LIVE: Punjab govt imposes Rs 12.25 lakh fine in 460 stubble burning cases
The official said as per data till October 7, 1692 incidents were reported by satellite imagery, but during field visits by PPCB officials no stubble burning was observed in 763 cases.
 "Punjab, Haryana announce Rs 2,500 an acre incentive to stop stubble burning")
1,692 cases of burning of paddy straw were reported in the state between September 21 and October 7 this year | Photo: PTI
Punjab Pollution Control Board has imposed a total fine of Rs 12.25 lakh in 460 paddy stubble burning cases in the state, with a senior official on Friday saying that by end of this month one would be able to make a fair comparison whether farm fires have gone up or come down in comparison to previous years.
In 460 cases, we have imposed a fine (environmental compensation) of Rs 12.25 lakh (between September 21-October 7), out of which we have recovered Rs 70,000, PPCB Member Secretary, Krunesh Garg said.
India successfully test-fired the 'Rudram' Anti-Radiation Missile, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), from a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft off the east coast on Friday.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left key interest rates unchanged on Friday as widely expected, while retaining an accommodative monetary policy stance to support the coronavirus-hit economy. The RBI sees India's real GDP contracting by 9.5% in the ongoing fiscal year, and economic growth only turning positive in the final January-March quarter.
S&P 500, Dow track second straight weekly gain on stimulus optimism
Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Friday, setting up the S&P 500 and the Dow for their second straight weekly gain on hopes of more federal fiscal aid and growing expectations of a Democratic victory in next month's presidential election.
Eight of the 11 major S&P indexes were up in early trading, led by materials and information technology. Energy stocks dipped, but were still set for their biggest weekly percentage increase since June.
The S&P airlines subindex edged up 0.1% as U.S. President Donald Trump called for a "skinny" relief bill that would include elements such as direct payments and a bailout to the struggling airline sector.
Govt sees 9 times jump in paddy procurement in Punjab in 13 days
Paddy procurement at minimum support price (MSP) in Punjab, the food bowl of India, rose nine times to 15.99 lakh tonnes in the first 13 days of the ongoing kharif marketing season from 1.76 lakh tonne in the year-ago period, according to the Union Food Ministry.
Paddy procurement commenced in Punjab and Haryana from September 26 due to early arrival of the crop, while in other states from October 1.
More than 80 per cent of the country's paddy crop is grown in the kharif season. The government through Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies undertakes procurement of paddy at MSP.
Farm laws: SAD says will initiate national pro-farmer front
Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said Friday that his party would take the lead to form a "national pro-farmer front" of regional parties against the three pieces of farm legislation passed by Parliament, asserting the laws won't benefit the farmers.
Badal, whose SAD quit the NDA over the laws, said he would personally be involved in the initiative and soon begin meeting representatives of other regional parties in Delhi. He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold direct talks with the farmer organisations who are against the laws and address their grievances with a solution "acceptable to all".
New agri reforms will encourage youths to opt for career in farming: Jitendra Singh
Union minister Jitendra Singh Friday said the new farm-related reforms effected by the Centre will benefit young agricultural entrepreneurs and encourage them to opt for a career in farming.
During an interaction with farmers, sarpanches and activists from Jammu and Kashmir's Doda and Kisthwar districts, he said, the reforms have huge futuristic vision and are aimed at enabling the young educated farmer of today to exercise his options in promoting his entrepreneurship and putting his technical knowledge to the best utility.
As the benefits of these reforms begin to be realised with each passing day, several youths from non-agricultural families will also start looking for a career as start-ups in the field of agriculture, the Minister of State for Personnel said.
Delhi reports 2,860 new Covid-19 cases, tally rises to 303,000; 39 more die
The national capital's cumulative Covid-19 infection count rose to 3.03 lakh with the authorities reporting 2,860 new cases on Friday, while 39 fatalities took the number of deaths to 5,692.
This is the eighth day on the trot that the city reported less than 3,000 new cases. The figure stood at 2,726 on Thursday and2,871 on Wednesday.
Delhi reported 39 deaths on Friday. The fatality count was 37 on Thursday and 35 on Wednesday.
Hearing adjourned in Delhi govt's plea against stay on reserving 80% ICU beds for Covid
The Delhi High Court on Friday adjourned to November 27 the hearing on a petition moved by the Delhi government challenging the stay order passed by a single judge bench on its order directing private hospitals in the national capital to reserve 80 per cent of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients.
A division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan adjourned the matter for further hearing to November 27.
On the previous date of hearing, the court, while issuing notice over the petition moved by the Delhi government, had refused to vacate at this stage the stay imposed by the single judge.
While the hearing in the matter was underway before the division bench, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain had submitted that the government has directed only 2 per cent of the private hospitals to reserve the ICU beds. "We are in the mid of one of the worst pandemics," Jain said.
CBI books HDIL promoters Wadhawans for Rs 200-crore loan fraud in Yes Bank: Officials
The CBI has booked HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, along with other directors and auditors in the firm, in an alleged Rs 200-crore loan fraud in Yes Bank involving Mack Star, officials said Friday.
After registering the case, the CBI searched the residence of Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang in Mumbai, they said.
The agency also carried out searches at nine other premises in Mumbai, including two offices of HDIL, they said.
Bankers, experts hail RBI's growth-oriented policy
Bankers and financial experts on Friday hailed RBI's policy, saying the decision to keep the key repo rate unchanged is an accommodative approach to manage inflation while keeping growth as target, amid the current economic conditions.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) evaluated domestic and global macroeconomic and financial conditions and voted unanimously to leave the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in his policy statement for the bi-monthly monetary policy review.
It also decided to continue with the accommodative stance of monetary policy as long as necessary at least during the current financial year and into the next year to revive growth on a durable basis and mitigate the impact of COVID-19, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward.
New research points to low risk for Covid-19 transmission inflight: IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has demonstrated the low incidence of inflight Covid-19 transmission with an updated tally of published cases.
Since the start of 2020 there have been 44 cases of Covid-19 reported, in which transmission is thought to have been associated with a flight journey (inclusive of confirmed, probable and potential cases), it said. Over the same period some 1.2 billion passengers have travelled.
"The risk of a passenger contracting Covid-19 while onboard appears very low. With only 44 identified potential cases of flight-related transmission among 1.2 billion travelers, that is one case for every 27 million travellers," said Dr David Powell, IATA's Medical Advisor.
Forex reserves up by $3.618 bn to record $545.638 bn
The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $3.618 billion to reach a life-time high of $545.638 billion in the week ended October 2, 2020, the RBI data showed.
In the previous week ended September 25, the reserves had declined by $3.017 billion to $542.021 billion.
During the reporting week, the increase in forex kitty was on account of rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves. FCA increased by $3.104 billion to $503.046 billion in the week ended October 2, the data showed.
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First Published: Oct 09 2020 | 6:54 AM IST