Latest LIVE: Modi blames previous govts for 'neglecting' religious places

From PM Modi's Kedarnath, Badrinath visit to coronavirus cases, catch all the latest developments from across the globe here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kedarnath and Badrinath on Friday during which he will inspect various ongoing development works and also lay foundation stones for some new projects. In view of the visit, security arrangements have been tightened in the area, an official said. The Prime Minister will reach Kedarnath at around eight Friday morning and will perform worship of Baba Kedar. After it, he will lay the foundation stone of the 9.7 km long Gaurikund-Kedarnath ropeway project.

Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter Inc. involve slashing its staff by nearly 75% in a matter of months, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. Musk, whose $44 billion purchase of the social network is set to close by October 28, would reduce Twitter’s staff to just more than 2,000 people, compared with the 7,500 it currently employs, the Post reported, citing Musk’s comments to prospective investors. Musk had told investors he planned to shrink staff in his initial pitch to bankers for funding, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in April.

The IMD Thursday said that the possible cyclone in the Bay of Bengal is likely to reach West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts by October 25, skirting Odisha. The IMD in a statement said that a low pressure area has formed in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday and is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm on October 24. The low pressure area is very likely to move west-northwestwards and develop into a depression over east-central and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal around October 22. It is likely to intensify into a deep depression by October 23.

10:38 PM

Noida airport: Authorities get consent of 70% of farmers - minimum required - for land acquisition

Officials on Friday said they have received consent letters of more than 70 per cent of farmers -- the minimum required by law for government to proceed for land acquisition for the second phase of Noida International Airport.

Around 1,365 hectare of land is to be acquired for the second phase of the greenfield project from six villages -- Ranhera, Kureb, Dayanatpur, Karauli Bangar, Mundrah and Birampur -- the officials said.

The first phase of the greenfield airport, billed to be India's largest upon completion and costing an estimated Rs 29,560 crore, is under development in the Jewar area of Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh, some 75 km off Delhi.

10:02 PM

Pfizer says Covid-19 vaccine will cost $110-$130 per dose

Pfizer will charge $110 to $130 for a dose of its Covid-19 vaccine once the U.S. government stops buying the shots, but the drugmaker says it expects many people will continue receiving it for free.

Pfizer executives said the commercial pricing for adult doses could start early next year, depending on when the government phases out its program of buying and distributing the shots.

9:03 PM

Reliance Industries to demerge and list financial services business into Jio Financial Services

8:56 PM

Pakistan taken off FATF's grey list after four years: FATF president T Raja Kumar

Pakistan is no longer subject to FATF's increased monitoring process; to continue to work with APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering) to further improve its AML/CFT (anti-money laundering & counter-terrorist financing) system.

"They've (Pakistan) been removed from the grey list, however, there's still work to be done on their part. I'm encouraging Pakistan to continue to work with the Asia-Pacific group to continue taking steps to combat terrorism financing," said FATF president T Raja Kumar on Friday.

8:49 PM

Modi blames previous govts, slave mentality for 'neglect' of centres of faith

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused previous governments of leaving centres of faith across the country in a state of neglect and said these places are now being restored to their lost glory.

Citing examples of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, Ujjain and Ayodhya, where major reconstruction works have been carried out in recent years, Modi attributed the "years of neglect" to a "slave mentality".

"Slave mentality grips the minds of some people so strongly that they react even to development as if it is a crime," he said, addressing a gathering in Uttarakhand's Mana village on the India-China border after laying foundation stones of two ropeway projects to Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib.

8:28 PM

Vodafone Idea Board okays Rs 1,600-cr debentures to ATC Telecom Infra

Vodafone Idea has received board of directors approval for issuing Indian rupee-denominated debentures to ATC Telecom Infrastructure aggregating to Rs 1,600 crore.

7:49 PM

Reliance Q2 results: Consolidated net profit at Rs 13,656 crore, revenue rises 34%

7:17 PM

UP CM Adityanath announces monthly motorcycle allowance of Rs 500 for police

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday announced a monthly motorcycle allowance of Rs 500 for police personnel in the state.

The motorcycle allowance is given to all non-gazetted police personnel.

"The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to increase the cycle allowance of Rs 200 given to policemen to Rs 500 (per month) as motorcycle allowance," Adityanath said during his address at the Police Memorial Day Parade at Reserve Police Lines here.

7:02 PM

Chinese loan apps: ED freezes fresh deposits worth Rs 78 cr after raids at premises of Razorpay, others

The ED on Friday said it has frozen fresh deposits worth Rs 78 crore following raids at the premises of payment gateway Razorpay and some banks as part of an ongoing money laundering probe against the alleged illegal operations of loan apps "controlled" by Chinese nationals.

The searches were carried out at five premises in Bengaluru on October 19, the Enforcement Directorate said.

7:00 PM

MCD allocates Rs 40,000 per ward to augment street lighting at Chhath ghats

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has allocated Rs 40,000 per ward to augment street lighting at Chhath ghats, it said in a statement on Friday.

The funds will be allocated to two ghats per ward.

6:46 PM

International cooperation should be joint and reciprocal: CBI director

International cooperation to combat global threats should be a two way street -- joint and reciprocal, CBI Director Subodh Jaiswal said at the concluding session of the Interpol's 90th General Assembly on Friday.

He also said that the world continues to be vulnerable on account of threats to the common people for which international cooperation is needed.

5:57 PM

Oil production cut: Saudi minister says OPEC+ doing right job to ensure stable market

OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia on Friday defended the oil cartel and its partners' decision to cut crude oil production, saying they were doing the right job to ensure a stable and sustainable market.

OPEC+ earlier this month decided to cut crude oil production quota by 2 million barrels per day, starting in November, to prop up sagging oil prices.

5:24 PM

ED attaches 7 properties of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached seven immovable assets of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari as part of a money laundering investigation against him and his family.

The properties, provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are worth Rs 1.48 crore (registry value) while their circle rate at the time of registration was Rs 3.42 crore, the federal agency said in a statement.

4:03 PM

CIL starts 17 more first-mile connectivity projects worth Rs 11k cr

State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) on Friday said it has started 17 more first-mile connectivity projects worth Rs 11,000 crore under the third phase.

First-mile connectivity (FMC) refers to the transportation of coal from pitheads to dispatch points.

3:22 PM

Delhi govt to launch 'Red Light on Gaadi off' campaign to curb vehicular pollution from Oct 28

The Delhi government will launch the "Red Light on Gaadi off" campaign again to curb vehicular pollution from October 28, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday.

Under the campaign, first launched on October 16, 2020, to cut down vehicular pollution in the national capital, drivers are encouraged to switch off their vehicles while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.