In the midst of a public outreach campaign for the upcoming assembly elections, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said he would be happy to work in the Narendra Modi cabinet if asked to.

Speaking to PTI, Fadnavis also said the common people have lost their faith in Congress leadership including former president Rahul Gandhi whose comments on scrapping of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir were latched on by Pakistan.

"....If asked, I would be delighted to work in Narendra Modiji's cabinet," Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis was responding to a query on his future step in case he was asked to work in the Central government by the party leadership assuming that it was happy with his work as chief minister.

Known as the blue-eyed boy of the top BJP brass, Fadnavis had earlier clarified that he would return as the chief minister of the NDA alliance in Maharashtra once again after the elections, due in October this year.

Fadnavis is the first chief minister of BJP in Maharashtra who is just days away from completing his full term of five years, a rare feat in Maharashtra politics.

The CM was on his way to Satara as a part of his 'Mahajanadesh Yatra', which is set to conclude on September 19 in Nashik district and to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When asked about his government seeking another term, the CM said, "We have done work and we are going to the people talking about that work. This yatra is aimed at stirring positive sentiments among people".

When asked about national leaders of various political parties campaigning in Maharashtra during the elections, Fadnavis said there was a difference of understanding and perception among people about leaders of the BJP and the Congress.

"People have lost their faith in Congress leadership, especially in Rahul Gandhi. He does not have the required depth of understanding the consequences of his comments. After the abrogation of Article 370, his comments were used by Pakistan on the international level to validate their claims.Rahul Gandhi should have been very careful about his words," he said.

Fadnavis ruled out any impact of Rahul at the hustings.

"Rahul has lost his credibility to make any promises. I see Maharashtra unit of the Congress in a completely disarray. One leader of the Congress has no idea about others. In such case, how can they even put up a fight with us," he said. 

A university in Pakistan has segregated male and female students by prohibiting them from sitting together in classrooms and forming academic work groups, according to a media report.

 

The Bahria University, in a notification issued by the registrar, also directed varsity authorities to arrange separate leisure visits for male and female students, and to discourage the formation of groups for academic work with both male and female members, the Geo News reported. 

 

The bizarre notification also ordered the university administration to minimise the movement of students from one building to another in the university. 

The university has also decided to abolish breaks available to students between classes.

 

It is not immediately clear whether the notification will be applicable across all the Bahria University campuses in the country, or is specific to just one campus or city, the report said. -- PTI  

Senior Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to visit his home state to enquire about the well being of his family members.

 

His plea is scheduled to be taken up by a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer on Monday.

Azad has sought a nod from the top court to visit his family members and relatives. 

He had tried to visit the state after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status but was sent back from the airport by authorities.

In his petition before the top court, he has also sought permission to check on social conditions in the state after the clampdown imposed by the authorities in the aftermath of revocation of provisions of Article 370. 

Several opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, had sought to visit Jammu and Kashmir, but were not allowed to do so and were sent back from the airport itself.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury had moved the apex court to see his ailing party colleague Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami,  which allowed him to pay a visit but with certain conditions.

The top court had on September 5, allowed former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's daughter Iltija to meet her in Kashmir, where she is under detention following the revocation of the state's special status. 

The top court had allowed Iltija to meet her mother in private but said that as far as moving around in other parts of Srinagar goes, she can do so subject to the permission from district authorities. -- PTI 

Nearly two dozen terrorists are present in  Srinagar and its periphery and even openly threatening shopkeepers in some areas, raising serious concern in the security establishment, according to officials.

 

However, security forces are taking all precautions to ensure that the terrorists do not use the situation to cause any flare-up as in the past incidents of stone pelting by youths have occurred during anti-insurgency operations, they said.

 

There have been only stray protests since the government imposed severe restrictions on communication channels and movement of people after it announced its decisions to abrogate the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir and split the state into two Union territories on August 5.

 

Restrictions have subsequently been eased, but the situation in Kashmir Valley seems "far from normal", particularly with a high presence of terrorists, they said.

 

At many places in Downtown Srinagar, the terrorists have been seen roaming freely and even warning shopkeepers to keep their shops shut and adhere to their diktats, the officials said.

 

Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh did not rule out the possibility of presence of terrorists but said to claim that they are roaming freely "is an exaggeration".

