Live updates: Farmers can't be blamed for NCR pollution, says NHRC

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10:27 PM

Centre spent Rs 10 trillion to provide affordable fertilisers to farmers: PM Modi

The Centre has spent approximately Rs 10 lakh crore during the last eight years to see that farmers in the country are not burdened by the high global prices of fertilisers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

 

Modi, who was speaking after laying foundation stones and dedicating to the nation multiple projects worth over Rs 9,500 crore at Ramagundam in Telangana, said the Union government would spend more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore this year to make fertilisers available to the farmers at affordable rates.

 

He also said his government has transferred more than Rs 2 lakh crore to the bank accounts of farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.

10:25 PM

Congress releases fourth list of 9 candidates for Gujarat Assembly polls

10:24 PM

22 killed as minibus falls into canal in Egypt

22 killed as minibus falls into canal in Egypt, reports news agency ANI.

10:19 PM

2,467 stubble burning incidents in Punjab in a day, tally rises to 43,144

Punjab saw 2,467 stubble burning incidents on Saturday with Bathinda registering the maximum 358 farm fires.

 

With these, the cumulative farm fire cases between September 15 and November 12 jumped to 43,144, according to the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. READ MORE

10:08 PM

Delhi MCD elections: BJP releases first list of 232 candidates

10:05 PM

Shah Rukh Khan stopped at Mumbai airport for hours over luxury watches

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and five members of his team were stopped for an hour at the Mumbai airport by Customs officials for not paying Customs duty for six luxury watches as the payment facility was not operational in the early hours of Saturday, an official said.

 

The incident occurred at 12.30 AM after Khan landed at the airport from Dubai in a chartered flight, the official said and added that the payment counter at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) was not operational in the early hours.

 

During the screening of the baggage of Khan and his team members, officials found six expensive watches in one of the bags, he said.

9:45 PM

Thankful to people of Tamil Nadu: Rajiv Gandhi case convict Nalini Sriharan after release

Nalini Sriharan, one of the six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who was released on Saturday told ANI, "I am thankful to the people of Tamil Nadu who supported me for the last 32 years."

 

The country's longest serving woman prisoner serving a life sentence, Nalini was released from the Vellore jail following an order from the Supreme Court on friday, freeing all six convicts, including Nalini Sriharan and RP Ravichandran, in the case.

 

After coming out of the Vellore Jail, Nalini said, "I thank both the State and Union governments (for her release)."

9:38 PM

Hundreds of activists protest for climate action at UN summit

Hundreds of activists called on industrialised nations to pay for the impact of climate change and to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy on Saturday in the largest protest yet at the UN climate summit in Egypt.

9:01 PM

2 killed, 30 injured as bus collides with truck in Ranchi

Two persons were killed and over 30 people were injured as a bus collided with a truck and overturned on the outskirts of Ranchi on Saturday, police said. The accident happened on the Ring Road in Tupudana police station area, they said.

 

The impact of the collision was such that the bus, which was on the way to Khunti from Ranchi, overturned, they added.

 

''One person died on the spot, while another person died during the treatment,'' Superintendent of Police (Ranchi-Rural) Naushad Alam told PTI.

 

The injured persons were admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) in Ranchi, he said.

 

The bus driver fled after the accident, while the truck driver was undergoing treatment, said Meera Singh, the officer-in-charge of Tupudana police station.

8:07 PM

Earthquake tremors felt in Delhi, neighbouring areas, second time this week

7:57 PM

India announces additional contribution of USD 5 million to ASEAN-India science and technology fund

7:34 PM

Maharashtra sees 146 Covid-19 cases, no death

Maharashtra reported 146 Covid-19 cases, which took the state's infection count to 8,134,150, while the death toll remained unchanged at 148,400, a health official said. The addition to the tally was a slight dip from the 169 cases witnessed a day earlier, when two deaths were also reported, he pointed out. Mumbai circle led with 78 new cases, followed by 54 in Pune circle, 17 in Akola circle, six in Nagpur circle, five in Aurangabad circle, three each in Kolhapur, Nashik and Latur circles, he said.

7:16 PM

Jaishankar discusses grain initiative, nuclear concerns with Ukrainian FM Kuleba

6:42 PM

Delhi Pollution: Over 5,800 vehicles challaned

Delhi Traffic Police on Saturday said that they have issued more than 5,800 challans to vehicles as part of restrictions on BS III petrol and BS IV diesel vehicles to fight pollution in the Capital.

 

6:39 PM

Delhi-NCR pollution: Stubble burning happening due to failure of 4 state govts, says NHRC

NHRC hears chief secretaries of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on air pollution. It says that farmers can not be blamed and stubble burning is happening due to failure of four state governments. 

