LIVE: Delhi LG gives nod to convene House, hold mayoral poll on Feb 22

"Recommended MCD mayor elections to be held on 22 Feb," Kejriwal said in a tweet earlier in the day. Stay tuned for latest updates

11:53 PM

PM Narendra Modi attends DoPT's 'Chintan Shivir '

11:50 PM

Fire breaks out in dumping yard in Bhayander; no report of injuries

A major fire broke out in Uttan dumping yard in Bhayander in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday, a civic official said.

The blaze started at 8pm and three fire engines of the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation were engaged in dousing operations, Thane regional disaster management cell chief Avinash Sawant informed.

There is no report of anyone getting injured in the blaze, he added.

11:37 PM

Badminton Championships 2023: India lose 2-3 to China in semi-final to settle for bronze

Badminton Championships 2023: India lose 2-3 to China in semi-final to settle for bronze

11:36 PM

Piyush Goyal bats for promoting local products to make India self-reliant

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday emphasised on the importance of promoting local products to make India self-reliant.

Addressing a session in which of founders different start-ups from the Northeast participated, he said the quality of manufacturing must be maintained as it impacts the business.

"The quality will play a key role and help companies deliver products and services that exceed expectations, helping them expand their markets," Goyal said.

10:39 PM

Centre making roads worth Rs 3 trillion in NE to help eradicate poverty: Gadkari

The Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making roads valued at Rs 3 lakh crore in the North East to help eradicate poverty and reduce the suffering of the people, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday. The Union minister for roads, transport and highways said road projects worth over Rs 25,000 crore are being implemented in Meghalaya.

 

Addressing election rallies in South Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills districts, Gadkari said, To eradicate poverty and reduce the suffering of people, we have to make good roads and in NE, the Modi government is making roads worth 3 lakh crore which will be completed by 2024.

 

The minister said that the network of road connectivity in NE has increased by 25 per cent since 2014.

10:33 PM

GST Council okays setting up tribunals, specific levy for pan masala firms

The all-powerful 49th GST Council meeting on Saturday approved the two key proposals of the ministerial state panels, including setting up dedicated appellate tribunal to resolve GST-related disputes and tightening norms for evasion-prone commodities such as pan masala and gutka.

 

The government expects the appellate tribunal to be operational by the end of this year. The final draft of the framework is likely to be a part of the Finance Bill 2023. On the other hand, to curb tax evasion by gutka companies, a specific levy will be worked out soon. READ MORE...

9:54 PM

ICC Women T20 World Cup: India lose to England by 11 runs in Group-2 match

ICC Women T20 World Cup: India lose to England by 11 runs in Group-2 match

9:21 PM

MCD to use drone, hi-tech gadgets to combat dengue this year, focus on G20 sites

Drones and Artificial Intelligence-based platforms will be used by civic authorities as part of their comprehensive plan to combat dengue this year, with focussed fumigation at monument sites, hotels and markets in Delhi, which will host the G20 summit in September.

 

According to a senior official of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), "Our plan is to make the city cleaner, safer and more vibrant" so that the visiting delegates of the influential bloc go back with a wonderful experience.

 

India assumed the year-long presidency of G20 on December 1. More than 200 meetings of the G20 will be held at 55 locations across the country and the summit will take place here in September.

9:00 PM

Amit Shah to visit Karnataka on Feb 23

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit poll-bound Karnataka on February 23 to take part in two major public events in Bengaluru and Ballari, sources in the BJP said on Saturday.

Shah will attend a public meeting in Bengaluru. He will also hold a brief meeting with the party leaders here to discuss the election strategy, sources said.

8:23 PM

Kandla-bound SpiceJet flight returns to Mumbai airport due to cabin 'pressurisation alert'

A Kandla-bound SpiceJet flight from Mumbai returned to the city airport on Saturday due to a cabin "pressurisation alert," the airline has said. The aircraft has landed safely and neither passengers nor crew members have reported any discomfort, SpiceJet said in a statement. The airline, however, did not share the number of persons onboard the Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

 

On February 18, SpiceJet Q400 aircraft was scheduled to operate the airline's flight SG-2903 (Mumbai - Kandla), the airline said in the statement.

