LIVE: SC to hear plea against tenure extension of ED director on Friday

Live news updates: Besides Gokhale, the spokesperson of the TMC, others have also filed petitions challenging the tenure extension and the enabling amended law in this regard in the top court.

3:01 PM

Rural India with 351 mn users pips urban centres in Internet usage

Rural population is now driving Internet growth in India as urban India appears to have hit a plateau, a new report showed on Thursday.

 

There are 692 million active Internet users in India, and much of the growth continues to be driven by rural India (351 million users with 37 per cent).

 

The urban centres now have 341 million users with 69 per cent penetration, according to the report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and data and analytics company Kantar.

 

However, around 762 million Indians have not adopted the Internet yet, out of which 63 per cent are rural Indians.

2:59 PM

'India's gold demand for 2022 to be over 800 tonne'

India's demand for gold will be between 800-850 tonne in 2022, said a top official of World Gold Council-India.

 

He also said 80 per cent of the demand will be for jewellery and the balance in the form of gold coins.

 

The gold demand in India for 2022 will be above 800 tonne. It will be between 800 tonne to 850 tonne. The 5 per cent duty hike on the gold by the Central government will not have any major impact on the demand for the yellow metal, said Somasundaram P.R., Regional CEO India, World Gold Council.

 

In 2021, the demand for gold in India was about 797 tonne.

2:50 PM

SC to hear plea against tenure extension of ED director on Friday

The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Friday a plea challenging the amended law allowing extension of tenure of the director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) up to five years, and the Centre's decision to grant one year extension to Sanjay Kumar Mishra as head of the probe agency.

 

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submission of senior lawyer Basava Prabhu Patil that the plea of Saket Gokhale, a leader of the All India Trinamool Congress, needed to be listed for an urgent hearing.

 

Besides Gokhale, the spokesperson of the TMC, others have also filed petitions challenging the tenure extension and the enabling amended law in this regard in the top court.

 

2:45 PM

Ethanol blending with petrol increased 10 times in 8 yrs, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that ethanol blending with petrol, which was 40 crore litres before 2014, has now increased to 400 crore litres.

 

The blending of ethanol with petrol has also increased the income of farmers, he said at a public rally after inaugurating various projects of the Sabar Dairy in Gujarat.

 

Modi said sustained efforts to increase the annual income of farmers in last eight years are showing results now.

Apart from farming, the promotion of allied business activities like cattle-rearing, fisheries and honey production has also increased the income of farmers, he said. 

 

2:36 PM

Elon Musk says 'media is click-seeking machine'

Amid several media reports appearing on Elon Musk's activities, the tech billionaire has called media "click-seeking machines".

On Twitter, Musk criticised the media, which came after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported his alleged affair with Google Co-founder Sergey Brin's wife Nicole Shanahan, which the Tesla CEO has vehemently denied.

"The media is a click-seeking machine dressed up as a truth-seeking machine," Musk said.

Recently, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO expressed his displeasure with the unwanted media attention he is getting these days.

He said the attention "super sucks," and he will continue to focus on doing useful things.

2:26 PM

Uddhav faction moves SC, challenges LS Speaker decision on Sena leader, chief whip

The Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray faction has filed another petition in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to recognise Rahul Shewale of the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde led group as the floor leader.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli is already scheduled to hear on August 1 a batch of petitions filed by the Thackeray faction in relation to several political developments in Maharashtra, before the Election Commission with regard to claim over the party and its symbol and in Parliament.

The fresh plea challenged the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker to recognise Shewale as Shiv Sena's floor leader at the instance of the Shinde faction.

The Uddhav group terms the action of the speaker as illegal and arbitrary alleging that the Shiv Sena leader and its chief whip in the Lok Sabha were removed unilaterally.

2:25 PM

Political leaders, ministers should ask their followers not to put up illegal hoardings, says HC

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said the menace of illegal hoardings can be stopped if political leaders and ministers, whose pictures are displayed on them, urge their followers not to do so.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik said that if political leaders and ministers indulge their followers, then such illegal hoardings will continue to be put up everywhere.

