune, tea-leaf rakhis from Assam, jute rakhis from Kolkata, and bamboo and Madhubani-art rakhis from Bihar now sit alongside mass-produced options, driven in part by women’s self-help groups and artisan collectives for whom the rakhi season is a source of supplementary household income.Threads with a message, threads with a nameWhat has changed most visibly is the design vocabulary. This year’s rakhi shelves carry threads built around Viksit Bharat, BrahMos and women’s-empowerment themes alongside the more familiar Rudraksha, Swastik and Bhaiya-Bhabhi pairs, a sign of how quickly manufacturers now respond to the news cycle and government messaging, treating the rakhi as a wearable billboard as much as a ritual object. Superhero and cartoon-branded rakhis for children, evil-eye designs marketed as fashion accessories that can be worn past the festival, and premium metal or stone-studded pieces round out a market that has moved well beyond plain thread.Personalisation has become the dominant pitch, and not just at the top end.A thread for every trendSellers now routinely offer rakhis with a brother’s name sublimated onto acrylic or wood, or a sibling photograph printed directly onto the pendant, products that would have required a jeweller or an artist a decade ago and are now templated, priced from under Rs 50 apiece, and turned around in bulk by small manufacturing units in cities such as Ahmedabad, Delhi and Jaipur. The wider gifting trend has moved the same way: industry trackers this year note a decline in generic mass-market combo set, the standard thread-plus-sweets hamper, in favour of curated boxes that buyers can customise by age, taste or budget, from wellness kits to eco-friendly packaging.Minutes, not daysThe most disruptive change, though, has been in delivery. Quick-commerce platforms have turned the rakhi thali, once assembled by a sister at home or bought over a shop counter, into a same-day, sometimes same-hour order: thread, roli-chawal, sweets and a small gift bundled and dispatched from a neighbourhood dark store. For siblings living in different cities, or those who simply left the shopping too late, this has effectively replaced the courier parcels and last-minute market runs of previous years.That speed now comes with an asterisk. Since January this year, the quick-commerce platforms have all dropped explicit “10-minute” delivery claims from their branding, after the Union Labour Ministry pushed quick-commerce companies to stop advertising rigid delivery windows, citing rider safety concerns following gig-worker protests. Blinkit’s tagline shifted from promising goods “in 10 minutes” to simply listing what it delivers; some of them now advertise “groceries in minutes” rather than a fixed number. The underlying model, dark stores, real-time inventory, delivery fleets built for speed, is unchanged, and rakhi orders still move fast during the festival rush; platforms have simply stopped putting a number on it.The vendors left behindFor the street sellers who used to own this season, the shift has been harder to absorb than a change in app copy. Rakesh, who sells rakhi threads and thalis from a stall in one of Delhi’s older markets, has watched the balance of the trade move online over the past few years.”The availability of Rakhi threads and thalis online have changed things a lot for us,” he said. “People get things delivered in minutes, there is also the aspect of personalisation. Customers can get their money back if they do not like a design but that is not the case for us. The demand has not dropped dramatically but we can definitely sense a shift now.”His account captures something the trade-body turnover figures don’t: this isn’t a market in collapse so much as one being quietly redistributed. Total demand for rakhis hasn’t fallen, traders’ projections for this year are, if anything, higher than last year’s, but a growing share of it is being captured by platforms that can offer instant refunds, endless design catalogues and delivery to a doorstep hundreds of kilometres away, none of which a pavement stall can match. A street vendor operates on thin, fixed margins and cannot offer the kind of no-questions-asked returns that have become standard on e-commerce and quick-commerce apps; a design that doesn’t suit a customer is a sunk cost for him in a way it isn’t for a platform with centralised inventory. What he is describing is less a festival in decline than a festival whose profits are migrating toward whoever controls speed, choice and convenience, the same forces reshaping most other categories of Indian retail.Opportunity online, obstacles offlineThe same platforms squeezing street vendors have opened a door for a different kind of small operator: the home-run, social-media-first rakhi business. Instagram and WhatsApp catalogues have made it possible for someone with no shop and little capital to sell personalised or handcrafted rakhis directly to customers, without a physical stall or a wholesaler in between.But reach isn’t the same as revenue, says says a woman running an online rakhi business. “The biggest opportunity is using social media to reach more customers and promote products,” she said. “But the biggest challenges for a new small business are building a customer base, increasing sales, competing with larger companies and recovering costs. When sales are low in the initial stages, profits can be very small, or there may be no profit at all.