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6:57 PM

Schools, coaching institutes in Rajasthan set to reopen Monday

Schools and coaching institutes in Rajasthan are set to reopen in the state on Monday after remaining closed for nearly 10 months with wearing of face masks, maintaining social distancing and thermal scanning made mandatory for the students.

 

These institutes were closed on March 21 last year.

 

The government has decided to restart schools from classes nine to 12 with each room having 50 per cent seating capacity and students attending classes with consent from their parents.

 

For students of coaching institutes coming from other states, they will have to get themselves tested for COVID-19, a day before joining classes. All coaching institutes will have to send details of their students to the nodal officer appointed by the district collector.

6:52 PM

Modi talks about 5G coming to India, while Kashmir is still living under 2G: Farooq Abdullah

6:48 PM

Shivsena has decided to contest the West Bengal Elections: Sanjay Raut

6:25 PM

Avian flu: 836 Maha birds found dead, samples sent for tests

Deaths of 836 different birds were reported on January 16 across Maharashtra and samples have been sent for bird flu tests in laboratories in Pune and Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, officials said on Sunday.

 

As per an official statement, the deaths include that of 745 poultry birds, with Nagpur and Amravati districts from Vidarbha region reporting deaths of 290 and 75 poultry birds respectively.

5:31 PM

Indian classical musician Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan passes away

5:20 PM

EC team to visit Assam from Monday to review poll preparedness

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora is scheduled to arrive in Assam on Monday on a three-day visit to take stock of preparations for assembly polls due in March-April, officials said.

 

The CEC will hold separate meetings with senior officials of the state government, including the chief secretary, home secretary, director general of police, chief electoral officer and police nodal officer.

5:16 PM

UK must not do trade deals with rights abusers: Dominic Raab

Britain should not engage in free trade with countries that abuse human rights, but proposals that the country's courts should decide whether genocide has been committed by trade partners is flawed, foreign minister Dominic Raab said.

 

Last week, Raab said Britain would introduce new rules for its companies to try to prevent goods linked to China's Xinjiang region entering their supply chains.

4:42 PM

Maharashtra's ruling parties Shiv Sena, Congress spar over renaming Aurangabad city

The Shiv Sena and the Congress, which are ruling allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, on Sunday sparred over renaming Aurangabad city, with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party saying it is not "secular" behaviour if one finds "cruel and religiously blind" Mughal emperor Aurangzeb "dear".

 

Hitting back, the Congress accused the Sena and the opposition BJP of playing politics over renaming and asked them why they did not they remember the issue while they were in power in Maharashtra for the past five years.

4:32 PM

India's demographic dividend needs to be fully leveraged; Venkaiah Naidu

India's biggest strength is its 'demographic dividend' and people need to fully leverage it to fast-track the country's progress in various sectors, Vice- President M Venkaiah Naidu said here on Sunday.

 

Naidu also called upon the youth of the country to be at the forefront in accelerating progress and scripting the country's growth story.

 

"One of our biggest strengths today is our demographic dividend.

4:29 PM

More than 3,600 birds rescued in 2020: Delhi Fire Service

Firefighters in the national capital rescued more than 3,600 birds between January-December last year, officials said on Sunday.

 

The maximum number of such cases were reported around Independence Day in August when people traditionally fly kites and the strings remain suspended on trees and poles creating a death trap for birds.

 

According to data shared by the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), the firefighters in the national capital responded to 25,416 distress calls last year, of which 3,691 were for rescue of birds and 2,902 for animals.

4:24 PM

Russian cargo ship sinks in the Black Sea, rescue underway

A Russian-flagged dry goods ship sank off the Black Sea coast in Turkey on Sunday and a rescue operations for the crew was underway, an official said.

 

The governor of Bartin province announced the shipwreck off Inkumu in northern Turkey and said emergency workers were out trying to rescue 15 people on three lifeboats.

4:11 PM

India among fastest growing markets: Prime Video

India is among the fastest growing markets for Amazon Prime Video (APV) globally, and the content streaming platform is focussing its investments on bringing more content and expanding the service to a larger audience in the country, a top company official said.

 

APV, which has recently partnered with Airtel to bring a mobile-only plan (a global first) for Indian users, competes with platforms like Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Zee5 and others in the country.

