Congress leaders such as Jitin Prasada and Raj Babbar, who were signatories to a letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi for a re-haul of the organisation, have failed to find a place in the new committees formed for Uttar Pradesh.

Those who denounced the letter writers in the 'Group of 23' like Nirmal Khatri and Naseeb Pathan have interestingly found places in the panels announced by Gandhi on Sunday evening.

Former Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Khatri is in the Training and Cadre Development Committee, while Pathan is part of the Programme Implementation Committee.

Both had denounced the letter writers and demanded action against them.

The Congress announced the formation of the Manifesto Committee, Outreach Committee, Membership Committee, Programme Implementation Committee, Training and Cadre Development Committee, Panchayat Raj Election Committee and Media and Communication Advisory Committee for its Uttar Pradesh unit.

While Salman Khurshid, P L Punia, Aradhana Misra, Supriya Shrinate, Vivek Bansal and Amitabh Dubey are in the Manifesto Committee, those in the Outreach Committee include Pramod Tiwari, Pradip Jain, Gajraj Singh, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, Imran Masood and Bal Kumar Patel.

Those in the Membership Committee are Anugrah Narayan Singh, Ajay Kapoor, B L Khabri, Mohd Muqeem, former MP Kamal Kishore 'Commando' and former Varanasi MLA Ajay Rai.

The Media and Communication Advisory Committee has Rashid Alvi, Lalitesh Pati Tripathi, Akhilesh Pratap Singh, Surendra Rajput, Omkar Singh and Virendra Madan.

The UPCC president and the CLP leader will be ex officio members of all the committees, an official communication from the party said.  -- PTI

The Lok Janshakti Party is holding a crucial meeting of its Bihar leaders on Monday to decide whether to fight against the Janata Dal-United in the upcoming state assembly polls amid worsening ties between the two members of the ruling National Democratic Alliance.

The LJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-headed JD-U have been sniping at each other for months.

Kumar's decision to join hands with former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, a Dalit leader like the Paswans with a history of targeting the LJP, has further soured their ties.

While aiming at Kumar, Chirag Paswan has refrained from attacking the BJP and has even been lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

One of the options that Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's party, now headed by his son Chirag Paswan, may consider is to remain a part of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre but to fight outside its fold in the state, while not contesting against the saffron party, sources said.

It may be noted that the LJP had in February 2005 fought against the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the Bihar assembly polls, even though both regional parties were part of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.

The LJP put up candidates against the RJD while maintaining its ties with the Congress.

This had led to the formation of a hung assembly in the state, ending Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD's 15-year rule, and another assembly poll held a few months later saw the Nitish Kumar-led JD-U and Bharatiya Janata Party alliance storming to power with their maiden majority.

While BJP leaders, including its national president J P Nadda, have been insisting that all three NDA parties will fight the upcoming polls together, sources said a sense of unease has crept in, with Kumar working to strengthen his position by actively wooing leaders from the RJD and tying up with Manjhi.

The JD-U has also made it clear that it will not hold any seat-sharing talks with the LJP, as its ties have been traditionally with the BJP.

The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for the Bihar polls sometime this month.

Polls to the 243-seat assembly are likely to be held in October-November.  -- PTI

Congress' Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Deepender Singh Hooda tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.

The 42-year-old, who is the lone opposition MP from Haryana, is currently in Delhi.

'My Corona# Covid19 report has returned positive. As per the advice of doctors, other tests are being conducted,' Deepender tweeted.

Deepender, who is the son of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in his tweet added that 'with the prayers of all of you, I will recover soon.. '

He asked people who may have come in his contact during the past few days to isolate themselves and get tested.

Deepender had recently toured the Baroda assembly constituency in Sonipat district in view of the upcoming bypoll.

The by-election has been necessitated after the death of Congress legislator Shri Krishan Hooda in April.

Other parliamentarians from Haryana who recently contracted COVID-19 are Union Minister of State Krishan Pal Gurjar (Faridabad), Sanjay Bhatia (Karnal), Brijendra Singh (Hisar) and Nayab Singh Saini (Kurukshetra).

