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5:34 PM

India has a 2-3 yrs window to attract cos moving out of China: Subrahmanyam

India has a two-to-three-year window to capitalise on the global strategy of de-risking from China and the government needs to be very alert to come up with a set of policies that make the shift of businesses to India attractive and easier, NITI Aayog CEO Subrahmanyam said on Friday.

Addressing CII Global Economic Policy Forum 2023, Subrahmanyam further said India is in a sweet spot due to the outcome of geopolitics and the fact that the country has a young working-age population.

"So I think, in the next 15 to 20 years time span, India has an opportunity in manufacturing. But the opportunity and the window for India is at best two to three years, because supply chains are unwinding, they're becoming shorter, and they're looking for new geographies.

5:18 PM

Six dead as fire breaks out at candle manufacturing unit near Pune

At least six persons died and eight sustained injuries after a fire broke out at a sparkling candle manufacturing unit in Pimpri Chinchwad area of Pune district on Friday, an official said.

The fire brigade received a call about the blaze at the factory located at Talawade around 2.45 pm, said Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh. The factory manufactured sparkling candles which are generally used for birthday celebrations, he said. "The fire has been doused. The cause is yet to be ascertained," Singh added. The injured were admitted to hospitals in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation area, the commissioner informed.

5:09 PM

Onion farmers stage protest on Mumbai NH, stop auctions over ban on exports

Onion farmers blocked the Mumbai Agra Highway at three places in Maharashtra's Nashik and stopped auctions in wholesale markets of the district on Friday after the Centre announced a ban on the export of the kitchen staple, police said.

The Centre has banned onion exports till March 31, 2024, to increase domestic availability and to keep prices in check.

Farmers stopped auctions at onion markets of Lasalgaon, Chandwad, Nandgaon, Dindori, Yeola, Umarane and other places in Nashik district on Friday, an official said.

4:57 PM

Over 290,000 vacancies filled up in Railways in last 5 years till Sept 30

The occurrence and filling up of vacancies is a continuous process for Indian Railways considering its size, spatial distribution and criticality of operation.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha said that the recruitments are periodically done anticipating vacancies and the needs on the ground considering new services, new technologies, mechanisation and new systems that are being done.

2,94,115 vacancies have been filled up in the last five years up to September 30, 2023, Vaishnaw added.

4:45 PM

SC dismisses Chanda Kochhar's plea for retirement benefits from ICICI bank

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain former ICICI bank managing director and CEO Chanda Kochhar's plea seeking retirement benefits from the bank.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti said, "Not a case for interference. We are not inclined to interfere with the high court order. The special leave petition is dismissed."

At the outset, senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Kochhar said the high court had dismissed the petition without any discussion or finding. The bench said it has seen the facts involved and the case does not warrant any interference.

Kochhar has challenged the Bombay High Court's May 3 order, which dismissed her petition saying grant of any interim relief to her would cause irreparable damage and prejudice to the bank.

4:39 PM

Ayodhya airport to be completed by Dec-end; first section of bullet train project in 3 yrs: Scindia

The construction work of the first phase of the Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport being built in Ayodhya will be completed by December-end, Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia said, adding that airports are a focus area of the government.

Scindia said the first section of the bullet train project is expected to start in three years.

"We are very very focused on our capex programme... we have a Rs 95,000 crore capex plan as far as airports are concerned both by the government, which will be about 25 per cent, and 75 by the private sector," the Minister for Civil Aviation and Steel said, addressing a conference on "overall development in the infrastructure in India".

4:38 PM

Hanged by a kangaroo court: Mahua Moitra on her expulsion from Lok Sabha

TMC leader Mahua Moitra on Friday equated her expulsion from the Lok Sabha with hanging by a "kangaroo court" and alleged a parliamentary panel is being weaponised by the government to force the opposition into submission.

Minutes after her expulsion as a Lok Sabha member, Moitra said she has been found guilty of breaching a code of ethics that does not exist and that there was no evidence of cash or gift given to her.

The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha had recommended her expulsion in the "cash-for-query" case.