From interactions with several officials of the state as well as the Centre, it is estimated that around two dozen terrorists are well-entrenched within the city limits, while their movement and visibility in rural areas have become a routine.

 

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said counter-insurgency operations have taken a severe hit ever since August 5 when the government announced its decisions on Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Only two operations have taken place since August 5 -- one in Baramulla on August 20 and another chance encounter in Sopore on September 9.

 

The terrorists have erected blockades in certain parts of the city, including in areas adjoining Anchar Lake and Soura.

 

The officials said that the administration has ensured that there is no civilian death till now and apprehends that any strong action may provide a trigger for violent protests.

 

Search-and-cordon operations and imposition of night restrictions in the city area had ended in early 2000s and it had been declared as militancy free in 2012, they said.

 

The officials believe the terrorists have "a deeper game plan" as the violence level has come down despite their "heavy presence".

 

At many places in the city, including the highly secured Civil Lines areas of Raj Bagh, Jawhar Nagar and Lal Chowk, shopkeepers were threatened at gunpoint to keep their shops shut and ensure a complete hartal.

 

The shopkeepers and some media outlets have also been asked to keep their peripheral CCTV cameras off, the officials said.

 

In the insurgency-hit areas of Shopian, terrorists burnt down an automobile workshop as it was repairing vehicles on Saturday, they said. -- PTI 

Thushar Vellapally, president of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, a coalition partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Deomcratic Alliance in Kerala, arrived in Kochi on Sunday, a week after he was cleared of all charges by a UAE Court in connection with a cheque bounce case.

     

Vellapally, who is also vice president of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, an outfit of Kerala's numerically strong Hindu Eazhava community, was arrested last month in the UAE in connection with the Rs 19 crore cheque bounce case.

    

He was cleared of all charges in the case by the UAE court a week ago.

     

The arrest was based on a complaint from N Abdullah, a Thrissur native, who had worked for Vellapally-owned Boeing Construction Company LLC, that is now defunct.

    

Hundreds of activists of SNDP Yogam and BDJS gathered outside the Cochin International Airport on Sunday morning to welcome Vellapally.

     

BJP leaders including P K Krishnadas also reached the airport to receive him.

     

Later, talking to reporters, Vellapally dismissed BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai's allegations that the BDJS leader was a victim of conspiracy by Kerala's ruling CPI-M and said he had received help from all political parties in connection with the case.

     

Vellapally urged Abdulla to publicly apologise to him for trying to implicate him in a fake case.

     

He said he would initiate legal action against Abdulla if he failed to tender an apology.

     

In his complaint, Abdulla had alleged that Vellapally had issued a cheque of Dh 10 million (around Rs 19 crore) 10 years ago, that had bounced.

     

He was arrested on August 20 at a hotel in Ajman in connection with Rs 19 crore cheque default case.

    

Quashing the criminal proceedings against him citing lack of evidence, the UAE court had said the evidence submitted by the complainant in the case lacks credibility.

     

Vellapally, son of SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan, had unsuccessfully contested as the NDA candidate against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 general elections from Wayanad. -- PTI  

Over 16,000 people from Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur and Neemuch districts were shifted to safer places on Sunday after heavy rainfall caused water-logging in several areas there, an official said.

Heavy showers have been lashing the two neighbouring districts in western Madhya Pradesh since last few days, crippling normal life there.

"Around 13,000 to 14,000 people have been rescued from about 100 to 125 villages in Mandsaur. Some of these villages have been fully vacated while there has been partial evacuation in others," Superintendent of Police Hitesh Choudhary told PTI over phone.

Rescue operations are on in full swing, he said. "We are keeping a close watch on the situation," he added.

Besides, nearly 2,300 people were evacuated from the flooded Rampura town in Neemuch after an alarming rise in the backwater level of Gandhi Sagar Dam in Mandsaur, an official at Neemuch collectorate said.

Rescuers kept a vigil during the night before bringing the flood-hit people to relief camps on Sunday, he said.

Mandsaur received 218 mm rain while Manasa town in Neemuch got 243 mm rain in 24 hours ending Sunday morning, as per the India Meteorological Department's office in Bhopal.

The Mandsaur district received total 1,927.8 mm rain from June 1 till date, against the normal quota of 742.1 mm, the IMD said.

Similarly, Neemuch got total 1,569.7 mm rain so far this monsoon against 706.9 mm of normal quota, it said.

