News updates: PM Modi reaches Presidential Palace for private meeting and dinner with Prez Putin

From SC hearing on NEET-UG exam to Mumbai rains, and from PM Modi's Russia visit to RBI's data on employment, catch all the latest news from across the globe here

2:15 PM

Intolerable that influential people misuse their status to manipulate system: Maha CM on hit-and-run cases

In the wake of the recent hit-and-run accidents in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said, "I am deeply alarmed by the rise in hit-and-run incidents in Maharashtra. It is intolerable that the powerful and influential misuse their status to manipulate the system. Such miscarriages of justice will not be tolerated by my Government. The lives of ordinary citizens are precious to us. I have directed the State Police department to handle these cases with the utmost seriousness and ensure justice is served. In addition, we are implementing stricter laws and harsher penalties for hit-and-run offenders. No one, whether rich, influential, or the offspring of bureaucrats or ministers, affiliated with any party, will have immunity as long as I am the Chief Minister of the State. I have zero tolerance for injustice. Let it be clear: my administration stands firmly with the victims and their families. We are committed to creating a safer Maharashtra for all its citizens."

2:11 PM

Female candidates outnumber males in number of applications to WB admission portal for UG courses

Female candidates outnumber males in the number of applicants to West Bengal's central undergraduate courses admission portal, a higher education department official said on Monday. The portal which was opened on June 24 for admission to seats in 461 colleges and 16 universities closed on July 6 midnight. The portal was launched for the first time this year by the higher education department. "Of 5,27,673 applicants which were validated after scrutiny, 2,99,800 were women," the higher education department official told PTI on Monday.

1:57 PM

Russia uses hypersonic missiles in attack on Kyiv; no reports of casualties

Russian forces launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets on Monday, Ukraine's air force said, with explosions felt and heard across the capital, Kyiv. An AP report said that the daylight attack included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of the most advanced Russian weapons, the air force said. The Kinzhal flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. The Kyiv city administration reported falling debris, presumably from intercepted missiles, in the Solomianskyi, Dniprovskyi, and Holosiivskyi districts of Kyiv, starting fires. Smoke rose from several Kyiv neighborhoods. There were no immediate details of casualties and damage.

1:54 PM

50 flights cancelled due to low visibility after heavy rains in Mumbai

Flight services at the Mumbai airport were severely impacted on Monday with runway operations shut for over an hour and 50 flights cancelled due to low visibility after heavy rains in the city, sources said. Of the 50 cancelled flights (both arrivals and departures), 42 services were of the no-frills IndiGo and six of Air India, they said. "Fifty flights have been cancelled till 11 am on Monday at the Mumbai airport due to low visibility and heavy rains. Of these, IndiGo had to cancel 42 flights, including 20 departing ones, while six flights of Air India including three arrivals were cancelled," a source said. The government-owned Alliance Air also had to cancel two (one departure and one arrival) of its flights on Monday, the source said.

1:50 PM

Tea prices soar in India as extreme weather slashes output; heatwave, floods trim output in Assam

Tea prices have been soaring and are expected to stay high as heatwaves and floods during the peak harvesting season slash output in key producing regions. The price rise could support the beleaguered Indian tea industry, which has been struggling with rising production costs amid a negligible rise in tea prices in the past decade. "Extreme weather events are hurting tea production. Excessive heat in May, followed by ongoing flooding in Assam, are reducing output," said Prabhat Bezboruah, a senior tea planter and former chairman of India's Tea Board.

1:39 PM

Can't allow police to peep into private life of accused on bail, Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday said there cannot be a bail condition which allows the police to peep into the private life of an accused in a criminal case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside a bail condition imposed by the Delhi High Court requiring a Nigerian national to share the Google Maps pin in his mobile device with the investigating officer in a drugs case. Justice Oka, pronouncing the verdict said, "There cannot be a bail condition defeating the very objective of bail itself. We have said Google pin cannot be a bail condition. There can't be a bail condition enabling the police to constantly track the movement of the accused. Police cannot be allowed to peep into the private life of the accused on bail."

1:37 PM

Local train reversed to rescue 50-year-old woman commuter in Navi Mumbai; video goes viral

A local train was reversed in Navi Mumbai to rescue a 50-year-old woman who fell on the track during peak hours on Monday, an official said. The incident occurred at Belapur station around 10 am, when a commuter fell while waiting for a Thane-bound train, the official said. "A Panvel-Thane train on platform number three of Belapur station was reversed to save the life of the woman commuter, and she was later rushed to nearby MGM hospital," said Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of the Central Railway. A video that surfaced on social media shows the train slowly reversing from a crowded platform with an injured woman lying on the track.

