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Pakistan terror attack: 4 assailants were killed and Karachi stock exchange building evacuated. Stay tuned with Business Standard for the latest news of today

10:23 PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the nation at 4 PM tomorrow

10:17 PM

Axis Bank appoints LIC MD Suseel Kumar on board as non-executive member

Taking dinner breakAxis Bank on Monday appointed Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) managing director T C Suseel Kumar on its board as non-executive member. LIC is one of the promoters of Axis Bank.

 

The proposal relating to the appointment of Kumar as the additional non-executive (nominee) director of the bank will be subject to the approval of shareholders at the 26th Annual General Meeting, Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing. Read here.

10:13 PM

Govt announces Unlock 2, to remain in force till July 31

> Lockdown to continue in containment zones till July 31, only essential activities to be allowed
 

> Schools, colleges, educational & coaching institutions, International flights, metro rail, cinemas, gyms, pools, religious gatherings among others to remain prohibited till July 31
 

> Night Curfew will continue between 10:00 pm and 5:00 am, except for essential activities and other relaxations.

> Wearing of face cover compulsory in public places, office, transport
 

> Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet

> Large public gatherings remain prohibited

> Spitting, consumption of paan, gutka in public places prohibited

10:03 PM

Demand for work under MGNREGA sees steep rise in 116 districts

Demand for work under the MGNREGA rose by more than 86 per cent in May this year compared to the same period in 2019 in 116 districts, which saw the highest number of migrants return during the Covid-19 lockdown, as per official data.

 

The number of households availing work under the national employment guarantee scheme in these 116 districts in six states, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, jumped to 8.9 million during May compared to 4.8 million in the same month last year, a rise of 86.3 per cent, according to data on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act website. Read here.

9:49 PM

Ladakh standoff: India-China to hold third round of Lt Gen talks tomorrow

Indian and Chinese militaries will hold another round of Lt General-level talks on Tuesday in an attempt to de-escalate tension in eastern Ladakh and finalise modalities for disengagement of troops from the sensitive region, government sources said.

 

It will be the third round of Lt General-level talks and it will take place in Chushul sector on the Indian side of Line of Actual Control. The meeting is scheduled to start at 10:30 AM, the sources said.

 

The first two meetings had taken place at Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC. In the second round of talks on June 22, the two sides arrived at a "mutual consensus" to "disengage" from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh. Read here. 

9:42 PM

Chinese military to be brought under command of CPC headed by Xi Jinping

China's military reserve forces will be formally placed under the centralised and unified command of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Central Military Commission (CPC), both headed by President Xi Jinping, from July 1 to ensure the ruling party's "absolute leadership" over it and build a world-class army.

 

Currently, the reserve forces are under the dual leadership of military organs and local Communist Party committees and they would be brought under the control of the ruling party and the CMC from July 1, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Read more here.

9:41 PM

IRCTC to terminate services of over 500 catering supervisors

The Railways' catering and tourism arm, IRCTC, has decided to terminate the services of over 500 contractual hospitality supervisors, saying they were no more required under the present circumstances, sources said.

 

Around 560 supervisors (hospitality) were hired by the IRCTC in 2018 to maintain a quality check on contractors assigned to cater food in trains equipped with pantries.

 

The hospitality supervisors' work is to monitor operations of the pantry car onboard trains which essentially means to look after the preparation of the food, quality inspection, handling passenger complaints and to ensure that the charges of food are according to prices notified by the national transporter.

The IRCTC, in a letter, dated June 25, informed all its zonal offices that there was no requirement for these contractual workers under the present circumstances and they be given one month notice and their contracts terminated.

9:31 PM

FCI's foodgrains buffer stocks at 81.67 MT

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has 81.67 million tonnes (MT) of foodgrains in its buffer stocks to meet the requirements under the food law and other welfare schemes, the government said on Monday.

About 5.5 MT of foodgrains are required monthly under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes.

"As per the Food Corporation of India report dated June 28, FCI currently has 26.6 MT of rice and 55 MT of wheat. Hence, a total of 81.67 MT food grain stock is available (excluding the ongoing purchase of wheat and paddy, which have not yet reached the godown)," an official statement said.

9:24 PM

Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC in Tangdhar Sector of J&K

9:02 PM

A new example of extortion, Sonia Gandhi targets govt over fuel price hikes

The Congress on Monday launched a countrywide agitation against the government for raising prices of petroleum products 22 times in the past 23 days, with party president Sonia Gandhi accusing it of setting "a new example of extortion".
 

Seeking an immediate rollback of the hikes, Rahul Gandhi said the decision to raise fuel prices was the "most ill-advised" at the time of economic hardship being faced by the people due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and asked the government to stop "profiteering".
 

Scores of Congress leaders and workers staged demonstrations and took out marches in state capitals and district headquarters across the country and submitted memoranda, addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind, to local authorities demanding immediate rollback of the hikes to ease people's burden in this "time of crisis".
 

Top Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, put out video messages on the social media as part of the party's "SpeakUpAgainstFuelHike" campaign.

9:00 PM

Mitra denies Sitharaman's claims; says West Bengal gave migrants data to Centre

Rejecting Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman's claims that West Bengal did not provide data on migrant workers to the Centre, senior state minister Amit Mitra on Monday said the government had sent the required information the day it was sought.
 

He also termed as "absolutely untrue" the Union finance minister's assertion that the Centre had provided the state with Rs 10,000 crore to fight coronavirus, saying West Bengal did not receive a single paisa.
 

Addressing a virtual rally for the people of West Bengal on Sunday, the Union finance minister had said the state could not be made a beneficiary of the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) as it had not provided any data on migrant labourers.
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on June 20 launched the GKRA to provide livelihood opportunities in areas/villages witnessing a large number of returnee migrant workers.

8:57 PM

Odisha approves 5 investment proposals worth Rs 609 crore

The Odisha government on Monday approved five investment proposals worth Rs 609 crore in metal, food processing, and logistics and infrastructure sectors, officials said.
 

The approval was given at the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) meeting chaired by Chief Secretary A K Tripathy.
 

The five projects will create employment oppurtunities for 1,496 people.

8:46 PM

List of Chinese apps banned in India

8:45 PM

Government of India bans 59 mobile apps, including Tik Tok

8:34 PM

Banks should prioritise giving loans to non-eligible MSMEs under GECL: Report

Nearly a fifth of the 45 lakh small businesses identified by the government to benefit from a credit guarantee scheme have low credit rankings, and banks should prioritise the remaining 80 per cent while extending loans under the Rs 3 trillion package, a study by Transunion Cibil said on Monday.
 

The Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility is applicable to all MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) borrowers with industry-wide aggregate credit exposure of up to Rs 25 crore and industry-wide delinquency less than or equal to 60 days as of February 29, 2020.
 

The government is targeting to ensure that the MSME sector gets fresh credit of over Rs 3 trillion by October 2020 through the scheme as against the Rs 2.8 trillion achieved in 2019-20.
 

The Rs 3 trillion package is a significant part of the Rs 20 ltrillion Covid-19 stimulus announced by the government.