Rajasthan-based research and advocacy organisation CUTS International has opened its sixth overseas centre in Washington DC, becoming the first Indian think-tank to have its centre in the United States. Secretary general of CUTS International, Pradeep S Mehta described the opening of the Washington DC chapter as a reflection of the increasing India-US strategic partnership. CUTS International presents a vision of bringing together US, India, Australian, Japanese, and other stakeholders to find evidence-based solutions to collective challenges and facilitate forward positive movement toward a prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific region, Mehta said. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells, who was present at the inaugural event said the event showed the tremendous growth in our economic and security ties. The strength of the Indo-Pacific region is the connection of its people, its economies, and its cultures, said Wells. The Deputy Indian Ambassador to the US, Santosh Jha said the US was a partner of choice for India. Overall the relationship extends not just in the bilateral domain but in to the regional as well as going beyond in the global domain, said Jha. There are a number of stories about what we do together and how that…
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Captain Amarinder Singh to expand cabinet, 9 new ministers to take oath in Punjab tomorrow
Nine new cabinet ministers are set to take oath tomorrow in Punjab, after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi approved their names in a meeting with state chief minister Amarinder Singh. The new ministers are Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Vijay Inder Singla, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Shyam Sunder Arora, O P Soni, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Balbir Sidhu. Amarinder Singh congratulated them and announced that swearing-in ceremony will take place tomorrow at 6 pm at Punjab Raj Bhawan. Happy to announce the names of the new Cabinet Ministers . Congratulation to all!, he said. The state chief minister held a second round of discussion with Rahul Gandhi today before announcing the names. According to sources, their meeting today lasted around an hour. They held a similar meeting yesterday and Amarinder was asked by Rahul Gandhi to provide the seniority list of the MLAs. The expansion has been pending for a long time and many senior MLAs were eyeing a ministerial berth. At present there are nine ministers, including Amarinder Singh, and with nine new ministers, the Punjab government will touch the maximum strength of 15 per cent of the state assembly.
Kairana bypoll: Election Commission annouces date for the Lok Sabha seat election
The Election Commission today announced that bypolls to four Lok Sabha seats, including Uttar Pradeshs Kairana, will take place on May 28. The bypolls will be held for Bhandara-Gondiya and Palghar in Maharashtra, Kairana, and Nagaland Lok Sabha seats. Nana Patole of the BJP had resigned from the Bhandara-Gondiya seat last year and joined the Congress. The Palghar seat fell vacant after the demise of BJP MP Chintaman Wangaya. The bypoll to the Kairana seat was necessitated after BJP veteran Hukum Singh passed away in February. The Nagaland seat fell vacant when Neiphiu Rio resigned as a Lok Sabha member to become the chief minister of the state. The notification would be issued on May 3, while the counting would take place on May 31, the Election Commission said. Bypolls to the Noorpur Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh and Tharali assembly segment in The Noorpur Assembly seat fell vacant when sitting BJP MLA Lokendra Singh Chauhan died in a road accident, while bypoll to the reserved seat of Tharali has been necessitated after the death of sitting MLA Magan Lal Shah in February this year. Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer L Venkateshwar Lu will visit Saharanpur and Shamli districts tomorrow…
Holi party turns tragic! Bengaluru techie dies after falling from 9th floor in Bellandur
In a tragic incident, a 28-year-old software engineer from Bengaluru passed away after falling from the 9th floor of a luxury apartment in Bellandur late on Thursday night. The techie was identified as Gautam Kumar, a native of Bihar who was living and working in Bengaluru. The incident reportedly took place at his house in Sobha Daisy apartment in Green Glen Layout during a Holi party. The police are currently investigating the matter and have ruled the possibility of foul play in the death. According to the details provided by police, the incident reportedly took place around 11:30 PM when Gautam, a senior software engineer in a private firm, and his friends Kumar Saurav, Ranjith Sahu, Yadhu Vanshi and Soumendu were consuming alcohol. Gautam was living on rent and shared his apartment with three people. He had moved to this house about two years ago. One of his friends told that while they were partying and drinking, Gautam got a phone call and went to the balcony. He said that since they could her Gautam talking on the phone, they didnt go close to him. However, when he didnt return for the next 15 minutes, Gautams friends went out to…
Jhansi shocker: Yogi Adityanath takes note, announces Rs 2 lakh compensation for patient whose amputated leg was used as pillow
Hours after the shocking case of medical negligence came to light from a medical college in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth and Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma took note of the incident. While asking the Chief Medical Secretary to submit a report of the incident in one day, Yogi Adityanath on Sunday announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the patient whose amputated leg was used as a pillow to raise his head by the hospital staff in Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College. Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma has assured strict action against the guilty after the probe of the incident clear facts. Earlier on Sunday, the medical colleges principal, Sadhna Kaushik, told media-persons after the case came to light that a senior resident orthopaedic doctor, an EMO nurse in-charge and one other person has been suspended for their role in the concerned matter. A four-member committee has also been constituted to ascertain the person who put the amputated leg under the patients head, she added. For those unaware of the incident – on Saturday (March 10), a school bus cleaner met with an accident after which he was brought to Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Jhansi….
