Mumbai: Telecom operators have opposed the fresh in-building solution (IBS) tender floated by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, while offering to purchase the existing infrastructure created by the earlier vendor ACES to ensure faster rollout of mobile connectivity across Metro stations.In a joint communication to MMRCL’s managing director Ashwini Bhide on March 23, 2016, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have flagged the steep reserve price of around Rs 1,000 per sq ft under the new tender—even for non-usable areas—as the biggest hurdle. They termed the pricing “exorbitant” and not aligned with the principle of “just compensation”, warning it could delay telecom deployment. The operators have also made it clear that no telecom company will issue comfort letters to any IBS vendor under the current terms, effectively stalling participation unless the pricing framework is rationalised. The opposition comes in the backdrop of MMRCL terminating its earlier IBS contract with ACES and floating a fresh tender on March 20. In a significant suggestion, the telecom firms have indicated their willingness to acquire the already installed ACES infrastructure, instead of rebuilding networks from scratch, to avoid delays and duplication of costs.The companies have backed a shared network model, with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd already seeking Right-of-Way (RoW) permissions to deploy telecom infrastructure across the Metro network. Other telecom service providers have extended support to this proposal in the interest of seamless connectivity.The letter highlights that there is currently no operational telecom network inside Metro premises and stresses that reliable connectivity is critical for passenger safety, emergency communication and operational efficiency, particularly on underground stretches.With Mumbai’s underground Metro corridor nearing operational readiness, the pricing dispute and uncertainty following the ACES contract termination could delay a key commuter service—uninterrupted mobile connectivity inside stations and tunnels.

Mumbai: The state govt has set up a committee to draft a new bill for empowerment of women farmers. Last week, DCM Sunetra Pawar had said a special bill on women farmers would be introduced in the next session of the state legislature to strengthen women’s rights and recognition in agriculture. Sunetra Pawar was speaking at a seminar on the empowerment of women farmers in Vidhan Bhavan. She had said the new law would address issues such as women’s names not being included in 7/12 land records and the absence of gender-based agricultural data. The committee is led by Parimal Singh, project director of the Nanaji Deshmukh Krishi Sanjeevani Project, Mumbai and includes Suraj Mandhare, commissioner (agriculture), Shekhar Gaikwad, additional director general, Yashada and Priya Khan, OSD to CM Devendra Fadnavis among others. “The govt is committed to ensuring that women farmers receive their rightful recognition and respect. The proposed law will help resolve difficulties related to land records and improve documentation of women’s contribution to agriculture,” Pawar had said.“In the seminar, a discussion was held on the preparation of a comprehensive bill for the empowerment of women farmers in the state. Accordingly, the matter of constituting a committee to prepare a draft of the bill and submitting it to the government was under consideration,” the Govt Resolution (GR) stated. The committee has been tasked with preparing a legal draft of the proposed ‘comprehensive bill’ for the overall empowerment of women farmers. “While preparing the said draft, discussions shall be held with experts in the agricultural and allied sectors, legal experts and other stakeholders as required. The committee will be required to submit the draft of the bill to the govt by April 7, 2026,” the GR stated.

Mumbai: The state govt has set up a committee to draft a new bill for empowerment of women farmers. Last week, DCM Sunetra Pawar had said a special bill on women farmers would be introduced in the next session of the state legislature to strengthen women’s rights and recognition in agriculture. Sunetra Pawar was speaking at a seminar on the empowerment of women farmers in Vidhan Bhavan. She had said the new law would address issues such as women’s names not being included in 7/12 land records and the absence of gender-based agricultural data. The committee is led by Parimal Singh, project director of the Nanaji Deshmukh Krishi Sanjeevani Project, Mumbai and includes Suraj Mandhare, commissioner (agriculture), Shekhar Gaikwad, additional director general, Yashada and Priya Khan, OSD to CM Devendra Fadnavis among others. “The govt is committed to ensuring that women farmers receive their rightful recognition and respect. The proposed law will help resolve difficulties related to land records and improve documentation of women’s contribution to agriculture,” Pawar had said.“In the seminar, a discussion was held on the preparation of a comprehensive bill for the empowerment of women farmers in the state. Accordingly, the matter of constituting a committee to prepare a draft of the bill and submitting it to the government was under consideration,” the Govt Resolution (GR) stated. The committee has been tasked with preparing a legal draft of the proposed ‘comprehensive bill’ for the overall empowerment of women farmers. “While preparing the said draft, discussions shall be held with experts in the agricultural and allied sectors, legal experts and other stakeholders as required. The committee will be required to submit the draft of the bill to the govt by April 7, 2026,” the GR stated.

Mumbai: Amid demands for answers from the Opposition on the probe against astrologer Ashok Kharat who is accused of raping and molesting women, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state assembly on Monday that the issue was very serious and the government would take action even against those remotely related to the case.“What happened is an assault on the dignity of women. Kharat misused his power to deceive women,” said Fadnavis, who said he will make a detailed statement on the case on Tuesday.Fadnavis said that the police had worked on the case and laid a trap for Kharat. Few women were willing to come forward and register a complaint. “Now that this process has begun, hopefully others will come forward,” said Fadnavis.Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Ministers, IAS and IPS officers who supported him should be made co-accused in the case. It is said that three senior officials used to meet in a hotel in Nasik in order to discuss how to shield him,” said Wadettiwar.The Shiv Sena UBT’s Bhaskar Jadhav said, “Public representatives across party lines, ministers and IAS and IPS officials could be involved in this.”

Mumbai: With Maharashtra fisheries minister Nitesh Rane writing to Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh seeking urgent intervention on rising diesel costs, concerns are mounting over a looming supply crunch in Mumbai’s fish markets and a spike in retail prices.In his letter, Rane highlighted that 7,550 mechanised fishing vessels operated through 136 cooperative societies are facing “severe financial distress” due to escalating fuel costs. He pointed to a sharp price disparity caused by the classification of fishermen co-operatives as “bulk consumers”, forcing them to buy diesel at rates significantly higher than retail prices available at petrol pumps.The minister warned that the rising fuel burden has already led to reduced fishing trips, operational inefficiencies and lower catch volumes, threatening the livelihoods of fishermen, vendors and allied workers. He urged the Centre to reclassify co-operatives for retail pricing, introduce targeted subsidies or DBT support, and formulate a national policy to stabilise fuel costs for the sector.The letter comes amid parallel representations by fishermen unions, which have cautioned that the Rs 22-per-litre gap between retail (Rs 90) and bulk (under Rs 112) diesel rates could force boats to remain docked. The bulk diesel prices were hiked for fishing boats three days back following the Middle-East crisis.

NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia and its impact on energy supplies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday warned of possible attempts by “certain elements” to exploit the situation to endanger India’s internal security. He, however, assured that the security and law-and-order agencies were already in a state of high alert to detect and avert such designs.Drawing the attention of the Rajya Sabha to the internal security dimension of the West Asia crisis, Modi informed the members that security across all domains in the country — coastal, border, cyber and strategic installations — is being further strengthened.