LIVE: PM Modi to inaugurate 36th National Games in Ahmedabad

PM will declare open the 36th National Games at a gala ceremony in the Narendra Modi stadium in Motera area

7:32 PM

Gujarat became a policy-driven state under the leadership of PM Modi: CM

7:13 PM

PM Modi to inaugurate 36th National Games in Ahmedabad

6:15 PM

Q3 interest rate hiked by up to 30 bps for some small savings schemes

5:46 PM

Govt to issue maiden Sovereign Green Bonds of Rs 16,000 cr

5:42 PM

Current account deficit rises to 2.8% of GDP in Q1

2:49 PM

Fatigue among pilots in growing civil aviation space

Amid the country's growing air traffic and expanding aircraft fleet, fatigue among pilots seems to be a dark cloud with senior captains and pilots' groupings stressing on the need for more serious efforts to address the concerns.

 

While regulations on flight duty time limitations and specific rest periods are in place, a more scientific approach as well as a better fatigue reporting system will help in tackling the "silent danger of fatigue", according to the senior captains.

2:42 PM

Govt approves 22nd tranche of electoral bonds; sale from Oct 1-10

Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Thursday approved issuance of 22nd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on October 1.

 

Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.

 

State Bank of India (SBI), in the 22nd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches from October 1-10, the finance ministry said in a statement.

2:37 PM

Govt approves 22nd tranche of electoral bonds; sale from Oct 1-10

Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Thursday approved issuance of 22nd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on October 1.

Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.

State Bank of India (SBI), in the 22nd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches from October 1-10, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The authorised SBI branches include those in Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai.

 

2:32 PM

Cong prez poll: MLAs from MP to reach Delhi to back Digvijaya

Ever since the poll schedule for the post of Congress president was announced, there has been an unending buzz that two leaders from Madhya Pradesh may file nominations -- Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh and state Congress chief Kamal Nath.

Kamal Nath said that he was not in the race of the Congress' top post as he wants to focus on the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, which is just 14 months away.

Digvijaya Singh on Thursday reached the party headquarters in New Delhi from Kerala where he was participating in Bharat Jodi Yatra with Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders, and collected the nomination form. With this fresh twist in the race of the Congress chief, he made it clear that he wants to be a contestant.

2:23 PM

Gadkari announces implementation of minimum of 6 Airbags in passenger cars

Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announces the implementation of "the proposal mandating a minimum of 6 Airbags in Passenger Cars (M-1 Category) w.e.f 1st October 2023."

 

2:21 PM

ICCR signs MoU with Google to ease search in Sanskrit

ICCR on Thursday signed an MoU with Google to ease searching the Internet in Sanskrit and provided the search engine giant one lakh commonly used sentences in the language with their English and Hindi translations.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed here in presence of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and senior officials of Google.

ICCR and Google are collaborating to improve the Sanskrit translation experience. This will help Google improve artificial intelligence or machine learning technology for translating Sanskrit text to various other languages and vice versa, Sahasrabuddhe said.

 

 

2:01 PM

Chinese loan apps: ED freezes fresh Rs 9.82 cr worth funds kept in payment gateway accounts

The ED has frozen Rs 9.82 crore worth funds kept in merchant IDs with certain online payment gateways as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation against a "Chinese-controlled" investment token app.

 

This is the second time that the ED has frozen funds kept in merchant IDs with certain online payment gateways.

 

1:53 PM

People trapped, hospital damaged after hurricane Ian swamps SW Florida

Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2 million people before aiming for the Atlantic Coast.

One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States barreled across the Florida peninsula overnight Wednesday, threatening catastrophic flooding inland, the National Hurricane Center warned.

The center's 2 a.m. advisory said Ian was expected to emerge over Atlantic waters later on Thursday, with flooding rains continuing across central and northern Florida.

1:49 PM

Nadda in Odisha to address workers, visit Jagannath temple

BJP national President J.P. Nadda arrived in Bhubaneswar on a two-day visit to the state.

On his arrival at the Bhubaneswar airport, a grand welcome was given to Nadda, who is in Odisha for the first time after being elected as the national president of the BJP.

Union education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP's state president Samir Mohanty, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and other senior party leaders welcomed him at the airport. Nadda visited the party office here after a bike rally.

1:48 PM

MP: Six tiger reserves to re-open on Oct 1 after monsoon shutdown

Six tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh will open from October 1 after remaining shut for three months due to the monsoon, an official said on Thursday.

The state is home to six of the 52 tiger reserves in India, namely Kanha, Banghavgarh, Satpura, Pench, Panna and Sanjay-Dubri.

Confirming the development, Satpura Tiger Reserve field director L Krishnamurthy told PTI core areas were closed during this three-month period while buffer zones were operational for tourists.

1:16 PM

Congress crisis: All eyes set on Gehlot-Sonia meet today

All eyes are set on Delhi to see if the storm, which erupted in the Congress in Rajasthan, settles down or continues further as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is scheduled to meet party interim party chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

The questions being asked in the political circles are -- will Gehlot file nomination for the Congress presidential post or will he continue as Rajasthan CM or will the state get a new leader?