After heavy rains, 19 sluice gates of Gandhi Sagar Dam were opened and 4.93 lakh cusec water was being discharged, the dam project's sub-divisional officer N P Dev said.

The released water was gushing downstream and entering parts of Rajasthan bordering Neemuch, he said.

Union labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar has said there was no dearth of employment opportunities in the country, but recruiters visiting north India complain of lack of "quality people" to fill vacancies, drawing flak from opposition leaders who accused him of insulting people of the region.

 

The comments came amid criticism of the government over India's unemployment rate rising to a 45-year high of 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, data of which was released in May.

"The issue of employment keep figuring in newspapers these days. I am handling the same ministry for labour and employment and examine the issue daily. I have understood the problem," Gangwar told reporters on Saturday in Bareilly, his Lok Sabha constituency.

"Recruiters who visit north India complain of facing dearth of quality people for the posts they need to fill," he added.

The minister's comments drew sharp reactions from opposition with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra saying the government was trying to escape blame for the job losses due to economic slowdown by such "insulting" comments.

"Mr Minister, it has been more than five years for your government. There is no job creation. Whatever jobs were there, they have been snatched due to the economic slowdown brought by the government. You want to escape by insulting North Indians," she said.

"Youths are looking towards the government hoping that it will do something good for them," the Congress general secretary said.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said such comments are laughable.

"After the different laughable statements by different Union ministers on the serious issue of economic slowdown, instead of removing unemployment in the country now it is being said that there is no shortage of jobs, but of competence, especially amongst north Indians.

"This is extremely shameful and an apology should be tendered to the nation," she tweeted. -- PTI 

After Assam, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday announced that the National Register of Citizens will be implemented in the state.

 

"We will implement NRC in Haryana," Khattar told reporters in Panchkula after meeting Justice H S Bhalla (retd) and former Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba at their residences in Chandigarh.

Khattar met them under his party's "Maha Sampark Abhiyan" ahead of state polls in October. 

He had previously too supported NRC implementation across the country.

Interacting with reporters after meeting Justice Bhalla, a retired high court judge, Khattar said, "I met them under Maha Sampark Abhiyan where we meet prominent citizens."

"When we meet, the talk revolves around how to take country forward and other such issues," he said.

He said Justice Bhalla has taken up many assignments after his retirement. 

"He is also working on the NRC and will visit Assam soon. I said that we will implement the NRC in Haryana and have sought Bhalla ji's support and suggestion," he said.

On August 31, the final NRC in Assam was released, leaving out 19 lakh people.

The process of NRC update was started in Assam following a Supreme Court order in 2013 and since then, the apex court has closely monitored the entire process.

However, several political parties, including the BJP in the northeastern state, have voiced their dissatisfaction with the final document. -- PTI

Auto-makers Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors' domestic passenger vehicle market share declined in April-August this year, while Hyundai and M&M witnessed gain in the same period, as per data compiled by industry body SIAM.

 

The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India saw its market share dip by over 2 percentage points during the period under review and slip below 50 per cent in the domestic passenger vehicle segment in April-August.

The company sold 5,55,064 units this fiscal as compared with 7,57,289 units during April-August previous year. Its market share has come down from 52.16 per cent last year to 49.83 per cent in the April-August this fiscal.

Overall PV sales during the April-August of the current fiscal stands at 11,09,930 units as compared to 14,51,647 units.

When contacted MSI executive director (marketing and sales) Shashank Srivastava told PTI that while cars and vans (A and C segment) have performed well, there has been a drop in sales of utility vehicles (B segment).

"This is because of constraint in supply of Ertiga having a large waiting period," he added.

Besides, there is a shift in consumer preference in SUV segment towards petrol where currently the company does not have a variant, Srivastava said adding that MSI plans to introduce petrol variants of Vitara Brezza and S-Cross BS-VI later this fiscal.

Similarly, Tata Motors has reported sales of 60,093 units this fiscal so far as against 98,702 units last year. Its market share has fallen by 1.39 percentage points to 5.41 per cent in the current fiscal as against 6.79 per cent last year.

On the other hand, Hyundai Motor India saw its market share go up by 2.77 percentage points in the April-August this year. The company sold a total of 2,03,729 units this fiscal as compared to 2,26,396 units.

