LIVE: SC to hear petition seeking release of Mehbooba Mufti tomorrow

The dawn-to-dusk bandh call has been supported by several pro-Kannada and other outfits besides the Opposition Congress and the JD(S). Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

5:17 PM

Watch: MP Congress workers protest in Bhopal over condition of health services

5:05 PM

Labour Ministry allays fears about Labour Codes

The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Monday allayed apprehensions about the Labour Codes passed last week by Parliament, saying the "criticisms being aired are misfounded". The ministry in a statement termed the bills as historical game changer reform bills.

"The criticisms being aired are misfounded", it asserted.

In a pointed clarification on raising employee limit of smaller units for closure to 300, the ministry has underlined that the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee had also recommended increase in threshold from 100 workers to 300 workers for seeking prior permission for retrenchment, lay-off and closure.

4:59 PM

AIADMK's CM nominee for 2021 polls to be announced on Oct 7

The AIADMK's chief ministerial candidate for the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections would be announced on October 7, a senior leader of the ruling party said here on Monday.

The Chief Ministerial candidate would be made known by top AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami, party Deputy Coordinator K P Munusamy told reporters here after a five-hour long meeting of the party Executive Committee here.

 

4:43 PM

RBI clears 3-member board committee to oversee Lakshmi Vilas Bank

After shareholders ousted seven directors of the board, the Reserve Bank of India has approved appointment of three-member Committee of Directors (CoD) to run the daily affairs of debt-ridden Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB). This CoD will exercise the discretionary powers of MD & CEO in the ad-interim, the bank said in a statement on Monday.

The RBI on September 27 appointed the CoD composed of three independent directors Meeta Makhan, Shakti Sinha, and Satish Kumar Kalra, it said, adding that the committee will be headed by Meeta Makhan.

On Friday, shareholders of LVB ousted seven directors, including its MD & CEO and auditors at the AGM.

4:29 PM

Pakistan opens fire along LoC in J-K's Macchil sector; soldier injured

A soldier was injured as Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire on Monday by shelling with mortars and firing other weapons in Machhil sector along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The injured soldier was shifted to a hospital, and his condition is stable, a defence spokesperson said. "Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation along LoC in Macchil sector of Kupwara district this morning by firing mortars and other weapons," the official said.

"Indian Army is responding to the ceasefire violation by Pakistan in a befitting manner," he added.

4:10 PM

ICRA revises forecast, pegs India's FY21 GDP contraction at 11%

Ratings agency ICRA has revised its forecast for the contraction in India's FY21 GDP to 11 per cent from its earlier assessment of 9.5 per cent.

The ratings agency cited the elevated levels of Covid-19 infections at the end of Q2FY21. However, ICRA expects the economic situation to improve in H2FY21 relative to H1FY21.

Besides, the agency revised its year-on-year (YoY) forecasts for Q3FY21 to (-) 5.4 per cent from (-) 2.3 per cent and Q4FY21 to (-)2.5 per cent from (+) 1.3 per cent.

4:02 PM

Bengal govt turns down Raj Bhavan's request for additional funds

The West Bengal government has turned down a request from the Governor's House to increase its budget allocation, a senior official said on Monday. The governor's office had written to the state secretariat a couple of times in the recent past, seeking additional funds of Rs 53.5 lakh to meet everyday expenses.

 

The state government, however, expressed its inability to allot more funds, claiming that it has adopted austerity measures amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

"The governor's office had sought additional funds of Rs 53.5 lakh. As our state has adopted certain austerity measures to handle expenses during this pandemic, the request was turned down," the official at the state secretariat said.

3:49 PM

Rajnath Singh announces Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020

3:40 PM

NGT directs Bihar Pollution Control Board to frame guidelines for installation of mobile towers

The National Green Tribunal Monday directed the Bihar State Pollution Control Board to frame guidelines within three months with regard to the installation of mobile towers and its harmful effects.

A bench of Justice S P Wangdi and expert member Dr Nagin Nanda passed the order after noting that although the state pollution control board has initiated actions to deal with the menace caused by mobile towers there are no guidelines. 

3:27 PM

Punjab CM says his govt will move Supreme Court over new farm laws

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said his government would approach the Supreme Court over the issue of new farm laws. He also slammed the BJP-led central government, accusing it of snatching the rights of states. "Will it (Centre) leave anything with them to run their states," Singh asked.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, along with AICC general secretary and Punjab Affairs in-charge Harish Rawat, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar along with other leaders on Monday paid tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh at Khatkar Kalan village.

3:21 PM

Flipkart Wholesale's first-ever festive season sale for fashion retailers

Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of the e-commerce firm, is launching its first festive season sale since starting operations in August The three-day sale ‘Big Festival Month’ will start from Tuesday, and will feature products in the fashion categories across more than 50 brands, over 100 sellers, and 100,000 members. Read more

3:11 PM

J&K govt to ease rules for issuing domicile certificate

3:06 PM

Amazon India scales up delivery network ahead of festive season

Amazon India on Monday said it has significantly augmented its delivery network ahead of the festive season by setting up additional delivery stations and scaling up its partnership with kirana stores.

 

The move, which will also help generate employment opportunities, will enable faster and more efficient delivery of packages during the festive season that sees a major spike in orders.

Amazon India has close to 250 Amazon-operated and more than 1,500 partner delivery stations run by more than 280 entrepreneurs across the country to enable deliveries across the country.

 

2:57 PM

RBI reschedules MPC meeting, new dates to be announced shortly

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday decided to rescheduled this week’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and said that the new dates will be announced shortly. The central bank, however, did not give any reason for rescheduling the meet.

 

The interest-setting panel was scheduled to meet for three-days beginning Tuesday for RBI’s bi-monthly monetary policy review.

2:45 PM

Digit Insurance expects to break even in FY21, sees topline crossing Rs 3,000 cr

Fairfax Financial-promoted online non-life company Digit Insurance expects to break even this fiscal on the back of robust growth across its key verticals despite the pandemic, a senior company official said.
 

Canadian NRI billionaire Prem Watsa's Fairfax Financial Holdings has pumped $140 million into the nearly-three-year-old non-life insurer.  Other investors of the Bengaluru-based firm, which began operations in December 2017, are A91 Partners, Faering Capital, and TVS Capital which together pumped in $84 million.