Latest LIVE: State funeral to be accorded to Paswan, say MHA officials

In a modification to the reopening guidelines, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today allowed political parties to hold rallies in 12 election-bound states before October 15.

In a notification, the MHA said that political gatherings can now take place before October 15 by keeping in mind open spaces. The guidelines for wearing masks and maintaining social distancing must be strictly followed.

The order came in the wake of the announcement by the Election Commission of India to hold state elections in Bihar and bypolls in 11 states for Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies that are scheduled on October 28, November 3 and November 7.

"In exercise of powers conferred under Section 10 (2)(I) of the Disaster Management Act 2005, it is decided that the state governments concerned may permit political gatherings, outside the containment zones, beyond the existing limit of 100 persons on any date before October 15 in those Assembly or Parliamentary constituencies only, where elections are to be held," the order said.

According to a report by the NDTV, Republic TV is among three chanels that are being investigated for rigging TRP ratings for ad revenues and to spread fake narratives, the Mumbai police said. Two persons have been held. One of them is a former employee of an agency that installed "people metres" to assess ratings.

According to the above-mentioned report, officials of Republic TV - which claims the highest TRPs or Television Rating Points among news channels - will be summoned on Thursday or Friday, said the officer.

All does not seem to be well in the Rajasthan Congress as fresh cracks have started reappearing with the police lodging an FIR against the media manager of former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and a Jaipur-based journalist. Read on...

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

11:32 PM

National flag to fly at half mast on Friday as mark of respect to Paswan

The national flag will fly at half mast in Delhi and capitals of all states and union territories on Friday as a mark of respect to Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan who passed away on Thursday, the Home Ministry has announced.A state funeral will also be accorded to the Union minister.
 

"The national flag will be flown at half mast on October 9 in Delhi and capitals of all states and UTs where it is regularly flown, and also on the day of the funeral at the place where the funeral takes place," a Home Ministry spokesperson said.

9:06 PM

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan dies at 74

Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution died on Thursday, son Chirag Paswan tweeted. He recently underwent heart surgery in a Delhi hospital. He was 74 years old. 

8:59 PM

CCI dismisses unfair biz practices complaint against Hindalco, Vedanta

Fair trade regulator CCI on Thursday dismissed a complaint against Hindalco Industries Ltd and Vedanta Ltd alleging unfair business practices with respect to copper products.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) closed the matter as the informant was not able to substantiate the allegations made against the firms.

The informant alleged cartelisation in determining prices of certain copper products in India by the firms, sharing of market of certain copper products by way of allocation of customers and engagement in bid rigging and collusive bidding.

8:54 PM

8:28 PM

5G rollout: India yet to take final call on Chinese vendors, says Niti CEO

India is yet to take a final call on allowing Chinese companies to participate in the 5G network rollout, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday, adding that security will be a "major concern" in 5G.

To grow at a higher rate, India must leapfrog technologically by embracing both 5G and artificial intelligence (AI), Kant said while addressing the 'Raise 2020' virtual summit.

"My personal view is that we will go all out for 5G, but security will be a very, very major concern in 5G.

"... I think all the leading players are there (for 5G trials in India), including Chinese companies are there. So let them do the testing. The final word on this is still to be taken," he said.

Kant said the government has interacted with 5G technology providers like Nokia and Ericsson.

8:15 PM

Fresh low pressure area likely to trigger rain in Odisha from Oct 11: MeT centre

With a fresh low pressure area likely to take shape over the Bay of Bengal by Friday, the meteorological centre here has predicted rainfall of varying intensity in Odisha over the next few days.

This will be the ninth instance of the formation of low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal since the beginning of August.

To meet any eventuality, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena has asked senior administration officials to be in a state of readiness.

As sea condition is likely to be rough, fishermen have been cautioned against venturing into the deep sea of the central Bay of Bengal from October 10, he said.

8:01 PM

Rahul Gandhi attacks PM over VVIP aircraft acquisition

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi again attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday over the acquisition of VVIP aircraft and wondered how many things could have been bought for the soldiers stationed in Siachen-Ladakh border in the amount spent.

During his campaign in Punjab against the farm reform laws, the Congress leader on Tuesday had accused the prime minister of "wasting" thousands of crores of rupees on the aircraft.

Tagging a media report which claimed that the Public Accounts Committee has asked for permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker to go to Ladakh over delay in procuring clothing and equipment for jawans stationed at the Siachen, Ladakh border, Gandhi renewed his attack on the prime minister over the aircraft acquisition.

