LIVE news updates: Indian economy is estimated to grow by 7.3 per cent in current fiscal against 7.2 per cent expansion in FY23, according to government estimates.
INS Chennai has reached the harbour hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk off Somalia coast, news agency ANI reported today citing military officials. INS Chennai launched its helicopter and warned pirates to leave the hijacked vessel. The Liberia-flagged vessel is carrying 15 Indian crew members.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today slammed the West Bengal government after an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team was attacked in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district when it tried to raid the house of block-level functionaries of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
In another development, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today nominated Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal as its candidate for the January 19 Rajya Sabha elections and renominated Sanjay Singh and ND Gupta for a second term in the Upper House of Parliament. As per media reports, Sushil Kumar Gupta, whose tenure will end this month as a member of the Rajya Sabha, has conveyed his aspiration to fully immerse himself in the electoral politics of Haryana where the AAP wants to fight elections later this year.
The Indian Navy has deployed its maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) P8I and INS Chennai to assist hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk, it said today. The vessel is carrying 15 Indian crew members. “Responding swiftly to the developing situation, Indian Navy launched an MPA and has diverted INS Chennai deployed for Maritime Security Operations to assist the vessel,” the Navy said.
An Indian Navy aircraft has been monitoring the hijacked ship MV Lila Norfolk, which was hijacked near Somalia's coast.
Also, in another development, space agency Isro today said that it has successfully flight-tested a fuel cell to assess its operation in space. 180 W power was generated from Hydrogen and Oxygen gases stored onboard in high pressure vessels, during the short duration test onboard POEM.
"The objective of the experiment was to assess Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel cell operation in space and to collect data to facilitate the design of systems for future missions," Isro said.
"It provided a wealth of data on the performance of various static and dynamic systems that formed part of the power system and the physics at play," the space agency said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday visited Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu. Jaishankar arrived in Nepal on Thursday for his first visit of 2024. He stated that he looked forward to the engagements in the Himalayan country. Nepal's Foreign Secretary and other senior officials also welcomed him at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
He also announced that India will provide a financial assistance package of approximately NPR 1000 crores to Nepal to provide further support following the recent earthquake in Jajarkot. The Indian embassy in Kathmandu said in a press statement that the EAM and Foreign Affairs Minister of Nepal NP Saud also witnessed the handover of the fifth tranche of post-Jajarkot earthquake relief supply provided by the Indian government. Earlier in November, 128 people died and at least 141 were injured after a strong earthquake of 6.4 magnitude jolted Nepal, The Kathmandu Post reported.