All of them are BJP Lok Sabha MPs.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had also tested positive for the disease.

His cabinet colleagues Ranjit Singh Chautala, J P Dalal, Mool Chand Sharma and Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta were among some legislators who have contracted the infection recently.

The state currently has over nearly 75,000 COVID-19 cases and over 780 fatalities.   -- PTI

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday said that Dipesh Sawant, who was the house help of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, is an active member of a drug syndicate connected with high society personalities and drug suppliers.

"On the basis of statements of Dipesh Sawant, house help of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and digital evidence collected by NCB, it is clear that Dipesh is an active member of drug syndicate connected with high society personalities and drug suppliers," NCB said.

As per NCB, Dipesh has confessed that on March 17, 2020, on the instructions of Showik Chakraborty, Dipesh went to Miranda's house and received a delivery of 5-gram of ganja from Zaid in Bandra.

Further, on April 17, Rhea and Showik ordered him to collect delivery of 10-gram charas from Kaizan.

This delivery was received near Mount Blanc building which is Sushant's house.

On May 1, Showik asked Dipesh to receive ganja from a person called Dwayne after which Dipesh received 50-gram charas from Dwayne the next day, according to NCB.

The NCB further said that in the first week of June, Dipesh received 100-gram ganja from a delivery boy named Rishikesh Pawar.Earlier yesterday, a court had sent Dipesh Sawant to the Narcotics Control Bureau's custody till September 9.

The NCB officials had taken Dipesh Sawant for medical examination before producing him before the court.Sawant was arrested yesterday based on statements and digital evidence.

Actor Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik are being questioned by the NCB in connection with the procurement of drugs.   -- ANI

The war of words between Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut took a fresh turn with the latter stating that the leader doesn't represent entire Maharashtra while confirming that she will return to Mumbai on September 9.

Accusing Raut of 'empowering those who exploit women' in the country, the Bollywood actor said that the daughters of India will never forgive him for his alleged abusive statement.

"Sanjay Raut ji, you called me [abusive word]. It shows your mindset...If I criticise Mumbai Police or if I criticise you, then you can't say I am insulting Maharashtra. You are not Maharashtra. Your people are threatening me, still I will come to Mumbai on September 9," Ranaut says in the video she put out on her official Twitter handle.

"Your people are saying they will break my jaw, they will kill me. Kill me, but this country's soil is enriched with the blood of those who sacrificed for its dignity and we too will do the same," she added.

Ranaut also raised the issue of 'inaction' by Mumbai Police during the Palghar lynching, and it refusing to register a case on the request of the father of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's in connection with his death, to state why she had turned out to be its critic.   -- ANI

The Delhi Police's Cyber Cell has registered a first information report against AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair for allegedly 'threatening and torturing a girl child through Twitter', officials said on Sunday.

The FIR was registered against Zubair under provisions of the Information Technology Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) on a complaint received from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a senior police officer said.

Zubair, however, refuted the allegations.

"This is an absolutely frivolous complaint. I will be responding to it legally," he said.

The complaint filed by the NCPCR refers to a photo of a girl and her grandfather shared by Zubair on Twitter during an online spat with the minor's father.

Though the girl's face was blurred out in the photo, the complainant said that she could get identified as her grandfather's face was recognisable.

The NCPCR, in the complaint, said the commission took cognizance of complaint received under section 13 (1) ) and (k) of CPCR Act, 2005, as in the complaint the picture of a minor girl is seen to be circulated and posted by various Twitter handles with indecent and disgraceful remarks/comments, which seems to be a cognizable offence and requires immediate registration of an FIR.

'You look into the matter and take prompt action in respect to the Twitter handle and posts harassing, threatening and stalking the minor girl. Further, you were also requested to ensure safety of girl child and initiate appropriate action against the alleged perpetrators,' NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo said in his letter.

Kanoongo said he is seeking action under POCSO/relevant acts against 'online threats and repeated incident of stalking of a minor girl on Twitter by Zubair'.