CBI registers preliminary enquiry against Chanda Kochhar’s husband in ICICI Bank loan case
The CBI has registered a preliminary enquiry against Deepak Kochhar, husband of ICICI bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, officials of the Videocon group and others to determine whether any wrongdoing was involved in the sanctioning of a Rs 3,250 crore loan to the Videocon Group by the ICICI Bank Ltd as part of a consortium of banks in 2012. CBI sources said that Chanda Kochhar, against whom conflict of interest questions have been raised, has not been named in the PE as of now. They said that Deepak Kochhar will soon be called for questioning along with some bank officials. These officials are also likely to include from the banks which were part of the consortium that lent money to the Videocon group. The CBI action comes in the wake of the news reports raising questions about Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot allegedly providing crores of rupees to a firm promoted by Deepak Kochhar and two relatives six months after his group got the Rs 3,250 crore loan from ICICI Bank. The said amount was part of a loan of RS 40,000 crores which Videocon received from a consortium of 20 banks led by State Bank of India (SBI). A…
Rain lashes Bengaluru, hits normal life
Bengaluru was lashed by rain on Friday, leading to traffic snarls and flooding of low-lying areas in the state capital, a weather official said. The city received an average rainfall of 30mm as of 8.30 p.m., the India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told IANS here. The 40-minute downpour exposed the citys infrastructure woes, flooding several arterial roads and throwing peak-hour evening traffic out of gear and causing gridlocks. Trees were also uprooted due to rain. The pre-monsoon rains are due to low pressure in the Arabian Sea. Moderate spells of rain accompanied by heavy winds are likely to be witnessed over the next two days, IMD Bengaluru chief Sundar M. Metri said earlier. Pre-monsoon months are March, April, and May – ahead of the onset of monsoon around June. The next two days are likely to remain cloudy with light to moderate showers in parts of Bengaluru, Metri said.
Ahead of Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping meet, China hails moves to appoint Aamir Khan as brand Ambassador to promote trade
Ahead of tomorrows informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, China today hailed reports that India plans to appoint Bollywood star Aamir Khan as brand ambassador to boost trade between the two countries. I saw relevant reports. We all know that Amir Khan is a famous Indian actor. Many Chinese people, including myself, have watched his starring movie Wrestling!, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing today. Some reports said that the Commerce Ministry is planning to appoint the Bollywood star as brand ambassador to promote trade ties between the two countries. Khan has become famous with his Dangal movie in China which was watched by President Xi. His other movie Secret Super Star has also become very famous in China raking up record box office earnings. The story of the fathers struggle to make his daughters top wrestlers is very inspiring, Hua said. On tomorrows Modi-Xi informal summit being held here, she said the two leaders will have in-depth exchange of views on the overall, long-term, and strategic issues of the future development of China-India relations. We are willing to work together with India to take this important meeting…
Irreconcilable guns need to be silenced in Afghanistan: India tell UNSC
India has supported the recent move of the unity government in Afghanistan for peace talks with the Taliban, saying the irreconcilable guns in the war-torn country need to be silenced. At the 2nd Kabul Process Conference on February 28, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani called on the Taliban to participate in peace talks to save the country while offering security and incentives like passports to insurgents who take part in the negotiations. Ghani had said a ceasefire must be agreed on and the Taliban should be declared a political group. The Afghan Governments willingness for peace is despite the fact that armed groups have identified themselves and demonstrated to all of us that they are the irreconcilables, These efforts of the Afghan government calling on the armed groups to cease violence and join the national peace and reconciliation process that would protect the rights of all the citizens, including women, children and the minorities, deserves the full support, he said yesterday. Akbaruddin, however, said it should be clear to the armed opposition that there would be no tolerance for those who continue violence. Any violence needs a robust response. The irreconcilable guns need to be silenced, he said. He said India…
