LIVE news updates: India committed to strengthen ties with UN, says EAM

Live news updates: The world in our view is one family today, said EAM Dr S Jasihankar

10:30 PM

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission crosses 10 million digitally linked health records: Mandaviya

India achieves another milestone in its digital health journey. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission crosses the landmark of 10 million digitally linked health records with over 2.7 million records linked in a day, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday

9:18 PM

Delhi reports 71 new cases, 95 recoveries

9:09 PM

Maha CM appoints guardian ministers of districts, Dy CM Fadnavis to be in charge of several Vidarbha areas

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday appointed guardian ministers of districts in the state, with his deputy and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis getting charge of several areas of Vidarbha.

Fadnavis will be guardian minister of Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Akola, Bhandara and Gadchiroli.

School education minister Deepak Kesarkar will be guardian minister of Mumbai city and Kolhapur. while the metropolis' suburban district will be under the charge of tourism minister Mangalprabhat Lodha.

6:45 PM

India stands committed to strengthen its partnership with United Nations: S Jaishankar

India stands committed to strengthen its partnership with United Nations to ensure a brighter future for the planet. We've full faith in the principles of UN & its charter. The world in our view is one family today, said EAM Dr S Jasihankar at Showcasing India-UN Partnership in Action on Saturday, ANI reported

6:21 PM

India stands before you poudly as the fifth biggest economy: EAM Jaishankar

In recent days, digital technology has successfully advanced food safety net. Over $300 bn of benefits are distributed digitally, over 400 million people get food regularly & we've administered over 2 bn vaccines, said EAM Dr S Jasihankar at Showcasing India-UN Partnership in Action on Saturday, ANI reported.

 

In the18th century, India accounted for about a quarter of global GDP. By the middle of 20th century, colonialism ensured that we're one of the poorest nations, but in the 75th year of Independence, India stands before you poudly as the 5th biggest economy in the world, he added.

 

5:11 PM

A big part of our defence budget is kept for procurement from domestic vendors: Rajnath Singh

A big part of our defence budget is kept for procurement from domestic vendors. Rs 85,000 Cr allocated for 2022-23. 1/4th of Defence Research & Development budget dedicated to Industries and Research development paving way for new defence technologies&innvoations, said Defence minister Rajnath Singh, ANI reported

 

4:26 PM

Union Home Minster Amit Shah holds a meeting with the state core committee in Kishanganj

4:24 PM

New fisheries policy in making to boost production, exports in MP

Madhya Pradesh Minister Tulsi Silawat on Saturday said a new fisheries policy is in the making to bolster fish production, exports and for the upliftment of fishermen.

Silawat was speaking at the Madhya Pradesh Fisheries workshop 2022 held here.

 

3:28 PM

Assam govt consistently asking Centre to ban on PFI: CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said his government has been consistently requesting the Centre to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI) for allegedly "creating an eco-system for terror activities".

The state police have so far arrested "11 PFI activists" as a part of the nationwide crackdown on the radical Islamic outfit, he said.

3:05 PM

Iranian govt scrambles to contain unrest as it spreads to more towns and cities

The large-scale protests against the Iranian government over the custodial death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was arrested by the country's notorious "morality" police for allegedly violating the strict law on headscarves has reportedly spread to about 80 cities and towns.

 

Hundreds of protesters, mostly women, took to the streets following the death of Mahsa Amini - a Kurd native, chanting anti-government slogans that target the core of the Islamic regime and its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

 

The death toll in the violent clashes with security forces has reached as high as 26, Iranian state TV indicated on Friday. The unrest, said to be the worst in recent years, has also spread to about 80 Iranian cities and towns.

 

At least five security personnel have also been killed and several others injured while trying to confront protesters in Mashhad, Quchan, Shiraz, Tabriz, and Karaj, it added.

 

Amini's tragic death has fuelled an outpouring of long-simmering anger over restrictions on personal freedoms in the Islamic nation.

