News Highlights: Petrol and diesel prices cut by Rs 2 per litre nationwide

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Supreme Court rejects AAP leader Manish Sisodia's curative petition challenging the top court's decision rejecting his bail plea in liquor policy irregularities

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets, "I pray for a quick recovery and the best health for Mamata Didi."

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee left from IPGME&R - SSKM Hospital in Kolkata after receiving treatment for her injuries.

Trinamool Congress earlier said Mamata Banerjee sustained "a major injury"

On 13-14 March Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai Customs, seized over 3.70 Kg Gold valued at Rs 1.97 Cr across 9 different cases. Gold was found concealed in clothes worn, outer side of Check-in luggage, and on the body of pax: Mumbai Customs

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee left from IPGME&R - SSKM Hospital in Kolkata after receiving treatment for her injuries.

Trinamool Congress earlier said Mamata Banerjee sustained "a major injury"

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee shifted to the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences at the IPGME&R - SSKM Hospital Centre in Kolkata for treatment.

Trinamool Congress earlier said Mamata Banerjee sustained "a major injury"

Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have informed that they have revised Petrol and Diesel Prices across the country. New prices would be effective from 15th March 2024, 06:00 AM.

Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma says, "From 6 am of 15th March, VAT on petrol and diesel will be reduced." The VAT on petrol and diesel will be slashed by 2%.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal joined US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, along with the ministers from the other IPEF partners, in their first Ministerial meeting this year.

During the virtual ministerial meeting on March 14 on Pillars II-IV, IPEF partners welcomed the significant progress made since the substantial conclusion of the negotiations for the proposed IPEF Clean Economy Agreement (Pillar III), the IPEF Fair Economy Agreement (Pillar IV), and Agreement on IPEF in November 2023.

Additionally, IPEF partners welcomed the entry into force of the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement from 24 February 2024.

Addressing the Ministerial gathering, Goyal called for an expeditious implementation of all the action-oriented collaborative elements under various IPEF Pillars

Priyank Kharge, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and ITBT met with Chris Hodges, US Consul General, to discuss partnerships between the two countries involving academia, industries, and various stakeholders to build a globally-strong AI ecosystem in the State.

The high-level meeting focussed on the ways Karnataka and the US could work together to foster AI innovation in the State. “We will explore everything from AI-related patents, concept papers and get universities involved. We will create a strong common platform and leverage companies that are already here to build an AI-based ecosystem,” said the Minister.

They also discussed the importance to enhance the ease of doing business in the State, gave inputs on the GCC Policy, the importance of the AI-related patents, the enabling role of US based Universities and forums in promoting new technological trends.

Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov on interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the 'World Youth Festival In Russia says, "President Vladimir Putin met with Indian students, probably some of you and also emphasized the high profile of Bharat, as a founding nation of BRICS."

NPCI grants approval to Paytm to participate in UPI as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP)

YES Bank to act as merchant acquiring bank for existing, new UPI merchants for Paytm: NPCI

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the following appointments:

Deepak Narain, presently in the IAS cadre, as Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

Nidhi Chhibber, Chairperson, Central Board of Secondary Education as Advisor, NITI Aayog in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary by temporarily upgrading the post and extending the central deputation tenure of the officer for a period of one year beyond 24.03.2024 or until further orders whichever is earlier.

AP Das Joshi, presently in the IAS cadre, as Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

Rahul Singh, Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions as Chairperson, Central Board of Secondary Education in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary by temporarily upgrading the post.

Rajeev Kumar Mital, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Department of Atomic Energy as Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.

Gyanesh Bharti, presently in the IAS cadre, as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development by temporarily upgrading a vacant post of Joint Secretary in the Ministry.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri during the inauguration of two corridors of the Delhi Metro Phase - IV at at JLN Stadium in Delhi, said, "Today, the country has an operational metro network spanning 945 km, with an additional 919 km of metro lines currently under construction. Every day, approximately 65 to 70 lakh people utilise the metro facilities. Now, under the construction of Phase 4 by DMRC, two new metro corridors are being inaugurated. One corridor will stretch from Lajpat Nagar to Saket G block, while the other will connect Inderlok to Indraprastha."

