Home News India Jharkhand A series of meetings with student groups throughout Saturday (August 8, 2026) culminated in the Jharkhand government announcing fresh talks with aspirants Updated - August 09, 2026 12:25 pm IST Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto during his indefinite hunger strike as part of a protest against the Jharkhand government over alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC examination, JSSC-CGL and other recruitment tests, demanding a CBI probe and reforms in the recruitment agencies, at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, in Ranchi, Jharkhand. File. | A series of meetings with student groups throughout Saturday (August 8, 2026) culminated in the Jharkhand government announcing fresh talks with aspirants protesting against alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in the State that prompted a prominent students’ faction accusing it of “political manoeuvring”. The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch accused the Jharkhand government of “political manoeuvring” by announcing another round of talks with student organisations, alleging the move was aimed at creating divisions among protesting students and diverting people’s attention from their core demands.Follow live updates here:August 09, 2026 11:45 JLKM's Jairam Mahto sits on one-day hunger strike in support of students Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) MLA Jairam Mahto sat on a one-day fast in Ranchi on Sunday (August 9) to support students protesting over irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).- ANIAugust 09, 2026 11:34 Years of delayed exams, bribery allegations provoke Jharkhand protests On July 23, students began gathering at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi. They arrived carrying bedding, notebooks and plastic folders filled with admit cards from examinations that, in many cases, had defined nearly a decade of their lives. Their demand was straightforward: cancel all examinations tainted by allegations of corruption, order an independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and overhaul the state’s recruitment system.Read the full story here,August 09, 2026 11:31 JPSC-JSSC aspirants' protest has become mass movement: JD(U) spokesperson Rajeev RanjanJD(U) National Spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad on Sunday (August 9) said the ongoing protest by JPSC-JSSC aspirants in Ranchi has transformed into a mass movement, alleging growing resentment among students and young people over the conduct of competitive examinations and recruitment in Jharkhand.- ANIAugust 09, 2026 10:56 Students decline hospitalisationAs the intense protests by JPSC-JSSC aspirants continue at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi, a doctors team inspected the health of protestors on Sunday (August 9).Speaking to ANI, Dr. AP Sinha assured that the fasting students have declined hospitalisation despite experiencing a drop in body weight. However, they remain alert, stable, and fine for now.- ANIAugust 09, 2026 10:34 Doctors inspects the health of JPSC-JSSC aspirants on a hunger strikeA team of doctors from the Sadar Hospital, Ranchi, inspected the health of JPSC-JSSC aspirants staging a hunger strike at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium.- ANIAugust 09, 2026 09:47"Govt. playing games": Student leader calls for unity among protestors Amid ongoing protests over irregularities in Jharkhand’s recruitment examinations, student
File image of dtudents of NALSAR Law University during a demonstration in solidarity with the NEET protests at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. Photo: Arrangement A large section of students of the outgoing 2026 batch at the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, do not want Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant as the chief guest at their convocation ceremony.The university has yet to announce the date of convocation or confirm the chief guest’s presence. But, for NALSAR, the CJI delivering the convocation address has been a tradition for some time now.The students’ dissent is over the CJI’s recent conduct and statements during the NEET protests in New Delhi.NALSAR’s solidarity with NEET protesters and the hunger strike by educationist Sonam Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar, was first visible on the campus here on July 20, when several students observed a one-meal fast. It was on the same day that the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called for ‘Chalo Sansad’ and witnessed police excesses on protesters.The solidarity took shape as a collective protest two days later, when the CJI-led Bench declined to initiate suo motu proceedings against the alleged police excesses. The CJI’s remarks, such as “We are not interested in videos. We don’t have time to watch them,” and “Don’t waste our time, and don’t waste your time,” among others, went viral.On July 23, the batch of 2026, citing the remarks, wrote to the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, professors and the administration, asking them to reconsider the CJI as the chief guest of the convocation.The representation, endorsed by some 70 students, including members of the Students Bar Council, read: “As law students, our concern is specific to our graduating batch. A convocation should reflect the university’s commitment to constitutional rights, access to justice, and reasoned engagement with grievances. Receiving