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”It’s a reminder that the barriers for small players haven’t disappeared with the shift online — they’ve simply moved. A social media page can put a home business in front of thousands of potential buyers, but it competes in the same feed as established D2C brands and marketplace sellers with bigger budgets, faster fulfilment and the cushion to absorb a slow first season. For someone starting out, the gap between visibility and an actual, sustainable customer base can take more than one festival cycle to close.A hundred and twenty years of the same threadThe distance between Tagore’s Kolkata processions and this year’s app-driven rush is, on the surface, total: one was a deliberate refusal of commerce, staged to make a political point about unity in the face of engineered division; the other is commerce itself, organised around choice, speed and margin. But the thread running between them, literally, is the same one: an ordinary domestic ritual, elastic enough to be pressed into whatever a moment demands, whether that moment calls for resistance or for a same-day delivery slot. What has changed is not the rakhi but who gets to decide what it means, and increasingly, that decision is being made by whoever can get it to your wrist the fastest.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.Here are more Raksha Bandhan wishes, Bhadra kaal and Shubh Muhurat from The Times of India.About the AuthorAadrita HalderWrites on social matters, geopolitics, and trending issues for the Times of India.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos469 Dead In Nepal Floods; 3 Bodies Found In Uttar Pradesh; Kathmandu Declines Foreign Rescue TeamsCongress Alleges ₹36,000 Crore ‘Sugar Scam’, Slams Modi Govt Over Festive Price RisePM Modi’s Central Asia Visit: SCO Summit, Uzbekistan Ties, Putin Meet In FocusCM Suvendu Adhikari Urges Skilled Bengalis Abroad To Return, Promises Jobs Under Double-Engine Govt’Blind Pakistan Activated Spies To Locate India’s S-400′ During Op Sindoor, Ex-Air Marshal RevealsCamac Street Showdown: TMC Blocks Police During Billboard Removal, Banerjee Announces Court MoveNepal Floods: 288 Indians Uncontactable, 21 Rescued So Far, MEA Shares Key Updates | WatchFour Killed, One Missing In Manipur Ambush As Naga-Kuki Tensions Erupt Again, Probe Launch | WatchFake IAS Officer Tripti Rajput Under Probe, Police Recover CBI Cards And Government DocumentsWhy A Supreme Court Judge Wants The Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Transferred?123PhotostoriesLock Upp 2 fame Akanksha Chamola’s luxurious Mumbai home: Elegant interiors, cosy living room and beautiful mandirH1N1 Or COVID-19? Symptoms may look the same, but the diagnosis can mean a very different treatment approachMakeup not lasting all day? Here’s why your base melts by noonThe ‘ick’ explained: 7 reasons attraction between partners can suddenly disappear (and how to bring the spark back)5 reasons people pull away even when they have feelings7 signs you like the idea of a romantic relationship more than your partnerCuff too tight, legs crossed or talking? Cardiologist reveals 5 home BP mistakes that can alter readings5 habits that can quietly damage a marriageNepal flash flood: 7 glacial hotspots around the world facing rising climate risksChettinad to Molakalmuru: Underrated South Indian sarees rich in heritage123Hot PicksNepal floodUPTET Result 2026Sunny LeoneKerala name changeRRB NTPC UG CBT 2 examAnkit Baliyan murderSridhar VembuDelhi murderNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAnkit Balyan MurderChandigarh MurderSamay RainaUdaipur HotelFlorida Car CrashUS Green Card HolderBengal HospitalTamil Nadu Son MurderElon MuskKanpur Aircraft Crash

From Tagore’s streets to 10-minute delivery: The business of Rakhi In August 1905, as Bengal braced for a partition designed by the British to split its Hindu and Muslim population along communal lines, Rabindranath Tagore walked through the streets of Kolkata asking strangers to tie threads on each other’s wrists. It was Raksha Bandhan, and Tagore had repurposed a domestic ritual, sisters protecting brothers, into a public act of protest. Hindus tied rakhis on Muslims, Muslims tied them on Hindus, and for one day at least, the colonial administration’s attempt to engineer division through the Bengal Partition met a street-level answer in silk thread. The gesture was Tagore’s response to a strategy of divide and rule that he saw threatening the nationalist movement at its foundations; the rakhi, in his hands, stopped being only a family custom and became a symbol of a shared, non-negotiable bond between communities.When Tagore turned a ritual into protestMore than a century later, the thread has kept its symbolism but acquired a balance sheet. Raksha Bandhan is now one of the biggest festival-linked retail events in the Indian calendar, and the story of how it got there says as much about India’s e-commerce boom, its gig economy and its small-manufacturing base as it does about siblings and sentiment.A festival with a turnoverThe Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) estimates that India’s rakhi trade could reach nearly Rs 25,000 crore this year. The broader Raksha Bandhan-related trade, including sweets, dry