LIVE updates: FM Sitharaman sees strong growth, low inflation in 2023

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10:53 PM

BSF shoots down record 16 drones in 2022; anti-drone system, in-depth patrolling key steps to curb menace

10:52 PM

Anti-drone guns deployed at election rallies attended by VIPs in Gujarat

10:51 PM

Fifa World Cup: Australia beat Denmark 1-0 to enter the Round of 16 as the second-placed team

10:51 PM

Islamic State group announces death of leader Hashimi al-Qurashi, replacement announced

8:44 PM

Senior journalist Ravish Kumar resigns from NDTV

Ravish Kumar, a winner of the Ramon Magsaysay award, used to host a number of programs including the channel’s flagship weekday show Hum Log, Ravish ki Report, Des Ki Baat, and Prime Time.

8:41 PM

Eurozone inflation falls for first time in 17 months, down to 10%

8:40 PM

Gujarat first phase of elections tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first phase of elections in Gujarat. Voting will be held at 25,430 polling stations tomorrow. Forces have been deployed and a lot of monitoring is being done so that no incident takes place in the elections, said Chief Election Commissioner, Rajeev Kumar

 

8:40 PM

Uttarakhand HC says plastic manufacturers, sellers without plan for disposal of waste would be banned in state

8:39 PM

World Bank says remittances up 5% in 2022

Remittances to low- and middle-income countries grew by nearly 5 per cent to around $626 billion in 2022 - about half the expansion seen last year - and growth is expected to slow further to around 2 per cent next year, the World Bank reported.

 

7:48 PM

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin dead

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led the country for a decade of rapid economic growth after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, died on Wednesday at the age of 96, prompting a wave of nostalgia for the more liberal times he oversaw.

6:20 PM

AIIMS-Delhi cyber attack: 20% rise in walk-in OPD patients

There has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of walk-in OPD patients at the AIIMS leading to long queues as the premier hospital's online appointment system remained shut for the eighth consecutive day on Wednesday following a cyber attack. The hospital authorities have deployed additional staff to manage the rush of patients.

All hospital services, including outpatient and in-patient departments and laboratories, continue to run on manual mode. Besides the OPD, long queues were witnessed outside diagnostic centres and billing counters at the AIIMS as the hospital authorities along with other agencies struggled to restore the servers.

5:32 PM

I am confident that GDP numbers will meet our expectations: Finance Minister

5:28 PM

Indian govt will continue to focus on growth, capital expenditure: FM

5:27 PM

External factors were very strong in impacting our inflation, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

RBI will look 

5:26 PM

Signs of pick in private investment: Finance Minister

"Confident that GDP numbers will meet our expectations. Need to take adequate steps to offset downside external risks," says FM Nirmala Sitharaman on GDP numbers.

4:51 PM

Bharat Gaurav train fares likely to be slashed by 20-30%

The fares of the Bharat Gaurav trains are likely to be slashed by 20-30 per cent after low occupancy forced the IRCTC to cancel at least two of its special tour packages, sources said here. A final decision is yet to be taken. 

4:49 PM

President presents Dronacharya award to para shooting coach Suma Siddharth Shirur, wrestling coach Sujeet Maan

2:58 PM

Bilkis Bano moves SC challenging release of 11 convicts in gangrape case

Bilkis Bano has moved the Supreme Court against the release of 11 men convicted of gang-raping her in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing Bano, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. Gupta contended that chances were slim that the bench led by justice Ajay Rastogi would be able to hear the matter, as he was now a part of a constitution bench hearing.

Bano has also moved a review petition against the apex court judgment allowing the Gujarat government to decide on the remission of the convicts.

The chief justice said the review has to be heard first and let it come before Justice Rastogi. 

2:53 PM

Former President Jiang Zemin, who guided China's eco rise, dies: State TV

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led his country out of isolation after the crushing of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square and supported economic reforms that led to a decade of explosive growth, has died, state TV said. He was 96.

A surprise choice to lead a divided Communist Party after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, Jiang saw China through history-making changes including a revival of market-oriented reforms, the return of Hong Kong from British rule in 1997 and Beijing's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Even as China opened to the outside, Jiang's government stamped out dissent at home. It jailed human rights, labour and pro-democracy activists and banned the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which it viewed as a threat to the Communist Party's monopoly on power.

2:39 PM

Aircraft integration with INS Vikrant likely by May-June 2023: Navy chief

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar on Wednesday said the integration of aircraft with the newly commissioned aircraft carrier INS Vikrant is likely to be accomplished by May or June next year.

The sea-going trials are already over after which the carrier was commissioned. Now the aircraft integration trials have been started, he told reporters after reviewing the Passing Out Parade of the 143rd course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla in Maharashtra's Pune district.

"The first thing we need to check is about the aircraft landing system. Those trials are going on currently. Normally, the integration of the aircraft takes anytime between six to eight months from the commissioning of the aircraft. We hope to accomplish it by May or June before the monsoon," he said.

2:30 PM

Congress issues strict warning to warring Raj leaders Gehlot and Pilot

The Congress high command has ordered a ceasefire between the warring camps of CM Ashok Gehlot and former deputy CM Sachin Pilot in view of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which enters Rajasthan in the first week of December. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal warned the leaders against making statements against each other.

In a meeting of the party leaders held in the Congress war room in Jaipur, the Congress General Secretary said, "if anyone violates the guidelines and makes statements against party leaders, they will be removed from the post in 24 hours."

"Now is not the time to weaken the party by making statements against each other. If we fight among ourselves then how will we compete with BJP? Despite my guidelines, the kind of statements made by many ministers and leaders in the past have sent a wrong message to the people."

