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9:27 PM

Don't think World Bank can interpret Indus Water treaty for us: Arindam Bagchi

India on Thursday questioned the World Bank's decision to appoint a Court of Arbitration and a neutral expert under two separate processes to resolve differences between New Delhi and Islamabad over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Last week, India issued a notice to Pakistan seeking a review and modification of the 62-year-old Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) for management of cross-border rivers following Islamabad's "intransigence" in handling disputes.

 

"I do not think they (World Bank) are in a position to interpret the treaty for us. It is a treaty between our two countries and our assessment of the treaty is that there is a provision of graded approach," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, the PTI reported.

7:59 PM

Delhi excise policy case: Court says sufficient grounds to proceed

A court here on Thursday took cognisance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against five individuals and seven companies in connection with the alleged Delhi excise scam.

 

The court also directed the representatives of the accused companies -- Trident Chemphar Ltd, Sri Avantika Contractors (I) Pvt Ltd, Organomix Ecosystems Pvt Ltd, Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd, KSJM Spirits LLP, Buddy Retail (TI) Pvt Ltd and Popular Spirits Pvt Ltd to appear before the court on the next date, the PTI reported.

7:36 PM

Karnataka HC extends status-quo on construction work around Isha's Adiyogi statue

The Karnataka High Court has extended its status-quo on construction and developmental works around the Adiyogi statue built at Avalagurki village in Chikkaballapura by Isha Foundation.

The advocate representing Isha foundation sought relief from the interim order. However, the court turned down the request, stating that there was no prejudice. Last month, the HC had allowed the unveiling of the statue on January 15, but without carrying out any further construction at the site.

 

When Isha Foundation requested the court to list the matter on Tuesday, the bench rejected the plea and said the date of hearing cannot be fixed on the demands of the litigant, the PTI reported.

7:01 PM

We have 400,000 BJP workers in Nagaland, ready for elections: Temjen Imna Along

6:15 PM

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gave us blessings when we were in Guwahati, says Maha CM Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Thursday that spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had given him blessings and told him that he would succeed when he and other rebel Shiv Sena MLAs were camping in a Guwahati hotel. Shinde was speaking at a farmers' gathering organized by Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation at Watur village in central Maharashtra's Jalna district, the PTI reported.

6:00 PM

We conveyed firm rejection of so-called 'Khalistan' referendum: Arindam Bagchi

4:50 PM

No decision on implementation of Uniform Civil Code taken as of now: Rijiju

2:54 PM

BJP to begin Tripura assembly election campaign with 35 rallies

The BJP is set to launch its campaign for the Tripura assembly elections with 35 rallies on Friday.

Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda and Union Minister Smriti Irani will launch the campaign in the state.

Nadda will start the mega election campaign by holding a Vijay Sankalp rally in Tripura's Amarpur.

2:43 PM

Budget 2023: Nothing done in interest of people, says Bihar CM

Nothing is being done in the interest of people. Nothing has been done for poor states like Bihar. There was a provision of Rs 73,000 Cr in MNREGA in 22-23 but it has been reduced to Rs 60,000 Cr. Budget of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi also decreased: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

2:24 PM

Three security personnel injured in IED blast in Jharkhand

Three security personnel were injured when an IED planted by Maoists exploded in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Thursday, a senior police officer said.

Based on information that top CPI (Maoist) leaders including Misir Besra, who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head, have assembled in the jungle between Meralgada and Hathiburu villages, a joint team comprising CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and district armed police was rushed to the area when the IED planted by the Maoists exploded, Superintendent of Police, Ashutosh Shekhar said.

2:12 PM

Budget Session: Both Houses adjourned till tomorrow

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow.

2:01 PM

Karnataka CM calls Union Budget 2023 'growth-oriented'

It's a growth-oriented budget. Rs 10 lakh crore investment in the capital sector will generate employment and 5 trillion dollar economy can be achieved through this budget. There is a huge benefit for Karnataka in this budget: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai

 

1:56 PM

LeT terrorist arrested as police cracks several blast cases in Jammu region, says J-K DGP

A government school teacher-turned Lashkar-e-Taiba-terrorist was arrested for allegedly carrying out multiple blasts, including one in a bus carrying Vaishno Devi pilgrims, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh said on Thursday.

The arrest of Arif, a resident of Reasi district, follows investigations in the recent twin blast case at Narwal in Jammu. An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted inside a perfume bottle was recovered from his possession, Singh told reporters here.

The Jammu and Kashmir police chief said this was the first time that such type of a bomb was recovered in the Union Territory.

1:37 PM

Punjab govt giving major push to food processing sector: Bhagwant Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has said that the state government is giving a major push to the food processing sector, which will create job opportunities for youth on one hand and immensely benefit farmers as well.

"The state government is giving a major push to the food processing sector in Punjab ..," Mann said.

The Chief Minister also said that the state government will soon set up 20 dedicated Rural Industrial Hubs across the state.

1:21 PM

President Murmu to undertake 2 day visit to Odisha on Feb 10

President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to undertake a two-day visit to Odisha on February 10.

She will attend the second convocation of Rama Devi Women's University in the state capital during her two-day visit to the state.

Sources said, it was the President herself, who had earlier evinced interest to attend the convocation of her alma mater and wrote to the Governor and Chancellor of the University, Ganeshi Lal, expressing her willingness for the same.

1:06 PM

Delhi records a minimum of 8.3 degrees Celsius; AQI remains 'moderate'

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 8.3 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, on Thursday, the India Meteorological Department said.

