Breaking news on January 22

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar visited Niamey, on 20 and 21 January. During the visit, EAM called on President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou on 21 January and both the leaders jointly inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre (MGICC).

Union Min Dharmendra Pradhan said: "Launched SAIL Employees Rendering Volunteerism and Initiatives for Community Engagement portal&unveiled SERVICE policy to encourage Steel Authority of India employees and their families to participate in volunteer activities towards achieving social good."

 Davinder Singh has been brought to Jammu by National Investigation Agency (NIA)

The legislative council of Andhra Pradesh has sent the Decentralisation Bill (for setting up of three capitals) to select committee.

 Central Government has sanctioned a development package of Rs. 80,000 crore for Jammu and Kashmir

Ahead of Delhi Elections, Arvind Kejriwal told India TV: "People will vote for us because of the work we have done in the last five years. My family will never enter politics."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation through his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme at 6 PM on January 26.

India Meteorological Department (IMD): Cold Day conditions observed in isolated parts over West Uttar Pradesh. Due to strong lower level northwesterlies dry weather and clear skies are likely during the next 5 days. No cold day conditions over the country during next 5 days.

Hardik Patel gets bail, four days after his arrest for failing to appear before trial court in 2015 sedition case.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on murder of 7 people in Chaibasa said: "We are conducting a meeting on the issue. The government doesn't give the right to anyone to take law in their hands. Lots of rumours are being spread but govt will take strict and unbiased action."

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren has ordered an SIT investigation in Chaibasa incident. The order came after he held a high-level meeting with Director General of Police (DGP), and other top officers.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has written to Delhi Chief Election Officer, regarding 'wrongful acceptance of nomination forms of BJP candidate Kapil Mishra from Model Town constituency.' AAP has requested EC to cancel the candidature of Kapil Mishra.

The day temperatures in Delhi have fallen by 2-4°C, while they are up by 1-3°C over East UP in the last 24 hrs. However, other parts of north India have shown no significant change. The latest satellite image is showing no presence of low-level clouds or fog.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said: "Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray will visit Ayodhya on the completion of 100 days in power, to seek the blessings of Lord Ram. We want that our alliance leaders should also come along. Rahul Gandhi also visits several temples."

First time after taking over as Army Chief, General Manoj Mukund Naravane is visiting Jammu and Kashmir to review ongoing security operations in the state, today. General Naravane is also scheduled to visit Army positions close to Line of Control in Jammu Sector & review the operations there. He will be briefed by Northern Command at Udhampur.

President Ram Nath Kovind today presented the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, 2020 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting this election on the basis of the work we have done in the last 5 years. We really worked hard with honesty and dedication."

The Ministry of Home Affairs today moved an application before the Supreme Court praying for modification of the "convict-centric" guidelines and to make them "victim-centric" to reinforce the people's faith in the rule of law.

The Ministry of External Affairs has released a statement: "In a step that will further strengthen the relations between India and Ghana, Indian Oil has signed a MoU with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) of Ghana for providing its assistance and technical expertise in the implementation of Ghana’s National LPG Promotion Policy."

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party's General Secretary for UP (East) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the residence of former Congress MLA Ajay Pal Singh to offer condolences as Ajay Pal Singh's son recently committed suicide

Maharashtra Minister Ashok Chavan said: "Nightlife is not a proper word for what we've decided today. It's Mumbai 24×7 service for selected areas of the city. Date of its implementation is yet to be decided. We're looking for safe&secured places. We'll keep police arrangements in mind."

"We have decided to waive off our portion in GST (goods and services tax) as State GST comes in our purview. We have also requested Chief Minister to write to the Centre to waive off Central GST on 'Tanhaji' movie," he added. 

State Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution for comprehensive investigation on insider trading in capital area. Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha read the resolution in the Assembly.

Market benchmark Sensex surrendered early gains to end 208 points lower on Wednesday as energy, power, auto, and financial stocks came under selling pressure. After plunging 473 points from the day's high in a choppy session, the 30-share BSE index settled 208.43 points, or 0.50 percent, lower at 41,115.38. It hit an intra-day high of 41,532.29 and a low of 41,059.04.

Interpol has issued 'blue notice' against Nityananda on the request of Gujarat Police. A blue notice is issued to locate a person who is missing or is an identified or unidentified criminal or is wanted for a violation of ordinary criminal law..

Jawaharlal Nehru University VC M Jagadesh Kumar said: "Nearly 88 per cent of total number of students have cleared their hostel dues. The university is functioning and academic activities are going very well."

Greece's parliament elects Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou as the first woman president in the country's history

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said: "Shipping Ministry has prepared a model MoU which has been sanctioned by Cabinet. The model MoU gives power to the ministry to enter into MoUs with other countries for mutual recognition of Certificate of Competency of seafarers."

"Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved closure of Hindustan Fluorocarbons Limited, a central public sector enterprise under Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals. It was almost defunct," he added. 

NIA custody of Allan Shuhaib and Thaha Fasal, students of law and journalism respectively of Kannur University has been extended for 6 more days. They were arrested by police for alleged links with Naxals in Kozhikode in November.