our degrees from a dignitary whose recent public conduct, as reported, appears dismissive of serious allegations of police brutality against protesting citizens sits uneasily with the values we have been taught at NALSAR.”By July 25, classes of 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031, comprising about 380 students, had expressed support for and endorsed the representation initiated by the class of 2026.The university, as of August 8 (Saturday), according to students, has neither acknowledged the representation nor communicated its intentions.Although the event was initially suggested for August, the administration has not communicated the date of the convocation to the graduating students, some of whom have already started working abroad. The administration has also not initiated key preparations for the convocation, such as planning the event or mobilising volunteers from junior batches to help organise it.University officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that holding the convocation this month appeared unlikely, as the later weeks would coincide with mid-semester examinations for certain classes.“The representation was noted and understood by the recipients of the email. However, its reconsideration remains unlikely,” an official said, hinting at the university’s wait-and-watch approach.Students said they would continue to demand answers from the university and, if their concerns remained unaddressed, hold a protest after giving the administration a week’s notice. Published - August 08, 2026 08:51 pm IST
At 7 a.m., Anis Shikalgar (33) leaves his house to live out the changes he has made in his life. Speaking over video call from his home in Ankalkhop village in Sangli district, waving his hand, he said: “Five years ago, at 7 a.m., I used to reach the mazoor adda [a daily-wage labour market]; now I go out to give fitness training.”Once a wage earner, Anis has become a pole vault trainer and fitness coach for students in Ankalkhop and nearby villages in Sangli district, Maharashtra. Pole vault, part of the Olympic programme since 1896, is an athletics event in which an athlete uses a long pole to launch themselves over a horizontal bar set at height.The athlete plants the pole into a box at the base of the standards, uses the pole’s bend-and-recoil energy to convert horizontal speed into vertical lift, and clears the bar before landing on a cushioned mat.Anis, who had to give up his dream of representing India, became a coach for underprivileged children instead. “I was 27 when I started practising pole vault; it was too late. I saw children in my village turning to addictions easily, so I approached one student to train with me as a runner — but he insisted on learning pole vault.”Anis’ journey began at 19, when he first took up cricket coaching while studying at an Industrial Training Institute (ITI). Financial constraints pushed him into construction work. It was around this time that he met veteran athletics coach Sham Bhosale, who would become his mentor eight years later. In 2019, while training to run for Army recruitment selection, destiny instead took him towards pole vault.Mr. Bhosale introduced him to the sport. Anis competed in the senior category in 2020 and finished fourth — the moment he realised he had missed his chance to represent the country, having started too late.Pole vault demands sprinting, gymnastics and technical body control. Rather than quitting the sport, Anis began teaching students free of cost. He currently trains 12 students, including Atharv Mirajkar, who has competed at U-17 level and is preparing for U-19 — the first athlete from Anis’ coaching to compete at state level.“My work started getting attention after Atharv’s achievement,” he added.Finances and equipmentPole vault requires landing mats costing ₹2 lakh to ₹4.5 lakh and a fibreglass pole costing around ₹1 lakh, imported, or around ₹60,000 for an Indian-made one. For a daily-wage earner, this was out of reach, so Anis began making his own safety mats from scrap material — discarded bike seats, foam, sponges and soft riverbank soil. Anis began making his own safety mats from scrap material — discarded bike seats, foam, sponges and soft riverbank soil. | His YouTube videos have also brought in some support.After his personal training sessions, Anis works at his cousin’s factory, earning ₹2,000 a week, and in the evenings he and his students practise at the Ankalkhop ground.In his coachingAnis focuses on strength training and instils gymnastic skills to build speed and flexibility. One distinctive feature of his coaching is having students study videos of the legendary Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka and learn from his technique.He trained Atharv using similar methods. Atharv represented the state at the 69th National School Athletics Championship in 2025, finishing fourth, and now aims to qualify for the Asian Championships.Anis says his biggest breakthrough has been training a female student, Nandini Motgate. Her mother says: “My child has become disciplined. She has her own routine after school and doesn’t wander around aimlessly. I hope she makes a name for herself — and for us.”Anis’ ultimate goal is to train his students to meet the five-metre qualification standard. While grateful for local support, he notes that rural Maharashtra still