The relative humidity in the city at 8.30 am was recorded at 83 per cent.
 

The air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 187 at 9 am, which is in the moderate category.

 

1:00 PM

Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees not plausible: Report

Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is currently not plausible, according to a new report.

Climate policy, protests, and the Ukraine crisis - The participating researchers systematically assessed to what extent social changes are already underway, while also analyzing certain physical processes frequently discussed as tipping points.

The researchers concluded that social change is essential to meeting the temperature goals set in Paris. But what has been achieved to date is insufficient, they said.

12:19 PM

BJP to contest on 20 of 60 seats in Nagaland

We will contest on 20 out of 60 seats in Nagaland. Rest of the seats have been given to our alliance partner NDPP. We'll contest on all 60 seats in Meghalaya. Our tagline is 'M Power Meghalaya' means Modi-powered Meghalaya and a double-engine government will be formed there: BJP

 

BJP announces its 20 candidates for the Nagaland Assembly election

 

BJP state president Temjen Imna Along to contest from Alongtaki Legislative Assembly constituency

12:15 PM

Jharkhand HC instructs for time-bound fire safety audit in entire state

Jharkhand High Court instructs for a time-bound fire safety audit in the entire state. The High Court, yesterday, took the cognizance of Dhanbad fire incident in which 14 people lost their lives. The next hearing will be on February 17th.

 

Jharkhand High court also sought a detailed report on Dhanbad fire incident in which 14 people lost their lives.

12:03 PM

Cong, other opposition parties seek JPC or SC-monitored probe into Adani Group crisis

Upping the ante, the Congress and other opposition parties on Thursday demanded a Joint Parliament Committee or a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Adani Group crisis.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition parties also demanded that there should be day-to-day reporting of the Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) or the SC-monitored probe into the issue which concerns public money.

"Keeping public interest in mind, we want a thorough probe into the Adani issue either by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) or a Supreme Court-monitored Committee. There should also be day-to-day reporting of the investigation on the issue," Kharge told reporters.

11:51 AM

Development, tribal welfare will be BJP's poll planks for polls: CM Manik Saha

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha Thursday said development with a special focus on the overall upliftment of indigenous people will the main poll plank of the BJP-IPFT combine in the ensuing election to the north-eastern state's assembly.

 

In an interview to PTI, he also decried the 'Greater Tipraland' demand espoused by rival Tipra Motha party floated by the scion of the former royal family of the tribal state Pradyot Manikya DebBarma.

11:45 AM

Article 21 of Constitution triumphed: Chidambaram on Kappan's release from jail

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram Thursday expressed happiness that "eventually Article 21 of the Constitution has triumphed" as Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan walked out of jail after over two years.

 

Article 21 of the Constitution deals with the right to protection of life and personal liberty.

 

Kappan was released from Lucknow district jail Thursday morning, a day after the sureties required for his bail were submitted in court.

11:40 AM

Five bogies of Satyagraha Express train detached from engine in Bihar, no injuries reported

11:21 AM

Importance of personal savings 'jettisoned' in 'hullabalo' over old, new tax regimes: Chidambaram

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday said that in the "hullabaloo" over the old and the new tax regimes, the importance of personal savings in a developing country has been "jettisoned".

The former Union finance minister asserted that in the absence of a state-provided safety net for the vast majority of people, personal savings is the only social security.

The mystery of the New Tax Regime is unravelling, he said and pointed to the analysis and the tables in major newspapers on Thursday.

11:19 AM

Mamata sees through her ears: Visva Bharati on Amartya Sen land row

The verbal tussle between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Visva Bharati University (VBU) Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty over Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen's unauthorised possession of land at Bolpur-Santiniketan in Birbhum district took a murkier turn with the university authorities issuing a statement accusing the chief minister "of seeing through her ears".

 

11:11 AM

Budget Session: Both Houses adjourned till 2 PM

Rajya Sabha Adjourned till 2PM.

Lok Sabha Adjourned till 2PM.

10:55 AM

Kharge gives suspension of Business Notice to discuss investment by LIC, PSUs on companies losing market value

Leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge has given suspension of Business Notice under rule 267 to discuss the issue of investment by LIC, Public Sector Banks and financial institutions in companies losing market value.

10:53 AM

Budget session: Oppn can discuss any topic, says Pralhad Joshi

(Opposition) can do discussion on any topic. Constructive suggestions regarding the budget and President's address should be given. I appeal (to Opposition) to let the House function smoothly: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi

10:52 AM

PM Modi meets Cabinet ministers to discuss govt strategy in Parliament

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a meeting with Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Anurag Thakur, Nirmala Sitharaman, Pralhad Joshi, Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari, Kiren Rijiju to discuss government strategy in Parliament.

 

10:35 AM

No shares of Ambuja, ACC pledged by Promoters, says Adani Group

We have come across reports from various market sources with respect to Ambuja & our subsidiary ACC claiming that shares of both Ambuja and ACC are pledged by Promoters as a part of acquisition financing. There are market rumours that amid market volatility there is a requirement to meet top-up triggers where in there is selling pressure. We would like to clarify that none of the shares of Ambuja or ACC have been pledged by Promoters: Adani Group

The Promoters have only provided non-disposal undertaking and accordingly, there is no requirement of providing any top-up of shares of Ambuja and ACC or cash top up under the acquisition financing raised last year: Adani Group