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Thu, 09 September 2021
Nitish confirms, JD-U denies presence at Oppn meet
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22:30 Nitish confirms, JD-U denies presence at Oppn meet
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) on Thursday said it was not aware of the leader having "accepted" any invitation for a function, later this month, in Haryana, where he could end up sharing the stage with a number of satraps opposed to the BJP-led NDA.
JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan made a statement to the effect a day after media reports surfaced, quoting INLD leader Abhay Chautala, who is organizing the rally at Jind on September 25, about Kumar having "confirmed" his presence.
"I am not aware of this. In any case, it is not a party matter. He (Nitish) may have got an invitation in capacity as chief minister. In such cases he takes his own decision. This has nothing to do with the party," Lalan told reporters here.
He also testily refused to answer queries about the political implications of Kumar, an NDA partner, taking part in a function alongside figures like Deve Gowda, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Parkash Singh Badal -- all bitterly opposed to the BJP.
The proposed function is to be held on the occasion of the birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister Chaudhary Devi Lal, whom Kumar has always respected as his senior in the erstwhile Janata Dal. During one of his recent trips to the national capital, Kumar had also met Om Prakash Chautala, a former Haryana CM and son of the late leader.
Many eyebrows were raised over the meeting between the two leaders though Kumar brushed aside the misgivings, while underscoring the fact that he shared "personal ties" with the ex-CM of Haryana.
Notably, Chautala and his INLD are opposed to the ruling BJP in Haryana though the Jannayak Janta Party -- an outfit floated by Chautala's estranged grand-nephew Dushyant -- is an ally of the saffron camp.
The proposed rally at Jind, for which invitations have also been sent to regional heavyweights like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar, among others, is being touted as the precursor to the formation of a "Third Front" ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The presence of the Bihar CM, whose party is at present the largest BJP ally, could give a jolt to the NDA which would be aiming at a hat-trick under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Though Kumar was yet to reveal his cards, NDA leaders in Bihar said on condition of anonymity that if he did go ahead and attend the rally, it would be perceived as a "pressure tactic" on part of the wily leader who has been miffed over getting a raw deal in the recent Union cabinet expansion.
With the exit of key allies like Shiv Sena and Siromani Akali Dal, Kumar was set to be hopeful of a "respectable" share for his JD-U, which has been supporting the Modi government since 2017 without sharing power at the Centre.
However, the party was given only one cabinet berth which went to the then JD-U chief RCP Singh. Earlier, in 2019, Kumar had turned down the offer of a "token representation" for his party in the Centre.
The BJP is understood to have taken the stance in view of Kumar's perceived loss of ground, evident in the JD-U's poor show in the assembly polls last year when it ended up with a tally of less than 45 in the 243-strong house.
The JD-U has, nonetheless, blamed the fall in its tally on the rebellion by the LJP, then led by Chirag Paswan whom the BJP failed to rein in despite its clout.
21:47 ITR filing deadline extended to Dec 31
The government on Thursday extended the deadline till December 31 for filing of income tax returns by individuals for the financial year 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic and technical glitches in the IT portal.
Earlier, the deadline was extended to September 30, 2021. Usually, the last date for filing the ITR (Income Tax Returns) for the individual taxpayers is July 31.
"On consideration of difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22 under the Income-tax Act, 1961, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to further extend the due dates for filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22," the finance ministry said in a statement.
The CBDT has also extended the ITR filing deadline for companies till February 15, 2022 from November 30, 2021.
The due date for filing the tax audit report and transfer pricing certificate has been extended to January 15, 2022 and January 31, 2022, respectively, from the existing deadline of October 31 and November 30, respectively.
For filing belated or revised return of income, the last date has been extended by another two months to March 31, 2022.
With regard to resolution of glitches in the tax portal, the finance ministry on Wednesday said it is continuously engaging with Infosys to ensure a smooth filing experience for taxpayers.
On April 1, the CBDT notified the forms for filing I-T returns for 2020-21 fiscal.
For the 2020-21 fiscal, the government had given taxpayers the option to choose a new tax regime under section 115BAC of the I-T Act.
21:02 Mumbai reports 458 COVID-19 cases, six deaths
Mumbai reported 458 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths on Thursday, a civic official said.
The caseload in the country's financial capital rose to 7,48,066 and death toll reached 16,010, he said.
On Wednesday, the city had logged 530 new COVID-19 cases, highest since July 15.
