Highlights: Ex-CM Yediyurappa can't be arrested in sexual assault case till next hearing, says court

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7:45 PM

'Bakra Mela' near Jama Masjid becomes hub of goat shopping, prices as high as Rs 10 lakh

The Meena Bazaar area near Jama Masjid here at the heart of the national capital transforms into a bustling hub of Bakrid shopping, attracting throngs of buyers to its famed 'Bakra Mela'.
 

Typically lined with garment shops, the area is cleared for the 10-day 'mela' held in the lead-up to Bakrid, which will be celebrated this year on June 16-17.
 

The 'mela' teems with activity with countless goats around, priced at Rs 25,000 and above. But one of them stands out with inscriptions of 'Allah' and 'Muhammed' on its coat — two of the most venerated words for many in the Muslim community — and could be sold for as high as Rs 10 lakh.
 

The owner of the goat, Mohammad Talim, said: "These rare goats are priceless because they have Allah's name written on them. There has been a bid from Mumbai for Rs 10 lakh but we haven't set a fixed price. We will sell it to whoever bids the highest." 'Qurbani' or sacrifice is an important part of Bakrid and is a gesture of gratitude to Allah by Muslims who share the meat with family, friends and the less fortunate.

7:00 PM

Politics live: Akhilesh exhorts SP workers to prepare for 2027 UP assembly polls

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday appealed to party workers and leaders to prepare for the state polls and said the public has ended the politics of hatred with the victory of SP's Awadhesh Prasad from Faizabad Lok Sabha seat.
 

The Faizabad parliamentary constituency falls under the Ayodhya district and Prasad defeated BJP's Lallu Singh by a margin of about 55,000 votes in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. Uttar Pradesh (UP) will go to polls in 2027.

6:37 PM

UPSC exam: Delhi Metro Phase-III services to start at 6 am on June 16

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced that train services on Phase-III sections will be available from 6 am on Sunday in view of the upcoming UPSC examination.
 

Metro train services on Phase-III sections, which usually begin at 8 am on Sundays, will begin at 6 am on June 16, Anuj Dayal, the DMRC's principal executive director (corporate communication), said on Friday.
 

This arrangement is being made to facilitate the candidates appearing for civil services (prelim) examination held by the Union Public Service Commission UPSC, he added.

6:00 PM

Leave voluntarily or get terminated, Paytm HR to affected employees

After Byju’s, it is now the turn of India’s most famous fintech player Paytm to lay off its employees. 

 

Employees are in a tight spot with the company asking several of its workforce to resign voluntarily and exit as it aims to finish the process within a month’s time. 

 

Some of the verticals that have got most impacted include Paytm Payments Bank, Payment Gateway (PG) business, lending, promotions, ONDC, offline payment among others. 

 

This comes amidst months-long effort to trim the workforce, during which human resources (HR) personnel have verbally informed employees of their role redundancies, urging them to resign voluntarily or face termination.

 

“The most impacted is tech and product since they have fat packages. They were hired on high packages after the pandemic. Some employees have voluntarily resigned to ensure their teams are saved,” one of the impacted employees said, requesting anonymity.  

 

“Our notice period begins only when we voluntarily resign. However, there is a blatant disregard for that since the HRs are under pressure to wrap this up as early as possible,” one of the affected employees said. 

 

Meanwhile, employee requests for written communication indicating dismissal from services are being turned down by HRs at the company.

5:57 PM

SBI sanctioned 20,000 digital small biz loans up to Rs 50 lakh since Dec: Official

State Bank of India (SBI) has sanctioned around 20,000 loans of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for small businesses as part of a digital lending pilot that started in December, a senior official said on Friday.
 

Having been satisfied with the results of the pilot, under which a customer can get a loan sitting at home, the country's largest lender is now broadening the loan amounts to Rs 5 crore, Deputy Managing Director Surendra Rana said at a banking conference organised by IMC here.
 

"We rolled out the Rs 10-50 lakh model in December and I am happy to share that we have already sanctioned around 20,000 loans through this process and this is working very smoothly. Now, we are escalating it to Rs 5 crore," he said.
 