fruits, gifts, apparel, electronics, decorative items, puja articles and other festive products, is expected to cross Rs 30,000 crore nationally. Delhi alone is estimated to account for around Rs 4,000 crore, with major markets such as Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Gandhi Nagar, Khari Baoli and Laxmi Nagar seeing increased shopping activity ahead of Raksha Bandhan. These figures are CAIT estimates based on inputs from traders and trade associations, rather than audited market data.Much of the physical production still runs through India’s traditional craft clusters. Kolkata remains a major wholesale and manufacturing hub, supplying rakhi traders across the country. Khadi rakhis from Nagpur, Sanganeri prints from Jaipur, seed rakhis from Pune, tea-leaf rakhis from Assam, jute rakhis from Kolkata, and bamboo and Madhubani-art rakhis from Bihar now sit alongside mass-produced options, driven in part by women’s self-help groups and artisan collectives for whom the rakhi season is a source of supplementary household income.Threads with a message, threads with a nameWhat has changed most visibly is the design vocabulary. This year’s rakhi shelves carry threads built around Viksit Bharat, BrahMos and women’s-empowerment themes alongside the more familiar Rudraksha, Swastik and Bhaiya-Bhabhi pairs, a sign of how quickly manufacturers now respond to the news cycle and government messaging, treating the rakhi as a wearable billboard as much as a ritual object. Superhero and cartoon-branded rakhis for children, evil-eye designs marketed as fashion accessories that can be worn past the festival, and premium metal or stone-studded pieces round out a market that has moved well beyond plain thread.Personalisation has become the dominant pitch, and not just at the top end.A thread for every trendSellers now routinely offer rakhis with a brother’s name sublimated onto acrylic or wood, or a sibling photograph printed directly onto the pendant, products that would have required a jeweller or an artist a decade ago and are now templated, priced from under Rs 50 apiece, and turned around in bulk by small manufacturing units in cities such as Ahmedabad, Delhi and Jaipur. The wider gifting trend has moved the same way: industry trackers this year note a decline in generic mass-market combo set, the standard thread-plus-sweets hamper, in favour of curated boxes that buyers can customise by age, taste or budget, from wellness kits to eco-friendly packaging.Minutes, not daysThe most disruptive change, though, has been in delivery. Quick-commerce platforms have turned the rakhi thali, once assembled by a sister at home or bought over a shop counter, into a same-day, sometimes same-hour order: thread, roli-chawal, sweets and a small gift bundled and dispatched from a neighbourhood dark store. For siblings living in different cities, or those who simply left the shopping too late, this has effectively replaced the courier parcels and last-minute market runs of previous years.That speed now comes with an asterisk. Since January this year, the quick-commerce platforms have all dropped explicit “10-minute” delivery claims from their branding, after the Union Labour Ministry pushed quick-commerce companies to stop advertising rigid delivery windows, citing rider safety concerns following gig-worker protests. Blinkit’s tagline shifted from promising goods “in 10 minutes” to simply listing what it delivers; some of them now advertise “groceries in minutes” rather than a fixed number. The underlying model, dark stores, real-time inventory, delivery fleets built for speed, is unchanged, and rakhi orders still move fast during the festival rush; platforms have simply stopped putting a number on it.The vendors left behindFor the street sellers who used to own this season, the shift has been harder to absorb than a change in app copy. Rakesh, who sells rakhi threads and thalis from a stall in one of Delhi’s older markets, has watched the balance of the trade move online over the past few years.”The availability of Rakhi threads and thalis online have changed things a lot for us,” he said. “People get things delivered in minutes, there is also the aspect of personalisation. Customers can get their money back if they do not like a design but that is not the case for us. The demand has not dropped dramatically but we can definitely sense a shift now.”His account captures something the trade-body turnover figures don’t: this isn’t a market in collapse so much as one being quietly redistributed. Total demand for rakhis hasn’t fallen, traders’ projections for this year are, if anything, higher than last year’s, but a growing share of it is being captured by platforms that can offer instant refunds, endless design catalogues and delivery to a doorstep hundreds of kilometres away, none of which a pavement stall can match. A street vendor operates on thin, fixed margins and cannot offer the kind of no-questions-asked returns that have become standard on e-commerce and quick-commerce apps; a design that doesn’t suit a customer is a sunk cost for him in a way it isn’t for a platform with centralised inventory. What he is describing is less a festival in decline than a festival whose profits are migrating toward whoever controls speed, choice and convenience, the same forces reshaping most other categories of Indian retail.Opportunity online, obstacles offlineThe