Highlights: PM to launch BJP's campaign for LS from MP's Jhabua on Feb 11

News updates: From CM Champai Soren's floor test in Jharkhand assembly to Iran leveraging UK bank account to covertly move money, catch all the latest updates from around the world here

PM Modi will launch BJP's campaign for upcoming Lok Sabha elections from tribal-dominated Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday by addressing a rally. "After the consecration of Lord Ram Lalla's idol in Ayodhya, the prime minister is coming to Jhabua district to kickstart the party's campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and address a rally," MP BJP unit president Vishnu Dutt Sharma said.

India's High Commissioner to Canada has stated that India will withhold information from Canadian investigators regarding the murder of a Sikh separatist leader until Canada shares evidence, as reported in an interview with the Globe & Mail newspaper on Monday. "We need relevant and specific evidence for us to help the Canadian authorities,” High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma told the Globe & Mail a week ago. “Unless we see something relevant and specific, it would be extremely difficult for us to do anything to help the Canadian authorities.”

A session of the Uttarakhand Assembly convened especially to bring a legislation on the Uniform Civil Code began here on Monday. Before the start of the session, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be "for the good of all sections" and there is no need to worry as he urged members of other parties to debate the bill in the House in a positive manner. It will help realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Prayas, Sab ka Vishwas' and 'Ek Bharat, Sreshtha Bharat', he told reporters. "Not only Uttarakhand but the entire country was waiting for the UCC. The wait is coming to an end on Tuesday when it will be tabled in the state assembly. The whole country will be watching how the bill is brought in the House here and passed," Dhami said. The UCC will be presented in the House on Tuesday, followed by a debate on it.

Schools in Delhi have been directed to resume normal timings from Tuesday following an improvement in the national capital's weather conditions, according to an official order. Delhi schools were commencing classes from 9 am due to cold weather conditions, following a circular from the Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE) last month. The DoE had also directed the schools not to hold classes beyond 5 pm. In an order issued on Monday, the DoE said, "In view of the improved weather conditions in Delhi, all government, government-aided and recognised private schools of Delhi shall resume their full normal timings with effect from Tuesday."

Airtel December 2023 quarter net profit jumps 54 per cent to Rs 2,442.2 crore, the company said in an exchange filing. According tot he statement, its revenue rises 5.8 per cent for Q3FY24.

If INDIA bloc comes to power, it will remove 50 per cent cap on reservation, ensure Dalits, tribals, OBCs get their rights, said Rahul Gandhi in Ranchi.

The newly formed Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in Jharkhand under the leadership of Chief Minister Champai Soren is set to face the floor test today, February 5, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir said on Saturday. The Congress leader said that the MLAs will camp at a 'protected place'. Several legislators in the ruling alliance, who left for Hyderabad after the swearing-in, are reported to be staying a private resort in the Telangana capital ahead of the floor test in the Assembly, according to an ANI report. Speaking on the floor test today, Jharkhand State BJP spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo said, "Whatsoever the result of the confidence motion, one thing is clear that Jharkhand has lost. The way Jharkhand was humiliated in front of the national and international community is absolutely shocking." 

The government of Iran used accounts of UK's largest banks, Santander and Lloyds to evade sanctions and was thus able to covertly move money, according to a Bloomberg report which cited Financial Times. The sanctions-evasion plan was supported by Iran’s intelligence services, the report said.

Congress' screening committee for the Lok Sabha polls in Chhattisgarh met on February 4, Sunday with AICC in-charge of the state Sachin Pilot asserting that winnability is the main criteria for the selection of nominees. Besides Pilot, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and state unit chief Deepak Baij, among others, were present at the meeting.

10:53 PM

Avalanche hits J-K's Gulmarg; trapped skiers rescued

An avalanche hit the skiing slopes of Gulmarg resort in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Monday, trapping two skiers under the debris, officials said here.

 

The avalanche struck late afternoon when a group of skiers were coming down the slope, they said.

 

Two local skiers were caught under the debris of the avalanche but were rescued in time by fellow skiers and ski patrol personnel, they added.

 

On Sunday, authorities had issued avalanche warnings for hilly and mountainous areas of Kashmir, urging the residents to avoid unnecessary movement for the next 24 hours.

10:13 PM

'India won't aid Canada probe on Sikh separatist's killing till evidence shared'

India's High Commissioner to Canada has stated that India will withhold information from Canadian investigators regarding the murder of a Sikh separatist leader until Canada shares evidence, as reported in an interview with the Globe & Mail newspaper on Monday. "We need relevant and specific evidence for us to help the Canadian authorities,” High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma told the Globe & Mail a week ago. “Unless we see something relevant and specific, it would be extremely difficult for us to do anything to help the Canadian authorities.”

10:12 PM

US-India FTA

On Foreign Trade Agreements between US and India, US Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R. Pyatt said, "Nobody today characterises their trade relationship as flat as a 'chapati'. It has become big and puffed up like a big 'puri'... I think we are not currently involved in any kind of a Free Trade Agreement negotiation with India, but we have ongoing and important negotiations about how to facilitate a further deepening of our trade relationship."

9:08 PM

Paytm denies reports on violation of foreign exchange rules

One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the parent company of fintech major Paytm, denied reports about investigation or violation of foreign exchange rules by the company or its associate Paytm Payments Bank Limited. 