All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora addressed the gathering in Ranchi after the ink-throwing incident on August 7, 2026. Credit: X/ANI screengrab A man threw ink at All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora during a protest march to the Jharkhand Assembly in Ranchi on Friday (August 7, 2026) over alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in the State, accusing her of being “anti-national”. He has been detained, the police said.The incident occurred near Birsa Chowk when the protesters led by two students’ organisations — AISA and AISF — were marching towards the Assembly.Speaking to the media while being taken away, the man said he does not like Ms. Bora because she is a “supporter of Umar Khalid.”“I don’t like her. She is an anti-national,” he added.Reacting to the incident, Ms. Bora said, “I am not going to be scared by throwing of ink. On July 20, we faced faced pellet-gun fire and baton charge during the Delhi protest. In comparison, this normal ink is nothing”#WATCH | Ranchi, Jharkhand | Ink thrown at president of the All India Students Association, Neha BoraShe says, "On 20th July, tear gas shells were thrown at us, pellet guns were used against us, when we did not get scared, then what can this ordinary ink do to us?..." pic.twitter.com/CBF83Ng5Ea— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2026“We were holding a peaceful march. A man suddenly emerged out of the crowd and threw ink at Neha,” said Shivani, an AISA leader. She alleged that the man was a BJP-aided goon.On support to students’ agitation in JharkhandAddressing the gathering following the incident, Ms. Bora extended support to the agitating students in Jharkhand over “irregularities” in the State exams. “Whenever a paper leak occurs, the responsibility cannot simply be passed on to private agencies. The concerned government authorities must be held accountable,” she said.The protest against the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in Jharkhand entered its 14th day on Friday (August 7, 2026).Why are the students protesting in Ranchi? | Explained The protest, which began on July 25 under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi, emerged as one of the biggest student-led movements in the State in recent years.“We have formed an 11-member delegation, comprising eight students, two experts and an advocate, in response to the government’s offer to hold talks in connection with the stir,” said an office bearer of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch.With PTI, ANI inputs Published - August 07, 2026 03:51 pm IST
Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary on July 19, 2026, announced that all model schools of the State will be renamed as Saraswati Vidya Niketan and also instructed the schools to be repainted with sunrise colourIn view of the Bihar government’s recent decision to repaint and rename all 551 model schools from Class 9-12 in all blocks of the State as “Saraswati Vidya Niketan”, the schools have started painting the exterior walls with the instructed paint of “sunrise” colour, which prominently looks as saffron with which the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) identifies with.The exterior walls of B.P. High School in Begusarai, where Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, along with State Education Minister Mithilesh Tiwari, had visited on July 19, 2026, and announced the renaming and repainting of all the model schools, were painted with the “sunrise” colour. The instructed name was also printed on polymer plastic sheets, by spending lakhs of rupees in “just three-days haste”. However, school principal Kamini Kumari wondered why the schools, that were painted afresh only few days ago, had to be repainted by a new government’s directive.“We’re the lowest-rung employees of the department, teaching in government schools and we’ve to follow whatever directive or guideline comes from above. I had done fresh painting of my school building a few days ago, spending lakhs of rupees, but again we’ve been asked to repaint it with the sunrise color and the first coat of the paint has already been done,” the school principal, who also teaches chemistry, told The Hindu on August 4, 2026. Kamini Kumari, principal of B.P. Inter School, Begusarai, in Bihar. Photo: Special Arrangement The main gate of the century-old school, established in the year 1888, displays a board renaming it as “Saraswati Vidya Niketan” (Model School), B.P. Inter School, Begusarai. “From July 16-18, we engaged nearly 50 workers for a fresh coat of the suggested colour and we did our work ahead of the Chief Minister’s visit,” added the principal of the school, which is spread across about five-acres of land in middle of the Begusarai town.There are 44 teachers in the school with 2,900 students from Class 9-12. “It’s a big school. The Chief Minister, who visited the school along with other top officials, was visibly impressed with the presentation of the students,” said the school principal. Her husband Bishwajeet Kumar, who is a sports teacher, is busy making a new cricket pitch on school campus. “We’ll make it happen this too very soon. The intermittent rain these days is the only constraint, otherwise, we’re getting all support from the district administration,” he said.The District Education Officer (DEO) Manoj Kumar said, “In the Begusarai district, there are 18 blocks but we’ve 4 extra model schools as the district is big. Work is going on in every model school, as per the guidelines of the department.”