LIVE: Congress burns Yogi's effigy for stopping Rahul en route to Hathras

Hathras gang rape and murder case: Borders of Hathras are sealed. Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed in the district. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

2:52 AM

UP police behaviour with senior oppn leaders 'draconian': CPIM

Hitting out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, the CPI(M) on Thursday said that the behaviour of the state police with senior opposition leaders was “draconian”.
 

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14 and referred to the Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on Monday with spinal cord injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday.
 

Her brutal death and subsequent cremation in the dead of the night in Hathras allegedly under police pressure on Tuesday triggered massive outrage over the law and order situation in UP and over women safety in general.
 

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were on Thursday stopped from visiting Hathras.
 

“The statement from the UP Police that it was not a case of rape makes clear the criminal actions of the state government when they hurriedly and forcibly cremated the victim in the dead of the night.

2:52 AM

Hathras gang-rape: Lawyers demand President's Rule in UP

Amid the widespread outrage over the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras and her forcible cremation subsequently, scores of Ghaziabad lawyers on Thursday demanded imposition of President Rule in Uttar Pradesh.
 

The lawyers demanded the dismissal of the Yogi Adityanath government and imposition of President Rule, saying that the gang-rape of a Dalit woman and her brutalization amid a spate of crime against women in Uttar Pradesh has tarnished the image of the country and would flatten its progress graph.
 

The lawyers sought imposition of President Rule in a memorandum addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind that they gave to District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey.
 

The agitating lawyers reached the district collectorate in a march from Civil Court under the banner of Adhivakta Sangharsh Samiti.
 

During the march, the lawyers raised anti-government slogans and burnt effigies of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accusing him of having failed in controlling the “soaring” crime graph against women in the state.

2:50 AM

Biden campaign to start in-person voter outreach as US election nears

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign said on Thursday it would launch an in-person voter-canvassing operation in several battleground states, shifting tactics in the final weeks of a race upended by the coronavirus pandemic.
 

Some of Biden's Democratic allies have expressed concern the campaign has been too cautious about getting boots on the ground for in-person voter mobilization in the states that will decide the Nov. 3 election.
 

The campaign had put safety first in light of the pandemic, choosing to forgo door-knocking in favor of remote contacts even though President Donald Trump's campaign has been running an extensive in-person effort.
 

But in coming days, the Biden team will send several hundred volunteers to Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania to focus on contacting voters who may be difficult to reach by phone or computer, with plans to expand the effort to more states ahead of the election.

9:04 PM

Govt buys over 100,000 tonnes of kharif paddy at MSP from Punjab, Haryana in 5 days

The Centre on Thursday said it has procured 104,417 tonnes of paddy worth Rs 197 crore in the past five days at minimum support price (MSP) from Punjab and Haryana. With the release of procurement data on a daily basis, the government possibly aims to send a message to farmers protesting against new farm laws that it has no intention of scrapping procurement at MSP.

 

Farmers of Punjab and Haryana and several other states are protesting against the new farm laws, which they feel will lead to procurement in the hands of corporates and the end of MSP regime.

 

In a statement, the Union Agriculture Ministry said about 91,005 tonnes of paddy from Punjab and 13,412 tonnes from Haryana has been procured at MSP of Rs 1,888 per quintal in the past five days till September 30.

8:55 PM

Assam flood situation improves marginally; 270,000 still affected

Assam's flood situation improved marginally on Thursday with river waters showing a receding trend and affecting a population of 2.70 lakh in seven districts, a bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said. Till Wednesday, over 2.83 lakh people were affected in eight districts.

 

At present, 426 villages are under water and more than 25,307 hectare of crop areas have been damaged in the state, the ASDMA said.

 

The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Dhubri and the Kopiliu in Nagaon, the bulletin said.

8:51 PM

AYUSH minister to inaugurate naturopathy hospital for tribals in Pune

Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik will inaugurate a naturopathy hospital at a tribal hamlet in Maharashtra on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on Friday.

 

The project will serve as a naturopathy and yoga treatment centre for the tribal community at Gohe Budruk in Pune and also as a training centre for the tribal youth who wish to incorporate the skills of naturopathy and yoga in their health practices, the AYUSH ministry said in a statement.

 

The unit will also study tribal health practices and develop a repository of the same, it said.

 

Minister of State (independent charge) Shripad Yesso Naik will inaugurate a naturopathy hospital at tribal hamlet Gohe Budruk in Maharashtra's Pune on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti via video conferencing, the ministry said.

