LIVE: Mission Karmayogi to prepare civil servants for future, says PM Modi

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2:37 AM

Unacademy is like the Netflix for live education: CEO Gaurav Munjal

In an interview with Samreen Ahmad and Bibhu Ranjan Mishra, Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy talks about how the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic may have shortened the time the company has taken to achieve $1.45 billion valuation by almost half, and how the Bengaluru-based firm is trying to enter into new exams categories. Read more

In this pic, Gaurav Munjal is standing at the centre while Hemesh Singh is in black jacket (right) and Roman Saini is in grey jacket (left).

2:32 AM

ACC approves appointment of V K Yadav as Railway Board's first ever CEO

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of the current chairman of the Railway Board VK Yadav as the CEO, making him the first to hold such a post in the railway's history.
 

The Cabinet had earlier approved the restructuring of the Railway Board, whose strength has been cut from eight to five, as part of large scale reforms initiated by the national transporter. Read more

2:31 AM

India bolsters presence in strategic heights of Pangong lake area: Report

The Indian Army has further bolstered its presence in at least three strategic heights in the southern bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh, days after foiling China's "provocative" actions to change the status quo in the area, government sources said on Wednesday.

 

Some "readjustments" in deployment of troops were also carried out on the northern bank of the Pangong lake on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LAC) as part of precautionary measures, they said. The situation in the area was said to be sensitive. Read more

2:30 AM

Isha, Akash Ambani, Byju, Poonawalla debut on Fortune's '40 under 40' list

The Fortune magazine has come out with a list of 40 influential people below the age of 40. The list covers five sectors including finance, technology, health, government/politics and media/entertainment. The following Indian business leaders made it to the list.... Read more

2:29 AM

China eyes military facilities in Pak, Myanmar, 10 other nations: Pentagon

China is seeking to set up more robust logistics in about a dozen countries, including three in India's neighbourhood, to allow its army to project and sustain its power at greater distances, a Pentagon report has said.

 

In addition to the three Indian neighbours -- Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar -- the other countries where China is considering to base its military logistics and infrastructure are Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan, the report said on Tuesday. Read more

2:23 AM

Parliamentary panel probes FB India chief; accuses firm of bias, collusion

Amid a raging row over Facebook's alleged political "bias", a Parliamentary panel on Wednesday questioned the company's India head Ajit Mohan for over two hours, with both BJP and Congress members of the panel accusing the social media giant of colluding and influencing opinion, a charge denied by the firm. Read more

8:51 PM

Latest News LIVE: India ranks 48th in global innovation index

India has joined the group of top 50 countries in the global innovation index for the first time, moving up four places to the 48th rank and keeping the top position among the nations in central and southern Asia, according to a PTI report.

 

According to the Global Innovation Index (GII) list, 2020 released jointly by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD Business School on Wednesday, the rankings show stability at the top but a gradual "eastward shift in the locus of innovation" as Asian economies like China, India, the Philippines and Vietnam have advanced considerably in the innovation ranking over the years.

 

Switzerland, Sweden, the US, the UK and the Netherlands lead the innovation ranking, and the top 10 positions are dominated by high-income countries, WIPO said in a statement.

8:36 PM

FM Nirmala Sitharaman to meet heads of banks, NBFCs on loan recast on Thursday

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a review meeting with heads of banks and NBFCs on Thursday for smooth and speedy implementation of the one-time debt recast for resolution of COVID-19 related stress in bank loans, according to a PTI report.

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month permitted one-time restructuring of both corporate and retail loans without getting classified as a non-performing asset (NPA). Banks are in the process of getting a board-approved restructuring framework in line with the RBI's framework and eligibility defined by the central bank in its notification on August 6.

 

Besides assessing the preparedness of banks on the debt recast, sources said, the meeting will also review the progress of various schemes announced under the Rs 20.97 trillion 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan'. The progress of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt, among others, will be reviewed in the meeting, sources said.

8:24 PM

Metro services to resume from Sept 7, normal operations from Sept 12: Hardeep Singh Puri

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said Metro services will resume in a graded manner from September 7 across the country and passengers will have to follow preventive measures against COVID-19 such as maintaining social distancing and wearing face mask. Addressing an online media briefing, the Union housing and urban affairs minister said that all Metro lines will become operational by September 12, news agency PTI reported.

