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Farooq Abdullah's party linked the questioning to the recent move by him to bring together all J&K parties in a campaign for restoring special status. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

6:58 PM

Got any signal up here? Nokia selected by NASA to build 4G network on Moon

Struggling to get a phone signal at home on planet Earth? Perhaps you'll have better luck on the moon. Nokia has been selected by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon, the Finnish company said on Monday, as the U.S. space agency plans for a future where humans return there and establish lunar settlements.

 

NASA aims to return humans to the moon by 2024 and dig in for a long-term presence there under its Artemis programme.

 

Nokia said the first wireless broadband communications system in space would be built on the lunar surface in late 2022, before humans make it back there.

6:46 PM

Kerala HC junks pleas against leasing out Thiruvananthapuram airport to Adani Enterprises

In a setback to the LDF government in the state, the Kerala High Court here on Monday dismissed pleas challenging the Centre's decision to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Adani Enterprises, holding that there was no valid ground to interfere with the policy decision.

A division bench comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and C S Dias rejected arguments by the state government and other petitioners against the Centre's move to lease out the airport to Adani Enterprises through public private partnership (PPP) for a period of 50 years.

Referring to the unsuccessful bid by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), the nominee of the state, under the Request For Proposal (RFP) (tender document) for the airport project, it said the petitions challenging the lease decision was a classic example of sour grapes.

6:37 PM

BSE joins hands with Telangana govt to help MSMEs raise equity funds

Major stock exchange BSE on Monday said it has joined hands with the Telangana government, alongwith GlobalLinker, to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) raise equity funds. The BSE and the commerce and industries department of Telangana, along with GlobalLinker, have signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard, the exchange said in a statement.

The partnership with the BSE would help in addressing a vital challenge of access to finance and increasing credibility of the MSMEs, it said.

As part of the association, the BSE will provide intellectual and manpower support to create awareness about the importance and benefits of listing.

 

6:23 PM

CIL coal supply to power sector drops 10% in first half of FY21

The supply of coal by state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) to the power sector dropped by 10 per cent to 197.89 million tonnes (MT) in the first half of the ongoing fiscal. Coal India had supplied 219.85 MT of coal in the April-September period of the previous fiscal, according to official data.

 

However, the supply of fuel by the coal behemoth to the power sector increased by 22.4 per cent to 35.74 million tonnes (MT) in September compared to 29.20 MT in the corresponding month of previous fiscal.

 

The country's power consumption registered a growth of 11.45 per cent to 55.37 billion units (BU) in the first half of October this year, mainly driven by buoyancy in industrial and commercial activities.

6:13 PM

Telangana CM announces Rs 10,000 as relief to each flood-affected household in Hyderabad

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday announced Rs 10,000 as immediate relief to each flood-affected household in the city, besides an assistance of Rs one lakh each to totally damaged houses and Rs 50,000 to partially damaged houses.

 

Observing that essential commodities like rice and pulses have been lost due to the flooding, Raosaid the financial assistance of Rs 10,000 would be distributed from Tuesday itself, according to an official release.

 

Rao instructed the Collectors of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal districts (under the jurisdiction of Hyderabad) to send teams on the field to start distributing the amount to the poor from Tuesday morning, it said.

 

He asked Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to monitor the financial help distribution programme.

6:05 PM

Rupee closes almost flat at 73.37 in lacklustre trade

The rupee slipped by 2 paise to close at 73.37 against the US currency on Monday due to some dollar demand and uncertainty related to the US fiscal stimulus and presidential elections. The local unit opened at 73.38 against the US dollar at the interbank forex market and moved in a narrow range of 73.35 to 73.42 in the day trade.

 

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.17 per cent lower at 93.52.

 

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex ended 448.62 points or 1.12 per cent higher at 40,431.60. The broader NSE Nifty surged 110.60 points or 0.94 per cent to finish at 11,873.05.

 

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 479.59 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

5:57 PM

Australia joins Indian Navy's Malabar exercise, after US, Japan

India on Monday announced that Australia will join the upcoming Malabar exercise which effectively means that all the four member countries of the 'Quad' or Quadrilateral coalition will be participating in the mega drill.

 

The US and Japan are the other countries that participate in the annual exercise, which is likely to take place next month in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.

 

India's decision to heed to Australia's request to be part of the mega naval drill comes in the midst of growing strain in ties with China over the border row in eastern Ladakh.

 

"As India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, Malabar 2020 will see the participation of the Australian Navy," the defence ministry said in a statement.

