New Delhi: It seems that politics in India is in the era of freebies, where every party gives cash or concessions before the elections. Last year, the NDA offered Rs 10,000 to over 75 lakh women in Bihar just before the elections, helping the alliance win a massive majority.Riding on this trend, AIADMK and DMK have also raised their stakes ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. In what the DMK calls the biggest financial assistance given to women in the state’s history, the government last month gave Rs 5,000 to 1.31 crore women under ‘Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam’.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK manifesto promises to deposit Rs 2,000 per month directly into the bank accounts of women heads of families under the ‘Kul Vilakku Scheme’ for all ration card holders. The party also promised a “free refrigerator” for every rice ration-card holder if returned to power.Interestingly, this is not the first time that parties have tried to woo voters with pre-poll gifts. Welfare politics in Tamil Nadu dates back to the Dravidian movement, which established the state as an active instrument of social justice.

Congress Chief Minister K Kamaraj can be seen as the originator of populist schemes in the state. He also started free school uniform as well as mid-day meal scheme for the students.The scheme – designed to address malnutrition and encourage low-income families to send their children to school – has led to a significant increase in school enrollment and attendance, thereby reducing dropout rates.three pounds of rice for one rupeeIn 1967, CN Annadurai had promised to provide three seers of rice at Re 1 through the state public distribution system (PDS). However the scheme proved costly and difficult for the government to maintain.After winning the elections, Annadurai became the Chief Minister and implemented the scheme in some areas for some time, but later canceled it due to financial burden. However, this move established welfare as a political tool that is still used today.lunch plan experimentAIADMK founder MG Ramachandran became Chief Minister in 1977 and increased welfare measures to improve school participation. The landmark 1982 midday meal scheme, which later expanded, became one of the largest programs globally, leading to significant increases in enrollment among children from poor families.Subsequent governments led by M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa built on this model, adding benefits such as free uniforms, shoes and educational assistance.

By the late 1980s and 1990s, welfare schemes also included consumer goods, reaching a turning point in 2006 when the DMK promised free color TVs, Rs 2 per kg rice, cooking gas connections, free electricity and loan waivers for farmers and weavers. The TV scheme alone cost about Rs 3,600 crore and reached about 45 lakh homes.Jayalalitha’s Amma Canteen SchemeIn 2011, the promises turned into a bidding war. DMK offered mixer or grinder, AIADMK promised both; When free laptops were offered to college students, Jayalalitha extended it to high school students as well. Additional offerings included uniforms, shoes, 20 kg of free rice per month and free cable TV.After returning to power, Jayalalitha further expanded welfare, distributing mixers, grinders, fans, laptops, textbooks, goats and cows, gold for mangalsutras, subsidized scooters and free electricity up to a specified limit to rural families.Jayalalitha’s government also launched the Amma Canteen Scheme in 2013. These canteens were designed to provide nutritious, hygienic food to the urban poor, daily wage laborers and students at deeply subsidized prices. Despite political changes in the state, canteens have continued to operate on a large scale due to their immense popularity and the essential service they provide to the working class.By 2016, the DMK promised Rs 7 per liter milk, while the AIADMK promised farm loan waiver, 100 units of free electricity, two-wheeler subsidy for women and gold for would-be brides.Development of social service schemesNow, social justice schemes seem to be shifting towards cash transfers and universal benefits. DMK’s free bus travel for women, launched in 2021, saw 4-5 crore trips monthly, improving mobility for low-income women.The AIADMK has now proposed to extend such benefits to men as well and give Rs 2,000 per month to female household heads.However, the fiscal question cannot be ignored. Tamil Nadu is not a poor state, but it cannot do fiscal magic. The state has long touted borrowing as productive and linked to development – ​​an argument that can more easily support schemes like subsidized breakfast and bus travel than promises like a refrigerator for every ration-card holder.Such plans have substantial fiscal implications. Reportedly, monthly cash transfers alone could cost around Rs 36,000 crore annually, while Tamil Nadu’s total welfare expenditure is already between Rs 45,000-50,000 crore per year. The state’s outstanding debt is over Rs 8 lakh crore, of which the annual interest payment is around Rs 40,000 crore.Voting for all 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu will be held in a single phase on April 23, with counting taking place on May 4.

