Afghanistan LIVE: China hints at providing financial aid to Taliban

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the National Monetisation Pipeline today. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) today that includes the Centre’s four-year plan to monetise its brownfield infrastructure assets. The government has planned a Rs 6-trillion pipeline of assets that can be monetised, which will include a range of assets put on the block for private sector participation.

Amid deepening crisis in Afghanistan, United States President Joe Biden defended his move to withdraw troops from the country, saying history will record this as a "logical, rational, and right decision". The Biden administration has come under criticism from some quarters for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan as the Taliban captured power, resulting in chaos and deaths.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with representatives of all the parties in the state will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue of a caste-based census.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate the capital's first smog tower at Connaught Place today.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

1:47 AM

Biden, UK's Johnson discuss Afghanistan evacuation, upcoming G7 meeting

US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke on Monday about the ongoing evacuation operations in Kabul and planned to discuss a common approach to Afghanistan during the upcoming virtual meeting with G7 leaders.

 

"President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom spoke today about Afghanistan. They discussed the ongoing efforts by our diplomatic and military personnel to evacuate their citizens, local staff, and other vulnerable Afghans," the White House said in a statement.

 

They also discussed plans for the G7 virtual leaders' meeting tomorrow, underscoring the importance of close coordination with allies and partners in managing the current situation and forging a common approach to Afghanistan policy, the statement added.

 

Last week, UK prime minister had informed that G7 countries will have urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan on August 24.

11:57 PM

UN official says Afghan supplies low, seeks help

A top World Health Organization official says the agency only has a few days left of supplies for Afghanistan and wants help to ferry in 10 or 12 planeloads of equipment and medicine for its beleaguered people.

 

Dr. Rick Brennan, who heads WHO's eastern Mediterranean region that includes Afghanistan, said from Cairo that the U.N. health agency is negotiating with the U.S. and other countries to help efforts to replenish strained stockpiles.

 

We estimate we've only got a few days left of supplies, Brennan said, alluding to a distribution center in Dubai that has what's needed. We have 500 metric tons ready to go, but we haven't got any way of getting them into the country right now.

 

Brennan said U.S. and other authorities have encouraged WHO and partners to look to other Afghan airports other than Kabul's, which is facing a crush of thousands of people who are trying to get out of Afghanistan after a Taliban takeover.

10:39 PM

Taliban's power grab in Afghanistan could weaken Pakistan in region

There's no doubt that the recent victory of the Taliban over the Afghan government became possible with the strong help of Pakistan in past decades as for a long time Islamabad has been providing logistical support and safe havens to the Taliban terrorists in the region. But the release of nearly 2,300 Tehreek-e-Taliban (Pakistani Taliban) terrorists by the Afghan Taliban and their stand over Kashmir raises questions over its future relations with Islamabad, a media report said.

 

Soon after capturing Kabul, the Taliban started releasing Tehreek-e-Taliban (Pakistan Taliban) leaders. So far, Afghan-Taliban has released nearly 2,300 members of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) including its deputy chief Faqir Mohammad. The Pakistani Taliban felicitated the Afghan Taliban for capturing Kabul after pledging allegiance to the Taliban's head Hibatullah Akhundzada, The Diplomat reported.

9:18 PM

We'll never even think of going back to Afghanistan now: Women refugees in India

On August 15, when her native city Kabul fell to the Taliban, 19-year-old Mariam Arzo Nooyar was crying at her house in south Delhi's Bhogal, saying all hope of redemption for her war-torn Afghanistan was replaced by nightmares. Nooyar, an Afghan refugee, along with her family had moved to India seven years ago in hope of a safer and prosperous future.

 

"India is our home now and every year August 15 is the day of festivities in the country to mark its Independence Day. But this August 15, when India was celebrating its 75th Independence Day, we lost our, as Kabul fell to the Taliban that very day. I was depressed and sad, and cried the whole day in my room," she said with a heaviness in her voice.

 

She was among the hundreds of Afghan refugees, mostly youths, who gathered and vociferously protested in front of the UNHCR office here amid deepening crisis in Afghanistan in the wake of takeover of the strife-torn nation by the Taliban.

8:31 PM

China hints at providing financial aid to Taliban controlled Afghanistan

China on Monday hinted at stepping up financial assistance to the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, saying it will play a positive role in helping the war-ravaged country amid global pushback to stop funding to Kabul until the Afghan militant group modified its hardline religious policies.