5:59 PM

Assam reports 70 fresh cases of dengue, tally rises to 796: Official data

5:26 PM

Nalini Sriharan, one of the six convicts in assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi released from Vellore Jail

5:08 PM

Himachal Pradesh assembly elections: World's highest polling station booth witnesses 98.08% voting

4:59 PM

105-year-old woman turns up to vote in Himachal elections

4:01 PM

Jai Ram Thakur will continue to be CM face of Himachal Pradesh: JP Nadda

BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda has said that the current chief minister of Himachal Pradesh would continue to be the CM face if the party wins the assembly election. "The election has been contested under the leadership of Jai Ram Thakur and he will continue," Nadda told ANI. The BJP chief also hit out at the opposition calling its leaders "careerist".

4:00 PM

PM Modi visits Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) plant in Peddapalli district of Telangana

3:59 PM

Climate activists take to the trees to save German village

After the last farmer packed up and left in October, climate activists are the only people left in the village of Luetzerath, Germany, which sits above a rich vein of coal. In huts perched six metres (19 feet) above ground in the trees, the young campaigners say they can hold out against the authorities if they try to clear them out. They are there in an effort to stop the village being bulldozed to allow the extension of a neighbouring open-air coal mine.

3:59 PM

'Exercise Garuda-VII' between IAF and French Air and Space Force concluded at Air Force Station, Jodhpur

3:57 PM

All party meet 'rejects' Constitutional amendment providing 10 per cent quota to EWS

The all-party meeting chaired by TN CM MK Stalin concluded with a stand to "reject the so-called 103rd Constitutional amendment which provides 10 per cent quota to EWS as it's against social justice philosophy of Constitution, SC judgments and because it discriminates against the poor."

"We request TN Govt to register its views to establish social justice and equality properly. We support economic development programs to alleviate poverty of poor,needy and vulnerable people, won't allow true values ​​of social justice philosophy to be distorted," stated meeting resolution.

3:07 PM

Modi heaps praise on people of AP, calls them 'entrepreneurial'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday lavished praise on the city of Visakhapatnam and Telugu people, saying they have earned a special recognition across the world.

"Visakhapatnam is a special city of India. It was a significant port of ancient India and has a rich business tradition. It is also the central point of Indian trade," the Prime Minister said as he launched various development projects here. Calling it a "big day for Visakhapatnam", Modi said on one side an exclusive road to the port was being developed, the local railway station was being modernised and on the other the fishing harbour was also being modernised. "Development of the Raipur-Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor will further boost the economy in the region."

3:04 PM

Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan awarded UK's royal Order of Merit

India-born Nobel laureate Professor Venki Ramakrishnan has been awarded the prestigious Order of Merit by Britain's King Charles III in recognition of his distinguished service to science.

The 70-year-old UK-based molecular biologist is among six appointments made to the historic order by the late Queen Elizabeth II before her death in September and the first to be appointed by Charles.

The Order of Merit is an exclusive mark of honour conferred by the British sovereign.

3:00 PM

TN govt to go for medical, engineering education in Tamil medium: Amit Shah

Batting for medical and engineering education in mother tongue, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday described the Tamil Nadu government's starting such courses as a great contribution to the language.

 

Speaking at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of cement major India Cements Ltd, Shah said medical and engineering education should be in Tamil and the state government should start that.

 

Home Minister Shah said it will be easy for the students to study in their mother tongue and they can also do research and development (R&D) in their own language.

 

He also said Tamil is the oldest language and the whole India is proud of it.

2:58 PM

Refining Covid rules, not relaxing control, says China

China’s top health officials said a sweeping overhaul to its Covid Zero playbook was a refinement of rules and not a relaxation of controls, dismissing interpretations that the changes were a step toward living with the virus. 

 

Brandishing data that showed cutting centralized quarantine for travelers and close contacts to five days would still catch the vast majority of Covid infections, the officials said a strict attitude toward stamping out infections remains China’s guiding principle.

 

The changes, which include reining in mass testing and banning local officials from over-zealous lockdowns, come from “a better understanding of the virus, and better research and development of vaccines,” deputy head of the National Health Commission Lei Haichao said at a Saturday briefing.

 

2:55 PM

Focusing on Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi unlikely to attend Winter Session of Parliament

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is likely to skip the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament to continue with his party's Bharat Jodo Yatra, said party General Secretary, Incharge of Communications Jairam Ramesh.

The upcoming Winter Session of Parliament is likely to be held from December 7 to December 29, this year.

There will be a total of 17 working days in the upcoming Winter Session.

This will be the first session during which Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, will officiate proceedings in the Upper House.

2:51 PM

Himachal Pradesh election: 83-year-old walks 14 km in snow to cast vote in Chamba

Electors in Himachal Pradesh are enthusiastically participating in the festival of democracy by casting their votes in the state Assembly elections on Saturday.

Aged voters are also not lagging behind in exercising their right to franchise.

Though the Election Commission of India (ECI) provided a voluntary facility to 80 plus aged electors to vote through ballot papers at their homes, yet several aged persons did not opt for that facility and preferred to cast their votes through the electronic voting machine (EVM) at their respective polling station today.