LIVE: No data available on deaths of labourer during migration, says govt

This is the first Parliament session being held after 20 soldiers lost their loves in the line of duty in Ladakh amid clashes with China. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

3:02 AM

The GST compensation conundrum: Maharashtra leads in dues, shows data

States have not got any compensation for the goods and services tax (GST) shortfall so far this fiscal year. Maharashtra leads in compensation dues requirement up to July, followed by Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.

 

In fact, the compensation requirement in the four months up to July for Maharashtra, UP, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, and Meghalaya has exceeded that for the entire FY20. Read more

2:57 AM

US halts imports from China's Uighur region for forced labour

Four companies and a manufacturing facility in northwestern China were blocked from shipping their products to the US because of their suspected reliance on forced labour from people detained as part of a massive campaign against ethnic minorities in the region.
 

US Customs and Border Protection issued orders on Monday freezing imports from companies that produce cotton, clothing and computer parts in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China, where authorities have detained more than 1 million people in detention camps as part of the crackdown.
 

CBP also halted imports of hair products made at a manufacturing facility where authorities believe Uighurs and other ethnic minorities are forced to work.
 

Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, dismissed the notion that the facility is a “vocational” center as has been portrayed by Chinese authorities.
 

“It is a concentration camp, a place where religious and ethnic minorities are subject to abuse and forced to work in heinous conditions with no recourse and no freedom,” Cuccinelli said. "This is modern day slavery.” The treatment of people in Xinjiang has become a source of friction between the US and China amid broader tensions over trade and the response to the coronavirus outbreak.
 

The Trump administration has over the past year issued eight of what are known as “withhold release orders,” on goods from China to block goods tainted by forced labour and is considering further steps amid ongoing disputes over trade and other issues between the two countries.
 

9:34 PM

Rajnath likely to make statement in Parliament on Sino-India issue on Tuesday

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to make a statement in Parliament on Tuesday on the continuing standoff between Indian and Chinese troops along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, Parliamentary sources said.
 

The statement would assume significance in the backdrop of demands made by the Opposition for a debate on the issue.
 

Singh had met his Chinese counterpart Gen Wei Fenghe in Moscow recently.
 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had also met in Moscow a few days ago.
 

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs are also likely to meet over video conferencing on Tuesday afternoon, government sources said.
 

During the monsoon session, which began on Monday, the opposition is seeking to corner the government on its handling of the standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the Covid-19 situation, economic downturn and unemployment, and is pressing for discussions on these issues.
 

The Congress and other opposition parties raised these demands in the first business advisory committee (BAC) meeting for Lok Sabha chaired by Speaker Om Birla on Sunday, but no time has been allocated yet for these discussions.
 

The BAC for Lok Sabha will be held again on Tuesday afternoon to further discuss the first week's business schedule.

Similar demands have been raised by the Congress in the BAC for Rajya Sabha as well.
 

9:31 PM

Ahead of 2021 polls, Mamata announces monetary help, housing for Hindu priests

Under frequent attack by opposition parties for "minority appeasement", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 and free housing for over 8,000 Hindu priests of the state, ahead of the assembly election which is likely to be held in April-May next year.
 

With an eye on the Hindi-speaking electorate and tribal voters spread across the state, she also said that a Hindi Academy and a Dalit Sahitya Academy would be set up by her government.
 

She made the announcement on the Hindi Diwas, which is observed on this day annually to commemorate the adoption of Hindi as one of the official languages of the country.
 

Opposition parties described the announcements as "poll gimmicks".
 

"We had earlier provided land to the Sanatan Brahmin sect to set up an academy at Kolaghat. Many priests in this sect are financially weak. We have decided to help them by providing them with an allowance of Rs 1,000 per month and also free housing under the state government's housing scheme," Banerjee said.
 

"I would request all of you not to find any other meaning in this announcement. It is being done to help the Brahmin priests. They will start getting the allowance from next month as it is the Durga Puja season," the chief minister told a press conference here.
 

The announcements came within a week of BJP president J P Nadda's accusation that the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal has an "anti-Hindu" mindset and is pursuing "minority appeasement" policies.
 

9:30 PM

Sell enemy properties valued at Rs 1 trillion for driving growth: EAC-PM member

India should look at selling enemy properties valued at over Rs 1 trillion to take care of the current expenditure which will drive growth, Nilesh Shah, a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said on Monday.
 