 

3:01 PM

Himachal voters have made up mind to repeat BJP govt like in UP, Uttarakhand: PM Modi

The voters of Himachal Pradesh have made up their mind to repeat the BJP government in the state as their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand had done a few months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

Modi addressed a rally of the BJP youth wing in Mandi via video-conferencing as he could not reach the venue by helicopter due to inclement weather.

Earlier, the voters in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand followed a tradition of changing the governing party every five years, but they have now given up this practice.

2:58 PM

PayCM row: K'taka CM Bommai says Congress is playing dirty politics

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday accused the opposition Congress of playing "dirty politics" in connection with its PayCM campaign in the state.

If at all there is any issue, it should be spoken directly. They should give evidence, records and it has to be investigated. Without anything in their heads they come to the session this shows their moral degradation, he said.

"This campaign is taken without any morality and mudslinging programme," he stated.

2:55 PM

Maha minister slams Uddhav Thackeray, says MVA govt did not function as per Sena founder's principles

Maharashtra Minister Dada Bhuse criticised former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray claiming that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him did not function as per the principles of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

Bhuse was addressing the Hindu Garva Garjana Samparka Yatra of the Shiv Sainiks (Eknath Shinde faction) at Thane and Dombivili on Friday.

During its two-and-half-year governance, the MVA government did not function as per the principles and teachings of the late Shiv Sena founder, Bhuse said, claiming that only the Congress and NCP had benefitted from the alliance.

2:50 PM

Shashi Tharoor gets nomination forms collected for Cong president poll

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday got the nomination forms for the AICC presidential poll collected from the party headquarters here, all but confirming an electoral face-off for the top party post with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Tharoor's close aide Aalim Javeri collected the forms from the office of the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry at the AICC headquarters here on the first day of the start of the nomination process.

After over two decades, the Congress is set to see a contest for the post of party chief with Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot, who has announced his candidature, expected to take on Tharoor.

2:49 PM

Amazon India customer base from tier 2, 3 cities jumps 2-fold during festive season sale

E-commerce firm Amazon India on Saturday said it has recorded a two-fold jump in its customer base from tier 2 and 3 cities during the first 36 hours of its festive season sale.

Tier 2 and 3 cities accounted for 75 per cent of the total customer base of the e-commerce major during its 'Great Indian Festival' sale, an Amazon India spokesperson told PTI.

"75 per cent of the customers came from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. We saw 2 times more customers from Tier 2 and 3 cities compared to last year," the spokesperson said.

2:45 PM

Adhir writes to Birla, seeks chairmanship for Cong of at least one substantive Parliament panel

The Congress on Saturday urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, citing convention, to ensure the party is given the chairmanship of at least one of the four major substantive parliament committees -- Home Affairs, External Affairs, Defence and Finance.

In a letter to Birla on Saturday, Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged the government is reducing parliamentary committees to a "farce" and said that the "appropriate compensation" for taking away the chairmanship of the parliamentary standing committee on IT from the Congress would be to restore External Affairs to it.

He claimed the government is unprepared to deal with a committee chair doing his work seriously and professionally, and a committee serving as an independent voice expressing views that may not always be to the taste of the government of the day.

2:42 PM

'Elephant corridors', 'Gajamitra' scheme key to cutting WB human-tusker faceoffs

In several pockets in West Bengal, be it Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Bagdogra in the North or Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram in the South, news about human-elephant conflict have been quite common for the last few years.

 

Such conflicts have been on the rise, following the increasing expansion of human establishments to the favourite corridors of the elephants.

 

In the case of North Bengal, the tea gardens and the growing human habitations around them are the main hurdles. In South Bengal, the presence of railway tracks and agricultural fields, among others create obstructions to the hindrance-free passage of the tuskers.

 

2:30 PM

Govt oppression of Muhajirs continues in Pakistan

The oppression of the Muhajir political activists in Pakistan -- Muslim immigrants who migrated from various regions of India after the Partition of India, has continued in the country as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) claimed that three of its party leader were killed by the Pakistan government.

