Balendra Shah ‘Balen,’ a senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, is likely to be sworn-in as Nepal’s youngest prime minister on Friday, an RSP leader said Wednesday.. Shah, popular as ‘Balen,’ who was projected by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) as the prime ministerial candidate during the campaign ahead of the March 5 general election, will also be the first person from the Madhes region to hold the top executive post in the country. (ANI Video Grab ). Shah, popular as ‘Balen,’ who was projected by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) as the prime ministerial candidate during the campaign ahead of the March 5 general election, will also be the first person from the Madhes region to hold the top executive post in the country.. Balen, 35, will be sworn-in as a member of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Thursday by 78-year-old Arjun Narsing KC, the eldest among the newly elected members of the HoR and then on Friday, he will be given oath as the prime minister by President Ramchandra Paudel.. On Thursday, the RSP will hold its central committee meeting, which will form the Parliamentary Party.. The Parliamentary Party meeting will then elect Balen as its leader, formally qualifying him for the top executive post of the country, according to Shanker Shrestha, secretary of the RSP’s central organisation committee.. The central secretariat will then finalise the names of the ministers to be inducted in the new council of ministers on Thursday itself, he added.. Earlier on Wednesday, as per the tradition, President Paudel administered oath of office and secrecy to KC, elected to the Lower House under the proportionate voting system representing Nepali Congress party.. On Thursday, KC will administer oaths to all the newly elected members of the HoR, including Balen, as the Parliament is yet to elect its Speaker, sources said.. The president will then initiate the process of formation of the government by making a formal call by Thursday evening, according to sources at the President’s office.. As the RSP secured 182 seats out of a total 275 seats in the HoR, it is eligible to form a majority government under Article 76 (1) of the Constitution.. According to sources at the President’s Office, Balen, 35, will be sworn-in as the prime minister during a special ceremony at the President’s Office, Sheetal Niwas on Friday, March 27.. Sources close to Balen’s secretariat said he is likely to form a small cabinet with the number ranging between 15 to 18.. Earlier in the month, Nepal chose fresher Balen and his RSP to form the next government decimating the traditional parties in the first general elections since last year’s violent Gen Z protests that sought generational change and corruption-free regime.. Rapper-turned-politician Balen defeated four-time prime minister K P Sharma Oli, the chair of Nepal’s legacy party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) by a huge margin in Jhapa-5 constituency, the latter’s stronghold for 

 New Delhi: Three incidents of assault on passengers by pantry car staff were reported in 2025, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.. Three incidents of assault on railway passengers by pantry car staff were reported in 2025. (PTI). The minister said this in a written reply to questions by BJP MP Rajeev Pratap Rudy regarding passengers’ complaints of physical assault and threat after they flagged overcharging for food and other services by railway staff vendors.. Vaishnaw said ‘RailMadad’ is the Indian Railways’ grievance redressal mechanism that provides passengers an integrated platform for grievances, assistance and inquiry.. “In RailMadad, passengers can seek redressal through multiple channels such as helpline number-139, RailMadad Web, app and SMS.. “RailMadad also allows passengers to share feedback on the resolution of their grievances,” the minister said.. Vaishnaw informed the House that grievances related to overcharging of food and other catering services in trains are received through RailMadad. However, no separate data about passengers being physically assaulted or threatened by railway staff vendors after complaining about overcharging for food and other services is maintained in the application.. In 2025, the minister said, three incidents of assault on railway passengers by pantry car staff were reported and legal action was taken by the respective Government Railway Police.. “Indian Railways serves nearly 58 crore meals annually across its trains, with complaints averaging only about 0.0008 per cent, which includes complaints related to overcharging. Following inquiries into these complaints, fines amounting to ₹2.6 crore have been imposed over the past three years,” Vaishnaw said.. Highlighting various measures taken to curb overcharging in trains, the minister said SMSes are sent to passengers with a link to the menu and prices to make them aware of rates. Point of Sale (POS) machines have also been installed for billing and cashless payments, among other measures. 

 A parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), in its report submitted to Parliament on Wednesday, flagged concerns over the reactive nature of highway maintenance budgeting, underutilisation of research and development funds, and slow progress in key projects such as port connectivity under the Bharatmala project.. Parliamentary panel raises concerns over highway upkeep, R&D fund utilisation and delays in key Bharatmala port connectivity projects. (Representative photo). The report highlighted that while overall budget utilisation might suggest good absorption of funds, there is wide variation across verticals.. “The ministry stated that budget utilisation has been consistently above 99% in recent years, with 90% utilisation expected in the current year with Rs. 870 crore pending. The Committee observes that while the aggregate capital head shows high utilisation, this figure masks significant sub-head level variations: Highway Research at 80.59% under-utilisation in 2025-26; MMLP at under 20% utilisation; and Parvatmala at 53% utilisation. The Committee is of the view that aggregate utilisation figures, while broadly positive, should not mask specific areas of persistent under-absorption,” the report said.. The standing committee on transport, tourism and culture, in its 390th report on demands for grants, recommended that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways adopt specific, measurable annual targets to reduce road crashes and fatalities under its outcome budget framework.. In the ropeway sector under the Parvatmala Pariyojana too, the committee recommended expediting notification of comprehensive national standards for safety and operations, along with a vendor development programme to boost domestic manufacturing. The report comes after the March 22 ropeway trolley crash in Chhattisgarh that resulted in the death of a woman. Currently, eight projects covering 36 km have been awarded, and five projects are under implementation, with the Varanasi Ropeway targeted for operationalisation and 10 new projects planned for award in 2026–27, the committee noted. To be sure, the ropeway is not operated by MoRTH.. On maintenance planning of highways, the committee said it continues to rely on incremental precedents rather than scientific assessment of asset deterioration, resulting in disruptions to systematic repair cycles. It noted a recurring pattern of underestimation in budget estimates (BE), followed by sharp upward revisions. In 2024–25, maintenance allocation was projected at ₹2,500 crore (BE) and later revised upward by 86.4% to ₹4,660 crore (RE). For 2025–26, the BE was ₹4,555 crore, revised to ₹4,895.02 crore, while actual expenditure till January 2026 stood at ₹3,744.31 crore, leaving around 18% to be spent in the final two months.. To address this, the committee recommended a shift to a “zero-based maintenance budgeting” framework, under which annual projections woul 