Both India and Pakistan had brought in legislations to take over enemy properties following the 1965 war. While Pakistan was able to liquidate the assets in 1971, India is 49 years behind, Shah said.
 

"You need to monetise government assets so that we have money available for spending," Shah, the managing director and chief executive of Kotak Mutual Fund, said while speaking at an IMC webinar.
 

He said the assets were valued at Rs 1 trillion three years ago and added that this is the best time to remove encroachments and clear title deficiencies to sell such properties.
 

Shah said there are 9,404 such properties under a government-appointed custodian taken over in 1965.
 

"Liquidate these properties and raise Rs 1 trillion or so to fund your expenditure," he said while replying to a question on ways to push up the sagging economic growth.
 

9:28 PM

IAEA in wide-ranging talks with Saudi Arabia on tougher nuclear checks

The U.N. nuclear watchdog is in wide-ranging talks with Saudi Arabia about tougher supervision of the kingdom's nuclear activities, the agency said on Monday, part of a wider effort to eliminate a "weakness" in the global inspections regime.
 

Saudi Arabia has a nascent nuclear programme that it wants to expand to eventually include proliferation-sensitive uranium enrichment. It is unclear where its ambitions end, since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in 2018 it would develop nuclear weapons if regional rival Iran did.
 

Riyadh has yet to fire up its first nuclear reactor, allowing its programme to still be monitored under the Small Quantities Protocol (SQP), an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency that exempts less advanced states from many reporting obligations and inspections.
 

"We are in conversation with them. They are interested in developing nuclear energy, for peaceful purposes of course," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said when asked about verification in Saudi Arabia.
 

"So it is obvious that when they upgrade their activities including by the introduction of nuclear material in the kingdom, then we will have to have a stronger safeguards system.
 

And nothing makes me think that this is not going to be the case."
 

If Saudi Arabia were to introduce nuclear material into the research reactor in Riyadh that is near completion, it would void the SQP and its exemptions from regular safeguards.
 

9:27 PM

Alphabet's YouTube to launch TikTok-like product

Alphabet Inc's YouTube is rolling out its version of social media rival TikTok, a new short-form video service called Shorts, enabled within its video-sharing platform.
 

YouTube will first test the feature in India over the next few days and then expand to more countries in the coming months, it said in a blog post on Monday.

YouTube's new product, which will compete with Facebook Inc's Reels and TikTok, will let users record short mobile-friendly vertical videos and then add special effects and soundtracks pulled from a music library.
 

The announcement also comes as Oracle Corp and China's ByteDance team up to keep TikTok operating in the United States, beating Microsoft Corp in a deal structured as a partnership rather than an outright sale.
 

YouTube's entry into the short-form video service space coincides with TikTok's ban in one of its biggest market, India, following the country's escalating tensions with China.
 

8:56 PM

No data available on deaths of labourers during migration due to lockdown: Govt

The government does not have data regarding the number of migrants who died or were injured during migration to their native places due to the lockdown, Union minister Santosh Gangwar told the Lok Sabha on Monday.

"No such data is available," the Labour Minister said in a written reply.

The response was to BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab's question on the "the number of such labourers died/ injured during migration to their native places due to such lockdown, State/ UT-wise".

8:48 PM

Maratha quota: Ordinance route will be checked, says Balasaheb Thorat

Bringing an ordinance to give quota relief to the Maratha community is a legal issue and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will take a look into it, said Maharashtra minister and state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat on Monday.

 

His comments come in the wake of NCP chief Sharad Pawar last week suggesting the ordinance route after the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, stayed the implementation of a 2018 law granting reservation to the Maratha community in education and jobs in the state. "It is a legal issue. We will check it," Thorat told reporters here, adding the state government had approached the apex court "well-prepared".

 

The Supreme Court's interim order of staying the implementation of the law is "incomprehensible", he added.

 

8:43 PM

Govt may launch mobile app to record off-mandi transactions under new bill

The central government might create a mobile application to record all off-mandi transactions done under a new Bill on agricultural trade, said a senior official.

 

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday, contains a provision that the Centre may prescribe a system for electronic registration for a trader, modalities of trade transactions, and mode of payment of the schedule farmers’ produce in a trade area. A trade area has been defined as an area that is outside regular mandis. Read more

8:34 PM

Prashant Bhushan moves SC, seeks review of his conviction in contempt case for his two tweets

Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking review of the order holding him guilty for contempt of court for his two derogatory tweets against the judiciary.

