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2:53 PM

Australian investors meet UP CM Adityanath

A delegation of Australian investors on Friday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his official residence here.

During the meeting, the delegation -- led by Australia's Deputy High Commissioner to India Sarah Storey -- discussed the possibilities of investment in various sectors in Uttar Pradesh and expressed its enthusiasm for participation in the Global Investors Summit 2023, the state government said in a statement.

The chief minister said the Uttar Pradesh government is organising a Global Investors Summit in Lucknow from February 10 to 12 next year.

2:29 PM

Farmers stage protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, demand legal guarantee for MSP

Scores of farmers affiliated to the All India Kisan Congress on Friday gathered at the Jantar Mantar here to demand legal guarantee for MSP and compensation for the kin of farmers killed in last year's agitation against the Centre's three farm laws.

The Congress' unit for farmers also accused the BJP-led central government of not cooperating with farmers and reneging on its promises made to them following which, the year-long stir at Delhi borders was suspended.

The contentious farm laws were scrapped by Parliament in November last year.

2:28 PM

Bhupendra Patel resigns as Gujarat CM, set for another term; BJP legislative party meet on Saturday

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel tendered his resignation along with his entire cabinet on Friday to pave the way for formation of a new government in the state after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) landslide victory in the Assembly elections.

The BJP registered a historic victory in Gujarat by clinching 156 seats in the 182-member House.

Patel, accompanied by Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil and party's chief whip Pankaj Desai, handed over his resignation to Governor Acharya Devvrat at the Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar.

2:28 PM

Congress to hold meeting of newly-elected Himachal MLAs in Shimla Friday to pick CM

The Congress, which wrested power from the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, has convened a meeting of all its newly-elected MLAs here on Friday where a resolution is likely to be passed authorising the party president to pick the next chief minister.

Two party observers -- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior leader from Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda -- along with AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla arrived in the state capital.

The Congress on Thursday won 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of not voting any incumbent government to power since 1985.

Deciding on the chief ministerial face who can bind the party going forward is the immediate challenge for the Congress.

1:45 PM

Bacteria behind certain bloodstream infections grew highly drug-resistant in 2020: WHO

High levels of drug resistance in bacteria that often cause bloodstream infections in hospitals emerged in the first year of the pandemic, a World Health Organization report based on data from 87 countries in 2020 has found.

 

Concerns about so-called superbugs - pathogens that are resistant to existing drugs - are hardly new.

 

The protracted overuse and/or misuse of existing therapies, particularly antibiotics, has helped microbes to become resistant to many treatments, while the pipeline of replacement therapies in development is limited.

 

1:24 PM

Collegium discussions can't be put in public domain through RTI, says SC

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to disclose details under the Right to Information (RTI) of a collegium meeting in which decisions were taken regarding the elevation of judges to the apex court.

A bench headed by Justice M.R. Shah said, "Only a resolution drawn and signed by all the collegium members can be said to be the final decision..."

The bench added that "it is to be noted that final decision is taken by the collegium only after due consultation and during the consultation some decision takes place, but no final decision is taken and no resolution is drawn, it cannot be said that a final decision is taken by the collegium".

1:05 PM

Pakistan ready to play its part for SAARC's revival: PM Shehbaz Sharif

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan is ready to play its part in revitalising the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to tap the vast potential of the region.

His remarks came on Thursday on the occasion of the SAARC Charter Day.

SAARC Charter Day today is a reminder of the vast untapped potential of regional development, connectivity and cooperation among countries of South Asia, Sharif tweeted.

12:43 PM

NDB to scale up infrastructure & development finance in India

After successfully financing a $500 million road infrastructure development project in Madhya Pradesh, the New Development Bank (NDB) plans to scale up its infrastructure and development finance in India for a sustainable future.

The NDB established in 2015 by BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has invested in 21 projects worth $7.2 billion in India since 2016 which is expected to benefit over four million people.

