LIVE: India-Bangladesh borders to be sealed to curb infiltration, says Modi

Prime Minister said that India-Bangladesh borders with western Assam's Dhubri have been sealed. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that India-Bangladesh borders would be sealed to check infiltration, as he accused the Congress of aligning with the forces which are patronising the infiltrators.

Taking a swipe at the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the Opposition Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said the communists are 'extinct' in the world, while the Congress is over in India. Shah also attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who hadcampaigned in the state a day ago, saying he was on a "picnic".

In another news, the Supreme Court on Wednesday flagged the issue of possible misuse of funds received through electoral bonds by political parties for illegal purposes like terrorism and asked the Centre whether there was any control over how these funds were put to use.

On the market front, markets regulator Sebi ordered attachment of bank accounts as well as share and mutual fund holdings of Rana Kapoor, former MD and CEO of Yes Bank, to recover dues of over Rs 1 crore.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

3:15 AM

GameStop tumbles 34% as Reddit darling mulls share sale

Shares of Reddit-favorite GameStop Corp slumped 34% on Wednesday, a day after the videogame retailer said it might cash in on a meteoric rise in its share price to fund its e-commerce expansion.
 

GameStop shares remain up over 500% this year, benefiting from a push by retail investors on Reddit forums to drive up prices of heavily shorted stocks.
 

The company said on Tuesday after reporting quarterly results that it has been considering since January whether to increase the size of the $100 million share sale that it originally announced in December.
 

GameStop had previously decided against the move as it was restricted under U.S. financial regulations from selling shares because it had not yet updated investors on its earnings.
 

3:15 AM

Biden nominates Pakistani-American as Federal Trade Commissioner

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated a Pakistani-American associate professor of law to be a Federal Trade commissioner.
 

Lina Khan, who is in her early 30s, has been nominated for the unexpired term of seven years from September 26, 2017, vice Joseph Simons.
 

The White House sent the nominations to the United States Senate.
 

Born to Pakistani parents in London, Khan moved to the United States when she was 11.
 

Khan is an associate professor of law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches and writes about antitrust law, infrastructure industries law, and the antimonopoly tradition.
 

Her antitrust scholarship has received several awards and has been published by the Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, and University of Chicago Law Review.
 

Khan previously served as counsel to the US House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, where she helped lead the Subcommittee's investigation into digital markets.
 

She was also a legal advisor in the office of Commissioner Rohit Chopra at the Federal Trade Commission and legal director at the Open Markets Institute.

She is a graduate of Williams College and Yale Law School.
 

11:09 PM

Anger in cabinet over phone tapping: Awhad

The `phone tapping' by the intelligence department evoked angry reactions in the meeting of the Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday, housing minister Jitendra Awhad said here.
 

The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
 

Speaking to reporters, NCP leader Awhad alleged that then Commissioner of Intelligence Rashmi Shukla intercepted calls without permission from then Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sitaram Kunte.
 

Permission was sought for intercepting the calls of certain persons but actually the calls of some other persons were tapped, he claimed.

Shukla was not available for comment.
 

Awhad, however, said there was no discussion in the cabinet on former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's allegations of corruption against Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in a letter to Thackeray.
 

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday met the Union Home Secretary in Delhi and demanded a CBI probe into a purported state intelligence department report on "corruption" in police transfers in Maharashtra. He had also claimed to have data of telephone calls intercepted by Shukla in which names of several key police officers figure.
 

"There were angry reactions in the Cabinet meeting. Nobody (from among ministers) had hand in the transfers. All the transfers took place through a proper government channel," he said.

 

11:08 PM

Fourteen US states sue Biden administration over oil and gas leasing pause

Fourteen US states including Louisiana and Wyoming filed suits on Wednesday against President Joe Biden's administration to challenge his pause on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters.
 

The legal actions, which seek to restore regular federal drilling auctions, come a day before the administration is set to launch a review of the oil and gas leasing program.
 

Biden, a Democrat, in January signed an executive order putting on hold new leasing pending that review. During his election campaign, he pledged to end new federal leasing as part of a sweeping plan to address climate change.
 

The pause has triggered heavy criticism from the oil industry and from producing states that receive half of the revenues generated from federal lands drilling within their borders.
 

A coalition of 13 states filed one lawsuit in federal court in Louisiana, while Wyoming filed its own lawsuit in federal court in that state.
 

The states joining Louisiana's suit included Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. All have Republican attorneys general.
 

The lawsuits allege the administration's leasing pause violates the Mineral Leasing Act that requires quarterly lease sales.
 

In its lawsuit, Wyoming said the administration was also required to conduct an environmental review of the leasing suspension under the National Environmental Policy Act before taking action.
 

9:13 PM

Nuns' harassment in UP: Rahul says it is result of 'vicious propaganda' by Sangh Parivar

Reacting to the alleged harassment of nuns belonging to a Kerala-based congregation in Uttar Pradesh recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said it was the result of the "vicious propaganda" run by the Sangh Parivar to pitch one community against another and "trample" upon the minorities.
 

Two nuns and two postulants were taken off an express train and detained for questioning by railway police in Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh on March 19.
 

According to officials in Jhansi, the nuns were detained on March 19 after local Bajrang Dal activists complained that two women were allegedly being taken forcibly for religious conversion.
 

The police said there was no basis in the complaint and all four women later took the next train to their destination in Odisha.
 

"The attack in UP on nuns from Kerala is a result of the vicious propaganda run by the Sangh Parivar to pitch one community against another and trample the minorities," Gandhi said in a tweet.
 

