LIVE: Russians agree to extend Putin's rule till 2036, predicts poll

Explosion at a boiler in stage -2 of the Neyveli lignite plant killed four people, while 13 were injured in Tamil Nadu. Stay tuned with Business Standard for the latest news of today

1:27 AM

CBI books GVK Group chairman, son for siphoning off Rs 705 cr from Mumbai airport

1:25 AM

Telangana High Court issues notice to govt over policy decision on online classes

1:19 AM

Australian PM announces US $186-bln plan to expand military

Australia will be armed with long-range missiles under a 10-year plan to upgrade the capability and potency of the Australian Defence Force, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

 

At the Australian Defence Force Academy on Wednesday, Morrison revealed the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, and warned of a "poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly" world in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

He committed to spending 270 billion Australian dollars (about US $186 billion) over the next decade, which will expand the plans to acquire sophisticated maritime long-range missiles, air-launched strike and anti-ship weapons, as well as additional land-based weapons.

1:14 AM

Russian voters agree to extend Putin's rule to 2036

Russian voters approved changes to the constitution that will allow President Vladimir Putin to hold power until 2036, but the weeklong plebiscite that concluded Wednesday was tarnished by widespread reports of pressure on voters and other irregularities.

 

With most of the nation's polls closed and 20 per cent of precincts counted, 72 per cent voted for the constitutional amendments, according to election officials.

 

For the first time in Russia, polls were kept open for a week to bolster turnout without increasing crowds casting ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic a provision that Kremlin critics denounced as an extra tool to manipulate the outcome.

 

A massive propaganda campaign and the opposition's failure to mount a coordinated challenge helped Putin get the result he wanted, but the plebiscite could end up eroding his position because of the unconventional methods used to boost participation and the dubious legal basis for the balloting.

1:12 AM

115 notices to schools, residential societies, others to submit structural audit report: NDMC

1:12 AM

Protests threaten exports to Bangladesh from Petrapole border

Shipments to Bangladesh from the Petrapole border were halted for several hours on Wednesday following protests by exporters in the neighbouring country, which demanded that India allow import of their goods.

 

However, some trucks entered Bangladesh through the Benapole border in the evening following a meeting with stakeholders from both sides, an official said.

 

"Bangladesh had stopped imports this morning on grounds that exports from that country were not accepted in India. But, the stalemate seems to have ended after the meeting, as 50 trucks from the Indian side crossed the border," Federation of Indian Export Organisations Chairman (East) Sushil Patwari told PTI.

9:00 PM

Wall Street gains on Covid-19 vaccine hopes, improving economic data

Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday as rising hopes of a Covid-19 vaccine reversed premarket losses, overshadowing fears of another round of lockdowns following a record surge in coronavirus cases in the United States. A Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and German biotech firm BioNTech showed promise and was found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials.

 

Pfizer's shares jumped 4.1% on the news, while BioNTech gained 3%, helping improve the mood on Wall Street after the United States registered 47,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic.

 

Updates on the progress in various Covid-19 vaccine programs are being closely watched by investors, and have been partly responsible for Wall Street's recent rally. The S&P 500 closed its best quarter since 1998 on Tuesday. READ MORE...

 

8:51 PM

Apple blocks updates on thousands of iPhone games on China App Store

Apple has reportedly stopped updating thousands of mobile games on the China App Store under the pressure from the Chinese government to comply with the law of the land, the media reported on Wednesday. According to a report in The Financial Times, Apple has blocked updates on tens of thousands of revenue-generating iPhone games on its App Store in China, news agency IANS reported.

 

"Apple has frozen updates for tens of thousands of mobile games on its App Store in China, as it faces increasing government pressure to comply with local regulations," said the report.

 

China is Apple's biggest App Store market, with sales of $16.4 billion a year, according to data from Sensor Tower. In the US, the figures are $15.4 billion a year. Apple currently hosts roughly 60,000 games in China that are paid for or have in-app purchases.

 

"Apple told mobile game developers in February that their games would need an official license from Chinese regulators from June 30," said the report.

 

According to CNBC, China is the world's largest gaming market. According to market research firm Newzoo, iOS may generate 53 per cent of total mobile game revenue in China which is around $13 billion. The App Store generates more revenue in China than it does in any other country, with the majority of it coming from gaming.