The number of active COVID-19 cases increased to 4,010 on Thursday. The number of daily fatalities crossed five after a gap of two weeks, as per the data of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
On August 26 Mumbai had reported seven COVID-19 deaths, but the number then dipped to one on August 31.
There are 49 sealed buildings but no containment zones in the city as of now.
A containment zone was "erroneously" reported in Wednesday's statement, said a BMC official.
As many as 48,712 coronavirus tests were carried out in the city since Wednesday evening, taking the tally of samples tested so far to 96,00,253.
The civic body seals buildings or declares containment zones if five or more COVID-19 patients are detected in a building/area.
Mumbai's average recovery rate is 97 per cent, while the doubling rate -- period during which caseload doubles -- has dipped to 1,206 days. Average growth rate of cases was 0.6 per cent for the period between September 2 to 8.
20:26 IIT Madras tops India Rankings 2021
Here is a list of top ten institutions released by the Union ministry of education
20:12 Look-out circular issued against Rane's wife, son
Look-out circulars have been issued by authorities against Union minister Narayan Rane's wife Nilam and MLA-son Nitesh in connection with cases related to unpaid loans taken from a financial institution, said a senior Pune police official on Thursday.
A look-out circular is a notice which prevents a person from leaving the country.
Confirming the development, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Srinivas Ghadge said look-out circulars were issued against Nilam Rane and Nitesh Rane on September 3.
He said Artline Properties Pvt Ltd (main borrower), a firm owned by Nilam Rane, had availed a loan of Rs 25 crore from DHFL (Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd) in which she was the co-borrower and the outstanding on the account was over Rs 27.13 crore.
Likewise, Nilam Hotels, owned by Nitesh Rane, too, had availed a loan from the private financial institute whose outstanding was over Rs 34 crore, the DCP said.
Both the loan accounts were later classified as NPAs (non-performing asset declared due to default or arrears) by DHFL due to non-repayment, he said.
As both the accounts got classified as NPAs, the financial institution approached the Centre, which then issued directions to the state government and as a result, the look-out circulars were issued, he said.
The look-out circular, addressed to the Mumbai Airport and issued against Nilam Rane, states "there is apprehension that the said co-borrower may leave the country anytime with a mala fide intention to evade repayment of the loan granted by DHFL and escape the legal actions that may be taken".
"To open the LOC (look-out circulars) of the co-borrower is necessary so that co-borrower's travel history should be maintained and evasion of repayment of the loan availed from DHFL should be avoided," reads the circular.
The Pune police, in their notice, have asked the airport authorities to inform them whenever the co-borrower is intercepted at the airport.
19:29 Govt orders 66 cr Covishield doses from SII
The Union government has placed a purchase order with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for 66 crore doses of Covishield to be supplied by December, official sources said on Thursday.
The development comes after Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, informed the Union health ministry that the firm would be able to supply 20.29 crore doses of Covishied in the month of September.
The Pune-based firm has enhanced the manufacturing capacity of Covishield to more than 20 crore doses per month.
The health ministry had in July placed an order with Bharat Biotech for the supply of 28.50 crore doses of Covaxin, but the firm has not been able to start the supply of those yet, an official source said.
Bharat Biotech is close to completing the supply of five crore doses of Covaxin for which the health ministry had placed an order on March 12, the source said.
The source added that the ministry had placed an order for 37.50 crore doses of Covishield between August to December and the SII is going to complete this supply by mid-September.
On August 31, as the cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed the 65-crore mark, Singh in his communication to NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul and Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had mentioned that SII alone has supplied more than 60 crore doses of Covishield.
Of these 60 crore doses, 2.1 crore were provided in January, 2.5 crore in February, over 4.73 crore in March, more than 6.25 crore in April, over 5.96 crore in May, more than 9.68 crore in June, over 12.37 crore in July and more than 16.92 crore in August, he had said.
In May, Singh had written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah mentioning that its employees have been working round the clock in spite of various challenges because of the pandemic.
"We are pleased to inform that in the month of June we will be able to manufacture and supply nine to 10 crore doses of our Covishield vaccine to the country as compared to our production capacity of 6.5 crore doses in May," he had said in the letter.
"Serum Institute of India has always been sincerely concerned about the protection of the citizens of our country and world at large from COVID-19. Under the leadership of our CEO, Adar C Poonawalla, our team have been working relentlessly shoulder to shoulder with our government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic," he had said.
Photograph: He Penglei/CNS/Reuters
19:10 China detains 8 more Tibetans: Local media
Chinese officials have arrested eight Tibetans, including six monks from Dza Wonpo township of Sershul County in Kardze Autonomous Prefecture, according to Tibetan media.
The detainees include two women from the village, Phayul reported citing Tibet.com. These arrests took place on September 3.
The cause of these recent arrests is not certain but an anonymous source told the Tibet Post, "For many years, Tibetans and monks in Wonpo have volunteered to teach the Tibetan language to local Tibetans, and there is a group in Wonpo called the 'Mother Language Protection Group'. The Tibetans detained are members of this group."
On August 22, 59 Tibetans were detained at Dza Wonpo town in Sershul county police as part of an intensified campaign against any possession of banned images of respected spiritual leaders.
The second mass arrests of 53 Tibetans suggested a combined campaign in search of pictures of spiritual leaders and interrogation to flush out exile contacts.
Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and later annexed it.
-- ANI
19:02 Priyanka Gandhi begins 3-day UP visit to review Congress' poll readiness
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived here on Thursday to review the party's preparedness for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
During her three-day stay here, Priyanka Gandhi will take stock of the Congress readiness for the crucial elections from the leaders and workers of the party's state unit.
On her arrival, she told reporters at the airport here that she has come to meet the party workers.
Congress legislature party leader Aradhana Mishra and senior party leader Pramod Tiwari among others received her at the airport.
Several party programmes are lined up for her on Friday and Saturday.
State Congress media and communication coordinator Lallan Kumar said the AICC in charge of Uttar Pradesh will hold meetings with the party's election committee and advisory committee of the state unit.
He further said she will review the district-wise progress of the party's mass contact programme "Har Goan Congress" (Congress in every village).
The Uttar Pradesh Congress had launched a mass contact programme on August 19 to cover the state's 30,000 villages and wards where party leaders were directed to stay for over three days during the drive.
She will also take feedback from the party's newly appointed Nyaya Panchayat chiefs and office-bearers from across the state.
The Congress general secretary will also finalise the blueprint of party programmes for the next one month.
Kumar said she will also review the progress of the first phase of the party's "Prashikshan Se Parakram (valour through training)" programme.
Launched last month, the programme aims at giving training to two lakh party grassroots workers by holding 700 training camps.
Priyanka Gandhi who is leading the party campaign in politically significant Uttar Pradesh has a Herculean task to lift the grand old party's sliding stock in the state.
The Congress was totally decimated in the 2017 state polls winning only seven assembly seats in the 403-member UP assembly polls.
In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it could manage to hold Rae Bareli Parliamentary seat of AICC chief Sonia Gandhi but lost the Gandhi family's bastion Amethi where Rahul Gandhi was humbled by Union Minister Smriti Irani.
The Congress has already made it clear that it will not have any alliance with the Samajwadi Party or Bahujan Samaj Party this time and would prefer tie-ups with some smaller UP-centric parties.
18:32 Sec 144 in Mumbai for Ganpati; no processions
Citing the COVID-19 situation, police on Thursday imposed orders under CrPC section 144 in Mumbai prohibiting assembly of five or more persons during the Ganesh festival between September 10 to 19.
No processions of any kind would be allowed in the city during this period and devotees would not be allowed to visit Ganesh pandals either, an official statement added.
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the authorities to issue prohibitory orders for preventive purposes.
The Maharashtra home department had issued a circular the day before banning visits to pandals so as to prevent the spread of the viral infection.
Mumbai on Wednesday recorded 530 new coronavirus cases, highest since mid-July.
The order issued by Deputy Commissioner of Police S Chaitanya referred to the directives of the home department as well as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
People can have 'darshan' of Ganesh idols installed in pandals through the online mode or through other electronic media (such as TV), the police release said.
Any person violating the orders would face action under IPC section 188 (disobeying order lawfully promulgated by public servant) and other relevant laws, it said.
18:05 RBI optimistic about 9.5% GDP for FY22 being met
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said many fast indicators are showing an uptick in economic activity and the Reserve Bank is quite optimistic about its 9.5 per cent GDP growth estimate for FY2021-22 at present.
He said the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 has waned by August,
and economic growth will be better from the second quarter onwards on a sequential basis.
Speaking at an event organised by The Indian Express and Financial Times, Das said the RBI has decided to give more emphasis on growth because of the pandemic and operate in the 2-6 per cent inflation band set by the government for it.
The central bank will seek to gradually move towards achieving the 4 per cent target over a period of time, he said, adding that the possibility of a sustained increase in inflation is unlikely.
Easy liquidity conditions in the global markets are among the conditions which are leading to a surge in markets domestically, he said, making it clear that there is no evidence of the high asset prices affecting the inflation situation.
17:31 Uncertainty everywhere: Rajnath on Afghanistan
Uncertainty has spread in everywhere in the world and the current developments in Afghanistan is one such example, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday.
"Whether it is South China Sea, Indian Ocean region, Indo-Pacific region or Central Asia, we can see uncertainty everywhere. The current developments in Afghanistan is one such example," he said at an event in Jaisalmer where medium range surface-to-air missile MRSAM was inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The global scenario is changing very quickly and in an unexpected way, he stated.
"Amid this changing global scenario, the equations between the nations are also changing quickly as per their interests," Singh said.
He also said that the changing geopolitics is affecting trade, economy, as well as the current security scenario. "In such a situation, the strength of our security and our self-reliance is not an achievement, but a necessity," he noted.
The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in mid-August, ousting the previous elected leadership which was backed by the West. An interim Cabinet was formed comprising high-profile members of the insurgent group.
In his speech, Singh also said that from being tagged as number one defence importer in the world, India today is supplying defence systems and sub-systems to foreign countries and it is something worth to be proud of. "We are taking all such measures that will help our defence sector to stand on its legs," he said. PTI
Image: Hamid Haidari, Editor in Chief and Current Affairs @1tvnewsaf, Kabul, tweets, "Habib Farzad, PhD research scholar at the South Asian University. Hew as detained and severely beaten up By Taliban in Kabul Today. His right hand is broken and his body suffers from serious injuries."
17:17 Sensex, Nifty end marginally higher
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Thursday led by gains in Bharti Airtel, Nestle India and TCS despite negative cues from global markets.
After trading in a range through the day, the 30-share Sensex ended 54.81 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 58,305.07 -- its all-time closing high.
The NSE Nifty rose 15.75 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at 17,369.25. Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping around 3 per cent, followed by Nestle India, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech and ITC. On the other hand, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were among the laggards.
16:44 BMC defends Rs 15.26cr tender for upkeep of penguins
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has defended the Rs 15.26 crore tender it had floated for the upkeep of penguins at Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, popularly known as Byculla zoo.
The BMC claimed that the birds had helped increase the civic-run facility's revenue.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the civic body said the zoo's income had surged to Rs 14.36 crore between April 2017 and March 2020, as against Rs 2.10 crore between April 2014 and March 2017, with the arrival of the flightless birds.
The BMC had in August floated a tender at the cost of Rs 15.26 crore for the upkeep of seven penguins at the zoo for three years, which comes to an expenditure of around Rs 5 crore for a year.
A political controversy erupted after the Congress criticised the ruling Shiv Sena over the tender.
The civic body claimed that the total value of the tender was Rs 11.46 crore, while the income of the zoo increased by Rs 12.26 crore since the arrival of penguins.
"It is clear that the increase in the income of the zoo after the arrival of penguins is higher than the money spent on maintaining the birds," BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said, adding that it was incorrect to say that the civic body was suffering losses because of the penguins.
16:29 Film financer Yusuf Lakdawala dies in jail
Builder and film financier Yusuf Lakdawala, who was lodged in Arthur Road Jail after being arrested by ED in land grabbing case, dies. His body has been brought to JJ Hospital. An ADR (Accidental Death Report) has been registered. Cause of the death is yet to be ascertained.
A classroom being cleaned after schools reopened in Guwahati
16:28 68% of India's Covid cases last week from Kerala
Covid update: 43,263 reported in last 24 hours, over 32,000 from Kerala. Almost 68% of total cases in last week from Kerala. Overall declining trend is a little less than 50% which was there in 1st wave. We're are still witnessing 2nd surge, it's not over: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.
16:07 Conflict of Interest complaint against Dhoni
The BCCI apex council on Thursday received a complaint against former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's appointment as the Indian team's mentor for the T20 World Cup, citing the conflict of interest clause in the Lodha Committee reforms.
Former Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association life member Sanjeev Gupta, who has previously filed a series of Conflict of interest complaints against players and administrators, has sent a letter to the apex council members that Dhoni's appointment is a violation of the Conflict of Interest clause, under which one person cannot hold two posts.
Dhoni is also captain of Chennai Super Kings IPL franchise. "Yes, Gupta has sent a letter to apex council members including Sourav (Ganguly) and Jay (Shah). He has cited clause 38 (4) of the BCCI constitution which loosely states that one person cannot be holding two separate posts.
The Apex Council will need to consult its legal team to check the ramifications," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity. It is understood that Dhoni being a player in one team and mentor in another raises questions for which clarity is needed.
15:37 FinMin releases Rs 9,871 cr to 17 states as revenue deficit grant
The Finance Ministry on Thursday said it has released the sixth monthly instalment of revenue deficit grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states.
Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant is provided to the states under Article 275 of the Constitution.
The grants are released as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission in monthly instalments to meet the gap in revenue accounts of the states post-devolution.
The commission has recommended this grant to the 17 states during 2021-22.
The Department of Expenditure has released the sixth monthly instalment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) grant of Rs 9,871 crore to the states on Thursday, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. With this instalment, a total amount of Rs 59,226 crore has been released to eligible states in the current financial year, it added.
15:20 Ford to stop manufacturing in India
US auto major Ford to shut down both its manufacturing plants in India, to sell only imported vehicles in the country going ahead.
The company said it was not profitable for them to continue. It will however provide support to dealers to service existing customers.
Huge disappointment for Narendra Modi's Make in India move.
Slum children learn computer skills at the Vacha Charitable Trust
15:07 Noted women's rights activist Sonal Shukla dead
Noted women's rights activist Sonal Shukla died after cardiac arrest in Mumbai on Thursday, a colleague said.
Shukla (80) was the founder and managing trustee of the Vacha Charitable Trust and worked with adolescent girls and women over the last four decades. Popularly known as Sonal Ben, Shukla was the co-founder of the group Forum Against Rape, now known as the Forum Against Oppression of Women.
15:03 Mum police asks Ganesh pandals for digital darshan
Just in: The Mumbai Police issues an order prohibiting darshan of Ganapati idols in pandals on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The police says organizers should arrange digital darshan.
The Mumbai civic body has also issued fresh guidelines for the Ganpati festival beginning from Friday and has banned physical darshan for devotees at public pandals as well as imposed restrictions on the number of participants in processions during the celebrations.
For bringing the idols of the deity and during their immersion, there will not be more than 10 people in the processions of public mandals and not more than five for the household Ganpatis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in the guidelines issued on Tuesday.
14:30 SRK's new dance teacher?
Gauri Khan's mother sways to Boney M's evergreen hit Daddy Cool on her birthday. Gauri tweeted the video saying, "There's no one who can match your steps ' Happy Birthday Mom ..."
The superstar son-in-law, Shah Rukh Khan, replied, "iamsrk: Hmmm need to take dancing lessons from mom in law."
14:01 Sharad Pawar meets Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday called on Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at his official residence here, where they are expected to discuss various issues related to the state government.
An NCP office-bearer said that Pawar reached Thackeray's official bungalow 'Varsha' around 12.45 pm.
NCP shares power with Shiv Sena and Congress in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Thackeray, who is also the president of Shiv Sena.
The meeting between the two leaders comes amid several issues being faced by the government and the ruling paries, like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiating a probe against former home minister Anil Deshmukh after the CBI filed its FIR against the NCP leader on charges of corruption and misuse of official position.
The ED had recently also summoned Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Anil Parab for questioning in the money laundering case registered against Deshmukh. Along with these points, the two leaders might also discuss the issue of nomination of 12 names to the state Legislative Council from the Governor's quota, which is still pending, the NCP office-bearer said.
13:18 SC halts seizure of assets of Future Group
In a relief for the Future Group, the Supreme Court halts the seizure of assets ordered by the Delhi High Court.
The SC stays all proceedings before the Delhi High Court relating to the Amazon-Future-Reliance case; asks NCLT, SEBI & CCI not to pass any final order relating to the case for four weeks
13:11 SC refuses to consider plea for centralised portal giving real-time info on essential COVID commodities
The Supreme Court has refused to consider a plea seeking directions to maintain a centralised portal to disseminate real-time information regarding essential commodities related to COVID-19.
A bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud, Vikram Nath and Hima Kohli directed the petitioner to move the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for considering the suggestions including the need for a centralised portal for COVID commodities such as oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators and medicines required during the infection.
"Since the petitioner has some suggestions, it would be appropriate to grant him liberty to move the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for considering the suggestions including the need for a centralized portal.
"His suggestions may be duly looked into at the appropriate level. The petition is disposed of as withdrawn, with the aforesaid liberty," the bench said its order passed on Monday.