same platforms squeezing street vendors have opened a door for a different kind of small operator: the home-run, social-media-first rakhi business. Instagram and WhatsApp catalogues have made it possible for someone with no shop and little capital to sell personalised or handcrafted rakhis directly to customers, without a physical stall or a wholesaler in between.But reach isn’t the same as revenue, says says a woman running an online rakhi business. “The biggest opportunity is using social media to reach more customers and promote products,” she said. “But the biggest challenges for a new small business are building a customer base, increasing sales, competing with larger companies and recovering costs. When sales are low in the initial stages, profits can be very small, or there may be no profit at all.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”It’s a reminder that the barriers for small players haven’t disappeared with the shift online — they’ve simply moved. A social media page can put a home business in front of thousands of potential buyers, but it competes in the same feed as established D2C brands and marketplace sellers with bigger budgets, faster fulfilment and the cushion to absorb a slow first season. For someone starting out, the gap between visibility and an actual, sustainable customer base can take more than one festival cycle to close.A hundred and twenty years of the same threadThe distance between Tagore’s Kolkata processions and this year’s app-driven rush is, on the surface, total: one was a deliberate refusal of commerce, staged to make a political point about unity in the face of engineered division; the other is commerce itself, organised around choice, speed and margin. But the thread running between them, literally, is the same one: an ordinary domestic ritual, elastic enough to be pressed into whatever a moment demands, whether that moment calls for resistance or for a same-day delivery slot. What has changed is not the rakhi but who gets to decide what it means, and increasingly, that decision is being made by whoever can get it to your wrist the fastest.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.Here are more Raksha Bandhan wishes, Bhadra kaal and Shubh Muhurat from The Times of India.About the AuthorAadrita HalderWrites on social matters, geopolitics, and trending issues for the Times of India.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos469 Dead In Nepal Floods; 3 Bodies Found In Uttar Pradesh; Kathmandu Declines Foreign Rescue TeamsCongress Alleges ₹36,000 Crore ‘Sugar Scam’, Slams Modi Govt Over Festive Price RisePM Modi’s Central Asia Visit: SCO Summit, Uzbekistan Ties, Putin Meet In FocusCM Suvendu Adhikari Urges Skilled Bengalis Abroad To Return, Promises Jobs Under Double-Engine Govt’Blind Pakistan Activated Spies To Locate India’s S-400′ During Op Sindoor, Ex-Air Marshal RevealsCamac Street Showdown: TMC Blocks Police During Billboard Removal, Banerjee Announces Court MoveNepal Floods: 288 Indians Uncontactable, 21 Rescued So Far, MEA Shares Key Updates | WatchFour Killed, One Missing In Manipur Ambush As Naga-Kuki Tensions Erupt Again, Probe Launch | WatchFake IAS Officer Tripti Rajput Under Probe, Police Recover CBI Cards And Government DocumentsWhy A Supreme Court Judge Wants The Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Transferred?123PhotostoriesLock Upp 2 fame Akanksha Chamola’s luxurious Mumbai home: Elegant interiors, cosy living room and beautiful mandirH1N1 Or COVID-19? Symptoms may look the same, but the diagnosis can mean a very different treatment approachMakeup not lasting all day? Here’s why your base melts by noonThe ‘ick’ explained: 7 reasons attraction between partners can suddenly disappear (and how to bring the spark back)5 reasons people pull away even when they have feelings7 signs you like the idea of a romantic relationship more than your partnerCuff too tight, legs crossed or talking? Cardiologist reveals 5 home BP mistakes that can alter readings5 habits that can quietly damage a marriageNepal flash flood: 7 glacial hotspots around the world facing rising climate risksChettinad to Molakalmuru: Underrated South Indian sarees rich in heritage123Hot PicksNepal floodUPTET Result 2026Sunny LeoneKerala name changeRRB NTPC UG CBT 2 examAnkit Baliyan murderSridhar VembuDelhi murderNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAnkit Balyan MurderChandigarh MurderSamay RainaUdaipur HotelFlorida Car CrashUS Green Card HolderBengal HospitalTamil Nadu Son MurderElon MuskKanpur Aircraft Crash

Vamsikrishna 0
