LIVE: Rahul Dravid appointed head coach of Indian men's cricket team

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12:54 AM

UP sweetens Centre's Diwali gift: Lowers VAT on petrol diesel, makes them yet more cheaper

With the central government slashing the excise duty on petrol and diesel, the Uttar Pradesh government too on Wednesday lowered the VAT on the two fuels making them cheaper by Rs 12 per litre in the state.

 

The state government has decided to reduce the VAT by Rs 7 and Rs 2 respectively on petrol and diesel. Now with the cut in excise duty by the Centre and reduction of VAT by the state government, their prices will come down by Rs 12 per litre in the state, Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said.

 

Earlier in the day, the central government had announced a cut in the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively, bringing down their retail rates from record highs.

12:18 AM

All-round India demolish Afghanistan by 66 runs, stay in competition

A formidable India led by their stylish openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul finally put up a near-flawless performance to annihilate a hapless Afghanistan by 66 runs to stay afloat in the ICC T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.

 

It could well be a case of joining the party two games too late but a solid batting show to first score 210 for 2 and then bowl the disciplined lines to restrict Afghanistan to 144 for 7 kept their billion plus fans interested.

 

With their net run-rate finally entering the positive bracket (+0.073), India would now hope that Afghanistan can recover from this drubbing and upset New Zealand, giving Virat Kohli's men an outside chance to qualify for the semi-finals behind Pakistan who are set to top the group.

 

On the day, India did everything that perhaps was expected of them against the big teams.

 

Rohit brought his carefree elegance to the table while Rahul was classy as ever in India's imposing total.

10:54 PM

PNB cuts benchmark lending rate to 6.50 pc; launches special Diwali offer

State-owned Punjab National Bank on Wednesday announced cutting its benchmark lending rate by 5 basis points to 6.50 per cent. The Repo Linked Lending Rate (RLLR) has been reduced from 6.55 per cent to 6.50 per cent with effect from November 8, PNB said in a regulatory filing.

 

As part of continued efforts to enhance customer service, PNB also launched a range of deals and offers on its retail loans this festive season.

 

With reduction in RLLR, all loans including home, car, education and personal loans would become cheaper. The bank had last cut its RLLR on September 17 from 6.80 per cent to 6.55 per cent.

10:14 PM

On Diwali, Delhi Metro to run last train service at 10 pm on all lines, except Green line

On the occasion of Diwali on Thursday, the Delhi Metro will operate its last train services at 10 pm from all its terminal stations except the Green Line, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said today.

 

On regular days the last trains start from 11 pm at all its stations.

 

"On account of the Diwali festival, the last metro train service on November 4, will start at 10pm from terminal stations of all metro lines except Green Line (i.e, Line-5 from Inderlok/Kirti Nagar to Brig. Hoshiar Singh (Bahdurgarh) stations)," the DMRC said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

DMRC further said that the last metro train service from the terminal stations of Green Line will be as per the revised schedule: Brigadier Hoshiar Singh to Inderlok at 9 pm; Brigadier Hoshiar Singh to Kirti Nagar at 9:10 pm; Inderlok to Brigadier Hoshiar Singh at 9:30 pm and Kirti Nagar to Brigadier Hoshiar Singh at 9:30 pm.

9:24 PM

India, Bhutan to have 7 more entry/exit points for trade: Govt

India and Bhutan will have seven additional entry and exit points for trade as part of measures to increase trade connectivity, the government said on Wednesday.

 

The decision was taken at a commerce secretary-level meeting held between India and Bhutan on trade and transit issues here.

 

The Indian delegation was led by BVR Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Bhutanese delegation was led by Dasho Karma Tshering, Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan.

9:14 PM

US puts new controls on Israeli spyware companies

The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is putting new export limits on two Israeli hacker-for-hire companies including the well-known spyware company NSO Group saying their tools have been used to "conduct transnational repression.

 

Based on leaked targeting data, findings by a global media consortium earlier this year provided evidence that the spyware from NSO Group was allegedly used to infiltrate devices belonging to a range of targets, including journalists, activists and political opponents in 50 countries.

 

The US Commerce Department said NSO Group and the firm Candiru are being added to the entity list, which limits their access to US components and technology by requiring government permission for exports.

8:49 PM

Rahul Dravid appointed head coach of Indian men's cricket team

8:13 PM

Govt reduces excise duty on petrol, diesel

7:51 PM

Glad to see one more vaccine being granted EUL: WHO chief

6:14 PM

DRDO & IAF carry out successful flight tests of indigenously-developed smart anti-airfield weapon

6:11 PM

Mandaviya thanks WHO

5:29 PM

42 companies selected under PLI Scheme for white goods

Ministry of Commerce finalised 42 companies under PLI Scheme for white goods. 26 companies will invest Rs 3,898 crore for air conditioner components and 16 companies will invest Rs 716 crore for LED component manufacturing.

 

Total investment in the scheme is pegged at Rs 4,614 crore, with direct employment generation of about 44,000.

4:43 PM

Centre releases Rs 17,000 crore as GST compensation to states/UTs

3:35 PM

CDSCO approves extension of shelf life of Covaxin up to 12 months

3:10 PM

Centre launches 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign