Latest LIVE: PM launches projects worth Rs 80,000 cr at UP Investors Summit

From PM inaugurating projects in Uttar Pradesh to a slight spike in Covid cases in Maharashtra, catch all the latest developments from across the globe here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the UP Investors Summit in Lucknow on Friday. At the summit, he said, "We have worked to strengthen India as a nation with our reforms. One Nation-One Tax GST, One Nation-One Grid, One Nation-One Mobility Card, One Nation-One Ration Card. All these efforts are a reflection of our solid and clear policies."

The administration of US President Joe Biden has announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russian political and business elites, in an effort to further punish Russia for its military operation in Ukraine. The new round of sanctions were announced by the US on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported. According to a fact sheet from the White House, the Treasury Department will impose sanctions on Sergei Roldugin and his family members. Roldugin, the White House said, is a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a money manager of Putin's offshore wealth.

Expressing concern over the rise in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the use of face masks will have to be made mandatory if the spike continues. Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 1,081 cases of COVID-19 infection, the highest daily rise after February 24. On Tuesday, the state had reported 711 cases. Addressing a press conference here, Pawar said, "The use of face masks will have to be made mandatory if the number of Coronavirus cases continues to grow."

10:47 PM

National parks, wildlife sanctuaries must have ESZ of one km from demarcated boundary: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday directed that each protected forest such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries must have an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of one kilometre and banned mining activities within such parks across the nation.

 

Issuing a slew of directions, a bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao said the role of the State cannot be confined to that of a facilitator or generator of economic activities for immediate upliftment of the fortunes of the state.

 

The State also has to act as a trustee for the benefit of the general public in relation to the natural resources so that sustainable development can be achieved in the long term. Such role of the State is more relevant today, than, possibly, at any point of time in history with the threat of climate catastrophe resulting from global warming looming large.., it said

10:43 PM

Fin Min to launch platform for sharing knowledge with partner nations

The finance ministry is launching a platform under the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) for sharing knowledge with partner nations.

 

The new platform is being launched during Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav which will serve as a harbinger of this new era of development cooperation, the ministry said in a series of tweets.

 

"The platform has been developed in collaboration with @IndiaEximBank and @MEAIndia to offer a dynamic performance monitoring system for #IDEAS & is an insignia of India's commitment as #VishwaGuruBharat," it said.

 

"With the recent revisions in #IDEAS, India looks forward to a further deepening of its multifaceted economic partnership with other low income & developing countries -- in true spirit of #SabkaSaath, #SabkaVikaas, #SabkaVishwaas. #AmritMahotsav #IndiaAt75," it added.

10:28 PM

BJD candidates win 3 RS, assembly by-poll seats in Odisha

The ruling BJD in Odisha Friday pulled off a double victory winning all the three Rajya Sabha seats unopposed and the by-poll to the Brajrajnagar assembly seat in Jharsuguda district by a huge margin.

 

The three BJD candidates who made it to the Rajya Sabha are Sulata Deo, Manas Ranjan Mangaraj and Sasmit Patra.

 

Patra was re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

 

The three were elected unopposed as neither the opposition BJP nor Congress fielded any candidate due to lack of numbers in the Assembly.

10:10 PM

Mumbai records 763 Covid cases, highest since Feb 4; active tally touches 3,735

Mumbai reported 763 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, the third consecutive day when the addition to the tally was above 700. No new pandemic-related death was reported in the metropolis. 

 

The addition to the tally was the highest since February 4, when the figure was 846, and was a rise from the 704 reported on Thursday and 739 on Wednesday, a civic official said. 

 

It took the caseload in India's financial capital to 10,68,008, while the death toll remained unchanged at 19,567. The 763 cases were detected from 9,896 tests, which put the positivity rate or cases per 100 tests in the metropolis at 7.7 per cent.

10:00 PM

Visa scam: Delhi court denies anticipatory bail to Karti Chidambaram in money laundering case

A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram and two others in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged Chinese Visas scam, saying the offence was of a very serious nature.

 

Special Judge M K Nagpal denied relief to Karti and also vacated the interim protection from arrest granted to the accused persons during the pendency of the application.

 

The court directed them to join the probe as and when they are called upon by the investigating officer.

 

The ED registered the money-laundering case against Karti and others in the alleged scam pertaining to the issuance of a visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the home minister.

9:49 PM

Europe has to grow out of mindset that its problems are world's problems: Jaishankar

India has a difficult relationship with China but it is "perfectly capable" of managing it, ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday, rejecting the European construct that New Delhi's position on Ukraine could impact global support to it if its problems with Beijing increases.

 

Jaishankar asserted that there was no correlation between India's position on Ukraine and its issues with China, adding the "Chinese don't need a precedent somewhere else in the world on how to engage us, or not engage us or be difficult with us, or not be difficult with us".

 

In an interactive session at a conference in the Slovakian capital Bratislava, Jaishankar said Europe has to grow out of the mindset that its problems are the world's problems but the world's problems are not Europe's problems.

