News updates: Pollution curbs under Grap-3 revoked in Delhi-NCR as air quality improves

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8:15 PM

DGCA suspends Director of Training and Director of Operations at Akasa Air for six months

The DGCA has suspended the Director of Training and Director of Operations at Akasa Air for a period of six months for improperly training pilots. A few days back, the regulator had imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine on the same airline for refusing to give compensation to passengers who were denied boarding by the airline.

7:40 PM

Pollution curbs under GRAP-3 revoked in Delhi and surrounding areas as air quality improves

6:48 PM

JSW Energy Board of Directors approved an acquisition by JSW Energy

JSW Energy Board of Directors approved an acquisition by JSW Energy. The company is acquiring O2 Power for a total enterprise value of Rs 12,468 crore.

5:18 PM

Forex reserves fall to $644.39 billion, down $8.4 billion as of Dec 20

4:53 PM

RBI permits UPI transactions via prepaid payment instruments using third-party apps

The Reserve Bank allowed prepaid payment instruments holders to make and receive UPI payments through third-party mobile applications. It has been decided to enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments from/to full-KYC prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) through third-party UPI applications, the central bank stated.

4:47 PM

Two held with over 58,000 illegal cigarettes in Delhi

Delhi Police arrested two men who were allegedly involved in illegal trade of international cigarette brands in south Delhi, an official said on Friday. Over 58,500 prohibited cigarettes worth Rs 6 lakh were seized from Naresh Gupta (42) and Vijay Gupta (49), the official said. On December 25, a raid was conducted at a shop in Arjun Nagar, run by Naresh Gupta, he said. Authorities seized 3,300 illegal cigarettes from the shop and subsequently a larger cache of 55,200 cigarettes of different brands from his house, the police said.

4:43 PM

China defends plan to build world's largest dam over Brahmaputra River; says will not affect lower reaches

China on Friday defended its plan to build the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet saying that the project will not affect riparian states and safety issues have been addressed through decades of studies. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning played down apprehensions over the massive project estimated to cost around $137 billion being built in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region located along a tectonic plate boundary where earthquakes occur frequently.

4:00 PM

Four eclipses in 2025 but only one will be visible in India: Ujjain observatory

The year 2025 will offer two solar and two lunar eclipses, though only one of these space phenomena will be visible in India, said an official from the Ujjain-based Jiwaji Observatory on Friday.

3:55 PM

Germany's president orders parliament dissolved for an early election on Feb 23

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday ordered parliament dissolved and set new elections for Feb 23 in the wake of the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition. Leaders of several major parties then agreed that a parliamentary election should be held on Feb 23, seven months earlier than originally planned. 

3:48 PM

Shutdown in Katra against ropeway project enters third day, more people join hunger strike

The shutdown in Katra against the proposed Vaishno Devi ropeway project entered its third day on Friday, with more people sitting on the hunger to demand the release of those detained during earlier demonstrations. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti called for a 72-hour shutdown, which began on Wednesday. It announced that all activities in Jammu and Kashmir's Katra would remain suspended during the bandh. 

3:46 PM

News update: Bangladesh national living illegally in Delhi deported

3:34 PM

Female tiger cub found dead in MP's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

A female tiger cub was found dead in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh, a forest official said on Friday. Prima facie, the female tiger cub, aged around one-and-a-half years, died because of a fight between big cats. However, the exact cause of the death will be known after the autopsy report, Panpatha Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Forest, BS Uppal said.

3:08 PM

Endless incarceration without trial falls foul of Art 21 of Constitution: Delhi High Court

Endless incarceration without trial in near future falls foul of Article 21 of the Constitution, the Delhi High Court said recently and granted bail to a man held in a cheating case in 2022. Justice Amit Mahajan said if an accused was suffering a prolonged incarceration without a timely trial in the case, courts would ordinarily be obligated to release them on bail.

