LIVE: Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath oversees preparations in Ayodhya

The official religious ceremonies at Ayodhya Ram temple leading up to the 'bhoomi pujan' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5 started from today. Stay tuned for latest news live updates

Latest news today live updates:  The 'bhoomi pujan' of the Ram temple is scheduled to be held on Wednesday at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are likely to join the 'bhoomi pujan' of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on August 5 through video conferencing due to health conditions.

The India Meteorological Department issued a red alert for Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Raigad and Ratnagiri districts in Maharashtra for Tuesday after upgrading its earlier rain forecast from "heavy-very heavy" to "extremely heavy". An IMD official on Monday said the "extremely heavy" forecast means Mumbai, Raigad, Thane, Pune and Ratnagiri may get more than 204.5 millimetres of rain in a period of 24 hours.

In another major development, intensifying the protest against the ruling CPI(M) government in Kerala, several leaders of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) are observing a one-day 'Satyagraha' over the gold smuggling case.
 

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day

2:07 AM

IPL 2020: CAIT opposes BCCI move to retain Chinese firm Vivo as sponsor

Traders' body CAIT has opposed the decision of the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) to retain Chinese company Vivo as the title sponsor for the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be held in Dubai.

 

In a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has demanded that the government should not give approval to BCCI for holding the IPL event.

 

CAIT, which is spearheading a national movement for boycott of Chinese goods in India, requested the home minister to "take immediate cognisance of the issue and do not give any permission to BCCI for holding IPL in India or in Dubai or anywhere else"

2:06 AM

Covid-19: Govt issues guidelines for reopening of gyms, yoga institutes

Ahead of the reopening of yoga institutes and gymnasiums, the health ministry on Monday issued Covid-19-appropriate protocols to be followed at such facilities like allowing only asymptomatic people, maintaining social distancing, use of Aarogya Setu mobile application and wearing of visor while exercising as far as possible.

 

All yoga institutes and gymnasiums in containment zones shall remain closed and only those outside such zones will be allowed to open, the 'Guidelines on Preventive Measures to Contain Spread of Covid-19 in Yoga Institutes & Gymnasiums' stated.

 

"Spas, sauna, steam bath and swimming pools (wherever applicable) shall remain closed," the document said.

2:05 AM

JioMart likely to clock Rs 4,000-crore in yearly sales: IIFL Securities

Brokerage IIFL Securities on Monday said Reliance JioMart, the new commerce venture that went live in May, could clock revenue of Rs 4,000 crore in its first year of operation. The assessment has been made on the basis of orders per day, which have been growing, it said.

 

While RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani had said during the company’s annual general meeting last month that orders per day were 250,000, according to IIFL, the figure is now 400,000. The average transaction value is Rs 500, it said, on the platform and that Reliance was looking to scale up the operation, taking it beyond 200 cities.

 

2:04 AM

Donald Trump vows TikTok ban if no US sale deal reached by Sept 15

US President Donald Trump said Monday he does not oppose Microsoft Corp acquiring the US operations of TikTok and said he will ban the service in the United States on Sept 15 without a sale. The comments came after Trump Friday he said he was planning to ban the Chinese-owned video app's U.S. operations after dismissing a possible sale to Microsoft.

 

Trump's comments confirmed a Reuters report Sunday that he had agreed to give China's ByteDance 45 days to negotiate a sale of popular short-video app TikTok to Microsoft. Trump also said the US . Treasury would need to get a lot of money out of a TikTok deal, but it not clear how that would happen.

2:03 AM

National Education Policy: Tamil Nadu rejects 'painful' 3-language formula

Strongly backing Tamil Nadu’s decades-old two-language policy, the ruling AIADMK in the state on Monday rejected the Centre’s three-language formula proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and said there will be no deviation from the existing system.

 

“The three-language formula in the NEP is painful and saddening. PM (Narendra Modi) should reconsider the three-language policy,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (CM) Edappadi Palaniswami (pictured) said. Taking strong exception to the proposal, he said in a statement the state has been following the two-language policy for several decades and that there will be no change in it.

11:15 PM

Google unveils first 5G phones, cuts price on base Pixel model

Google's first 5G-enabled phones, Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5, will be available this fall at a starting price of $499, the Alphabet Inc unit said on Monday.
 

