LIVE: UP govt's affidavit in SC on Hathras case a white lie, says Congress

9:52 PM

TCS to roll out salary hikes for all employees, effective October 1

After a pause, industry leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has decided to go ahead with the salary hike for all its employees. The salary hike will be effective from 1 October and the quantum of raise is being worked out, the company said. Soon after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mumbai-headquartered company while announcing its Q4 and FY20 results in April had decided to freeze the salary hike decision as a cautionary move. Read more

9:52 PM

Former CBI chief Ashwani Kumar dies of suicide in Shimla: TV reports

Ashwani Kumar, a former chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation, died by suicide at his home in Shimla on Wednesday, TV news channels reported quoting the police.

 

Kumar, 69, suffered from depression, NDTV reported. Shimla Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla said he had been depressed for several weeks, according News agency ANI. The police recovered a note in which Kumar reportedly said he felt overwhelmed by life, according to NDTV. Read more

9:51 PM

Govt names RBI executive director M Rajeshwar Rao as fourth dy governor

The appointment committee of the government named M Rajeshwar Rao, executive director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the fourth deputy governor of the central bank. Read more

8:53 PM

Hathras case: UP govt's affidavit in SC is a white lie, says Congress

The Uttar Pradesh government's affidavit in the Supreme Court over the Hathras case is a "white lie", the Congress alleged on Wednesday.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the state government should not cover up the issue and present facts before the public.

"The Uttar Pradesh government, in the affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, has said that the cremation of the alleged gangrape victim was done with the consent of her family although everybody knows that the woman's family was not present there," she said. Read more...

8:48 PM

Delhi govt allows restaurants to operate round-the-clock

In a major relief to city restaurants amid Covid-19 outbreak, the Delhi government on Wednesday said they will be allowed to operate round-the-clock and the requirement of tourism licenses will be removed.

Setting an example of Delhi Model' of ease of doing business, the government also announced other measures such as initiation of a process to abolish police licenses and health trade licenses from local bodies for restaurants, an official statement said.

The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The meeting was also attended by restaurants owners of the national capital.

8:41 PM

Govt to shell out Rs 1.40 trillion for procuring paddy at MSP in kharif season

Amid farmers' protests against new laws, the Centre on Wednesday asserted that buying of kharif crops at Minimum Support Price is continuing and that Rs 1.40 lakh crore will be spend for procuring 738 lakh tonnes of paddy at MSP from more than 156 lakh farmers.

Around Rs 35,000 crore will be shelled out for buying 125 lakh bales of cotton at MSP this year. Even pulses and oilseeds are being procured at the respective MSPs, it said.

Seeking to send out a clear message to the protesting farmers that the Centre has no intention of scrapping procurement at MSP, senior officials held a press conference on Wednesday on steps being taken for procurement of the kharif crops.

8:29 PM

Delhi's air quality turns 'poor', first time since Jun 29

Delhi's air quality turned "poor" on Wednesday -- the first time in over three months -- and is likely to deteriorate further due to unfavourable meteorological conditions and a spike in farm fires, according to government agencies.

The city recorded a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 215, which falls in the "poor" category. It was 178 on Tuesday.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

This is the first time since June 29 -- when the AQI was 230 -- the air quality of the national capital has turned poor.

8:08 PM

Ladakh to get more than 6th schedule benefits under Modi govt: Thakur

Allaying Ladakhis' fear of losing jobs and land, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday asserted that the Centre would provide more than what was there in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, a demand which had gained momentum after the region was declared a separate Union territory last year.

 

The Minister of State for Finance was in Leh to kick-start the official campaign of the BJP for the upcoming polls to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh - the first democratic exercise in the Union territory. Read on... 

7:56 PM

15th Finance Commission should take a call on revenue deficit grant to Andhra Pradesh: Sitharaman

Agreeing that the dispute raging between the Centre and the Andhra Pradesh government over payment of revenue deficit grant for over five years now still remained unresolved,Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, said it was for the 15th Finance Commission to take a call on the issue and not the Finance Ministry.

She asked the state government to discuss the issue with the 15th Finance Commission and let the latter decide.

"It is unresolved.But its for the 15th Finance Commission to decide, not the Finance Ministry. I said this also to the state government when the Finance Minister met me," Sitharaman told a press conference in Vijayawada on Wednesday evening.

