NewsBytes

Extreme weather events during the June to September monsoon season claimed at least 1,528 lives across India, with Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra among the worst-hit states, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday. The IMD gave these figures citing data from media reports. Of the total deaths, 935 were caused by floods and heavy rains, while 570 people were killed in lightning and thunderstorms. Twenty-two deaths were linked to heat waves. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest toll at 290, including 153 deaths due to floods and heavy rains and 135 from lightning.  Himachal Pradesh reported 141 fatalities, almost all of them caused by torrential rains that triggered flash floods and landslides. Jammu and Kashmir followed with 139 deaths, also largely rain-related. Maharashtra reported 135 deaths, primarily due to floods, while Bihar registered 62 deaths, all linked to lightning.

The Election Commission on Tuesday published its final electoral roll in Bihar, containing details of 7.42 crore voters, a drop of more than 47 lakh since June, when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was launched. The number of voters in the final roll is, however, higher than in the draft roll (7.24 crore), which came out in August after names of 65 lakh electors were knocked off as they were found to be "absent", "shifted" or "dead". According to a statement issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, names of 21.53 lakh "eligible voters", which got left out in the draft roll, were added since publication of the draft roll on August 1. However, names of 3.66 lakh voters, which were in the draft roll, were also deleted in the course of the "claims and objections" phase. The EC did not specify the grounds on which names in the draft roll were found to be of "ayogya" (ineligible) electors by the time of the publication of the final roll.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will inaugurate the animal feed factory set up by De Heus Animal Nutrition India, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Royal De Heus, at Rajpura on Wednesday. Marisa Gerards, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to India, Nepal and Bhutan, will also be present in the inaugural ceremony, according to a statement. Company officials on Tuesday said that built at a cost of Rs 150 crore, the Rajpura plant is among the largest and most advanced facilities of its kind in India. The factory has an installed capacity of 1.8 lakh metric tons (MT) of animal feed, expandable to 2.4 lakh MT. It features two dedicated production lines -- one for cattle and buffalo feed, and another for poultry and pig feed. Equipped with European technology and automated processes, the plant will manufacture a comprehensive range of products, including compound feed, premixes, concentrates and specialty feeds.

In a bid to strengthen healthcare in Maharashtra, the state cabinet on Tuesday cleared a comprehensive cancer care policy to provide quality treatment to patients through a three-tier integrated system. Under the policy, specialised cancer treatment will be made available in 18 hospitals across the state. A dedicated company — Maharashtra Cancer Care, Research and Education Foundation (MAHACARE Foundation) — will be established with an initial capital of Rs 100 crore, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement. Talking to reporters, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the cancer care policy will ensure early diagnosis and treatment in all districts of the state. The cabinet also approved the Maharashtra Global Capability Centre (GCC) Policy 2025, to promote investments and multinational collaborations, aligning with the vision of 'Viksit Bharat 2047'. Fadnavis said that the country will have 5,000 GCCs in the near future, and the policy has been framed to ensure Maharashtra gets maximum benefits. The move is expected to generate five lakh high-paid jobs, he said.