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12:41 AM

Assam registers 2,427 new COVID-19 cases, 3 fresh fatalities

Assam's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,03,794 on Saturday as 2,427 more people tested positive for the infection, while three more fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 289, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

 

Kamrup Metropolitan district, under which Guwahati falls, has reported the highest number of new infections at 459, followed by Dibrugarh (177), Cachar (158) and Jorhat (136), Sarma said.

12:07 AM

Adityanath reviews work plan to combat COVID-19 in Varanasi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday reviewed the work plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Varanasi and directed officials to conduct nearly 4,500 tests daily in the holy city.

 

He said there should not be any shortage of beds in COVID hospitals and asked officials to strengthen L2 and L3 health facilities in the city, according to an official statement.

12:07 AM

Telecom minister launches BSNL Airfibre service in Bihar

Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday launched a high-speed wireless broadband service, BSNL Bharat Airfibre, for rural areas of Bihar through video conferencing from the national capital.

 

Besides this, the minister inaugurated a next-generation network telephone exchange at New Bihar Vidhan Mandal compound, the Ministry of Communications said in a statement.

11:13 PM

1,442 new coronavirus cases in MP, 22 deaths, 1,017 recover

Madhya Pradesh on Saturday saw its highest single-day spike of 1,442 coronavirus cases, taking the total count in the state to 60,875, health officials said.

 

The coronavirus death toll rose to 1,345 after 22 patients succumbed to the viral infection since Friday evening, they said.

 

Five patients each died in Indore and Bhopal, three in Gwalior, two in Jabalpur and one each in Ujjain, Sagar, Dewas, Datia, Damoh, Chhatarpur and Ashok Nagar, officials said.

10:40 PM

Ramp-up efforts to contain COVID-19 spread, follow SOPs: Centre to UTs

The Centre on Saturday advised union territories to ramp-up efforts to contain the COVID-19 spread by sticking to the rules for prevention of the disease as well as following standard operating procedures (SOPs) in its treatment, a government statement said.

 

The directions were issued on Saturday during a review meeting, where Home Affairs and Health secretaries Ajay Bhalla and Rajesh Bhushan took stock of the measures undertaken by the union territories to contain the coronavirus spread, it said.

10:08 PM

Delhi Metro to re-start services from Sept 7 in a graded manner

Delhi Metro will resume services from September 7, after the union home ministry announced new guidelines called Unlock 4 easing restrictions to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

 

The standard operating procedure for services to start will come from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

 

“Delhi Metro will be resuming its services from public from September 7, 2020 in a calibrated manner. The SOPs and other details will be issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,” DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said in a statement.

 

It is learnt that the services may be confined to the national capital only and Metro trains may not go to NCR cities. READ MORE

10:08 PM

NEP will bring back old glory of India, says Education Minister

Laying the foundation stone for three permanent buildings during the 12th Foundation Day ceremony of the Central University of Odisha, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Saturday hailed the new National Education Policy (NEP), saying it will bring back the "old glory" of the country.

 

Recalling the time when people from other countries came to India for studies, Pokhriyal said, "Now it's time to achieve that type of education through the new education policy."

 

Urging the varsity community to focus more on research and development, Pokhriyal congratulated the Central University of Odisha for rising to the occasion and becoming one of the prominent universities of the country within a few years.

9:51 PM

Himachal Pradesh CM reviews progress on Atal Tunnel in Rohtang

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday reviewed the progress on the 9-km Atal Tunnel, being constructed at Rs 3,500 crore in Lahaul Spiti's Rohtang to shorten the distance between Manali and Leh.

 

The CM said once completed the Tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to Leh and forward areas of Ladakh, which remain cut-off for nearly six months from the rest of the country due to heavy snowfall, according to an official spokesperson. This is extremely significant from the defence point of view, he added.

 

Chief Minister said the project will be completed by spending Rs 3,500 crore.

 

Cutting through the Pir Panjal range, the tunnel has reduced the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km, he said.