"As per the complaint, Mohammed Zubair bearing Twitter handle @zoo_bear online harassing, threatening and stalking a minor girl," he said.

He has also written to Twitter India to take action into the matter.

On Saturday, the NCPCR chief had tweeted, 'According to the ATR received in @NCPCR_ ,an FIR has been lodged against the alleged persons for threatening and torturing a girl child on @Twitter. As per the request made by @TwitterIndia  an additional time of 10 days has been provided to them to provide relevant information.'  -- PTI

Paying tributes to seer Kesavananda Bharati, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday remembered him for his contributions towards community service and empowering the downtrodden.

In a tweet, Modi said the spiritual leader was deeply attached to India's rich culture and great Constitution, and that he will continue to inspire generations.

Kesavananda Bharati, a petitioner in a Supreme Court case that led to the landmark doctrine of the basic structure of the Constitution, died in Kerala on Sunday. He was 79.

The prime minister tweeted, "We will always remember Pujya Kesavananda Bharati Ji for his contributions towards community service and empowering the downtrodden.

'He was deeply attached to India's rich culture and our great Constitution. He will continue to inspire generations. Om Shanti.'  -- PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka on Sunday said Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi, arrested in a drug case, was never a member of the party and may have campaigned for it in the 2019 assembly by-elections on her own.

Seeking to distance itself from the actress a day after her arrest, the BJP said it was against any sort of, or any form of anti-social activity by anybody.

'We disown Ragini Dwivedi. Hundreds of celebrities from different walks of life campaigned for the BJP 'voluntarily' during the 2019 bye-elections. Ragini Dwivedi may have been one among them,' BJP spokesperson Captain Ganesh Karnik in a statement.

He clarified that Dwivedi was neither a member of the BJP nor the BJP had assigned her the responsibility of electioneering.

Stating that Dwivedi may have been involved in the campaign 'on her own', Karnik said the party is neither accountable nor answerable for Ragini Dwivedi's activities in her personal and professional life.

'We have nothing to do with it and we maintain distance from it,' he added.

According to him, the BJP is totally against any sort of, any form of anti-social activity by anybody.

'We will neither encourage nor support such activities. Hence, we disown Ragini Dwivedi for her involvement in the drug racket,' he said.

The actress was arrested on Friday after intense interrogation for many hours. She is among the 13 people booked so far in connection with drug abuse in the Kannada film industry.

Dwivedi along with others has been charged with supplying drugs in rave parties through drug peddlers.   -- PTI

Actor Arjun Kapoor on Sunday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is asymptomatic.

The 35-year-old actor said he is 'feeling ok' and will be under home quarantine.

'It is my duty to inform all of you that I have tested positive for coronavirus. I'm feeling ok and I'm asymptomatic.

'I have isolated myself at home under the advice of doctors and authorities and will be under home quarantine,'Arjun posted a statement on Instagram.

The actor had last week begun the shooting for his latest film, also featuring Rakul Preet, in Mumbai.

Soon after Arjun shared his diagnosis, industry colleagues including filmmaker Karan Johar, actors Kriti Sanon, Parineeti Chopra, Huma Qureshi, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Nimrat Kaur, Patralekhaa, Aditi Rao Hydari and family members Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Sanjay Kapoor, Janvhi Kapoor and Harshavarrdhan Kapoor wished him speedy recovery.

Arjun thanked people for their well-wishes and said he would keep the fans updated regarding his health.

'I thank you all in advance for your support and I will keep you all updated about my health in the days to come. These are extraordinary and unprecedented times and I have faith that all of humanity will overcome this virus,' he added.

On September 1, Arjun shared on social media that he was 'grateful' to be back on sets with necessary precautions.

The Kaashive Nair-directed untitled romance feature also stars John Abraham and Aditi Rao Hydari.

It is produced by T-Series along with Nikkhil Advani's Emmay Entertainment and Abraham's JA Entertainment.

On Saturday, Maharashtra's COVID tally reached 8,83,862 cases, with deaths toll touching 26,276.  -- PTI

The Delhi government's 10-week anti-dengue campaign kick-sarted on Sunday, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal checking his house for stagnant water.