'INDI Alliance's' ideology is corruption, fuelling anti-national agenda; I stand for rooting out corruption, appeasement: PM Modi

"Today, 1 lakh beneficiaries have received money transfer in their bank accounts under the PM SVANidhi scheme. Moreover, foundation stone for two additional corridors of Delhi Metro Phase 4 - from Lajpat Nagar to Saket G Block, and from Indraprastha to Inderlok has been laid today," says PM Modi.

PM Modi while addressing the beneficiaries of PM SVANidhi scheme at JLN Stadium in Delhi, said, "Today's PM SVANidhi event is dedicated to those who live around us, and without whom our daily lives cannot be imagined. During Covid time, everyone saw the strength of street vendors."

President of India is going to confer Bharat Ratna to all 5, on 30th March, at 11 AM.

Karpoori Thakur, Chaudhari Charan Singh, PV Narsimha Rao, MS Swaminathan and LK Advani.

For the first 4, relatives will receive the award.

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on March 14 signed a $23 million loan agreement to enhance access to quality fintech education, research, and innovation at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT-City).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.

He will address beneficiaries of PM SVANidhi scheme shortly. He will also distribute loans under the scheme to 1 lakh street vendors (SVs), including 5,000 SVs from Delhi on this occasion. The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of two additional corridors of Delhi Metro’s Phase 4 during the programme.

Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav on One Nation One Election, said, "PM Modi has been saying that elections should be conducted simultaneously in the country as this creates many opportunities for development. Development gets interrupted if elections happen in different states (separately) throughout the year."

Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary after watching the movie ‘Article 370’ in Patna said, "The abrogation of Article 370 was every Indian’s dream, and this dream was also seen by Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee back in the 1950s. The people of India gave us the mandate and we were able to abrogate it from Jammu and Kashmir under the leadership of PM Modi. The makers have done a great job in showing the unsung story behind this historic event.”

Author and Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murty at a gathering of the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) in Delhi, said, "Today's teenage children pose challenges due to their increased exposure. The dynamics within households have shifted. However, there exist numerous approaches to handling teenage children. No singular golden mantra applies universally, as each child is unique and requires tailored parenting."

Former PM HD Deve Gowda's son-in-law CN Manjunath after joining BJP, said, "I never imagined or aspired to enter politics. A lot of people started telling me, not just from our state but other states as well, that I am not only a very good cardiologist but also a great administrator. They told me that I have brought in a lot of reforms.”

The Committee will consist of three core members:
i. Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals.
ii. Chairman, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
iii. Senior Economic Adviser, Department of Pharmaceuticals
The Committee will have two Special Invitees from the Industry:
iv. Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance
v. Chief Executive Officer, Indian Drugs Manufacturer's Association. The Committee will be free to invite anyone for seeking technical inputs or placing its views before the Committee.
The Terms of Reference of the Committee shall be as follows:
a. Institutional Reforms within the NPPA
b. How to balance price and availability of essential medicines, while providing
incentives to the industry to sustain growth and exports.
c. How to design a price moderation framework for medical devices, while
providing incentives to the industry to sustain growth and minimize imports.
d. How to design a price moderation framework for emerging and precision
therapies to facilitate their timely reach to the needy patients.
e. Draft a new Drugs and Medical Devices (Control) Order to achieve the above
objectives.
The Committee will submit its report in three months.

Preneet Kaur, wife former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, after joining BJP, said, "He brought women empowerment at the front. PM is the best person, under whose leadership and with his policies, the nation can develop."

People are being misled over CAA; it won't take away citizenship of anyone living in India: Rajnath Singh in Assam

MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association) president Amol Kale and Apex Council has decided to double the Ranji Trophy prize money. The MCA will pay additional sum of five crore of rupees to the winning Mumbai Ranji Trophy team. It has been a great year for the MCA as the association has won 7 titles and we have made it knock out stage in all age groups in BCCI tournaments: Ajinkya Naik, Secretary, MCA

TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on CAA implementation, said, "Our stand is very clear. Those who have their names on the voters' list, have voted in elections, made government, cast votes to make MPs, MLAs, etc., and who have Aadhaar card and other related documents are all citizens."

