News updates: Sam Pitroda re-appointed as chairman of Indian Overseas Congress with immediate effect

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10:07 PM

3.2 magnitude earthquake jolts Assam's Karbi Anglong region

8:30 PM

Token distribution for offline registration of Amarnath pilgrims begins in Jammu

The token distribution for offline registration of the Amarnath pilgrims started here on Wednesday, as the authorities successfully conducted dry run of vehicles along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway ahead of the start of the annual pilgrimage later this week, officials said.

 

The 52-day pilgrimage to the 3,880 meter high holy cave shrine of Amarnath will commence from the twin tracks --traditional 48 km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal -- on June 29.

 

The first batch of pilgrims will leave Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for the valley on June 28. Over 450,000 pilgrims had paid their obeisance at the naturally formed ice-shivlingam inside the cave shrine in Kashmir Himalayas last year.

8:29 PM

Earthquake of magnitude 4.5 jolts Manipur

An earthquake of magnitude 4.5 on the Richter Scale struck Manipur on Wednesday evening, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

 

The epicentre of the earthquake was located in the Bishnupur area of the Bankura district at a depth of 25 kilometres, the NCS stated.

 

The earthquake occurred at 7:09 pm, according to NCS.

 

"EQ of M: 4.5, On June 26, 2024, 19:09:32 IST, Lat: 24.49 N, Long: 93.81 E, Depth: 25 Km, Location: Bishnupur, Manipur," the NCS said in a post on 'X'.

8:23 PM

Incessant rains cause extensive damage in Kerala

Houses were damaged, trees uprooted, and water levels rose steadily in rivers and dams across Kerala after heavy rains accompanied by strong winds continued to lash several parts of the state on Wednesday.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) sounded an orange alert predicting very heavy rainfall in seven districts -- Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.

A yellow alert, warning of heavy rainfall, was issued in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram districts, the IMD said in its latest update.

8:22 PM

No injustice will be done to OBCs while giving quota to Marathas: CM Shinde

No injustice will be done to the Other Backward Classes or any other community while giving reservation to the Marathas, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on the eve of the monsoon session of the state legislature on Wednesday.
 

Speaking at a press conference here, he also said the budget of the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP coalition government would benefit farmers, the youth and women.

"No injustice will be done to the OBCs or any other community while giving reservation to the Maratha community," Shinde said.
 

His government had earlier convened a special session to give 10 per cent reservation to the Marathas, he pointed out. 

8:18 PM

Sam Pitroda re-appointed as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress with immediate effect.

8:18 PM

Will talk to INDIA bloc leaders to raise issue of Arvind Kejriwal's arrest: Sanjay Singh

Will talk to INDIA bloc leaders to raise issue of Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, stay on his bail in Parliament: AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.

7:37 PM

Vodafone Idea announces acquisition of 50 MHz of spectrum

Vodafone Idea announces acquisition of 50 MHz of spectrum across low band and mid band spectrum (900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2500 MHz) in 11 circles at a total commitment of Rs. 3,510 Crore, in the spectrum auction concluded today.

7:26 PM

JSW Energy signs PPAs for wind and solar energy projects

JSW Neo Energy Limited signed Power Purchase Agreements for wind and solar projects with cumulative capacity of 1,325 MW comprising of 1,025 MW with Solar Energy Corporationof India Limited and 300 MW with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited. The total locked-in capacity of the company stands at 13.6 GW.

7:26 PM

Terrorists neutralized in an ongoing joint operation

Two more terrorists have been neutralized in an ongoing joint operation in the Gandoh, Bhaderwah sector of district Doda. Arms and ammunition have been recovered from their possession: ADGP Jammu

7:04 PM

Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna asked to appear before court

In the matter of advertisement of ayurvedic medicines of Divya Pharmacy, directors of company, Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, received notice fromCourt of Judicial First-Class Magistrate-IV, Kozhikode to appear in person or through counsel before the Court on July 6, 2024: Patanjali Foods.

6:59 PM

Delhi Court remands CM Kejriwal to CBI custody for three days.

6:46 PM

Govt takes note of report claiming married women not allowed to work for Foxconn; demands report

Ministry of Labour and Employment has taken note of various media reports claiming that married women are not being allowed to work at Foxconn India Apple iPhone plant. In light of these reports, the Ministry has requested a detailed report from the Labour Department of the Tamil Nadu Government.

4:55 PM

Former Foreign Secretary Muchkund Dubey passes away

Former Foreign Secretary Muchkund Dubey died at Fortis(Escorts) Hospital in Delhi on Wednesday due to health complications, one of his friends said. He was 90.

"He was not keeping well for the past few weeks and had been admitted at Fortis (Escorts) heart hospital in Delhi earlier this month. He had heart-related complications and also some other health issues. Prof Dubey died at the hospital today afternoon," his octogenarian friend Manoranjan Mohanty told PTI. The veteran diplomat served as India's foreign secretary during 1990-91

4:52 PM

Sri Lanka finalises debt restructuring deal with creditors

Sri Lanka's government has finalised a long-delayed debt restructuring agreement for $5.8 billion with its bilateral lenders, including India and China, in Paris to meet a key condition of an IMF bailout. This was announced by President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office, which said the deal grants debt relief allowing Sri Lanka to allocate funds to essential public services.