7:39 PM

TCS Q2 net profit up 4.9% at Rs 8,433 cr; announces Rs 16,000-cr buyback plan

India's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services on Wednesday reported 4.9 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,433 crore for the September 2020 quarter, and announced up to Rs 16,000 buyback plan.

The net profit excluded Rs 1,218 crore-provision towards legal claim. Including this number, the net profit was at Rs 7,475 crore, TCS said in a regulatory filing.

TCS had registered a net profit of Rs 8,042 crore in the September 2019 quarter.

Its revenue grew 3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 40,135 crore for the just-ended quarter from Rs 38,977 crore in the year-ago period.

7:26 PM

Dinesh Khara takes over as SBI Chairman

Dinesh Khara on Wednesday took charge as the new Chairman of the country's largest lender State Bank of India.

Khara took over from Rajnish Kumar, who superannuated on Tuesday.

Soon after taking over the charge, Khara told reporters that one of the top priorities for him will be to maintain the quality of the loan book. Other focus areas would be safety of bank employees and customers, he said.

7:19 PM

Marketing freedom: Govt allows Reliance, others to sell gas to affiliates

In a major boost to firms such as Reliance Industries, the government on Wednesday allowed affiliate companies to buy gas produced from non-regulated fields as part of giving complete marketing freedom.

The government between 2016 and 2019 gave pricing freedom for all fields except those given to state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) on a nomination basis.

But, there were restrictions on marketing including a ban on affiliates of producers buying the fuel and in some cases, a state nominee being mandated to offtake the gas. This restricted competition kept prices artificially low. Read on...

6:58 PM

Govt ensured higher crop procurement during Covid pandemic: Jitendra Singh

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said the government ensured higher crop procurement during Covid-19 pandemic, which is an indication of the sensitivity with which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the team led by him are committed to respond to the needs of farmer community during crisis times.

Interacting with farmers, panchayat representatives and local activists of peripheral areas of Basohli and Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir, he cited figures to state that despite Covid-19, the procurement of wheat was 15 per cent higher than the last year and about 390 lakh tonnes of wheat was procured throughout the country.

Despite lockdown measures in place, the Centre has ensured procurement from the doorsteps of farmers, the Minister of State for Personnel said. Read more...

 

6:51 PM

Stimulus to revive economy should continue for three years : Pronab Sen

The government should continue with the stimulus to revive the economy for three years and it should not be one off, Pranob Sen, the chairman of the Standing Committee on Statistics, ministry of statistics and programme implementation, said on Wednesday.

The improvement in economic activity at the moment is due to the pent up demand, he said at a webinar organised by Bharat Chamber of Commerce.

"What is happening at the moment is due to the pent up demand which has come to the market and has led to certain increase in economic activity," Sen, the former chief statistician of India, said. Read more...

6:34 PM

China's forex reserves shrank by $22 billion in Sept

China's foreign exchange reserves shrank to $3.1426 trillion, a dip of $22 billion, last month compared with August due to a host of factors including the Covid-19 pandemic abroad, the official media here reported on Wednesday.

China's foreign exchange reserves edged down in September, ending a five-month rising streak since April, though the country's foreign exchange regulator said that supply and demand dynamics and cross-border capital flow remain stable, state-run Global Times reported.

6:00 PM

Farmers protesting on busy road in Sirsa evicted, Yogendra Yadav detained

Swaraj India party president Yogendra Yadav and nearly 100 farmers were taken into preventive custody in Haryana's Sirsa on Wednesday after a group of agriculturists agitating against the Centre's new farm laws were evicted by the police from their dharna site on a busy road.

Besides Yadav, Haryana Kisan Manch chief Prahalad Singh was also taken into preventive custody and detained, Sirsa DSP Kuldeep Singh said.

Singh said that farmers were holding dharna on a busy highway in Sirsa where the administration had not given them the permission. Read on...

5:45 PM

Govt grants pricing, marketing leeway to gas producers, allows e-bidding

The government on Wednesday came out with a new model of granting marketing and pricing freedom for natural gas producers in India, with the Union Cabinet clearing a standardised e-bidding process for price discovery from new production areas and high-pressure and high-temperature areas.

Through the new platform, market players and consumers will discover the prices for new production areas that obtained clearance under the government's field development plan after February 2019. "Gas produced from high-pressure and high-temperature areas, coal-bed methane blocks, North East region and new discoveries will be getting this marketing freedom. This will be a major step towards ease of doing business measures taken by the government," said Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of petroleum and natural gas. Read more...

5:31 PM

Google faces antitrust case in India over abuse in smart TVs market: Report

Alphabet Inc's Google is facing a new antitrust case in India in which the US tech giant is alleged to have abused its Android operating system's position in the smart television market, a source and two lawyers involved in the case told Reuters.

The case is Google's fourth major antitrust challenge in India, one of its key markets where it is currently facing public criticism from local startups for enforcing certain policies and company charges they contend hurt their growth.

It also comes as Google faces new antitrust challenges in the United States, and a potential antitrust probe in China that is set to look into how it allegedly uses its dominance of its Android mobile operating system to stifle competition. Google has denied any wrongdoing.

5:20 PM

States' market borrowings jump 55% to Rs 3.75 trillion so far this fiscal

The states' market borrowings have jumped 55 per cent to Rs 3.75 trillion so far this fiscal, or 75 per cent of the budgeted amount, with 17 of them raising an additional Rs 22,350 crore from the latest auction of state development loans held on Tuesday.

Rising expenses and falling revenue, including the Centre's inability to pay the GST dues, have been leading states into a debt trap after the pandemic scuppered their finances since the beginning of the fiscal.

The latest debt raising is Rs 1,200 crore more than the notified amount as Maharashtra and Jharkhand accepted an additional Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 200 crore, respectively.

5:04 PM

Trump admin imposes new curbs on H-1B visas to protect US workers ahead of presidential election

The Trump administration has announced new restrictions on H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which will affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.

The interim final rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday, ahead of the US presidential election on November 3, will narrow the definition of "specialty occupation" as Congress intended by closing the overbroad definition that allowed companies to game the system.

It will also require companies to make "real" offers to "real employees," by closing loopholes and preventing the displacement of the American workers. And finally, the new rules would enhance the department's ability to enforce compliance through worksite inspections and monitor compliance before, during and after an H1-B petition is approved.

4:47 PM

Won't splurge stimulus money, infra spending to be key: Sanjeev Sanyal

Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said on Wednesday that the government would be mindful about splurging money in the next round of stimulus that will aim at asset creation in a bid to boost demand in the economy.

 

“We are a fiscally-conservative government as we typically tend to stick to the fiscal trajectory…Our debt-to-GDP ratio is much lower than many countries and there is a case for allowing it to go up to inflate demand. But we will not spend blindly. We will be careful as to what we spend on,” Sanyal said while speaking at the 115th Annual Session of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. Read more...

4:31 PM

4:16 PM

Japan attaches importance to its strategic relations with India: FM Motegi

Underscoring that Japan attaches importance to its strategic relations with India, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday said he intends to continue working with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to further elevate the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

Motegi made these remarks during the 13th Japan India Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue. The meeting between Jaishankar and Motegi went on for over an hour, during which they discussed a wide range of issues including politics and security as well as the economy and economic cooperation, according to a statement by the Japanese foreign ministry. Read on...

4:02 PM

CPCB writes to Kejriwal govt for urgent action on major polluting sources

Expressing concern over the menace of air pollution in Delhi during winters, the central pollution watchdog has asked the Arvind Kejriwal government to take immediate action on major pollution sources like construction and demolition activities and open garbage dumping.

Listing out a series of tasks to be accomplished across Delhi, the Central Pollution Control Board asked in a letter to the Delhi government on Tuesday to take early action on dumping of mixed municipal solid waste at three dump sites in Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla.

"It is observed that construction and demolition activities and open dumping of waste/garbage continue to be the major concern in most of the areas and therefore, special efforts are needed to curb these activities, the CPCB said.

3:39 PM

Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna

French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer A. Doudna have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing a method of genome editing known as CRISPR.

The recipients were announced Wednesday in Stockholm by Goran Hansson, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Read on...

3:29 PM

After today's cabinet nod, the East-West Metro Corridor project would be completed within the next 14-15 months: Piyush Goyal

3:28 PM

This East-West Metro Corridor will help in reducing travel time and will also help in connecting suburban transit systems in Kolkata: Piyush Goyal

3:26 PM

Phoolbagan station has been innaugurated on October 4. This completes an important allignment of the East-West corridor: Piyush Goyal

3:26 PM

The Cabinet has given its nod for the 16.6 km long East-West corridor metro project: Piyush Goyal

3:20 PM

If only affilate company of producing comapny participates in bidding process, there will be re-bidding: Dharmendra Pradhan