Sachin Pilot accuses Rajasthan government; says Congress gave power to panchayats, BJP centralised it
Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot today accused the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of centralising powers, saying that it has rapidly authorised Jaipur for taking all the decisions. The BJPs policy has left sarpanch, pradhan and MLAs and ministers helpless due to centralisation of powers. Democracy is strength of this country and it is in danger, as the government is busy in political gains, instead serving the people who voted them to power, Pilot said at an event here on National Panchayati Raj Day. The state Congress chief said it was former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhis aim to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for inclusive growth of rural areas. Congress created history by strengthening PRIs, whereas BJP is centralising powers. Jaipur has become the power centre, Pilot said. The former Union minister stressed that in order to ensure continuous development of rural areas, state governments should not weaken PRIs. Governments and political parties must be diligent to empower the panchayats and give new dimensions to the past achievements, he added.
BJP assumed power at Centre due to PM Narendra Modi’s ability to pick ‘committed’ workers, says Anandiben Patel
Crediting her success in politics largely to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel has said the BJP gained power at the Centre due to Modis ability to select committed party workers. Patel had replaced Modi as the Gujarat Chief Minister after the latter became the prime minister in May 2014. She stepped down as Gujarat Chief Minister in August 2016. Patel remembered Modi during the launch of her biography Karma Yatri, written by Ameya Latkar, here last night in the presence of BJP chief Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, among others. When I was a teacher before joining politics (in 1980s), After reading that news, Modi came to my house and asked me to join politics. That was the first time I met him. This is an example how he used to find party workers, 76-year-old Patel recalled. He was an expert in picking up right party worker. He used to select those who are committed. He used to select those who never gave up till the assigned work is over. Thanks to this, BJP was able to form its government at the Centre, quipped Patel. Patel said she had learned almost everything from…
Delhi HC seeks response of Essar promoters on plea against their acquittal in case arising out of 2G scam
The Delhi High Court today sought the response of Essar Group promoters Ravi Kant Ruia and Anshuman Ruia on a CBI plea challenging their acquittal in a case arising out of the probe in the 2G scam case. Justice S P Garg issued notice to the Ruias and six others and sought their replies by May 25 to the CBIs appeal against the trial court decision of December 21, 2017. Besides Ruias, the CBI has also appealed against the acquittal of promoters of Loop Telecom Ltd I P Khaitan and Kiran Khaitan, Essar Group Director (Strategy and Planning) Vikash Saraf and three telecom firms – Loop Telecom, Loop Mobile India and Essar Tele Holding. The probe agency has said in its appeal that the special judge failed to appreciate the evidence and the law in proper perspective and the evidence on record clearly establishes the offence committed by the accused. On December 21, last year, a special court had acquitted Essar Group promoters, Loop Telecom Promoters and others in a case arising out of the 2G scam probe. The court had charged them with the offence under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) read with section 420 (cheating) of IPC, substantial…
Severe weather warning: IMD says, parts of South, NE India to witness rains, thunderstorm
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a weather warning and predicted heavy rains at isolated places over Kerala tomorrow. Thunderstorm accompanied with squall is very likely at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Kerala and Lakshadweep, it said. Isolated places over sub Squally weather with wind speed occasionally reaching 40 Fishermen are advised not to venture into these areas, the IMD said. Thunderstorm accompanied with squall is very likely at isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya Odisha, north interior Karnataka on Sunday.
