Highlights: Reliance Industries Q4 profit falls nearly 2% on higher expenses

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Reliance Industries reported a near 2% fall in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, hurt by higher expenses. The billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led company, India's largest by market value, said its consolidated profit fell to Rs 18,951 crore in the January-March quarter from Rs 19,299 crore a year earlier.

Actor Mithun Chakraborty, ex-governor Ram Naik and singer Usha Uthup, aong others conferred Padma Bhushan by President Murmu.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom business of Reliance Industries, reported a 13.2% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, helped by a sustained growth in subscriber additions. Jio, India's largest telecom carrier by subscriber count, said its net profit climbed to Rs 5,337 crore in the January-March quarter from Rs 4,716 crore a year ago.

Court directs AIIMS to constitute medical board to examine Arvind Kejriwal, PTI reported. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that BJP leaders are influencing the judiciary, adding that the state government will challenge the Calcutta High Court order cancelling all appointments made through 2016 teacher recruitment test.

The Delhi High court today dismissed a petition seeking the release of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on “extraordinary interim bail” in all  cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate till the completion of his tenure.

The Delhi High Court will hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging summonses issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to an excise policy-linked money laundering case today.

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks as “hate speech”, the Congress on Sunday dared him to show one paragraph in its manifesto where it talked about redistributing wealth to the Muslim community. Addressing a rally in Rajasthan earlier in the day, PM Modi had claimed the Congress manifesto stated that if the party comes to power, “they will calculate the amount of gold that mothers and sisters have, get information about it and then distribute that property”. He added the then Manmohan Singh government had stated that Muslims have the first right to the country’s assets.

The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) of the Maldives bagged a crucial victory in the parliamentary polls on Sunday, giving President Mohamed Muizzu significant control over the legislature. Muizzu, who has pledged to prioritise strategic relations with China, wanted Indian military out of the island nation. Six political parties and various independent groups contested the polls, fielding 368 candidates for the 93 seats in Parliament or the People’s Majlis. The local media reported that the PNC was headed for a “super majority” in Parliament, with a likely victory in nearly 60 out of the 93 seats, pending official results.

The Enforcement Directorate is likely to file its fresh prosecution complaint in the excise policy case against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as well as the Aam Aadmi Party, possibly before May 15,  meeting the 60-day deadline since the March 15 arrest of K Kavitha, Telangana MLC and co-accused in the case, The Indian Express reported today. The chargesheet is  is likely to name “four or five” accused in addition to those who have been named in the previous six chargesheets, IE reported citing sources. 

10:27 PM

Apple close to finalizing deal with FIFA over TV rights for new tournament: Report

FIFA is close to an agreement with Apple to give the tech company worldwide television rights for a new, month-long World Cup-style tournament, the New York Times reported on Monday. The tournament will be held in the United States for the first time next summer, the report said, adding that a deal could be announced as soon as this month. The deal could be valued at around $1 billion — a quarter of the $4 billion FIFA had first estimated, the report said, citing three people familiar with the matter. Soccer's global governing body and Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comments.

9:15 PM

To change laws, one needs to be in govt. Not possible for Cong to be even main opposition: Amit Shah

"To change laws, one needs to be in govt. Not possible for Cong to be even main opposition," said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Chidambaram's remarks on repealing CAA.

8:50 PM

Rupee rises 8 paise against dollar as crude oil cools on easing Iran-Israel conflict worries

 The rupee rises by 8 paise to close at 83.36 against the US dollar on Monday on positive domestic markets and a soft American currency. Forex traders said a decline in crude oil prices also supported the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.40 against the greenback. The unit hit an intra-day high of 83.32 and a low of 83.45 against the greenback. The domestic unit finally settled at 83.36 against the dollar, up by 8 paise from its previous close. On Friday, the rupee appreciated by 8 paise to close at 83.44 against the US dollar. "We expect the rupee to trade with a slight positive bias amid easing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East which improved global risk sentiments. Retreating US Dollar and

8:02 PM

Indians can now get multiple entry Schengen visa with longer validity as EU eases norms

Frequent Indian travellers to Europe will now be able to apply for multiple entry Schengen visa of up to five years, with the European Commission effecting certain changes in existing rules. European Union's ambassador to India Herve Delphin described the new visa regime as another step towards enhancing people-to-people contact between the two sides. "On April 18, the European Commission adopted specific rules on the issuing of multiple entry visas to Indian nationals, which are more favourable than the standard rules of the visa code that applied to date," an EU readout said. It said this new visa 'cascade' regime for Indian nationals residing in India who apply for Schengen (short-stay) visas in India will provide easier access to visas with multi-year validity for travellers with an established travel history. "According to the newly adopted visa 'cascade' regime for India, Indian nationals can now be issued long-term, multi-entry Schengen visas valid for two years after having obtained and lawfully used two visas within the previous three years," the readout said. "The two-year visa will normally be followed by a five-year visa, if the passport has sufficient validity remaining. During the validity period of these visas, holders enjoy travel rights equivalent to visa-free nationals," it said.