The campaign seeks to build greater awareness on prevention of vector-borne diseases in Delhi.

'Honourable Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal kickstarted the anti-dengue campaign by removing the stagnant clean water at his residence.He said that like last year, two crore Delhiites will come together to make this initiative successful and ro defeat dengue,' the Chief Minister's Office tweeted.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, cabinet ministers Rajendra Pal Gautam and Kailash Gahlot shared pictures and videos on Twitter as part of the campaign.

Sisodia tweeted in Hindi, 'Often we feel that there is not a single place in our house where there is stagnant water but if you take 10 minutes to check properly, you will find stagnant water somewhere. That's why it is important to join the#10Hafte10Baje10Minute campaign --to protect your family from dengue @ArvindKejriwal.'

Kejriwalalso took to social media to urge people to participate in the campaign.

'Last year, two crore people of Delhi had defeated dengue.Let's start the next 10-week battle against dengue from today At 10 am, I will check my house whether there is any stagnant water. You must also.We have to defeat dengue again this time,' he said in a tweet in Hindi.

The campaign, which began on September 6, will continue every Sunday.

The '10 Hafte 10 Baje 10 Minute' campaign last year had garnered the support of many celebrities as well as officials of the government and other autonomous bodies.

Due to this mass campaign last year, which was launched in September too, there were only 2,036 reported cases and two deaths due to dengue, as compared to 2015, when the dengue cases were 15,867 and there were 60 deaths, the government had claimed.

Kejriwal had appealed to Delhi ministers, MLAs and the citizens to begin the mega campaign from their own homes and spend 10 minutes every Sunday to make sure there is no stagnant water in their homes and surroundings.  -- PTI

A Mumbai court on Sunday remanded late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's personal staff member Dipesh Sawant in the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau till September 9 in connection with a drugs probe linked to the actor's death.

Sawant was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai on Saturday.

He was produced before a local court which remanded him in the NCB's custody further probe into the matter.

According to the NCB, it has so far arrested seven persons, including Showik Chakraborty, 24, the brother of main accused in this case Rhea Chakraborty, Rajput's house manager Samuel Miranda, Sawant and alleged drug dealer Zaid Vilatra in this 'ongoing investigation'.

"Sawant is connected with Rhea, Showik and Zaid and his custodial interrogation is required to confront him with them," special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande said.

The NCB on Saturday said Sawant was arrested by NCB for his role in procuring and handling of drugs.

He was taken into custody based on statements and digital evidences.

Various angles surrounding the death of the 34-year- old actor are being probed by three federal agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The NCB is probing the drug angle in this case under criminal sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) shared with it a report following the cloning of two mobile phones of Rhea.

The NCB has said it is looking into 'the drug citadel in Mumbai, and especially Bollywood' in this case.

Rajput was found dead at his flat in suburban Bandra on June 14.  -- PTI

Following the stabbing of several people in Birmingham, the police on Sunday declared it a 'major incident'.

'We can confirm that at approximately 12:30 am today we were called to reports of a stabbing in #Birmingham city centre. We immediately attended, along with colleagues from the ambulance service. A number of other stabbings were reported in the area shortly after,' West Midlands Police said in a statement.

The police said it is aware of a number of injured people, but at the moment it is not in a position to say how many or how serious.

'However, all emergency services are working together at the scene, and making sure that those who are injured receive medical care.'

'This has been declared a major incident,' said West Midlands Police.

In its statement, the police said work is still going on to establish what has happened and could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything.

It said that at this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.

'The emergency services have well-rehearsed plans for dealing with major incidents. Our response is ongoing in Birmingham city centre and will be for some time. Cordons are in place, and there are some road closures,' said the police urging people to remain calm but vigilant and to stay away from the area. -- ANI

China's reusable experimental spacecraft, which was launched into orbit two days ago, successfully returned to its predetermined landing site on Sunday, according to the official state media.

The spacecraft was launched on board a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Friday.

The successful return marks an important breakthrough in China's research on reusable spacecraft technology, which will provide a more convenient and economical way for the peaceful use of space, state-run CGTN TV reported.

Chinese military officials, who were tight-lipped about the launch earlier, said there were many firsts in this launch.

"The spacecraft is new, the launch method is also different," they said.

An official, quoted by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Sunday, declined to comment on the details of the mission but suggested 'maybe you can take a look at the US X-37B'.

The X-37B is an unmanned space plane that operates like a smaller version of the space shuttle, which is launched by a rocket and cruises back to earth for a runway landing.

It has flown four classified missions to date, carrying secret payloads on long-duration flights in Earth orbit, the Post report said.

Friday's launch comes weeks after China launched Tianwen-1, the country's first Mars mission, from Hainan in late July.

The China National Space Administration said its spacecraft, including an orbiter, lander and rover, was performing well on its way to Mars.

A month before that, China completed the network of satellites for its BeiDou navigation network, a competitor to the Global Positioning System (GPS) system of the US.  -- PTI

Amid the ongoing investigation into the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, actor Rhea Chakraborty's lawyer Satish Maneshinde on Sunday said that she is ready for arrest as it is a witch-hunt.

'Rhea Chakraborty is ready for arrest as this is a witch-hunt. If loving someone is a crime she will face the consequences of her love. Being innocent, she has not approached any court for an anticipatory bail in all the cases foisted by Bihar Police with CBI, ED, and NCB,' Maneshinde said in a statement.

Chakraborty was summoned by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday morning to join the investigation of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

On August 19, the Supreme Court had asked the CBI to investigate the case related to the actor's death, while holding that the first information report registered in Patna was legitimate.

The agency has registered an FIR against Chakraborty and others in connection with the actor's death after the Centre accepted the Bihar government's recommendation to transfer the probe in the matter from Patna.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on July 31 registered an Enforcement Case Information Report in the late actor's death case after an FIR was filed by Rajput's father K K Singh against Rhea Chakraborty in Bihar on July 28.

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14. -- ANI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said he had a 'very fruitful' meeting with his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and regional security issues, including Afghanistan.

Singh arrived in Tehran from Moscow on Saturday after concluding his three-day visit to Russia where he attended a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers.

He also held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Russia, China and the Central Asian countries.

'Had a very fruitful meeting with Iranian defence minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami in Tehran. We discussed regional security issues including Afghanistan and the issues of bilateral cooperation,' he said in a tweet.

'Both the Defence Ministers discussed ways to take forward bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional security issues, including peace and stability in Afghanistan,' Singh's office said in a separate tweet.

The meeting between the two ministers took place in a 'cordial and warm atmosphere', it said, adding that the leaders emphasised upon the age-old cultural, linguistic and civilisational ties between India and Iran.   -- PTI

Refusing to apologise to actress Kangana Ranaut over his remark, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that Kangana should apologise to Maharashtra.

On being asked whether he will apologise to Kangana, MP Raut said, "If that girl (Kangana) will apologise to Maharashtra then I will think about apologising."

"She has called Mumbai mini Pakistan. Does she have the courage to say the same about Ahmedabad?" asked Raut.

Earlier on Thursday, the actress took to Twitter claiming, "Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena leader has given me an open threat and asked me not to come back to Mumbai. After Aazadi graffitis in Mumbai streets and now open threats, why Mumbai is feeling like Pakistan occupied Kashmir?"

"After a major star has been killed I spoke about drug and movie mafia racket, I don't trust Mumbai Police because they ignored SSR's complaints. He told everyone they will kill him yet he was killed. If I feel unsafe, does that mean I hate the industry and Mumbai?" she said in another tweet.

Hitting back at Ranaut, the Shiv Sena MP accused her of lying and said, "Mumbai gave a lot to Kangana and she is now working to discredit the name of Mumbai and Mumbai Police all over the world." -- ANI

Maharashtra reported the fastest growth is coronavirus infection in August, registering over 3.70 lakh cases, a senior state health official said.