Manipur ambush survivor says attackers wore camouflage uniforms A survivor of the ambush that killed four members of the Liangmai Naga community in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Friday has recalled how armed attackers, dressed in full camouflage uniforms, opened fire on their vehicle in a forested area.Forty-four-year-old Gaikamang Ringkangmai, who sustained a bullet injury to his left arm, was rescued by security forces from the ambush site and admitted to Senapati district hospital.Recalling the attack, Ringkangmai said as quoted by news agency PTI, “I am from Makui village. Yesterday, there were six of us in a vehicle. We frequently travelled by that route. We were going to Senapati district when we were ambushed by militants. Four of our colleagues died on the spot, while two of us escaped.”He said he was injured during the firing but managed to flee the vehicle and take shelter in nearby bushes.”I received bullet injuries on my arm but jumped from the vehicle and ran to hide in the bushes,” he added.Describing the attackers, Ringkangmai claimed they were positioned in pairs and wore full camouflage uniforms. “They had red ribbons tied to the top of their rifles, from which they continued firing,” he added.The other person who survived the ambush has been identified as Japou MK.The attack took place around 8.30 am on Thursday in an isolated, forested stretch between Makui Ashang and Thabamba Naga villages in Kangpokpi district. According to reports, the armed attackers targeted the vehicle carrying the group, killing four people on the spot and injuring another.The deceased have been identified as Tadsongbou Ringkangmai, founder and principal of a private school; M Wijunamai; Anil Wijunamai; and Wisobou Charenamai, chairman of the Chawangkining Village Authority. All six people travelling in the vehicle belonged to the Liangmai Naga community.The killings have triggered demands for justice from the Naga community, even as authorities move to identify and apprehend those responsible.W Charenamei, younger brother of deceased Wisobou Charenamai, said the family and community were not seeking retaliation.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”We don’t seek any revenge against the militants. We just want the facts to be established and swift justice for our murdered brothers.”Manipur chief minister Y Khemchand Singh has directed security officials to arrest those involved in the killings and initiate action against them.The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex Naga body in Manipur, has alleged that two Kuki militant outfits, the Kuki National Front (P) and Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), were behind the ambush.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.Here are more Raksha Bandhan wishes, Bhadra kaal and Shubh Muhurat from The Times of India.About the AuthorAastha JhaAastha Jha is a writer at The Times of India, covering politics. She also writes on business, global affairs, social issues, with a focus on policy, governance and their impact on everyday lives. Her work brings together reportage and analysis, tracking developments in India and abroad while examining the broader social and economic currents shaping public discourse.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos469 Dead In Nepal Floods; 3 Bodies Found In Uttar Pradesh; Kathmandu Declines Foreign Rescue TeamsCongress Alleges ₹36,000 Crore ‘Sugar Scam’, Slams Modi Govt Over Festive Price RisePM Modi’s Central Asia Visit: SCO Summit, Uzbekistan Ties, Putin Meet In FocusCM Suvendu Adhikari Urges Skilled Bengalis Abroad To Return, Promises Jobs Under Double-Engine Govt’Blind Pakistan Activated Spies To Locate India’s S-400′ During Op Sindoor, Ex-Air Marshal RevealsCamac Street Showdown: TMC Blocks Police During Billboard Removal, Banerjee Announces Court MoveNepal Floods: 288 Indians Uncontactable, 21 Rescued So Far, MEA Shares Key Updates | WatchFour Killed, One Missing In Manipur Ambush As Naga-Kuki Tensions Erupt Again, Probe Launch | WatchFake IAS Officer Tripti Rajput Under Probe, Police Recover CBI Cards And Government DocumentsWhy A Supreme Court Judge Wants The Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Transferred?123PhotostoriesLock Upp 2 fame Akanksha Chamola’s luxurious Mumbai home: Elegant interiors, cosy living room and beautiful mandirH1N1 Or COVID-19? Symptoms may look the same, but the diagnosis can mean a very different treatment approachMakeup not lasting all day? Here’s why your base melts by noonThe ‘ick’ explained: 7 reasons attraction between partners can suddenly disappear (and how to bring the spark back)5 reasons people pull away even when they have feelings7 signs you like the idea of a romantic relationship more than your partnerCuff too tight, legs crossed or talking? Cardiologist reveals 5 home BP mistakes that can alter readings5 habits that can quietly damage a marriageNepal flash flood: 7 glacial hotspots around the world facing rising climate risksChettinad to Molakalmuru: Underrated South Indian sarees rich in heritage123Hot PicksNepal floodUPTET Result 2026Sunny LeoneKerala name changeRRB NTPC UG CBT 2 examAnkit Baliyan murderSridhar VembuDelhi murderNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAnkit Balyan MurderChandigarh MurderSamay RainaUdaipur HotelFlorida Car CrashUS Green Card HolderBengal HospitalTamil Nadu Son MurderElon MuskKanpur Aircraft Crash

