LIVE: It's not 1962 anymore, will give a befitting reply, says Arunachal CM

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2:34 PM

Walked out from RS as govt refused clarifications on Rajnath statement on Tawang clash: Kharge

On the opposition walkout just after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh concluded his address on the faceoff in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, Congress president and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said there was no point in sitting in the House if they are not given clarifications.

Members of the CPI, CPI-M, Shiv Sena, RJD, SP and JMM joined the Congress members in the walkout.

"The opposition repeatedly asked for a debate on the Chinese transgression, but the government refused to allow it. The defence minister left without giving any clarification to the House. This is not good for the nation," Kharge told reporters.

However, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said since the matter was sensitive in nature, no clarifications would be allowed. He also cited several instances in the past when no clarifications were allowed in the House on sensitive issues.

 

2:28 PM

PM Modi to attend NEC golden jubilee celebrations in Shillong on Dec 18: Sangma

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Meghalaya on Sunday to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council (NEC), Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Tuesday. Sangma also said that the prime minister will be in the state capital for just three hours.

 

"The prime minister is visiting Shillong on December 18. He will be attending the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council here," Sangma told PTI on the sidelines of a meeting.

All details and the security arrangements are being put in place, he said.

 

 

2:17 PM

Islamic State group claims attack on hotel in heart of Afghan capital

The militant Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a coordinated attack on a hotel in Afghanistan's capital that left three assailants dead and at least two of the hotel guests injured as they tried to escape by jumping out from a window.

 

The attack on the Kabul Longan Hotel on Monday afternoon sent plumes of smoke rising from the 10-storey building in the heart of Kabul, according to images posted on social media. Residents reported explosions and gunfire.

 

Taliban forces rushed to the area and blocked all roads leading to the site in the central Shar-e Naw neighbourhood. Khalid Zadran, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said the attack lasted several hours, followed by a clean-up operation.

 

Hours later, the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group a key rival of the Taliban since they seized power in Afghanistan over a year ago claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

2:14 PM

IAF closely monitoring situation along LAC in Arunachal Pradesh after China faceoff

The Indian Air Force is closely monitoring the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh following an attempt by the Chinese PLA troops last week to unilaterally change the status quo in Tawang sector of the border state, according to a report by PTI.

Citing people familiar with the development, the agency reported that the IAF has also stepped up its overall surveillance in the region in view of the Chinese attempt of transgression on Dec 9, adding it follows standard operation procedures that included scrambling of fighter jets in case of specific security concerns.

 

"The situation is being monitored closely by both the IAF and the Army," said one of the people cited above.

 

The people indicated that the IAF has increased the frequency of the sorties by its combat jets in the region.

 

On Monday, the Indian Army said troops from the two sides clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector and the face-off led to "minor injuries" to a few personnel from both sides".

 

2:00 PM

BSE says added 1 crore investors in 148 days to reach 12 crore mark

Leading stock exchange BSE on Tuesday said it has added 1 crore registered investor accounts to its platform in a span of 148 days, taking the total count to 12 crore.

 

The exchange added one crore investors' accounts between July 18 and December 13, the exchange said in a statement.

 

In comparison, the exchange took 124, 91, 85 and 107 days for the previous milestones of 11 crore, 10 crore, 9 crore and 8 crore, respectively.

 

"BSE crossed the milestone of 12 crore registered users based on Unique Client Code (UCC) on December 13, 2022," the exchange said.

 

Of the 12 crore users, 42 per cent fall in the 30 to 40 age brackets, followed by 23 per cent in 20-30 years and 11 per cent in the 40-50 age bracket.

1:58 PM

MP Congress issues show-cause notice against Pateria, seeks reply in 3 days

Madhya Pradesh Congress has issued a show-cause notice to its party leader Raja Pateria for using objectionable and condemnable words for Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing a meeting. According to the notice, the party has asked him to reply within three days why he should not be expelled.

Pateria was heard saying on Sunday, "PM Modi will end elections, divide people on the basis of religion and Dalits face the biggest threat under his regime. You should be ready to carry out 'Modi ki hatya' if you want to save the Constitution".

Later Pateria clarified that hatya (which in hindi means kill) was metaphorically used by him "in the sense of defeating him".

PCC chief Kamal Nath told ANI, "I strongly condemn this type of statement. Congress is a party of Mahatma Gandhi's ideology. The matter is in the court, we will accept whatever the court will decide. We have given show cause notice to Pateria."

1:29 PM

India will be first to hold satellite spectrum auction: Trai chairman

India will be the first country to auction spectrum for satellite communication, and it should be designed to attract investments in the sector, telecom regulator Trai chairman PD Vaghela said on Tuesday.