The $500 million Madhya Pradesh Major District Road Project (MPMDRP), funded $350 million by the NDB and $150 million by the state government, aimed at upgradation of major district roads in the state to improve connectivity in the interior areas of the state with the national and state highway networks, with the wider aim of promoting economic and social transformation.

12:42 PM

Rising gas prices constrain CNG penetration in commercial vehicles: Icra

Rising gas prices have constrained CNG penetration in commercial vehicles to 9-10 per cent in the current fiscal from peaks of 16 per cent, Icra Ratings said on Friday.

 

A spurt in global energy prices has led to a 70 per cent jump in the price of CNG in the last one year. This has narrowed the gap between the fuel and diesel, blurring the incentive to shift to the cleaner fuel.

12:37 PM

Sikar's Fatehpur coldest in Rajasthan at 5.5 degrees Celsius

Fatehpur in Sikar was recorded as the coldest place in Rajasthan on Thursday night with a minimum temperature of 5.5 degrees Celsius, officials said.

There was a slight increase in the minimum temperatures across Rajasthan in the last 24 hours, the Meteorological Department said.

Among other places, Churu recorded a minimum temperature of 5.6 degrees on Thursday night, Karauli 6.1 degrees, Bhilwara 6.4 degrees, and Chittorgarh 6.7 degrees.

12:22 PM

Automobile retail sales soar to record high in Nov: FADA

Automobile retail sales in India clocked best-ever performance last month aided by robust registrations across segments including passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, automobile dealer' body FADA said on Friday.

The overall automobile retail sales rose by 26 per cent to 23,80,465 units last month, as compared with 18,93,647 units in November 2021.

"November 2022 has clocked highest retails in the history of Indian automobile Industry with March'20 as an exception when retails were higher due to BS IV to BS VI transition," Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) President Manish Raj Singhania said in a statement.

12:00 PM

US seeks to block Microsoft's $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard

The US government will try to block Microsoft's deal to acquire game developer and Xbox maker Activision Blizzard amidst concerns it may suppress competitors, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Thursday.

"Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals," said Holly Vedova, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition," FTC Competition Bureau Director Holly Vedova said in a statement.

"Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets," Vedova added.

11:17 AM

Cyclone 'Mandous': Water to be released from TN's Chembarambakkam, Poondi lakes

With Cyclone 'Mandous' intensifying into a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal and expected to touch land at Mamallapuram in Chennai, light to heavy rain was lashing across Tamil Nadu.

It has been raining heavily since Thursday night in Chennai and surrounding areas and the water levels in Chembarambakkam and Poondi reservoirs were rising. The authorities have decided that surplus water be released from Chembarambakkam and Poondi reservoirs from 12 p.m. onwards on Friday.

Surplus water was to be released at 100 cubic feet per second from Chembarambakkam, Poondi and Puzhal reservoirs. The Chennai district authorities have warned people living in certain low-lying areas of Chennai to be cautious as water would be released from the lakes.

11:03 AM

US designates 6 Pakistani firms for 'unsafeguarded' nuclear proliferation

The US has placed 6 Pakistani companies on its entity list for missile proliferation and unsafe-guarded nuclear activity.

 

These companies were part of two dozen entities from countries like Russia, Switzerland, Latvia, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, that were added to the Entity List of the US Commerce Department.

 

"Today, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a rule that adds 24 new entities to the Entity List under 26 entries, applying stringent license requirements that will severely restrict these entities' access to commodities, software, and technologies subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). These entities are added under the destinations of Russia, Switzerland, Latvia, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)," the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) said in a press release.

10:43 AM

India logs 249 new coronavirus cases, toll climbs to 530,653

India recorded 249 fresh coronavirus infections on Friday, while the number of active cases declined further to 4,228, according to Union health ministry data.

 

With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 44,674,439. The death toll has climbed to 530,653 with six fatalities reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

 

No deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

 

The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry website.

 

A decrease of 16 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

 

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 44,139,558, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.