 

In his media briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin hit out at the US saying it is "main perpetrator" for the Afghan crisis and Washington cannot leave without doing anything for Afghanistan's reconstruction. Read more

8:20 PM

Maruti Suzuki to take 'appropriate action under law' on CCI penalty

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) on Monday said it is examining and will "take appropriate actions under law" with regards to an order by the CCI that imposed Rs 200 crore penalty on it for indulging in anti-competitive conduct and restricting discounts by its dealers.

 

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in a statement on Monday stated that it found that "MSIL had an agreement with its dealers whereby the dealers were restrained from offering discounts to the customers beyond those prescribed by MSIL".

8:05 PM

Passenger trains, stadiums, railway stations, airports in Rs 6 trn monetisation plan

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday unveiled an ambitious Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that included unlocking value by involving private companies across infrastructure sectors -- from passenger trains and railway stations to airports, roads and stadiums.

 

As many as 25 Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports, including ones at Chennai, Bhopal, Varanasi and Vadodara, as well as 40 railway stations, 15 railway stadiums and an unidentified number of railway colonies have been identified for getting private investments.

7:39 PM

RBI appointed panel suggests 4-tier structure for UCBs

A Reserve Bank-appointed committee has suggested a four-tier structure for the urban cooperative banks (UCBs) depending upon the deposits and prescribed different capital adequacy and regulatory norms for them based on their sizes.

 

The RBI committee said that UCBs can be split into four categories -- Tier-1 with deposits up to Rs 100 crore; Tier-2 with deposits between Rs 100-Rs 1,000 crore, Tier-3 with deposits between Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 10,000 and Tier-4 with deposits of over Rs 10,000 crore.

7:36 PM

'Find a solution': SC to Centre on roads blocked due to farmers' protest

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to find a solution to the blockade of roads in Delhi-NCR, against the backdrop of the ongoing farmers' protest against the three agriculture laws.

 

Noida resident Monicca Agarwaal had moved the top court challenging the road blockade caused by farmers protesting at Delhi-Noida border.

 

Saying that she is a single parent and also had some medical issues, the petitioner claimed that her travel to Delhi was taking two hours instead of normal 20 minutes.

7:33 PM

Road assets worth Rs 1.6 trn to be monetised over 4 years

Road assets worth Rs 1.60 trillion will be monetised over four years till FY25 under the ambitious national asset monetisation plan announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday.

 

Sitharaman said the asset monetisation does not involve selling of land and it is about monetising brownfield assets.

 

The road assets monetisation will be implemented by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

 

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the potential models of road assets monetisation would be Toll Operate Transfer (ToT) and InvIT.

7:01 PM

Thousands of anti-Taliban fighters gather in Panjshir Valley

The anti-Taliban forces gathering in the Panjshir Valley region of Afghanistan said that the group intends to "pursue peace and negotiations before any sort of war and conflict starts".

 

Ali Nazary, of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan said that thousands of fighters had gathered in the region under Ahmad Massoud, son of the famed anti-Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah Massoud, BBC reported.

6:49 PM

Elgar case: Accused activists seek default bail claiming sessions court had no jurisdiction

Seven activists and academics accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case told the Bombay High Court on Monday the Pune sessions court, which remanded them to custody following their arrest and also took cognisance of the police's chargesheet in 2019, had no jurisdiction to do so and sought a default bail.

 

The petitioners are Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira.

6:47 PM

Various organisations in Delhi come together to express solidarity with Afghans

Various organisations here came together on Monday to express solidarity with the people of war-torn Afghanistan and urge the international community to ensure that their rights are protected.

 

Amid deepening crisis in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the nation, the organisations, including the National Federation of Indian Women, had given a call for solidarity with Afghans in their struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights.

Raising anti-Taliban slogans, the organisers said, "Stop atrocities against women and children in Taliban. We will fight, we will win. We are with Afghanistan people in their times of struggle."

 

6:41 PM

Taliban official tells imams to reassure Afghans

The Taliban's longtime spokesman has urged imams in Afghanistan to give assurances to Afghans about their security and safety.

 

Zabihullah Mujahid said on Monday at a gathering of clerics in the capital Kabul that they are responsible for keeping their constituents calm.

 

He also urged them to "clear the baseless propaganda" he says is being disseminated by the US about the Taliban.

6:39 PM

Kalyan Singh cremated with full state honours