 

MQM-P leader Faisal Sabzwari has said that the three missing persons whose bodies were found in different districts of Sindh province belonged to their party, according to a Canada-based think tank, International Forum for Right and Security.

 

The state oppression against Muhajirs is being continued since the creation of Pakistan and was beefed up in late 90s. To a rough estimate, the ghoulish military has so far executed 30,000 youth of the Muhajir nation.

2:27 PM

Pakistan seeking to reschedule $10 billion worth of debt owed to Paris Club: Report

Pakistan is seeking the rescheduling of $10 billion worth of debt owed to the Paris Club a group of wealthy nations, in a move aimed at creating breathing space for the cash-strapped government which is in the midst of efforts to rehabilitate more than 33 million people hit by devastating floods, according to a media report on Saturday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also requested International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to provide upfront with the remaining loan of nearly USD 3 billion in November this year, The Express Tribune reported Finance Minister Miftah Ismail as saying on Friday.

The debt rescheduling announcement was made by the finance minister through a micro-blogging site to soothe nerves in global capital markets where investors were jittery over news that Pakistan was seeking debt relief covering the entire debt stock including commercial loans.

2:26 PM

Apple set to launch new MacBook Pro models as suppliers gear up

Apple is set to release new MacBook devices next month and suppliers are "gearing up" for the shipments of upcoming laptops.

According to a report in DigiTimes, Apple plans to release new MacBook models in the fourth quarter this year and if we go by the previous announcements, the company normally launches new hardware in the month of October.

This report also said that Apple is gearing up to launch a 15-inch MacBook Air and a 12-inch device by early 2024.

According to earlier reports, Apple is likely to unveil a new MacBook Pro with 5-nanometer chips.
 

2:25 PM

BJP expels party leader after son arrested in Uttarakhand receptionist murder case

The BJP Saturday expelled Vinod Arya and his son from the party a day after the leader's another son was arrested in the murder case of a woman receptionist at a resort in Pauri.

Vinod Arya's son Pulkit -- who owns the resort in Pauri's Yamkeshwar block -- was arrested Friday along with two employees of the resort for allegedly killing the receptionist, who had been missing for the past few days.

The party's media incharge Manveer Chauhan said on Saturday that action has been taken against Vinod Arya and Ankit on the orders of state BJP president Mahendra Bhatt.

2:21 PM

NPCIL's Rajasthan plant to procure 60 pc of goods via GeM in FY23

Public sector nuclear power generator NPCIL's plant in Rajasthan will increase procurement through government's e-marketplace (GeM) up to 60 per cent in FY23.

 

In the financial year 2021-22, the plant procured 40 per cent of its goods and services worth Rs 175 crore through GeM, said Narendra Kumar Pushpakar, director of NPCIL's Rawatbhata plant in Chittorgarh district.

 

Pushpakar was speaking at a one-day conclave of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) held on Friday at the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Rawatbhata.

 

The event was organised by MSME development and facilitation councils of the Union MSME ministry.

2:16 PM

Glenary's to stop serving Darjeeling tea to protest tea garden workers not given bonus at one time

Darjeeling's iconic eatery Glenary's will stop serving Darjeeling tea to protest the tea garden workers in the hills not being given bonus at one time.

Ajoy Edwards, the owner of Glenary's and founder of Hamro party, said in a Facebook post that "will stop drinking and selling Darjeeling tea till they give 20 per cent bonus at one time, to the poorest of the poor in our society, our tea garden workers".

The West Bengal Labour department allowed the planters to pay bonus to tea garden workers in two instalments, 15 per cent before Durga Puja and five per cent before Diwali.

The move to stop serving Darjeeling tea to its customers is for the first time in 110 years of the popular eatery.

2:11 PM

Guterres calls for efforts to close 3 major gaps to end Covid pandemic

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for efforts to close three major gaps to end the Covid-19 pandemic.

First, the booster gap, he said, adding that the coverage remains low everywhere, reports xinhua news agency.

