Bhupinder Singh Mann recuses himself from Supreme Court committee on farm reforms
NEW DELHI: Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Bhupinder Singh Mann on Thursday said he is recusing himself from the four-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court to resolve the impasse between farmers and the Centre over the new agri-marketing laws. Farmer unions and opposition parties had raised doubts over the composition of the panel, insisting […]
Depression, stress may reduce efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines, scientists say
NEW DELHI: Depression, stress and loneliness can weaken the body’s immune system, and lower the effectiveness of certain vaccines, including the new COVID-19 preventives that are in development and the early stages of global distribution, scientists say. According to a report accepted for publication in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, simple interventions, including exercise […]
2G scam: CBI commences fresh arguments in Delhi High Court in appeal against acquittals
NEW DELHI: CBI commenced arguments afresh in the Delhi High Court on Thursday in its appeal against the acquittal of former telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case. However, the arguments via video conferencing before Justice Yogesh Khanna had to be stopped after only a brief hearing due to […]
Gujarat High Court rejects plea to extend deadline for filing tax returns
NEW DELHI: The Gujarat High Court has rejected a plea seeking extension of deadline for filing of returns but observed that the CBDT may take a lenient view on penalty for late filing of tax audit reports. The Income Tax Department had on Monday rejected demand for further extension of the deadline for filing returns […]
TCS’ market valuation crosses Rs 12 trillion-mark helped by rally
NEW DELHI: The market valuation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) crossed Rs 12 trillion-mark at close of trade on Thursday, helped by a rally in its share price. TCS topped the gainers’ chart on Sensex, rising 2.89 per cent to close at Rs 3,250.15 on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 3.42 per cent […]
Indian Army signs $20 million contract with ideaForge to procure SWITCH drones
NEW DELHI: The Indian Army has signed an approximately $20 million contract for undisclosed quantities of a high-altitude variant of ideaForge’s SWITCH UAV which will be delivered over a period of 1 year. IdeaForge has been awarded this contract after it emerged as the only vendor that qualified the operational requirements in an evaluation done […]
Aviation services launched between Chandigarh and Hisar
NEW DELHI: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday launched aviation services between Chandigarh and Hisar at the international airport here by handing over a boarding pass to the first passenger. This service has been started by Air Taxi Aviation Company, an official statement said here. He said Air Taxi has ordered four-seater airplanes. […]
Budget session of Parliament from January 29
NEW DELHI: The Budget session of Parliament will begin on January 29 with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of both the Houses and the Union Budget will be presented on February 1. A communication from the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Thursday that the session would conclude on April […]
Modi government should scrap new farm laws: Shiv Sena
NEW DELHI: The Shiv Sena on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to honour the sentiments of protesting farmers and scrap new controversial farm laws, and said he will “grow bigger” in stature by doing so. An editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ also accused the Centre of trying to end the farmers’ protest […]
National Polio immunisation programme rescheduled to January 31
NEW DELHI: The National Polio immunisation programme, as part of which children in the age group of 0-5 years are administered polio drops, has been rescheduled to January 31. The National Immunisation Day (NID), commonly known as Pulse Polio Immunisation programme, wasearlier scheduled for January 17 across India. “The massive countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive will […]
Led by Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, 10 House Republicans back Donald Trump impeachment
By MATTHEW DALY WASHINGTON:Ten Republicans — including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House GOP leader — voted to impeach President Donald Trump Wednesday over the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. The GOP votes were in sharp contrast to the unanimous support for Trump among House Republicans when he was impeached by Democrats in […]
Budget 2021: NAREDCO recommends measures to support green shoots in real estate
NEW DELHI: In the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic, Indian economy grapples with the challenges of recovery, expectations from the upcoming Union Budget are high. Real estate sector, as a generator of jobs (14 per cent) and major contributor to the GDP (7 per cent), is optimistic to seek major reforms with timely policy interventions by […]
India face lasting Corona damage; growth to be 6.5% in medium term: Fitch
NEW DELHI: The Indian economy will suffer lasting damage from the coronavirus crisis and after an initial strong rebound in FY22 (fiscal year ending March 2022) growth will slow to around 6.5 per cent a year over FY23-FY26, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday. “A combination of supply-side scarring and demand-side constraints – such as the […]
Donald Trump impeached after Capitol riot in historic second charge
By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK, JONATHAN LEMIRE and ALAN FRAM WASHINGTON:President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time Wednesday, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office. With the Capitol secured […]
Election Commissioner to visit poll-bond Assam, West Bengal next week
NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, along with Election Commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar, will visit Assam and West Bengal early next week to take stock of preparations for Assembly polls slated for later this year. Deputy Election Commissioner Sudip Jain is already in West Bengal to meet officials. This is Jain’s second […]
Odisha’s Cuttack to get world-class inter-state bus terminal
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced on Wednesday that a world-class bus terminal will be built at Khannagar in Cuttack and named after Subhash Chandra Bose, marking the revolutionary’s 125th birth anniversary. He said the bus terminal will be built at a cost of Rs 65 crore. Besides a terminal building and regular bus-bays, […]