Loan moratorium case LIVE: SC rules out interest on interest, penalty

Supreme Court holds that a complete waiver of interest during the loan moratorium cannot be granted. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the pleas from various trade associations and corporate bodies to extend the six-month loan moratorium period offered by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), adding that a complete waiver of interest during the moratorium could not be granted, either.

The SC said no direction could be issued to the govt or the RBI to announce any particular financial package or relief, and held that it could not issue directions to provide relief to particular sectors over and above others.

Virulent opposition to a bill introduced in the Bihar assembly by the Nitish Kumar government, with a view to giving more teeth to the police force, on Tuesday led to unprecedented turmoil in the House where police was called in to physically evict legislators who had laid siege to the Speakers chamber.

On the international front, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday adopted a resolution against Sri Lanka's rights record, in a setback to Colombo, which made determined efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting. The resolution titled Promotion of Reconciliation Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka' was adopted by the UNHRC after 22 members out of 47 voted in favour of it.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

2:41 AM

BJP, Cong demands rollback of AAP government's new excise policy

The Delhi units of the BJP and the Congress on Tuesday demanded that the AAP government rolls back its new excise policy, that cut the legal drinking age from 25 to 21 years, saying it could ruin the youth of the national capital.

Leading a protest at Shahdara against the new excise policy, the BJP's Delhi unit president Adesh Gupta alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal government is "pushing youths towards alcoholism to increase revenue".

"While the BJP is organising programmes to inculcate the patriotism among youth, the Kejriwal government is them pushing towards liquor consumption," Gupta was quoted as saying in a statement.

At the protest, BJP workers burnt the effigy of Kejriwal.

Gupta wondered whether the Kejriwal government is unmindful of the fact that more liquor shops would not only lead to an increase in the crime rate in Delhi, but also make it the liquor capital.

"Did Delhiites elect him for this day? he posed.

Gupta said in the statement that the right thing would have been for the government to tighten liquor policy to make Delhi safe for women and keep youngsters away from the liquor.

It seems the Kejriwal government values revenue more than the safety of women or saving the youngsters from drinking, he claimed, adding if the chief minister really wants to do something he should provide clean water, fight pollution, lay more sewer lines and improve infrastructure.

Senior Congress leader and former legislator Alka Lamba said the new excise policy of the Delhi government, intended to boost the revenue collection by an additional Rs 2,000 crore, will not only ruin the lives of the youth, but many families as well.

8:35 PM

BJP govt won't allow Bangladeshi infiltrators to enter Assam after returning to power: Rajnath Singh

8:21 PM

DMK President M K Stalin campaigns in Salem for upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly election

7:53 PM

Four people dead in wall collapse at an under-construction building in Gujarat's Surat, say police

7:41 PM

BJP represents true Bengali culture, Mamata anarchy, says J P Nadda

BJP national president J P Nadda on Wednesday asserted that the people of Bengal have decided to vote for his party, which is all set to put an end to the TMC's "politics of extortion".

Nadda, who held a roadshow at Ghatal in Paschim Medinipur during the day, also said that the "BJP, inspired by Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, represents true Bengali culture, while Banerjee and her camp only believes in anarchy".

The BJS if the fore-runner of the BJP. The top saffron camp leader, who occasionally flashed the victory sign and sprinkled flowers on supporters, said he was confident that his party would emerge victorious in the assembly polls. READ MORE...

BJP President J P Nadda

7:31 PM

Will put an end to TMC's politics of extortion, end syndicate raj: J P Nadda at West Bengal election rally

Will put an end to TMC's politics of extortion, end syndicate raj: BJP president J P Nadda at West Bengal election rally.

7:12 PM

Bihar MLAs refusing to allow Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha to step out of his chamber

6:48 PM

Bihar police bill evokes strong protest; unprecedented chaos in assembly and on the streets

6:43 PM

22 AIIMS in different phases of development across country: Govt

Twenty-two AIIMS are in different phases of development across the country, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in 2003, there was only one All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the country in Delhi.

But under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, a policy to add five new AIIMS was framed and in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi evolved a policy to develop AIIMS in every state, he said in a written reply.

"So, from six AIIMS, today there are 22 AIIMS in different phases of development," Vardhan told the House.

6:40 PM

What kind of secular party is Congress; it allies with IUML in Kerala, AIUDF in Assam: Amit Shah

What kind of secular party is Congress; it allies with IUML in Kerala, AIUDF in Assam, cleric Abbas Siddiqui's party in Bengal: Amit Shah

6:39 PM

BJP will win over 200 seats out of 294 in West Bengal, improve its tally in Assam: Home Minister Amit Shah

6:38 PM

Lok Sabha passes The Finance Bill, 2021

6:13 PM

AAP reaches out to opposition to counter bill on Delhi L-G powers in RS

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday approached all opposition parties requesting them to oppose in Rajya Sabha a bill that seeks to make it clear that the "government" in Delhi means the "Lieutenant Governor", party sources said.

They further said that most of the opposition parties support the AAP's stand against the bill and will be raising their voice against it.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday amidst strong opposition from the Congress and the AAP which said that the legislation was "unconstitutional". READ MORE...

Kejriwal

6:00 PM

UNHRC adopts resolution against Sri Lanka's rights record

The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday adopted a resolution against Sri Lanka's rights record, in a setback to Colombo, which made determined efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting. The resolution titled Promotion of Reconciliation Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka' was adopted by the UNHRC after 22 members out of 47 voted in favour of it. Eleven members voted against the resolution.

India was among 14 countries which abstained from voting.

Sri Lanka described the draft resolution as "unwarranted, unjustified and in violations of the relevant articles of the United Nations' Charter" India urged that the government of Sri Lanka to carry forward some process of reconciliation, address the aspirations of Tamil community and continue to engage constructively with the international community to ensure that the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all its citizens are fully protected.

5:55 PM

Govt garners Rs 30,369 crore as dividend from Central Public Sector Enterprises

The government has collected Rs 30,369 crore as dividend from Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) so far in the current fiscal, according to a senior official.

In the revised budget estimate, the government significantly lowered the dividend receipt from the CPSEs to Rs 34,717.25 crore from Rs 65,746.96 crore estimated earlier for this financial year.

5:48 PM

No final call taken on direct cash transfer of fertiliser subsidy to farmers: Govt

The government has not yet taken a final decision on implementation of direct cash transfer of fertiliser subsidy to farmers, Fertiliser Minister D V Sadananda Gowda informed Parliament on Tuesday, according to a PTI report.

However, the government has implemented Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system in fertiliser sector under which subsidy is released to the fertiliser companies on weekly basis, on the basis of actual sales made by the retailers to the beneficiaries through Point of Sale (PoS) devices installed at each retailer shop, he said. About 2.26 lakh PoS devices/ desktop software have been installed at retail outlets across the country. Beneficiaries are identified through Aadhaar Card, Voter Identity Card, etc, he added.

Stating that Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) of fertiliser subsidy to farmers has been under discussion at various forums, the minister said a Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary, set up to develop the broad contours of the DCT framework, recommended setting up of a nodal committee.

5:38 PM

Govt raises tax-free investment limit in provident fund to Rs 5 lakh: FM Sitharaman

Govt raises tax-free investment limit in provident fund to Rs 5 lakh in cases where employers do not contribute: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha.

5:37 PM