"Time for us as a nation to introspect and take corrective steps to defeat such divisive forces," the former Congress chief said.
 

9:12 PM

Lok Sabha passes Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill

Lok Sabha on Wednesday gave its nod to a bill which seeks to strengthen the provisions relating to protection and adoption of children.
 

The amendment bill would address various issues flagged by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights that had looked into the working of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said while moving it for consideration and passage.
 

She said the proposed law seeks to make the district magistrate a "synergising officer" for issues related to protection of children.
 

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, proposes to increase the role of district magistrates and additional district magistrates with issues concerning child care and adoption, she said.

 

The minister said the panel had found various shortcomings in the implementation of the Act and the object of the proposed changes in the law is to ensure that action is taken without waiting "for a child to become a victim". 
 

9:10 PM

2 MPs raise issue of chaos in Bihar Assembly, Chair says can't discuss it in Lok Sabha

Two members of Lok Sabha on Wednesday raised the issue of the unruly scenes witnessed in the Bihar Assembly, with NCP's Supriya Sule condemning it and Ram Kripal Yadav of the BJP blaming the state's opposition for the chaos.
 

After Sule said that the incident was unfortunate and should not have happened, Yadav accused Bihar's opposition for creating the unruly scenes in the Assembly.

However, Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the Chair, said that issues related to any Assembly cannot be discussed in Lok Sabha.
 

According to reports, several videos of Bihar opposition MLAs getting kicked and dragged by the hair and women legislators being shoved by policemen have gone viral on the social media.
 

The crackdown followed their attempts to lay siege to the chamber of Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, thereby preventing him from reaching the assembly hall and resume business.
 

Later, police personnel had to enter the Assembly hall and help marshals in physically evicting a handful of unruly legislators who had vandalised the furniture placed inside the well and clambered on to the speaker's podium in a bid to prevent him from taking his seat.
 

8:55 PM

SC flags possible misuse of funds received through electoral bonds

The Supreme Court on Wednesday flagged the issue of possible misuse of funds received through electoral bonds by political parties for illegal purposes like terrorism and asked the Centre whether there was any control over how these funds were put to use, according to a PTI report.

 

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde told Attorney General K K Venugopal that the government should look into this issue of possible misuse of funds received through electoral bonds for illegal purposes like terrorism.

 

What is the control of the government on how the money is put to use, the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, asked Venugopal.

8:10 PM

BJP releases Keralal manifesto promising jobs, free laptops, legislation to protect Sabarimala traditions

The BJP lined up several promises, including a legislation to protect traditions of the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala and law against "Love Jihad", while assuring employment for at least one person from each family and free laptops to high school students, in its manifesto for the assembly polls unveiled here on Wednesday.

 

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar released the manifesto of the saffron party-led NDA front along with senior state leaders O Rajagopal, P K Krishnadas,NDA leader and Kerala Kamaraj Congress state chief Vishnupuram Chandrashekhar, among others.

 

Describing the manifesto as progressive, dynamic, aspirational and developmental oriented, Javadekar said it guarantees a terrorism-free and hunger-free Kerala, among others.

7:59 PM

Parliament nod to Budget for FY22; FM says no risk of India's rating downgrade

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said there is no risk of India's sovereign rating being downgraded as a result of higher deficits, as the Rajya Sabha returned the Finance Bill 2021 without suggesting any change to complete the Parliamentary approval for Budget 2021-22, according to a PTI report.

The Lok Sabha had on Tuesday approved the Finance Bill 2021 -- which contains tax proposals for the next fiscal year beginning April 1 -- after accepting some government amendments such as raising provident fund ceiling for tax-free interest to Rs 5 lakh and platforms such as Amazon not being liable for the equalisation levy as long as the goods and services listed are owned or provided by an Indian permanent establishment of the overseas entity.

The bill was debated in the Upper House, which returned it without suggesting any change or amendment.

7:57 PM

Thane court directs Maharashtra ATS to stop its probe into Mansukh Hiran death case

Thane court directs Maharashtra ATS to stop its probe into Mansukh Hiran death case and hand over case records to NIA immediately

7:55 PM

Sebi orders attachment of bank, demat, MF accounts of Rana Kapoor

Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday ordered attachment of bank accounts as well as share and mutual fund holdings of Rana Kapoor, former MD and CEO of Yes Bank, to recover dues of over Rs 1 crore.

 

The decision has been taken after Kapoor failed to pay the fine imposed on him.

 

Sebi, in September 2020, had levied a fine of Rs 1 crore on Kapoor for not making disclosures regarding a transaction of Morgan Credit, which was an unlisted promoter entity of Yes Bank.

7:31 PM

Lok Sabha passes The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021

Lok Sabha passes The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021

7:19 PM

Finance Bill has amendments to improve ease of doing business: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that the Finance Bill,2021 has some amendments aimed at achieving a reduction in compliance and improving ease of doing business.

 

Replying to debate on the Finance Bill, 2021 in Rajya Sabha, the Minister said it does not envisage any increase in taxation particularly in direct taxes and income tax.

 

"The Finance Bill, 2021 doesn't envisage any increase in taxation particularly in direct taxes and income tax. It has some amendments towards achieving a reduction in compliance aimed at ease of doing business. An approach is similar for customs and indirect taxes," she said. READ MORE...

5:57 PM

Congress neither has 'neta' nor 'neeti', it's only spreading lies: PM Modi in Assam