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11:31 PM

Indian Navy on standby in view of approaching Cyclone Biparjoy

As cyclone 'Biparjoy' approaches the coastal region of Gujarat, four ships with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) bricks embarked are on standby at short notice, Indian Navy said in a statement. Biparjoy is expected to make landfall near the Jakhau coast, Gujarat on the evening of June 15 and will traverse all along the Rann of Kutch up to Rajasthan. Five relief teams each at Porbandar and Okha and 15 relief teams at Valsura are on standby to render assistance to civil authorities.

 

11:23 PM

BJP national president JP Nadda meets Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar in Panchkula

10:48 PM

Delhi gets taste of rain after scorching hot day; more predicted later in week

Parts of Delhi, including Dwarka, received rainfall on Wednesday, despite there being no forecast for rains for the day. Delhiites are expected to get some relief from the punishing heat in the next few days with light rains and thundershowers in the offing, the weather office said.

The maximum temperature is expected to be between 36 degrees Celsius and 39 degrees Celsius till June 20, it said.

10:07 PM

Fire breaks out inside Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Internationa Airport in Kolkata

9:49 PM

NIA seeks information of persons involved in attack on Indian High Commission in London

9:29 PM

Tamil Nadu withdraws general consent to CBI to investigate in state

9:24 PM

Delhi to witness thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain, gusty winds: IMD

8:25 PM

Cyclone Biparjoy: Gujarat Minister Praful Pansheriya visits shelter homes in Bhuj, Kachchh

8:24 PM

Monsoon set to advance further from June 18 into southern peninsula, says IMD

The southwest monsoon is set to advance further into the southern peninsula and eastern parts of the country from Sunday after an initial delay in its onset over Kerala. India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said Cyclone Biparjoy has completely detached itself from the monsoonal flow and will have no impact on the progress of the seasonal rainfall system.

 

"Had Cyclone Biparjoy moved north-westwards towards Oman, it would have affected the monsoonal flow," he said.

7:41 PM

Order issued under section 144 of CrPC to prohibit movement of people on beaches

7:18 PM

Sea remains turbulent under impact of Cyclone Biparjoy

7:16 PM

Our ties not transactional but represent solidarity of shared struggle: Jaishankar

6:46 PM

Startups, micro industries will be charged only 20% of testing fees: Piyush Goyal

6:22 PM

Fire breaks out in a coach of Garib Rath Express in Bihar; no casualties reported

A fire broke out in an air-conditioned coach of Anand Vihar-Jaynagar Garib Rath Express near Bihar's Samastipur district earlier today. No casualties were reported.

 

6:06 PM

Cyclone Biparjoy: Akashvani dismantles 90-metre tower in Gujarat's Dwarka

Akashvani on Wednesday said it has dismantled a 90-metre high-transmission tower supported by a guy rope at Gujarat's Dwarka as Cyclone Biparjoy is set to hit the Kutch and Saurashtra regions on Thursday.

"This has been done to prevent any mishap and minimise the damage to life and property in the surrounding areas," an official statement said.

Structural experts from the National Institute of Technology, Surat and the civil construction wing of Prasar Bharati had recommended dismantling the 35-year-old tower in January after a safety audit of the structure.

5:55 PM

BJP leader Suvendhu Adhikari breaks open barricades at State Election Commission Office in Kolkata

5:49 PM

Monitor continuously tur, urad prices; take action against violators of stock limit order: Centre tells states

The Centre on Wednesday directed the state governments to continuously monitor the prices of tur and urad and take action on those violating the stock limit order. This was conveyed in a meeting -- chaired by Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary in the Consumer Affairs Ministry -- to review stock disclosure of tur and urad, and the implementation of stock limits by the state governments. The representatives of the State Food and Civil Supplies Departments, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs) were present at the meeting.

5:35 PM

Cyclone Biparjoy: 33 NDRF teams earmarked for relief and rescue ops in Maharashtra, Gujarat

A total of 33 teams have been earmarked by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to undertake relief and rescue operations in Gujarat and Maharashtra ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone 'Biparjoy' near the Jakhau port in Kutch district, officials said on Wednesday.

While 18 NDRF teams have been placed in Gujarat, one has been stationed in neighbouring Diu in the newly formed Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Diu is encircled by Gir Somnath and Amreli districts of Gujarat in the north and by the Arabian Sea from three sides.

