LIVE: India a country of political stability, policy continuity, says PM

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9:14 PM

Pandemic has not affected the ambitions and aspirations of 1.3 billion Indians: PM Modi

9:09 PM

India Inc has helped in dealing with the Covid-19 challenges, I thank them: Modi

9:09 PM

India with 1.3 billion people and with limited resources has the lowest death rate in the world: Modi

9:08 PM

India was also among the first to advocate social distancing,: Modi

9:08 PM

India was the among the first to advocate the use of mask, says Modi

9:07 PM

PM Modi: Global pandemic has afected everyone, it is testing our resilience

9:06 PM

PM Narendra Modi addresses the 3rd USISPF 3rd Annual Leadership Summit

8:52 PM

Govt constructs 3,181 km national highways in Apr-Aug, surpasses target

The government on Thursday said it constructed 3,181 km of national highways in April-August, surpassing the construction target of 2,771 km. The length of national highway (NH) works awarded during this fiscal also more than doubled as compared to last fiscal, according to a PTI report.

 

"Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has surpassed its target for construction of National Highways in the country till the past weekend. During April to August this year, 3,181 kilometre NH length was constructed against the target of 2,771 km for this period," MoRTH said in a statement.

 

This includes 2,104 km constructed by State Public Works Department (PWDs), 879 km by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and 198 km by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), the statement said.

8:42 PM

Covid-19 LIVE: 18,105 new coronavirus cases and 391 deaths in Maharashtra today

8:42 PM

Uttar Pradesh follows Centre, will set up single hiring agency for all govt jobs

The Uttar Pradesh government is constituting a singular recruitment agency, along the lines of the one set up by the Union Government, for all government jobs.

 

Chief Minister Adityanath made this announcement at a meeting with senior officials on Thursday. He said a proposal in this regard would be prepared and tabled before the state cabinet soon. All recruitment examinations would be conducted by this one proposed agency. According to officials, UP will be first state in the country to have such a system of recruitment.

 

At present, there are various recruiting agencies in the state for government jobs. These include UP Public Service Commission, Police Service Commission, Higher Grade Services Selection Board, and three separate agencies for teaching jobs. Besides, various departments conduct tests and interviews for recruitment. The state-run corporations and councils have their own system of hiring. READ MORE...

8:29 PM

Contribution-based pension accounts for new EPFO subscribers soon

Formal sector workers will soon have their own pension accounts with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) with benefits linked to their own share of contribution, rather than from a pool of funds.

 

The move will help higher income group workers to get higher pensions and is aimed at making the pension fund of the EPFO, which is in deficit, more sustainable.

 

“…amendments in the EPS 1995 [Employees Pension Scheme, 1995] has been formulated and recommended to the government for grant of pension on the basis of accumulations in individual pension accounts of the members,” a document reviewed by Business Standard said. READ MORE...

8:23 PM

India faces the threat of a two-front war: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat

India faces the threat of coordinated action along its northern and western fronts, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Thursday amid the ongoing border standoff with China.

 

Talking about China, General Rawat said that despite China's aggressive misadventures, India has adopted adequate measures to control and stop these misadventures. "We want peace and tranquillity across our borders. Of late, we have been seeing some aggressive actions by China but we are capable of handling these. Our tri-services are capable of dealing with threats along our frontiers," General Rawat said at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.

 

General Rawat said the Indian armed forces will have to be prepared to meet the immediate crisis and concurrently prepare for future.

 

He also said that China's economic cooperation with Pakistan in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir along with continued military and diplomatic support mandates high levels of preparedness by India, according to an IANS report.

8:12 PM

Delhi riots: Court sends Sharjeel Imam to 14-days judicial custody in UAPA case

A Delhi court sent JNU student Sharjeel Imam, arrested under the stringent anti terror law -- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, to judicial custody for 14 days in a case related to communal violence in north east Delhi in February, according to a PTI report.

 

Imam was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on August 25 for allegedly being part of a premeditated conspiracy in connection to the riots during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat sent him to jail after he was produced before the court through video conferencing.

 

The court had earlier sent him to police custody for three days. Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.

8:04 PM

Power of contempt of court misused to stifle free speech: Prashant Bhushan

Delhi Activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, convicted and fined by the Supreme Court for contempt of court, said this power is sometimes misused or abused in an attempt to stifle free speech or discussion about the judiciary. He called the contempt of court jurisdiction "very dangerous" and said it should be abolished.

 

"Every citizen in a democracy, those who are familiar with the working of the judicial system and the Supreme Court, should be able to speak freely but unfortunately that has also been treated as contempt of court by scandalising," he said.

 

"In this the judge acts as accuser prosecutor and as a judge," Bhushan said at a webinar, 'Freedom of Speech and The Indian Judiciary', organised by Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia. Court sends JNU student Sharjeel Imam, arrested under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, to 14-days judicial custody. READ MORE...

7:44 PM

Delhi's Covid-19 tally reaches 182,306 with 2,737 fresh infections and 19 deaths today