Manipur ambush survivor says attackers wore camouflage uniforms A survivor of the ambush that killed four members of the Liangmai Naga community in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Friday has recalled how armed attackers, dressed in full camouflage uniforms, opened fire on their vehicle in a forested area.Forty-four-year-old Gaikamang Ringkangmai, who sustained a bullet injury to his left arm, was rescued by security forces from the ambush site and admitted to Senapati district hospital.Recalling the attack, Ringkangmai said as quoted by news agency PTI, “I am from Makui village. Yesterday, there were six of us in a vehicle. We frequently travelled by that route. We were going to Senapati district when we were ambushed by militants. Four of our colleagues died on the spot, while two of us escaped.”He said he was injured during the firing but managed to flee the vehicle and take shelter in nearby bushes.”I received bullet injuries on my arm but jumped from the vehicle and ran to hide in the bushes,” he added.Describing the attackers, Ringkangmai claimed they were positioned in pairs and wore full camouflage uniforms. “They had red ribbons tied to the top of their rifles, from which they continued firing,” he added.The other person who survived the ambush has been identified as Japou MK.The attack took place around 8.30 am on Thursday in an isolated, forested stretch between Makui Ashang and Thabamba Naga villages in Kangpokpi district. According to reports, the armed attackers targeted the vehicle carrying the group, killing four people on the spot and injuring another.The deceased have been identified as Tadsongbou Ringkangmai, founder and principal of a private school; M Wijunamai; Anil Wijunamai; and Wisobou Charenamai, chairman of the Chawangkining Village Authority. All six people travelling in the vehicle belonged to the Liangmai Naga community.The killings have triggered demands for justice from the Naga community, even as authorities move to identify and apprehend those responsible.W Charenamei, younger brother of deceased Wisobou Charenamai, said the family and community were not seeking retaliation.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”We don’t seek any revenge against the militants. We just want the facts to be established and swift justice for our murdered brothers.”Manipur chief minister Y Khemchand Singh has directed security officials to arrest those involved in the killings and initiate action against them.The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex Naga body in Manipur, has alleged that two Kuki militant outfits, the Kuki National Front (P) and Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), were behind the ambush.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.Here are more Raksha Bandhan wishes, Bhadra kaal and Shubh Muhurat from The Times of India.About the AuthorAastha JhaAastha Jha is a writer at The Times of India, covering politics. She also writes on business, global affairs, social issues, with a focus on policy, governance and their impact on everyday lives. Her work brings together reportage and analysis, tracking developments in India and abroad while examining the broader social and economic currents shaping public discourse.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos469 Dead In Nepal Floods; 3 Bodies Found In Uttar Pradesh; Kathmandu Declines Foreign Rescue TeamsCongress Alleges ₹36,000 Crore ‘Sugar Scam’, Slams Modi Govt Over Festive Price RisePM Modi’s Central Asia Visit: SCO Summit, Uzbekistan Ties, Putin Meet In FocusCM Suvendu Adhikari Urges Skilled Bengalis Abroad To Return, Promises Jobs Under Double-Engine Govt’Blind Pakistan Activated Spies To Locate India’s S-400′ During Op Sindoor, Ex-Air Marshal RevealsCamac Street Showdown: TMC Blocks Police During Billboard Removal, Banerjee Announces Court MoveNepal Floods: 288 Indians Uncontactable, 21 Rescued So Far, MEA Shares Key Updates | WatchFour Killed, One Missing In Manipur Ambush As Naga-Kuki Tensions Erupt Again, Probe Launch | WatchFake IAS Officer Tripti Rajput Under Probe, Police Recover CBI Cards And Government DocumentsWhy A Supreme Court Judge Wants The Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Transferred?123PhotostoriesLock Upp 2 fame Akanksha Chamola’s luxurious Mumbai home: Elegant interiors, cosy living room and beautiful mandirH1N1 Or COVID-19? Symptoms may look the same, but the diagnosis can mean a very different treatment approachMakeup not lasting all day? Here’s why your base melts by noonThe ‘ick’ explained: 7 reasons attraction between partners can suddenly disappear (and how to bring the spark back)5 reasons people pull away even when they have feelings7 signs you like the idea of a romantic relationship more than your partnerCuff too tight, legs crossed or talking? Cardiologist reveals 5 home BP mistakes that can alter readings5 habits that can quietly damage a marriageNepal flash flood: 7 glacial hotspots around the world facing rising climate risksChettinad to Molakalmuru: Underrated South Indian sarees rich in heritage123Hot PicksNepal floodUPTET Result 2026Sunny LeoneKerala name changeRRB NTPC UG CBT 2 examAnkit Baliyan murderSridhar VembuDelhi murderNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAnkit Balyan MurderChandigarh MurderSamay RainaUdaipur HotelFlorida Car CrashUS Green Card HolderBengal HospitalTamil Nadu Son MurderElon MuskKanpur Aircraft Crash

Vamsikrishna 0
