LIVE: British PM reduces length of India trip, to meet PM Modi on April 26

British PM Boris Johnson reduced the length of his trip to India later this month because of Covid-19 situation in India. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reduced the length of his trip to India later this month because of the Covid-19 situation in the country, his spokesman said on Wednesday, adding he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "We've been in close contact with the Indian government about the PM's upcoming visit in light of the Covid-19 situation in India.

As a result of these discussions the prime minister has made the decision to reduce the length of the visit," he told reporters."This programme will be focused on high level discussions with the Indian government and Indian business leaders," he said, adding that the bulk of the programme would now take place on April 26.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed BJP claims to build "Sonar Bangla" (golden Bengal) as a "mirage" and said the saffron party has nothing to offer except for hatred, violence and dividing people on the basis of language, religion, caste and creed.

In a major development, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) today cancelled class 10 exams and postponed class 12 exams in view of surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.

On the business front, IT services major Infosys on Wednesday posted a 17.5 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 5,076 crore for the March quarter, and announced up to Rs 9,200 crore buyback offer at a maximum price of Rs 1,750 per share.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

3:08 AM

Delhi govt launches Babasaheb Ambedkar Digital Kala Festival

The Delhi government on Wednesday launched the Babasaheb Ambedkar Digital Kala Festival to mark the 130th birth anniversary of the social reformer and revolutionary, officials said here.
 

According to a statement, the Delhi government's Department of Art, Culture and Languages (ACL) has launched the first edition of the festival, which will be a week-long exhibition.
 

Through such a festival, the Delhi government seeks to promote the teachings of Baba Saheb Ambedkar in the people, especially the youth in the city, it said.
 

Marking the launch, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “The Delhi government is constantly striving to promote the values and teachings of Babasaheb Ambedkar, along with the contributions made by him in framing India's Constitution. Such events will instill and encourage a sense of pride in the people, while they work around the theme of equality for all." The statement said participants are required to upload their content on Instagram, Twitter or YouTube and tag ACL to participate.
 

3:06 AM

Congress MLA Irfan Ansari performs puja at Baidyanath Dham, BJP MP demands his arrest

Jharkhand's Congress MLA Irfan Ansari on Wednesday performed puja at the famous Baidyanath Dham temple at Deoghar, considered to be the most sacred abode of Lord Shiva, creating a controversy.
 

Claiming that entry of non-Hindus is not allowed in the temple, BJP MP Dr Nishikant Dubey demanded immediate arrest of Ansari.
 

The MLA of Jamtara, along with his companions, entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and performed the puja.
 

Photographs of the act were also taken.
 

Ansari claimed that he has been coming to the Baidyanath Dham temple since his childhood to take the blessings of Lord Shiva.
 

"Whenever elections come, I have been blessed by Baba Bhole (Lord Shiva) and I have won. Who is Nishikant Dubey to take me away from Baba?" Ansari said.
 

10:00 PM

WB CEO calls all party meeting to ensure strict implementation of corona protocol during campaigning

West Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Aariz Aftab Wednesday called an all party meeting on April 16 following the Calcutta High Court direction to the CEO and all district magistrates in the state to ensure strict implementation of Covid-19 protocol during campaigning for the remaining four phases of the state election, an EC official said.
 

All political parties in the state have been asked to send only one representative each for the meeting which will discuss matters related to the campaigning for the last four phases of the poll, he said.
 

There will be discussions on the norms of social distancing and relevant Covid-19 protocol, the official added.
 

State Additional Director General of police (Law and Order) Jag Mohan and state health secretary N S Nigam will also be present in the meeting, he said.
 

The Calcutta High Court had on Tuesday directed that all health-related guidelines should be maintained in the strictest possible manner with regard to campaigning by political parties for the West Bengal assembly polls in view of the resurgence in Covid-19 cases.
 

Hearing two PILs in this regard, a division bench presided by Chief Justice T B N Radhakrishnan had ordered that all district magistrates will ensure that the guidelines laid down by the EC and CEO are strictly implemented in letter and spirit and if necessary, with police aid.
 

The court had said that it is in the public interest that the administration should ensure that all the Covid-19 guidelines are strictly adhered to by all concerned, including those engaged in election campaign activities.
 

9:58 PM

Demand to remove 'Adani' tag from arch of Mangaluru airport

AICC secretary and former MLC Ivan DSouza on Wednesday demanded that the Adani brandname be removed from the welcome arch of the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA).
 

Addressing reporters here, he said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) should take immediate steps to remove the 'Adani' tag from the airports name as it violated the agreement with the company which has only been given permission to operate and maintain the airport.
 

He said details obtained through an RTI query have revealed that the operating company cannot tag its name with the airport, which is fully under the Civil Aviation Ministry.
 

DSouza alleged that due to the neglect shown by the AAI, the MIA has witnessed a slump in its growth over the years.
 

The facilities at the airport have not been improved and the number of flights have come down.
 

He said the Congress would launch a 'Save Airport' movement if the authorities continued to show neglect towards the MIA.
 

9:31 PM

BJP leaders wear saffron attire without knowing its significance: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday attacked the BJP claiming that its leaders sport saffron attire but they have no idea about the significance of the colour.
 

Apparently referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is now seen in long white beard, she said that no one becomes Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore by sporting a beard like him.
 

The TMC boss also said that the BJP will not be able to win 70 out of the total 294 seats in the state where an eight-phase election is being held.