Despite selling less this fiscal, the company's market share has risen from 15.59 per cent last fiscal to 18.36 per cent.

"2019 is a milestone year for Hyundai Motor India as we launched three products in three different segments...the new launches have led to increase in customer traction, footfalls in showrooms and market share," Hyundai Motor India Ltd National Sales Head Vikas Jain said.

Similarly, Mahindra & Mahindra sold 89,733 units this fiscal so far as compared with 1,00,015 units in April-August last financial year, still its market share has risen by 1.19 percentage points this fiscal to 8.08 per cent from 6.89 per cent.

Likewise, Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold 53,977 units this fiscal so far as against 67,051 unitsin the same period previous year. Its market share rose to 4.86 per cent from 4.62 per cent earlier.

Other players like Renault India, Skoda Auto, Volkswagen India saw their market shares increase marginally during April-August this year.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy, who has often criticised the government's economic policies, believes only people with solid grounding in macroeconomics can pull the economy out of its current tailspin. 

 

He is of the opinion that the "government today needs a crisis management team of experienced politicians and professional but politically-savvy economists who are rooted in Indian ethos and not compliant to institutions like the IMF and the World Bank".

Swamy has come out with a book in which he takes a critical look at various aspects of the Indian economy, both past and present.

"Today, the economy suffers from clueless economic stewardship, cloaked in spin, and media management, while the economy is debilitated by serious multiple structural flaws that make this current slowdown unlike any other we have experienced in India since 1947," he writes in Reset: Regaining India's Economic Legacy.

He also believes that many members of government subcommittees have no formal training in quantitative economic logic to be applied in a macroeconomic framework like recognising components of the crisis, identifying optimum measures and enthusing stakeholders.

Does the Modi government 2.0 have contingency prescriptions ready? 

Swamy says it "does not seem so as of now. The solid grounding in macroeconomics is essential"

He is also of the opinion that the slowing of inflation "cannot be celebrated as an achievement in the absence of robust demand signals and weak purchasing power among the masses. It is a form of deflation".

However, Swamy is hopeful India will come out successful, as it has in all crises in the past 72 years and suggests that the situation should be dealt with squarely by means of reforms that incentivise the people.

In the book, the author uses a period of 150 years from 1870 to 2019 to "focus not so much on the historical narrative of India's economic development or the lack of it but on distilling out the consequences of the economic ideology adopted in three main phases" - British imperialism (1870-1947), period when the Soviet command economy model took root (1950-1990), and the period 1991-2019.

Four people have died and more than 30 are missing after a tourist boat overturned in the Godavari River in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

Sources said there were about 60 people, including 11 crew members, in the boat run by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. 

      

The boat started off for the picturesque Papikondalu, a prime tourist destination, from Gandi Pochamma Temple near Devipatnam and it capsized near Kachhuluru, news agency PTI reported.

State Chief Secretary L V Subrahmanyam spoke to East Godavari District Collector Muralidhar Reddy and enquired about the incident.

Helicopters of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been called in to help with the rescue.

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy spoke with officials about rescue efforts.

The Godavari River has swelled in the past few days with over 5 lakh cusecs of floodwater flowing on Sunday afternoon when the incident took place.

A sharp spell of afternoon thundershowers lashed Himachal hill city of Dharamsala ahead of the first T20 International between India and South Africaon Sunday.

        

As per weather forecast, scattered thundershowers are expected during the day.

      

While the match starts at 7 pm, the HPCA Stadium is equipped with quality drainage facility and can prepare the ground for a full 40-over game even if the rain stops by 5 pm.

        

The minimum is a five-over per side encounter for it to be official game. -- PTI

Celebrated author Paulo Coelho has recommended "Sacred Games" to his Twitter followers and lauded actor Nawazuddin Siddqui's work in the Netflix India Original series.

 

Coelho on Saturday took to the microblogging site where he shared the link to the show, which also stars Saif Ali Khan. 

"One of the best series on Netflix, with the great actor @Nawazuddin_S," the bestselling writer said.

Nawazuddin wrote back to Coelho, saying he read his book "The Alchemist" and also watched the film "Veronika Decides to Die" based on the writer's novel of the same name. 

"I have always been an ardent fan of your writing and it's an honour to be noticed and mentioned by someone like you. I don't have words to describe the feeling. Thank you," the actor, who plays gangster Ganesh Gaitonde in the show, tweeted.

Based on Vikram Chandra's award-winning book of the same name, the second season of "Sacred Games" started streaming August 15. -- PTI 

The Pakistani Army has resorted to more than 2,050 unprovoked ceasefire violations this year in which 21 Indians have been killed, the ministry of external affairs said on Sunday.

 

"We have highlighted our concerns at unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan forces, including in support of cross border terrorist infiltration, and targeting of Indian civilians and border posts by them," ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

"This year they have resorted to more than 2,050 unprovoked ceasefire violations in which 21 Indians died," he said.

India has repeatedly called upon Pakistan to ask its forces to adhere to 2003 ceasefire understanding and maintain peace and tranquillity along the Line of Control and International Border, Kumar said.

Indian forces exercise maximum restraint and respond to unprovoked violations and attempts at cross border terrorist infiltration, he said. -- PTI 

An Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party MLA has warned West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to mend her ways or get ready to meet the same fate as former finance minister P Chidambaram who is currently lodged in jail.

 

The MLA from Bairia assembly constituency Surendra Singh said the Trinamool Congress supremo should "become the Prime Minister of Bangladesh" as she was opposed to the National Register of Citizens.

"The statements made by Mamata Banerjee against the NRC show that she is backed by foreign forces," Singh told reporters in Ballia on Saturday on the sidelines of a 'krishi mela'.

"It seems that Mamata is forgetting that bad days are approaching her. She should change her language and behaviour otherwise she will meet the same fate as Congress leader P Chidambaram," he said.

 

On September 13, Mamata Banerjee took out a rally in Kolkata against the NRC in Assam after the final list was released on August 31 which left out 19 lakh people.

 

After the rally, the TMC chief had said that she would never allow the Centre to conduct a similar exercise in West Bengal.

Singh, however, said: "If Mamata wants to do politics by protecting the infiltrators from Bangladesh then she should become the Prime Minister of Bangladesh."

"In Bengal, lord Ram and lord Hanuman respectively in form of Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath have appeared, and in the next Assembly elections, there will be a change of power in the state," he added. -- PTI

Normal life remained affected in Kashmir Valley for the 42nd consecutive day on Sunday following abrogation of Article 370 as most of shops remained shut and public transport was off the roads, even as the weekly flea market opened in Srinagar, officials said.

 

The weekly flea market opened in Srinagar on Sunday as several vendors put up their stalls on the TRC Chowk-Polo View axis, the officials said.

They said people from many areas of the valley thronged the market to buy items.

Security forces were deployed along the axis to keep an eye on miscreants who might try to force vendors to wind up the stalls, the officials said.

They said the movement of private cars was going on unhindered in the city and elsewhere in the valley, while few auto-rickshaws and inter-district cabs were also seen plying in some areas.

Meanwhile, normal life remained severely affected elsewhere in the valley due to the shutdown which entered its 42nd day on Sunday, the officials said.

Most of the shops and other business establishments remained closed, while public transport was off the roads across the valley, they added.

Internet services remained suspended across all platforms, the officials said.

While landline across the valley were functional, voice calls on mobile devices were working only in Kupwara and Handwara police districts of north Kashmir.

Over 80 former MPs are yet to vacate their official bungalows in Lutyens' Delhi despite a stern warning by a Lok Sabha panel, sources said.

 

They said the government is contemplating to take action against these ex-MPs under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act for their speedy eviction.

On August 19, the Lok Sabha Housing Committee headed by C R Patil had ordered around 200 ex-MPs, who did not vacate their bungalows, to give up the facility within a week and disconnect their power, water and cooking gas connections within three days.

"Since the committee's order, most of the ex-MPs have vacated their official bungalows. But, 82 former MPs are, however, yet to vacate their bungalows as per a recent list," the sources told PTI.

Sources in the Lok Sabha Housing Committee said this is not acceptable and that strict action will be taken against such former MPs.

"It was the panel's decision to ask ex-MPs to vacate their official residences. Now, if some of them have not done so, it is not acceptable. Strict action will be taken against them," the sources in the committee said.

Notices are being sent to these former Members of Parliament, asking them to vacate their bungalows which had been allotted to them in 2014, another source said.

"If they (ex-MPs) do not give up official bungalows, action may be taken against them under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act.

"Once the eviction order is passed, power, water and cooking gas connections will be snapped," the source added.

According to rules, former MPs have to vacate their respective bungalows within one month of dissolution of the previous Lok Sabha. -- PTI

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said looking at the huge support that his 'Mahajanadesh Yatra' is receiving, the Bharatiya Janata Party will have an "unprecedented" victory in the upcoming state assembly polls.

Fadnavis said so far, his yatra has covered over 3,000 km and reached out to over 100 constituencies (out of the total 288) in the state.

"Wherever we go, the yatra is being welcomed by people and getting a huge response. Looking at the people's support, we are sure that we will get an unprecedented victory in the assembly polls," he told reporters in Pune.

Fadnavis on Saturday visited several tehsils of Pune district as part of the third leg of his 'Mahajanadesh Yatra'.

When asked about the huge hoardings put on routes of the yatra, he said if the party workers think that by putting up such banners they will get the ticket (for the upcoming polls), "it is not so".

To a question on the issue of felling of trees in Mumbai's Aarey Colony to make way for a Metro car shed, he said it is a fact that there are trees in the area, but it neither comes under bio-diversity nor is it a forest land.

"Japan is funding the project and they never do funding unless the project is sustainable," he said.

He claimed the state has received maximum investment in the country and as far as direct employment is concerned, the state is on the first position.

The Mumbai civic body recently gave its nod to cut over 2,600 trees for setting up a Metro car shed in Aarey Colony, the sprawling green belt of Mumbai.

Environmentalists have been opposing the proposed tree felling. Several Bollywood personalities and politicians have also extended their support to the activists.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted engineers on Engineers Day, describing them as those synonymous with diligence and determination.

 

Engineers Day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of acclaimed civil engineer M Visvesvaraya.

"Engineers are synonymous with diligence and determination. Human progress would be incomplete without their innovative zeal," the prime minister said in a tweet.

Greeting the "hardworking engineers", Modi also paid tributes to Visvesvaraya. 

 

Naidu said Visvesvaraya was a civil engineer par excellence, who harnessed India's water resources through dams. "He was a visionary. The nation is ever grateful to his invaluable contribution." 

Reliance Industries and United Kingdom's BP plc have taken over the 10 per cent shareholding of their partner Niko Resources in the eastern offshore KG-D6 block after the Canadian firm defaulted on paying for its share of gas field development cost.

   

Sources with knowledge of the development said the oil minister has given 'unconditional' nod to Reliance and BP for taking over 10 per cent interest of Niko in KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block in the Bay of Bengal.

 

Reliance and BP split Niko's share in proportion to their existing shareholding in the block.

 

Subsequent to this, Reliance's stake in KG-D6 has gone up to 66.67 per cent from previous 60 per cent and that of BP to 33.33 per cent from 30 per cent, the sources said.

 

E-mails sent to Reliance and BP for comments remained unanswered.

 

Niko, which defaulted on payment of loans to its lenders, has been unsuccessful in seeking a possible buyer for its 10 per cent stake in Bay of Bengal block KG-D6 or securing financing for its share of the USD 5 billion R-Cluster, Satellite Cluster and MJ development projects in the block.

 

This led to the company defaulting in making payments for its share of development cost in early October 2018.

Reliance, being the operator of KG-D6 block, slapped a default notice on Niko soon after, sources said.

 

Under the terms of the joint operating agreement between the participating interest holders in the KG-D6 production sharing contract (PSC), during the continuance of a default, the defaulting party shall not have a right to its share of revenue (which shall vest in and be the property of the non-defaulting parties who have paid to cover the amount in default). -- PTI

Students of Banaras Hindu University on Saturday protested against the alleged reinstatement of suspended Professor SK Chaube, who has been accused of molesting a girl student.

University Administration, however, stated that the professor is censored and can hold no post of responsibility.

BHU Registrar Neeraj Tripathi said, "He was earlier suspended and is now censored. The matter will again be taken to BHU's highest decision-making body".

"The vice-chancellor had taken cognisance of the complaint and suspended him. Inquiry committee later filed a report and BHU's highest decision-making body censored the Professor, he can neither hold a post of responsibility in BHU nor attend any event or apply to any other college or university", he added.

Taking an aim at the central government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said there was a state of "super emergency" in the country and called upon people to do everything it takes to "protect rights and freedoms" guaranteed by the Constitution.

