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7:12 PM

Narcotics Control Bureau registers a case in Sushant Singh Rajput's death matter

7:07 PM

Mamata Banerjee appeals for joint petition by states against Centre's decision to hold NEET, JEE exams

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday proposed that her counterparts in various states together move Supreme Court against its order for holding JEE and NEET examinations and appeal for its postponement if the Centre is unwilling to do so. She also said that state governments are being "bulldozed" and their rights are being curtailed by the Centre in the name of cooperative federalism, according to a PTI report.

 

Banerjee said aspiring students will face enormous trouble due to the ongoing restrictions across the country and requested opposition chief ministers to move together to the apex court.

 

Blaming the Centre for announcing the exam dates amidst the ongoing pandemic and restrictions due to it, she said the students are facing a lot of hardships as travel by air and roads are yet to resume fully.

 

"Students are facing a lot of hardships and the decision by the Centre will harm the students during the pandemic," Banerjee said adding that if the law permits then chief ministers of various states can take the initiative and file a joint appeal at the apex court.

6:41 PM

Centre frames draft policy on data privacy under National Digital Health Mission

To safeguard confidential health data collected from people under the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), the government has proposed a framework and a set of minimum standards for data privacy protection to be followed across the board in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The NDHM was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of 74th Independence Day, according to a PTI report.

 

The National Health Authority (NHA), the central agency responsible for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which has been mandated to design and roll out NDHM in the country, has released the draft 'Health Data Management Policy' in the public domain.

 

The document has been put up on the official website of National Digital Health Mission seeking comments and feedback from the public till September 3.

6:26 PM

I-T refunds of Rs 95,853 crore issued to 2.55 million taxpayers this fiscal

6:14 PM

Opposition ruled states should collectively move SC for postponement of NEET, JEE exams: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that opposition ruled states such as Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Jharkhand should collectively approach the Supreme Court for deferring NEET, JEE Main exams to be held next month. Taking part in a discussion through video conferencing with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and chief ministers of some opposition ruled states, Banerjee said she had raised her concerns with the Prime Minister, news agency ANI reported.

 

"The exams are in September. Why should the lives of students be put at risk? We have written to the PM, but there has been no response. If the Prime Minister does not listen to us, then we all (states) collectively should approach the Supreme Court," she said.

 

Sonia Gandhi raised the issues concerning GST dues of states, the draft Environment Impact Assessment notification and National Education Policy. Banerjee said that apart from the movement of trains being hampered, the COVID-19 pandemic has also had a negative impact on the mental health of the students.

 

"I request the state governments, let us do it together. Let's go to the Supreme Court and request it to postpone it for the time being (till) the situation is right. We stand by our students, whatever help they require, we are willing to do it," she said.

6:06 PM

Second negative arms import list likely by year-end: Defence Ministry

Seeking to further promote indigenisation in the military sector, the Defence Ministry is working on the preparation of the second negative arms import list, which is likely to be issued by the end of this year and is expected to include more equipment that would be barred from being imported by the forces.

 

The first negative imports list was issued by the Defence Ministry on August 9, which has led to a ban on import of 101 military items including artillery guns, conventional submarines and fighter aircraft in the category of the Light Combat Aircraft.

 

"The Department of Military Affairs is working with all the stakeholders including the three defence forces to prepare the list which would be very comprehensive and is likely to be issued around the end of this year," Defence Ministry sources told ANI.

6:05 PM

Water enters low lying areas in Odisha's Mayurbhanj, following heavy rainfall

5:51 PM

Flood situation slightly improves in Uttar Pradesh; 19 districts affected

The total number of flood-affected villages in Uttar Pradesh came down on Wednesday as the overall condition improved even though one more district was hit by the deluge.

 

The number of districts hit by floods in the state went up to 19 with Shahjahanpur being added to the list.

 

"The flood situation is improving in the state. There are 19 flood-affected districts, where 922 villages are affected, of which 571 are marooned," state Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goel said. Till Tuesday, 18 districts with 1,090 villages, including 620 marooned ones, were flood-affected.