13:02 AIIMS Delhi top medical college in India
Update: In the sixth edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) announced by Union Education Dharmendra Pradhan, eight IITs and two national Institutes of Technology (NITs) figured in the top ten engineering institutions in the country.
The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad ranked as the best B-School, while Jamia Hamdard was declared the top institution for pharmacy studies.
In the colleges category, Miranda House in Delhi bagged the first rank followed by Lady Sri Ram College for Women, Delhi and Loyola College, Chennai.
As per the NIRF ranking, AIIMS Delhi has bagged the top spot among medical colleges followed by PGIMER Chandigarh and Christian Medical College, Vellore. PTI
12:48 IIT Madras ranks 1st among educational institutes
IIT Madras ranks first followed by IISc Bengaluru and IIT Bombay in Ministry of Education's annual ranking: Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
IIT Madras ranks first followed by IISc Bengaluru & IIT Bombay in Ministry of Education's annual ranking: Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Incidentally, the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) were founded by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Nehru in the first convocation address of IIT Kharagpur in 1956 said, "Here in the place of that Hijli Detention Camp stands the fine monument of India, representing India's urges, India's future in the making. This picture seems to me symbolical of the changes that are coming to India."
12:29 The world's funniest animals
While living in East Africa, wildlife photographer Paul Joynson-Hicks was going through his photographs one day and came across several images which made him laugh out loud.
From that morning of laughter was born the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards in Paul's tiny office on the slopes of Mount Meru in northern Tanzania.
Take a look at some of the finalists chosen from over 7,000 entries received for this year's Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
12:24 35 more evacuees from Afghanistan discharged Covid centre
Thirty-five people, including 11 Nepal nationals, who were evacuated from Afghanistan after the Taliban captured Kabul last month were discharged from an ITBP facility in Delhi on Thursday after 14 days in quarantine.
With this, 113 people brought from Afghanistan to the Indian Tibetan Border Police facility for the mandated institutional quarantine have been discharged, said ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey.
The quarantine to check the spread of Covid is mandated by the government for those who arrive in the country from abroad. "The group that was discharged includes 24 Indians and 11 citizens from Nepal, the spokesperson said.
12:19 Dakshina Kannada on alert amid Nipah virus, Covid scare
Amid reports of Nipah virus and COVID-19 cases in neighbouring Kerala, the Deputy Commissioner of Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district issued an advisory on Wednesday to prevent the spread of viruses in the district.
According to the information shared by District Magistrate's Office, Mangaluru, the advisory instructs the people of Dakshina Kannada to avoid travelling to Kerala till the end of October, except in emergency issues.
It further instructs the concerned educational heads of all the colleges, schools or other institutes not to call their staff and students to attend physical classes.
12:14 Javed Akhtar's case against Kangana stands
The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed the plea filed by actor Kangana Ranaut seeking quashing of the criminal defamation proceedings initiated against her by a court in Mumbai based on lyricist Javed Akhtar's complaint.
High court judge, Justice Revati Mohite Dere, who had on September 1 reserved her order on the plea, said the applicant's (Ranaut's) petition "stands dismissed".
Ranaut, through her counsel Rizwan Siddiquee, had challenged the defamation proceedings that were initiated by the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate's court earlier this year, saying that the court had failed to apply its mind to the case.
Akhtar's counsel Jay Bharadwaj, however, told the high court that the magistrate had directed for the police inquiry after going through the lyricist's complaint and excerpts of Ranaut's interview, in which she had made the alleged defamatory comments.
Akhtar had filed the criminal complaint against Ranaut in November last year before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate for allegedly making defamatory and baseless comments against him in a television interview given to journalist Arnab Goswami.
11:39 IAF plane with Rajnath, Gadkari lands on highway
The Indian Air Force's C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria onboard made an Emergency Field Landing at the National Highway in Jalore, Rajasthan on Thursday.
Singh and Gadkari will today inaugurate the Emergency Landing Facility on Satta-Gandhav stretch of National Highway 925A in Rajasthan's Barmer.
This is the first time that the National Highway will be used for emergency landing of aircraft of the IAF.
According to the ministry of road transport and highways, the National Highways Authority of India had developed a three-km section of the Satta-Gandhav stretch of NH-925A as an Emergency Landing Facility for the IAF.
"This project will improve connectivity between villages of Barmer and Jalore districts located on the international borders. The stretch is located in the western border area will facilitate the vigilance of the Indian Army as well as strengthen the basic infrastructure of the country," said the official statement.
