LIVE: BJP's Central Election Committee meet underway at party's HQ

PM Modi is also attending the CEC meeting at the party headquarters. Stay tuned for latest LIVE news

11:45 PM

Bird flu detected in Sola, Ahmedabad; sale of poultry banned: District Collector

A bird flu case has been reported at a poultry farm in Sola area of Ahmedabad. Sale of meat, mutton and poultry has been banned. Eggs and food items have also been ordered to be destroyed: Ahmedabad District Collector Gujarat, according to ANI

11:29 PM

Election Commisison asks Bengal CEC to not engage civic police in poll duties

Election Commission of India wrote to West Bengal Chief Election Officer stating that no person from civic police or green police or student police shall be engaged in any election related duty, according to ANI

10:34 PM

Board examinations for classes 10th and 12th to be held as per schedule: Goa CM

10:05 PM

Ramesh Pokhriyal unveils QS World University Rankings by subject 2021

9:54 PM

Cong plans to bring a no-confidence motion against BJP-JJP govt in Haryana: Bhoopinder Singh

8:58 PM

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel to set up Rs 50,000 crore integrated unit in Odisha

The Government of Odisha and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Limited signed an MoU today for setting up an integrated steel complex in Kendrapara District of the state for an investment of more than Rs 50,000 crore.

 

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel is one of the largest steel makers of the world and combines the financial might of the LN Mittal Group including their international presence in the sector and the technological prowess and management strength of Nippon Steel, which is a Japanese company renowned in the world for its high-technology steel products. READ MORE...

8:28 PM

BJP's Central Election Committee meet underway at party's Headquarters

8:21 PM

RailTel launches prepaid wi-fi services at 4,000 railway stations

Railway PSU RailTel formally launched its paid wi-fi service plans on Thursday which will enable users to access high-speed internet at 4,000 railway stations across the country.

 

RailTel already provides free wi-fi service at more than 5,950 stations in the country, and the facility can be availed by anyone with a smartphone and an active connection after an OTP-based verification. READ MORE...

8:08 PM

Union minister Nitin Gadkari takes bus ride to inspect construction work of Dwarka Expressway in Gurgaon

Union minister Nitin Gadkari takes bus ride to inspect construction work of Dwarka Expressway in Gurgaon

7:51 PM

Restrain Rahul Gandhi from campaigning in Tamil Nadu: BJP plea to ECI

The Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday urged the Election Commission to restrain Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from campaigning in Tamil Nadu for the April 6 Assembly election, for allegedly violating the model code of conduct.

 

It also wanted the EC to direct the police to register an FIR against him for "inciting the youth to another freedom struggle."

 

BJP state in-charge, election liaison committee, V Balachandran, alleged that Gandhi's campaign in St.Joseph's Matric Higher Secondary School in Mulagumoodu in Kanyakumari district on March 1 was akin to an election campaign in school premises.

7:41 PM

PM Narendra Modi arrives at BJP Headquarters for party's Central Election Committee meet

7:36 PM

Farmers violence: Delhi court grants bail to farmer, retired Army officer

A Delhi court Thursday granted bail to a farmer and a retired Army officer in a case related to the violence on Republic Day during farmers' tractor parade against the Centre's three new agri laws.

 

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat granted the relief to Baljeet Singh and Harjinder Singh on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 15,000 with one surety of like amount in the case of the violence in Seemapuri area.

 

Baljeet is a farmer by profession and lives in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, and Harjinder is a retired Army Officer from 9 Sikh Light Infantry Battalion of the Indian Army and served for 17 years.

7:17 PM

Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari arrive at BJP Headquarters for party's CEC meet

7:00 PM

I-T dept detects Rs 175-crore black income in raids on TN contractors

The Income Tax Department detected "unaccounted" income of Rs 175 crore after it raided two groups of civil contractors in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, the CBDT said on Thursday.

 

It said "unaccounted" cash of Rs 3 crore was seized after the searches were conducted on Wednesday at 18 premises in Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts.

6:31 PM

Amit Shah meets PM Modi ahead BJP CEC meet

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the crucial Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the BJP to discuss the names of party candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam.

 

Modi is also expected to attend the CEC meeting at the party headquarters here on Thursday evening along with Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda and other senior leaders. The CEC is a body that decides who the candidates will be for the different constituencies in the poll-bound states.

 

It has been learnt that the BJP leaders will go into a huddle to finalise the first list of candidates for 60 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal that will go to the polls in the first two phases. The first two phases of polling in Assam and West Bengal will be held on March 27 and April 1.

6:10 PM

BJP leaders meet to shortlist names for Assam polls

The final round of discussion to shortlist the names of BJP candidates for the Assam Assembly elections started at party president J.P. Nadda' residence here on Thursday. Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonawal, minister Himanta Biswa Sharma, state in-charge Baijayant Panda, co-incharge Pawan Sharma, Union minister Jitendra Singh and some other senior leaders are present at the meeting.

 

Sources in the BJP said that seat-sharing arrangements and shortlisting of possible candidates will be decided at the crucial Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the party scheduled later in the day.

 

BJP ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is demanding larger share of seats in comparison to the previous polls. Sources said that the AGP is demanding 40 seats, 16 more than the what it contested in the previous elections in 2016.