BJP government installs saffron statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar in Budaun, Uttar Pradesh
The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on Monday installed a statue of Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar in a Budaun village painted saffron, unlike the usual blue. The statue of the architect of the Indian Constitution in Dugraiyya village, which was vandalised some time back, was replaced with this new one. The new statue from Agra was unveiled in the presence of district police officers. In the past, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan which houses the office of the Chief Minister was painted saffron and later even the Haj Committee office. Saffron is the colour representing the Bharatiya Janata Party. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who himself wears saffron robes, defends the colour fetish and finds nothing wrong with it. Saffron colour represents purity. can someone deny the existence of the sun which is also saffron. people questioning all these are narrow-minded, he has said many times in the past.
This city has emerged as the top destination for office expansion; it’s neither Delhi nor Mumbai
Multinational companies hold a positive view towards expanding their Asia Pacific office portfolio over the next two years and India remains one of the most preferred markets, says a survey. In India, Bangalore has emerged as the most preferred city for office expansion, according to a survey by real estate consulting firm, CBRE South Asia. In India, multinationals are focusing on expanding in Bangalore and smaller cities across the country, but have limited growth plans in the Delhi NCR and Mumbai, CBRE said in its CBRE Asia Pacific Occupier Survey 2018. CBRE India head (GWS and asset services), Rajesh Pandit, said with each year, the country further establishes itself as one of the worlds most attractive markets for expanding occupiers. The strategies of multinationals to occupy more office space in Bangalore and emerging cities are testament to this fact, he added. The survey said occupiers are also taking greater advantage of wider workplace options to drive business performance and attract talent, but will continue to rely on landlord partnerships. Irrespective of whether occupiers are increasing or reducing space requirements, across Asia Pacific they are poised to commit more flexible corporate real estate solutions to align with company goals, according to…
Manohar Parrikar responding well to treatment in US, says CMO
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is responding well to treatment in the United States, the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) said in a statement here today. Parrikar is suffering from a pancreatic ailment and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in the US. Further treatment on the chief minister has begun and he is responding well. The next review will be done in two weeks, Rupesh Kamat, personal secretary to Parrikar, said in the statement. Parrikar was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai on February 15 after being diagnosed with mild pancreatitis. He was discharged after a few days and returned to Goa to present the budget on February 21. After spending a couple of days at home, he was admitted to Goa Medical College and Hospital near here. Later, he was again admitted to Lilavati Hospital on March 5, from where he was taken to the US.
What if your mobile gets ‘cloned’? This Mumbai man has lost Rs 1.4 Lakh and is helpless now!
In the times of digital economy, cellphone, or a handheld pc forms the base for every small to the large transaction which takes place between two entities. Undoubtedly, cashless transactions are hassle-free. But the rising number of data breach cases have raised the concerns of your money at risk. In what appears to be a rare case of cellphone hacking, a Mumbai resident has lost Rs 1.4 Lakh as his phone was allegedly cloned and bank details fraudulently accessed by someone, a report by Times of India said. The victim, Abhijit Das had lodged an FIR in the matter in Mumbais Versova police station. Another shocking part of the story is that the Bank had denied making the payment to the victim, saying that everything was in order at their part. As per the report, Das woke up at around 4.45 am and found a flurry of text messages relating to transactions made through his account on 26 February. The first message sent to victims cellphone at 12.45 am for regenerating the IPIN (netbanking password). Also, a one-time password (OTP) was sent to his phone number and the IPIN was regenarated. At around 1.20 am, another message was sent to…
Accused JNU teacher highly influential, say complainants
