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7:46 PM

Vodafone CEO defends brand integration, says network is 5G-ready

Vodafone Idea's chief executive officer Ravinder Takkar on Wednesday said the company's network is 5G-ready and defended the company's rebranding exercise after a shareholder raised concerns about advertising and marketing costs in the wake of its continuous losses.

 

Takkar said the launch of new single brand identity Vi would help the company to effectively communicate its value proposition to subscribers and expand customer base. " We have integrated our brand and that has been well received. The intention is to promote the brand strongly which will allow our customers to understand the proposition we offer and the quality of network we offer," Takkar said in response to a shareholder queries at the company's annual general meeting today. Read more

7:39 PM

Aarey protest: Maharashtra govt to withdraw charges against citizens

7:33 PM

Himachal CM reviews preparations for PM's arrival to inaugurate Atal Tunnel

7:26 PM

Southern Railway to operate more special trains

Southern Railway on Wednesday announced running more special trains, including inter-state service between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The railways would operate trains between Karaikal in neighboring Puducherry and Ernakulam in Kerala, an official press release here said.

 

The Southern Railway announced fully reserved special trains from Chennai-Egmore to Tirunelveli, Madurai (Tejas), Sengottai and Rameswaram and the various services would start between October 2-5.

 

7:19 PM

UP govt announces Rs 25 lakh as ex-gratia for kin of Hathras gangrape victim

Uttar Pradesh government announces Rs 25 lakh as ex-gratia for kin of Hathras gang-rape victim to be given and a house along with a governmnet job to one family member. Fastrack court to hear the matter; three-member SIT formed to probe the case.

7:06 PM

'Car can overturn anytime in UP': Kailash Vijayvargiya on Hathras gangrape case

6:58 PM

Hathras gangrape: Congress, Bhim Army stage protests in UP

Congress and Bhim Army workers held demonstrations in different parts of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday over the gangrape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman a fortnight ago and demanded stern punishment for the culprits.

 

A report from Hathras said tempers ran high in the victim's village when Panchayti Raj Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary, who is also in charge of the district, reached there along with the local MP, MLA and other BJP leaders.

 

Besides justice for the victim and capital punishment to the culprits, the locals also demanded a transfer of district officials.

 

The woman died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday and was cremated in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family members alleging that the local police forced them to perform her last rites at the dead of night.

 

6:44 PM

Hathras rape case: PIL in SC demands CBI probe, seeks to transfer case to Delhi

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in Supreme Court seeking investigation by CBI or SIT headed by a sitting or retired into the #Hathras gang-rape. 

 

Plea also seeks direction to transfer the case from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.

6:41 PM

Hathras rape case: NHRC issues notice to UP Chief Secretary, DGP

6:31 PM

NHPC shuts 120 MW plant in J-K till March 2021

State-run hydro power giant NHPC on Wednesday said its 120 MW Sewa-II power station in Jammu and Kashmir has been shut till March 31, 2021 due to some damage in its head race tunnel (HRT). The HRT carries water from intake to a power house for electricity generation.

 

"It is to inform that Sewa-II Power Station (120 MW) in UT of Jammu & Kashmir has been under complete shutdown w.e.f. 25.09.2020 to 31.03.2021 for damage of HRT," the company said in a BSE filing.

 

The shutdown will cause tentative loss of 157.4 MUs (million units) in generation (design energy) and 35.61 per cent in NAPAF (Normative Annual Plant Availability Factor), it added.

 

6:09 PM

Govt cuts natural gas price by 25% to $1.79

The government on Wednesday slashed the rate at which most of the natural gas produced in India is sold by a steep 25 per cent to USD 1.79.

Gas produced by state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India from areas given to them on nomination basis will cost USD 1.79 per million British thermal unit for six-month period beginning October 1, 2020, an official order said.

The price of new gas from difficult fields such as deepsea has also been cut to USD 4.06 per mmBtu from USD 5.61, the order said.

6:00 PM

Rupee jumps 10 paise to 73.76 per US dollar

Snapping a two-session losing streak, the rupee strengthened by 10 paise to close at 73.76 against the US dollar on Wednesday, supported by macroeconomic data and positive domestic equities.

 

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened strong at 73.81 and shuttled between a high of 73.69 and a low of 73.86 against the greenback.

 

It finally finished at 73.76, registering a gain of 10 paise over its previous close of 73.86.

 

According to Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head Retail Research - HDFC Securities, better-than-expected current account data helped the rupee outperform amongst its Asian currency peers.

5:46 PM

Farmers continue 'rail roko' agitation in Punjab against farm sector laws

Farmers protesting against three recently enacted agriculture laws continued their 'rail roko' stir in Punjab for the seventh day on Wednesday.

 

The farmers have decided to intensify their agitation from next month and extend the 'rail roko' stir for an indefinite period.

 

The farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee have been squatting on rail tracks at various places in the state since September 24.

 

The farmers have decided to intensify their protest against the Centre and will continue to block rail tracks in Tanda, Mukerian, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ferozepur.

 

5:36 PM

House price index rises 2.8% on annual basis: RBI

The all-India House Price Index (HPI) rose 2.8 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year on an annual basis, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India.

 

The quarterly HPI for the April-June 2020 period is based on transaction-level data received from housing registration authorities in 10 major cities.

 

The cities are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai.

5:33 PM

India's AI spending to grow at 30.8% CAGR to $880.5mn in 2023: IDC

India's AI (artificial intelligence) spending is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30.8 per cent to touch $880.5 million (around Rs 6,490.6 cr) in 2023, research firm IDC said on Wednesday.

 

"Enterprises are relying on AI to maintain business continuity, transform how businesses operate and gain competitive advantage. India's AI spending will grow from USD 300.7 million in 2019 to USD 880.5 million in 2023 at a CAGR (Compound annual growth rate) of 30.8 per cent," as per IDC's Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide Forecast.