4:20 PM

600 mn hospital admissions costing Rs 77,298 cr authorised under AB PM-JAY

Approximately six crore hospital admissions entailing an expenditure of Rs 77,298 crore have been authorised under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana till November 30, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told Lok Sabha on Friday.

As of December 2, a total of 26,774 hospitals, including 11,733 private facilities, across the country have been empanelled to provide healthcare services to the scheme beneficiaries, he said, adding that 4.98 crore claims have been submitted between financial years 2020-21 and 2023-24 as of November 30.

4:05 PM

Lok Sabha expels Mahua Moitra

The Lok Sabha on Friday expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra after holding her guilty of sharing her credentials with others and accepting gifts from a businessman to extend favours.

After a heated debate during which Moitra was not allowed to speak, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to expel the Trinamool member for "unethical conduct", which was adopted by a voice vote.

Opposition members walked out of the House as the Lok Sabha speaker started the voting process on the motion moved by Joshi.

The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha had recommended Moitra's expulsion from the House over the "cash-for-query" allegation.

4:04 PM

Centre ban on ethanol from sugarcane juice 'sudden', Shah has assured of solution in 2 days: Ajit

Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Friday said Union Cooperation Minster Amit Shah has assured to find a way out in the next two days to the issue arising out of the Centre's decision to ban the use of 'sugarcane juice and sugar syrup' for ethanol production.

Pawar, who is also the finance minister, said in the assembly the Centre's decision was "sudden" and pointed out that many sugar mills in Maharashtra, one of the top producers of the sweetener in the country, have invested heavily in setting up ethanol plants.

The Centre on Thursday banned the use of sugarcane juice and sugar syrup' for ethanol production in the 2023-24 supply year, which started this month, to maintain adequate sugar availability for domestic consumption and to keep prices under check. However, the government has allowed use of 'B-molasses', a cane by-product, for ethanol production in 2023-24. 

3:56 PM

India recorded 234,000 dengue cases till Nov 30: Government to Lok Sabha

India recorded 2,34,427 cases of dengue till November 30 this year, the government told Lok Sabha on Friday and underlined that the cases remain low every year from January to July whereas maximum cases are reported from August to December.

In the current year, due to global climate change, the El Nino effect and unequal rainfall, increased vector density led to an increase in the number of dengue cases reported across the country, Union Minister of State for Health S P Singh Baghel said in reply to a question.

3:53 PM

Max Healthcare to buy Sahara Hospital in $113 mn deal

Max Healthcare Institute said on Friday it will buy 550 bedded Sahara Hospital in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh for an enterprise value of Rs 940 crore ($112.76 million).

3:04 PM

Modi's guarantee that every penny 'looted' from people will have to be returned: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a swipe at the opposition on the issue of corruption, asserting it is "Modi's guarantee" that they will have to return every penny "looted" from people. In a post on X, Modi tagged a news report of the Income Tax department recovering Rs 200 crore in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Congress MP from Jharkhand Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, as he attacked the opposition party. "Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee," he said in a post with several emojis.

2:46 PM

Govt ready to offload extra 2.5 mn tons of FCI wheat under OMSS in Jan-Mar: Food Secy

The government is ready to offload additional 2.5 million tonnes of FCI wheat to bulk consumers during January-March 2024, under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS), in order to boost domestic supply and check price rise, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Friday. In May this year, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of grains, was given a mandate to sell wheat from the central pool to bulk consumers through an e-auction under OMSS throughout the fiscal except during procurement period in wheat growing states. Briefing the media, the Food Secretary said so far 4.46 million tonnes has been offloaded by FCI to processors through weekly e-auctions.

2:31 PM

Will demand to withdraw FIRs against Maratha protesters: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday told the legislative assembly that the state government was taking necessary action on the demand to withdraw cases filed against pro-Maratha reservation protesters in Jalna district. The police had used mild force against the Maratha protesters in Jalna, he said, adding that 79 police personnel and 50 persons were injured during the face-off. Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, said this in his written reply to questions asked by more than 20 legislators on the Maratha quota issue.