 

“One97 Communications Ltd (OCL) denies reports of investigation or violation of Foreign Exchange rules by the company or its associate Paytm Payments Bank Limited. To address recent misinformation, factual inaccuracies, and speculation, One97 Communications Limited (OCL / Paytm / company) would like to set out the company’s position and directly address rumours in the recent misleading media reports about the company,” it said in an exchange filing. 

 

On Monday, media reports quoting sources claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was investigating if platforms run by OCL were involved in violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

 

8:58 PM

PM to launch BJP's campaign for LS polls from MP's Jhabua on Feb 11

PM Modi will launch BJP's campaign for upcoming Lok Sabha elections from tribal-dominated Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday by addressing a rally.

"After the consecration of Lord Ram Lalla's idol in Ayodhya, the prime minister is coming to Jhabua district to kickstart the party's campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and address a rally," MP BJP unit president Vishnu Dutt Sharma said.

8:22 PM

Free bus travel for transgender in Delhi

8:16 PM

States/UTs get power to ban SIMI under UAPA

MHA delegates powers to state/UT governments to designate the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as an ‘unlawful association’ under UAPA.

The Centre recently renewed the ban on SIMI as an ‘unlawful association’ under UAPA for five more years.

8:16 PM

MEA’s 4th Disarmament & International Security Affairs

MEA Jaishankar engaged with the 4th Disarmament & International Security Affairs Fellows from various parts of the world. “Spoke on contemporary geopolitics, opportunities & challenges of new age technologies, and the economics and politics of globalisation. Also addressed democratisation of technology, transparency and security of data flows, digital public infrastructure and regional security issues,” MEA said on X.

7:22 PM

Find sources to augment drinking water supply in industrial areas, Minister tells officials

Karnataka's Minister for Large and Medium Industries M B Patil held a meeting on Monday with officials of various departments to find effective solutions to mitigate the shortage of drinking water supply in various industrial areas of the state.

 

Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge and officials of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board and Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board and Rural Water Supply Department participated in the meeting convened at Khanija Bhawan.

 

Patil noted that the industrial areas of Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru and Kolar districts are facing severe drinking water shortage. Further, the Dharwad industrial area requires 45 MLD of drinking water every day, he said, which can be supplied from the Hidkal reservoir.

7:22 PM

Amidst diplomatic row, China displaces India as largest tourism market for Maldives

Amidst a diplomatic row between the Maldives and India, Chinese tourists have overtaken Indian holidaymakers visiting the archipelago nation, according to official figures released here on Monday.

 

According to official statistics from the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism, as of February 4, China, with 23,972 tourists occupied the number one slot (11.2 per cent market share in 2024); it was on the number three spot in 2023.

 

India, which was on the number 1 slot in 2023, has slipped down to 5th position as of Sunday with 16,536 tourists (7.7 per cent market share in 2024) coming to this island nation.

 

The development could be a fallout of a full-blown backlash directed at the Maldives following the derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media by three Maldivian ministers after Modi posted photos and video on X of his visit to the pristine Lakshadweep Islands on India's west coast earlier in January.

7:19 PM

Uttarakhand Assembly session on UCC begins

A session of the Uttarakhand Assembly convened especially to bring a legislation on the Uniform Civil Code began here on Monday.

 

Before the start of the session, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be "for the good of all sections" and there is no need to worry as he urged members of other parties to debate the bill in the House in a positive manner.

 

It will help realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Prayas, Sab ka Vishwas' and 'Ek Bharat, Sreshtha Bharat', he told reporters.

 

"Not only Uttarakhand but the entire country was waiting for the UCC. The wait is coming to an end on Tuesday when it will be tabled in the state assembly. The whole country will be watching how the bill is brought in the House here and passed," Dhami said.

 

The UCC will be presented in the House on Tuesday, followed by a debate on it.

6:55 PM

Adani Total Gas and INOXCVA collaborate

Adani Total Gas and INOXCVA have forged a strategic partnership aimed at bolstering the liquefied natural gas (LNG) ecosystem in India.

6:17 PM

Gujarat Assembly passes resolution hailing PM for Ram temple event; Cong, AAP support it

A resolution lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the successful consecration ceremony at the new Ram temple in Ayodhya was unanimously adopted by the Assembly in the BJP-ruled Gujarat here on Monday during the ongoing budget session.

 

It thanked Modi for carrying out a "historic cultural duty that will be remembered for millennia".

 

The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, was passed unanimously as besides the BJP MLAs, members of the opposition Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) extended their support to it.

 

Extending his party's support, senior Congress MLA Arjun Modhwadia reminded the House it was then-PM Rajiv Gandhi who allowed foundation stone laying ceremony at the site, where the temple has come up in Ayodhya, way back in 1989.

6:11 PM

Delhi schools to resume normal timings from February 6

Schools in Delhi have been directed to resume normal timings from Tuesday following an improvement in the national capital's weather conditions, according to an official order.

 

Delhi schools were commencing classes from 9 am due to cold weather conditions, following a circular from the Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE) last month.

 

The DoE had also directed the schools not to hold classes beyond 5 pm.

 

In an order issued on Monday, the DoE said, "In view of the improved weather conditions in Delhi, all government, government-aided and recognised private schools of Delhi shall resume their full normal timings with effect from Tuesday."

5:32 PM

Delhi jal board money laundering case

Rouse Avenue court in Delhi extends the ED custody for DJB's retired chief engineer Jagdish Arora and contractor Anil Agarwal for a further five days. They have been arrested in a money laundering case related to the supply of Electromagnetic flow metres to Delhi Jal Board. They were produced after the expiry of five days of custody.