Unacademy is like the Netflix for live education: CEO Gaurav Munjal
In an interview with Samreen Ahmad and Bibhu Ranjan Mishra, Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy talks about how the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic may have shortened the time the company has taken to achieve $1.45 billion valuation by almost half, and how the Bengaluru-based firm is trying to enter into new exams categories. Read more
In this pic, Gaurav Munjal is standing at the centre while Hemesh Singh is in black jacket (right) and Roman Saini is in grey jacket (left).
2:32 AM
ACC approves appointment of V K Yadav as Railway Board's first ever CEO
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of the current chairman of the Railway Board VK Yadav as the CEO, making him the first to hold such a post in the railway's history.
The Cabinet had earlier approved the restructuring of the Railway Board, whose strength has been cut from eight to five, as part of large scale reforms initiated by the national transporter. Read more
2:31 AM
India bolsters presence in strategic heights of Pangong lake area: Report
The Indian Army has further bolstered its presence in at least three strategic heights in the southern bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh, days after foiling China's "provocative" actions to change the status quo in the area, government sources said on Wednesday.
Some "readjustments" in deployment of troops were also carried out on the northern bank of the Pangong lake on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LAC) as part of precautionary measures, they said. The situation in the area was said to be sensitive. Read more
2:30 AM
Isha, Akash Ambani, Byju, Poonawalla debut on Fortune's '40 under 40' list
The Fortune magazine has come out with a list of 40 influential people below the age of 40. The list covers five sectors including finance, technology, health, government/politics and media/entertainment. The following Indian business leaders made it to the list.... Read more
2:29 AM
China eyes military facilities in Pak, Myanmar, 10 other nations: Pentagon
China is seeking to set up more robust logistics in about a dozen countries, including three in India's neighbourhood, to allow its army to project and sustain its power at greater distances, a Pentagon report has said.
In addition to the three Indian neighbours -- Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar -- the other countries where China is considering to base its military logistics and infrastructure are Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan, the report said on Tuesday. Read more
2:23 AM
Parliamentary panel probes FB India chief; accuses firm of bias, collusion
Amid a raging row over Facebook's alleged political "bias", a Parliamentary panel on Wednesday questioned the company's India head Ajit Mohan for over two hours, with both BJP and Congress members of the panel accusing the social media giant of colluding and influencing opinion, a charge denied by the firm. Read more
8:51 PM
Latest News LIVE: India ranks 48th in global innovation index
India has joined the group of top 50 countries in the global innovation index for the first time, moving up four places to the 48th rank and keeping the top position among the nations in central and southern Asia, according to a PTI report.
According to the Global Innovation Index (GII) list, 2020 released jointly by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD Business School on Wednesday, the rankings show stability at the top but a gradual "eastward shift in the locus of innovation" as Asian economies like China, India, the Philippines and Vietnam have advanced considerably in the innovation ranking over the years.
Switzerland, Sweden, the US, the UK and the Netherlands lead the innovation ranking, and the top 10 positions are dominated by high-income countries, WIPO said in a statement.
8:36 PM
FM Nirmala Sitharaman to meet heads of banks, NBFCs on loan recast on Thursday
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a review meeting with heads of banks and NBFCs on Thursday for smooth and speedy implementation of the one-time debt recast for resolution of COVID-19 related stress in bank loans, according to a PTI report.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month permitted one-time restructuring of both corporate and retail loans without getting classified as a non-performing asset (NPA). Banks are in the process of getting a board-approved restructuring framework in line with the RBI's framework and eligibility defined by the central bank in its notification on August 6.
Besides assessing the preparedness of banks on the debt recast, sources said, the meeting will also review the progress of various schemes announced under the Rs 20.97 trillion 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan'. The progress of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt, among others, will be reviewed in the meeting, sources said.
8:24 PM
Metro services to resume from Sept 7, normal operations from Sept 12: Hardeep Singh Puri
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said Metro services will resume in a graded manner from September 7 across the country and passengers will have to follow preventive measures against COVID-19 such as maintaining social distancing and wearing face mask. Addressing an online media briefing, the Union housing and urban affairs minister said that all Metro lines will become operational by September 12, news agency PTI reported.
He said Metro stations in COVID-19 containment zones will, however, remain closed when services resume from September 7. According to the ministry, Metro trains will not stop at stations where passengers are found not maintaining social distancing. Puri said that wearing face mask will be mandatory during travel on Metro trains and added that masks will be provided to passengers on payment basis at stations.
8:19 PM
SC dismisses bail plea of teenager accused of murdering 7-year-old boy at private school in Gurgaon in 2017
8:11 PM
Odisha govt asks UGC to extend deadline for completion of final year university exams to Oct 10
The Odisha government on Wednesday requested the University Grants Commission (UGC) to extend the deadline of the final year university exams for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses from September 30 to October 10, according to a PTI report.
On behalf of the Chief Minister and Chairman of the State Disaster Management Authority Naveen Patnaik, Higher Education department secretary Saswat Mishra wrote a letter to the UGC mentioning that the extension of the deadline will ensure scheduling of the exams with at least one day gap so that the test centres can be sanitised properly.
"Preparedness to conduct the examinations was discussed with university vice-chancellors and principals of autonomous colleges on 31.08.2020 through video-conferencing.
8:09 PM
Hoping for a peaceful resolution of the situation on India-China border: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
7:38 PM
Rs 5 mn ex gratia announced for family of soldier killed in Pakistani firing along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir
The Punjab government on Wednesday announced an ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh for the family of Subedar Rajesh Kumar, who was killed in firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri sector. A government job was also announced for a family member of the soldier.
Paying homage, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Subedar Rajesh Kumar of 60 SATA regiment laid down his life for the country, according to a government statement. Kumar hailed from Kalichpur Kalota village at Mukerian in Hoshiarpur district. He is survived by his parents, wife, daughter and a son. His father, Ram Chander, had retired as a Havildar from the same unit.
7:25 PM
'Mission Karmayogi' to prepare civil servants for the future: PM Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that 'Mission Karmayogi', a major bureaucratic reform exercise approved by the Union Cabinet, will "radically" improve the government's human resource management practices, asserting that the programme aims to prepare civil servants for the future. The exercise will use scale and state of the art infrastructure to augment the capacity of civil servants, Modi tweeted.
"The iGOT platform will enable the transition to a role-based HR management & continuous learning. Mission Karmayogi aims to prepare Civil Servants for the future by making them more creative, constructive & innovative through transparency and technology," he said using the hashtag "civil service for New India".
An integrated government online training platform - iGOTKarmayogi - will be set up for the mission, the government has said.
7:12 PM
LIVE: Sushant Singh Rajput's father lawyer Vikas Singh addresses the media
The government on Wednesday blocked 118 more mobile applications, including popular gaming app PUBG, terming them prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and defence of the nation. The banned apps include Baidu, Baidu Express Edition, Tencent Watchlist, FaceU, WeChat Reading and Tencent Weiyun, besides PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, according to an official statement. All these banned apps have Chinese links. The Centre had earlier banned a number of Chinese apps, including TikTok and UC Browser.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Mission Karmayogi, a scheme for bringing post-recruitment reforms in civil services. Announcing the decision at a media briefing, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said officers and government employees will get an opportunity to improve their performance under the mission.
Amid a political slugfest over the Facebook issue, the company's India head Ajit Mohan on Wednesday appeared before a parliamentary panel, which is discussing alleged misuse of social media platforms.
 "LIVE: Mission Karmayogi to prepare civil servants for future, says PM Modi")