Apart from this Emergency Landing Strip, 3 helipads have been constructed in Kundanpura, Singhania and Bakhasar villages in this project according to the requirements of the Air Force/Indian Army, which will be the basis for strengthening the security network on the country's western border.
11:22 Assam boat tragedy: 84 found alive, 2 missing
Overnight search and rescue operations established contacts with 84 persons, who were travelling on the ill-fated boat that capsized in the Brahmaputra river in Assam, but two persons are still missing, officials said on Thursday morning.
One person was confirmed dead after a private boat heading to Majuli sank on Wednesday evening, following a head-on collision with a government-owned ferry near Nimati Ghat in Jorhat district.
The wreckage of the boat, which was found overturned around 1.5 km downstream of the mighty Brahmaputra, was cut open from the base by NDRF and SDRF divers, but no body was found inside it, Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Ashok Barman told PTI.
"So far, one person is confirmed dead and two persons are missing. We could do contact tracing of 84 persons to different villages in Jorhat and Majuli districts. This adds up to the presence of 87 passengers on the boat," he added.
Jorhat's Superintendent of Police Ankur Jain said the two missing persons hail from Jorhat and Lakhimpur districts, and search operation is still going on with divers from the NDRF and SDRF with backup of the Army.
"The divers on Thursday morning also went inside the boat, but could not find any body. Army divers will also search the area. Air Force will carry out an aerial survey downstream to locate the missing persons," he said.
Jorhat Medical College and Hospital's Superintendent Purnima Barua said 11 passengers were admitted to the hospital, of whom one died and three were released.
"Seven persons are still undergoing treatment, but none of them are critical. More than physical injury, they are in mental trauma," she said.
The deceased was identified as Parimita Das, who hailed from Guwahati and was working as a faculty at Rangachahi College in Majuli.
Officials of Inland Water Transport Department said private boat 'Ma Kamala' was heading to Majuli from Nimati Ghat on the southern bank with passengers and vehicles, while government ferry 'MB Tipkai' was coming from the world's largest river island when the two collided.
As 'Ma Kamala' was run by private parties, they did not have any system to give tickets to passengers. So, the initial estimate of the passengers on board varied from 80 to 150 as per eyewitness accounts.
Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, who reached the site at around 3 am, said many heads will roll after the inquiry by Transport Secretary Jadav Saikia is complete. -- PTI
10:33 COVID-19: India records 43,263 new cases
India saw a single day rise of 43,263 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,31,39,981, while the active cases increased to 3,93,614, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.
The death toll climbed to 4,41,749 with 338 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The active cases increased to 3,93,614 comprising 1.19 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.48 per cent, the ministry said.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23. -- PTI
09:50 Taliban bans women's sport in Afghanistan: Report
Afghan women cannot participate in sports including cricket as sporting activities would "expose their bodies", the Taliban said.
In an interview with the Australia's SBS TV, the deputy head of the Taliban's cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, said women's sport was considered neither appropriate nor necessary.
"In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this," the network quoted Ahmadullah Wasiq as saying.
"It is the media era, and there will be photos and videos, and then people watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed," he added.
09:37 US lawmaker seeks sanctions against Pak for 'aiding' Taliban offensive in Panjshir
A United States lawmaker has sought sanctions against Pakistan for reportedly aiding the Taliban offensive in Panjshir.
"If confirmed, not only must we cut off all aid, we must enact sanctions. Pakistan is now showing what they lied about for years, they created and protected the Taliban," Congressman Adam Kinzinger said.
Kinzinger said this in a tweet after Fox News report quoted a CENTCOM source saying that the Pakistani military are assisting the Taliban offensive in Panjshir, including 27 helicopters full of Pakistani Special Forces, backed up by Pakistani drone strikes.
Congressman Kinzinger represents the 16th Congressional District of Illinois. -- PTI
09:31 Modi to chair 13th BRICS summit today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the 13th BRICS Summit on Thursday in a virtual format, the ministry of external affairs said.
Brazil President Jair Bolsanaro, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be attending the meeting.
The theme for the Summit is 'BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus'
The situation following the Taliban takeover of Kabul and terror threats emanating from the region will also be discussed during the virtual meet.
Sources familiar with developments of the BRICS summit said that the leaders will also deliberate on important global and regional issues including Afghanistan, on which leaders are likely to underscore the priority of fighting terrorism, including preventing attempts by terror organizations to use Afghanistan as a sanctuary to carry out attacks against other countries.
This is the second time Prime Minister Modi will be chairing the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit. Earlier, he had chaired the Goa Summit in 2016.The Indian Chairship of BRICS this year coincides with the 15th anniversary of BRICS, as reflected in the theme for the summit".
The meeting will also be attended by India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, President of the New Development Bank Marcos Troyjo, the pro tempore chair of the BRICS Business Council, Onkar Kanwar and pro tempore Chair of the BRICS Women's Business Alliance, Sangita Reddy.
08:18 US not in a rush to recognize Taliban govt: WH
The United States is not in a rush to recognize the new interim government in Afghanistan, the White House said on Wednesday, asserting that it is in talks with the Taliban to get American citizens out of the strife-torn country.
"No one in this administration, not the President nor anyone on the national security team, would suggest that the Taliban are respected and valued members of the global community. They have not earned that in any way, and we have never assessed that. This is a caretaker cabinet that does include four former imprisoned Taliban fighters," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.
The administration has not validated that, she said.
"We have not conveyed we're going to recognize it and nor are we rushing to recognition. There's a lot they have to do before that. What we are working to do is to engage with them because they oversee and control Afghanistan right now to get American citizens, legal permanent residents, SIV applicants out of Afghanistan," Psaki said.
"We have to engage with them," she said.
"But to engage with them -- their new acting interior minister is a Haqqani network terrorist. He's wanted for a bombing that killed six people, including an American. He's believed to have participated in cross-border attacks against US troops. There's a USD 10-million bounty on his head. Why are we engaging?" she asked.
Taliban's hardline interim government includes specially designated global terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani as the acting interior minister.
"Should we not talk to the people who are overseeing Afghanistan and just leave it and not get the rest of the American citizens out?" the White House press secretary said.
The international community, she reiterated, is watching.
"The United States is watching. It's whether they let people depart the country who want to depart, whether they treat women across the country as they have committed to treat them and how they behave and operate. And, therefore, we're not moving toward recognition," she insisted.
"At the same time, we're dealing with a reality world here where we have to engage in order to get American citizens and others out of the country," she said. -- PTI
00:46 Waze paid Rs 50k/month to me: Escort tells NIA
A woman escort has told the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that former police officer Sachin Waze, an accused in the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case, was one of her clients and started paying Rs 50,000 to her per month from August last year.
The woman also told the NIA that she was not aware of the source of Rs 1.25 crore that was credited to the current account of a firm, of which she was made a director by Waze.
Her statement is part of the charge-sheet filed by the NIA last week in the case pertaining to planting of an explosives-laden SUV near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence in February this year and the subsequent murder of Mansukh Hiran, who had said that the vehicle was stolen from his possession.
Hiran's body was found in a creek in Thane in the first week of March.
In her statement, the woman said she met Waze for the first time in 2011.
The statement said that after Waze was reinstated in the police force in June 2020, he asked her to stop working as an escort as he would be getting a decent income.
'Accordingly, I stopped that work and Sachin started paying me Rs 50,000 every month from August 2020 towards my monthly expenses,' the statement said.
The woman said that Waze advised her to open two proprietary firms for regular income.
She told the probe agency that apart from the amount (Rs 50,000), he had never given her any cash. But for business purposes, he used to transfer amounts either to her savings accounts or to the current account of two firms.
On a query related to the CCTV footage of a five-star hotel in Mumbai, the woman said that Waze had given notes of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 36 lakh to her for counting and sorting between February 18 and 19.
When asked about multiple RTGS credits worth Rs 39 lakh into her saving accounts from different firms, the woman said she didn't know the entities from which the money was transferred into her accounts.
'These credits were received into my account as per the arrangements made by Sachin Waze and a part of the funds thus received was transferred (from her account) to the current account of Motosurgeon Automobile Private Ltd, wherein I was made a director by Waze,' she told the NIA.
On being asked about the entries of Rs 1.25 crore in the current account of another firm named Mayank Automation, the woman said she wasn't aware why these amount was credited.
'Waze must be aware at whose instance Mayank Automation was created. I used to give him signed blank cheques for transactions in its current account,' her statement said as per the chargesheet.
As per the NIA, it was Waze who had hatched the conspiracy to place the vehicle with explosives near Ambani's house. Waze wanted to regain his past glory as 'supercop' by staging a fake encounter, the charge sheet claimed. -- PTI
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