5:34 PM

Vedanta moves Supreme Court seeking reopening of Sterlite copper plant

Mining major Vedanta Ltd has moved to the Supreme Court, challenging the Madras High Court's refusal to order reopening of Sterlite's copper smelting plant at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu.

 

On August 18, the Madras High Court refused to allow the reopening of Vedanta Ltd owned Sterlite Copper's Smelting plant in Thoothukudi and dismissed all the 10 petitions filed by the company. The Madras HC had, on August 18, refused to allow the reopening of Sterlite copper smelting plant, which has remained shut since April 2018. The court dismissed the plea filed by Vedanta challenging the closure of the plant.

 

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had, on April 9, 2018, rejected the renewal of consent to operate the plant, and the state government ordered the closure of the plant after 13 people were shot dead by the police on May 22, during a protest against the plant. READ MORE...

5:21 PM

Over 400,000 admit cards downloaded for medical entrance exam NEET within 3 hours

Over four lakh admit cards for medical entrance exam NEET were downloaded within three hours on Wednesday, sources said, according to a PTI report. The National Testing Agency (NTA) released the admit cards for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) at 12 pm on Wednesday. "Admit cards of NEET were available for download at 12 today. Over 4 lakh candidates have downloaded in first 3 hours," sources said.

 

While the NEET is planned on September 13, engineering entrance exam JEE Main is scheduled from September 1-6. Around 9.53 lakh candidates have registered for JEE-Mains and 15.97 lakh students have registered for NEET.

 

Amid rising clamour for postponement of the crucial exams in view of rising COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Education (MoE) officials had reiterated on Tuesday that the exams will be conducted as per schedule in September.

5:11 PM

Except final semester, other exams for UG, PG students are cancelled: Tamil Nadu CM

Except the final semester, other examinations for undergraduate and postgraduate students are cancelled in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said, according to a PTI report.

 

Except the final semester exams, students who have paid fee for subjects related to other semesters and waiting for exams shall be exempted from taking the examinations and they would be awarded marks, he said.

 

Accepting the request of students considering their welfare and as per the recommendations of a high level committee, the decision has been taken, Palaniswami said in a statement. Also, the move is in sync with the guidelines of the University Grants Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education, he noted.

5:09 PM

IYC members stage protest in Delhi demanding JEE, NEET postponement

Members of the Congress' youth wing staged a protest near the Shastri Bhawan here on Wednesday, demanding postponement of the JEE and NEET exams in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Several protesters, who tried to enter the Education ministry, housed at Shastri Bhawan, to submit a memorandum, were detained by the police and taken to Mandir Marg police station, said IYC national media coordinator Rahul Rao.

 

The national president of IYC, Srinivas BV, said that keeping in mind the safety of lakhs of students, the Central government should postpone the exams.

 

"At a time when even Union ministers and chief ministers are getting infected with the coronavirus, it is unthinkable that the Centre is not postponing the JEE and NEET examinations," he said.

 

The IYC demands that the Centre should postpone these examinations in the interest of the students. Holding the exams is a necessary step, but it can not be done by putting the lives of lakhs of students at risk, Srinivas said.

4:55 PM

Fire breaks out at a toy manufacturing factory in Noida's Sector 63; fire fighting operation underway

4:49 PM

Uttar Pradesh govt raises bank loans worth Rs 5,900 crore for Bundelkhand Expressway

In a major boost to the mega 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway, the Uttar Pradesh government has raised bank loans worth Rs 5,900 crore for the ongoing project.

 

The fresh loans have been raised from a consortium of public sector lenders comprising Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Bank, Bank of India and Uco Bank.

 

An agreement for loans totalling Rs 5,900 crore for Bunelkhand Expressway, expected to cost Rs 15,000 crore, was signed on Tuesday between these banks and state nodal agency UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA). Last month, the UPEIDA board had cleared the proposal of raising Rs 5,900 crore for the Expressway from banks. READ MORE...

4:40 PM

Govt must listen to students on NEET, JEE exams, find amicable solution: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi