Breaking News, March 29

The BJP on Tuesday hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the possibility of restrictions on the public celebration of festivals like `Gudhi Padwa' (Marathi new year) that falls on April 2. Speaking to reporters here, BJP leader Ashish Shelar alleged that whenever it comes to Hindu festivals, "it seems the chief minister's hand gets paralysed."

Odisha is staring down the barrel of a blistering heatwave that may sweep several districts over the next three days, the Met office warned on Tuesday. The weather will be dry across the state, and hot winds are likely to intensify from the northwest. The mercury can touch 43 degrees Celsius in some areas, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said.

The domestic retail selling prices of petrol and diesel were increased for the seventh time in eight days on Tuesday.

The Patna police have registered an FIR against 11 unidentified persons for allegedly gang-raping a 17-year-old girl in Faridabad, an official said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against six accused persons, including a woman, before the NIA Special Court in Chennai in connection with LTTE terror funding case.

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has withdrawn its decision to post women employees as private secretaries (PS), assistant PS, review officers (RO), and assistant ROs with the newly-appointed ministers.

The economic offence wing (EOW) of Odisha police has arrested two fraudsters from Mumbai for cheating over Rs 2 crore from a businessman of Odisha.

Rafique Khan who made India proud at the 1980 Olympiad held in Malta, making everyone present take note of India. Playing on the third board, he scored 10 points out of 13 with nine wins, two draws, and two losses. On the women's side, it was Woman GM S. Vijayalakshmi who got the first Olympiad medal for India in 2000.

Delhi Police have registered a case against unidentified people for endangering the life and personal safety of others in the Ghazipur landfill site fire incident, an official said on Tuesday.

Indian-American Raj Subramaniam has become the President and CEO of FedEx, the US-based multinational transportation and courier delivery giant has announced.

Two labourers died when they inhaled poisonous gas while cleaning a sewer line in Rae Bareli on Tuesday.

Amid an ongoing nine-day lockdown in Shanghai, more than 8.26 million people were screened in a new round of nucleic acid testing, a health official announced on Tuesday.

A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court challenging the March 2020 decision of the Central government to appoint a Delimitation Commission to redraw the constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir.

Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR) Minister Giriraj Singh has sought clarification from Karnataka Minister K.S. Eshwarappa on allegation of demand for a commission to allocate grants for projects in Belagavi district.

Ahead of the byelections for the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, a video of the ruling Trinamool Congress MLA Narendra Nath Chakraborty has gone viral in which he is seen openly threatening the supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In the viral video, the TMC MLA from Pandaveshwar is purportedly seen openly threatening the BJP supporters.

During a meeting with the party workers in Pandeshwar's Haripur, Chakraborty is asking the TMC workers to intimidate the BJP supporters.

The White House has requested a $26 billion budget for NASA in 2023, which is about $2 billion more than the space agency received for the current fiscal year.

The budget would enable NASA to fund Artemis moon landings, Earth science, address climate change, drive economic growth, and more as the agency aims to send people to Mars by 2040, NASA officials said.

"Greater than a number, statistic, or fact is what the President's budget request represents," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, in a statement.

"This budget reflects the Biden-Harris Administration's confidence in the extraordinary workforce that makes NASA the best place to work in the federal government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the BJP MPs to organise programmes to make people aware about the initiatives taken by the government to ensure social justice.

He was addressing the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting at Ambedkar International Centre here with party chief J.P. Nadda and MPs in attendance.

A BJP MP said that Prime Minister Modi asked all those present in the meeting to reach out to Dalits and other sections of society ahead of Dr B.R. Ambedkar's birth anniversary on April 14 from April 6 (BJP's foundation day).

A soldier was injured on Tuesday in accidental fire in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district.

Police sources said the soldier belongs to the 34 Rashtriya Rifles.

"The soldier was injured when his service rifle went off accidentally during cleaning in Behibagh camp in Kulgam district.

"The injured soldier was removed to the Army's 92 base hospital in Srinagar for treatment," sources added.

Weeks before inauguration of Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government has taken measures to recognise the contribution of all the former Prime Ministers.

Speaking at the BJP parliamentary party meeting here, Modi talked about the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya (PM Museum), which is likely to be inaugurated on April 14.

It is learnt that the Prime Minister said that his government has ensured to recognise the contribution of all the former Prime Ministers.

Two constables of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) were injured on Tuesday after Naxals triggered serial improvised explosive device (IED) blasts in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, a senior police official said.

The incident took place around 9.15 am in Kurusnar police station area when a joint team of the DRG and Indo- Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was out on an area domination operation, Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Sadanand Kumar said.

When the patrolling team was cordoning off a forest patch, located over 300 km from the state capital Raipur, Naxals detonated serial blasts in which two DRG constables received injuries, he said.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha visited the Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills in Reasi district on Tuesday and reviewed the arrangements for the upcoming "Chaitra Navratri", officials said.

Sinha paid obeisance at the shrine and also prayed for Jammu and Kashmir's development and the well-being of its citizens, they added.
The hill shrine witnesses a huge rush of devotees during the Chaitra Navratri, a nine-day festival to mark the first month of the Hindu calendar which is likely to commence on April 2.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's trip to India next week has been postponed and will be rescheduled, PM's media adviser here said on Tuesday.

Bennett had tested positive for COVID-19 Sunday evening and while he has continued to work from home while in isolation, the trip to India scheduled for April 3 to 5 looked doubtful once it was known.

“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's trip to India has been postponed and will be rescheduled”, the media adviser said.

Public transport services were affected in Haryana for the second day on Tuesday, as roadways employees came in support of the nationwide strike called by central trade unions to protest against the Centre's alleged wrong policies.

The two-day strike by central trade unions to protest against the government policies entered its second day on Tuesday. The bus services remained suspended at several depots of Haryana Roadways.

Roadways employees held protests for the second day at many depots in the state as part of the strike.

Sarbat Singh Punia, a leader of the joint front of 10 unions of roadways employees, told PTI on Tuesday that "the bus services are suspended and we are observing a complete strike".

BJP MLA Ramesh Tawadkar was on Tuesday elected as the Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly by defeating Congress candidate Aleixo Sequeira.

Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai had summoned a two-day session of the newly elected 40-member Assembly from Tuesday, a day after Pramod Sawant was sworn in as the chief minister and eight other BJP MLAs took oath as cabinet ministers.

After the Assembly session began, pro-tem Speaker Ganesh Gaonkar moved a motion for the Speaker's election.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday wrote to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over "delays" in the armed forces recruitment and urged him to take necessary steps to ensure that the hard work of aspirants is respected. In her letter, the Congress general secretary said it is the dream of the youth to serve the country by joining the armed forces for which lakhs of them prepare with hard work.  

"Youth from all over the country have tried to draw your and the government's attention towards some important points related to the recruitment results, delay in recruitment and recruitment rallies for the armed forces," she said.

Flagging the problems being faced by the youth in armed forces recruitment, Gandhi said the examination for the recruitment of soldiers in the Air Force was held in November 2020 with its result out in the same month but despite the completion of all the tests and the provisional selection list being out, the enrollment list has not been released yet.  

The Goa government has said it will provide three cooking gas cylinders free of cost to households in the coastal state, as promised by the BJP in its election manifesto.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made the announcement on Monday after chairing the first meeting of the new cabinet, comprising him and eight other ministers.

In a tweet on Monday evening, Sawant said, “Chaired the first meeting after taking oath as CM. The Cabinet has decided to formulate the 3 free cylinder scheme as promised in the BJP manifesto from the new financial year.”

A bus conductor allegedly molested a 17-year-old girl here in Maharashtra while she was going home after school in a public bus, a police official said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday following which the police arrested the 31-year-old conductor of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd, said the official who is investigating the case.

"While the girl was on her way home after school, the conductor allegedly molested her in the bus. The girl then raised an alarm and informed her parents, who subsequently approached the police," the official said.

The accused was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the police added.

Revenue officers of Punjab to go on indefinite strike from March 29 against alleging hostile treatment by farmers in Lambi: Punjab Revenue Officers Association

The minimum temperature in the national capital on Tuesday settled at 18.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal.

Delhi on Monday had recorded its hottest day of the season at 39.1 degrees Celsius, seven notches above the season's average, with the temperature expected to rise further in the next couple of days.

The relative humidity at 8:30 AM on Tuesday stood at 48 per cent, according to data shared by the India Meteorological Department. On Monday, the Safdarjung Observatory had recorded a high of 39.1 degrees Celsius and a low of 22.2 degrees Celsius. 

The maximum temperature on Tuesday is likely to hover around 40 degrees Celsius, and heat wave has been forecast.

Gunmen burst into a clandestine cock fight and opened fire, killing 20 people and wounding four, prosecutors in Mexico's western state of Michoacan said Monday.

Three women were among the dead after the attack late Sunday near the town of Zinapecuaro.

The attackers apparently planned the attack, and entered in a stolen truck owned by a snack food company, according to prosecutors.

“The snack food company truck arrived, and several armed people in camoflauge clothing got out,” a prosecutors' statement said. “At the same moment, a bus that was outside the building was used as a blockade,” apparently to prevent victims from escaping or calling for help, it said.

With 1,259 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 4,30,21,982 on Tuesday, while the number of active cases of the infection further declined to 15,378, according to the Union health ministry.

The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,21,070 with 35 more fatalities, the ministry's data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases account for 0.04 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said, adding that a reduction of 481 cases was recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.22 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.25 per cent, according to the health ministry.

Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 300 points in early trade on Tuesday, following gains in index majors HDFC, Maruti Suzuki and ICICI Bank amid a largely positive trend in global equity markets.

Besides, a fall in international crude prices supported the market sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE barometer was trading 317.22 points higher at 57,910.71. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty gained 93.45 points to 17,315.45.
From the 30-share pack, UltraTech Cement, HDFC, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and ICICI Bank were the lead gainers.

On the other hand, ITC, Tata Steel and NTPC were among the laggards.

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 occurred at around 7:29am, 186km North of Alchi (Leh), Jammu & Kashmir, today: National Center for Seismology

A 33-year-old Singapore doctor, linked to an anti-vaccination group, have been suspended after being accused of injecting patients with saline solution instead of a COVID-19 vaccine, and uploading false vaccination statuses to the Ministry of Health's National Immunisation Registry, local media reported.

Dr Jipson Quah's registration as a medical practitioner was suspended by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) from March 23 for 18 months, or until the disciplinary proceedings are concluded, whichever is sooner, the council said on Monday.

Quah, a member of the anti-coronavirus vaccination Healing the Divide, has been charged in court with conspiring to defraud Ministry of Health (MOH) by submitting false vaccination data.

Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil has given a suspension of Business notice under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha, to have a discussion on the two-day nationwide strike called by different trade unions to protest against govt policies.

US President Joe Biden has proposed to increase the developmental assistance to India in clean energy, digital economy, and also in combating increasing authoritarianism.

The proposed increase in India’s developmental assistance from USD 25 million in 2021 to USD 66 million for the fiscal 2023 is part of the State Department’s developmental assistance for the fiscal 2023, which was sent by the White House to the US Congress on Monday.

“The funding increase for India supports India’s role as a regional leader by increasing clean energy and other climate programming. Funds will also advance investments in the digital economy,” said the State Department’s portion of the budget.

“Assistance will combat increasing authoritarianism, bolster human rights and strengthen civil society participation and democratic governance,” the State Department said.

US President Joe Biden on Monday proposed a USD 1.8 billion to support his Indo-Pacific Strategy along with another USD 400 million to counter the malign Chinese behaviour.

Both are part of the USD 773 billion annual defence budget of the US for the year 2023, which was submitted by the White House to the Congress as part of its annual budgetary proposals.

“In the Indo-Pacific, America is strengthening its role and expanding its cooperation with longtime allies and partners, including new diplomatic, defence and security, critical and emerging technology and supply chain, and climate and global health initiatives, while supporting stronger ties between our European and Indo Pacific allies,” Biden said.

Noting that Indian films have an impact on counties abroad, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday said that his aim is to make India the "content sub-continent of the world". He said this can generate millions of jobs in India.

His remarks came at the India Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020, where he held a conversation with Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh on 'The Global Reach of Indian Media and Entertainment Industry'.

On the third day of his visit to Dubai, Thakur said Indian people in Dubai are the real brand ambassadors of India. The India Pavilion has been a huge crowd puller with 1.7 million visitors. The Minister added that India is celebrating 75 years of independence and the celebrations are taking place not just in India but abroad also.

An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 occurred around 2:52 am at 147 km North of Diglipur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands: National Center for Seismology

Madhya Pradesh | A person identified as Rafiq Ahmed has been arrested for allegedly molesting and harassing school girls in Rajgarh

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday (local time) has eased its COVID-19 travel advisories for India, taking it from Level 3 (high risk) to Level 1 (low risk).

The CDC in its advisory said it has changed its COVID-19 travel recommendation for India to "Level 1 (Low)" from "Level 3 (High)."

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 1 Travel Health Notice due to COVID-19, indicating a low level of COVID-19 in the country. 

Your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorized vaccine," the US department of state said in a statement.

A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to the 'Bulli Bai' app case accused Niraj Bishnoi and 'Sulli Deals' app creator Omkareshwar Thakur on humanitarian grounds.
The court considered that the accused are first time offenders and continued incarceration would be detrimental to their overall wellbeing.

The court had imposed strict conditions on the accused persons so that they could not threaten any witness and temper any evidence.

Petrol price on Tuesday crossed Rs 100 a litre mark after rates were hiked by 80 paise a litre and 70 paise in case of diesel, taking the total increase in rates in one week to Rs 4.80 per litre. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 100.21 per litre as against Rs 99.41 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 90.77 per litre to Rs 91.47, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in 'grih pravesham' of about 5.21 lakh beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday at 12:30 pm via video conferencing. He will also address the gathering on the occasion.

Earlier on Monday, a PMO release had said it has been a constant endeavour of the Prime Minister to provide a pucca house with all basic amenities to every needy family in the country.

"This marks yet another step in this direction," the release had said.

248 fresh infections and three deaths reported in Mizoram; Active cases stand at 1,162

Positivity rate at 11.93%