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9:10 PM

Aaditya Thackeray alleges irregularities in tenders floated by BMC for road concretisation

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Friday alleged that the tenders for concretisation of roads in Mumbai were floated at a higher price for the benefit of contractors and the same should be scrapped.

Addressing a press conference, Thackeray said new contracts worth more than Rs 6,000 crore had been issued to concretise 400 km of roads in the city.

9:06 PM

India's first Centre of Excellence in online gaming to come up in Shillong by March: Chandrasekhar

Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar on Friday said the government will set up India's first Centre of Excellence' in online gaming here by March this year.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had recently circulated draft amendments to the IT Rules, 2021, with regard to online gaming for public consultation.

9:03 PM

PM Modi announces project to provide essential medical supplies to developing nations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a project under which India will provide essential medical supplies to developing nations in case of natural disasters or humanitarian crisis and proposed to set up a 'centre of excellence' to facilitate development solutions to these countries.

In his opening address at the concluding session of the Voice of Global South virtual summit, Modi also said that India will launch a 'science and technology initiative' to share its expertise with other developing nations.

8:52 PM

Global South wants human-centric globalisation that brings prosperity, well-being to humanity: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the global south appreciates the principle of globalisation and that India sees the whole world as one family. He said that the south wants a human-centric globalisation, one that brings prosperity and well-being to humanity.

"We all appreciate the principle of globalisation. India has always seen the world as one family. Developing countries desire globalisation that does not create a climate crisis, does not lead to unequal vaccine distribution or over-concentrated global supply chains. We want a globalisation that brings prosperity and well-being to humanity. We want a human-centric globalisation," the PM said at the concluding leaders' session of The Voice of Global South Summit.

8:42 PM

Moving step by step to address land subsidence problem in Joshimath: CM Dhami

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said his government is moving step by step to address the issues of subsidence-hit Joshimath town in Chamoli district.

"Our biggest priority now is to provide quick relief to the affected people and evacuate them to safety," he said. "The affected families are being shifted to safer places. The demarcation of the affected buildings is going on continuously. Teams of geologists and experts are engaged in investigating the causes of land subsidence in the town," the chief minister added.
 

8:22 PM

India has lot to offer to world in time of crisis, says Amitabh Kant

India has a lot to offer to the world in the time of crisis and the G20 presidency is the time to showcase it, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said here on Friday.

He was speaking at the third annual lecture of the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) on the topic Role of Business in G20'.

8:21 PM

Panchayat polls: BJP's brainstorming session on Jan 20-21, Nadda likely to visit next week

In a bid to revive the state unit ahead of the panchayat polls, BJP president J P Nadda is likely to visit West Bengal next week and will hold organizational meetings and public rallies.

According to state BJP sources, Nadda is likely to visit West Bengal on a day-long tour on January 19. "Naddaji is likely to visit West Bengal on January 19. Although nothing has been finalized as of now," BJP Bengal spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said Friday.

8:03 PM

Trade unions' body calls for two-day bank strike from Jan 30

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella body of trade unions in the banking sector, has given a two-day strike call from January 30 to press for various demands.

The UFBU, in a statement, said since there was no response from the Indian Banks' Association on the demands during a meeting held in Mumbai on Thursday, it has been decided to give a call for strike on January 30 and 31.

7:39 PM

World's longest river cruise Ganga Vilas costing Rs 50-55 lakh/person fully booked till Mar 24

Vegetarian Indian cuisine, assorted non-alcoholic beverages, a spa and doctors on call are some of the features of the world's longest luxury river cruise MV Ganga Vilas, which was flagged off on Friday for its 3,200 km maiden journey from this ancient city to Dibrugarh in Assam.

The 51-day luxury journey covering five Indian states, and Bangladesh will cost Rs 50-55 lakh per passenger. However, one will have to wait for more than a year to get a suite in the luxury ship, which will cruise across 17 river systems as it is fully booked till March 2024.

7:35 PM

Sachin Pilot's solo campaign worries Congress ahead of elections in Rajasthan

Sachin Pilot's plan for rallies across Rajasthan could restart the tussle in the Congress' state unit as it heads into an election now barely 10 months away.

From next week, Sachin Pilot will address the farmers and youth in a series of public meetings, reports NDTV.

7:32 PM

Hate speeches complete menace, we want free and balanced press in India: SC

Hate speeches are a "complete menace", the Supreme Court observed on Friday and rued the lack of regulatory control on TV news content, saying it wants "free and balanced press in India".

The top court said nowadays everything is driven by TRP (television rating point) and channels are competing with each other and creating a division in society. It wondered why can't a TV news anchor, if they become a part of the problem of propagating hate speech, be taken off air.

7:31 PM

Green development pact to be part of India's G20 presidency agenda: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday said that a Green Development Pact containing action roadmap on tackling climate change would be one of the main agenda items of G20 grouping under India's presidency.

Addressing the virtual voice of Global South summit, Jaishankar said that the priorities for India's G20 presidency will be finalised after consultation with developing nations.

7:05 PM

British Airways trainee arrested for hoax bomb call to SpiceJet call center on Thursday

Abhinav Prakash, A trainee ticketing agent of British Airways arrested for making a hoax bomb call to the SpiceJet call center at IGI Airport in Delhi yesterday. The accused disclosed that his friends Rakesh and Kunal went on a road trip to Manali and became friends with 2 girls. Both girls were departing to Pune via the SpiceJet flight. 

His friends told him to find out a plan to somehow delay their departure from Delhi. In pursuance of the instigation, all three formulated a malicious plan of making a hoax bomb call at the call center of Spicejet Airlines, with an ulterior motive of getting the flight canceled. Kunal and Rakesh are presently absconding, said Ravi Kumar Singh, DCP IGI Airport.

7:02 PM

Wholesale passenger vehicle volume up on UV demand, says industry body SIAM

India's wholesale passenger vehicles sales volume grew 7.2% in December as demand for utility vehicles (UV) soared, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said on Friday.

Wholesale passenger vehicle volumes rose to 235,309 units in December from 219,421 units a year ago, and hit a record high of nearly 3.8 million units for calendar 2022, said SIAM, which records sales to dealers.



 

6:49 PM

Election Commission team arrives in Nagaland on two-day visit

A 16-member team of the Election Commission on Friday arrived in Nagaland on a two-day visit during which it will hold meetings with leaders of different political parties and senior government officials ahead of the upcoming assembly polls.

Elections to the 60-member assembly are due this year, with the term of the incumbent government under Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio ending on March 4.