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh at a press conference in Delhi, said, "In Delhi, the AAP sweeps in Assembly elections but comes third in Lok Sabha polls. They (AAP) did not win any seats in (Lok Sabha polls) 2019. We are often asked how we won in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana. These people (referring to the BJP) very cleverly do this act (alleged EVM hacking) in some identified constituencies because if the BJP wins in Tamil Nadu, their act will be exposed."

BJP leader RP Singh on CAA implementation in the country, says, "It shows his (Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal) thinking against Hindus and Sikhs. When the country was divided, there were 20 lakh Sikhs there in Pakistan and now only 6,934 Sikhs are left there. Don’t they have any pity for them?”

Maharashtra Minister Shambhuraj Desai on CAA, he says, "If Uddhav Thackeray wants to support CAA, then do it. If not, then don't do it. Uddhav Thackeray should clarify his role."

Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has operationalized 126 MW wind power capacity in Gujarat. This marks the completion of the 300 MW of project, with 174 MW being operationalized earlier.

The 300 MW wind project will produce ~1,091 million electricity units, leading to an avoidance of approximately 0.8 million tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's statement on CAA, says, "CAA was part of BJP's manifesto. Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, and now it is implemented. We all know that India was divided based on religion. Arvind Kejriwal wants to do the politics of a particular religion."

Union Minister Nityanand Rai says, "NDA-BJP has the agenda but the opposition does not have any. For us, development is the agenda, due to the efforts of PM Modi 25 crore people have been elevated from poverty. There is no confusion within NDA concerning seat sharing."

Government constitutes a committee to review design and implementation of Ayushman Bharat. Committee to be chaired by Dr VK Paul. The Committee to submit report within 45 days.

Here is the list of points that the committee will be reviewing:

- Roles and responsibilities of Centre and State in terms of scheme of policy, design, progress of the scheme
- Modes of implementation
- Beneficiary base including expansion, convergence
- Extending services and benefits under the scheme
- Scheme funding and financial sustainability
- Suggest measures for prevention of fraud, abuse
- Suggest measures for further strengthening of implementation of the scheme
- Committee to submit report within 45 days

Pioneering food safety in jails, FSSAI certifies nearly 100 prisons as Eat Right Campuses. More than 2,900 workplaces throughout the country have now been acknowledged as Eat Right Campuses: Government of India

BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad says, "CAA is all about giving citizenships to those who are persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Afghanistan & Bangladesh. We shouldn't forget that these three nations are Islamic Republics. Those who left their countries and are here in India to save their life, it's our culture and duty to protect them. People like Mamata Banerjee provide shelter to Rohingyas and want refugee status for them and not for those who have been here for years. This isn't good, it's a vote bank politics."

There won't be a single kutcha house in Assam if NDA returns to power: Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh at workers meet of NDA allies

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Congress MP Anto Antony's remark on Pulwama attack, says, "Before the 2019 elections, the same senior levels of jokers in Congress, opposition including their newly found friend Arvind Kejriwal said the same thing, mocked the death of soldiers and when Indian Airforce struck the Balakot, the same gang of characters mocked the India Airforce. My request is to ignore what Congress people say as today they have no idea about the future of our nation and the future of our youth, all they want to do is say outrageous things to get attention. Anto Antony is not singular, he represents the Congress ideology of mocking everything good about the nation. I certainly don't think that it is useful for anybody to get bothered about Rahul Gandhi and Anto Anthony or anyone whom I refer to very seriously, are totally jokers and out of the sink as they don't know what the nation wants."

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, after the meeting of selection committee to pick the Election Commissioner, says, "They (govt) have the majority (in the committee who appoints election commissioner). Earlier, they had given me 212 names, but 10 minutes before the appointment they again gave me just six names. I know that the CJI isn't there, govt has made such a law that the CJI doesn't interfere and the Central govt can choose a favourable name. I am not saying that it's arbitrary but the procedure that is being followed has some lacunae."

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on the CAA implementation in the country, said, "Some people (Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi) are creating confusion. They should stop doing this now. I want to tell our Muslim brothers and sisters that the Modi government (BJP) believes in ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’.”

Suspended Congress MP and wife of former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, Preneet Kaur, joins BJP. She will contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha election from Patiala on BJP ticket.

Preneet Kaur, wife of former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, says, “I am feeling happy. For the last 25 years, I have worked in Lok Sabha and Assembly for Punjab and the country. I want to thank our PM Narendra Modi, party president JP Nadda, and the entire team.”

- The ED on Thursday conducted raids at the residences of two businessmen with “close links” to arrested TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam, an official said.

- Sleuths of the probe agency also raided a marketplace owned by one of the businessmen, he said.

- Police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against 18 persons accused in a case of fraudulent sale of a woman's land plot in Nagpur, officials said.

- The 63-year-old woman, resident of Navjeevan Colony in Gajanan Nagar, filed a complaint on November 6, 2023, after she found that her 3,000 square feet plot in Mouza Nara area had been fraudulently sold to one Imam Khan Abdul Rahim Khan for Rs 5 lakh using fake documents, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Rahul Madne said.

- Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar on Thursday said that although following a split his party initially used the name and photos of his uncle Sharad Pawar, after the latter's objection, it started using state's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan's name and pictures.

- His made the statement after the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday sought a response of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar on a plea filed by the Sharad Pawar faction, alleging misuse of his name and pictures for political gains.

- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a roadshow in Hyderabad on Friday and address BJP rallies in Telangana on March 16 and March 18 ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

- Modi's roadshow would be held for an hour from Mirjaguda to Malkajgiri here Friday evening, Telangana BJP sources said on Thursday, as per PTI

- " Hydrogen today has big challenges in terms of how we store what we produce. We are focusing on blending ethanol with crude oil. The international solar alliance is something which PM formed and many nations have joined it."

- "Emphasis on renewable energy is very high for this government."

- "It can sort of indicate the mood of the market. But stock market does its job, I do my job."

- "Over 80.36 lakh people in Assam alone have been uplifted from poverty, as per data from NITI Aayog."

- "The biggest beneficiary of GST has been the north eastern states."

- "Until 2014 only 10,000 kms of national highways were constructed in the North East that is over 7 decades, whereas in the last 10 years itself, 6,000 kms have been completed in the North East only."

- "So 10,000 kms took 67 years, 6000 kms took just 10 years."

= "North East used to suffer from delayed projects, but under the current government we lay foundation stones and inaugurate projects on time."

- "Several projects that waited for decades have been completed -- such as the Dhola–Sadiya Bridge"

- "Project completions well within time is the hallmark of PM Modi's governance"

- Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced a 4-per cent increase in dearness allowance and dearness relief for state government employees and pensioners.

- With the latest hike, the DA and DR rose to 50 per cent from 46 per cent. The enhanced amount will be paid from January 1, 2024, retrospectively, a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office said.

- "To become a developed country, we need North East to become our growth engine."

- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address beneficiaries of the PM SVANidhi scheme at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday, his office said.

- He will also distribute loans under the scheme to 1 lakh street vendors (SVs), including 5,000 SVs from Delhi on this occasion, a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office said.

- The Supreme Court on Thursday sought response of the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on a plea of the Sharad Pawar group alleging misuse of his name and pictures for political gains.

- A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan asked the Ajit Pawar faction to file its response by Saturday to Sharad Pawar's plea and fixed it for further hearing on March 19.

- The social media accounts of the concerned OTT platforms had a cumulative followership of over 32 lakh users.

- One of the OTT apps amassed more than 1 crore downloads, while two others had over 50 lakh downloads on the Google Play Store

- Ministry of I&B blocks 18 OTT platforms for obscene and vulgar content after multiple warnings; 19 websites, 10 apps, 57 social media handles of OTT platforms blocked nationwide.