 

"We've been in the country for the last four years and growing very steadily...APV is watched in over 4,300 cities and towns in the country, and India is amongst the fastest growing markets for Prime and APV. Our investments in content across 10 languages, both originals and films, have helped us," Amazon Prime Video India Director and Country General Manager Gaurav Gandhi told PTI.

4:11 PM

Delhi schools prepare to open the doors for classes 10 and 12

Staggered and shorter class hours, frequent sanitisation, and entry and exit through multiple gates are among various new ways adopted by schools in Delhi as they prepare to welcome students of classes 10 and 12 back on Monday, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic forced closure of educational institutes in March last year.

 

The Delhi government has allowed all schools outside Covid-19 containment zones to reopen for classes 10 and 12 from January 18 in view of board exams. However, it made clear that physical attendance is not compulsory and students will attend schools only with consent of parents.

 

The Directorate of Education (DoE) has instructed schools to follow all Covid-19 guidelines when classroom studies resume.

4:06 PM

Shift Freight expects its topline to touch Rs 50 cr by FY22

On-demand shifting services provider Shift Freight expects its topline to touch Rs 50 crore by the end of fiscal 2022on the back of a pan-India presence and a significant jump in daily movements, its Co-founder, Avinash Raghav has said.

 

The Noida-based start-up entered the fast-growing logistic services space just prior to the imposition of the coronavirus-induced lockdown in March last year.

 

The firm with presence across 10 cities including Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Jaipur, among others, conducts over 1,000 movements per month and is growing at 75-80 per cent month-on-month in terms of both order and revenue, with a fleet of 560 trucks attached to the platform, according to Raghav.

4:03 PM

DHFL creditors vote in favour of Piramal's $5 billion bid: Report

Creditors of India's Dewan Housing Finance Corp have voted in favour of a 372.5 billion rupees ($5.09 billion)takeover bid submitted by the Piramal Group for the troubled "shadow" lender, a source with knowledge of their decision said on Sunday.

 

DHFL's creditors finished voting on Friday evening, and the source requested anonymity as the result has not been officially released.

4:03 PM

Delhi's Transport department firming up 'rent a bike' scheme

Tourists in the national capital may soon enjoy rides on rented two-wheelers as the Delhi government's transport department is firming up a scheme to issue licences for 'rent a bike' services in the city, officials said.

 

A presentation of the draft scheme is likely to be made before the transport minister next week for further discussions, a senior transport department officer said.

 

"The presentation was scheduled earlier this month but it was postponed. Now it will be held next week. The draft proposal for bike rent service will require approval of the State Transport Authority (STA)," he said.

3:48 PM

Newsprint cost up 20 pc in 3 months

Cost of paper used to publish newspapers and magazines has jumped 20 per cent in the past three months due to demand-supply imbalance following the pandemic, prompting news publishers to rush to the government seeking waiver of 5 per cent import duty to help cut cost.

 

An industry that was facing headwinds from a slowing economy even before the pandemic, was hit hard when most readers stopped buying newspapers and magazines on fears of them being carriers of viruses.

 

While there are no medical studies that have established the virus transmission theories, sales did not pick up even after lockdown restrictions were relaxed, industry leaders said.

3:06 PM

President, PM express grief over Jalore bus tragedy

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed their grief over the bus accident which took place in Rajasthan's Jalore district.

 

"I am deeply saddened to learn of the painful bus accident in Jalore, Rajasthan. My condolences to the bereaved families. I wish those injured to get well soon," tweeted President Kovind.

 

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted: "The news of a bus accident in Jalore, Rajasthan, has caused immense grief. Many people have lost their lives in this accident. I express my condolences to the family members and wish the injured to get well soon."

2:47 PM

Demand to rationalise GST on food delivery biz to 5 per cent

The restaurants and food delivery sector has demanded that goods and services tax (GST) on home delivery of food be reduced to five per cent from 18 per cent now to boost the $3 billion segment, industry officials said.

 

Customers taking food delivery at their home or office are paying 13 per cent higher price on the same food and beverages compared to customers who are walking down to restaurants as the dine-in tax rate is 5 per cent, they claimed.

