LIVE: India sees worst power cuts in 6 years; braces for more heatwaves

Live news updates: The ongoing heatwave sweeping through vast swathes of the country will intensify in the next five days, the IMD said

3:58 PM

Change in Twitter ownership would make no difference for India: Minister

Reiterating its position on social-media accountability in response to Elon Musk's pending takeover of Twitter, India said platforms must make checks on users and content.

A change in ownership would make no difference, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India's junior minister for electronics and technology, said when asked whether he welcomed the tycoon's promise to uphold free speech on Twitter. Read more

3:50 PM

Maharashtra to lose Rs 30,000 cr revenue if GST compensation not extended: Official

If the Centre does not extend the GST compensation from July this year, Maharashtra, which pays the maximum taxes, will lose Rs 30,000 crore annually, a senior official of the state finance department said. Read more

3:45 PM

ICICI Bank launches India's 'open-for-all' digital ecosystem for MSMEs

ICICI Bank announces the launch of a digital service for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that customers of other banks can use as well.

The "digital ecosystem" offers enhanced banking services, banking services to MSMEs who are customers of other banks, and a range of value-added services for all. Read more

3:15 PM

No agreement yet on meeting between Putin, Zelenskyy: Official

There has been no agreement yet on a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, said Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak. Read more

2:36 PM

IndiGo becomes 1st airline to land aircraft using navigation system GAGAN

IndiGo became the first airline in the country to land aircraft using the indigenous navigation system GAGAN, according to a statement issued on Thursday.

The flight was conducted using an ATR-72 aircraft and landed at the Kishangarh airport in Rajasthan on Wednesday morning, using GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation (GAGAN), which has been jointly developed by the Centre-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the statement issued by IndiGo said.

GAGAN is used to provide lateral and vertical guidance when an aircraft is approaching a runway for landing. Its precision is especially useful at small airports where the instrument landing system (ILS) has not been installed.

1:58 PM

Canada imposes sanctions on 203 individuals from Luhansk, Donetsk

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly announced the imposition of new sanctions on 11 senior officials and 192 other members of the people's councils of Luhansk and Donetsk which makes up Ukraine's separatist Donbas region.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that Canada continues to call for the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian soil and that these measures apply further pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports Xinhua news agency.

Since 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,400 individuals and entities.

1:57 PM

Israel halts for Holocaust day, honours 6 million Jews killed

Sirens blared across Israel early Thursday as the country came to a standstill in an annual ritual honouring the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

People halted where they were walking, and drivers stopped their cars to get out of the vehicles as people bowed their heads in memory of the victims of the Nazi genocide. Ceremonies were planned throughout the day at Israel's national Holocaust memorial, parliament and elsewhere.

Israel was founded in 1948 as a sanctuary for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust. About 165,000 survivors live in Israel, a dwindling population that is widely honoured but struggling with poverty.

1:57 PM

68% of taxes on petrol and diesel taken by Centre, alleges Congress

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the states to reduce VAT on fuel prices, the Congress on Thursday blamed the Centre for high fuel prices and taxes and alleged that the federalism by the government is not cooperative but "coercive."

Taking to Twitter, party leader Rahul Gandhi said: "High Fuel prices - blame states, Coal shortage - blame states, Oxygen shortage - blame states. 68% of all fuel taxes are taken by the Centre. Yet, the PM abdicates responsibility. Modi's Federalism is not cooperative. It's coercive."

The grand-old party has been attacking the government for high taxes on fuel despite low international crude prices.

1:27 PM

You can now ask Google to remove personal info from Search results

Google has allowed people to request removals of additional types of information from its Search results, including personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address.

Google Search currently allows people to request the removal of certain content, with a focus on sensitive content that can cause direct harm to them.

"Under the policy expansion, people can now request removals of additional types of information when they find it in Search results, including personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address," Michelle Chang, Global Policy Lead for Search at Google, said in a statement late on Wednesday.

1:06 PM

Fuel prices: Stalin hits out at PM over tax cuts, says people know the facts

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of tax cuts on petroleum products, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said people were aware of the fact behind the issue and pointed out at his government effecting a Rs 3 a litre cut on petrol earlier.

Making a statement in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Stalin said since 2014, whenever international crude rates dipped, the NDA government did not pass on the benefit to the customers but only pocketed the additional revenue earned from the differential.

Referring to a Tamil saying, he indicated that the PM was not revealing the facts.

While the excise duty levied on petrol and diesel has to be shared with states, that has been reduced, thus affecting the states' revenue, he said.

1:02 PM

Efforts on to remove AFSPA completely from NE: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said efforts are on to remove AFSPA completely from the north-east region.

Addressing a 'Peace, Unity and Development' rally here, he said the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act could be withdrawn from various parts of the region as the law and order situation has improved in the last eight years.

In a major outreach to the northeast region, the Centre had announced reduction of the disturbed areas imposed under the AFSPA in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur from April 1, after decades.

12:25 PM

Global gold demand up 34 pc to 1,234 tonnes in Mar qtr amid geopolitical, economic uncertainty: WGC

Global gold demand jumped 34 per cent to 1,234 tonnes during January-March quarter, as investors flocked towards safe-haven investments during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, according to a World Gold Council (WGC) report.

According to the WGC 'Gold Demand Trends Q1 2022' report, global gold demand surged to 1,234 tonnes during the January-March quarter supported by strong demand for electronic traded funds (ETFs).

During the first quarter of 2021, global gold demand stood at 919.1 tonnes.

12:05 PM

India's Q1 gold demand declines 18 pc to 135.5 tonnes amid higher prices: WGC

India's gold demand declined 18 per cent to 135.5 tonnes in the first three months of this year, mainly due to a sharp rise in prices, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).

The demand stood at 165.8 tonnes in the first three months of 2021.

In terms of value, gold demand dropped 12 per cent to Rs 61,550 crore in the January-March period. It stood at Rs 69,720 crore in the year-ago period, the 'Gold Demand Trends Q1 2022' report released by the WGC said.

11:14 AM

Centre should remove cess, surcharges on fuel: TN FM

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Thursday urged the Centre to remove cesses and surcharges on petrol and diesel revert to the 2014 rates, an act which is fair and simple.

"We have repeatedly urged the Union government to reduce the cesses and surcharges being levied and merge them with the basic tax rates so that States get their rightful share from the proceeds of the Union taxes," Rajan said.

He was responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call on Wednesday to states to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel "in the spirit of cooperative federalism".

11:12 AM

Two more arrested in Jahangirpuri violence case

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested two more people in the April 16 Jahangirpuri violence case, an official said on Thursday.

The latest arrestees, identified as Jafar and Babuddin, were found involved in orchestrating violence during a procession.

Severe communal clashes erupted at the Jahangirpuri area on April 16 during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in which nine people, including eight policemen were injured.