- India’s February WPI inflation at 0.20% versus 0.27% in January

- India’s February WPI inflation of 0.20% lowest in 4 months

- On water crisis issue, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, "As far as Bengaluru is concerned, there is no water crisis. We have made alternative arrangements."

- "BJP is saying that we are releasing water to Tamil Nadu. This is absolutely false. I appeal to the PM and BJP MPs that we get permission for the Mekadattu dam," he added.

- GoI has approved transfer of Air India building, Mumbai of AI Assets Holding Company Ltd to Government of Maharashtra (GoM) at consideration of Rs.1601 cr.

- GoM has agreed to waive dues of Rs. 298.42 cr, which would have been otherwise payable by AIAHL to GoM for this transaction

- On security arrangements for the 'Kisan Mahapanchayat', Deputy Commissioner of Police, Devesh Kumar Mahla said, "They (farmers) had started coming (to Delhi) from yesterday. We provided them buses for orderly movement & assistance..."

- Farmers in large numbers gathered at the Ramlila Ground here on Thursday to take part in a "Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat" that has been convened to protest against the BJP-led Centre's policies regarding the farming sector.

- The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer organisations that spearheaded a protest at Delhi's borders in 2020-21 against three agriculture laws that have since been repealed, has said a resolution will be passed at the "Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat" to "intensify the fight" against the Centre's policies.

- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address beneficiaries of the PM SVANidhi scheme at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday, his office said.

- He will also distribute loans under the scheme to 1 lakh street vendors (SVs), including 5,000 SVs from Delhi on this occasion, a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office said.

- The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday raided over a dozen locations in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra as part of an ongoing money money laundering investigation against former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapati and his family members, official sources said.

- A total of 14 premises in Lucknow and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai in Maharashtra are being covered.

- Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal moves Sessions Court challenging summons issued to him by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on ED complaints for not complying with the summons issued by the central probe agency in the Delhi liquor policy money laundering case.

- Due to a "Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat" convened by farmers at the Ramlila Maidan here on Thursday, the Delhi Police has beefed up security and deployed heavy force for checking vehicles, which might lead to traffic snarls in the central parts of the city, officials said.

- Police have also issued a traffic advisory for commuters to avoid the roads leading to central Delhi. The number of paramilitary personnel deployed at Delhi's borders has also been increased as the farmers have been asked not to come to the capital with their tractor-trolleys, the officials said.

- A 27-year-old Indian student died after his watercraft collided with another in the US state of Florida, according to media reports.

- Venkataramana Pittala from Telangana was driving a rented Yamaha personal watercraft (PWC) that collided with another PWC operated by a 14-year-old boy from the South Florida mainland on Saturday, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

- Pittala was a graduate student at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis set to graduate in May, according to a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds to send his mortal remains back to his family in Telangana.

- Two children and a married couple died due to suffocation after a massive fire broke out in a residential building in the Shastri Nagar area of Delhi's Shahdara in the early hours of Thursday, police said.

- The victims have been identified as Manoj (30), his wife Suman (28) and two girls aged five and three years, they said.

- Former President Pratibha Patil, who is 89 years old, has been admitted to a hospital in Maharashtra's Pune city for the treatment of fever and chest infection and her condition is stable, officials of the medical facility said on Thursday.

- "Former President Pratibha Patil was admitted to the hospital last night. She is having fever along with some infection in the chest. Her health condition is stable. She is under treatment and is being monitored closely," a senior official from the hospital said.

- Nine people, including two children, were rescued after a massive fire broke out in a residential building in the Shahstri Nagar area of Shahdara here in the early hours of Thursday, police said.

- "We received a call at around 5:20 am about a major fire at Shastri Nagar, near Geeta Colony. We informed the Delhi Fire Services immediately. A police team, four fire tenders, ambulances and PCR vans were rushed to the spot," a senior police officer said.

- The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday fixed March 20 as the next date for hearing a plea challenging maintainability of the suit seeking "removal" of Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura which it claims has been built on 13.37-acre land of Katra Keshav Deo temple.