5:23 PM

Navjot Singh Sidhu describes three farm laws as 'unconstitutional and illegal'

4:49 PM

60 million EPF subscribers to get 8.5% interest rate in FY21

As many as 60 million subscribers of Employees' Provident Fund have got major relief, with the Central Board of Trustees retaining the interest rate at 8.5 per cent for 2020-21.

 

Even thouh 8.5 per cent interest rate is the lowest since 2012-13, the development has come as a pleasant surprise since there were talks of cut in the rate, thanks to returns on equity.

 

An official statement said a high EPF interest rate along with compounding makes a significant difference to amount accruing to subscribers. READ MORE...

4:27 PM

Rahul Gandhi uses Hindi idioms to target govt for raiding 'pro-farmer' voices, BJP hits back

Hindi idioms took centre stage in a political slugfest between the Congress and the ruling BJP on Thursday as Rahul Gandhi cited them to accuse the government of using probe agencies to target critical voices, prompting Union minister Prakash Javadekar to invoke a few sayings to hit back.

 

A day after income-tax raids at the homes and offices of Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and others, Gandhi used the hashtag 'ModiRaidsProFarmers' with his tweet in Hindi to take a dig at the government.

 

Putting out three popular Hindi idioms -- 'Ungliyon pe nachana', 'Bheegi billi banna' and 'Khisiyani billi khamba noche' -- Gandhi stated what he believes they mean in the current context. In his three-pronged attack, he alleged that the central government makes the income tax department dance to its tunes, friendly media gets cowed down before the Centre and the central government raids those supporting farmers.

4:19 PM

A police sub-inspector shoots himself dead in suspicious conditions in Lucknow

3:52 PM

New farm laws revolutionary, will enhance farmers' economy, says Agriculture Minister

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday asserted that new farm laws will enhance farmers' income adding that agricultural is the backbone of the country's economic growth.

 

"Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) Yojana, about 1.15 lakh crore rupees are deposited in the bank accounts of about 1.75 crore farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the vision to increase the income of farmers and the development of the agricultural sector. We understand that, if we don't have prosperous farmers, we can't develop a good economy of the country." Tomar said while speaking at an event.

 

The agricultural Minister was attending an event of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) joint forum's session on "Development support to promote agribusiness clusters and credit enhancement instruments".

3:33 PM

EPFO board recommends an unchanged 8.5% interest on deposits for 2020-21

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has kept the interest rates unchanged on provident fund deposits at 8.5 per cent for financial year 2020-21.

 

The announcement comes on the back of large withdrawals and fewer contributions through out the last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

 

There were speculations that the EPFO would lower interest on provident fund deposits for this fiscal (2020-21) from 8.5 per cent given in 2019-20, owing to the coronavirus-induced slowdown through 2020. READ MORE...

2:50 PM

Shiv Sena extends support to TMC in West Bengal

After the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party (SP), the Shiv Sena on Thursday extended its support to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, and said it would not contest assembly elections in Bengal. Hailing Banerjee as the "real Bengal tigress", the party, which had earlier said that it would join the electoral battle in the state, vowed to "stand in solidarity" with the TMC camp.

 

Senior Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, in a tweet, made the announcement and said that the decision was taken following discussions with party president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

2:41 PM

'Metro Man' E Sreedharan to be BJP's CM candidate in upcoming Kerala Assembly Elections 2021

2:28 PM

EPFO fixes 8.5% rate of interest on EPF deposits for 2020-21

2:15 PM

WhatsApp to introduce audio, video calling on desktop app for users

WhatsApp will Thursday roll out voice and video calling from the desktop, making it easier for people to take calls at their convenience. Voice and video calls on WhatsApp Web will also be end-to-end encrypted, ensuring that WhatsApp can’t hear or see them, whether you call from your phone or your computer.

 

"We’re starting with one-to-one calls on the WhatsApp desktop app so we make sure we can give you a reliable and high-quality experience. We will be expanding this feature to include group voice and video calls in the future," the company said in a statement. READ MORE...

 

1:51 PM

Ahead of polls, Congress promises 50% reservation for women in govt jobs in Assam

The Congress said on Thursday that if the opposition 'Mahajot' or grand alliance is voted to power in Assam, it will ensure 50 per cent reservation for women in government jobs. Addressing a press conference, All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev said the Congress-led alliance will focus more on the upliftment of women and youths.

 

"When the Congress-led grand alliance will form the government, we will implement 50 per cent reservation for women. This will be one of the first things we're going to do," she said.

1:44 PM

Tandav case: SC asks Centre to file regulations on social media

1:31 PM

Agitating farmers gear up for summer months with mosquito nets, repellent, fans

After surviving Delhi's harsh winters, farmers agitating at the borders of the national capital against the Centre's contentious farm laws are now gearing up to battle the summer months with portable fans, mosquito nets and other necessities.

 

In light of the rising temperature in Delhi, farmers starting from Amritsar have fitted their tractor trolleys with nets on all sides to keep mosquitoes away and have installed electric mosquito repellants.

 

"Keeping in mind the heat in Delhi, a jatha recently left the Golden Gate in Amritsar with special arrangements for the summer months. Earlier, to protect ourselves from the cold, we used to cover the sides of the tractor-trolley with tarpaulin on all sides. Those have been rolled up and replaced by mosquito nets," Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher told ANI.

1:26 PM

Bengaluru ranked top on government's Ease of Living Index; Pune second

Bengaluru ranked top on government's Ease of Living Index; Pune second, Ahmedabad ranked third among 111 cities