LIVE: West Bengal govt extends existing Covid restrictions up to Jan 15

Restrictions related to the movement of people and vehicles between 11 pm and 5 am shall be relaxed for Christmas and New Year celebrations

9:53 AM

President Kovind embarks on 3-day visit to Bangladesh to attend 50th Victory Day celebrations

resident Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday embarked on a three-day State visit to Bangladesh to participate in the 50th Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka.

"Beginning Wednesday, President Kovind will be on a State visit to Bangladesh. The visit will be from December 15-17. This visit is in context of 50th Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka at which Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid has invited President Kovind to represent India as a guest of honour," Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday during a press briefing.

This is the first visit of President Kovind to Bangladesh since the COVID-19 outbreak.

9:43 AM

Union Cabinet likely to discuss Cryptocurrency Bill today

The Union Cabinet is likely to discuss "The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021" at today's meeting. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 1 pm, sources said.

The Union Finance Ministry on Tuesday had informed the Lok Sabha that a Bill on cryptocurrency is under final consideration of the Cabinet.

The Union government had earlier decided to table the Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament and, sources stated, it may later be referred to the Standing Committee for further deliberations.

9:42 AM

India will be grateful to Sardar Patel for his efforts to unite nation: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tribute to former Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 71st death anniversary and said that India will be grateful to the latter's administrative skills and efforts to unite the nation.

"Remembering Sardar Patel on his Punya Tithi. India will always be grateful to him for his monumental service, his administrative skills and the untiring efforts to unite our nation," the PM tweeted.

9:02 AM

Congress MP gives debate notice in Lok Sabha for Lakhimpur Kheri probe

Congress MP Manickam Tagore gives adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss the "killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri being a well-planned conspiracy", referring to charges made by police’s special investigation team about the violence during farmer protests on October 3.

8:44 AM

AIADMK leader's properties searched by vigilance dept

Tamil Nadu’s vigilance department searched separate places in the state on Wednesday as it investigated senior AIADMK leader and former Minister P Thangamani in connection with a disproportionate assets case, police said. Thangamani is the fifth former minister from the main opposition party in the state to come under the vigilance net, said PTI quoting the police.

8:15 AM

Maharashtra reopens schools for Classes 1 to 7

7:41 AM

Security forces kill terrorist in Kashmir's Pulwama district

Security forces killed a terrorist as they fight others in Rajpura of Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, multiple news reports said citing the police.

7:34 AM

Keechant Sewell named NYPD's first female commissioner

New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams named Keechant Sewell police commissioner, marking the first time a woman will lead the NYPD, the U.S.’s largest police department. Sewell, 49, is the Nassau County Chief of Detectives. The Queens native will replace Dermot Shea, a career NYPD cop who was appointed to the job by Mayor Bill de Blasio in December 2019, according to the Adams transition team, said Bloomberg.

 

7:06 AM

Meghalaya gets Rs 700 cr from Japan for developing tourism

Conrad K Sangma said on Tuesday Megalaya has received Rs 700 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for promotion and development of the tourism sector in the state. Of the total amount, the state government has earmarked Rs 350 crore each for the Khasi and Garo Hills regions, PTI reported.

5:46 AM

Sitharaman begins pre-budget consultations

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet with the agriculture and agro-processing industry on Wednesday, beginning customary consultations for the union budget next year. She will get the views of industry groups, farmer organisations and economists for reviving consumption and boosting growth hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

5:45 AM

Adani group in talks to buy developer Ozone Group: Report

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s realty unit is in advanced talks to take over beleaguered Indian developer Ozone Group at an enterprise value of about $1 billion, Bloomberg reported quoting people familiar with the matter. Adani Realty Ltd. is seeking to take over the Bengaluru-based Ozone, which has an outstanding debt of more than Rs 60 billion ($790 million), one of the people said.