Five of the eight JNU students, who have accused a senior professor of molestation, on Wednesday said they did not report the incidents of molestation to the universitys anti-harassment committee because the panel is full of supporters of the highly influential teacher. A day after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) teacher Atul Johri, was arrested and released on bail, the five students told reporters that they were being pressured to withdraw their complaints. As the questions were being raised why the accusers did not report their complaints to the universitys Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), the students said they did not have faith in the panel whose members are all close associates of Atul Johri. He (Atul Johri) is a highly influential person in JNU. Apart from being a professor, he holds many positions at administrative level. He creates circumstances by provoking girls against each other. When a junior of ours (Life Sciences Department) submitted a written complaint against Johri, we all gathered courage and spoke up, one of the complainants said. On March 16, the police had registered only one FIR based on nine complaints. But on Tuesday, they registered eight FIRs against Johri on separate complaints of nine students, who…
Remains of Indians killed by Islamic State in Iraq to be flown home
The remains of 38 Indian construction workers captured and killed by the Islamic State group in northern Iraq were handed over to Indian authorities in Baghdad to be flown home later today. Indian Ambassador Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit said the bodies had been taken to Baghdad International Airport and would be flown back on a military flight, arriving in India tomorrow. Indias Minister of State for External Affairs, Vijay Kumar Singh, saluted the remains at the airport as workers loaded the caskets on the aircraft. Singh condemned terrorism and expressed his governments stance in fighting it. We are against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, he told reporters, describing IS as very cruel terrorist organization and our people have fallen to their bullets. IS abducted and killed the workers shortly after seizing the northern city of Mosul in the summer of 2014. Iraqi authorities discovered the remains in a mass grave last year after retaking Mosul, and positively identified the bodies last month. The militants initially abducted 40 workers. One managed to escape, while the presumed remains of another have yet to be positively identified. Authorities are awaiting DNA samples from a first-degree relative. The workers, most from northern India,…
Good news! Indian job market likely to witness higher recruitment, better compensation this year, says report
The Indian job market is likely to witness higher recruitment and better compensation this year, as around 60 per cent companies said that they plan to hire in significant numbers this year, says a survey. According to Wisdomjobs.coms Hiring Pattern and Compensation Analysis in 2018, recruitment sentiments are positive for this year as the industry has managed to ride out the impacts of demonetisation, the revision in H1B visa regulations and the implementations of GST. Nearly 54 per cent of the companies surveyed said that compensation is likely to stay the same while 39 per cent said compensation is likely to grow this year. Less than 5 per cent said that it will see a decline, the report noted. Nearly 60 per cent said that compensation would rise at the junior and middle levels, the report noted. Around 60 per cent of the companies surveyed said they plan to hire in significant numbers this year, and nearly 30 per cent companies said they will be recruiting with a specific intention of countering the threat from startups in their industry. Millennial hiring is expected to proceed aggressively with the creation of a multitude of openings for new age technologies in the…
Meerut fire: Massive fire breaks out in slums in Lisari area, 10 fire tenders at spot
A massive fire broke out in the slums located in the Lisari area of Meerut in the wee hours on Thursday. According to news agency ANI, more than 10 fire tenders were rushed to the site and have been pressed into service to douse the flames. Several jhuggis are reported to have been gutted down in the fire. No causalities have been reported so far. Reports said that efforts are still underway to bring flames under control. Several top administration officials have reached the site. The reason behind the fire is not known. Officials said that as of now their priority is to douse the flames and make arrangements for people affected due to the fire. #Visuals: Fire breaks out in slums in Meeruts Lisari area; more than 10 fire tenders present at the spot pic.twitter.com\/Enqn4Yv4GE At that time, at least 12 fire tenders had to be pressed into service to douse the flames. According to officials, preliminary investigation showed that the fire broke out follwing a spark from a matchbox. More details awaited
Rajya Sabha polls surprise: BJP fields 11 candidates for 10 seats; here’s the ‘Chankya Niti’ behind move
Rajya Sabha elections 2018: Owing to its mammoth majority in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to win at least eight Rajya Sabha seats out of 10 in the polls scheduled for March 23. However, the party on Monday made a move, which left entire opposition surprised. The saffron party fielded three more candidates. The party has fielded Vidya Sagar Sonkar, Salil Vishnoi, and Ghaziabad-based businessman Anil Agarwal. While Sonkar is a former BJP MP, Vishnoi is a former three-time MLA from Kanpurs Aryanagar constituency. Agarwal, a businessman who runs educational intitutions, is also said to be a BJP associate. In Uttar Pradesh, at least 37 votes are required to get an MP elected to Rajya Sabha. BJP, along with his allies, has 324 MLA votes. As it is deemed confirmed, the party will require 306 MLAs. This means that BJP+ will have 18 spare votes. The SP, which has 47 MLAs, has nominated on MP to Rajya Sabha. i.e Jaya Bachchan. The party will have 10 spare MLA votes, which it has already announced to poll in favour of Mayawatis BSP. The BSP has 19 MLAs and the Congress, another ally, has nine MLAs. Also, Lalu…