A customer journey starts with scanning a QR code from anywhere, grants some approvals and SBI uses data repositories to come back with a sanctioned amount in a maximum of five days, he said.

5:42 PM

Global trade: Imports from Iraq up 58.68% to $3.76 bn in May

India's imports from Iraq rose 58.68 per cent to $3.76 billion in May, while from the UAE, the country's inbound shipments increased by about 50 per cent during the month, according to the commerce ministry data.
 

Similarly from Russia, the imports rose by 18 per cent to $7.1 billion on account of oil imports.
 

The data showed that the inbound shipments from China during the month were 2.82 per cent higher at $8.48 billion.
 

Among the top 20 import source nations of India, imports from Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia and Malaysia recorded negative growth in May.
 

On the export front, India's exports to South Africa, Italy, Nepal, Belgium and Australia recorded a negative growth rate during the month under review.
 

However, exports to the US, the UAE, the Netherlands, the UK, Singapore and Saudi Arabia have recorded positive growth.

5:14 PM

Karnataka HC directs police not to arrest ex-CM Yediyurappa in POCSO case

The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed ex-CM Yediyurappa to appear before CID in POCSO case on June 17. 

4:54 PM

Pawan Kalyan set to be Andhra Pradesh deputy CM as CM Naidu hands out portfolios

The actor-turned politician bagged the victory from Pithapuram Assembly constituency in the recently concluded elections.

4:52 PM

Anna Hazare must raise voice against scams in Maharashtra, country, says Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut today stated that anti-graft activist Anna Hazare must highlight scams across the country, including the one allegedly linked to electoral bonds.Raut was referring to reports that said the  leader would challenge the police closure report in the alleged crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) in which Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was among the accused.

4:40 PM

IMD weather update: Heatwave alert issued for Delhi for next five days

The current spell of heatwaves in Delhi is expected to persist for the next five days. Read here for more details.

3:47 PM

News update: NEET aspirants demand paper leak investigation

3:45 PM

Junaid Khan-starrer 'Maharaj' doesn't drop on Netflix after Gujarat HC stays release

YRF Entertainment's "Maharaj" did not premiere on Netflix on Friday as scheduled after the Gujarat High Court stayed its release following a petition by members of a Hindu sect who claimed the film would hurt their religious sentiments.

The film, in which Aamir Khan's son Junaid Khan makes his debut, caught the attention of social media users on Wednesday with hashtags such as "Boycott Netflix" and "Ban Maharaj Film" trending on X.

3:36 PM

NEET scam is Vyapam 2.0, says Congress

The Congress today questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" on the matter and stated that only a Supreme Court-monitored forensic probe can safeguard the future of lakhs of young students. "If the paper was not leaked in NEET then -- why were 13 accused arrested in Bihar due to paper leak? Did the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Patna police not expose the payment of Rs 30 lakh-Rs 50 lakh to the education mafia and organised gangs involved in the racket in exchange for papers?" he said in a post in Hindi on X.

3:04 PM

Finance ministry invites industry views on tax rates, laws

The Finance Ministry has invited suggestions on direct and indirect taxes and changes in laws to reduce compliances for the 2024-25 Budget from trade and industry associations. The suggestions are to be sent to the ministry by June 17 and the full budget for 2024-25 is expected to be presented in Parliament in the second half of July.

2:58 PM

News update: Kerala CM, Suresh Gopi and others pay homage to victims of Kuwait fire tragedy

2:34 PM

Delhi news update: Over 50 shops gutted in Chandni Chowk fire

The blaze broke out in Chandni Chowk's Old Katra Marwadi Market around 5 pm on June 13. There were no casualties. Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg said the fire was brought under control at 4.30 am. "Eight fire tenders have been deployed for the cooling operation. Over 50 fire tenders and 200 personnel worked through the night to control the blaze," he added.

2:19 PM

Water production in Delhi is continuously decreasing: Delhi minister Atishi

Water production in the national capital is decreasing continuously as less water is reaching the Yamuna river here, Delhi Water minister Atishi said today. "Due to less water reaching Yamuna, water production in Delhi is continuously decreasing. Under normal circumstances, 1005 MGD of water is produced in Delhi, but it has been continuously decreasing since last one week," she said in a post on X in Hindi.