- US lawmakers on Wednesday cited the bold move by India to ban TikTok four years ago as they voted in support of legislation about the Chinese app.

- In a major bipartisan move, the House of Representatives passed by 352 to 65 votes the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act co-authored by Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat, and Congressman Mike Gallaghe from the Republican party.

- ED is conducting raids at multiple locations in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali since early morning in connection with a land-grabbing case against arrested expelled TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan

- The Maharashtra government on Wednesday gave the Sandeep Shinde committee, set up last year to scrutinise Kunbi records of the Maratha community, an extension till April 30.

- The committee was set up on September 7, 2023.

- In response to quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand that Marathas be given Kunbi caste certificates (so that they can avail of OBC quota), the government had said those Marathas who can produce old records where they or their ancestors are identified as Kunbi-Maratha shall be issued such certificates.

- Days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule, the Delhi government effected a major bureaucratic reshuffle by issuing transfer and posting orders for several senior IAS officers.

- The appointments were approved by the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA) headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a senior government officer said, as per PTI.

- Prashant Goyal, a 1993-batch AGMUT cadre officer, has been appointed Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner Transport, thus relieving Niharika Rai, who was handling the additional charge of the department, according to an order issued by the Services Department.

- Navin Kumar Choudhary, 1994-batch IAS officer, has been given charge of three government departments. He has been appointed as Principal Secretary (Irrigation and Flood Control) and will also hold two additional charges, including that of Principal Secretary (General Administration).

- Mitali Namchoom, a 2011-batch officer, will assume the charge of Director (Women and Child Development). She is replacing 2010-batch officer Krishan Kumar.

- Krishan Kumar has been posted as Principal Secretary (PWD). Pankaj Kumar was holding the charge of Principal Secretary (PWD) along with two additional charges. He will hold the other charges, including that of Deputy Commissioner (Headquarters).

- A massive fire broke out in a house in the Shahdara area. Fire brigade and police are present at the spot. Efforts to douse the fire are underway.

- A local resident Shankar Lal said, "The cars caught fire in the circuit room in the underground parking... There were some children and adults there... They are feared dead... Only the hospital can clear the details..."

- The three Delhi borders -- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur -- have been witnessing a heavy deployment of paramilitary personnel to stop the ongoing protest of the farmers demanding to march to Delhi.

- Hundreds of farmers are still sitting at Punjab-Haryana borders for the past one month.

- Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) M Harsha Vardhan told PTI that farmers are allowed to hold the 'mahapanchayat' with the gathering to not significantly exceed 5,000.

- He said the farmers have given them the undertaking where they were asked to not come with tractors, without any weapon and also promised that they will not hold any march in Delhi.

- Another police officer said the farmers have also been asked to vacate the ground soon after culmination of their programme after 2.30 pm.

- The umbrella body of farmers' organisations, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which had spearheaded the 2020-21 farmers' protest at Delhi borders against the three central agri laws, has said they will hold a 'Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat' at the Ramlila Maidan where a resolution will be passed to "intensify the fight" against the policies of the government.

- The SKM in a statement issued on Tuesday said that the Delhi Police have given them the NOC for conducting the mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan on March 14 and arranging parking space and other basic amenities like water, toilets and ambulance with the support of the municipal administration of Delhi.

- The advisory said the traffic may be diverted on Delhi Gate, Mir Dard Chowk, Ajmeri Gate Chowk, Guru Nanak Chowk, Kamla Market, Paharganj Chowk, Jhandewalan round about, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh flyover from Barakhambha Road to Guru Nanak Chowk, Barakhamba Road, Janpath Road, KG Marg crossing and round about of GPO (Gol Post Office) from 6 am on Thursday.

- The Delhi traffic police also advised the people going towards ISBT, railway station or airport to carefully plan their travel with sufficient time at hand.

- The umbrella body of farmers' organisations, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which had spearheaded the 2020-21 farmers' protest at Delhi borders against the three central agri laws, has said they will hold a 'Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat' at the Ramlila Maidan where a resolution will be passed to "intensify the fight" against the policies of the government.