The company also cut the starting price for its smartphone lineup with a non-5G version of 4a priced at $349, looking to broaden its appeal among budget-conscious customers.
 

Like Apple Inc, which launched a smaller iPhone priced at $399 this April, Google's budget-priced smartphone reflects reaching out to consumers who have been hit by the coronavirus-led economic downturn.
 

Google's lower-priced devices have been top sellers, but are far from being major profit drivers. 
 

9:35 PM

Rituals begin in Ayodhya, stage set for Ram temple `bhoomi pujan'

Religious rituals got under way in Ayodhya on Monday, two days ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony for a temple at a spot where devotees believe Lord Ram was born.
 

Barricades are already in place in the temple town and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued an appeal, asking only those invited for Wednesday's “bhoomi pujan” ceremony to come to Ayodhya.

8:59 PM

4,750 cusecs water released from Harangi dam in Kodagu district of Karnataka

8:48 PM

175 invitees including 135 saints to attend Ram temple foundation ceremony

Invitations have been sent to 175 people, including 135 saints of 35 religious organisations, to attend the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Ram Temple on August 5, said Champat Rai, general secretary of Sri Ramjanmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust on Monday.

 

"We have sent invitations to 145 people including 135 saints of about 36 religious organisations of India in this event. We have also invited Iqbal Ansari (former litigant in Ayodhya land dispute case) and Padma Shri Mohammed Sharif (who does cremation of unclaimed dead bodies according to their religion) to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony," Rai said while addressing a press conference.

 

Rai said that all invitees will be in Ayodhya by tomorrow evening, according to a PTI report.

8:38 PM

Govt eyeing turnover of Rs 1.75 trn in defence manufacturing by 2025

The government is eyeing a turnover of Rs 1.75 trillion ($25 billion) in defence manufacturing by 2025 as it has identified the sector as a potential driver to boost the overall economy, according to a draft of a major policy prepared by the defence ministry.

 

The draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 set an export target of Rs 35,000 crore ($5 billion) in aerospace and defence goods and services in the next five years, which has been estimated as part of the total projected turnover.

 

The policy is envisaged as overarching guiding document of the defence ministry to provide a "focused, structured and significant" thrust to production of military hardware and platforms for self-reliance and exports, officials said. READ MORE...

8:26 PM

PM Modi, Afghan President Ghani discuss evolving security situation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani discussed the evolving security situation in the region and other areas of mutual and bilateral interest on Monday, the Prime Minister's Office said.

 

During a phone call, the two also exchanged Eid-ul-Adha greetings. President Ghani thanked Prime Minister Modi for timely supply of food and medical assistance to meet Afghan requirement. Modi reiterated India's commitment to the people of Afghanistan in their quest for a peaceful, prosperous and inclusive Afghanistan, the PMO statement said.

 

"The two leaders also exchanged views on the evolving security situation in the region and other areas of mutual, bilateral interest," it said. READ MORE...

8:15 PM

Priests perform 'Aarti' at the ghat of Saryu river in Ayodhya

8:14 PM

Flood situation improves in Assam; 3.89 lakh in 17 districts still affected

The flood situation in Assam improved considerably on Monday as the water receded from vast areas of the state, though one more person lost his life in the deluge and around 3.89 lakh people in 17 districts are still affected, an official bulletin said.

 

The number of flood-hit people decreased by 4.65 lakh since Sunday while that of the district was down by two. According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person drowned at Manikpur area of Bongaigaon district.

 

This year's flood and landslides have thus claimed 136 lives across the state so far. While 110 people died in flood-related incidents, 26 were killed in landslides. At present, 494 villages and 32,028.83 hectare of crop areas have been under water in the state, ASDMA said.

8:02 PM

25-year old attempts to break Guinness World Record of solving most Rubik's cubes underwater

7:52 PM

Latest News LIVE update: 820 villages in 15 Uttar Pradesh districts hit by floods

As many as 820 villages in 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh have been hit by floods and the district administrations have started all-out relief operations, a minister said on Monday. Of these 820 villages, 173 have lost road connectivity and the district administrations have deployed boats, according to Backward Class Welfare Minister Anil Rajbhar, according to a PTI report.

He said it was due to the swelling waters in the Sarayu and Rapti rivers that led to the situation, adding that the problem had been aggravated with Nepal releasing over four lakh cusecs of water.