 

1:57 PM

Shashi Tharoor, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Akshaya Mukul to take part in JLF 2023

Flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia, poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar, politician-author Shashi Tharoor, writer Akshaya Mukul, photographer Dayanita Singh, Pulitzer Prize winners Caroline Elkins and Siddhartha Mukherjee will participate in the 16th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival, the organisers announced on Wednesday.

Starting from January 19, the literary extravaganza will host a plethora of fiction and non-fiction writers.

The organisers said the JLF 2023 will host some of the world's best thinkers, writers, and speakers, including author Amia Srinivasan, academic David Wengrow, member of Lok Sabha Feroze Varun Gandhi, author Merlin Sheldrake; co-founder and chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd Nandan Nilekani.

"The 2023 edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival will offer an immersive experience of literature, discourse, musical performances, art installations, merchandise, local cuisine and more to all art, literature and culture enthusiasts gathered to bask in the glory of the greatest literary show on Earth'," the organisers said.

1:35 PM

Vikram Kirloskar's contribution to automobile sector would be remembered forever: Chidambaram

Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday expressed shock over the demise of Toyota Kirloskar Vice Chairman, Vikram S Kirloskar and said his contribution to the automobile sector would be remembered forever.

Kirloskar died due to cardiac arrest at a hospital in Bengaluru on November 29, the automaker said. "Vikram Kirloskar's sudden passing away is a shock and a great loss to industry in India. Few business persons possessed his qualities of leadership, compassion and genuine friendship," Chidambaram said in a tweet.

"His contribution to the automobile industry will be remembered forever. I offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to his wife, daughter and the other members of his family."

12:45 PM

Delhi's air quality remains very poor as winter knocks, AQI at 332

The onset of winter and deteriorating air quality has meant that the national capital was covered in a layer of smog this morning.

Lodhi road and areas around the Akshardham temple were covered in smoke and fog.

The Air Quality Index in Delhi was recorded at 332, which comes under the very poor category, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). 

On November 29, the AQI was recorded at 346. A day before that, it was at 317.

 

12:40 PM

Int'l conference calls Bay of Bengal theatre of keen economic and strategic competition

An international conference on 'Security and Prosperity of Bay of Bengal', organised by the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), South Asia, has termed the region a theatre of keen economic and strategic competition.

Diplomats, senior government officials, academicians among others from various countries including Germany, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Maldives are taking part in the conference, which began on Tuesday evening here.

The conference was jointly inaugurated by N Ramachandran, Former Chairperson of the Cochin Port Trust along with Nitirooge Phoneprasert, the Consul-General of Thailand in Chennai and Sujeet Kumar, Rajya Sabha MP, at Le Meridien here.

12:29 PM

India and US have a long association with tea: Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu

India and the United States have a long association with tea and the two democracies cherish their common love for the aromatic beverage, India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said.

Speaking at an event dedicated to tea lovers organised at the Indian Embassy here on Tuesday, Sandhu spoke about the significance of tea for Indians and also about its linkage to the American Revolution.

"India and the US have a long association with tea. After all, the Boston Tea Party, which sparked the American Revolution, was organised to protest colonial taxes on tea! Tea is also intricately linked to East India company, and our own freedom struggle, Sandhu said.

11:43 AM

Gujarat ATS raids factory near Vadodara, recovers illegal drugs worth Rs 500 cr

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has raided a manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Vadodara city and seized a huge cache of banned drugs worth nearly Rs 500 crore, an ATS official said on Wednesday.

During the raid at the small factory-cum-godown Tuesday night, the ATS also apprehended five persons from the spot. A preliminary investigation revealed the accused were making the narcotic substance in the guise of manufacturing chemicals legally, the official said.

 

11:26 AM

Noida Airport: Survey for phase II land acquisition likely in two weeks

The survey for acquisition of land for the second phase of the upcoming Noida International Airport is expected to begin in two weeks from now, according to officials.

The construction work is underway for the first phase of the greenfield airport in Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar as the Uttar Pradesh government recently gave its go ahead for land acquisition for the second phase, they said. The second phase of the NIA is planned in an area of 1,365 hectare, of which around 1,185 hectare is owned by private persons, including farmers, of six villages -- Ranhera, Kureb, Dayanatpur, Karauli Bangar, Mundrah, and Birampur , an official said.

The land is being acquired under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

10:59 AM

Russia to lose 1 lakh servicemen by year end: Ukraine President Zelenksy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Russia will lose at least 100,000 servicemen by the end of this year as Moscow's continues its invasion against Kiev.

"By the end of this year, Russia will lose 100,000 of its soldiers and God only knows how many mercenaries," Ukrayinska Pravda quoted the President as saying in his nightly video address to the nation on Wednesday. Zelensky also said that situation at the front remains difficult.

"Despite extremely big Russian losses, the occupiers are still trying to advance in the Donetsk region, gain a foothold in the Luhansk region, move in the Kharkiv region, they are planning something in the south," he said.

10:45 AM

Amit Shah says AAP may not even open account in Guj, Cong going through crisis

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has downplayed AAP's challenge in Gujarat polls, claiming Arvind Kejriwal's party may not even open its account. He also said that the BJP state unit's announcement of setting up anti-radicalisation cell is a good initiative that can be considered by other states and the Centre.

 

In an interview to PTI, Shah described Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, all-round development of Gujarat during his tenure as the state chief minister and the implementation of zero appeasement policy as the main reasons for people repeatedly reposing faith in the BJP over the last 27 years.

"AAP is nowhere in the mind of the people of Gujarat. Wait for election results, maybe AAP's name would not figure in the list of successful candidates," he said.

On Congress, Shah said it is still the main opposition party, but the party is going through a crisis, and its impact is visible in Gujarat as well.