Low-income countries, in particular, are still struggling, with only 35 percent of healthcare workers and 31 percent of older populations fully vaccinated and boosted, he said while addressing a high-level event on ending the pandemic.

2:06 PM

JEE-Advanced toppers continue to head to IIT Bombay, Computer Sc top choice

Sixty-nine of the top 100 JEE-Advanced rank-holders have secured a seat in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, continuing the trend of past several years.

Of these, 68 have chosen Computer Science Engineering while one has opted for "Engineering Physics".

According to statistics available with the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA), 93 top candidates had chosen IIT Bombay as their first preference, and 69 of them made the cut in the first round of seat allocation for the IITs.

1:58 PM

NDA brought stability to policymaking, governance, says PM Modi

Drawing a comparison between the NDA and UPA governments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that NDA is a stable government and brought stability to policymaking and governance.

"For decades, there were coalition governments and an atmosphere of uncertainty if they can perform or not. Due to that, people in the world were sceptical about the country. In 2014, a stable government was elected which brought stability to policymaking and governance," said Modi while virtually addressing the Yuva Vijay Sankalp Rally at Paddle ground in Mandi.

Talking about the recent Assembly elections, Modi stated that even in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, governments used to change every five years but people elected the BJP government again in recent Assembly elections in both states.

1:57 PM

Modi sounds poll bugle in Himachal by boosting morale of youth

Sounding a poll bugle in the poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the people, particularly the youth, have made up their mind for the return of the BJP government in the state.

"The youth of Himachal know that with a clear and honest intention if anyone can develop Himachal, that is only BJP," Modi said in a virtual address to a youth rally named Yuva Vijay Sankalp rally, the first of the three rallies planned ahead of the poll announcement, in Mandi, the district with 10 Assembly segments, the state's second highest, with crowds of people below the age of 40.

Modi had to cancel his visit at the last minute owing to rains.

1:51 PM

Elephants, tigers main victims of rising human-animal conflict

Amidst the governments increased focus on conservation of wildlife, instances of human-animal conflict have resulted in loss of life of both humans and animals over the years.

 

As per the information from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, between 2018-19 and 2020-21, a total of 29 tigers were killed by poachers while the deaths of 197 tigers was under scrutiny. A large number of elephants also died due to various reasons including electrocution and others. The data said that a total of 222 elephants died by electrocution across the country, 45 in train collisions, 29 were killed by poachers and 11 by poisoning during the same period.

 

On the other side, a large number of humans also became victims of the conflict leading to their deaths. Elephants killed 1,579 humans in three years - 585 in 2019-20, 461 in 2020-21, and 533 in 2021-22. So far as the states are concerned, Odisha recorded the highest number of these deaths at 322, followed by Jharkhand at 291, West Bengal at 240, Assam at 229, Chhattisgarh at 183 and Tamil Nadu at 152.

1:45 PM

BJP will not come to power in 2024: Lalu Yadav

RJD national president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday said that BJP will be wiped out from Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

 

While speaking to media at the Patna airport, Lalu Prasad said: "We will wipe out BJP in 2024.

 

An ailing Lalu Prasad, who was in the national capital for his treatment, had returned to Patna last month. He is scheduled to go to Singapore for a kidney transplant on Monday.

1:45 PM

Despite success of Project Tiger, national animal fights for survival

Do you know India once had 100,000 tigers? Over the years, this number kept dwindling as Britishers and the erstwhile maharajas took up hunting. Meanwhile, no comprehensive law was in place to look after the wildlife till the 1960s even as widespread hunting of tigers was reported all over India, says wildlife expert Harshwardhan.

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain along with her consort, Prince Phillip, who visited Ranthambore in the early 60s reportedly to hunt tigers, was hosted royally by the then government, he said.

Then came Project Tiger (PT) in 1973 where the WWF-International assumed a lead role and clueless forest officers adopted a fudging tactic to show increasing tiger numbers.

Even now, things have not changed and the tiger faces yet another challenge -- its forest cover is shrinking thereby increasing man-animal conflict.