A Delhi Court asks Delhi police to file Action-Taken-Report on Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University's plea seeking direction to police to register FIR on the 15 December 2019 incident in the University campus.

Union Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of the Commission constituted under Article 340 of the constitution, to examine the issue of sub-categorization within Other Backward Classes in the Central List. The tenure has been extended by 6 months, till 31st July 2020.

A 50-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by his nephews over a land dispute in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district, police said on Wednesday.

Mahavir Prajapati was brutally beaten with hockey sticks in Lalipur by nephews Shankar and Shiv Shankar, killing him on the spot, they said.

Superintendent of Police, Ram Badan Singh said body of the victim has been sent for post-mortem examination and added that the incident is a fallout of a land dispute. Search is on to nab the accused, he added.

New Delhi: The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said its BS-VI compliant vehicles have reached cumulative sales of 5 lakh units ahead of the implementation of stricter emission norms from April 1. Maruti Suzuki is now offering ten models with BS-VI compliant petrol engines, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) said in a statement.

"This achievement reaffirms the growth potential of new engines and technologies in India," MSIL Managing Director & CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said.
He further said, "Early introduction of the BS-VI compliant engine in our popular models represents our commitment to the government's vision for clean and green environment."

Noida (UP): A police constable was injured after he accidentally fired from his own service weapon in Greater Noida. The constable was deployed to provide security to a murder case witness. The incident took place in Dadri town on Tuesday night, the officials said. 

"Constable Ravi Malik was on protection duty for Kapil Sharma, who is a witness in a 2012 murder case. Around 9.15 pm on Tuesday, they were headed out for a wedding. "When Malik was about to get inside a car, his carbine gun slipped from his hand and it got triggered, injuring him on the calf of his left leg," a police spokesperson said. 

The constable was taken to a private hospital and is said to be in a stable condition, the official added. PTI 

New Delhi: Housing sales fell 9 per cent during October-December across nine cities to 60,453 units due to economic slowdown and liquidity crisis, according to a report.

Housing brokerage firm PropTiger recently reported 30 per cent fall in sales in nine cities during October-December quarter. However, during 2019 calendar year, realty consultants Knight Frank India and Anarock mentioned that sales rose by one per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

"The absorption witnessed a dip of 9 per cent as compared to the same period last year and new launches have dropped by 10 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The downtrend observed was mainly due to economic slowdown and liquidity crisis in the market," PropEquity said in its Q4 report. The nine cities tracked by PropEquity are Mumbai, Thane, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Noida, Gurugram, Pune and Hyderabad."

Multiple landslides at several places hampered restoration work on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway which remained closed for the second day on Wednesday. The highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was closed for traffic on Tuesday following fresh snowfall and incessant rains. Though the weather improved, multiple landslides at Panthiyal, Moumpassi and Digdole coupled with slippery conditions delayed restoration work, the officials said.

Indian values say all religions are equal, that is why India is secular and never became a theocratic state like Pakistan: Rajnath Singh

Shares of HDFC Asset Management Company on Wednesday rose over 2 per cent after the company posted 45 per cent jump in profit after tax for the December quarter.

The stock gained 2.59 per cent to trade at Rs 3,261.30 on the BSE. On the NSE, the scrip traded higher by similar margins at Rs 3,262.

HDFC Asset Management Company on Tuesday reported a 45 per cent jump in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 352.5 crore for the three months ended December 31, 2019.

22 trains are running late due to low visibility in the Northern Railway region

Sensex jumps 208.45 pts to 41,532.29 in early trade; Nifty rises 55.20 pts to 12,225.05

Five flights have been diverted at Delhi airport due to dense fog on Wednesday morning, an airport official said. "Five flights diverted as captain was not trained to land under CAT conditions," the official said.

When the runway visual range (RVR) is minimum 200 metres, then only that pilot -- who is trained in instrument landing system Category 3A (CATIIIA) -- can land the aircraft.

If the RVR is minimum 50 metres, then a pilot who is trained in using CATIIIB landing system can land the aircraft at the airport.

A woman was injured on Tuesday when a bomb kept in a container underneath a pile of garbage exploded in the city's Ekbalpur area, police said.
The incident occurred around 3 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday chair the 32nd interaction through PRAGATI - the ICT-based, multi-modal platform for pro-active governance and timely implementation.

According to a release issued by Narendra Modi website, in the previous 31 interactions of PRAGATI, projects worth over Rs 12 lakh crores have been reviewed by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister had launched the multi-purpose and multi-modal governance platform PRAGATI on March 25, 2015. PRAGATI - is an integrating and interactive platform, aimed at addressing the common man's grievances.

Supreme Court to hear today around 144 petitions related to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), including petitions challenging the constitutional validity of CAA & transfer petitions filed by the Central Government.

Supreme Court to hear today various pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution

Delhi High Court to hear today the petition seeking probe by a high level committee in the Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank case

A 17-year old Class XII student allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the fourth floor of a residential apartment in Nagpur on Tuesday morning, police said. Ayush Bhoyar said he was going for a walk at around 5:45 am and then jumped off the building where he stayed fifteen minutes later, an MIDC police station official said.
"He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Why he took this step is not known and probe is underway. The family lives on the first floor of the building from where he jumped," he added.