 

Speaking at a Broadband India Forum summit on SatCom, Vaghela said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will soon make recommendations to make permissions required for satellite communication from various ministries -- Information and Broadcasting, Space and Telecom -- seamless to enhance ease of doing business in the sector.

 

He also said Trai has received a reference from the Department of Telecommunication for the spectrum required to be put to auction and associated aspects of satellite-based communication.

 

"I think India will be the first to handle the issue of auctioning the space base spectrum. We are working on it," Vaghela said.

 

Trai will be coming out with some sort of model for the auction of space spectrum, he added.

 

1:25 PM

Indigo asks passengers to reach Delhi airport 3.5 hrs prior to departures

1:16 PM

Rajya Sabha pays rich tributes to 2001 Parliament attack martyrs

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday remembered the valour and bravery of the martyrs of the 2001 Parliament attack while paying rich tributes to them.

The members also stood in silence for a few moments as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives in the attack.

Soon after the proceedings of the House started, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said December 13 will always be remembered as the grimmest day in the history of independent India.

He said 21 years ago on this day in 2001, terrorists attacked this sacred temple of democracy, but security personnel displayed courage and valour to defend and protect Parliament and foil the audacious attempt of terrorists to strike at the very soul of our nation.

The victims of the attack included five Delhi police personnel, a woman CRPF trooper, two Parliament watch and ward staff and a gardener. A journalist who was injured died later. All five terrorists were shot dead.

1:13 PM

Row over citizenship law: SC asks lawyers to decide issues for adjudication

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the counsel for the contesting parties to decide issues for adjudication in a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam.

 

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the petitioners, that the petitions needed to be segregated and the issues needed to be formulated for adjudication.

 

The bench, also comprising justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and P S Narasimha, agreed to the submissions that the petitions be kept for directions on January 10 next year for issuing the directions with regard to laying down parameters for the hearing.

"We are going to resolve how the matters have to be segregated. We will sit together and resolve this. Just put it on after vacation," Sibal said.

 

The counsel would segregate the cases which fall for decision before this court into distinct categories and the order in which the arguments are to be made, the bench said, adding We will keep it for directions.

1:09 PM

Experts say 10% of major medicinal plants in India facing extinction threat

As much as 10% of 900 major medicinal plant species found in India are facing the threat of extinction, according to experts.

Only 15% of medicinal plants which are endemic to India are cultivated while the rest are simply sourced from forests, the experts said at the 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) in Panaji that concluded on Sunday.

J A C S Rao, CEO of the State Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Board, Chhattisgarh, said the earth is losing one potential medicinal plant every two years at an extinction rate that is hundred times faster than the natural process. About 10% of the 900 major medicinal plants in India fall under the "threatened" category, he said.

12:54 PM

'Not good' for govt to share data in aggregated form: Amitabh Kant

India's G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Tuesday pitched for the dissemination of data by the government in a granular form and said that sharing aggregated information is "not good".

 

Addressing a G-20 development working group meeting in Mumbai, Kant said data is a key aspect to help any country meet her developmental goals and added that India has benefitted from the same.

 

Stressing on the importance of ensuring quality of data, the former civil servant who till recently worked as the chief executive of the government think-tank Niti Aayog made the reference to data aggregation practices by the government.

 

"Government data are provided as aggregates, which is not good. We should break down the aggregation," Kant said.

12:51 PM

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor says no doubt China has its eyes on Tawang

Following the border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor says he has no doubt that China "has its eyes on Tawang".

"No doubt China has its eyes on Tawang. We've to be very alert there. I think what our Army did yesterday had the support of entire country," Tharoor tells ANI.

"I told the defence minister that they should show the world that India is one and every member of every party is with the Army on this," he adds.

 

12:41 PM

Oppn leaders walk out of Lok Sabha after Rajnath Singh concludes statement

Some opposition leaders walk out of Lok Sabha after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh concludes his address on Arunachal clash.

The faceoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers happened on December 9, when Chinese troops tried to enter a disputed area in Tawang. 

The defence minister said some soldiers were injured on both sides in the clash. The matter has been taken at the diplomatic level with China, he added.  

12:23 PM

SC grants pre-arrest bail to businessman Raj Kundra, others in pornography case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to businessman Raj Kundra and others, including actors Sherlyn Chopra and Poonam Pandey, in connection with an FIR against them for allegedly distributing pornographic videos.

A bench of justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna also directed Kundra and the other accused to cooperate in the investigation.

"Having heard the counsel for the parties, we are of the view that the petitioners may be granted anticipatory bail," the bench said.

Senior advocate R Basant, appearing for one of the petitioners, submitted that a chargesheet has already been filed in the case and the accused are cooperating with the police in the investigation.

The top court earlier granted interim protection from arrest to Kundra in the case.