The Latest Breaking News from Maharashtra

Rs 11 IV for Rs 325, Rs 6 syringe for Rs 57: Tukaram Mundhe flags 2,841% inflated hospital bills that patients don't even know, sends recommendation to Centre

Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has cited a survey showing substantial differences between procurement prices and printed MRPs of hospital consumables. An IV infusion set purchased for Rs 11.05 reportedly carried an MRP of Rs 325, while syringes and catheters also showed wide gaps. Mundhe has sought a review and…

The Economic Times · Sep 16

India's Blackbuck Can Run at 80 km/h, But Speed Alone Cannot Save This Antelope Without Open Grassland

The Animal That Runs Like Almost Nothing Else on EarthA blackbuck at full sprint hits 80 km/h. It can hold 65 km/h for long enough to exhaust most predators. Among land animals, only the cheetah, now extinct in India as a wild resident, could reliably run one down. The Indian…

Times Life · Sep 16

Tukaram Mundhe strikes again: FDA shuts Mumbai's iconic Cafe Mondegar in statewide raid over hygiene breaches

Maharashtra FDA suspended licenses of four food businesses for hygiene breaches. Officials inspected thirty-eight establishments and collected forty-seven food samples statewide. Dairy product seizures occurred across multiple districts due to quality and labelling issues. Joint operations also intercepted significant quantities of banned gutkha products.

The Economic Times · Sep 15

Jalgaon man built a cheaper-than-LPG smokeless kerosene stove that generated 8 hours of flame from 2 litres that cost just Rs 15 per hour

Sarfuddin Kazi, a machinist from Jalgaon, Maharashtra, developed a kerogas stove after studying the working of a petromax and looking for a safer, quieter and more fuel-efficient alternative to conventional stoves. He built the first prototype in 1992 after years of experimentation. The stove could burn for up to eight…

The Economic Times · Sep 15

Why did Parag Shah, Man Infra CEO and Mumbai BJP MLA worth Rs 3,000 crore become a beggar at Ghatkopar?

Maharashtra BJP MLA Parag Shah, who has declared assets exceeding Rs 3,383 crore and is associated with real estate company Man Infra, spent several hours disguised as a beggar in Mumbai. Acting on advice from Jain spiritual guru Namramuni, Shah gave up his usual security and comforts to experience life…

The Economic Times · Sep 15

The Golden Jackal: How India's Most Adaptable Canid Thrives at the Edge of Every Growing City

A canid that predates every city it now bordersThe golden jackal, Canis aureus, has been documented across the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years, but its relationship with Indian cities is not ancient, it is opportunistic and recent, shaped by the specific way Indian urban sprawl works. Where a forest…

Times Life · Sep 15

Indian Wolf: How One of the World's Most Genetically Distinct Wolf Species Survives India's Open Grassland

A Lineage That Branched Off Before Europe Had WolvesA 2021 study published in the journal Molecular Ecology placed the Indian wolf's divergence from the broader wolf lineage at somewhere between 400,000 and 700,000 years ago. That predates the arrival of grey wolves in Europe and North America. Every wolf you…

Times Life · Sep 15

India's Only Striped Hyena Eats Anthrax-Laden Carcasses and Keeps Disease From Spreading Across the Wild

The stomach that stops an outbreakThe striped hyena has the most acidic digestive system of any land mammal studied, a gastric pH that drops as low as 1.7, comparable to concentrated battery acid. A 2017 paper published in the journal Integrative Zoology confirmed that this acidity allows hyenas to neutralise…

Times Life · Sep 15

Hazur Sahib and Patna Sahib: A Complete Guide to the Sikh Takhts Outside Punjab

What Makes a Takht Different From Any Other GurudwaraThe word Takht means throne. In Sikh tradition, the five Takhts are the seats of temporal and spiritual authority, the places from which the Panth issues religious edicts called Hukamnamas that bind Sikhs worldwide. Every Gurudwara is a place of worship, but…

Times Life · Sep 15

Hepatitis A and E Outbreaks in Your Building Are a Warning About Water Contamination

Why Hepatitis A and E Travel Through Water, Not PeopleBoth hepatitis A and hepatitis E are fecal-oral diseases. That phrase sounds clinical, but the mechanism is direct: human waste enters a water source, the water reaches your tap or your food, and the virus completes its route. Unlike hepatitis B…

Times Life · Sep 15