Rajya Sabha elections: Karnataka BJP MLA ST Somashekar cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections in favour of the Congress. Watch the video to know more

Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka: Big setback for BJP as its MLA cross-votes for Congress

Tamil Nadu has achieved a milestone by registering over 10,000 startups with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the state government said on Sunday
StartupTN has played a crucial role in nurturing the ecosystem by implementing various schemes and initiatives like funding programmes, mentorship opportunities and incubation support, StartupTN Mission Director and CEO Shivaraja Ramanathan said.
The state's startup ecosystem has been 'thriving' with 9 regional hubs and a metro hub in Chennai, providing a robust infrastructure for budding entrepreneurs to grow, he said.
"Tamil Nadu has achieved a remarkable milestone of 10,000 DPIIT registered startups, a significant jump from 2,300 in March 2021. This exponential growth can be attributed to the revival of StartupTN under the leadership of Chief Minister M K Stalin focusing on supporting startups and fostering innovation," Ramanathan said in a social med

The state's startup ecosystem has been 'thriving' with 9 regional hubs and a metro hub in Chennai, providing a robust infrastructure for budding entrepreneurs to grow

V O Chidambaranar Port, one of the popular seaports of Tamil Nadu, has earmarked Rs 41,860 crore worth of investments, aimed at making it the Green Hydrogen-Ammonia hub of the country, a top official said.
The port has also taken measures to augment capacity after witnessing an increase in cargo handling this year.
V O Chidambaranar Port has handled a cargo volume of 29.70 million tonnes including 5.62 lakh TEUs of containers till December 19, 2024 this is an overall growth of 1.87 per cent and 6.74 per cent, respectively.
"With the ever-increasing trend in cargo handling, the Port has initiated several strategic capacity augmentation and cargo evacuation initiatives to increase cargo throughput, enhance handling efficiency and expand its market share in the region," a press release said on Sunday.
As part of a mission to position V O Chidambaranar Port as the Green Hydrogen-Ammonia Hub of India, the Port has allocated 501 acres of land to four firms for establishing Green Hydrogen

V O Chidambaranar Port has handled a cargo volume of 29.70 million tonnes including 5.62 lakh TEUs of containers till December 19, 2024 this is an overall growth of 1.87 per cent and 6.74 per cent

According to The Verge, this feature is part of a broader rollout of context-aware capabilities in Gemini, designed to enhance the way users interact with their digital files

Albania's prime minister said on Saturday the government will shut down the video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children.
Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teen after a quarrel that started on TikTok.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting with teachers and parents, said TikTok "would be fully closed for all.... There will be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania". Rama said the shutdown would begin sometime next year.
It was not immediately clear if TikTok has a contact in Albania.
TikTok, in an email response on Saturday to a request for comment, asked for "urgent clarity from the Albanian government" on the case of the stabbed teenager. The company said it had "found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and multiple reports have in fact confirmed videos leading up to this incident w

There has been increasing concern from Albanian parents after reports of children taking knives and other objects to school to use in quarrels or cases of bullying promoted by stories on TikTok

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday hit out at Left parties for turning Tripura into a "backward" state during their 35-year rule and said it could witness progress only after the BJP assumed power in 2018.
Addressing a public meeting here after visiting a village where displaced Bru tribals were rehabilitated, Shah said that Tripura remained behind on all parameters of development during the communist rule but is now moving forward on the path of progress.
"For 35 years, the communists ruled Tripura. The communists claimed that they worked for the welfare of the poor. The Congress also ruled Tripura for a considerable time. But the people of the state always remained poor. It was when the BJP came to power that Tripura could witness development," he said.
Shah said when he visited Tripura in 2017 as BJP president and stayed for five days, only 11 people took party membership.  "Gradually we started our work. We worked hard and could oust the communists from power" after toiling

Addressing a public meeting here after visiting a village where displaced Bru tribals were rehabilitated, Shah said that Tripura remained behind on all parameters of development during communist rule

A Delhi court has granted permission to Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, an accused in the INX Media case, to travel to Austria and the UK between January 4 and 12, noting that he had never abused the liberty granted to him in the past.
In an order passed on December 17, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja allowed Karti Chidambaram to travel to Vienna (Austria) and the UK to attend events related to his company and meet his daughter.
"It is a matter of record that the applicant had sought permission of the court to travel abroad on numerous earlier occasions and the same was always granted to him even by the Supreme Court, as well as by this court and he never abused the above concession or liberty granted by the court," the judge said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), represented by special public prosecutor NK Matta, opposed Karti Chidambaram's application, saying he might misuse the liberty.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case on May 15, 2017, alleging ...

In an order passed on December 17, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja allowed Karti Chidambaram to travel to Vienna (Austria) and the UK to attend events related to his company and meet his daughter

The GST Council, in its meeting on Saturday, is likely to decide on reducing tax rates on life and health insurance premiums, but a decision on big-ticket rate rationalisation, including a higher tax on sin goods, may be deferred.
The GoM on GST rate rationalisation had proposed rate rejigs in 148 items in its recommendations, but sources said that consensus is needed to be built on some of the tax changes that the panel has suggested and some more time may be needed for that.
The 55th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, is also likely to deliberate on bringing Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), a major component for airline industry's operation cost, in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) fold.
The GST rate is also proposed to be cut on food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato, to 5 per cent (without input tax credit), from the current 18 per cent (with ITC).
However, the Fitment Committee (comprising tax

Also, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST compensation cess is likely to get a six month extension till June, 2025, to submit its report. The compensation cess regime comes to an end in March, 2026

Funds devolved to states under the 15th Finance Commission (2021-2024) is more than what was devolved under the 14th Finance Commission (2015-20), finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.
In a pre-budget meeting with states, Sitharaman remarked that because of healthy macroeconomic environment, buoyancy and efficiency in the tax collections, the devolution has increased.
"The funds devolved to the states in the last 45 months (April 2021 to December 2024) under the 15th Finance Commission is more than what was devolved in 60 months under the 14th Finance Commission (2015-20)," an official statement quoting Sitharaman said.
The Union finance minister also referred to the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), which was first announced in the Union Budget 2020-21, and acknowledged that it has received a very good response from states.
States have been requesting the Central government to enhance the outlay under the scheme as it is leading

In addition to this, the Union finance minister stated that the Centre has created an additional dispensation under SASCI for the states affected by disaster of a severe nature as assessed by the Inte

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Blend launches Blend Studio: AI tool for ecommerce photography

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Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka: Big setback for BJP as its MLA cross-votes for Congress

Rajya Sabha elections: Karnataka BJP MLA ST Somashekar cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections in favour of the Congress. Watch the video to know more

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