 

After depositing with the apex court registry rupee one imposed as "nominal fine" as punishment upon him, he filed the petition for review of the August 14 judgement holding him guilty for the contempt of court contending that it suffers from multiple errors apparent on the face of the record of both law and of fact.

 

Bhushan said that he will be filing a separate petition seeking review of the judgment on Sentence dated August 31, by which the top court had imposed a nominal fine of Re 1 on him for contempt of court.

8:28 PM

MT New Diamond safe, stable after deballasting measures taken: Indian Navy

Indian Navy on Monday informed that Motor Tanker (MT) New Diamond is safe and stable after sailors undertook deballasting measure on the ship.

"MT New Diamond (Sri Lankan vessel) safe and stable. Sailors undertook deballasting from Engine Room to Ballast Tanks. All leaks on hull sealed. Tug Boka Expedition took over 2 pm, 13 Sep. MT New Diamond assessed pollution free and ready to be towed," Indian Navy tweeted.

8:19 PM

Raising broadband quality, speed requires holistic approach: Trai official

Raising quality and speed of broadband for better user experience involves a multi-pronged approach, and the regulator has made suggestions including strengthening of infrastructure, proliferation of WiFi hotspots and use of cable TV for broadband, to address the issue in a holistic manner, a senior Trai official said on Monday.

 

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Secretary S K Gupta said there may be a certain perception that operators are not providing good-quality broadband, but singularly blaming telecom service providers may not be a correct approach, and instead the issue calls for a "group effort".

8:13 PM

JP Morgan Funds picks HDFC shares worth Rs 288 cr

JP Morgan Funds on Monday purchased shares of Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd (HDFC) worth Rs 288 crore through an open market transaction.

 

The shares were sold by Flagship India Investment Company (Mauritius) Ltd,block deal data on BSE showed.

 

As per the data, JP Morgan Funds bought over 16.28lakh shares of HDFC at an average price of Rs 1768.2 apiece. At this price, the value of transaction stood at Rs 287.97 crore.

8:08 PM

Amid Covid, Bengal govt to announce Puja guidelines

With the Durga Puja round the corner, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she would hold a meeting with puja committee members on September 25 to chalk out guidelines to celebrate the festival during the 'new normal'.

 

Banerjee said it would be really challenging for both the state government and puja organisers to host the celebrations with adequate safety in the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

"I would urge all the Durga puja committees to erect pandals (marquees) leaving as many open areas as possible. If they can keep the maximum area open in and around the pandals, it would be better and well-ventilated," the CM said in a press conference at the state secretariat here.

7:53 PM

Govt introduces eight Bills in opening Monsoon session

The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020;
Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020
Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020
Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020
Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020
Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020
Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020
Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 

7:40 PM

'Attack on farmers' rights': Congress slams govt's farm sector bills

The Congress on Monday hit out at the government over the introduction of three farmers-related bills, alleging that they will give "freedom" to corporates to "brutally exploit" the farmers and take away the protection that the minimum support price provides.

 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the government's ordinances, which are to be replaced by the bills introduced by the government on Monday, saying they were a "deadly attack" on farmers and agricultural labourers. Read more

7:32 PM

Bank credit grows by 5.49%, deposits by 10.92%: RBI data

Bank credit grew 5.49 per cent to Rs 102.11 trillion, while deposits increased 10.92 per cent to Rs 141.76 trillion in the fortnight ended August 28, according to RBI data.

 

In the fortnight ended August 30, 2019, banks' advances were at Rs 96.80 trillion and deposits stood at Rs 127.80 trillion.

 

In the previous fortnight ended August 14, 2020, bank credit and deposits had grown by 5.52 per cent and 11.04 per cent to Rs 102.19 trillion and Rs 140.80 trillion, respectively.

 

On a year-on-year (yoy) basis, non-food bank credit grew at 6.7 per cent in July as against a growth of 11.4 per cent in the same month last year, according to the data on sectoral deployment of bank credit for July 2020, released recently by RBI.

7:23 PM

Govt releases grant of Rs 5,462.69 lakh for artist community

7:09 PM

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 9 am tomorrow

7:01 PM

Regional discrimination will not be tolerated in JK: LG Manoj Sinha

Regional discrimination in administration will not be tolerated at any level in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said here on Monday as he vowed to use technology to curb the menace of corruption.