Over Rs 1 crore for tea, snacks? Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s office spent this whopping amount – What RTI revealed
AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is again in the news, that too for the wrong reason. This time, the focus is on the expenses. As per a report in Times in India, an RTI reply has revealed that the Delhi CMs office spent more than Rs 1 Crore on tea and snacks during his three-year tenure. In exact figures, the expense of tea and snacks from Kejriwals office is Rs 1.03 Crore (Rs 1,03,04,162). The RTI reply also revealed that the expense of refreshments in 2016-2017 was double its amount in 2015-2016. While the expenditure on tea and snacks in the financial year 2015-16 were calculated to be Rs 23.12 lakh, the amount stood at Rs 46.54 lakh in the financial year 2016-17. An amount of Rs 33.36 lakh was spent on tea and snacks at the Delhi CMs office in 2017-2018. According to an RTI query in 2016, Arvind Kejriwals office had a bill of Rs 22,42,320 at his secretariat office and Rs 24,86,921 at his residence camp office, that is a sum of Rs 47.29 lakh for tea and snacks. The break up of the expenses mentioned that the money was spent in the Delhi CM…
Chhatrapati Shivaji statue: Finally, Maharashtra government hands over memorial building contract to L&T for Rs 2500 crore
Chhatrapati Shivajis memorial off the Arabian sea got a boost as Maharashtra government finally awarded the contract to build the much-delayed memorial to engineering major Larsen Toubro (LT). LT has bagged the contract of 210-metre-high statue of the Maratha warrior king Shivaji for Rs 2,500 crore on Thursday. The state had received three bids: from Reliance Infrastructure, Afcons Infrastructure and LT in the second round of bidding. The Devendra Fadnavis government gave the letter of acceptance to LT that will build the project at a cost Rs 2,500 crore on an engineering, procurement and construction model. A release from the state has said, LT had qualified on all technical and financial aspects. Though it had originally quoted Rs 3,826 crore in the first round of bidding, after a lot of negotiations, the project was awarded to LT at Rs 2,500 crore plus GST. In the first bidding round that took place around two years ago, LT – the city-based engineering major – had quoted Rs 3,826 crore for the project, which was 1,326 crore more than the cost estimated by the government and therefore was rejected that time. The project to build the statue as the worlds tallest monument will…
24 labourers injured in LPG cylinder blast in Ludhiana, gas leak suspected
A gas cylinder explosion reported from Punjabs Ludhiana earlier today has left 24 people, five of whom are said to be critical. The blast ripped through the labour colony located in the Giaspura area of Ludhiana in the wee early hours of Thursday. Amarjit Singh Bains, the Assistant Commissioner of Police Dharmpal and SDM (East) said that the cylinder explosion took place in a house belonging to a man identified as Ashok Kumar in Smart Colony, which is a home to migrant labourers. According to PTI, the incident took place when the cylinder in Kumars house caught fire. As Ashok, his wife and some neighbours tried to put out the flames, the cylinder exploded causing injuries to those who had gathered around the spot. The explosion also led to the collapse of a portion of the building. Bains said that the house owner Ashok, his wife along with a few other women and children were injured in the incident. He added that the injured were immediately rushed to nearby hospitals. According to a Hindustan Times report, while Ashok Kumar has been admitted to the Christian Medical College and Hospital as he suffered from severe burn injuries, the other 23 people…
Ashok Leyland sets up Rs170-crore bus plant in Andhra Pradesh
Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of the Hinduja Group, announced the beginning of construction of its bus assembly plant at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh with an initial investment of 170 crore. The company, which is the fourth-largest bus manufacturer in the world, will assemble 16 buses per day taking the total to 4,800 buses per annum in the next 12 months. The greenfield factory will be the first Ashok Leyland plant in Andhra Pradesh and is situated in Model Industrial Park, Mallavalli Village in Krishna district. The company has two manufacturing plants According to Vinod K Dasari, MD and CEO, the plant will be spread over 75 acres, and will include latest technologies to deliver the high-quality standards of the brand. The company recently won an order from the Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System for supply of 40 electric buses. The setting up of this plant will help increase the skill level of the employable workforce in the state, and will have the potential to employ over 5,000 employees, While it will have the capability to make the entire range of buses of the brand, the facility will also include an electric vehicle (EV) development centre comprising of a futuristic…