Ramesh cited the latest report of the parliamentary standing committee of the ministry of social justice and empowerment, tabled on August 10, to question the government’s record on its existing free coaching scheme. NEW DELHI: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Friday slammed the Centre over its recent digital education initiatives, alleging that the government was pushed into announcing free online coaching after Rahul Gandhi highlighted the rising burden of private coaching on Indian families.Ramesh questioned the Centre’s ability to implement such schemes, citing a parliamentary panel report that found the existing free coaching programme had achieved only 26 per cent of its enrolment target.Ramesh targets Centre over free online coaching planIn a post on X, Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of attempting to deflect attention from deeper problems in India’s education system by turning to online coaching instead of strengthening public education.”Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at the Chhatron ki Goonj event in Kota on June 17th 2026, raised one of the most important issues in education today: that an extractive coaching industry has supplanted the public education system and that Indian families are now spending 2.5 times more on coaching centres than the Govt of India invests in education.”Ramesh claimed that Rahul Gandhi’s disclosure was followed by the Prime Minister’s announcement of free online coaching for students on August 15.”It was this disclosure that forced the Prime Minister, in a desperate attempt to escape growing public pressure, to announce free online coaching for students on 15th August. But his Government’s track record hardly inspires any confidence. Its existing Free Coaching scheme has been missing its target for 3 years,” he said.Existing free coaching scheme misses targetRamesh cited the latest report of the parliamentary standing committee of the ministry of social justice and empowerment, tabled on August 10, to question the government’s record on its existing free coaching scheme.”The Ministry of Social Justice was to enrol 10,500 candidates for free coaching over 3 years, but it has only enrolled 2,790 students – just 26% of the target. The budget for this scheme has reduced every year, and last year’s spending was less than half the budget. These startling facts have been revealed in the latest report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, tabled on Aug 10, 2026,” he wrote.The Congress leader argued that the government’s focus should be on fixing structural weaknesses in the education system rather than expanding digital coaching initiatives.”Rather than fundamentally fix India’s broken education system or re-invest in public education, the Prime Minister has decided to instead invest public resources in online coaching. It is an accountability-evading gimmick, and this Government has already shown little capacity to implement this scheme successfully,” Jairam Ramesh wrote.Rahul Gandhi’s student campaignRamesh’s criticism follows Rahul Gandhi’s wider campaign highlighting concerns faced by students, including rising education costs, examination irregularities, paper leaks, recruitment issues and unemployment.The Congress leader launched the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign in 2026 to bring student concerns into the national political discourse. The campaign has been held in Kota, Dehradun and Prayagraj, among other places.At a recent ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Maharashtra, Rahul also spoke about the role of women in India, describing them as the country’s biggest strength.”Women are the strength of India – its foundation, its present, and its future.”Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”You belong to no one but yourself. Be loud. Be proud. Fight for your space. Smash the patriarchy!” he said in a post on X.Addressing the programme, Rahul Gandhi said India’s greatest strength lay in the aspirations and potential of its women.”Many times, people ask me, ‘What is India’s biggest strength?’ You get many answers when you ask this question. Somebody will say our economy. Somebody will say our military. Somebody will say our medical system. Somebody might even say our people, but I am very clear on what is India’s biggest strength, our biggest asset, and that strength is 70 crore unique journeys, unique imaginations, unique dreams that the women of India are living,” he said.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.Here are more Raksha Bandhan wishes, Bhadra kaal and Shubh Muhurat from The Times of India.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos469 Dead In Nepal Floods; 3 Bodies Found In Uttar Pradesh; Kathmandu Declines Foreign Rescue TeamsCongress Alleges ₹36,000 Crore ‘Sugar Scam’, Slams Modi Govt Over Festive Price RisePM Modi’s Central Asia Visit: SCO Summit, Uzbekistan Ties, Putin Meet In FocusCM Suvendu Adhikari Urges Skilled Bengalis Abroad To Return, Promises Jobs Under Double-Engine Govt’Blind Pakistan Activated Spies To Locate India’s S-400′ During Op Sindoor, Ex-Air Marshal RevealsCamac Street Showdown: TMC Blocks Police During Billboard Removal, Banerjee Announces Court MoveNepal Floods: 288 Indians Uncontactable, 21 Rescued So Far, MEA Shares Key Updates | WatchFour Killed, One Missing In Manipur Ambush As Naga-Kuki Tensions Erupt Again, Probe Launch | WatchFake IAS Officer Tripti Rajput Under Probe, Police Recover CBI Cards And Government DocumentsWhy A Supreme Court Judge Wants The Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Transferred?123PhotostoriesH1N1 Or COVID-19? Symptoms may look the same, but the diagnosis can mean a very different treatment approachMakeup not lasting all day? Here’s why your base melts by noonThe ‘ick’ explained: 7 reasons attraction between partners can suddenly disappear (and how to bring the spark back)5 reasons people pull away even when they have feelings7 signs you like the idea of a romantic relationship more than your partnerCuff too tight, legs crossed or talking? Cardiologist reveals 5 home BP mistakes that can alter readings5 habits that can quietly damage a marriageNepal flash flood: 7 glacial hotspots around the world facing rising climate risksChettinad to Molakalmuru: Underrated South Indian sarees rich in heritageFriday OTT releases (August 28 2026): ‘Babita Singh Reporting’, ‘Chumbak’, ‘Part-Timers’, ‘Dark Matter Season 2’, Graveyard Season 3 amd more123Hot PicksNepal floodUPTET Result 2026Sunny LeoneKerala name changeRRB NTPC UG CBT 2 examAnkit Baliyan murderSridhar VembuDelhi murderNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAnkit Balyan MurderChandigarh MurderSamay RainaUdaipur HotelFlorida Car CrashUS Green Card HolderBengal HospitalTamil Nadu Son MurderElon MuskKanpur Aircraft Crash