 

8:38 PM

Akhil Gogoi gets bail in NIA case related to protests over CAA

Activist Akhil Gogoi was granted bail on Thursday by a special court here in one of the two cases being probed by the NIA in connection with his alleged role in the violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Assam last year.

 

Gogoi was granted bail after five days of hearing in the case, which was filed at the Chabua police station and later transferred to the NIA.

 

NIA special judge Pranjal Das granted bail to Gogoi on a surety of Rs 30,000 and routine conditions, including not tampering with evidence and influencing witnesses.

 

8:31 PM

1.65 mn Indians have returned from abroad under 'Vande Bharat' mission: MEA

As many as 1.65 million Indians have returned from abroad after the government launched the ''Vande Bharat'' evacuation mission on May 7 in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

 

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said phase six has come to an end and under this phase, 894 international flights and 142 feeder flights have been operated from 24 countries reaching 24 airports across India.

 

He said under phase six, 1.75 lakh people were repatriated. As on 30 September,  1.65 million Indians have been repatriated through different modes of the Vande Bharat Mission," he said.

 

8:24 PM

Tata Motors reports 5% increase in total sales in July-Sep quarter

Tata Motors on Thursday reported a 5.09 per cent increase in total sales to 1,10,379 units in the second quarter of the current fiscal. The company had sold a total of 1,05,031units in the same period last fiscal, Tata Motors said in a statement.

 

Total domestic sales were up 13 per cent to 1,06,888 units from 94,454 units in July-September period last year, it added.

 

Passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market during the period under review stood at 54,794 units as against 25,898 units in the same quarter last fiscal, over two-fold increase.

8:21 PM

Mazagon Dock IPO huge hit; subscribed whopping 157.41 times

The initial public offer of state-owned defence firm Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders received stellar response from investors and was subscribed a whopping 157.41 times on the last day of bidding on Thursday.

 

The Rs 444 crore public offer received bids for 4,81,64,59,117 shares against 3,05,99,017 shares on offer, as per NSE data.

 

The portion reserved for non-institutional investors was subscribed 678.88 times, qualified institutional buyers 89.71 times and retail investors 35.63 times.

 

The IPO was at a planning stage for the last 2 years and its current closure has been extremely successful, Mazagaon Dock CMD Narayan Prasad said in a statement.

 

7:59 PM

Uttarakhand CM inaugurates projects worth over Rs 119 cr in Haldwani

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Thursday inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 119 crore in Haldwani and said providing a corruption-free transparent government was his goal.

 

Most of the projects are aimed at boosting health, education and tourism infrastructure besides rejuvenating canals in the area.

 

Rawat also distributed cheques for Rs 4,93,000 among six orphaned poor girls to meet their educational expenses.

 

In his address, Rawat said, "Providing a corruption-free transparent government is our purpose."

 

7:52 PM

In MP, Congress burns UP govt's effigy for stopping Rahul, Priyanka

Congress workers burned the Yogi Adityanath government's effigy here on Thursday, questioning the Uttar Pradesh police's move of stopping party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra when they were walking towards Hathras to meet the rape victim's family.

 

The party workers held a protest and burned the effigy near Lillie Talkies.

 

Local MLA Arif Masood, who led the protest, said, "Jungle raj is prevailing in Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit daughter was raped."

 

7:43 PM

President Ram Nath Kovind turns 75; VP, PM greet him

President Ram Nath Kovind turned 75 on Thursday, with Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi among others wishing him good health and long life on his birthday.

 

The president said he was deeply touched by the birthday wishes and kind words he received from fellow citizens and friends, which gives him strength to serve the nation with deep gratitude and humility.

 

Deeply touched by the birthday wishes and kind words I have received today from so many fellow citizens and friends. Your love and affection gives me strength to serve our people and our nation with deep gratitude and great humility. Thank you very much!, the president tweeted.

7:34 PM

Telangana seeks Rs 500 cr from Centre for Hyderabad-Vijayawada Highway works

The Telangana government sought Rs 500 crore from the Centre to resolve infrastructure related problems on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada section of national highway 65.

 

In a letter to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, TelanganaIT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao stated that about 25 kilometers on the Highway has several problems like inadequate land capacity and absence of service roads for local traffic and hence funds were needed.