9:42 PM

Anil Baijal dismisses Delhi Guv proposal to postpone NEET-JEE

9:30 PM

Reliance Retail to buy Future group's retail business for Rs 24,713 cr

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, on Saturday announced it is acquiring the retail, wholesale business and logistics businesses of Future Group for consideration of Rs 24,713 crore.

 

Future Enterprises will sell, by way of a slump sale, the retail and wholesale business which includes Big Bazaar, FBB, Foodhall, Easyday, Nilgiris, Central and Brand Factory to Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited (RRFLL), a wholly owned subsidiary of RRVL. It will also sell the logistics warehouse business to RRVL via a slump sale. RRFLL and RRVL will take over certain borrowings and current liabilities and discharge the balance consideration by cash. Read more

9:19 PM

Safdarjung Hospital to restore OPD services to normal timings from Sept 1

The Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi will restore its OPD services to normal timings from Tuesday, according to an official circular issued by the medical superintendent of the hospital.

 

All elective surgeries will also be restored with effect from September 1, it stated.

 

"It has been decided to restore the OPD services of the hospital to normal timings (8:30 am to 11:30 am from Monday to Friday and 8.30 am to 11 am on Saturday) with effect from September 1," said the circular issued to all heads of departments and others officials.

 

The OPD was being run for limited duration, while elective surgeries were suspended in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

9:10 PM

Madras HC to resume physical hearing of cases

The Madras High Court on Saturday decided to resume physical hearing of cases from September 7 "in order to meet the growing demand" for physical court hearing.

 

The court will also continue with the virtual hearing and will have staggered physical hearings to avoid overcrowding in the courts, a notification from the Madras High Court Registrar General said.

 

"In order to meet the growing demand of physical court hearing and also keeping view the precautions that are required to be observed for avoiding any untoward happening, Hon'ble Administrative Commitee on serious consideration has decided to open physical court hearing partially," it said.

9:03 PM

Electronics export can touch $180 bn by 2025, says industry

India's electronics exports can grow more than 16-folds to USD 180 billion by 2025 from $11 billion currently if industry suggestions are implemented by the government, an industry association said on Saturday.

 

The Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) has submitted a roadmap to the government to achieve the target in which it has recommended to expand focus of existing electronics manufacturing schemes and incentives beyond mobile production along with some policy intervention.

 

"At ESC, we have created a roadmap fortaking India's electronics exports, which include mobile and accessories, components and other electronics and hardware items, to $180 billion by 2025 to bring exports from the segment more or less at par with software exports," ESC chairman Sandeep Narula said in a statement.

8:52 PM

Uttarakhand CM chairs meet over Mahakumbh Mela 2021

8:42 PM

Prashant Bhushan case: SC set to pronounce quantum of sentence on Aug 31

The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on August 31 its verdict on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan, convicted for contempt of court over his two tweets against the judiciary.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra will pronounce its verdict against Bhushan, who faces simple imprisonment of up to six months or with a fine of up to Rs 2,000 or with both as punishment under Contempt of Court Act.

 

8:34 PM

Jammu and Kashmir govt to establish State Council of Educational Research and Training

Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to establish the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) on the lines of NCERT to assist and advise the administration in implementing policies and programmes for human resource development, an official spokesman said on Saturday.

 

The Administrative Council (AC), which met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, gave approval to the establishment of SCERT by merging State Institutes of Education in Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesman said.

 

He said the SCERT, being the apex academic authority of the UT, is mandated to assist and advise the government in implementation of policies and programmes for human resource development in the field of education, human and child development and national integration, on the analogy of NCERT- the national apex academic authority.

8:25 PM

Mahanadi river crosses danger mark, 46 sluice gates of Hirakund opened

8:17 PM

APSEZ promoters pledge 2.06 mn shares to raise Rs 430 cr

Promoters of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone have pledged 20.61 million shares of the company in favour of Credit Suisse AG to raise Rs 430 crore for a group company, according to a regulatory filing.

 

The transaction was done on Friday, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) said in the filing.

 

The shares were held by Gautam S Adani and Rajesh S Adani on behalf of SB Adani Family Trust and comprise 1.01 per cent of the APSEZ share capital.

