Breaking News, January 1 | HIGHLIGHTS

India's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 fell by 7.93 per cent compared to 2019, while the emission intensity of its GDP declined 36 per cent between 2005 and 2020, according to data submitted to the UN climate change office.

In its fourth Biennial Update Report (BUR-4) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on December 30, India said its total greenhouse gas emissions (excluding land use, land-use change, and forestry, or LULUCF) in 2020 were 2,959 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). Including LULUCF, emissions were 2,437 MtCO2e.

Total national emissions (including LULUCF) fell 7.93 per cent compared to 2019 but increased 98.34 per cent since 1994, the report said.

The BJP leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy on Wednesday charged that Minister "Priyank Kharge's name is found at three places" in the suicide note written by contractor Sachin Panchal but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defended the minister for want of evidence.

Narayanaswamy, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, said the Chief Minister has been saying that Kharge’s name is not mentioned in the suicide note written by contractor Sachin Panchal, which was wrong.

An FIR has been registered against Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, the Leader of Opposition in Karanataka Legislative Council, BJP MLC C T Ravi and 11 other party functionaries on charges of unlawful assembly here, police said on Wednesday.

The BJP leaders on Tuesday staged a protest at the Race Course road junction here demanding the resignation of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge in connection with the suicide of a civil contractor in Bidar last week.

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the export of 1 million tonnes of non-basmati rice to Indonesia through National Cooperative Export Ltd (NCEL).

The decision was taken during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Agriculture Minister Shivaraj Singh Chouhan told reporters.

A Devaswom Board in Kerala is planning to end the long-standing practice of requiring male devotees to remove their upper attire before entering temples, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Wednesday.

The move by the board follows a statement made by Swami Satchidananda, head of the renowned Sivagiri Mutt founded by sage and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru.

The monk had described the practice as a social evil and called for its abolition during his address at the Sivagiri Pilgrimage conference on Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday said 98.12 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes have been returned to the banking system, and only Rs 6,691 crore worth such notes are still with the public.

On May 19, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation.

The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, declined to Rs 6,691 crore at the close of business on December 31, 2024, RBI said.

"Thus, 98.12 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned," it said in a statement.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday reaffirmed his statement cautioning against "organised efforts" to portray sage and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru as a proponent of Sanatana Dharma.

"I stand by what I have stated about Sanatana Dharma," Vijayan told a press conference here while reacting to a query about the mounting criticism from the BJP over his statement made during the Sivagiri pilgrimage conference held on Tuesday.

AAP leader National Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi skipped speaking on law and order in Delhi while responding to latter's allegations that all leaders of AAP had been in jail and no such diversified corruption was seen in India before.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is likely to contest all 70 seats in the upcoming Assembly polls in Delhi, with the first list of candidates likely to be released by mid-January. A party official said the city has been divided into five zones and the process of finalising candidates in all the zones is underway.

Talking to PTI, he said the Delhi Assembly polls, due in February, are both "interesting and challenging". He said coordinators have been assigned to each of the zones to oversee the candidate-selection process.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said Maharashtra was moving towards becoming free of Naxalism as Maoist cadres were surrendering to police and the outlawed movement was not attracting new recruits.

During his visit to Gadchiroli, Fadnavis told reporters that the dominance of Naxalites in remote areas of the district was ending, and welcomed the move by top Naxal cadres to lay down their arms and turn themselves in.

"Naxalism is nearing its end," the chief minister said responding to a query. The government has started the process to make Gadchrioli the "first district" by eliminating the dominance of Maoists, he said.

Facing allegations of irregularities in the promotion of lecturers in his technical education department, Uttar Pradesh minister Ashish Patel on Wednesday alleged a threat to his life from the state police's Special Task Force (STF). He said that if any conspiracy or incident occurs during his fight for "social justice," the responsibility will rest solely with the STF.

Hailing the Supreme Court collegium proposal against the appointment of close kin of the judges in the high courts, noted lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi has said they should be implemented sooner as judicial appointments are "non objective" that originally conceived.

India's primary housing market may register a modest single-digit price rise in 2025 after appreciating by an average 21 per cent last year as developers are expected to boost new supply to match up demand, according to industry experts.

Cold conditions prevailed in parts of Rajasthan, with Sikar recording the lowest minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning, a MeT department spokesperson said. According to the India Meteorological Department, a cold to very cold day was recorded at some places in eastern Rajasthan, and dense to very dense fog was observed in several areas of the state.

Eminent botanist and Padmashree awardee K S Manilal, celebrated for translating the ancient Latin text "Hortus Malabaricus" into English and Malayalam, died following age-related ailments, family sources said here on Wednesday. He was 86.

A tremor of 3.2 magnitude hit Gujarat's Kutch district on Wednesday morning, the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said. No casualty or damage to property was reported, the district administration said. The tremor was recorded at 10.24 am, with its epicentre located 23 kilometres north-north east (NNE) of Bhachau, as per the Gandhinagar-based ISR.

The first morning of the New Year in the national capital saw shallow fog, with the minimum temperature recorded at 7.4 degrees Celsius, the weather department said. The weather office has forecast cold day conditions at isolated places in Delhi and dense fog at some locations on Wednesday. The city's minimum temperature, which was slightly warmer than the seasonal average, was almost two degrees less than Tuesday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday expressed confidence that the efforts of the "double engine government" to take the state on the path of prosperity and development will gain further momentum in 2025.

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Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh on Tuesday met Bangladeshi lawyer Rabindra Ghosh, who is defending arrested Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in the neighbouring country, at his current residence in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district. The lawyer has been staying in Barrackpore for medical treatment.

A court in Maharashtra has sent Walmik Karad, an accused in an extortion case linked to the murder of a sarpanch, to custody for 15 days.