 

He said Metro stations in COVID-19 containment zones will, however, remain closed when services resume from September 7. According to the ministry, Metro trains will not stop at stations where passengers are found not maintaining social distancing. Puri said that wearing face mask will be mandatory during travel on Metro trains and added that masks will be provided to passengers on payment basis at stations.

8:19 PM

SC dismisses bail plea of teenager accused of murdering 7-year-old boy at private school in Gurgaon in 2017

8:11 PM

Odisha govt asks UGC to extend deadline for completion of final year university exams to Oct 10

The Odisha government on Wednesday requested the University Grants Commission (UGC) to extend the deadline of the final year university exams for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses from September 30 to October 10, according to a PTI report.

 

On behalf of the Chief Minister and Chairman of the State Disaster Management Authority Naveen Patnaik, Higher Education department secretary Saswat Mishra wrote a letter to the UGC mentioning that the extension of the deadline will ensure scheduling of the exams with at least one day gap so that the test centres can be sanitised properly.

 

"Preparedness to conduct the examinations was discussed with university vice-chancellors and principals of autonomous colleges on 31.08.2020 through video-conferencing.

 

8:09 PM

Hoping for a peaceful resolution of the situation on India-China border: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

7:38 PM

Rs 5 mn ex gratia announced for family of soldier killed in Pakistani firing along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir

The Punjab government on Wednesday announced an ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh for the family of Subedar Rajesh Kumar, who was killed in firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri sector. A government job was also announced for a family member of the soldier.

 

Paying homage, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Subedar Rajesh Kumar of 60 SATA regiment laid down his life for the country, according to a government statement. Kumar hailed from Kalichpur Kalota village at Mukerian in Hoshiarpur district. He is survived by his parents, wife, daughter and a son. His father, Ram Chander, had retired as a Havildar from the same unit.

7:25 PM

'Mission Karmayogi' to prepare civil servants for the future: PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that 'Mission Karmayogi', a major bureaucratic reform exercise approved by the Union Cabinet, will "radically" improve the government's human resource management practices, asserting that the programme aims to prepare civil servants for the future. The exercise will use scale and state of the art infrastructure to augment the capacity of civil servants, Modi tweeted.

 

"The iGOT platform will enable the transition to a role-based HR management & continuous learning. Mission Karmayogi aims to prepare Civil Servants for the future by making them more creative, constructive & innovative through transparency and technology," he said using the hashtag "civil service for New India".

 

An integrated government online training platform - iGOTKarmayogi - will be set up for the mission, the government has said.

7:12 PM

LIVE: Sushant Singh Rajput's father lawyer Vikas Singh addresses the media

7:06 PM

SC refuses to hear Netflix plea against order on web series using Subrata Roy's name

The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to hear a Netflix petition against a Bihar lower court order restraining it from using Sahara group chief Subrata Roy's name in its web series 'Bad Boy Billionaires'. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde however granted liberty to Netflix to withdraw the plea and approach the concerned court to avail appropriate remedy against the order passed by a lower court at Araria, Bihar, according to a PTI report.

 

Dismissed. We are sorry, the bench, also comprising Justices Arun Mishra, A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said during the hearing conducted through video-conferencing.

 

In its order, the bench said: Mukul Rohatgi, senior counsel appearing for the petitioner (Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP), prays for withdrawal of this petition with liberty to avail an appropriate remedy in accordance with law. Prayer is allowed.

6:59 PM

No coercive action, interim order to continue in Vinod Dua sedition case: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended till September 8 the interim protection from arrest to veteran journalist Vinod Dua in connection with a sedition case registered against him in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla, news agency ANI reported.

 

A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, today extended the interim order that no coercive actions, including no arresting of Vinod Dua, can be made till further hearing in the case, on September 8.

 

Dua is accused of making certain alleged statements in his YouTube program, the Vinod Dua show, which was allegedly of the nature to incite communal hatred and may lead to some kind of breach of peace and communal disharmony, the prosecution submitted.