If sources in the Congress circles are to be believed, Sonia Gandhi can take a crucial decision on the Rajasthan dispute and the political role of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

1:14 PM

Kerala HC directs PFI to deposit Rs 5 cr for damages due to protests

Kerala High Court directed the PFI's general secretary to deposit Rs 5,20 crore towards the damages estimated by the State as well as KSRTC as arising from the destruction and damage caused to the public property following protest called by PFI across Kerala on September 23
The HC has asked PFI to deposit the amount within 2 weeks

 

12:57 PM

Will make difficult decisions: UK PM defends economic plan

British leader Liz Truss defends economic plan, says she'll make “difficult decisions” in comments on market turmoil, reports AP

 

12:52 PM

Hectic discussions on to resolve crisis ahead of Cong prez poll

With Friday the last date for filing nominations, Congress leaders are in hectic discussions to resolve the political conundrum that has everyone guessing - who all will contest the election for party president.

The discussions are mostly one-on-one, party insiders said on Thursday, a day of many meetings. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik in Jodhpur House. K C Venugopal, also party general secretary, called on Sonia Gandhi at her residence. And senior leader A K Antony is learnt to have met Tariq Anwar at Kerala House.

Senior party leader Digvijaya Singh, who left the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, said he will contest the election and collected his nomination papers. The only other person who has declared his intention to contest is Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who has said he will file his nomination papers on the last day Friday.

12:50 PM

DREAM city project will help Surat to emerge as safest, convenient diamond trading hub: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said once the Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) city project is completed, Surat will emerge as the safest and convenient diamond trading hub in the world.

 

Addressing a rally after laying the foundation stone and inaugurating a host of projects here in Gujarat, Modi said in the last 20 years Surat has progressed by leaps and bounds.

 

Remembering the struggle to get an airport in Surat city, Modi said they (when he was the chief minister of Gujarat) got tired in explaining the need for an airport here to the then UPA government.

 

12:37 PM

Owners of around 500 shops near Taj Mahal fear closing of business after SC order

With the Supreme Court's order to immediately stop all commercial activities within the 500-meter periphery of the Taj Mahal, the shop owners in this area are uncertain about the future of their businesses.

There are about 500 odd restaurants, emporiums, budget hotels, cafes and other business outlets in the area that might be affected by the court order.

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Agra Development Authority (ADA) to prohibit commercial activities within the 500-meter periphery of the Taj Mahal.

12:32 PM

Akhilesh Yadav elected national president of SP again

Akhilesh Yadav elected as the national president of Samajwadi Party again, at the party's national conference.

12:31 PM

Digvijaya Singh in Delhi, to file nomination for Congress prez election tomorrow

"Today I have come here to collect my nomination form (for Congress president elections) and will file it tomorrow," says Congress leader Digvijaya Singh

 

12:14 PM

PM Modi in Gujarat, says built around 80,000 homes in last 2 decades

"In last two decades, we built around 80,000 homes for poor in Surat, uplifting their standard of living. Under Ayushman Bharat scheme, about 40 million poor patients got free medical treatment in the country, of which over 3.2 million patients are from Gujarat and 125,000 from Surat, says PM Modi in Gujarat.
He adds, "The road connecting Surat to the airport reflects the city's culture, prosperity and modernity... we got tired of telling the then Delhi govt why Surat needed an airport and what the power of this city is. Today, so many flights depart from here (Surat)."

 

12:09 PM

SC on November 22 will hear pleas against bull-taming sport Jallikattu

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would hear on November 22 a batch of pleas challenging Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing bull-taming sport 'Jallikattu' and bullock cart races.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph was told by senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for the petitioners, that the amendments with respect to Jallikattu are unconstitutional.

The bench, also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, said it would take up the matter in November.

11:45 AM

Thane records 55 new COVID-19 cases; active tally at 364

As many as 55 new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Maharashtra's Thane district, taking its tally of infections to 7,44,961, a health official said on Thursday.

 

With the addition of the latest numbers on Wednesday, the district currently has 364 active COVID-19 cases, he said.

 

The death toll in Thane remained unchanged at 11,962.The recovery count has reached 733,347, the official said. 

11:45 AM

All women, married or unmarried, entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy

All women, married or unmarried, entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy: SC

11:45 AM

Kerala govt takes steps to implement ban on PFI

Close on the heels of the Central government declaring the Popular Front of India (PFI) as a banned organisation, the Kerala government has initiated steps to implement the order by empowering the district administration and police to take action against the outlawed outfit's activities.

 

The Home Department of the state government on Wednesday issued an order stating that since PFI, its associates, affiliates and fronts have been declared as unlawful associations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the powers which the state government can exercise have been delegated to the respective District Magistrates (DMs) and Police Superintendents (SPs).

11:45 AM

Kerala govt takes steps to implement ban on PFI

Close on the heels of the Central government declaring the Popular Front of India (PFI) as a banned organisation, the Kerala government has initiated steps to implement the order by empowering the district administration and police to take action against the outlawed outfit's activities.

 

The Home Department of the state government on Wednesday issued an order stating that since PFI, its associates, affiliates and fronts have been declared as unlawful associations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the powers which the state government can exercise have been delegated to the respective District Magistrates (DMs) and Police Superintendents (SPs).

10:47 AM

After Centre bans PFI, Tamil Nadu, Kerala declare Popular Front of India unlawful

The state governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have issued notifications declaring the Popular Front of India and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association.

The move comes a day after the Union Home Ministry imposed a ban on the Popular Front of India for "terror links".

"The power which has been directed to be exercised by the State Government under section 7 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, stands delegated to the District Magistrate/ Commissioner of Police/ Superintendent of Police concerned, within their jurisdiction," the order by the Kerala government dated September 28 stated.