7:25 PM

Delhi news: MCD to launch inquiry into Ghazipur fire incident; blaze rages on

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi will launch an inquiry into the fire that broke out at the Ghazipur landfill site a day back, Mayor Shelly Oberoi said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi also said that the fire incident would be investigated to ascertain the cause. "For now, we are waiting for the (Ghazipur landfill) site to cool down. We will set up an inquiry to investigate the cause of the fire. Based on the investigation, appropriate action will be taken," Oberoi told PTI. A major fire broke out at the landfill site in east Delhi on Sunday evening and toxic fumes sent people in the area gasping for breath on Monday.

6:46 PM

Ex-vice president M Venkaiah Naidu conferred Padma Vibhushan by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu conferred Padma Vibhushan by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

6:45 PM

Prez Droupadi Murmu confers Padma Vibhushan on Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak posthumously

President Droupadi Murmu confers Padma Vibhushan on Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak posthumously.

6:02 PM

Macquarie's $1.5 bn India EV platform to focus on fleet electrification: Report

Australia's Macquarie Group launched on Monday an EV financing platform for India that will focus 95% of its $1.5 billion investment on electrifying fleets of commercial vehicles, Reuters reported. The platform, called Vertelo, will offer financing, fleet management and charging infrastructure solutions, its chief executive Sandeep Gambhir said at the launch. The remaining 5% of investment will go towards charging infrastructure and other requirements. Macquarie had previously said it would launch an EV financing platform along with the United Nations' Green Climate Fund (GCF) targeting initial investments on electric buses, shared fleets and charging infrastructure, but did not give a breakdown. The Australian financial services conglomerate's focus on fleet electrification comes as EV sales are slowing down globally, with carmakers resorting to discounts to boost demand.

5:10 PM

Normalisation of scores for CUET-UG, NET to be done away with: UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar

Normalisation of scores for CUET-UG and NET to be done away with, said UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar. 

5:02 PM

Domestic air traffic touches new single-day high; crosses 471,000 passengers

Domestic air traffic touched a new single-day high of 471,751 passengers on Sunday, according to data from the civil aviation ministry. The traffic on Sunday was more than 14 per cent higher than the average pre-Covid count of 3,98,579. On April 21, the total number of flights was 6,128.

5:00 PM

Punjab High Court dismisses FIR against Emaar India

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed the FIR recorded by Gurgaon police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) against Emaar India, the local arm of Dubai's EmaarProperties, and international property consultant JLL India. The local police had registered a case of undervaluation of land and other charges of committing fraud  against Emaar India.

 

4:49 PM

Iranian Prez Raisi, Pak PM agree on joint efforts to eliminate terrorism months after tit-for-tat air strikes

Months after the two neighbours carried out tit-for-tat air strikes against alleged terrorist hideouts on rival lands, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi today agreed on joint efforts to eradicate terrorism as they talked on ways to promote cooperation between their countries. Raisi was welcomed by PM Sharif at the Prime Minister House where the Iranian leader inspected the Guard of Honour.

 

4:33 PM

Odisha heatwave: Summer vacation announced for schools as heatwave grips states

The Odisha government announced summer vacations in all schools beginning April 25 because of the current heatwave conditions, until further notice. Jharkhand too has declared changes in school timings. The schools will now run from 6:30AM to 10:30AM for three days, April 22-24. Read here for more details.

4:30 PM

Supreme Court refuses to entertain PIL seeking 3-year law course instead of 5

The top court refused to entertain a PIL seeking directions to the Centre and the Bar Council of India to establish an expert panel for exploring the feasibility of introducing a three-year LLB course after class 12 instead of the existing five-year course. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala said the five-year LLB (Bachelor of Law) course is "working fine" and there was no need to tinker with it. "Why have a three-year course at all? They can start practice (of law) after high school only!... According to me, even 5 years is too less," the CJI said.

4:00 PM

BJP's Mukesh Dalal set to get elected unopposed from Surat: Party's Gujarat chief

BJP's Mukesh Dalal set to get elected unopposed from Surat after all other candidates withdraw: Party's Gujarat chief C R Paatil.