Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated Harivansh on being elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman for the third time.

Harivansh, a nominated member of the House, was elected unopposed.

Congress President and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge also congratulated Harivansh.

Speaking in the Upper House, Prime Minister Modi said that being elected for the third time in a row as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is, in itself, a profound expression of the trust that the House has in Harivansh.

Modi said the House has benefited greatly from Harivansh’s experience in the past, and the efforts he has made to take everyone along. “This is a tribute to his experience and an intuitive work style,” the prime minister said.

Modi also said that Harivansh, who has been a journalist earlier, has held high standards of journalism. He further said that Harivansh has spent his MP LAD (local area development) funds for research projects at various universities.

The prime minister also lauded the contribution of Harivansh in instilling confidence among the younger generation in achieving the goal of a developed India.

Kharge expressed hope that the Deputy Chairman will take care of the opposition and give them adequate time in the House.

The Congress leader further said he was pained by the fact that the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha has been vacant since 2019, which is contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.

Earlier, the Samajwadi Party and TMC staged a walkout when the motion to elect Harivansh was being adopted. (Agencies)

Tycoon Gautam Adani has overtaken fellow Gujarat business czar Mukesh Ambani to become Asia’s richest person, as a sustained rally in shares of his ports-to-energy conglomerate lifted his net worth.

With a net worth of USD 92.6 billion, Adani surpassed Ambani, whose fortune stands at USD 90.8 billion, to become the richest person in India and Asia, according to the latest billionaire rankings.

Adani, founder of his eponymous group, oversees India’s largest private seaport network, is the country’s biggest renewable energy producer and private airport operator, and ranks among the world’s largest coal traders.

He is currently ranked No. 19 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the world’s 500 richest individuals and is updated daily.

Adani’s wealth is largely derived from his shareholdings across the group’s 10 listed companies. A recent surge in Adani Group stocks has added billions of dollars in market value, underscoring strong investor appetite for assets linked to India’s economic expansion and energy transition.

By contrast, Ambani’s wealth, anchored by his flagship conglomerate Reliance Industries that spans energy, telecom and retail, has seen comparatively modest gains, reshuffling the region’s billionaire rankings.

Topping the billionaire ranking is Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla – the worl’d most valuable carmaker – and rocket manufacturer SpaceX. His networth of USD 656 billion is more than double of his closest rival, Larry Page. Page, cofounder of Alphabet, the holding company for Google, is worth USD 286 billion.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, is ranked at No.3 with a net worth of USD 269 billion.

Adani and Ambani are the only Indians in the top 50. Ambani had consistently been India’s richest for over a decade before Adani’s eye popping gains in company stock prices catapulted him to the top spot in February 2022.

However, his group’s stock tumbled in the aftermath of a damning report by a US short seller Hindenburg that led to Adani group losing USD 100 billion in market value at lowest point. This led to Ambani making a comeback at the top.

In mid-2024, Adani again overtook Ambani. This is largely because of Adani stocks surging due to infrastucture expansion and the energy transition narrative. Ambani again overtook the top slot in mid-2025 before losing it again this month.

The Adani Group has built a diversified portfolio spanning transport and logistics, integrated energy infrastructure across generation, transmission and distribution, as well as interests in natural resources, airports, defence and aerospace, data centres, cement, media, roads, rail and metro networks, real estate, urban redevelopment, food and FMCG, digital platforms and business incubation.

According to the group, Gautam Adani is India’s first first-generation entrepreneur to lead a business empire to a market capitalisation exceeding USD 200 billion. (Agencies)

NDA leaders on Thursday defended bills to amend the women’s quota law and set up a delimitation commission, saying women have waited for years for reservation, while opposition leaders alleged the way the government was proceeding with it could undermine the country’s federal and democratic structure.

According to a bulletin issued on April 15, the ‘Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026’, ‘Delimitation Bill, 2026’ and ‘Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026’ will be introduced and debated for passage in the Lower House on Thursday.

The three-day sitting of Parliament, during which amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, mandating 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, will be brought for passage so that it can be implemented by 2029.

BJP MP Giriraj Singh expressed confidence that the amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act for its early implementation will receive broad support in Parliament.

“I have full confidence that when they come to the House, they will develop sensitivity towards women. Women have been waiting for years, and now their patience is running out. This will be passed collectively,” Singh told reporters inside the Parliament House complex.

He rejected the opposition’s concerns on the delimitation exercise as unfounded.

“There will be no discrimination against anyone or any state. There will be no loss to the southern states and no one needs to worry,” he added.

BJP MP Sandhya Roy termed the move historic and said it would significantly boost women’s participation in governance.

“I believe everyone will support this Bill. It is a historic opportunity for women’s empowerment and a defining moment for the country. By 2029, women will have a strong share in the nation’s participation and progress,” she said.

According to the draft Constitution amendment bill, the number of Lok Sabha seats will be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Seats will also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women, and the seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies “shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a state or Union territory”, the draft bill circulated among Lok Sabha members said.

JD(U) MP Lovely Anand criticised the opposition for raising objections.

