14th January News in Nutshell: Important stories of the day
Important stories of the day
National News
PM Modi bigger brand than Mahatma Gandhi, says Anil Vij; later withdraws comment
Haryana Minister Anil Vij today stoked a controversy with his remark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a ‘bigger brand name than Mahatma Gandhi’.
Amarinder Singh keen to contest Punjab polls against CM Parkash Singh Badal from Lambi
Giving an interesting turn to Punjab's politics, state Congress president Amarinder Singh has sought the Congress high command's permission to fight next month's assembly elections against Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal from the latter's assembly constituency of Lambi.
Rahul Gandhi's 'hand' remark: BJP moves EC, seeks Congress poll symbol cancelled
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unit here has moved the state Election Commission against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi following his claims of seeing the Congress party’s election symbol in the photos of gods and saints.
Jawan who claimed exploitation by senior officers, sits on hunger strike, says wife
Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh, who had alleged harassment by superiors for writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the problems faced by the soldiers, today sat on a hunger strike demanding justice.
RSS not against any community, only uniting Hindus, says Mohan Bhagwat
Stressing that the Rashtriya Seva Sangh (RSS) is not working against any community, its Chief Mohan Bhagwat today said that the organisation is only making efforts to unite and strengthen the Hindu community.
International News
The US House of Representatives voted on Friday to take initial steps toward repealing outgoing President Barack Obama's pet project Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. This comes a day after Senate’s vote on the issue.
Another 'mastermind' of Dhaka cafe attack arrested
Bangladesh Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested Neo-JMB terrorist Jahangir Alam, one of the key figures behind the Gulshan café terror attack in 2016 in which over 20 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.
Trump’s National Security Adviser-designate in frequent contact with Russia's ambassador
President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser and Russia's ambassador to the U.S. have been in frequent contact in recent weeks, including on the day the Obama administration hit Moscow with sanctions in retaliation for election-related hacking, a senior official said Friday.
Business News
Government respects RBI's autonomy and independence, Finance Ministry clarifies
A day after the employee unions of the Reserve Bank of India expressed their resentment against alleged interference of the government in the central bank's affairs, the Finance Ministry today said that it fully respects RBI’s independence and autonomy.
RBI's own figures indicate return of 15 lakh crore of banned notes
Despite the Reserve Bank of India dismissing reports that suggested 97 per cent of the demonetised currency had returned to the bank's coffers by December 30, its own weekly figures on "currency in circulation" indicate that this number is correct.
Axis Bank cuts lending rates by upto 0.70 per cent
Following similar move by other banks after a bulk infusion of liquidity arising from the demonetisation move, Axis Bank, country’s third largest private sector lender, on Friday announced to reduce its lending rates by 0.65-0.70 per cent across various tenures, w.e.f. January 18.
Entertainment News
Priyanka Chopra suffers concussion on sets of 'Quantico'
Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, who is back in action shooting for the second season of "Quantico" here, was injured while shooting on the sets of the drama series.
David Guetta gets cops nod, to perform in Mumbai, Delhi tomorrow
In a respite for heartbroken David Guetta fans, the French DJ has now been permitted to perform in Mumbai on Sunday. Earlier, his concert was scheduled to take place on Friday but the city cops denied permission citing conflicting reasons.
Deepika Padukone leaves for worldwide release of her Hollywood film
Indian actress Deepika Padukone and Hollywood star Vin Diesel recently attended the grand premiere of their forthcoming Hollywood action film "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" here. Now, Deepika is set for its worldwide promotion and screening.
Sports News
Skipper Parthiv Patel guides Gujarat to maiden Ranji Trophy title
Riding on captain Parthiv Patel's stupendous 143, Gujarat today sprang a surprise as they defeated record champions Mumbai by five wickets to clinch their maiden Ranji Trophy title.
Dhoni will continue to give his ‘priceless’ views, only I’ll take final call now: Virat Kohli
New in charge of the Indian Cricket team, Virat Kohli sees a smooth transition of captaincy as his job would now be to take the final call based on the “priceless” inputs shared by former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Azharuddin's nomination for Hyderabad Cricket Association polls rejected
Former Indian Captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s nomination for the post of President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has been rejected by the returning officer.