India on Monday issued an advisory for citizens in Iran, warning them against travelling outside the country without coordinating with the Indian Embassy in Tehran, as the conflict in West Asia entered its second week.. The Indian Embassy’s advisory noted that once any Indian national crosses Iranian territory and is unable to enter a third country, the embassy will not be able to provide assistance. (AFP). The embassy also asked Indian nationals to not go near any land border without explicit guidance.. “Indian nationals are hereby advised not to approach any of the land borders of Iran for travel outside the country without prior coordination with the Embassy. Any movement towards land border points should be undertaken only after obtaining explicit guidance from the Embassy,” the Embassy said in the advisory on Monday, March 9.. Further, the advisory also noted that once any Indian national crosses Iranian territory and is unable to enter a third country, the embassy will not be able to provide assistance.. “It may please be noted that the Embassy will not be in a position to extend assistance once individuals have exited Iranian territory and are unable to enter the third country concerned,” it said before mentioning emergency contact helplines for Indian nations in Iran which includes mobile numbers — +98 912 810 9115, +98 912 810 9102, +98 912 810 9109, +98 993 217 9359 — and email: cons.tehran@mea.gov.in. India’s fresh advisory for its nationals in Iran comes as the condition in the country remains volatile even though the Islamic Republic got its new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.. United States President Donald Trump, as expected, called Mojtaba’s elevation as Iran’s new Supreme Leader ‘unacceptable’ and has demanded Iran’s unconditional surrender.. With no de-escalation in the ongoing war in sight even with appointment of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Iran’s defence council said in a statement, “We will obey the commander-in-chief until the last drop of our blood.” 

 Trinamool Congress MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad has raised questions over India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, coach Gautam Gambhir, and ICC chairman Jay Shah taking the World Cup trophy won on Sunday to a Hindu temple in Ahmedabad.. Team India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, ICC chairman Jay Shah, and coach Gautam Gambhir at the Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad on Sunday night, just after the victory in the final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium. (ANI Video Grab). “Why NOT a Mosque? Why NOT a Church? Why NOT a Gurudwara?… The Trophy Belongs to 1.4 BILLION Indians of EVERY Faith — NOT ONE RELIGION’S VICTORY LAP!” read the X post by Azad, who was a member of the team that won the 1983 ODI World Cup.. He said called it shameful that one religion got precedence. “When we won the World Cup under Kapil Dev in 1983, we had Hindu Muslim Sikh and Christian in the team. We brought the trophy to our religious birth place our motherland India Bharat Hindustan,” he wrote.. “This Team Represents INDIA — not Surya Kumar Yadav’s or Jay Shah’s Family,” he further said, and then mentioned non-Hindu players too make his point: “(Mohammad) Siraj never paraded it at a Mosque. Sanju (Samson) never took it to a Church… latter had a major part to play and was man of the tournament.”. It was on Sunday night that Suryakumar Yadav, head coach and former BJP MP Gambhir and International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah, son of Union home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah, visited the Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad and took blessings with the T20 World Cup trophy in hand.. Azad’s party TMC, ruling Bengal for over a decade, has been at loggerheads with the BJP as state elections are barely a couple of months away. It has accused the BJP of communalising the state’s politics with a Hindutva-centred strategy, while the BJP accuses CM Mamata Banerjee of “appeasing” Muslims instead.. Team India made history by securing a record-breaking third T20 World Cup title and becoming the first-ever team to defend the title and win it as a home nation, following a 96-run win over New Zealand at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. 

 The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday released the first National Highways Green Cover Index (NH-GCI), establishing a baseline for measuring vegetation along the country’s highway network using satellite-based assessment.. The first assessment cycle has covered around 30,000 kilometres of national highways across 24 states. (Image sourced from Doordarshan). Subsequent annual cycles will track year-on-year changes along the same highway stretches, enabling monitoring of improvements in roadside vegetation over time, NHAI said in a statement.. The index was prepared in coordination with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after a memorandum of understanding was signed by both agencies in January 2024 to develop a scientific and quantitative framework for assessing plantations along national highways.. The index uses high-resolution satellite sensors to detect chlorophyll content along highway corridors, enabling an estimate of vegetation within the right of way on both sides of the road.. The first assessment cycle has covered around 30,000 kilometres of national highways across 24 states for the period between July and December 2024.. Also Read: NHAI to build bridge, 2 km road to ease traffic at Masani Barrage. According to NHAI, the index is a technology-based approach for macro-level estimation of green cover along highways and could help identify stretches with relatively lower vegetation levels where plantation management may require attention. The framework also enables comparison and ranking of highway sections based on green cover. It said the use of satellite data offers a cost-effective and time-efficient method for monitoring vegetation along the expanding national highway network.. The release of the NH-GCI report follows NHAI’s publication of its sustainability report in July 2025, which outlined the agency’s sustainability initiatives and environmental performance across highway development and operations site. 

