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The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials trapped Cumbum Mandal Agricultural Officer Md. Mohammed, in Markapuram district, when he was allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹20,000 on Friday.The accused officer allegedly demanded money from a fertilizer shop owner for not serving ‘inactive notice’, the Ongole Range ACB officers said.The Mandal Agricultural Officer would be produced before the ACB Special Court, Nellore, the investigation officers said. Published – February 20, 2026 07:20 pm IST Source link

Version 4.0 underwent extensive trials and has been commissioned on the 324-km Mathura-Kota section, the first to be cleared by the Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) in July this year. | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Indian Railways has invited bids for about 15,000 km, covering the Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal, and other high-density routes, of which contracts for 14,954 km have been awarded for implementing the latest version of the indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system – Kavach version 4.0.South Central Railway (SCR), which had earlier deployed Kavach version 3.2 on 1,465 km, played a key role in its…

PDP legislator Waheed-ur-Rehmaan Parra. File. | Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) demanded an all-party meeting in the Assembly on Kashmir’s apple crisis in the wake of the India-U.S. trade deal.Speaking in the House, PDP leader and legislator Waheed-ur-Rehmaan Parra said the all-party meeting was important “to devise a collective strategy to tackle the mounting crisis in Kashmir’s apple industry”.He warned that nearly seven million people dependent on the sector could be affected.“The apple industry is the backbone of J&K’s economy. Safeguards for local growers amid free trade agreements with the U.S., New Zealand and European…

The entire ground remains covered in tarpaulin in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 cricket World Cup group stage match between Zimbabwe and Ireland at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on February 17, 2026. | Photo Credit: AFP When Australia captain Mitchell Marsh was asked about his team’s hopes of making it through to the Super Eight after a demoralising loss against Sri Lanka on Monday, he mentioned ‘the luck of the Irish”. Australia had to hope for Zimbabwe to falter against both Ireland and Sri Lanka in its next two games before facing Oman in its last game with…

You tell me. Where do I go? How do I get there?Guidance is not a map. Road signs know that the best. If first, we were guided by our elders on how to navigate through and understand life, then second, we are guided by signs embellished around otherwise naked roads to dynamically navigate ourselves on the ground. The latter is quieter but equally present everyday. Most of the time, our brains register just enough to comply with the road safety regulations and the road, taken for granted. Road signs have to be noticeable, readable, and immediately understood. | Photo Credit:…

A trade deal reached between India and the United States is being projected as more than a transactional lowering of tariffs. It is being read correctly as a signal of deeper geopolitical alignment and as a catalyst for India’s long-cherished ambition of becoming a leading global manufacturing hub. Yet, as with most headline-grabbing trade announcements, the fine print remains elusive, the timelines vague, and the promises politically inflated. The real story lies not in the dramatic numbers being floated, but in the structural direction India appears to be taking.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADUS President Donald Trump’s announcement that Washington would…

Keralites thronged markets, malls, and textile shops on Thursday in a feverish last-minute hunt for must-have items and bargains on the eve of Thiru Onam, the State’s most important festival.The holiday spirit was particularly evident at the iconic Chalai Market in Thiruvananthapuram, Broadway in Kochi, and S.M. Street in Kozhikode. The tradition of Uthrada Pachil – the concluding shopping frenzy on the day before Thiru Onam – appeared to endure strongly across Kerala.Brisk businessBusiness was brisk at the long rows of flower, vegetable, and grocery shops in the nearly two-century-old Chalai market.Asokan, a wholesale vegetable trader who also supplies to…

India’s direct tax system has undergone a significant expansion over the last decade, marked by a sharp rise in the number of taxpayers as well as sustained improvements in administrative efficiency. Time-series data released by the Income-Tax Department indicate that this expansion has been broad-based and persistent, reflecting deeper formal participation rather than a short-lived compliance surge.Between Assessment Year (AY) 2013-14 and AY2024-25, the total number of taxpayers, defined as persons who either filed a return of income or in whose case tax was deducted at source, increased from 5.26 crore to 12.13 crore.This increase, which more than doubles the…

FILE – 1 Ounce Fine Gold Coins are displayed in the safe deposit boxes room at the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany. | Photo Credit: AP Gold (Aurum or Au) is a chemical element on the periodic table, and a metal known for its bright yellow colour and shine. A natural occurrence in use since ancient times, it has been considered precious by people for a long time. And the reason for that lies in a unique alloy (mixture of metals) of science, history, and human belief. Gold bars | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Science There are various…

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty extended their gains for the third straight session on Wednesday (February 18, 2026), driven by last-hour buying in bank, metal, and FMCG shares. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 283.29 points, or 0.34%, to settle at 83,734.25 in a volatile trade. During the day, it touched an intraday high of 83,770.05. The 50-share NSE Nifty gained 93.95 points, or 0.37%, to close at 25,819.35. Among the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, ITC, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Trent, Sun…