5:11 PM

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal holds meet with Gujarat govt to review preparedness for Biparjoy

4:41 PM

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti visits Tamil Nadu Bhawan in Delhi

4:17 PM

Earthquake of Magnitude 3.4 hits Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtawar

4:15 PM

Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka will be closed tomorrow due to cyclone Biparjoy

3:54 PM

J&K has not seen elections for past 6 years, no party is questioning it: Ghulam Nabi Azad

3:20 PM

Jaishankar meets US NSA Jake Sullivan, discusses preparations for PM Modi's visit

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday met visiting US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan here and discussed the preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to Washington on June 22.

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said: "Great to meet US NSA @jakesullivan46 in South Block today morning. Our conversation focused on preparing for PM @narendramodi's upcoming US visit.

"Also discussed global strategic developments from the perspective of our partnership." Sullivan had arrived on a two-day visit to India on Tuesday on the invitation of his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

2:54 PM

India accomplished journey from red tape to red carpet in 9 years of Modi rule: HM Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said India has accomplished a journey from red tape to the red carpet in nine years of the Narendra Modi government and created a hassle-free business environment, making the country a preferred FDI destination.

Shah also said Prime Minister Modi has unleashed India's aspirations to drive growth in the "nine years of ease of business".

"India accomplished a journey from red tape to the red carpet in the last #9YearsOfEaseOfBusiness. PM @narendramodi Ji introduced an efficient tax system, investor-friendly policy, and easier approvals to create a hassle-free business environment, making India an FDI destination," he wrote on Twitter.

The home minister said whether it is "Start Up India", "Stand Up India", PLI or digital transformation, a whole-of-the-government approach to facilitate growth has spurred innovation and development.

2:50 PM

Governor Purohit part of Centre's conspiracy against Punjab: AAP

The ruling AAP in Punjab Wednesday accused Governor Banwarilal Purohit of playing politics and asked why he has never raised with the Centre the issue of "pending" rural development and National Health Mission funds for the state.

 

Addressing a press conference here, AAP Punjab chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang also claimed that the governor has violated the decorum of the Constitution by not referring to the state government as "my government".

 

The AAP's reaction came after Purohit wrote to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing him of dereliction of Constitutional duty by not responding to his letters.

2:45 PM

Maharashtra: 81,000 students in Raigad district to get free uniform under state policy

As many as 81,000 students of Zilla Parishad and aided schools in Raigad district of Maharashtra will get free uniforms under the state policy, as per an official bulletin.

It said the state government has sent Rs 2.43 crore for the proposed standardised uniform.

"81,000 students including 52,403 girls, 15,912 students from ST category, 3,669 from the Scheduled Caste category, and 9,022 students who belong to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category will get the free uniform," said the bulletin issued by the primary education section of Raigad Zilla Parishad.

2:34 PM

Russian missile strike in Ukraine's south, shelling in east kill at least 6 people

Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight and shelling destroyed homes in the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring more than a dozen others, regional officials said.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said Russian forces have stepped up aerial strikes in their 15-month war against Ukraine, just as the country's troops have reported limited gains in an early counteroffensive.

In the east, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram that at least three people died after shelling destroyed seven homes and damaged dozens more in the cities of Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka.

2:22 PM

UP govt school teachers to be trained in spoken english

Around 8,500 English teachers of 7,000 government and aided secondary schools of Uttar Pradesh will be imparted training in spoken English.

Teachers will be taught the intricacies of spoken English through the 132-module course that has been developed by English Language Training Institute (ELTI), Prayagraj, and is hosted on the Ministry of Education's DIKSHA portal.

The orders in this regard have been issued by Director General, School Education Vijay Kiran Anand to all the joint directors and district inspectors of schools (DIOSs) to coordinate and monitor the training which would begin from June 15 onwards.

1:35 PM

Bengal panchayat polls: Plea in Calcutta HC over violence during nomination

The CPI(M) and All India Secular Front (AISF) on Wednesday filed two separate petitions in the Calcutta High Court against the ongoing violence in the nomination phase for the forthcoming panchayat elections in West Bengal.

After the petitions were filed at the single-judge bench of Justice Rajasekhar Manth, the bench admitted the pleas. The matters will come up for hearing in the second half of the day.

Meanwhile, this morning, the state Election Commission too filed a petition at the High Court challenging the decision of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to appoint its own observer for the forthcoming rural civic body polls in the state.