 To fast-track environmental clearances (EC) further, the Union government has decided to set up a Standing Authority on Environment Impact Assessment (SAEIA), which will appraise projects when state-level impact assessment authorities are non-functional. The SAEIA will also discharge other tasks entrusted to it, according to a March 5 draft notification.. The SAEIA will consist of ex-officio members appointed by the central government. (HT PHOTO/Representative). The draft notification notes that the tenure of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) is three years, extendable by one year. In the absence of SEIAA/SEAC, appraisal of projects within their domain is carried out at the central level. The process of reconstitution is initiated six months before expiry, and delays occur due to late or incomplete submission of proposals from states.. “The matter has been examined… It has been observed that delayed reconstitution of SEIAA leads to a complete halt in the EC process at the state levels, and the pending proposals are transferred in bulk to the Centre, leading to extended timelines and unwarranted delays in the appraisal of the projects, thereby impacting project timelines and investor confidence,” the draft states.. The SAEIA will consist of ex-officio members appointed by the central government. “The central government deems it necessary that the continuity of SEIAA and SEAC be ensured by authorising a separate standing body as an interim arrangement for the purpose of appraisal of projects/activities and grant of regulatory clearances under EIA [Environment Impact Assessment] Notification 2006, in the absence of a functional authority and till the constitution of new SEIAA/SEAC,” the draft states.. “The Central Government also deems it necessary that the…standing body may also be authorised to consider the project that are delayed at the SEIAA/SEAC level and to discharge such other tasks as may be entrusted to it by the Central Government related to the implementation of the EIA Notification, 2006, as amended from time to time, within the respective State/UT [Union Territory].”. The draft notification provides for the standing committee stepping in if appraisals are delayed by state-level bodies. “In the event the application for grant of EC is not appraised by the concerned State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) within a period of 120 days from the date of the submission of the complete application by the project proponent, the application shall be automatically forwarded to the Standing Committee on Environment Impact Appraisal (SCEIA), through PARIVESH portal, for consideration, which shall appraise such projects and provide their recommendations as per the scenarios and within the time frame mentioned.”. Also, if the decision of the SEIAA is not communicated to the project applicant within the period specified, the proposal shall be automati 

 West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday accused chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of disrespecting women and shouting at a delegation of the party that met him and the two election commissioners in Kolkata, escalating tensions between the two sides.. TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya quoted Kumar as saying that he is helpless, as the Supreme Court is monitoring the SIR in West Bengal. (ANI). “Like every time, it was he [Kumar] who did all the talking. After speaking for some time, he suddenly got irritated and said that you [TMC] have moved the Supreme Court. He was shouting. He accused us of shouting,” said TMC leader and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya.. She quoted Kumar as saying that Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has been completed in other states and that he is helpless, as the Supreme Court is monitoring the process in West Bengal. “Is moving the Supreme Court a crime? We have the right to move court,” Bhattacharya said after the meeting. “He [Kumar] was asking me not to shout. I told him that his attitude proves that he does not respect women. That is why names of women voters are being deleted.”. There was no immediate response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to Bhattacharya’s version of what transpired at the meeting.. Earlier on Monday morning, TMC workers carrying placards with “go back” slogans written on them and black flags gathered as Kumar visited the Kalighat Temple. TMC workers showed Kumar black flags and shouted go back slogans after Kumar landed in Kolkata on Sunday evening.. In a statement on the meeting with the representatives of the political parties, the ECI on Monday said that they urged it to conduct the assembly election in one or two phases, protect voters, and deploy Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to curb poll violence. It added that Kumar assured them that the ECI will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring an impartial, transparent, and fair poll.. Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, who are on a three-day visit to Kolkata, are holding a series of meetings to take stock of the poll preparations.. Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sishir Bajoria said they requested the ECI to conduct the elections in one phase or at most two phases. “Holding elections in multiple phases does not help.”. The ECI and the TMC have been at loggerheads over the SIR. On February 24, the Supreme Court invoked its extraordinary powers under the Constitution’s Article 142 to direct the ECI to continue publishing supplementary voter lists even after the final electoral roll is notified on February 28 to ensure that no eligible voter is disenfranchised ahead of the assembly elections.. The court deemed that voters included in supplementary lists would be treated as part of the final roll, effectively neutralising rigid statutory timelines that might otherwise bar inclusion of voters whose verification remained pending. It authoris