Highlights: Reliance Industries buys 74% stake in Navi Mumbai IIA for $192 mn

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Reliance Industries said on Friday it has bought a 74% stake in Navi Mumbai IIA for Rs 1,628 crore  The Telangana High Court on Friday granted interim bail to actor Allu Arjun, who was arrested earlier in the day by the city police in connection with the death of a woman during the screening of his movie 'Pushpa 2' here last week. The HC order came shortly after the actor was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by a local court.

  Delhi court sends AAP MLA Naresh Balyan to judicial custody in MCOCA case, while denying police his further remand. Special judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order after Balyan was produced before the court on expiry of his seven-day police custody granted in the case earlier.  French President Emmanuel Macron names key centrist ally François Bayrou as new prime minister.   India's forex reserves drop by $3.235 billion to $654.857 billion for the week ended December 6, says RBI.  Popular actor Allu Arjun was taken into custody today in connection with a stampede that took during the premiere of his film Pushpa 2 at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad on December 4, which resulted in the death of a 39-year-old woman.  The Reserve Bank of India received a threat sent via email today, threatening to blow up the bank's Mumbai office with explosives. Mumbai Police officials have registered a case against the sender under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched a probe. 

Three schools in Delhi have received bomb threats via an email in the early hours of Friday, leading to a multi-agency search of the premises, the Delhi Police said.  These schools include Delhi Public School in the East of Kailash, Salwan Public School in Mayur Vihar and Cambridge School in Srinivas Puri. 

Videos of drivers of wet-leased buses in Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking's fleet allegedly buying or drinking alcohol have gone viral on social media. These videos are in circulation after the horrific December 9 accident in which a wet-leased electric bus of the civic-run transporter ploughed into vehicles and people in Kurla West, killing seven and injuring 42. A senior BEST official said they have come across four such purported videos this week. In one of the videos, a driver is seen consuming alcohol while sitting at the wheel and being questioned by a security officer. The video is apparently from Mulund depot and took place on election day.

 

Six people lost their lives in the fire accident that occurred at a private hospital in Tamil Nadu's Dindigul on Thursday night, the Dindigul district Superintendent of Police said. Over 20 people were injured and many feared dead in a massive fire at a private hospital in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu on Thursday night. More than three fire engines and over 10 ambulances were deployed to rescue patients trapped inside the hospital in the Gandhi Nagar area near the Dindigul-Trichy highway, a senior official said. According to Dindigul District Collector MN Poongodi, the patients have been rescued and admitted to other hospitals.

10:24 PM

McKinsey & Company agrees to pay $650 million to settle US investigation into opioids work

McKinsey & Company agrees to pay USD 650 million to settle US investigation into opioids work, reports AP, citing court papers.

9:46 PM

Over 340 terrorists killed in first 10 months in Pakistan; highest terror incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

At least 341 terrorists were killed by the security agencies in various actions across the country during the first ten months of this year, the Parliament was told on Friday.
 

Also, at least 1,566 terrorism incidents occurred in the 10 months, with highest 948 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa followed by 532 in Balochistan, leading to a total of 924 deaths.

The Interior Ministry shared the details with the National Assembly in response to a question by lawmaker Hameed Hussain of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen party of Shiite Muslims, who had sought details of actions to improve the law and order in the country.

8:58 PM

India-UAE partnership a 'model' relationship: Jaishankar

 India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday discussed implementation of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and resolved to shore up energy cooperation including long-term supplies and collaboration in upstream and downstream projects.
 

Ways to further deepen bilateral relations in areas of energy, connectivity and trade figured prominently at the 15th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) that was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

8:39 PM

AAP MLA Raghuvinder Shokeen takes oath as Delhi minister

AAP MLA from Nangloi Jat Raghuvinder Shokeen on Friday took oath as a minister in the Delhi government.
 

Shokeen was administered the oath by the Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at the Raj Niwas. The ceremony was also attended by the Chief Minister Atishi.

In a post on X, LG Saxena said, "Administered Oath of Office and Secrecy to Raghuvinder Shokeen, as a Minister in GNCTD, in the presence of CM Atishi and other cabinet ministers. My congratulations and best wishes to Shokeen. May he work to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Delhi." Congratulating the new minister, CM Atishi, in a post on X in Hindi, said, "Congratulations to Raghuvinder Shokeen on taking oath as minister. I have full faith that as a minister, you will serve the people of Delhi and make their lives better." AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal also congratulated Shokeen.