 

2:34 PM

One-third of Lok Sabha MPs elected with 30% or fewer votes in 2024: ECI

Around 178 Lok Sabha members were elected with 30 per cent or fewer votes from their constituencies in the 2024 General Elections, up from 125 in 2019, an analysis of data released by the Election Commission of India on Thursday revealed. This represents nearly one-third of the 542 members in Lok Sabha. Read here for more details.

 

2:31 PM

Meghalaya police registers case against man for shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' in Church

Meghalaya Police have registered a case against a man for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of people by trespassing inside a church and shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' at its altar in East Khasi Hills district, an officer said on Friday. The man had entered the Mawlynnong village Church on Thursday and shouted 'Jai Shri Ram' and posted it on social media, the officer said. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has condemned the act and said administrative legal procedures are on in the matter wherein an individual targeted to vitiate peaceful coexistence of the people.

1:39 PM

South Korea's opposition-controlled National Assembly votes to impeach acting leader

South Korea's opposition-controlled National Assembly has voted to impeach the country's acting leader, Han Duck-soo. The assembly approved the impeachment motion in a 192-0 vote on Friday. Governing party lawmakers boycotted the vote. Han, the No. 2 official in South Korea, has been the caretaker leader after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the assembly over his short-lived imposition of martial law earlier this month.

12:58 PM

Air India to see progress on key initiatives in 2025; working towards profitability: CEO Wilson

Air India will see progress on various key initiatives, including refitting of wide body and narrow body planes, in 2025 as well as tighten practices and processes to ultimately become profitable, the airline's chief Campbell Wilson said on Friday.

 

11:56 AM

After UG, DU plans to implement single girl child quota in PG admissions

Delhi University plans to reserve one seat in each postgraduate course for single girl child starting the 2025-26 academic session, for which a proposal will be discussed in the academic council meeting on Friday. The university already reserves one seat per course for single girl child at the undergraduate level, a policy introduced in the 2023-24 admission cycle. Under this scheme, 764 students were admitted across 69 colleges this year.

11:40 AM

News update: SC issues notice to Punjab govt for non-compliance with order on medical aid to farm leader

11:21 AM

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's 'Pragati Yatra to Muzaffarpur, Vaishali cancelled

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's 'Pragati' Yatra to Muzaffarpur and Vaishali districts has been cancelled following the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

10:25 AM

UltraTech to acquire 8.69% in Star Cement from promoters in Rs 851-cr deal

Leading cement producer UltraTech Cement on Friday announced the acquisition of a minority stake of 8.69 per cent from the promoters of Meghalaya-based Star Cement in a deal worth up to Rs 851 crore. Star Cement, having an installed capacity of 7.7 MTPA (million tonnes per annum), has a presence in the markets of north-eastern India and is rapidly expanding in West Bengal and Bihar.

9:33 AM

V-P Dhankhar's Jammu tour rescheduled due to State mourning for former PM Manmohan Singh

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar's proposed visit to Jammu on Friday has been rescheduled due to the State mourning announced by the central government following the passing of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Dhankhar was scheduled to address the convocation of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University.

8:42 AM

Law and order has improved in UP but not 100% safe for women yet: Guv Patel

The Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday said that the law and order situation has improved in the state but there was still time before it could be termed as "100 per cent safe for women". She said that she hoped a day would come when women would debate in the Parliament while their husbands would wait for them at home after preparing a meal.

8:41 AM

Hindu-Americans in US launch B'desh religious violence awareness campaign

Over the next three months, digital billboards at six key locations across the Bay Area, including high-traffic zones and major bridges, will display messages designed to raise awareness

8:31 AM

Delhi residents wake up to light rain, reduced visibility

Light rain lashed several parts of the national capital on Friday morning, as a layer of fog covered the city, resulting in reduced visibility. As per the India Meteorological Department, the lowest recorded temperature on Friday is 12 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature is 20 degrees Celsius. The IMD has predicted a "thunderstorm with rain" for Delhi on Friday and Saturday. With this, more showers are expected to drizzle over the city.