The Statesman Kolkata - February 18, 2025

In this issue

February 18, 2025

Indian Railways rolls out safety overhaul after New Delhi Station stampede

Two days after the tragic stampede at New Delhi Railway Station in which 18 people lost their lives and over a dozen were injured, the Railway Ministry, on Monday, rolled out a series of safety measures aimed at preventing overcrowding at all the stations across India and also to ensure smoother passenger flow.

1 min

DFI Chief Shah Accuses Rahul of Showcasing Banned Chinese Drone

Smit Shah, President of Drone Federation of India (DFI) has accused Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of showcasing a banned Chinese DJI drone in a recent video he posted on social media, and said his statements \"dismiss\" India's drone industry.

2 mins

Gyanesh Kumar New Chief Election Commissioner

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner with effect from February 19, a day before Rajiv Kumar demits office as the CEC.

1 min

Pitroda's Remark Sparks New Storm, BJP Flays Cong

Cong distanced itself from Pitroda's statement about China & said that his words were not the views of party

2 mins

Kirti Azad hears grievances of Andal city residents

Kirti Azad, MP, Bardhaman-Durgapur today held a meeting with the aggrieved residents of the airport city near here on certain infrastructure issues that the odd inhabitants allegedly are suffering over the months.

1 min

Happy Street: Terai Himalayan Festival set to begin in Siliguri

Siliguri is all set to witness its first-ever Terai Himalayan Festival, a vibrant celebration of cultural diversity and community spirit, on 23 February.

1 min

Sebaashray camps: 2 patients get treatment at Bangalore

More than 13,000 people visited the Sebaashray camps at Satgachia in south 24-Parganas today.

1 min

Brahmastra Veterans Meet at Panagarh Military Station

Under the aegis of the Indian Army's Eastern Command, Brahmastra Corps organised the Brahmastra Veterans Meet on Sunday at Panagarh Military Station.

1 min

2 Injured Students Sit for Exams from Hospital

Two Madhyamik examinees suffered injuries in road mishaps in East Burdwan while on the way to their examination centres today.

1 min

WBBSE president concerned over mobile phone use in exam halls

Ramanuj Gangopadhyay said the visit is aimed to boost students' confidence and gather on-ground insights

2 mins

WBBSE statement to soothe examinees' nerves

In a late evening statement issued by the president, ad hoc committee of WBBSE stated: \"With regard to the maths question paper of Madhyamik, the subject experts have evaluated and found the questions to be within syllabus, balanced and in order.

1 min

An evening with cancer survivors

Life beyond Cancer (LBC), a non-profit initiative, along with Rotary Clubs under District 3291 organised an impactful awareness evening, dedicated to the survival and well being of pediatric cancer patients, with the motto: \"No Child Should Die of Cancer\".

1 min

Locals of Motijheel, Chinsurah recollect memories of Pratul Mukhopadhyay

The renowned Bengali-language singer Pratul Mukhopadhyay was a creative artist and songwriter.

1 min

Celebration of excellence in MSMEs, start-ups

The MSME & Startup Accelerator Awards (MASA) 2025 - Kolkata Edition was a night of inspiration, honouring exceptional entrepreneurs and industry leaders at Silpo Sadan, Camac Street.

1 min

Braithwaite CMD Highlights Importance of Quality of Castings for Wagon Stocks

Md Asad Alam, chairman and managing director, Braithwaite & Co. Limited (BCL), delivered a speech on the quality requirements of castings for wagon stocks at the prestigious 73rd Indian Foundry Congress and IFEX 2025, organised by The Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF).

1 min

AAI Recruits Young Executives to Bolster Air Operations at Airport

In a significant boost to its operational efficiency and international appeal, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport recruited a dedicated team of junior executives for airside management, passenger services, terminal operations and information management.

1 min

Stampede effect: Massive protests across railway stations

The Congress and the Left Front staged protests and sit-ins at various railway stations across the state today in response to the stampede at the New Delhi railway station that claimed 18 lives.

2 mins

Suvendu, three other BJP MLAs suspended from Assembly

The LoP later said that he would deliver his speech outside the gate of the House, while the chief minister will speak inside the House

3 mins

Bengal reserves 30 pc of cold storage space for marginal farmers

The West Bengal government has directed all the cold storage owners in the state to reserve 30 per cent of the space at their respective facilities for the marginal farmers.

1 min

ER reviews security arrangements at stations

Eastern Railway's commercial and other staff have been instructed to manage the crowd

2 mins

YouTubers Fail to Show Up for NCW Hearing, Commission Reschedules Sessions Over 'India's Got Latent' Remarks

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has rescheduled hearings for several prominent content creators involved in the controversial YouTube show India's Got Latent.

1 min

Dissent notes in JPC report on Waqf Bill modified, alleges Sandosh Kumar

PI MP P Sandosh Kumar wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday alleging that the dissent notes submitted by the Opposition members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were modified, urging him to look into the matter.

2 mins

'Siddaramaiah is the undisputed leader in Karnataka'

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be presenting the state budget on 7 March as per the schedule announced on Monday

2 mins

Karnataka to work with Centre to transform digital governance to deliver services to masses

Karnataka is in the race to become the country's cutting-edge technology hub and the model of digital governance with stepped-up cooperation with the union government on digital services delivery for the citizens.

1 min

Kavitha slams BJP-Congress slugfest over Rahul's faith, Modi's caste

Dismissing the BJP-Congress slugfest over Rahul Gandhi's religion and Narendra Modi's caste as diversionary tactics of the national parties, BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha, on Monday, demanded that the Congress government in the state should present a Bill to provide 42 per cent reservation in the state Assembly and the BJP-led Central government should give its approval to it.

