EP GROUND CHECK

Mumbai is losing its public land to private luxury developments, with government-owned plots being converted into high-end residential complexes instead of spaces meant for ordinary citizens. According to The Hindu, several pieces of municipal land across the city have been handed over to developers who build luxury apartments, shopping malls, and private facilities on what […]

India has the highest number of children in the world without sanitation services at school. This is according to a new report by the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. The report is called “Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools 2015-2025.” It says 244 million children worldwide had no sanitation service at their school

The price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder has gone up by Rs 62.50. In Delhi, it will now cost Rs 2,810 from October 1. The hike comes at the start of the festive season. This is when hotels, restaurants, eateries and caterers usually see more demand. It is likely to raise their running costs.

NCERT’s new class nine social science textbook says many Indian kings and princes received swords from goddesses like Kali, Durga, and Bhavani. The textbook says this happened to help them resist invasions from the seventh century onwards. The book is called “Understanding Society: India and Beyond – Part 2.” Its first part came out in

The Central Secretariat Library (CSL) needs a new home. But no one knows where it will go. The library was set up in 1891. It moved to Delhi in 1911, along with the capital. It has been in Shastri Bhawan since 1969. Now Shastri Bhawan is being torn down as part of the Central Vista

India is facing mounting water stress as reservoir levels across the country fall below the decade-long average, with southern India holding just half its storage capacity as the southwest monsoon prepares to withdraw. The latest Central Water Commission data show that water storage in 178 major reservoirs stands at 70 per cent of combined capacity,

The El Nino weather pattern is strengthening and is likely to become “very strong” in late 2026 and early 2027, according to the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at Columbia University, raising concerns over elevated climate risk for India. In its latest ENSO forecast, published on September 21, the IRI said the

Mobile phone retailers across India plan to observe October 2 as “No UPI Day” in protest against the 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate on UPI transactions, according to a senior official of the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA). The government has introduced a 0.4 per cent fee on UPI transfers to merchants exceeding

A writ petition filed before the Bombay High Court has challenged 14 administrative actions taken by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that these decisions were made despite recorded objections from fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, raising questions over the collective functioning of the Election Commission of India. The petition, filed

The Election Commission of India has introduced a new “Mark VIP” feature in the app used by booth level officers, in the middle of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise being carried out across 16 states and three Union territories. Officials at Delhi’s chief electoral officer’s office confirmed that the BLO App was updated with