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7:00 PM

Tata Projects Ltd wins bid to construct new parliament building: Officials

The Tata Projects Limited on Wednesday won the bid to construct a new parliament building at a cost of Rs 861.90 crore, officials said. The L&T Ltd had submitted a bid of Rs 865 crore, they said.

 

"The Tata Projects Limited has won the contract to build a new Parliament building," an official said.

 

The new Parliament building will be constructed close to the existing one under the Central Vista redevelopment project, and it is expected to be completed in 21 months.

6:52 PM

Rs 67,000 crore spent on Hyderabad's development in 6 yrs: KTR

The Telangana government has spent Rs 67,000 crore on development of Hyderabad during the last six years, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K.T. Rama Rao said.

 

Rao told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that after formation of Telangana state in 2014, the government laid special emphasis on development of the state capital.

 

Considering the growing importance of Hyderabad and its crucial role in the state's economy, the government initiated a number of schemes and projects for upkeep of existing infrastructure and creating new infrastructure.

 

"A total of Rs 67,035 crore worth of capital expenditure has been incurred on various infrastructure projects in Hyderabad since the formation of the state till date including few works which would be completed in next four months," he said.

6:44 PM

Over 1.86 mn public grievances received in 2019: Govt

Over 1.86 mn public grievances were received during the last year and more than 16 lakh of them were redressed, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

 

A total of 15,86,415 such grievances were received in 2018 as against 18,66,124 in 2017, according to the data shared by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh in a written reply.

 

Of these, 14,98,519 and 17,73,020 grievances were redressed in 2018 and 2017 respectively, he said.

 

In 2019, a total of 18,67,758 public grievances were received and 16,39,120 were redressed, the minister said.

6:35 PM

5G introduction depends on equipment, ecosystem, telcos' economic consideration: Govt

The government on Wednesday informed Parliament that introduction of 5G services in the country will depend on equipment, device ecosystem and economic considerations by telecom operators.

 

The government also said that state-owned BSNL and MTNL have not planned introducing 5G services yet on their networks.

 

Minister of State for Telecommunications Sanjay Dhotre, in a written reply to a question on the 5G rollout, said, "5G services depends on 5G equipment and device ecosystem, and economic considerations by the telecom service providers."

 

In response to a question on the warning over data theft and national security, Dhotre said the US has intimated about the use of 5G clean path to protect the data and networks of US diplomatic facilities.

6:23 PM

Govt removes export ban on PPE, masks, sanitizers

6:18 PM

IT Ministry has blocked 224 apps in interest of national security: Dhotre

The IT ministry has blocked 224 mobile apps in the interest of national security and sovereignty, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

 

"The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has blocked 224 mobile applications, including TikTok, Helo and WeChat under the provisions of section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India and security of State," Minister of State for Electronics and IT Sanjay Dhotre said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

 

He said these apps have been blocked on national security concerns and thus "linkage with any country may not be disclosed in public domain".

6:10 PM

PwC commits to net zero emissions by 2030 globally

Global consulting major PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has made a worldwide science-based commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, including supporting its clients to reduce their emissions.

 

PwC firms provide services to 85 per cent of the Global Fortune 500 companies and more than 100,000 entrepreneurial and private businesses.

 

PwC has committed to decarbonise its operations, including its travel footprint and neutralise its remaining climate impact by investing in carbon removal projects. It will also engage its suppliers to tackle their climate impact.

6:02 PM

Tax refunds worth over Rs 1.06 trn issued to 3.09 mn taxpayers till Sep 15: CBDT

5:53 PM

Govt to bring out strategy paper on boosting industrial growth: Goyal

The government is in the process of bringing out a strategy paper on boosting industrial growth which will be a road map for all businesses in the country, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

 

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the government is in the process of rationalising the existing central labour laws into four labour codes -- on wages; industrial relations; occupational safety, health and working conditions; and social security by simplifying, amalgamating and rationalising the relevant provisions of the existing central labour laws.

 

The Code on Wages has been approved and notified, he added.

 

"The government is in the process of bringing out a strategy paper on boosting industrial growth which will be a road map for all businesses in the country," he said.

5:47 PM

478.1 acres of land is required for phase-1 of Ayodhya airport: AAI to UP govt

Indian Army fully geared for full-fledged war in eastern Ladakh: Northern CommandThe Airports Authority of India (AAI) has told the UP government that it requires 478.1 acres land for the phase-1 development of the Ayodhya airport, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday.

 

"The state government of Uttar Pradesh has informed that they have earmarked Rs 525.92 crore for acquiring the land so far (for the airport)," Puri said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

 

On the request of the UP government, a multi-disciplinary team of the AAI visited the existing Ayodhya airport in December last year to conduct a pre-feasibilty study to develop the airport further so that it can handle wide-bodied aircraft, Puri said.

5:43 PM

IS most active in southern states, Maharashtra, Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, UP, MP, J&K

5:39 PM

Indian Army fully geared for full-fledged war in eastern Ladakh: Northern Command

Asserting that it is fully prepared to fight a full-fledged war even in winters in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army on Wednesday said if China created conditions for war, they will face a better trained, better prepared, fully rested and psychologically hardened Indian troops.

 

In a statement, it said compared to physically and psychologically battle-hardened Indian troops, Chinese troops mostly are from urban areas and not used to hardships or prolonged deployment under field conditions. Read more

5:33 PM

India's GDP to contract by 8.6% in FY21, fiscal stimulus needed: UBS Securities

Swiss brokerage UBS Securities said it forecasts a GDP contraction of 8.6 per cent in FY21 as against its earlier prediction of 5.8 per cent, citing factors including the modest government response to the crisis for its estimate.

 

It said the country's potential rate of growth has also come down to 5.75-6.25 per cent as per its estimate as against 7.1 per cent, driven by factors including the weak government response to arrest the growth slide.

 

Some improvement is being observed in the high frequency data, but much of it is pent-up demand and economic recovery will be gradual after the September quarter, its chief economist Tanvee Gupta Jain told reporters.

5:24 PM

Babri demolition verdict on Sept 30; Advani, Joshi asked to be in court

A special CBI court hearing the Babri mosque demolition case will pronounce its judgment on September 30. Judge SK Yadav has directed all accused to remain present in the court on the day of judgment.

 

Prominent among the 32 accused are former deputy prime minister L K Advani and BJP leaders M M Joshi, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar. CBI counsel Lalit Singh told PTI that arguments of the defence and prosecution concluded on September 1 and thereafter the special judge started writing the judgment.

5:15 PM

1,198 detained under NSA in 2017, 2018 in India, 635 released by review boards

As many as 1,198 people were detained by police under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) across the country in 2017 and 2018, of whom 563 are still under custody, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

 

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy also said according to the latest published report of 2018 of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Madhya Pradesh detained the highest number of people under the NSA in 2017 and 2018 among all the states, followed by Uttar Pradesh.

 

A total of 501 people were detained in different parts of the country under the stringent law in 2017, of whom 229 were released by the review boards and 272 are under custody, he said.