केदारनाथ यात्रा से पहले हेलीकॉप्टर बुकिंग शुरू होते ही साइबर ठग सक्रिय हो गए हैं। जिलाधिकारी विशाल मिश्रा ने एडवाइजरी जारी कर श्रद्धालुओं को सतर्क रहने को कहा है. उन्होंने कहा कि जालसाज फर्जी वेबसाइटों, सोशल मीडिया विज्ञापनों और व्हाट्सएप संदेशों के जरिए लोगों को निशाना बना रहे हैं।

A Russian tourist physically restrained in Bali after allegedly harassing women/Instagram

A confrontation between a Russian tourist and local residents in Bali has attracted massive attention after a video emerged showing the man being restrained by chokehold following allegations of inappropriately touching women during a night out. The footage, filmed in the coastal region of Uluwatu, captures a chaotic scene: a shirtless man lies on the ground, surrounded by onlookers, as a local man, identified as Balinese fighter and gym owner Belda Brig Sandow, holds him in a headlock from behind. As the struggle begins, the tourist loses consciousness while bystanders react with concern. Voices urging restraint can be heard in the background. “He’s out, he’s out,” one man says repeatedly, attempting to defuse the situation. But Sandow, holding on, addresses both the man and the onlookers: “Respect the locals.” Moments later, he explained the reason for the confrontation, saying, “It’s a drunk bule (foreigner) who is touching a girl and has no respect for her.” The term “bule” is commonly used in Indonesia to refer to foreign, especially white, visitors. The video shows the man’s face turning red as he struggles and he tugs at Sandow’s arm in an apparent attempt to break free. After several tense seconds, his body relaxes. Sandow then slowly releases the hold, leaving the person lying motionless on the ground before starting to move again. As the tourist regains consciousness, he is clearly confused and mutters, slurring his words, “I got it, I got it.” Sandow, still standing beside him, explains the intention behind his act: “If I punch you, I can finish you off. But before you can understand, I strangled you. Where are you from?” “I understand, brother. I’m from Russia,” the man replies, wiping his face. Sandow responded with warning: “Are you from Russia? [There’s] There are many Russian people messing around here, don’t be one of them.” When the man, now seated, asks, “Who did I touch?”, Sandow cuts him off: “Who? Don’t say who. Everyone has already seen, you’re drunk.” Then he says, “Bali is good, but if you are not good, we can break you here. Shut up and go home.”

What did Sandow say later?

Following the incident, Sandow, who runs Zendo Fight Club, addressed the confrontation in a statement posted online, offering both justification and reflection. He described that behavior, saying, “This guy was drunk – touching people, walking in the middle of the street, stopping strangers and even getting slapped on the head like it’s a normal thing.” He said the situation only worsened after he crossed the line: “Nobody said anything until he touched one of my friends. That’s when I intervened and it turned into a fight.” While defending his intervention, Sandow also acknowledged how it unfolded: “What I did was probably not right, and for that I apologize. I’m human – sometimes emotions take over. But I didn’t start it. He crossed the border first.” He framed the incident as part of a wider concern about conduct among some visitors to the island: “Bali is a beautiful place, and the people here are kind and respectful. That’s what we want everyone to experience. But respect goes both ways. I’m tired of seeing some foreigners come here and behave without respect.”Also read: US tourist detained after being caught violating Bali’s most sacred rule on ‘Day of Silence’

a pervasive pattern of anxiety

The incident comes amid increasing scrutiny of tourist behavior in Bali, a destination that has long promoted itself as welcoming but faces challenges related to overcrowding and misconduct. Earlier this year, a separate video showed tourists brawling outside a supermarket in Kuta, with women heard shouting as the fight escalated before locals intervened. In another case, 57-year-old American tourist Carl Adolph Amrhein was detained by local security on March 19, 2026, for walking on a main road in Sukawati during Nyepi (Day of Silence), the annual holy holiday that bans all outdoor activities, travel and noise for 24 hours. In response to a series of such incidents, the provincial government of Bali initiated Updated behavioral guidelines in 2025 Aimed at foreign visitors. Governor Wayne Koster said the measures are intended to address concerns ranging from respect for religious customs to environmental protection and public conduct. “This ensures Bali’s tourism remains respectful, sustainable and in line with our local values,” Koster said at the time.