 

The strong comments by Jaishankar came amid persistent efforts by the European countries to convince India to take a tougher position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the argument that New Delhi could face increasing challenges from China in the future.

9:41 PM

Centre asks 5 states to monitor clusters of Covid-19 Cases, follow five-fold strategy

The Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written a letter to the officials of five states including Kerala, Karanataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu to closely monitor emerging clusters of COVID-19 cases and maintain an adequate number of tests, and send samples from infected individuals for genome sequencing.

 

“There are few states which are reporting a higher contribution to India’s cases indicating the possibility of a localised spread of infection. There is, therefore, a need to follow a risk assessment based approach on the public health responses without losing the gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic,” read the letter.

5:11 PM

United Nations' FAO planning food response for Sri Lanka amid economic crisis

The UN food agency would be drafting a food crisis response plan for Sri Lanka amidst threats of a food shortage in the country due to its worst economic crisis.

 

The response of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations came after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had warned of a food crisis in the island nation due to the ongoing economic crisis.

 

He had explained to both the FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the threat of a food shortage and a food security programme which is being compiled by the local agriculture department officials.

 

This programme is due to be unveiled next month, with the UNDP expressing support for the initiative.

4:59 PM

I'm in favour of strong opposition in country: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed dynastic politics and said he favoured a strong opposition in the country.

 

Addressing an event at President Ram Nath Kovind's ancestral Paraunkh village, Modi said dynastic politics is throttling talent in the country.

 

He said those gripped with "parivarwad" (dynastic politics) are uniting against him, while people flay its ills.

 

He said dynastic politics must stop so that anyone born in a village can become the prime minister and or the president.

4:41 PM

AAP nominees Seechewal, Sahney elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Punjab

Noted environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal and entrepreneur and social activist Vikramjit Singh Sahney have been elected unopposed as AAP candidates to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab, an official said on Friday.

 

Friday was the last day for the withdrawal of candidature.

 

No candidate withdrew nomination papers up till the last day of withdrawal till 3 pm.

4:21 PM

Union Home Minister reviews security situation in J-K after series of targeted killings

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday took stock of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of a series of targeted killings in the Valley, officials said.

 

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, and Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha were among those who attended the meeting.

 

The home minister reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, a ministry official said.

 

Security arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra also figured in the meetings, the official said.

 

The meeting came after terrorists carried out a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley that include non-Muslims, security personnel, an artist and local civilians.

 

Two persons a bank employee and a brick kiln labourer were killed in Kashmir on Thursday while another labourer was injured in two separate incidents.

 

4:01 PM

EU formally approves embargo on Russia oil

The European Union on Friday formally approved an embargo on Russian oil and other sanctions targeting major banks and broadcasters over Moscow's war on Ukraine.

 

EU headquarters says Russian crude oil will be phased out over six months, and other refined petroleum products over eight months.

 

It says that a temporary exception is foreseen for landlocked countries like Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia that suffer from a specific dependence on Russian supplies and have no viable alternative options.

3:51 PM

Chinese banks agree to refinance cash-strapped Pakistan with $ 2.3 bn funding: Report

Chinese banks have agreed to refinance Pakistan with USD 2.3 billion worth of funds in a massive relief for the cash-starved country to help it bolster its depleting foreign exchange reserves, the finance minister has said.

 

Miftah Ismail said on Thursday that the terms and conditions for refinancing have been agreed and the inflow is expected "shortly" after some routine approvals from both sides.

 

Good News: The terms and conditions for refinancing of RMB 15 billion deposit by Chinese banks (about US$ 2.3 billion) have been agreed. Inflow is expected shortly after some routine approvals from both sides. This will help shore up our foreign exchange reserves, the minister said in a tweet.

 

Pakistan is facing an uncertain economic situation due to a delay in the revival of a stalled multibillion-dollar International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

3:35 PM

Irdai eases capital requirement for PMJJBY to encourage more insurers to participate

Insurance sector regulator Irdai on Friday relaxed capital requirement norms significantly for insurers to encourage their participation in the government's flagship programme Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).

 

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has reduced the capital required to be held by insurers offering PMJJBY by almost 50 per cent.

 

This move will enable life insurers to offer more policies under the scheme, and provide financial security to the bottom of the pyramid of the Indian population through life insurance, Irdai said in a statement.

 

The easing of capital requirements by Irdai will accelerate the penetration of life insurance in India and will support the life insurers in achieving the target set by the government.

 

3:25 PM

eSanjeevani integrated with NHA's Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

The National Health Authority (NHA) on Friday said the government's 'eSanjeevani' telemedicine service has been integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

 

This integration allows the existing eSanjeevani users to easily create their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and use it to link and manage their existing health records, the NHA said.

 

The users would also be able to share their health records with doctors on eSanjeevani leading to better clinical decision making and ensuring the continuum of care.