8:38 PM

21% rise in households demanding MGNREGA work in June over May

MGNREGA continues to attract rural labourers pushed into distress due to the Covid-19 crisis triggering calls for increasing the mandatory workdays to 200 and raising the minimum wages under the scheme to Rs 600 per day.

 

Presently, under MGNREGA, the Law guarantees 100 days of work, though the actual days of work provided is much less, while the minimum wages for 2020-21 is around Rs 200 per day. Data sourced from the MGNREGA website till June 30, shows that in June, around 43.7 million households sought work under the scheme that was the highest in last seven years, maintaining a trend seen in May as well.

 

This was, 21 per cent more than the number of households who demanded work under the scheme in May 2020. In May 2020, 36.1 million households demanded work, which was highest for that month in last seven years. Interestingly, in contrast the provisional data showed that in June 2020, MGNREGA provided 382.9 million personday of work which was almost 32 per cent less than last month (May 2020). READ MORE...

8:37 PM

Colleges and universities in Haryana will continue to remain closed till July 31 as per Unlock 2.0 guidelines issued by the Centre: State government

8:37 PM

Maharashtra Covid tally mounts to 180,298 with 5,537 new cases; death toll rises to 8,053

8:31 PM

Delhi reported 2,442 new Covid-19 cases and 61 deaths today; tally rises to 89,802

8:27 PM

Fuel demand gradually returning to pre-Covid levels: Govt

India's fuel sales in June reached 88 per cent of the pre-COVID-19 levels as easing of lockdown restrictions is reviving economic activities, the government said on Wednesday.

 

"The sales of petroleum products in India, the world's third-biggest oil consuming nation, had in April fallen to the lowest since 2007, due to the nationwide lockdown, necessitated to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic," an official statement said.

 

Demand, however, began to revive in May and in June reached 88 per cent of pre-COVID levels, news agency PTI reported.

 

"India's overall petroleum products consumption, which had nosedived in last week of March and April this year, is now steadily getting to its pre-lockdown levels in June, as emanating from the PSUs' (IOC, BPCL, and HPCL) sales figures," it said.

 

At 11.8 million tonnes of consumption, fuel demand in June was 88 per cent of 13.4 million tonnes consumption in June 2019. Petrol consumption of 2 million tonnes in June was 85 per cent of last year's levels, while diesel at 5.5 million tonnes was 82 per cent of normal levels during this month.

 

"With the timely arrival of monsoon and pick-up in agricultural activities during Kharif season, there was marked acceleration in diesel consumption and gained 96 per cent on April volumes of 2.8 million tonnes," the statement said. Demand for LPG fuel continues to rise, with robust growth of 16.6 per cent in June over last year. ATF consumption registered 4-times volume increase from April levels.

8:14 PM

Vacate bungalow by August, govt tells Priyanka as SPG cover is withdrawn

The government on Wednesday asked Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to vacate her bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi within a month following withdrawal of her SPG protection, according to a PTI report.

 

According to an order issued by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, Gandhi was asked to vacate her bungalow on or before August 1 failing which "it will attract damage charges/penal rent as per rules".

The government had in November last year replaced the Special Protection Group (SPG) cover of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, with Z-plus security by the CRPF. The Z-plus security does not entail such a facility and she has to vacate 35 Lodhi Estate bungalow, officials said.

 

8:05 PM

Latest News LIVE update: Tata Motors reports 82% dip in sales in Q1

Tata Motors on Wednesday reported 81.78 per cent dip in its total sales at 25,047 units in the first quarter ended June 30, 2020, news agency PTI reported.

 

The company had sold 1,37,545 units in the April-June quarter of 2019-20. Domestic sales of the company stood at 23,845 units in the first quarter of the current fiscal, down 82 per cent from 1,31,879 units in same period of 2019-20, Tata Motors said in a statement.

 

Amidst subdued demand environment, first quarter was marked by successful transition to BS-VI across the range of commercial vehicles," Tata Motors President, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit Girish Wagh said.

 

There are early recovery signs in a few sectors, and the company looks forward to a gradual pickup in demand on the back of overall economic recovery while continuing to address the challenges of intermittent demand and supply disruptions from COVID-19, he added. The company's commercial vehicle sales during the quarter declined by 90 per cent to 10,476 units as compared with 1,00,357 units in same period of 2019-20.