उत्तर प्रदेश समाचार: खाड़ी देशों में चल रहे युद्ध के कारण देशभर में एलपीजी गैस की कमी हो गई है। इस बीच उत्तर प्रदेश के बरेली जिले से राहत भरी खबर आई है. इधर जिला प्रशासन ने शादी वाले परिवारों के लिए विशेष व्यवस्था शुरू की है, ताकि गैस की कमी के कारण उन्हें परेशानी का सामना नहीं करना पड़े. इस योजना के तहत अब जिन घरों में शादी है, उन्हें जरूरत के मुताबिक गैस सिलेंडर मुहैया कराया जाएगा। प्रशासन का कहना है कि इसका मकसद शादी समारोहों के दौरान किसी भी तरह की असुविधा को रोकना है.

आवेदन प्रक्रिया एवं आवश्यक दस्तावेज
नई व्यवस्था के तहत शादी वाले परिवारों को जिला प्रशासन या आपूर्ति विभाग में आवेदन करना होगा। आवेदन के साथ विवाह कार्ड जमा करना अनिवार्य है। साथ ही एक आवेदन पत्र भी जमा करना होगा, जिसमें शादी की तारीख, मेहमानों की संख्या और कितने सिलेंडर की जरूरत है इसका स्पष्ट उल्लेख होगा. इसके बाद पूर्ति विभाग सारी जानकारी की जांच करेगा.

जांच के बाद सिलेंडर मिल जाएगा
जांच में आवेदन सही पाए जाने पर विभाग तय करेगा कि आयोजक को कितने कॉमर्शियल सिलेंडर दिए जाएं। इसके बाद संबंधित गैस एजेंसी के नाम पर अनुमति पत्र जारी कर दिया जाएगा। इस पत्र के आधार पर गैस एजेंसी पेट्रोलियम कंपनी से सिलेंडर मंगवाएगी और आयोजकों को अस्थायी कनेक्शन के जरिए सिलेंडर दिए जाएंगे।

सिक्योरिटी मनी एवं निकासी प्रक्रिया
इस सुविधा का लाभ उठाने के लिए आयोजकों को सिलेंडर की कीमत के साथ 4500 रुपये सिक्योरिटी मनी के तौर पर जमा कराने होंगे. शादी समारोह खत्म होने के बाद खाली सिलेंडर गैस एजेंसी को वापस करना होगा। इसके बाद 2400 रुपये की सिक्योरिटी मनी वापस कर दी जाएगी और अस्थायी कनेक्शन भी खत्म कर दिया जाएगा. सिलेंडर वापस न करने पर सिक्योरिटी मनी जब्त कर ली जाएगी।

डीएम ने दी जानकारी
जिलाधिकारी अविनाश सिंह ने बताया कि यह योजना विशेष रूप से विवाहित परिवारों के लिए बनाई गई है। उन्होंने कहा कि जरूरतमंद लोग आवेदन करेंगे और सत्यापन के बाद उन्हें गैस सिलेंडर दिया जायेगा. इससे यह सुनिश्चित होगा कि केवल जरूरतमंदों को ही लाभ मिले।

कालाबाजारी पर रोक लगेगी
इस नई व्यवस्था से गैस की कालाबाजारी और अधिक कीमत वसूलने की समस्या पर भी रोक लगेगी। प्रशासन को उम्मीद है कि इससे गैस की मांग नियंत्रित होगी और आम लोगों को भी समय पर सिलेंडर मिल सकेगा. यह योजना शादीशुदा परिवारों के लिए बड़ी राहत साबित हो रही है।