 

"After take-off, cabin pressurisation alert came. The pilot-in-command decided to return to Mumbai," it said.

 

According to SpiceJet, the Mumbai Air Traffic Control was apprised of the situation and the aircraft was landed "safely" at Mumbai. The operation of the airline's flight to Tirupati from Mumbai was also affected. It has not been cancelled, the statement said, adding that only its scheduled time of departure has been revised.

7:46 PM

US balloon claim 'hysterical and absurd': China's top diplomat Wang Yi

China on Saturday lambasted the US for claiming its balloons as surveillance objects and termed it as "hysterical and absurd".

 

Addressing a gathering of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference, China's top diplomat Wang Yi alleged the US of trying to "smear" the Asian giant while it itself was implementing policies that ran counter to its paradigms such as free trade.

 

Washington, he said, had the wrong view of China as a serious geopolitical challenge and a threat to the United States. "This is a misguided perception of China and with this perception, the United States is using all of its means to smear and clamp down China, and is co-opting other countries to do the same," he said.

 

He said that US President Joe Biden's administration has a "misguided" perception of Beijing.

7:33 PM

Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine, says USA

US Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday Washington has determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine, and insisted that justice must be served to the perpetrators.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Harris said that the international community has both a moral and a strategic interest in pursuing those crimes, pointing to a danger of other authoritarian governments taking advantage if international rules are undermined.

Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population - gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation, Harris said. She also cited execution-style killings, beatings, and electrocution.

7:25 PM

Uddhav Thackeray supporters protest against Election Commission of India

Supporters of the Shiv Sena (UBT) protested here on Saturday against the Election Commission of India which has allotted the name 'Shiv Sena' and its poll symbol 'bow and arrow' to the group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

 

The protesters accused the EC of acting at the behest of the Narendra Modi government. Shinde and Modi's party BJP are the ruling partners in Maharashtra.

 

Bhaskar Ambekar, affiliated with the Uddhav Thackeray group, said all government and constitutional bodies are working under the pressure of the BJP-ruled Centre and decisions are being made by "trampling" the law and Constitution.

7:23 PM

Our 'bow and arrow' has been stolen: Sanjay Raut

7:17 PM

Aware of its limitations, US now ready to work with like-minded allies: S Jaishankar

Highlighting the changes in the world order from uni-polar to multi-polarity, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the US is aware of its limitations and has changed its mindset as it is now ready to work with like-minded allies.

 

"The US is actually getting into a mindset where it is aware of that limitation and is open to working with like-minded partners and addressing it," Jaishankar said while addressing the Raisina@Sydney event.

 

The External Affairs Minister was referring to the changing geopolitical equations across the world. Owing to the emergence of a multipolar world, the economic cycles and financial market trends are becoming less US-centric and more multipolar in nature.

7:07 PM

Phagu Chauhan sworn in as new Governor of Meghalaya

7:05 PM

Kedarnath to open for devotees on April 25

The portals of Kedarnath situated in the upper Garhwal Himalayas will be opened on April 25 after nearly six months of their closure during the winter season.

 

The gates of the Himalayan temple will be thrown open to devotees at 6.20 am on April 25, Badrinath-Kedarnath Mandir Samiti sources said.

 

The timing and date for the reopening of the temple gates were announced at a ceremony at the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath on Saturday on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivaratri.

6:46 PM

GST Council cuts tax on liquid jaggery; rationalises late fee on delayed annual returns

GST Council, the apex decision-making authority, on Saturday reduced the tax rate on several items, including 'rab' (liquid jagger) and pencil sharpeners, besides rationalising late fee for the delayed filing of annual returns.

 

Briefing media after the 49th meeting of the GST Council, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also informed that reports of the GoM (Group of Ministers) on checking tax evasion by pan masala and gutkha industry, and on Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs), have been taken on board.

 

Headed by Union Finance Minister, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council comprises finance ministers of states and UTs (with legislature).