“We have already spent nearly ₹12 lakh on the school’s repaint, as per the guideline. The school had another colour only a few days ago,” said Mr. Kumar. The school will have a fresh coat of “sunrise colour”, though it looks more saffron than the sunrise and white from inside. “We still fail to understand why a fresh coat of colour of the exterior of the school building was suggested, spending lakhs of rupees. It would have been better if the amount was spent on increasing the number of the computer sets in the school from 10 to 50, giving access to each student of a class to learn something,” said another teacher, on condition of anonymity.The Bihar State Educational Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (BSIEDC), which primarily looks after renovation and construction work of government schools in Bihar, had issued a letter on July 7, 2026, to all district units of BSIEDC with subject related to paintings of the Saraswati Vidya Niketan (Model) Schools and suggested the colour code as: “External Wall — Sunrise (0526 — Asian Paint), Border: Chocolate Brown Enamel (Asian Paint),
MA&UD Minister Ponguru Narayana greeting students ahead of distribution of bicycles at VRC Grounds in Nellore on Monday. | Ponguru Narayana, Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, distributed free bicycles to 7,000 students studying in government high schools across Nellore City and rural constituencies in the first phase. A total of 10,000 bicycles are being distributed to government school students at a cost of ₹6 crore from their own funds.Addressing the students at the distribution programme at VRC Grounds in Nellore on Monday (July 27, 2026), the Minister shared his own journey. He said, “I did not merely read about poverty in books; I experienced it first hand. Born in a hut, I used to walk from Harnathapuram to VRC to attend school. My father supported the family by working as a private bus conductor.”He said, “The hardships I endured should not be faced by the children of this generation. That is why we are providing bicycles. The remaining 3,000 bicycles will be given in January 2027.” He lauded Education Minister Nara Lokesh for his efforts towards educational development and pledged to extend support to ‘P-4’ programme introduced by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.Mr. Narayana further said, “I was deeply moved by the hardships faced by underprivileged students while visiting 80,000 households during election campaign, and I resolved then to provide them with quality education as an asset. VR High School has been upgraded to international standards using CSR funds of ₹17 crore, and currently, 1,100 underprivileged students are studying here.”“We are modernising another 14 government high schools in the city and constructing Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam International School on Waqf Board land using CSR funds of ₹20 crore. We are offering free study materials from Narayana Educational Institutions to government school students and IIT Foundation training would commence on August 1, 2026,” he informed.Speaking on the occasion, the Minister’s daughter, Ponguru Sindhura, said that her father—who hails from an ordinary family—worked hard to reach this position. She said, inspired by that same spirit, they are undertaking service activities for underprivileged students. She stated that her family’s goal is to elevate government schools in the city to international standards. Published - July 27, 2026 09:27 pm IST
Calling the Telangana government’s school breakfast programme a landmark initiative of its kind in the country, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the programme aims to provide nutritious breakfast to around 27 lakh government and residential school students across the State.Mr. Vikramarka on Monday inaugurated a state-of-the-art centralised community kitchen of the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation (HKMCF) in Madhira town of Khammam district.The HKMCF is the implementing partner of the State government’s school breakfast programme.The newly inaugurated kitchen will provide breakfast to 44,107 students studying in 879 government schools across 16 mandals in Khammam district.Under the collaborative initiative, the State government provided 8,000 sq. ft. shed in Madhira, while the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) funded the construction of the kitchen under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.The HKMCF established the modern kitchen and will operate it.Addressing the gathering, Mr Vikramarka said welfare schemes were not ‘freebies but investments in human capital that would help people, especially the poor, Dalits, tribals, backward communities, and other disadvantaged sections, achieve social and economic progress.He said the government had undertaken the enormous responsibility of serving hot breakfast to 20 lakh government school students and seven lakh residential school students across the State.The programme would help improve children’s nutrition, physical and mental development, and learning outcomes, he said, adding that permanent centralised kitchens across the State would be completed within three months.As part of efforts to improve students’ nutritional intake, milk will be provided three days a week, while ragi malt will be served on another three days, he said.HKMCF president Satya Gaura Chandra Dasa Swamiji, Khammam Collector Divakara T.S. and others were present. Published - July 27, 2026 06:55 pm IST
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