2:03 PM

Heavy rain, landslides kill 6 in Sikkim

Six people have died this week and around 2,000 tourists stranded in Sikkim in landslides and floods after incessant rainfall, officials said today. Another four people have been killed in Nepal's Taplejung district,  after a landslide following rains swept away the house in which they were sleeping.

1:28 PM

Fire breaks out at Kolkata's Acropolis Mall, several fire engines at spot

Officials launched a rescue operation after a massive fire was reported at a mall at Acropolis mall in east Kolkata.  At least 10 fire tenders were on the spot to control the blaze.

1:23 PM

RSS chief Bhagwat on Uttar Pradesh tour, likely to meet CM Yogi Adityanath

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is likely to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur on the sidelines of a training camp being organised by the Sangh in the eastern UP district, according to reports.

1:13 PM

NEET-UG case: Supreme Court seeks response of central govt, NTA on plea for CBI probe into ‘irregularities'

Amid the row over the NEET-UG, the Supreme Court today sought responses from the central government and the NTA on a plea seeking a CBI probe into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in the exam.

1:08 PM

NIA raids: Searches conducted at multiple locations linked to suspected CPI (Maoist) OGWs

The National Investigation Agency conducted searches at multiple locations linked to suspected overground workers (OGWs) of banned outfit CPI (Maoist) in Chhattisgarh, an official statement stated today. The searches were conducted on Thursday in connection with a CPI (Maoist)-led IED attack on a poll party convoy during the 2023 Chhattisgarh Assembly elections in the left-wing extremism-affected state.

12:39 PM

Five killed, 20 injured as tractor-trolley carrying devotees overturns in Madhya Pradesh

The tractor-trolley carrying devotees to a temple overturned in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district in the early hours today, police said. The victims were on their way to the Ratangarh Mata shrine when the vehicle veered off the road, overturned and plunged 15 feet into a channel

 

12:19 PM

Those who became arrogant stopped at 241 by Lord Ram: RSS leader's dig at BJP: RSS leader Indresh Kumar

RSS leader Indresh Kumar attributed the saffron party's below-par performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls to "arrogance." Speaking at an event at Kanota Thursday, RSS leader Indresh Kumar said: "Those who did bhakti of Lord Ram gradually became arrogant. That party was declared the biggest party but were stopped at 241 by Lord Ram due to arrogance."

11:55 AM

News update: SC says NTA's plea seeking transfer of cases on NEET-UG to top court will be taken up on July 8

11:45 AM

Remove encroachments on banks of rivers, ponds: CM Yogi to officials

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed officials to remove encroachments on the banks of rivers and ponds. "There are encroachments on the banks of Ramganga river in Moradabad. A similar situation can be seen in Kashi, Saharanpur and other districts," the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a post on X quoting Adityanath. 

11:30 AM

Kuwait Fire Tragedy LIVE: Mortal remains of 45 Indian victims being taken out of aircraft

On June 13, officials in Kuwait identified the bodies of 45 Indians and three Filipino nationals killed in the tragic fire incident in a  seven-storey building housing foreign workers. 

11:01 AM

Delhi water crisis: Two tankers seized for stealing water from Munak canal in Delhi

"We have seized two water tankers for stealing water from the canal. One tanker was seized from 'kacchi sadar' near an agricultural field and the other from D-Block, DSIIDC. We have registered two cases under the Environment Protection Act at Bawana and NIA police stations," a senior police officer said.

 

56 police personnel are guarding the canal in shifts, he added.

10:44 AM

Told me to carry out constituency work intensively: BJP's Soundararajan clears row over interaction with Shah

BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan clarified that senior party leader Amit Shah asked her to "carry out political and constituency work intensively", after a video of her interaction with the Union home minister surfaced on social media.

10:19 AM

Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Yusuf Pathan gets notice for ‘encroachment'

The BJP-ruled Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) in Gujarat has sent a notice to former India cricketer and newly elected Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP Yusuf Pathan for allegedly encroaching on a plot of land the civic body said belongs to it.