“Why is the opposition against delimitation when nothing has happened yet? This is in favour of women — half the population is finally getting its due. The opposition is worried because it sees the ground slipping beneath its feet,” she said.

Opposition leaders expressed concerns over the proposed delimitation exercise.

Congress leader K Suresh said his party supports women’s reservation, but opposes the delimitation plan linked to it.

“We are not against the women’s reservation bill. We are totally opposing the delimitation bill,” he said.

Congress MP Hibi Eden said he has moved a procedural notice against the proposal.

“We have given notice under the relevant rules of procedure to oppose this. The delimitation bill is a direct attack on the Constitution. It takes away the rights of southern states and is an attack on the cooperative federal structure of the country,” he said.

“There is concern over the proposed increase in seats and the imbalance it may create between northern and southern states. Proper discussion and consultation with state governments are needed,” he added.

“It also affects the democratic and secular nature of the country. Southern states have performed better in population control and delimitation based on population will penalise them,” Eden said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party supports reservation for women, but is opposed to the manner in which the government is proceeding with it.

“We are not against women’s reservation, but we oppose the haste and the way it is being brought. Without a fresh census, relying on 2011 data will not ensure accurate representation,” he said.

“If a census is conducted, there will be a demand for a caste census and appropriate reservation. This is not real empowerment but symbolism,” Yadav added.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant spoke in the same vein.

“We are not against women’s reservation, but we have reservations about the delimitation bill. There are concerns about how such exercises are carried out,” he said.

DMK MP T R Baalu said, “Yesterday, our leader M K Stalin burnt the draft Bill at a public rally in Salem, which shows that we have to oppose it.”

The total strength of the ruling NDA in the Lok Sabha stands at 292, while the major opposition parties have 233 MPs. For the Constitution amendment bill to be passed, it requires a two-thirds majority of those present in the House at the time of voting. (Agencies)

Rajya Sabha on Thursday reconstituted its panel of vice-chairpersons, nominating six members drawn from the BJP, Congress, AIADMK, and BJD, with effect from April 15.

The reconstituted panel comprises Dinesh Sharma, S Phangnon Konyak, and Ghanshyam Tiwari from the BJP; Phulo Devi Netam from the Congress; M. Thambidurai from the AIADMK; and Sasmit Patra from the BJD.

Members of the panel are called upon to preside over the House when both the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are absent. While in the chair, they exercise the same powers as the Chairperson in conducting proceedings — maintaining order, regulating debate, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the House during sittings.

Unlike the Deputy Chairman, who holds a standing constitutional office, members of the vice-chairperson panel do not occupy a permanent position and preside on a rotational basis as required. (Agencies)

The Punjab Police on Thursday claimed to have busted a terror module backed by Pakistan’s ISI with the arrest of one person and recovery of four hand grenades.

In a joint operation of the State Special Operations cells of Amritsar and Mohali, the Counter Intelligence Wing of the Punjab Police also recovered two foreign-made pistols along with ammunition, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused was acting on the instructions of foreign-based handlers and has links with the terror module involved in the recent grenade attack in Chandigarh, Yadav said in a post on X.

An FIR has been registered at Police Station State Special Operation Cell in Amritsar, the DGP said, adding that further investigation is underway to identify, track and apprehend other members of the module. (AGENCIES)

The ISRO has successfully carried out the second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for its ambitious Gaganyaan at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.

The test is a critical milestone aimed at ensuring the safe recovery of the crew module — the capsule designed to carry astronauts — during re-entry and landing phases of the mission.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh congratulated ISRO on the successful accomplishment, highlighting that the Gaganyaan mission is scheduled for its first human spaceflight next year.

The IADT-02 follows the earlier successful test conducted on August 24, 2025, at the same facility. Air drop tests simulate the final stage of a spacecraft’s return to Earth by releasing a module from an aircraft or helicopter to evaluate system performance under different scenarios.

These tests assess crucial parameters such as parachute deployment in case of mission abort, system reliability even if a parachute fails, and the module’s orientation and stability during splashdown.

During the first test, a 4.8-tonne dummy crew module was dropped from a height of approximately three kilometres using a Chinook helicopter. A complex parachute system consisting of 10 parachutes was deployed, ensuring the module slowed down to a safe landing speed.

The successful completion of IADT-02 marks another significant step forward in India’s journey towards achieving human spaceflight capability.

Justice Yashwant Varma has tendered his resignation to Droupadi Murmu amid ongoing impeachment proceedings linked to the alleged recovery of burnt currency notes from his official residence.

According to sources, the resignation letter, dated April 9, conveyed his decision to step down with immediate effect. In his communication, Justice Varma stated that he did not wish to burden the President’s office with the reasons behind his decision but expressed “deep anguish” while resigning from his position at the Allahabad High Court.

The controversy stems from an incident on March 14 last year, when wads of burnt currency notes were reportedly found at his official residence in New Delhi. Following the episode, Justice Varma was repatriated from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court.

The development comes in the backdrop of impeachment proceedings initiated against him, marking a significant moment in the judiciary. Further action in the matter is expected to follow as per constitutional provisions.