6:58 PM

In first stage, Delhi Metro services will operate in two shifts - 7-11 am and 4-8 pm; normal operations from Sept 12

6:54 PM

Metro trains will not stop at stations where passengers are found not maintaining social distancing: Official

6:51 PM

CBDT provides ITR filing compliance check functionality for scheduled commercial banks

6:49 PM

Coronavirus LIVE update: 10,392 new Covid-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh today

6:42 PM

Last resort of guilty is to hurl baseless charges at Left: CPI(M) on Prasad's letter to Facebook CEO

The CPI(M) hit out at Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday over his accusation that social media giant Facebook was biased against the "right wing", according to a PTI report.

 

In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Prasad, the Union Minister for Information Technology, has said it is problematic that employees of his company are on record abusing the prime minister and senior cabinet ministers of the country while still working and managing important positions in Facebook India.

 

"I have been informed that in the run-up to the 2019 general election in India, there was a concerted effort by the Facebook India management to not just delete pages or substantially reduce their reach, but also offer no recourse or right of appeal to the affected people who are supportive of the right-of-centre ideology," Prasad wrote.

6:40 PM

Delhi Metro Yellow Line from Samaypur Badli to Huda City Centre to be operational from Sept 7: DMRC chief

6:30 PM

Loan Moratorium: Cannot recover economy by ignoring banking sector, Centre Tells SC

6:22 PM

GST compensation: Karnataka opts for first among two options offered by Centre

BJP ruled Karnataka on Wednesday said it has decided to opt for the first among the two options offered by the Centre for borrowing to meet the shortfall in GST revenues, under which the state will be eligible for total compensation of Rs 18,289 crore. The decision was taken after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who also holds the finance portfolio, held discussions with Finance department officials, according to a PTI report.

 

"After the evaluation of both these options, it is felt that option 1 would be more beneficial to the State's finances.

 

Hence the Government of Karnataka has decided to convey to the Government of India, its preference for Option 1," an official release from the Chief Minister's Office said. It said this would help the State augment its revenue in the present financial year.

6:12 PM

Banned mobile apps prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity, defence of India and public order: Official statement

6:02 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 2,509 new Covid-19 cases in Delhi today; tally 179,569

5:55 PM

LIVE news: Govt bans PUBG, 118 other apps linked to China, say reports

In yet another surgical strike on Chinese apps, the Indian government on Wednesday banned 118 apps, including the immensely popular PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile, Baidu and several VPNs that allowed access to TikTok that was earlier banned, according to an IANS report. The action came after the fresh Chinese incursion attempts in Indian territory at Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh.

 

The PUBG game now has more than 600 million downloads and 50 million active players globally, not including the Chinese mainland where a rebranded version of the game is called 'Game for Peace'. PUBG has millions of users, especially young, in India.

 

The ban on PUBG came as it announced the arrival of a new gaming era with its 1.0 version, along with global mobile esports tournament PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) with a grand prize pool of $2 million (about Rs 15 crore). Earlier, the government barred 47 Chinese apps from operating in the country, which were largely clones of the previously 59 apps banned in June.

 

5:31 PM

LIVE news: Govt bans PUBG, 118 other apps linked to China, say reports

5:18 PM

Flipkart Wholesale launches digital platform for Kiranas in fashion segment

Flipkart Wholesale, the digital business to business marketplace of e-commerce giant Flipkart Group, on Wednesday launched its operations with the aim of transforming the kirana retail ecosystem by leveraging technology. It would connect local manufacturers with retailers and bring the entire wholesale marketplace at their fingertips using technology.

 

The platform is currently available for fashion retailers, especially footwear and apparel, in Gurugram, Delhi and Bengaluru, with plans to expand to Mumbai. By this year-end, Flipkart Wholesale plans to expand to 20 more cities and in categories such as home and kitchen and grocery. The B2B digital platform that is accessible to retailers via the app on Google Play Store, aims to rope in over 300 strategic partners and have over 200,000 listings in two months. Additionally, the platform will enable the onboarding of 50 brands and over 250 local manufacturers in the coming days. READ MORE...