 

"There is zero tolerance for discrimination between Kashmir and Jammu or dividing the union territory on any basis. It will not be tolerated at any level -- be it at the level of chief secretary or the LG -- as long as I am here," Sinha told reporters here. He also said the administration will use technology to weed out corruption from government offices.

 

"Where there is man (manual work), there is corruption. We will be using maximum technology for ensuring transparency in government," he added.

 

Sinha also assured that justice will be done for the families of the three youths from Rajouri who are believed to have been killed in an alleged fake encounter.

6:52 PM

RBI pulls up banks over delay in automating NPA recognition process

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has pulled up banks over the delay in automating the process of identifying non-performing assets (NPA), provisioning and filing returns with the banking regulator. It has now asked banks to upgrade systems and comply with the guidelines by June 30, 2021. Banks were advised in August 2011 to have appropriate IT systems for identification of NPAs and generation of related data/returns, both for regulatory reporting and bank’s own MIS requirements. Read more

6:45 PM

UGC-NET exam postponed, to be conducted Sept 24 onwards

The Ministry of Education's testing agency on Monday postponed the National Eligibility Test (NET) after its dates were clashing with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) exam.

 

The NET was scheduled to be conducted from September 16 to September 25. It will now be conducted September 24 onwards.

 

"The National Testing Agency will be conducting ICAR exams on 16, 17, 22 and 23 September. In view of that, UGC- NET 2020 Examination will now be held from September 24 onwards," said Sadhana Parashar, Senior Director, NTA.

6:43 PM

Delhi environment minister calls crucial meeting ahead of stubble burning season

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will hold a crucial meeting with senior officials on Tuesday to discuss ways to deal with extreme levels of pollution in the city in winters, officials said. They said the minister will review progress of the annual plantation exercise. The issue of stubble burning in neighbouring states will also be taken up during the meeting.

 

The Delhi government has set a target of planting 31 lakh saplings during the year 2020-21. Around 1.9 million saplings have already been planted in the city by various agencies since March this year, according to government data.

6:24 PM

Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar appointed executive director, World Bank

Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar has been appointed as Executive Director, World Bank, Washington, a Personnel Ministry order issued on Monday said.

 

Khullar, a 1988-batch IAS officer, is currently serving in his cadre state Haryana. He is the principal secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. He will have a tenure of three years or till the date of his superannuation, i.e. August 31, 2023, the order said.

6:13 PM

Bengal CM announces monthly allowance, free housing for Brahmin priests ahead of polls

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 and free housing for more than 8,000 poor Sanatan Brahmin priests of the state. The decision was taken ahead of the assembly polls in 2021.

 

"We had earlier provided land to the Sanatan Brahmin sect to set up an academy at Kolaghat. Many priests in this sect are financially weak. We have decided to help them by providing them with an allowance of Rs 1,000 per month and also free housing under the state government's housing scheme," Banerjee said.

6:06 PM

Consumer inflation marginally down at 6.69% in August against 6.73% last month: Govt

6:00 PM

Around 30 MPs test positive for Covid-19 ahead of Monsoon Session: Report

Around 30 MPs and more than 50 employees of Parliament have tested positive for Covid-19, sources said on Monday. All parliamentarians and staff of the secretariats of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had undergone mandatory Covid-19 tests before the start of the monsoon session.

 

As per the reports of these tests, around 30 MPs and over 50 employees of the secretariats tested positive for coronavirus, the sources said.

5:57 PM

New RS Deputy Chairman Harivansh an "outstanding umpire, belongs to all sides in Parliament": PM

5:45 PM

J&K: 3,186 ceasefire violations along LoC till Sept 7, says MoS Defence

"There have been 3,186 incidents of ceasefire violations along LoC in Jammu region between Jan 1 & Sept 7 this year. In addition, 242 incidents of cross-border firing have occurred along Indo-Pak border in Jammu till Aug 31 this year," MoS Defence Shripad Naik said in Rajya Sabha.

"There have been 8 fatal casualties & 2 non-fatal casualties of Army personnel in Jammu & Kashmir till Sept 7 this year. There have been 5 non-fatal casualties of BSF personnel along international border & Loc in J&K: MoS Defence Shripad Naik in Rajya Sabha," he added.