7:44 PM

PM invites Canadian businesses to invest in education, agri, manufacturing sectors

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hard sold his government's latest labour and agriculture reforms, saying they will make doing business in India easier as also give farmers the right to choose their market.

With its vibrant democracy, political stability and business-friendly policies, India offers an unparalleled investment destination for foreign investors, he said in his keynote address at the annual Invest India Conference.

The conference is organised with a special focus on further strengthening business ties between India and Canada.

7:35 PM

Recoveries eclipse fresh cases in Kerala; Tally touches 256,000

In some relief after sharp spike in Covid-19 cases, Kerala on Thursday reported 7,003 recoveries and 5,445 fresh Covid-19 cases while the toll mounted to 930.

The total infection count has touched 2,56,850, while 1,67,256 people have recovered so far and 90,579 are presently undergoing treatment, Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

7:06 PM

Action plan to curb pollution to come in force from Oct 15 in Delhi, adjoining areas

A Supreme Court-mandated pollution control authority on Thursday said stricter measures to fight air pollution will come into force from October 15 in Delhi and its neighbourhood as part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority directed the governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to ban the use of diesel generators, barring for essential or emergency services, in the national capital and the vicinity towns of Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram.

Large construction projects, including highways and metro, will provide undertaking to the state pollution control boards/pollution control committees that they will assure adherence to the prescribed norms for dust management, EPCA chief Bhure Lal said in a letter to the states.

6:38 PM

MHA allows political gathering in poll bound states before Oct 15

In a modification to the reopening guidelines, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday allowed political parties to hold rallies in 12 election bound states before October 15.

The order came in the wake of the announcement by the Election Commission of India to hold state elections in Bihar and bypolls in 11 states for Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies that are scheduled on October 28, November 3 and November 7.

In a notification, the MHA said that political gatherings can now take place before October 15 by keeping in mind open spaces. The guidelines for wearing masks and maintaining social distancing must be strictly followed.

"In exercise of powers conferred under Section 10 (2)(I) of the Disaster Management Act 2005, it is decided that the state governments concerned may permit political gatherings, outside the containment zones, beyond the existing limit of 100 persons on any date before October 15 in those Assembly or Parliamentary constituencies only, where elections are to be held," the order said.

6:25 PM

Rupee gains 9 paise to 73.24 ahead of RBI policy review

The rupee strengthened by 9 paise to close at 73.24 against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by positive domestic equities and weak American currency.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee traded in a narrow range. It opened at 73.29 against the American currency and gained further ground to settle at 73.24, up 9 paise from its previous close of 73.33.

This is the second consecutive session of gain for the rupee.

Traders said investors are cautious ahead of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on Friday.

6:10 PM

Consumption of non-ferrous metals to contract 3-8% in 2020 due to Covid-19: Icra

Consumption of non-ferrous metals like copper and aluminium would contract significantly this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, rating agency Icra said on Thursday.

The pandemic has severely impacted the global automobile, construction and electrical machinery industries, which together contributes 75-85 per cent to the global non-ferrous metal demand, Icra said in a statement.

"Consequently, Icra expects that in the current calendar year, consumption of these metals would contract significantly, ranging from 3-4 per cent for copper and zinc; and up to 8 per cent for aluminium on a Y-o-Y basis," it said. However, prices of these three non-ferrous metals have strengthened sharply in the last five months.

The extent of recovery has varied factoring in the evolving demand-supply dynamics of the respective metal.

5:56 PM

COVID-19 can be fought when all countrymen come together: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to everyone to join public movement launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fight Covid-19.

He said wearing a mask, social distancing and washing hands regularly were three mantras to protect against Covid-19 and urged people to follow the appeal of Prime Minister.

"A global pandemic like Covid-19 can be fought only when all the countrymen come together. Let us all unite to fight against Covid-19 by joining this mass movement started by PM Modi and play an important role in making India Covid-19 free by making everyone aware of this pandemic," Shah said in a tweet.

5:52 PM

Delhi gets 'green war room' to monitor steps to fight pollution this winter

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday inaugurated a 'green war room' at the Delhi Secretariat to monitor steps being taken to bring down pollution levels in the city this winter.

The minister said a 10-member team has been set up under senior scientists Mohan George and B L Chawla to monitor the levels of primary pollutants, measures taken to curb pollution and status of complaints received through the 'Green Delhi' mobile application.

Satellite data related to farm fires in the neighbouring states will also be analysed in the green war room. Read more...