2:28 PM

Indian economy may contract 25 pc in current fiscal: Noted Economist

The Indian economy is not recovering as fast as the government claims and the country's economy may contract 25 per cent in the current financial year, noted economist Arun Kumar said on Sunday.

 

Kumar further said that due to a big decline in the GDP during the current financial year, the budget estimates have gone completely out of gear and, therefore, there is a need to correct the Budget.

 

"India's economic growth is not recovering as fast as the government is showing because the unorganised sector has not started recovering and some major components of the services sector have not recovered.

2:14 PM

Modi has been invited by the United Kingdom to attend G7 summit as a guest in June 2021

1:54 PM

Excise duty collection jump 48 per cent this fiscal

While the pandemic pummelled tax collection across the board, excise duty mop-up jumped 48 per cent in the current fiscal on the back of a record increase in taxes on petrol and diesel, that more than made up for the below normal fuel sales.

 

Excise duty collection during April-November 2020, was at Rs 1,96,342 crore, up from Rs 1,32,899 crore mop-up during the same period in 2019, according to data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

 

This despite the fact that over 10 million tonnes less diesel - the most used fuel in the country - was sold during the eight months period.

 

Diesel sales during April-November 2020, stood at 44.9 million tonnes as compared to 55.4 million tonnes a year back, according to data from the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).

1:28 PM

Cold weather conditions prevail at many places in Haryana, Punjab

Cold weather conditions continued to persist at many places in Haryana and Punjab on Sunday, with temperatures hovering below the normal limits. According to Meteorological Department officials, Narnaul in Haryana reeled under intense cold, recording a low of 2.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal limits.

 

Hisar, too, experienced a cold night at 3.4 degrees Celsius, down four notches, while Sirsa, Bhiwani and Rohtak registered below normal minimums at 4 degrees Celsius, 4.7 degrees, and 5.6 degrees respectively.

 

In Punjab, Bathinda recorded below normal minimum at 3.4 degrees, while Faridkot and Gurdaspur, too, recorded below normal lows at 5.5 degrees and 7 degrees Celsius respectively.

1:19 PM

One lakh tourists will visit Kevadiya in Gujarat daily after improvement in connectivity: PM Modi

1:09 PM

Trains to Kevadiya in Gujarat will help improve lives of tribals: PM Narendra Modi

12:58 PM

Puducherry BJP MLA K G Shankar passes away due to cardiac arrest at 72

BJP's Puducherry unit Treasurer and MLA K G Shankar died of cardiac arrest at his residence early Sunday. The 70-year old leader, a nominated MLA of the Union Territory Assembly, is survived by wife, a son and a daughter. Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Assembly Speaker V P Sivakolundhu, state BJP president V Saminathan and assembly Secretary R Munusamy were among those who paid their last respects to the departed leader.

 

Bedi placed a wreath on the body of Shankar and conveyed her condolences to the bereaved family.

 

Narayanasamy also consoled the family members of the BJP leader. Shankar was one of the three legislators nominated by the Union Home Ministry to the assembly and all of them were sworn-in at Raj Nivas on July 5, 2017 by Lt Governor Kiran Bedi.

12:36 PM

This connectivity will be beneficial for tourists coming to see Statue of Unity: PM Modi

12:26 PM

Two Chinese nationals held in money laundering case sent to 14-day ED remand

Two Chinese nationals, who were arrested in a money laundering case, have been sent to 14-day remand of the Enforcement Directorate, said ED officials on Sunday. Two Chinese nationals Charlie Peng and Carter Lee were produced to a court which sent them to 14-day remand, ED officials told ANI.

 

"They have been accused of allegedly running a hawala racket to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore. In August 2020, ED has registered a case of money laundering against a Chinese national after their premises were raided by the Income-tax department," they added.

 

42-year-old Peng has been allegedly holding a fake Indian passport and also accused of creating a web of sham companies which he used to launder hawala funds to and from China.

 

Peng had been arrested in 2018 by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on charges of fraud and forgery. It may be recalled that in August 2020 the Income Tax Department conducted raids against some Chinese individuals and their local associates for allegedly indulging in a money-laundering racket involving Rs 1,000 crores using shell or dubious firms.

12:02 PM

PM Modi flags off 8 trains to boost connectivity to Statue of Unity

11:46 AM

Eight trains services started today up to Kevadiya in Gujarat: Indian Railways