LIVE: 8 union ministers to hold virtual rallies about farm laws in Punjab

Eight Union ministers will hold virtual rallies over eight days in Punjab from Tuesday to "address apprehensions of farmers amid widespread protests against the Centre's farm laws.

5:01 PM

Number of passengers flying in single day increases to over 178,000

The total number of passengers flying in a single day increased to 1,78,431 on October 11, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.

The Minister, in a tweet, said that airports across the country received a footfall of 356,000.

"Domestic Operations on 11th October 2020. 1,78,431 passengers on 1,515 flights. Total movements 3,024. Footfall at airports 3,56,127," Puri tweeted.

Puri had earlier said that around two lakh domestic air passengers will be flying every day by the end of October and added that the figure is expected to reach three lakhs between Diwali and the end of the year.

4:49 PM

Karnataka reshuffle: Sudhakar replaces Sriramulu as new Health Minister

Karnataka Minister B Sriramulu was divested of the Health and Family Welfare portfolio by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday in a Cabinet reshuffle amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The portfolio was allocated to Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar.

Significantly, Yediyurappa also took back the Backward Classes Welfare department from Sriramulu, retaining it with himself, in the minor reshuffle.

He entrusted Sriramulu with the key Social Welfare department, hitherto handled by Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol in addition to the Public Works department.

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala issued an official notification reallocating the portfolios on the advice of the Chief Minister.

4:31 PM

52,000 voters opt for postal ballot in Phase 1 of Bihar polls: Election Commission

More than 52,000 voters, who are either senior citizens above 80 years of age or are people with disabilities, have opted for postal ballot in the first phase of Bihar elections to be held on October 28, the Election Commission said on Monday.

Booth Level Officers (BLO) in 71 constituencies spread across 16 districts of the state had approached over four lakh voters of the two categories. More than fifty two thousand such electors have opted to vote through postal ballots in phase one of polls, the EC said in a statement.

The remaining electors have preferred to visit the polling booth to cast vote.

4:22 PM

SC seeks Centre's reply on pleas challenging constitutionality of farm laws

The Supreme Court Monday sought the Centre's response on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the newly enacted three contentious farm laws.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, in a hearing conducted via video conferencing, issued notice to the central government and sought its reply within four weeks.

The bench expressed surprised on seeing a battery of law officers, including Attorney General K K Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing in the matter even before the issuance of the notice.

"AG, SG, ASG all appear in a matter where there is no cause of action...This in common parlance is called an 'overkill'," it said.

Venugopal told the court that the Centre would be filing a consolidated reply to the petitions.

4:04 PM

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal joins Punjab AAP's protest, seeks rollback of new farm laws

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday participated in a protest organised here by the Punjab unit of Aam Aadmi Party and demanded a complete rollback of the three recently enacted central farm laws.

 

Addressing his party workers from Punjab at the Jantar Mantar agitation, Kejriwal said the AAP has a very clear stance on the farm laws.

 

"We want a complete rollback of the three laws. It is non-negotiable," he asserted,

3:51 PM

Ladakh standoff: India, China hold 7th round of high-level military talks

India and China on Monday held the seventh round of high-level military talks with a sole agenda of finalising a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh.

 

As the border standoff entered the sixth month, an early resolution to the row appears dim.

3:34 PM

Americans Paul Milgrom, Robert Wilson win 2020 Nobel prize in economics

Americans Paul R Milgrom and Robert B Wilson have won the Nobel Prize in economics for “improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.”

 

The winners were announced Monday in Stockholm by Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Read more...

3:27 PM

CBSE class 10 compartment exam results declared, over 56% students pass

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) declared the result for class 10 compartment examination on Monday with over 56 per cent of the registered candidates passing the exam.

 

According to officials, a total of 1.57 candidates had registered for the exam and of them, 1.49 candidates appeared for the exam.

 

"A total of 82,903 candidates have cleared the exam taking the pass percentage to 56.55 per cent," a senior board official said.

3:12 PM

Hiring activities improve by 24% in Sept compared to month-ago: Report

With life returning to normalcy gradually, hiring activities grew 24 per cent in September as compared to the previous month mostly driven by pharmaceuticals and education sectors, according to a report.

At 1,755 job postings, there was an improvement of 24 per cent in hiring activities last month compared to August with 1,413 listings, according to the Naukri JobSpeak Index for September 2020.

The Naukri JobSpeak is a monthly index that calculates and records hiring activities based on the job listings on Naukri.com website month-on-month.

2:53 PM

Massive power outage leaves trains stuck on tracks in Mumbai; services resume partially

Train services came to a halt, homes and businesses were without electricity and people sweltered in humid heat as a grid failure resulted in massive power outages across Mumbai Monday morning.

As the day progressed, power restorations efforts began on war footing. Trains have started to resume operations, beginning with CR's Harbour Line. The trains are carrying only essential services workers at present, which helped minimise the passenger inconvenience.

Railway services across city on the Western Railway and Central Railway came to a grinding halt at 1005 hrs as a result of the power outage, with both the networks blaming power cut from Tata Power (their power supplier) for it.

State's Power Minister Nitin Raut said the trouble emanated from Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company (MSETCL) facilities during a planned maintenance work.

2:49 PM

Collapse of global tax talks could cost $100 billion, OECD says

The global economy could shed more than 1% of output if international talks to rewrite cross-border tax rules break down and trigger a trade war, the OECD said on Monday, after countries agreed to keep up negotiating to mid-2021.

Nearly 140 countries agreed on Friday to extend talks after the pandemic outbreak and U.S. hesitation before the presidential election squashed hopes of reaching a deal this year.

2:10 PM

Mumbai power outage: Vodafone Idea media interaction postponed

Vodafone Idea's media briefing, which was scheduled to be held in Mumbai on Monday afternoon, has been postponed after a massive power outage in the megapolis, a source said.

The 'select media interaction' with senior officials from Vodafone Idea and IBM India was earlier slated for Monday afternoon, but was postponed by the organisers due to power outage in Mumbai, the source said.

12:24 PM

Mumbai power outage LIVE: Power supply restored in some parts of South Mumbai, Khargar and Fort area

12:19 PM

Power trips in Mumbai: Financial capital, adjoining areas face rare outage

The power outage has brought the city’s suburban rail network to a temporary halt. Executives for the stock exchanges confirmed operations remain unaffected. Read on...

12:15 PM

Mumbai power outage LIVE: BMC commissioner tells hospitals to get enough diesel to maintain emergency power for 8 hours

BMC commissioner tells hospitals to get enough diesel to maintain emergency power for 8 hours. All payment and settlement systems are working normally, reports TOI.