1:34 PM

Centre must target 4.9% fiscal deficit in 2024 and continue consolidation, suggests SBI research

The Narendra Modi government should focus on adherence to fiscal prudence and continue on the fiscal consolidation path, said an SBI research ahead of the Union Budget 2024-25. The Budget will be tabled in the Parliament on July 23. The research suggested that the government should target 4.9 per cent fiscal deficit. In the Interim Budget, the target was kept at 5.1 per cent.   

1:25 PM

Soumya Vishwanathan murder case: SC seeks reply of convicts on Delhi Police's pleas against bail

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine the pleas filed by Delhi Police challenging the high court's order granting bail to four convicts, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder case of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma issued notice on the four pleas filed by Delhi Police and tagged them with the pending petition of Vishwanathan's mother against the bail granted to the four convicts. At the outset, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for Delhi Police informed the court that since a notice has already been issued by the apex court, all the pleas be tagged.

1:13 PM

SC bench to hear pleas seeking re-conduct of NEET-UG post lunch; Centre, NTA to also present arguments

An SC bench -- led by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud -- while considering the pleas in the NEET-UG case, said, "We will first hear who are asking for a re-test. Because they are challenging the entirety of the test, they say entire test stands vitiated. First we will hear them." The CJI added, "After hearing them, we will hear the NTA and the Government."

1:00 PM

Maruti Suzuki plans to dispatch 35% of total vehicle production via railways in 7-8 years

Maruti Suzuki India plans to utilise Indian Railways to transport 35 per cent of the vehicles produced across its factories over the next 7-8 years, according to MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi. The share of vehicle dispatches through railways scaled to 21.5 per cent in the 2023-24 fiscal from 5 per cent in 2014-15. The country's largest carmaker's vehicle dispatches through railways increased from 65,700 units in 2014-15 to 4,47,750 units in 2023-24.

12:56 PM

Three of family killed, 20 injured in bus-truck collision in Rajasthan

A couple along with their son was killed and 20 people were injured when a Rajasthan Roadways bus rammed into a truck in Shahpura area here early Monday, police said. The deceased have been identified as Vijay Agrawal (40), his wife Tina Agrawal (36) and their son Preetam (16), residents of Delhi, said police. The accident occurred on the Jaipur-Delhi Highway when the bus was trying to overtake the truck, police said. The roadways bus was on its way to Delhi from Jaipur, it added. Some of the injured were admitted to a local hospital in Shahpura and some to the Sawai Man Singh Hospital (SMS) hospital in Jaipur.

12:42 PM

Portion of ceiling plaster collapses in Thane building; 2-year-old injured

A two-year-old boy was injured when a portion of the ceiling plaster fell on him in a building in Maharashtra's Thane district on Monday, a civic official said. The incident occurred in a 40-year-old building in the Padval Nagar area of Wagle Estate in the early hours of the day, the official said. Local firefighters and the RDMC team rushed to the spot, cleared the debris and removed the remaining portion of the ceiling, said Yasin Tadvi, chief of the civic disaster management cell. A portion of the ceiling plaster collapsed in a flat on the third floor of the building, and a toddler was injured, he said.

 

12:40 PM

Will PM Modi ensure safe return of Indians fighting for Russian Army in war zone, asks Congress

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed to Russia on Monday, the Congress asked whether he would take up the issue of Indian nationals fighting for the Russian Army in the war zone and ensure their safe return to India as soon as possible. Congress general secretary, in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh posed a series of questions for the prime minister in a post on X. "India inherited a rich relationship with first the USSR and later Russia due to the astute diplomacy and strategic initiatives of various Congress governments through the decades. More recently, in his ten years as Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh met Vladmir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev (the two Presidents of Russia who served during his tenure) 16 times in India or Russia. By comparison, this is only Mr Modi's 11th meeting with President Putin after 10 years in office," Ramesh said.

 

12:37 PM

Supreme Court rejects West Bengal Govt's plea challenging CBI probe into sexual assault in Sandeshkhali

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the West Bengal government's plea challenging Calcutta High Court order directing CBI investigation into allegations of land grabbing and sexual assault in Sandeshkhali. "Why should the state be interested in protecting someone?" a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan observed, adding that on the last date of hearing, the counsel appearing for the state said the matter be adjourned after the apex court asked this specific query.