Wishing citizens on the occasion of International Day of Democracy, Banerjee asked people to take a pledge to safeguard the constitutional values envisaged by the founding fathers of the nation. "On International Day of Democracy today, let us once again pledge to safeguard the constitutional values our country was founded on. In this era of 'Super Emergency', we must do all it takes to protect the rights and freedoms that our Constitution guarantees," she tweeted.

The Bengal chief minister has been highly critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and has on several occasions accused it of snatching the autonomy of constitutional institutions and muzzling dissent.

In May, during Lok Sabha election campaign, Banerjee said she felt "like giving one tight slap of democracy" to PM Modi. 

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that if his party comes to power in the state it will withdraw all cases against its leader and Lok Sabha MP Azam Khan.

"All cases against Azam Khan will be withdrawn after the Samajwadi party comes into power. A large number of such cases were once registered against Mulayam Singh Yadav as well and at that time the court had helped us", he told reporters. The SP chief also said that he will take up the issue with Governor Anandiben Patel.

"A report will be prepared based on copies of all FIRs (against Azam). We have our faith in courts and we will get justice from there," Yadav said.

At least 80 FIRs have been filed against SP leader and Vice-Chancellor of Jauhar University, Azam Khan including several cases of land encroachment by the Varsity.

The SP leader accused the BJP government of indulging vendetta politics.

"They are working intentionally to divert the attention from real issues," he said. 

Union Minister for Road Transport and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari acknowledged that industries in India are facing a tough time but stressed that the slowdown in the economy will end soon. 

The Union minister said that the Centre is committed to push the growth rate and is taking measures to boost the flagging economy. 

He said that auto sector is going through a tough period and automobile manufacturers were worried over the slowdown. "I told them, Kabhi Khushi Hoti Hain Kabhi Gham Hota Hain (there are times of joy and times of sorrow), sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail... life is a cycle. So in your life too, because of global economy, demand and supply, business cycles you face little problems sometimes. Even the (rest of the) world is facing this problem. So don't get disappointed, this time will pass," Gadkari said.

Gadkari also announced that his ministry has decided to start 68 road projects worth up to Rs 5 lakh crore in the next three months with an aim to increase  demand for commercial vehicles.

Explosions and towering fireballs struck the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil empire on Saturday in an apparent wave of drone attacks claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels. 

The blows knocked out more than half the kingdom's oil output for days or more and threatened to drive up already high tensions between Iran and its foes in the Persian Gulf.

The predawn blasts on facilities of the state-run oil giant Aramco - which the rebel group claimed were carried out by a fleet of 10 drones - marked one of the most devastating strikes into Saudi territory claimed by the Iranian-allied Houthis in more than four years of war in Yemen.

It was also the most serious attack on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure in decades, which includes barrages of Scud missiles fired by Saddam Hussein's forces during the 1991 Gulf War. A NASA satellite image showed what appeared to be a long streak of black smoke flowing to the southwest from the Aramco site.

An Aramco statement said production of 5.7 million barrels of crude was suspended by the attack from "projectiles." That represents more than half of the kingdom's output and about 6 per cent of global oil supply - a shortfall that could send oil price sharply higher.

Anticipation over Prime Minister Narendra Modis upcoming rally in Houston, US, has grown over a report that US President Donald Trump might be a surprise guest at the event on September 22, although both the ministry of external affairs and rally organisers wouldnt confirm the information.

According to a report in online news media The Wire, Indian and US officials have been in touch since Modi and Trump met at the G-20 summit in France last month over the possibility of the US president attending the Howdy Modi rally in Texas. The report said that the two leaders would likely announce a trade deal while in Houston together as well.

When asked, a senior MEA official said that it was not possible to comment on Trumps appearance at this stage, but didnt deny the report suggesting it. The media coordinator for the Howdy Modi rally, Rishi Bhutada also said that they had no information about the US presidents plans to attend the rally next Sunday. Atleast 50,000 Indian-Americans have registered to participate in the rally, which is likely to see several other US politicians also take part.

While the US president has not attended one of Modis previous rallies in the US, his Wembley stadium rally in the UK in 2015 was attended by then-PM David Cameron, and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu joined Modi for a similar event in Tel Aviv for people of Indian origin there.