8:20 PM

LIC MF may consider IPO once its AUM hits Rs 1 trn: MD RK Jha

LIC Mutual Fund might consider an IPO once its asset under management (AUM) reaches the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, which it was targeting by FY'26, a top official said on Friday.
 

At present, LIC MF's AUM was around Rs 38,000 crore, a significant jump from Rs 16,526 crore in FY'23.

"We have grown by 67 per cent in FY'24 and our current growth run rate is 30 per cent," LIC MF Asset Management Ltd MD and CEO RK Jha told PTI.

He said the current equity contribution across all funds is 47 per cent, with debt accounting for the remaining 53.

Institutional and corporate investors have put their money mostly in debt funds, while retail participation is skewed towards equity, he added.

8:12 PM

Adani Green Energy arm incorporates subsidiary for renewable energy business

Adani Renewable Energy Holding Nine Ltd has formed a wholly owned subsidiary which would operate in the renewable energy space, according to a filing.
 

Adani Green Energy Sixty Nine Ltd (AGE69L) has been incorporated on Friday by its wholly-owned subsidiary Adani Renewable Energy Holding Nine at Ahmedabad, Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) said in an exchange filing.
 

The main objective of AGE69L is to generate, develop, transform, distribute, transmit, sale, supply any kind of power or electrical energy using wind energy, solar energy or other renewable sources of energy, the filing added. 

7:52 PM

NC to discuss its opinion on 'One Nation, One Election': Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said the National Conference will decide on the 'one nation, one election' bill before it is put to vote.

The Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday approved the constitutional amendment bill to roll out the concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls.

6:42 PM

Cabinet expansion of Maharashtra govt on Dec 15; about 30 ministers likely to take oath at function in Nagpur

Cabinet expansion of Maharashtra govt on Dec 15; about 30 ministers likely to take oath at function in Nagpur, sources said. 

6:23 PM

Sports advisory committee, government observers need of the hour: Ex-athletes to minister

Former athletes and coaches on Friday urged sports ministry to constitute an advisory committee to bring about transparency in the selection of athletes, and also emphasised on the need to appoint government observers to oversee the functioning of the National Sports Federations (NSFs).

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met a 21-member delegation to gauge their views on the draft National Sports Governance Bill, with many of them saying the bill was a step in the right direction as India aim to become a sporting powerhouse.
 

"The government should constitute a sports advisory committee to ensure transparency in the selection process. Also, government observers have not been appointed for a few years now, so that should be done on priority," said Asian Games medallist and multiple-time national champion boxer Raj Kumar Sangwan, who was part of the delegation.

"We highlighted several issues being faced by sportspersons in the country. The government and sportspersons are both unhappy with the attitude of the NSFs. It is important to bring about a change in the (functioning of the) federations and to create an environment whereby the Sports Bill gets passed in Parliament," he said.

5:24 PM

News update: India's forex reserves drop to $654.85 bn for week ended Dec 6

4:53 PM

News update: Allu Arjun had nothing to do with stampede. ready to take back case, says victim's husband

Pushpa actor Allu Arjun was taken into custody today and brought to Chikkadpally police station for questioning.

4:46 PM

News update: Ex-NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma elected unopposed in Rajya Sabha bypoll from Haryana

4:37 PM

Americans are sour on tariffs if they spark inflation, says poll

Americans don't think import tariffs are a good idea if they lead to higher prices and are skeptical they would help U.S. workers, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found, underscoring the political risks to President-elect Donald Trump's plan to impose heavy fees on goods from China, Mexico and other nations.

Only 29% of respondents in the six-day poll, which closed on Tuesday, agreed with a statement that "it's a good idea for the U.S. to charge higher tariffs on imported goods even if prices increase," while 42% disagreed. Another 26% said they didn't know and the rest didn't answer the question.

4:31 PM

Kolkata court grants bail to RG Kar's ex-principal Ghosh, ex-police officer Mondal in doctor rape-murder case

Kolkata court grants bail to RG Kar hospital's ex-principal Sandip Ghosh, former police officer Abhijit Mondal in doctor rape-murder case.

3:52 PM

'Will not become court of first appeal': SC on plea against 8 Goa MLAs who defected to BJP

The top court has refused to entertain a plea challenging a decision of the Goa assembly speaker rejecting a disqualification petition of the Congress against eight of its MLAs who defected to the ruling BJP in 2022. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Congress leader and petitioner Girish Chodankar, said Goa assembly speaker Ramesh Tawadkar took 720 days in deciding the plea for disqualification of the Congress MLAs owing to their defection.