"Ministers and political leaders whose pictures are placed in these hoardings should go to the public and ask them not to do this. They (public) will listen to them," the court said.

1:48 PM

Indian IT sector top revenue generator, job creator

The already buzzing Indian Information Technology (IT) sector got a shot in the arm when the industry body National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) predicted that the sector will grow twice as much the Indian gross domestic product (GDP) in the last financial year.

It is around $227 billion industry, which added 4.5 lakh new jobs to take the overall direct employees to 50 lakh people. Over 44 per cent of the new hires were women and their overall share is now 18 lakh.

The IT industry grew over 15 per cent in the last financial year 2021-22 (April-March).

The Central government's flagship Digital India mission has also given necessary impetus to the IT industry in the country.

1:47 PM

He has already apologised, Sonia on Adhir Ranjan's 'Rashtrapatni' remark

Amid the ruling party seeking an apology from Sonia Gandhi over Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's 'Rashtrapatni' remark, the Congress president on Thursday said that he has already sought forgiveness.

A full scale controversy erupted after BJP MPs demanded an apology from Gandhi on the alleged derogatory remarks made by Chowdhury, the Congress floor leader in Lok Sabha, on President Droupadi Murmu.

When asked, Sonia Gandhi said that "he has already apologised" and called for an all-party meeting.

1:43 PM

India's Q2 gold demand rises 43 pc to 170.7 tonnes: WGC

India's gold demand went up by 43 per cent during April-June quarter, but going ahead factors like inflation, Rupee-USD rates and policy measures among others are likely to influence consumer sentiments, says a report.

According to a World Gold Council (WGC) report, India's April-June quarter gold demand stood at 170.7 tonnes, higher from 119.6 tonnes during the corresponding quarter in 2021.

In terms of value, India's gold demand increased by 54 per cent during the second quarter to Rs 79,270 crore, compared to Rs 51,540 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2021, the WGC Gold Demand Trends Q2 2022 report said on Thursday.

12:57 PM

Rajya Sabha: 3 more opposition MPs suspended for 1 week

Three more Rajya Sabha members were suspended on Thursday for a week for "disrupting" the House proceedings and showing "utter disregard" to the Chair.

The three suspended members are Sushil Kumar Gupta, Sandeep Kumar Pathak and Ajit Kumar Bhuyan.

With this, 23 members from the Opposition are now facing suspension.

The House proceedings were adjourned for till 2 p.m. amid ruckus from the Opposition benches.

12:56 PM

Japan discusses regional defense in rare visit to Taiwan

A group of Japanese lawmakers including two former defense ministers met with Taiwan's president on Thursday in a rare high-level visit to discuss regional security.

 

The delegation, led by lawmaker and former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said it wanted to reach an agreement with Taiwan on defense issues and prepare for any potential conflict in the region, while also seeking to prevent conflict from breaking out.

 

12:56 PM

Aarey forest: SC agrees to hear plea against tree felling on Friday

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea challenging the cutting of trees in Mumbai's Aarey colony for a Metro car shed.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant said it would take up the plea after senior advocate Gopal Shankarnarayan mentioned the matter.

Shankarnarayan said cutting of trees is going on overnight despite the stay order earlier.

"We have photographs.The CJI said it will be heard by this bench. Can it be listed tomorrow?" Shankarnarayan said, adding JCBs would be operated over the weekend and the matter requires urgent hearing.

The top court then agreed to hear the matter on Friday.

12:20 PM

Modi, Amit Shah images on OPS camp's hoarding in TN throws a surprise

Life-size portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah forms part of a huge hoarding put up by here on Thursday by the rebel AIADMK camp and it has raised many eyebrows in the political arena.

The hoarding, featuring Modi and Shah has been put up here by the rebel AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam's (OPS) camp. OPS has been making fresh appointments to 'party posts' and the hoarding is a publicity initiative by the supporters of new appointees here.

In the billboard, Modi and Shah could be seen waving at people. A smiling, bright image of Panneerselvam is prominently featured in the middle of the hoarding.