Ramesh cited the latest report of the parliamentary standing committee of the ministry of social justice and empowerment, tabled on August 10, to question the government’s record on its existing free coaching scheme. NEW DELHI: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Friday slammed the Centre over its recent digital education initiatives, alleging that the government was pushed into announcing free online coaching after Rahul Gandhi highlighted the rising burden of private coaching on Indian families.Ramesh questioned the Centre’s ability to implement such schemes, citing a parliamentary panel report that found the existing free coaching programme had achieved only 26 per cent of its enrolment target.Ramesh targets Centre over free online coaching planIn a post on X, Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of attempting to deflect attention from deeper problems in India’s education system by turning to online coaching instead of strengthening public education.”Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at the Chhatron ki Goonj event in Kota on June 17th 2026, raised one of the most important issues in education today: that an extractive coaching industry has supplanted the public education system and that Indian families are now spending 2.5 times more on coaching centres than the Govt of India invests in education.”Ramesh claimed that Rahul Gandhi’s disclosure was followed by the Prime Minister’s announcement of free online coaching for students on August 15.”It was this disclosure that forced the Prime Minister, in a desperate attempt to escape growing public pressure, to announce free online coaching for students on 15th August. But his Government’s track record hardly inspires any confidence. Its existing Free Coaching scheme has been missing its target for 3 years,” he said.Existing free coaching scheme misses targetRamesh cited the latest report of the parliamentary standing committee of the ministry of social justice and empowerment, tabled on August 10, to question the government’s record on its existing free coaching scheme.”The Ministry of Social Justice was to enrol 10,500 candidates for free coaching over 3 years, but it has only enrolled 2,790 students – just 26% of the target. The budget for this scheme has reduced every year, and last year’s spending was less than half the budget. These startling facts have been revealed in the latest report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, tabled on Aug 10, 2026,” he wrote.The Congress leader argued that the government’s focus should be on fixing structural weaknesses in the education system rather than expanding digital coaching initiatives.”Rather than fundamentally fix India’s broken education system or re-invest in public education, the Prime Minister has decided to instead invest public resources in online coaching. It is an accountability-evading gimmick, and this Government has already shown little capacity to implement this scheme successfully,” Jairam Ramesh wrote.Rahul Gandhi’s student campaignRamesh’s criticism follows Rahul Gandhi’s wider campaign highlighting concerns faced by students, including rising education costs, examination irregularities, paper leaks, recruitment issues and unemployment.The Congress leader launched the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign in 2026 to bring student concerns into the national political discourse. The campaign has been held in Kota, Dehradun and Prayagraj, among other places.At a recent ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Maharashtra, Rahul also spoke about the role of women in India, describing them as the country’s biggest strength.”Women are the strength of India – its foundation, its present, and its future.”Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”You belong to no one but yourself. Be loud. Be proud. Fight for your space. Smash the patriarchy!” he said in a post on X.Addressing the programme, Rahul Gandhi said India’s greatest strength lay in the aspirations and potential of its women.”Many times, people ask me, ‘What is India’s biggest strength?’ You get many answers when you ask this question. Somebody will say our economy. Somebody will say our military. Somebody will say our medical system. Somebody might even say our people, but I am very clear on what is India’s biggest strength, our biggest asset, and that strength is 70 crore unique journeys, unique imaginations, unique dreams that the women of India are living,” he said.Get the latest India News and Live updates. 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