 The government has blocked 652 mobile applications over concerns related to data security and “other malpractices,” the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.. The government has blocked 652 mobile applications over concerns related to data security.. In a written reply to a question raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Minister of State for MeitY Jitin Prasada said the blocking was carried out under Section 69A of the IT Act, which allows the government to restrict access to online content in the interest of sovereignty, security and public order. However, the government’s response did not address several specific questions raised by Gandhi. The government did not provide a list of Chinese-origin apps that may still be operating in India under rebranded versions, nor did it clarify what action has been taken against such entities.. HT reached out to IT Ministry officials to ascertain how many of the 652 blocked apps are of Chinese origin but did not receive a response. However, China has claimed that since June 2020, India has banned over 300 Chinese mobile applications across sectors such as social media, e-commerce and gaming, as per the minutes of a World Trade Organisation Council for Trade in Services meeting dated July 25, 2025, which records proceedings from June 13.. India’s first round of app bans in June 2020 came in the immediate aftermath of the Galwan Valley clash, which escalated tensions between India and China. The government then said the 59 apps were blocked over concerns that they were collecting and transmitting user data to servers outside India. Among the apps banned, and which remain banned to this day, include TikTok, PUBG, WeChat and Shein.. Over the years, several Chinese apps banned by India have resurfaced on Android and iOS app stores, often under rebranded or altered versions, a concern also flagged by Gandhi in his question.. In 2022, then MoS MeitY Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha, said the Ministry of Home Affairs had identified 348 mobile apps, developed across multiple countries including China, that were collecting user data and transmitting it to servers outside India without authorisation. Acting on the MHA’s request, MeitY blocked these apps. The latest figure of 652 apps suggests the number has nearly doubled in four years.. On surveillance, the government, in its parliamentary response on Wednesday, highlighted new CCTV security rules such as disclosing hardware origins, testing for vulnerabilities, and mandatory lab certification. It said 507 models are now certified and that non-compliant devices cannot be procured by government departments. However, it did not share how many CCTV cameras have been bought in the past five years or where they came from.. Further, the ministry did not elaborate on the security protocols governing AI systems used by the government or identify any foreign AI platforms curre 

 The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the launch and implementation of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)–Modified Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) for 10 years, with a total outlay of ₹28,840 crore backed by government budgetary support.. The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the launch and implementation of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)–Modified Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) for 10 years. (PMO). Under the scheme, the government will develop 100 airports/airstrips, it said. The scheme, which will be in place from financial year (FY) 2026–27 to FY 2035–36, will cater to underserved and unserved airstrips, the government said.. “It will be a boost to economic growth, trade and tourism in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, support affordable air travel for common citizens, (help in) improved emergency response and healthcare access in remote and hilly regions, greater viability and sustainability for regional aerodromes and airline operators, promotion of the indigenous aerospace sector under Atmanirbhar Bharat and progress towards the Viksit Bharat 2047 goal,” a statement issued by the government read.. The first UDAN scheme (UDAN 1.0) was launched in October 2016 and took off on April 27, 2017, with the objective of making air travel affordable and strengthening connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. UDAN 2.0 was launched in 2018, UDAN 3.0 in 2019, and UDAN 4.0 in 2020. A series of UDAN 5 was launched starting April 2023. Thereafter, UDAN 5.1 was launched in May 2023, UDAN 5.2 in July the same year, UDAN 5.3 in January 2024, UDAN 5.4 in August 2024, and UDAN 5.5 was launched in February last year.. In over nine years of implementation, 663 routes were operationalised across 95 airports, heliports and water aerodromes as of February 28 this year. More than 3.41 lakh flights were operated, carrying 162.47 lakh passengers.. The key components of the modified scheme, announced on Wednesday, include the development of aerodromes, their operations and maintenance (O&M), development of modern helipads, and viability gap funding (VGF).. “Under the Modified UDAN Scheme, it is proposed to develop 100 airports from existing unserved airstrips to enhance regional connectivity, in line with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision of infrastructure expansion and transforming India into a globally competitive aviation ecosystem, with a total outlay of ₹12,159 crore over the next eight years,” a statement issued by the government read.. Speaking on the maintenance of aerodromes, the government said, “Given the high recurring O&M costs and limited revenue streams for RCS-only aerodromes, the scheme proposes to provide O&M support for three years capped at ₹3.06 crore per annum per airport and ₹0.90 crore per annum per heliport/water aerodrome, estimated at ₹2,577 crore for around 441 aerodromes.”. The government also proposed to develop 200 modern helipads to add