7:26 PM

Mubadala picks up 1.4 pc stake in Reliance Retail for Rs 6,247.5 cr

Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co will invest Rs 6,247.5 crore for a 1.4 per cent stake in Reliance Retail, the Indian firm said on Thursday.

 

This is the second investment by Mubadala in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. It had previously invested Rs 9,093.60 crore for a 1.85 per cent stake in Jio Platforms.

 

"The investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore," Reliance said in a statement.

7:21 PM

Govt to soon unveil new National Textile Policy: Secy

The government will soon announce the much-awaited new National Textile Policy entailing a "futuristic" strategy and action plan for India to unleash its full potential and become globally competitive in the sector, a top official has said.

 

Addressing the annual general meeting of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), Textiles Secretary Ravi Capoor said, "Hopefully, in the next month or so, we should be able to announce the new textiles policy. It is a futuristic looking policy."

 

The secretary said the government is in the "last stages of finalising the textile policy", which got delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be unveiled after the final round of consultation between the textiles ministry and the industry players, he added.

 

At the AGM that took place virtually earlier this week, Capoor also said the government is also working on a Focus Product Scheme, wherein it has analysed the export data of top-40 manmade fibre (MMF) products and found that India has a miniscule share of just 0.7 per cent in the total global market of USD 150 billion.

 

7:18 PM

Bajaj Auto shares jump 4% after Sept sales data

Shares of Bajaj Auto on Thursday jumped 4 per cent after the company reported a 10 per cent increase in its total vehicle sales for September. The stock gained 3.69 per cent to close at Rs 2,985.75 on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 8 per cent to Rs 3,111.75.

 

On the NSE, it rose by 4.09 per cent to settle at Rs 2,999. Bajaj Auto on Thursday reported a 10 per cent increase in its total vehicle sales at 4,41,306 units in September.

 

The automaker had sold a total of 4,02,035 vehicles in September 2019.

7:17 PM

Exporters facing shortage of shipping containers: EEPC

Engineering Export Promotion Council of India on Thursday said exporters are facing shortages of containers and alleged that shipping lines have raised freight charges, which are impacting their competitiveness in global markets.

 

The council has approached the commerce ministry, seeking its intervention to resolve the issues and set up a regulator to deal with the "monopolistic" practices being indulged in by the shipping companies.

 

EEPC India claimed shipping lines are demanding high freight charges as inward traffic from different countries, particularly from China, has declined for which the exporters are required to pay a higher amount for outbound consignments.

 

7:00 PM

Bhim Army chief says UP CM unable to handle govt, demands President's Rule

Azad Samaj Party chief and Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad on Thursday demanded President's Rule in Uttar Pradesh, alleging failure of constitutional machinery in the state over crimes against Dalits.

 

Azad said he has started a dharna at his home in Saharanpur where he is put under a house arrest, which was ordered by the local police on Wednesday.

 

The Dalit activist was accompanying the family of the 19-year-old woman, who died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was allegedly gang raped in UP's Hathras, to their home but was detained midway.

6:50 PM

Coal India production up 32% at 40.51 MT in Sept

State-owned CIL on Thursday said it produced 40.51 million tonnes (MT) of coal in September, registering a growth of 31.6 per cent over the same month last year.

 

Coal India (CIL), which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output, had produced 30.78 MT of the dry fuel in September 2019.

 

"Coal production at 40.51 MT in September'20, surged ahead by a robust 9.73 MT increase in absolute terms, compared to 30.78 MT in September'19, the growth being 31.6 per cent," CIL said in a statement.

 

For the first time in the current fiscal, growth was in double digits, with all CIL subsidiaries showing an increase.

 

6:43 PM

Railways to introduce 200 more trains during festive season: Board Chairman

The Railways is planning to introduce 200 special trains between October 15 and November 30 to cater to passengers travelling during the festive season, Railway Board Chairman and CEO V K Yadav said on Thursday.

 

The Railways has currently suspended all regular passenger trains indefinitely. Regular trains have remained suspended since March 22.

 

It started operations of 15 pairs of premium Rajdhani special trains connecting Delhi with different parts of the country on May 12, and 100 pairs of long-distance trains on June 1. It also started 80 trains additionally on September 12.

 

6:41 PM

Fiscal deficit of 18 states at 40.7% in Q1, revenue deficit soars to 285%: Ind-Ra

Steeply falling revenues and central grants amidst rising expenditure to fight the coronavirus pandemic led to 18 of the largest states reporting a collective revenue deficit of 285 per cent of Budget Estimates in April-June as against 12.9 per cent a year ago, as per a report by India Ratings (Ind-Ra).