6:46 PM

GST Council meeting LIVE: Reducing GST rate on liquid jaggery from 18% to nil or 5%, says FM

6:43 PM

Entire Rs 16,982 cr GST compensation cess to states to be cleared: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that the entire GST compensation cess for June 2022 totalling Rs 16,982 crore will be cleared. She said this while addressing a press conference soon after the 49th meeting of the GST Council ended. She also informed that Rs 16,524 crore to six states which have submitted the accountant general's (AG) certificate will also be released.

 

Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are among the six states which have submitted AG certificates.

 

Though submission of AG certificate is a requirement for the states to seek GST compensation, Sitharaman said that it wasn't a strict pre-requisite, as 90 per cent of funds are anyway released to the states, while the remaining amount is given after the AG certificate is submitted.

6:40 PM

Govt to boost semiconductor manufacturing in next 10 years: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

In a bid to give a boost to semiconductor manufacturing in the country, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced that the government will come up with a program very soon to put the country on a good semiconductor journey for the next 10 years.

 

"When PM approved the Semicon India program on Jan 1, 2022, we promised that within the next 14-16 months, we'll work hard, learn from the world's experience and come out with a program which will take the country on a good semiconductor journey for next 10 years," Vaishnaw said.

 

The government launched a programme called Semicon India Programme in December 2021 with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore. The programme seeks to support the development of the semiconductors and the display manufacturing ecosystem in India.

6:26 PM

Death toll from Islamic State attack in Syria at least 53

The death toll from an attack by the Islamic State group against an army checkpoint and people collecting truffles in central Syria has risen to at least 53, most of them civilians, state media and an opposition war monitor reported Saturday.

The attack near the central town of Sukhna on Friday was the deadliest by the extremist group since so far this year, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor said.

The Observatory said the attack targeted a Syrian army checkpoint and people collecting wild truffles nearby, killing 68 people, including 61 civilians.

5:47 PM

EAM Jaishankar calls on Australian PM Albanese to discuss bilateral strategic ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Australia's top leadership, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, on Saturday and discussed the bilateral strategic partnership, economic opportunities, people-to-people ties, besides exchanging ideas on the Indo-Pacific region and cricket.

 

Jaishankar, who arrived here from Fiji, also conveyed personal greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his Australian counterpart Albanese.

5:45 PM

India reaps pricing benefits of crude oil imports from Russia

In the case of oil imports, India till now is on a firm path of sourcing the product cheaply from Russia since the latters invasion of Ukraine.

 

This is much against the wishes of the western powers who want to bring down the Russian economy by curbing its oil revenue. However, the Indian government has categorically said that it would source what it needs from where the price is advantageous.

5:26 PM

LIVE: GST Council reduces tax on liquid jaggery, pencil sharpeners

GST Council on Saturday reduced the Goods and Service Tax on liquid jaggery, pencil sharpeners, and certain tracking devices, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

 

Briefing media after the 49th meeting of the GST Council, the minister also informed that reports of the GoM (Group of Ministers) on checking tax evasion by pan masala and gutkha industry, and on Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs), have been taken on board. She further said all the GST compensation dues will be cleared, including Rs 16,982 crore for the month of June.

 

The finance minister further said the GST Council has decided to rationalise late fees on filing of annual GST returns after the due date. Finance ministers of states and UTs (with legislature) and senior officials of Union Government and states participated in the meeting.

5:21 PM

49th GST Council meeting LIVE: Reduction in GST on tags tracking devices or data loggers, says FM

5:17 PM

GST Council recommends rationalisation of penalties for late filing of annual GST Returns: FM Sitharaman

GST Council recommends rationalisation of penalties for late filing of annual GST Returns: FM Sitharaman

5:17 PM

GST Council to tax services supplied by courts and tribunals under reverse charge mechanism: FM

GST Council decided to tax services supplied by courts and tribunals under the reverse charge mechanism: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

5:16 PM

GST Council meeting LIVE: Reducing GST rate on liquid jaggery from 18% to nil or 5%, says FM

5:14 PM

GST Council LIVE: GST Amnesty Provided with respect to pending returns GSTR-4, GSTR-9 and GSTR-10, says FM

GST Council Meeting LIVE: GST Amnesty Provided with respect to pending returns GSTR-4, GSTR-9 and GSTR-10, says FM