 

In a separate filing, APSEZ informed the bourses that the pledge was against the security for the borrowing by Adani Rail Infra Pvt Ltd amounting to Rs 430 crore. The value of shares being encumbered amounted to Rs 742.03 crore.

8:15 PM

Devika river project in Jammu and Kashmir to be ready by 2021-end: Jitendra Singh

The Devika river rejuvenation project, under which bathing places, natural water bodies and catchment areas will be developed in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, will be ready by the end of 2021, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Saturday.

 

This was conveyed at a review meeting of the ambitious project held over video conference.

 

Referring to the March 2021 deadline for the completion of the project,Singh said due to the time loss in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is understandable that the work will get delayed.

8:02 PM

ED cracks the whip on online betting websites

7:54 PM

ED summons Gaurav Arya for questioning in SSR death case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the money laundering angle in the case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, has summoned hotelier Gaurav Arya for questioning on Monday, officials said on Saturday.
 

A top ED official connected with the probe told IANS, "We have summoned Arya for questioning in connection with the case on Monday at our Mumbai office."
 

The official said that Arya has been summoned after the agency checked the mobile phone of the late actor's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and found that the two allegedly chatted about consumption of drugs.

7:44 PM

Security forces apprehended 3 cadres of ULFA(I) in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district

7:34 PM

SC to pronounce verdict on plea filed by fugitive Vijay Mallya on August 31

7:20 PM

Tunnel under IB was constructed with knowledge, 'hand' of Pak: BSF IG

A top BSF official said on Saturday that a major underground tunnel that was found in Samba, originating from Pakistan, was constructed with the knowledge and "hand" of the neighbouring nation.
 

The remarks of BSF Inspector General (Jammu frontier) N S Jamwal came after the Border Security Force (BSF) detected a tunnel just beneath the Indo-Pak international border fence in Galar area of Samba.
 

He lauded the force personnel for their alertness in detecting the tunnel and said, "We were getting information that a tunnel was dug out from the Pakistan side in Samba. We were working on the information when one of our teams managed to locate it on Friday evening."

7:09 PM

PM Modi pitches for taking farm education to middle school level

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday pitched for taking farm education to middle school level, saying necessary reforms have been made in this regard in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
 

"There is a need to take knowledge related to agriculture and its practical application to school level. Efforts are (on) to introduce the Agriculture subject at middle school level in villages," Modi said.
 

This will develop agriculture related understanding in students and enable them to give information about agriculture, its modern farming techniques and marketing, to their family members, he said, adding this will promote agro-entrepreneurship in the country.

6:59 PM

Governing Council announces Unacademy as official partner for IPL 2020

6:42 PM

Kerala stands firm that GST compensation should be given to all the states: CM Vijayan

6:33 PM

PM Modi to address the nation through his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the nation through his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' at 11 AM tomorrow. 

6:32 PM

Fiscal deficit expected to touch 7% of GDP in 2020-21: Brickwork Ratings

Centre's fiscal deficit is expected to touch 7 per cent of the GDP in 2020-21, against budget estimates of 3.5 per cent, Brickwork Ratings said on Saturday.
 

The ratings agency said that the impact of the lockdown on economic activity shows up starkly in the trends in the Central government revenue collection during the first three months of the 2020-21 fiscal.
 

As per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the Central government's revenue in Q1 of the current year is much lower than the collections for the corresponding period of last year.

6:18 PM

Centre writes to states suggesting options of borrowing money to make up for GST shortfall

The central government on Saturday wrote to states suggesting options of borrowing money to make up for the Rs 2.35 trillion shortfall in GST revenues expected in the ongoing fiscal.
 

Two days after first suggesting to states to borrow money to make up for the shortfall at the GST Council meeting, the finance ministry wrote to state governments saying they could borrow either via a special window it will facilitate through the RBI or raise debt from the market.

While the Centre has reasoned its recommendations on premise that it is already saddled with a large borrowing requirement given the slowdown in revenue collections due to a slump in the economy, non-BJP ruled states such as Punjab, Kerala, Delhi and West Bengal have already stated that raising debt is not an option for already stretched state finances.