 

The collective fiscal deficit of the 18 states stood at 40.7 per cent of Budget Estimates (BE) in Q1 as against 13.4 per cent a year ago, the report said.

 

The pandemic-induced lockdowns, resultant loss of business and fall in tax collections have forced states to borrow at almost 10 per cent. While their revenues have plunged, expenses have only gone up. The Centre's refusal to pay GST dues on time further aggravated the pain of the states.

 

The collective revenue expenditure of the 18 states grew 11.7 per cent in Q1, the report said.

 

6:30 PM

Govt hikes air navigation charges by 4%, airlines demand roll back

Air Navigation Service (ANS) charges or fees for radar and air traffic control services have been hiked by 3.5-4 per cent bringing relief to Airport Authority of India (AAI). Airlines will have to absorb the higher cost as there is no room for increasing fares at present.

 

On Wednesday, Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar notified the decision after the government approved AAI's long pending demand for an increase in the levy. The navigation charges collected at present were approved in early 2000. A hike in charges in 2017 was rolled back because of opposition from airlines. Read more

6:21 PM

Replace UP Chief Minister or impose president's rule, demands Mayawati

Raising questions over the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday demanded that either the state's chief minister be replaced or the president's rule imposed.

 

Referring to deaths of two women in Hathras and Balrampur regions of the state, she said the incidents are reminiscent of the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder in Delhi.

 

"In the wake of the law and order situation in the state and a flood of crimes against women, the Union government should replace Yogi Adityanath with some 'kaabil' (capable) person and if this is not possible, the president's rule should be imposed in the state," Mayawati said. Read more

6:03 PM

Environment ministry makes action plan for tackling winter pollution

The Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Moefcc) has devised an action plan with five states to tackle the air pollution that engulfs the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) during winters.
 

During discussions, the ministry asked Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to focus on hotspots, construction activity, and waste management, apart from curbing stubble burning. During the meeting, Punjab said it would create awareness in the regions where stubble burning is rampant.The Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Moefcc) has devised an action plan with five states to tackle the air pollution that engulfs the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) during winters.

During discussions, the ministry asked Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to focus on hotspots, construction activity, and waste management, apart from curbing stubble burning. During the meeting, Punjab said it would create awareness in the regions where stubble burning is rampant. Read more

5:49 PM

TVS Motor reports 4% increase in sales in September at 327,692 units

TVS Motor Company on Thursday reported a 3.76 per cent increase in total sales in September at 3,27,692 units.

 

The company, which primarily makes two-wheelers and three-wheelers, had sold 3,15,796 units in September 2019, TVS Motor Company said in a statement.

 

Total two-wheeler sales during the month stood at 3,13,332 units as against 3,00,793 units in September 2019, up 4.16 per cent.

 

5:39 PM

Congress has space for people to express concerns, BJP has none: Kapil Sibal

Taking a dig at the BJP over its oldest ally Shiromani Akali Dal breaking ties with it on the farm bills issue, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Thursday said the saffron party's alliance politics was "falling apart" over legislations and the ruling NDA has turned into a "non-democratic alliance".

 

Sibal, who was among the 23 leaders who wrote to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi calling for organisational reforms, also slammed Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman for recently alluding to the letter writers and their alleged undermining of the party, saying, "The Congress still has space for people to express concerns, while the BJP has no such space".

 

Sibal alleged that the BJP got the farm bills passed while riding "roughshod over the Opposition and (its own) allies".

5:36 PM

Multiplex operators zoom up to 7% as cinemas to reopen from Oct 15

Stocks of multiplex operators PVR and INOX Leisure on Thursday closed with up to 7.3 per cent gains after the Union Home Ministry issued new guidelines for opening of cinemas, theatres and multiplexes with up to 50 per cent of their seating capacity from October 15.

Shares of PVR zoomed 7.30 per cent to close at Rs 1,301.55 on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 14.99 per cent to Rs 1,395.

INOX Leisure shares rose by 6.12 per cent to settle at Rs 287.05 on the BSE. During the day, it gained 17.63 per cent to Rs 318.20.

 

5:19 PM

Air India One VVIP aircraft arrives at Delhi Airport from US

5:11 PM

GST collection in September stands at Rs 95,480 crore