UP Bypolls: Subramaniam Swamy’s advice to BJP after party’s shocking loss in Yogi Adityanath’s Gorakhpur
UP Bypolls: A day after an experimental alliance between partners defeated the seats held by Bharatiya Janata partys two tallest leaders in the state – Yogi Adiyanath and Keshav Prasad Maurya – in their pocketborough, leaders from the saffron party have come out all guns blazing against the duo. Firebrand BJP leader Subramanian Swamy lashed out at Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, though he did not name him directly. In a veiled attack at the UP CM, Swamy said that the BJP Parliamentary committee leaders must think before giving out important positions to the minister who cant even win their own constituencies for the party. The attack comes a day after the SP-BSP alliance humiliated the saffron party in its bastion – Gorakhpur and deputy CMs constituency Phulpur. Not just Subramanian Swamy, but senior BJP leader Ramakant Yadav also took a jibe at the UP CM Yogi Adityanath while reacting to the BJPs defeat in the UP bypolls. In one of the most severe attacks on the UP CM, Yadav, as per media reports, said that a person involved in worship and devotion has been made the CM. He said, Jis parakar se puja path karne wale ko mukhyamantri…
CM Chandrababu Naidu calls on electric vehicle manufacturers to make Andhra Pradesh pollution free
In an endeavour to make Andhra Pradesh pollution free, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday called on companies producing electric vehicles to set up a base in the state. Speaking at the Hero Motor Corp. foundation stone laying ceremony, Naidu said Andhra Pradesh is number one state in terms of skill development and that all the best companies in the world are working with the state government. Electrical automobile market should be produced here. This is the cluster we are thinking and the hub we want to create. My government aims to make Andhra Pradesh totally pollution free, he said. Andhra Pradesh is number one in skill development. All the best companies in the world are working with us, he added. The Chief Minister further said that Andhra Pradesh is doing well in the agriculture sector and that his government now is planning to shift focus on industrialisation and development of service sector to generate employment and improve the economy. In the past four years, Andhra Pradesh, which is an agriculture-based economy, has registered double digit growth of 10.5 perecnt. Owing to this, we have focused on industrialisation and development of service sector to generate employment and improve the economy,…
Who is Mohammad Farooq? Mumbai’s ‘hawala kingpin’ at centre of Rs 2253-cr money laundering scam
In a major crackdown on black money and illegal money transfer, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday arrested Mohammed Farooq alias 39-year-old Mohammed Farooq was arrested by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly running a trade-based money laundering racket. The money laundering case pertains to an instance where 13 firms, including one identified as Stelkon Infratel Pvt Ltd, remitted about Rs 2,252 crore funds to overseas destinations during 2015-16 by submitting non-existent and forged import documents to the banks. It said the actual bills of entry were only for Rs. 24.64 crore. As per The Times of India, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had investigated the case of inflated remittances abroad and submitted a report to the ED in 2016 for action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED estimates the Farooq fraud scam could be over 10,000 crore. Who is Mohammad Farooq alias Farooq Shaikh? 1. He is one of the biggest hawala operators in Mumbai. 2. Mohammad Farooqs hawala empire has over 160 companies created on fictitious addresses with dummy directors like autorickshaw drivers. 3. Mohammad Farooq facilitates case transfers within India and abroad illegally for a fee. He also helps…
1st rank! Facebook page of Yogi Adityanath judged the most popular among all CMs in India
The Facebook page of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been judged the most popular among all other chief ministers in the country. In the ranking released by the social networking platform, Adityanaths page beat those of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani to emerge as the most popular. We recently released the data of top-ranked Facebook pages of government bodies, ministries and political parties in India. The data looks at the popularity of these accounts during the period of January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, and is based on the interactions on the platform like shares and comments, a communication sent to the Uttar Pradesh government by Facebook read. You will be glad to know that Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanaths Facebook page is at first position in the Indian Chief Minister category, it added.