4:35 PM

Kerala Assembly passes resolution condemning irregularities in tests held by NTA

The Kerala Assembly today unanimously passed a resolution condemning the irregularities in the entrance exams, NEET and NET, conducted by the National Testing Agency and demanding that the Centre take urgent steps to address grievances of affected candidates. Both the ruling LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF were in agreement that the recently reported irregularities in the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams call into question the National Testing Agency's (NTA) credibility.

4:27 PM

Karnataka sex crimes news update: Prajwal Revanna's bail plea rejected by Bengaluru court

Karnataka sex crimes accused Prajwal Revanna's bail petition has been rejected by a Bengaluru court.

4:20 PM

Since there is no basis for a case against Kejriwal, they wanted to plant some news and sensationalize it: AAP

"The court has not given the order yet, the judge will sit again at 4:30 pm and then the order will be given. Today the CBI tried its best because there is no case, they wanted to plant some news and sensationalize it. The biggest issue is that CBI has had these 50 thousand documents for 2 years, they never called Arvind Kejriwal. When did Arvind Kejriwal become the accused from being the witness?...The court has reserved its decision...The CBI has not presented anything new which they have not had for a long time, so this was a direct political conspiracy that Kejriwal ji should not come out, so today an attempt is being made to arrest him through the CBI," AAP leader Reena Gupta stated today.

 

4:09 PM

Whole system trying to ensure Delhi CM doesn't get bail, this is dictatorship: Sunita Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita on Wednesday alleged the whole system was trying to ensure that her husband does not come out of jail and stressed that all this is akin to "dictatorship" and "emergency".

3:46 PM

1 terrorist killed in gunfight with security forces in J-K's Doda

One terrorist was killed after a shootout between terrorists and security forces in Gandoh area of Doda district . Two other terrorists are still engaged in the gunfight, police said. "One terrorist has been killed in the ongoing encounter,"  Vijay Kumar, additional director general of police, said.

3:35 PM

Opposition boycotts Maharashtra CM's tea party on eve of monsoon session

Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi boycotts Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's tea party on eve of monsoon session of state legislature.

3:07 PM

Centre is creating obstacles for Delhi govt, is using CBI to frame CM Kejriwal: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav

After visiting Delhi Water Minister Atishi at the LNJP Hospital, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Yadav said the problems of chief ministers have increased ever since the BJP came to power at the Centre. "The Centre has discriminated against the Delhi government and Chief Minister Kejriwal the most. Kejriwal formed the government and worked to improve health, education and other facilities but the Centre is creating obstacles," Yadav said.

2:43 PM

UP court orders personal appearance of Rahul Gandhi on July 2 in defamation case

A court in Sultanpur today asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on July 2 in a defamation case filed against him for alleged objectionable remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah. 

2:34 PM

News update: Court reserves order on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, order likely this evening

A Delhi court reserved order on CBI's plea seeking 5-day custody of Delhi CM Kejriwal in the liquor policy case.

2:09 PM

BJP went into panic mode and got Kejriwal arrested by CBI in fake case: AAP

The AAP  claimed today that when there was a possibility of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal getting bail from the Supreme Court in a money laundering case, the BJP panicked and got him arrested in a "fake case" by the CBI. Earlier in the day, a Delhi court allowed the CBI to formally arrest Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case. In a post in Hindi on X, the AAP said, "The dictator crossed all limits of cruelty!! Today when there was every possibility of Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal getting bail, the BJP went into panic mode and got Kejriwal arrested by the CBI in a fake case." 

1:23 PM

Was bound to happen; under Kejriwal's supervision, a 'big scam' was committed, says Delhi BJP

The Delhi BJP today stated that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was bound to be arrested by the CBI in the excise policy case as the agency had presented incriminating documents against him in court. The documents presented before the court in the excise policy "scam" established that Kejriwal was the "mastermind" behind it, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed. The excise policy was formulated under his supervision and a "big scam" was committed, he added. 

1:16 PM

CBI seeks 5-day remand of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

The CBI sought 5 days remand of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for custodial interrogation. The agency argued that it needs to confront CM Kejriwal with documents.

12:45 PM

CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested by CBI; Supreme Court to hear bail plea: Details

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was taken in custody by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the excise policy case. The Supreme Court is also scheduled to hear CM Kejriwal’s petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to temporarily halt his bail. Read here for a detailed story. 

12:38 PM

Tamil Nadu Assembly urges central govt to take up caste-wise census

The Tamil Nadu Assembly today passed a resolution urging the Centre to take up caste-based census soon. The resolution piloted by Chief Minister M K Stalin said the central government should immediately commence the census work, which is due from 2021, along with caste-based population census this time.

12:28 PM

CM Kejriwal's confidant Vijay Nair was given responsibility to coordinate, CBI claims in court

CBI's SSP Singh said that CM Kejriwal's close confidant Vijay Nair was given the responsibility to manage the whole setup. Singh added that GoM report was prepared by the South Group and the same had gone to LGs office. He added that a team from the South had come to Delhi on a private flight.