She alleged that the BJP has contributed to the rise in Covid-19 cases in the state by bringing "outsiders in large numbers" for campaigning during the assembly polls.
 

"BJP leaders wear saffron attires to show they are committed to the colour. Do they know the significance of saffron? It means sacrifice. But their only desire is to kill democracy," Banerjee said at a rally at Haringhata in Nadia district.
 

It is normal in a democracy that there will be political fights but it is not proper if democracy itself is stifled, she said.
 

Banerjee said, "I was banned from campaigning for 24 hours. What wrong had I done? I only asked minorities to vote unitedly. I told this to the Hindus as well. The ban had forced me to cancel four meetings."
 

8:23 PM

Campaigning for fifth phase of West Bengal elections concludes

Campaigning for the fifth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections to 45 seats ended on Wednesday. The campaigning ended at 6.30 pm, while polling is scheduled to be held on April 17. The Election Commission increased the silence period from 48 to 72 hours in view of the Cooch Behar killings in the fourth phase.

 

A total of 1.13 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes to decide the fate of 342 candidates, including Siliguri Mayor and Left Front leader Ashok Bhattacharya, state minister Bratya Basu and BJP's Samik Bhattacharya.

 

Polling will be held from 7 am to 6.30 pm at 15,789 polling stations in 16 assembly seats in North 24 Parganas, eight each in Purba Bardhaman and Nadia, seven in Jalpaiguri, five Darjeeling and one in Kalimpong district.

7:59 PM

British PM reduces length of India trip, to meet PM Modi on April 26

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reduced the length of his trip to India later this month because of the Covid-19 situation in the country, his spokesman said on Wednesday, adding he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi."We've been in close contact with the Indian government about the PM's upcoming visit in light of the Covid-19 situation in India.

As a result of these discussions the prime minister has made the decision to reduce the length of the visit," he told reporters."This programme will be focused on high level discussions with the Indian government and Indian business leaders," he said, adding that the bulk of the programme would now take place on April 26.

 

6:20 PM

BJP will not get even 70 seats in West Bengal, says Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the BJP will not be able to win even 70 seats in the ongoing state assembly elections which many expect to be a cliff-hanger.

 

Speaking at a rally at Dabgram-Fulbari in Jalpaiguri district, the Trinamool Congress supremo ridiculed Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent claim that BJP had already won a 100 seats in the four phases of the election to the 294-seat assembly. READ MORE...

5:47 PM

Infosys net profit rises 17.5% to Rs 5,076 crore in March quarter

IT services major Infosys on Wednesday posted a 17.5 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 5,076 crore for the March quarter, and announced up to Rs 9,200 crore buyback offer at a maximum price of Rs 1,750 per share.

 

The Bengaluru-based company's net profit (after minority interest) was Rs 4,321 crore in the January-March 2020 quarter. Its revenue grew 13.1 per cent to Rs 26,311 crore in the March 2021 quarter from Rs 23,267 crore in the year-ago period, Infosys said in a regulatory filing.

 

The company's FY21 net profit was up 16.6 per cent to Rs 19,351 crore, while revenue was higher by 10.7 per cent to Rs 1,00,472 crore compared to the previous fiscal. Infosys expects FY22 revenue to grow 12-14 per cent in constant currency.

5:32 PM

West Assembly Elections 2021: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Darjeeling

5:19 PM

CBSE exams: School principals, educationists want fair criteria for grading class 10 students

The CBSE's decision on board examinations in view of rising COVID-19 cases evoked mixed reactions from school principals and educationists who demanded there should be a fair criteria for grading class 10 students and a schedule be announced soon for class 12 examinees.

 

The CBSE on Wednesday cancelled class 10 board exams and postponed class 12 exams following surge in coronavirus cases. While the situation will be reviewed in June for conduct of class 12 examinations, the result for class 10 will be declared on basis of an objective criteria decided by the board.

 

The exams were scheduled to begin from May 4.

4:30 PM

BJP trying to destroy West Bengal and its culture: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Wednesday termed BJP claims to build "Sonar Bangla" (golden Bengal) as a "mirage" and said the saffron party has nothing to offer except for hatred, violence and dividing people on the basis of language, religion, caste and creed.

 

During his first rally in Bengal in this election season, Gandhi took a dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and said his party would never align with the BJP and the RSS, unlike the TMC, which in the past had been an alliance partner of the saffron party-led NDA.

 

"BJP wants to destroy Bengal's culture, heritage and divide it. In Assam, they are doing the same thing; in Tamil Nadu, they are trying to do the same thing with their alliance partner AIADMK.

4:08 PM

Former election commissioner Krishnamurty passes away

Former election commissioner GVG Krishnamurty died here on Wednesday due to age-related ailments. According to details shared by his family with the EC, the 86-year-old Krishnamurty passed away around 10 am.

 

An Indian Legal Service officer, Krishnamurty became the election commissioner in October, 1993. His last rites will take place this evening at the Lodhi Road crematorium.

3:38 PM

BJP has nothing to offer except hatred and violence: Rahul Gandhi at rally in West Bengal

3:27 PM

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal welcomes cancellation, postponement of CBSE board exams

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday welcomed the Central government's decision to cancel or postpone the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic and called it a "great relief" for lakhs of students and their parents.

Board Exams for Class 10th have been cancelled and 12th exams have been postponed, said the Union Ministry of Education on Wednesday after a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. READ MORE...