LIVE: India summons British envoy, opposes farm law debate in UK Parliament

Latest News LIVE: US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad met Pakistan's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and discussed Afghan peace process

5:58 PM

Bank of Baroda to seek investor in credit card business, says CEO

 Indian lender Bank of Baroda will look for an investor in its credit card business while it also considers a potential listing for its insurance joint venture in the next 18 to 24 months, its chief executive told Reuters.

 

The moves flagged by Sanjiv Chadha late on Monday are part of efforts by the state-owned bank to strengthen its position in a post-pandemic world, with global consultancy firm McKinsey & Co hired to help it to execute broad transformation plans.

 

"We may look at getting an investor into the cards business in the next 12 months," Chadha said of its BoB Financial Solutions operation.

5:58 PM

GST fraud of Rs 20,124 cr detected during Nov 9-Jan 31: FM

The government has detected GST fraud of Rs 20,124 crore between November 9, 2020, and January 31, 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

 

A nationwide special drive against unscrupulous entities for availing and passing on Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraudulently on the strength of fake/bogus invoices is being carried out, she said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

 

Giving details of detection/recovery from November 9, 2020 (Date of initiation of special drive) to January 31, the minister said 2,692 cases were booked by the officers involving GST/ITC fraud of Rs 20,124.19 crore.

5:41 PM

Strategic sale to be primary mode for disinvestment: Thakur

The scope for sale of minority stakes in public sector companies has reduced and strategic disinvestment would be the primary mode for disinvestment receipts going forward, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur said on Tuesday.

 

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Thakur said the government has realised Rs 20,627 crore as disinvestment receipts till March 3, which is around 64 per cent of Revised Estimate (RE) in 2020-21.

 

Disinvestment of the government's equity in CPSEs depends largely on market sentiment, investor interest, and market valuation of CPSE stocks.

5:15 PM

LIVE: Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam finalises seat-sharing pact

Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam finalises seat-sharing pact, to contest from 154 constituencies; 2 allies to contest from 40 seats each. 

5:12 PM

Maharashtra govt announces SIT probe in MP Mohan Delkar's death

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday announced that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will probe the alleged suicide of Dadra Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar in Mumbai last month.

 

The statement came amid the opposition BJP's demand of arrest of police officer Sachin Vaze in the case related to the death of Mansukh Hiran who was in possession of the SUV with explosives found outside Mukesh Ambani's house.

 

The unrelated but mysterious deaths of Delkar and Hiran rocked the house during the day, leading to several adjournments.

5:03 PM

Coronavirus: CEC Arora, fellow commissioners get vaccinated

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar took their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, a spokesperson said.

 

The Covid-19 vaccination drive had stated at Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters here, on March 4 for its officers and staff. Former chief election commissioner M S Gill was the first one to take the shot.

 

Arora had recently announced that all staff on poll duty for the upcoming assembly elections have been declared as 'frontline workers' and will be vaccinated before assuming their election duties.

4:39 PM

Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat submits resignation to governor

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday announced his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya. The move comes amid speculations in the state political circles about an imminent change of guard.

 

On Monday evening, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief J.P. Nadda, National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh discussed the political development in the hill state.

4:25 PM

Lok Sabha fails to transact legislative business for second consecutive day

Lok Sabha proceedings were repeatedly adjourned Tuesday amid din created by opposition over rising fuel prices and the House failed to transact any legislative business for the second consecutive day.

 

The second part of the Budget session commenced on Monday.

 

After two adjournments due to disruptions caused by opposition members, mainly from the Congress who were protesting rise in fuel prices, the House was adjourned for the day a little after 2.00 pm.

 

During Question Hour around 11.00 am, Speaker Om Birla had to adjourn the House till 12 noon following protests over the rising fuel prices.

4:25 PM

LIVE: Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat arrives at Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Baby Rani Maurya

Dehradun: Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat arrives at Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Baby Rani Maurya amid reports of CM replacement

4:20 PM

No adverse impact due to rescheduling of polio immunisation drive: Govt

There was no adverse impact due to rescheduling of the National Immunisation Day (NID), which was successfully conducted within two weeks and more than 15.8 crore children were vaccinated, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

 

India conducts one nationwide NID, commonly known as the pulse polio immunisation programme, and two sub-national immunization days every year to maintain population immunity against the wild poliovirus and to sustain its polio-free status.

 

The National Polio Immunisation programme was rescheduled from January 17 since the massive countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out the previous day, Choubey said in a written reply to a question.

4:16 PM

LIVE: Those calling me outsider in Nandigram are outsiders themselves, says Mamata

LIVE: Those calling me outsider in Nandigram are outsiders themselves, says Mamata

4:11 PM

Bengal polls LIVE: Divisive politics won't work in Nandigram, says Mamata

Bengal polls LIVE: Divisive politics won't work in Nandigram, Mamata tells TMC booth level workers in the constituency

4:03 PM

LIVE: I have decided to fight from Nandigram due to people's response: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

I have decided to fight from Nandigram due to people's response, says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

3:34 PM

Delhi govt budget: Rs 16,377 crore allocated for education

The Delhi government on Tuesday allotted Rs 16,377 crore for education for the financial year 2021-22.

 

Presenting the budget in the Delhi assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said like the previous six years, education this time too will comprise 25 per cent of the Rs 69,000-crore budget.

 

Keeping in line with the theme of patriotism for the new budget, Sisodia said the Delhi schools will introduce a deshbhakti pathyakram (patriotic syllabus) to instill a sense of nationalism among the students.

3:30 PM

Global shares trade mixed on recovery hopes, yield worries

Global shares were mixed Tuesday, cheered by the expected passage of the US stimulus package, although that optimism was tempered by worries about inflation and the coronavirus pandemic.

 

France's CAC 40 was little changed, inching up less than 0.1 per cent in early trading to 5,903.07. Germany's DAX slipped 0.3 per cent to 14,341.07, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose nearly 0.1 per cent to 6,713.26. US shares were set for gains, with the future for the Dow industrials up 0.5 per cent at 31,939.0. The S&P 500 future rose 0.8 per cent to 3,851.00.

 

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added nearly 1.0 per cent to 29,027.94. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.7 per cent to 2,976.12. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5 per cent to 6,771.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.8% to 28,773.23, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 1.8 per cent to 3,359.29.