12:13 PM

Telangana govt to celebrate 75 years of Independence in grand way

The Telangana government has decided to organise various events celebrating the 75 years of Independence on a grand scale.

 

The events would be held, involving people in a big way, in the state capital and also all the district headquarter towns for a fortnight.

 

Ruling TRS MP and chairman of the Independence diamond jubilee celebrations committee K Keshav Rao held a meeting with the members of the panel on Wednesday.

 

12:01 PM

Cong MP's remark on President Murmu triggers protest in LS

The Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed noisy scenes after BJP members strongly protested against Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's remark on President Droupadi Murmu, leading to adjournment of the proceedings till 12 noon.

As soon as the House met at 11 am, Union Minister Smriti Irani accused Chowdhury of disrespecting Murmu by calling her 'Rashtrapatni'.

Irani claimed that Chowdhury has disrespected the entire tribal community, women, poor and the downtrodden by his remark.

12:00 PM

Apple ropes in Lamborghini executive to help boost EV programme

With an aim to boost its electric autonomous vehicle programme, tech giant Apple has onboarded a veteran Luigi Taraborrelli of car maker Lamborghini, media reports say.

According to Taraborrelli's LinkedIn profile, the executive appears to have left Lamborghini in May, TechCrunch reported citing Bloomberg.

Taraborrelli has worked at Lamborghini for nearly 21 years, most recently leading the development of chassis and vehicle dynamics.

11:44 AM

Task force to be set up to provide guidance to govt on tackling monkeypox

A task force on monkeypox will be constituted to provide guidance to the government on expansion of diagnostic facilities and explore emerging trends related to vaccination for the disease, official sources said on Thursday.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting held on June 26 at the level of principal secretary to the prime minister to review the ongoing public health preparedness and response initiatives against the spread of monkeypox, the sources told PTI.

India has so far reported four cases of monkeypox, with three from Kerala and one from Delhi.

11:37 AM

PM Modi to chair NITI Aayog's Governing Council meeting on August 7

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair NITI Aayog's Governing Council meeting on August 7, where issues related to agriculture, health and economy will be discussed, official sources said on Thursday.

The Council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several union ministers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman of NITI Aayog.

11:19 AM

5G spectrum auctions enter Day 3; 10th round of bidding underway

India's 5G spectrum auctions entered Day 3 on Thursday with tenth round of bidding for airwaves that would power lag-free connectivity and ultra-high speed internet. On Wednesday, the auctions garnered Rs 1.49 trillion as aggressive bidding across multiple bands by players like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel sustained the tempo, and pushed the sale over to the third day.

 

As many as five rounds of bidding were conducted on Wednesday, and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said "good competition" was seen in almost all bands on offer.

 

Vaishnaw expressed happiness at the response received for the coveted 700 MHz band, which did not find any takers in the last two auctions held in 2016 and 2021.

10:43 AM

VVDN Inks Contract with C-DAC to Manufacture India's first indigenously designed HPC server

VVDN Technologies, a global provider of engineering, manufacturing and digital services and solutions, today announced that it has signed a contract with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), a premier R&D organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), for manufacturing of India's first indigenously designed High Performance Computing (HPC) servers 'RUDRA,' in presence of the Hon'ble MeitY Secretary, Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma.

The 'RUDRA' HPC servers, designed by C-DAC, will be manufactured by VVDN under National Supercomputing Mission and is planned to be used in C-DAC's 'PARAM' series of Supercomputers. A wide spectrum of sectors, including High Performance Computing (HPC) systems, hyperscale data centres, edge computing, banking & commerce, manufacturing, oil & gas industry and healthcare, can benefit from the indigenously-built server.

10:42 AM

Some suspended MPs spend night in open beside Gandhi statue in Parliament

Braving mosquitoes and the heat, some of the suspended MPs like CPI's Santosh Kumar, AAP's Sanjay Singh spent the night beside the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex.

TMC's Dola sen and Santanu Sen were present on the site till post midnight

With no permission for a tent granted by the authorities, five MPs slept under the sky as a protest against the suspension of 24 MPs, 20 from Rajya Sabha and four Congress members from Lok Sabha.

10:41 AM

Chhattisgarh: No-trust motion against Congress govt defeated

The no-confidence motion moved by the opposition BJP against the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, where polls are due next year, was defeated by voice vote in the state Assembly on Thursday.

The House witnessed a stormy debate over the no-confidence motion as the opposition members targeted the Congress government over its infighting, Income Tax raids in the state, alleged corruption cases and non-fulfilment of its poll promises.

The treasury benches rejected the charges, claiming the opposition failed to come up with any concrete issues.

10:40 AM

Buffett company discriminated against Black homebuyers

A Pennsylvania mortgage company owned by billionaire businessman Warren Buffett's company discriminated against potential Black and Latino home buyers in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday, in what is being called the second-largest redlining settlement in history.

Trident Mortgage Co., a division of Berkshire Hathaway's HomeServices of America, deliberately avoided writing mortgages in minority-majority neighbourhoods in West Philadelphia like Malcolm X Park; Camden, New Jersey; and in Wilmington, Delaware, the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in their settlement with Trident.

As part of the agreement with the government, Trident will have to set aside USD 20 million to make loans in under served neighbourhoods.

10:16 AM

India logs 20,557 new Covid cases, 44 fatalities in a day

India added 20,557 new coronavirus infections pushing the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 43,959,321, while the active cases increased to 146,323, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

 

The death toll climbed to 526,211 with 44 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

 

The active cases comprise 0.33 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.47 per cent, the ministry said.

 

An increase of 1,297 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

 

According to the ministry, 203.21 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

 

 

10:12 AM

PM Modi on Gujarat visit, to launch dairy plants

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a milk powder plant and interact with women cattle- rearers in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district on Thursday.

The state Assembly elections are due by this year-end.

PM Modi will inaugurate a Rs 305 crore milk powder plant of the Sabarkantha District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Ltd, also known as the Sabar Dairy, located near Himmatnagar town in Sabarkantha, a government release said.

The state-of-the-art plant at the Sabar Dairy has the capacity to produce 120 metric tonnes of milk powder per day.

10:11 AM

J-K highway blocked due to mudslides, shooting stones in Ramban

The strategic 270-kilometres Jammu-Srinagar national highway was blocked on Thursday due to mudslides and shooting stones in Ramban district early Wednesday, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded, officials said.

The debris struck the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country at Mehaar, Cafeteria Moore and Pantiyal areas, thereby blocking the highway, they said.

"People are advised not to travel on Jammu-Srinagar highway without confirmation", a traffic police advisory said.

9:51 AM

Gujarat court likely to pass order on bail pleas of Teesta Setalvad, Sreekumar

A court in Ahmedabad is likely to pass an order on Thursday on the bail applications of activist Teesta Setalvad and former DGP R B Sreekuamr arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame innocent people in 2002 riots cases.

The two accused have denied allegations made against them by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to conduct a probe into the case.

On Tuesday, the court had deferred its order on the bail pleas till Thursday.

Setalvad, and former Indian Police Service (IPS) officers Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt, were arrested by the Ahmedabad crime branch last month under sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence) of the Indian Penal Code.

9:48 AM

Design finalised for Lata Chowk in Ayodhya

Lata Chowk, dedicated to the late legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, will come up in Nayaghat on the Ayodhya bypass road.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while reviewing the development of Ayodhya, finalised the design of the Chowk.

To be developed with a budget of Rs 10 to 12 crore, the design of the Chowk has been finalised after holding an open competition.

The Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) shortlisted the designs submitted by 56 creative minds from 13 different states.

9:47 AM

Thane records 141 new COVID-19 cases; active tally over 800

Maharashtra's Thane district has reported 141 new cases of coronavirus, taking its infection tally to 733,777, a health official said on Thursday.

These new cases were recorded on Wednesday, he said, adding that the district currently has 829 active COVID-19 cases.

The COVID-19 death toll in Thane remained unchanged at 11,927.