According to data of the Maharashtra health department, the state reported 3,76,587 COVID-19 cases last month, 2,41,820 cases in July and 1,04,748 cases in June.

"On August 1, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state was 4,31,719, which jumped to 8,08,306 on September 1. This is probably the fastest growth of cases in the state since January," the health official said.

One of the reasons for the growth in number of positive cases is the increased number of tests, he said, adding that last month, the state carried out 20,16,809 tests.

"The number of tests conducted till August 1 was 21,94,943, which rose to 42,11,752 on September 1. The state is aggressively testing which is helping in detection of the infected people," the official said.

The official informed that the number COVID-19 cases and deaths is continuously going up in the state.

Between August 1 and 5, the number of COVID-19 cases rose by 36,546, and between September 1 and 5, the number went up by 75,556, the official said.

Besides, the state reported 15,316 deaths due to the disease till August 1 and the number went up to 24,903 on September 1, as per the data.

"Between August 1 and 5, 1,160 people died due to COVID-19 and between September 1 and 5, 1,373 people died," the official said.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis has said the state needs to conduct more tests.

"Out of the daily tests, a sizable number is of the antigen tests which are not completely reliable. The RT-PCR tests, which are more reliable, should be done on a large scale, which will be able to tell the ground reality about the coronavirus," he said.

However, the health official said the antigen tests are comparatively cheaper than the RT-PCR tests and hence, conducted more as a precautionary measure. -- PTI

India reported a record daily jump of 90,632 coronavirus infections in last 24 hours, taking its tally past the 41-lakh mark, health ministry data showed.

The death toll rises to 70,626 with 1,065 new fatalities in last 24 hours.

The total cases tally now stands at 41,13,812 with 8,62,320 active cases.

Total 31,80,866 people have been recovered so far. 

Indicating a delay in country's first bullet train project, the railways on Saturday said a "real timeframe" for the completion of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train plan has to be "reassessed" as the land aquisation for the project has been delayed due to the coronavirus crisis, and a clear timeline can be provided in next three to six months.

Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board V K Yadav in a press briefing also denied reports that the Japanese firms were not keen on the project, saying "it is true that the tenders and land acquisition were delayed a bit due to the coronavirus pandemic, but I can say that the project is progressing well."

Yadav's comments came amid reports that the bullet train project may fail to meet its December 2023 deadline.

"In any linear project like the bullet train project, work can only begin when a certain amount of land is available. We are hoping that within the next three to six months, we will be able to get to that point where we have 90-100 per cent of the land. Our designs are ready and we are set to go...

"As the COVID19 situation improves, the Railways will start the bidding process and within the next three to six months, we will be able to get the status of land acquired. It will then be the appropriate time to reassess the project. Once the land status is ascertained, we can provide a real timeframe for the completion of the project," the railway board chairman said.

He, however, did not confirm that the project will meet the December 2023 deadline.

Denying reports that the Japanese firms were not keen on the project, he said both Indian and Japanese companies were on board and urged people to disregard such rumours.

"It is not correct. The Japanese are very much interested in the project, there is no doubt about it. This is an extraordinary situation. It is difficult for them to come here during a pandemic and we have to keep that in mind. I want to tell you all that there is a lot of interest from everyone whether it is the Japanese companies or Indian," he said reacting to reports that Japanese firms were not interested in the project.

"Due to the pandemic situation, international travels were banned. Such kinds of projects require a lot of survey works and hence Japanese companies could not participate. We had advance information about that. As land issues improve, we will start the bidding process again," he added.

Even before the COVID pandemic, the project had been hit hard due to protests from farmers in both Maharashtra and Gujarat. It also had to contend with rising costs because of a widening gap between the Indian rupee and the Japanese yen.

The 508.17-kilometre long network will pass through three districts in Maharashtra  (Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar) and eight districts in Gujarat (Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda, and Ahmedabad).

Yadav said that so far 63 percent land has been acquired for the project, with 82 percent acquired in Gujarat and 23 per cent in Maharashtra.