1 min

Tamil Nadu takes possession of Amma's ill-gotten treasure trove, takes it to state's Chennai treasury

After safeguarding valuables belonging to Amma--former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa--for two decades since their seizure in a corruption case, the Karnataka government handed over the huge cache of gold, silver, jewellery, and land documents of properties worth crores and crores of rupees to the representatives of the Tamil Nadu government on Friday.

1 min

No Short Change for Farm Sector: VP

Asserting that the son of a farmer would always commit himself to the truth, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Monday that the path to a developed India passes through its villages.

1 min

When Love Hurts

\"LOVE\" and \"scam\" are four-letter words that, coupled together, have brought ruin to a lot of lives.

2 mins

Manipur Crisis

The imposition of President's Rule in Manipur has reignited fierce debates about the state's future, exposing deep ethnic and political fault lines.

2 mins

Campus Torture

The horrific case of ragging and torture at a nursing college in Kerala is yet another grim reminder of the deeply ingrained culture of abuse in educational institutions.

2 mins

Global tremors

The US is undoubtedly a number one superpower. It is dangerous to the world, and the people, including those in the US, if it leads to its government's arrogance forgetting its founding principles of equality, fraternity, humanity, and world peace. It reminds us of the saying of Lord Acton, 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'.

4 mins

Dismal show by Sharif over past year

What has been the record of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government as it completes one year in power? While the ruling coalition claims many achievements, this is not reflected in how the public rates its performance.

4 mins

Trump's Gaza Vision Cloaked in Hypocrisy

Addressing the press alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump mentioned his Gaza plan for the first time. He remarked, \"We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,\" adding that the US would \"create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.\" He also called on Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Palestinians. It is unknown if he had discussed the proposal with his advisors.

4 mins

UK pledges peacekeeping troops to Ukraine ahead of Paris ceasefire talks

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has become the first European leader to say he is ready to put peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, making the commitment ahead of an emergency leaders' meeting in Paris to discuss Europe's role in a ceasefire.

1 min

41 PLA aircraft, 9 Chinese Navy vessels detected: Taiwan's Defence Ministry

Taiwan's Ministry of Defence on Monday reiterated that Taiwan Strait enjoys freedom of navigation and that China has no right to claim sovereignty over it.

1 min

Top Russian Officials to Hold Talks With US in Saudi Today

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Putin's foreign affairs adviser will fly to the Saudi capital

2 mins

Hezbollah leader demands full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon

Israel had previously postponed its full withdrawal from Lebanon to 18 February after missing the initial deadline

1 min

NSDC gears up to stop jobseekers take 'Donkey Routes' to overseas jobs, shows them path to ‘ethical migration’

All that glitters is not gold, so it is said. And similarly all that appears to be lucrative overseas career proposition may not be right and proper for you.

2 mins

US Tariffs: Bilateral Negotiations Provide Collateral Benefits to India, Says SBI Report

US trade tariff reciprocity may turn out to be more of white noise and overall bilateral negotiations provide a collateral benefit to India, through fostering a conducive environment of cooperative dynamism across defence, energy security, innovations, technology, critical minerals, maritime security, investments and higher education, a special SBI Research report said on Monday.

1 min

APEDA Completes First-Ever Commercial Shipment of Premium Pomegranates to Australia via Sea

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has successfully completed India's first-ever commercial trial shipments of premium pomegranates to Australia via sea.

1 min

Foreign investors selling Indian equities due to 'profit booking': Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the foreign institutional investors (FII) are selling Indian equities lately due to the profit booking.

1 min

Sebi's new rules for REITs and InvITs around public offer documents

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed new rules regarding Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).

1 min

L&T ties up with Rafael to offer trophy system

Mumbai-based engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) as well as Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Aero India 2025 to jointly offer the Trophy Active Protection System (APS) in India, according to an official release issued by L&T.

1 min

Stock Market Rebounds at Close

The BSE Sensex closed 57.65 points higher at 75,996.86, while the NSE Nifty gained 30.25 points, settling at 22,959.50

2 mins

Trends and opportunities defining school education in 2025

Having already entered 2025, the year is poised to usher transformative upgradation in the education sector.

3 mins

Indo-Korean partnership: BBIT-KDU's landmark collaboration

To commemorate a historic international collaboration with South Korea's Kyungdong University (KDU) Global, the Training and Placement Cell of Budge Budge Institute of Technology, Kolkata, organised a seminar on 11 February.

2 mins

Champions Trophy: Grappling with Bumrah's absence, Team India bank on well-settled top six

Following a short nine-match ODI run after a heartbreaking loss to Australia in 2023 ODI World Cup final at home, Team India is heading into the ICC Champions Trophy with a lot of things settled and falling in place nicely, with perhaps the only glaring negative of Jasprit Bumrah being out due to injury poses a threat to the Men in Blue's run in another ICC tournament at a venue where they do not have the nicest memories.

3 mins

IPL: Mujeeb to replace injured Ghazanfar for Mumbai Indians

Ending a four-year wait for his return to Indian Premier League (IPL), Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been roped in as a replacement for his countryman AM Ghazanfar in Mumbai Indians' (MI) squad for the upcoming season.

2 mins

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The Statesman Kolkata Newspaper Description:

The Statesman Kolkata is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by The Statesman Net Pvt Ltd in Kolkata, India. It was founded in 1875 and is one of the oldest and most respected newspapers in India. The newspaper is known for its in-depth reporting, investigative journalism, and editorial independence.

The Statesman Kolkata covers a wide range of topics, including politics, business, economy, society, culture, and sports. It also has a strong focus on local news and events. The newspaper is known for its critical and independent reporting on the government and the powerful.

The Statesman Kolkata is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to stay informed about the latest news and developments in India, and especially in West Bengal. It is also a great way to get in-depth analysis and commentary on current affairs.