5:47 PM

Customs recovers Rs 33 lakh worth gold from two air passengers

Gold worth over Rs 33 lakh, concealed in petroleum jelly and hair gel by two international air passengers who arrived here on Sunday, has been recovered, the Customs said. A native of Andhra Pradesh, who arrived from Kuwait, was intercepted by its officials based on suspicion, a Customs release here said on Monday.

 

On examination of his checked-in baggage, 16 gold cut bits concealed in two small plastic containers of petroleum jelly were found.

 

The 365 grams gold, valued at Rs 19.14 lakh, was recovered and seized, it said.

 

5:37 PM

Govt launches Rs 10,000 cr scheme to boost healthcare infra

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala on Monday launched a new scheme, Ayushman Sahakar, under which the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) would extend term loans of Rs 10,000 crore to cooperatives for creating healthcare infrastructure in rural India.

 

There are about 52 hospitals across the country run by cooperatives. They have cumulative bed strength of more than 5,000. The NCDC fund would give a boost to provision of healthcare services by cooperatives, NCDC Managing Director Sundeep Nayak said.

 

In a statement, the government said any cooperative society with suitable provision in its byelaws to undertake healthcare related activities would be able to access the NCDC fund. The NCDC assistance will flow either through the state governments or directly to the eligible cooperatives. Subsidy/ grant from other sources can be dovetailed.

 

5:27 PM

No more extension of BPCL privatisation bid deadline: DIPAM Secy

BPCL privatisation bid deadline will not be extended for the fifth time, as the government's strategic disinvestment programme that was hit by the pandemic is back on track, DIPAM Secretary said Monday.

 

The government had on four occasions extended the date of putting in the preliminary expression of interest for buying out the majority stake in Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). The current deadline is November 16.

 

"We had a serious Covid impact on strategic disinvestment, investors asked for time, particularly with respect to key transactions. I hope that further extensions may not be there, especially in BPCL where the current date is November 16. So hopefully, we will be able to move through," Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), told PTI.

 

5:14 PM

Telangana rains: Toll goes up to 70, govt on alert with fresh spell forecast

As many as 70 people died in rain-related incidents during the past one week in the state, Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao said on Monday even as he requested people in low-lying areas of the city to evacuate and move to relief camps as the Met department predicted heavy rains in the next two days.

 

Speaking to the media, KTR, as Rama Rao is also known as, said the city received the second highest recorded rainfall after 1908, which forced the state government to relocate about 37,000 from low-lying areas to relief camps.

 

According to him, 33 people inGreater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and adjoining areas, and 37 people in districts have lost their lives.

 

5:08 PM

Kejriwal seeks monthly meetings with CMs of Haryana, UP, Punjab to curb air pollution

CM Arvind Kejriwal requested Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday to hold monthly meetings with the CMs of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and UP to curb air pollution, saying there was a lack of political will at the level of the states to address the issue.

 

In a virtual press briefing, he said the affected states have been unable to reach an agreement to stop stubble burning and prevent air pollution. "I believe the pollution due to stubble burning can be controlled in a short span of time. But a lack of political will is visible in doing that," he said.

 

Kejriwal said the crop residue can be biodegraded or converted into biogas, coal and even cardboard. The paddy straw can be converted into compressed biogas or cooking coal which some factories are doing in Karnal in Haryana, he said, adding crop residue can be "converted into an opportunity" within a year, provided there are sharp timelines to move away from stubble burning.

4:58 PM

Kaziranga National Park to be opened for tourists from Oct 21

4:48 PM

TRP case: Issue summons to Arnab Goswami before arraignment, says Bombay HC

 The Bombay High Court on Monday said if the Mumbai police crime branch proposes to arraign Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in the television rating points (TRP) case, it should first issue summons to him as was done for eight others in the case.

 

A division bench of justices S S Shinde and M S Karnik said if such a summons is issued then Goswami shall appear before the police and cooperate with the investigation. The court also directed police to submit for its perusal investigation papers pertaining to the case in a sealed cover by November 5 when it would hear the matter.

4:42 PM

Gold, silver rise tracking global trends

Gold in the national capital rose Rs 182 to Rs 51,740 per 10 grams on Monday, following gains in global precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 51,558 per 10 grams. Silver also jumped Rs 805 to Rs 63,714 per kilogram from Rs 62,909 per kilogram in the previous trade.

In the international market, gold was trading in the green, rising to $1,909 per ounce and silver was quoting with marginal gains at $24.64 per ounce.