According to officials, the estimated total cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project is Rs 1.08 trillion, of which 81 percent cost is planned to be funded through a 20-year loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The Central government has signed a loan agreement with JICA for providing Rs 15,000 crore, of the total loan amount of Rs 88,000 crore.

The Railways has been keen on opening at least a portion of the project by August 2022, to coincide with 75 years of Independence.

While the National High Speed Rail Corporation, the implementing agency for the project, maintains that it will make it on time, a review in the next six months is expected to give a clearer picture, according to officials. -- PTI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday arrived in Tehran where he will meet his Iranian counterpart and discuss bilateral defence ties, a day after he urged the Persian Gulf countries to resolve their differences through dialogue based on mutual respect.

 

Singh arrived in Tehran from Moscow after concluding his three-day visit to Russia where he attended a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers. 

He also held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Russia, China and the Central Asian countries.

 

"Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh reached Tehran this evening. He will be meeting the Iranian Defence Minister (Brigadier General Amir Hatami) during his visit," his office said in a tweet.

 

India on Friday said that it was "deeply concerned" about the situation in the Persian Gulf and called upon the countries in the region to resolve their differences by dialogue based on mutual respect.

 A series of incidents in the Persian Gulf involving Iran, the US and the UAE in recent weeks have flared up tension in the region.

 

"We are deeply concerned about the situation in the Persian Gulf," Singh said in his address at a meeting of the SCO in Moscow.

 

"We call upon countries in the region - all of which are dear and friendly to India, to resolve differences by dialogue based on mutual respect, sovereignty and non interference in internal affairs of each other," he said in his address at the combined meeting of defence ministers of the SCO, Collective Security Treaty Organisation and Commonwealth of Independent States member states.

 

Last month, Iranian navy briefly seized control of a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in what the US said were international waters near the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond.

 

Iran has threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if the United States tries to strangle its economy.

 

The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations which accounts for almost 44 per cent of the world population stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Indian Ocean and from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea.

 

The aim of the SCO is to maintain peace, stability and security of the region.

 

Iran has observer status in the SCO, which was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

 

India and Pakistan were admitted as observers of the grouping in 2005. Both the countries were admitted as full members of the bloc in 2017. -- PTI

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the inaugural session of the Governors' Conference on the National Education Policy on Monday through video conference, the Prime Minister's Office said. 

 

The conference titled 'Role of NEP-2020 in Transforming Higher Education' is being organised by the Ministry of Education. 

The Governors' Conference is also being attended by education ministers of all states, vice-chancellors of state universities and other senior officials.

The statement noted that the NEP-2020 is the first education policy of the twenty-first century which was announced after 34 years of the previous National Policy on Education in 1986. 

The NEP-2020 is directed towards major reforms in both school and higher education level.

"The new National Education Policy strives for making India into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society. It envisions an India-centred education system that contributes directly to transforming India into a global superpower," it said. 

It added that the comprehensive transformation the NEP aims will bring about a paradigm shift in the country's education system and create an enabling and reinvigorated educational ecosystem for a new 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' as envisaged by the prime minister. 

Various webinars, virtual conferences, and conclaves on a number of aspects of the National Education Policy 2020 are being organised across the country.

The Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission had earlier organised a 'Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy-2020', which was addressed by Modi. -- PTI

Actor Rhea Chakraborty has been summoned by the Narcotics Control Bureau, which is probing the drugs angle in Sushant Singh Rajput death case. 

She has been asked to join the probe today, two days after her brother Showik was arrested by the NCB. 

The officials from the investigating agency reached her housein Mumbai to serve the summons.  

Two separate complaints have been filed with the police in Mumbai against actor Kangana Ranaut over her remark where she compared Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

While one of the complaints was submitted by Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh, a lawyer, at Andheri police station on Friday, another was submitted at Azad Maidan police station by a city Congress functionary.

Both applications sought registration of an FIR against the actor for 'defaming' the Mumbai police and `spreading enmity between two groups' under the relevant IPC sections.

However, no FIR has been registered yet as police officials said they were examining the applications. -- PTI