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Ukraine war, already with up to 354,000 casualties, likely to drag
As many as 354,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the Ukraine war which is grinding towards a protracted conflict that may last well beyond 2023, according to a trove of purported U.S. intelligence documents posted online. If authentic, the documents, which look like secret U.S. assessments of the war as well as some U.S. espionage against allies, offer rare insight into Washington's view of one of Europe's deadliest conflicts since World War Two.
Sebi approves proposal for change in control of HDFC Capital Advisors as part of merger process
HDFC Ltd on Wednesday said that the market regulator Sebi has cleared a proposal for change in control of HDFC Capital Advisors Limited (HCAL). Sebi vide its letter dated April 10, 2023 to HCAL, a subsidiary of HDFC Limited and a co-investment portfolio manager, has granted its approval for the proposed change in control of HCAL, subject to certain conditions mentioned in the said letter, HDFC said in a regulatory filing.
UN Palestinian refugee agency urges West Bank workers to end strike
The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency on Wednesday called on the West Bank local staff union to end a strike, saying the stoppage was hindering access for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees to basic services. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said the West Bank Area Staff Union (ASU) had issued threats and intimidated employees who were trying to work despite the strike. The head of the union denied the accusation.
RBI approves re-appointment of Sanjay Agarwal as MD of AU Small Finance Bank
Reserve Bank of India has approved re-appointment of Sanjay Agarwal as managing director and CEO of AU Small Finance Bank for a period of three years. The re-appointment is valid with effect from April 19 till April 18, 2026, AU Small Finance Bank said in a statement. Besides, it said, the regulator has also cleared re-appointment of Uttam Tibrewal as the whole-time director for a period of three years.
For 1st time since Sep 2022, Mumbai logs over 300 COVID-19 cases, records 2 deaths in day after 7 months
Mumbai on April 12 recorded 320 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily count since September 3, 2022, taking the overall tally to 11,59,545, while two more patients succumbed to the infection in the metropolis, the local civic body said. A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) bulletin said the two new coronavirus-linked deaths pushed up the toll to 19,752. This was the first time after September 22, 2022, that the financial capital has recorded two deaths due to respiratory illness in a span of 24 hours.
Ukraine to allow Indian students to appear for key exam from India
Indian medical students, who returned home from Ukraine following the Russian invasion, will be allowed to take a key examination from India. This has been conveyed to the Indian side by Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova during her three-day visit to New Delhi. "On the issue of Indian medical students, the Deputy foreign minister mentioned that Ukraine will allow foreign medical students to take the Unified State Qualification Exam in their country of domicile," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday.
Social media rules in India 'quite strict', says Elon Musk
Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday said that the rules governing social media content in India are "quite strict" while asserting that he did not know "what exactly happened" when his microblogging site blocked content related to a controversial BBC documentary. In an interview with the BBC at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco, the billionaire tech tycoon who bought the microblogging platform last October agreed that the firm will change its newly added label for the media corporation's main account from "government funded media" to "publicly-funded".
In push for LGBTQIA + inclusion, Supreme Court building to get 9 gender-neutral toilets
-- In its efforts towards the inclusion of LGBTQIA + Community, Supreme Court is creating nine universal restrooms at different locations in the main building as well as the additional building complex.
-- The Online Appearance Portal launched earlier this year has also been made gender-neutral.
-- Senior Advocate Dr Menaka Guruswamy has been inducted as a member of Gender Sensitization and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC).
MK Stalin wants Centre to fix deadline for Governors to approve Bills
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin writes to all non-BJP ruling states to pass a resolution urging the Union Government and the President to fix a time limit for the Governors to approve the Bills passed by the respective Legislatures.
RBI to stop banks from capitalising penal charges on loans defaults
The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday proposed to prohibit capitalisation of penal charges and additional interest levied by banks on customers for loan defaults, in a bid to streamline divergent practices followed by lenders. The quantum of penal charges should be proportional to the defaults/non-compliance of material terms and conditions of loan contract up to a threshold, said its draft circular on 'Fair Lending Practice - Penal Charges in Loan Accounts'.
Gadkari pledges Rs 1,500 crore for revamping of roads in Delhi
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday inaugurated an upgraded stretch between Dhaula Kuan and IGI Airport here and pledged Rs 1,500 crore for revamping of roads in Delhi. Accompanied by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, Gadkari inaugurated the 8-km stretch revamped and beautified by the Public Works Department (PWD).
Italy sets end-April deadline for OpenAI to meet demands on ChatGPT
Italy's data protection agency on Wednesday set an end-April deadline for OpenAI to meet its demands on data protection and privacy in order for its artificial intelligence ChatGPT chatbot service to be resumed in the country. On March 31, Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy after the agency, known as Garante, temporarily restricted it and began a probe into a suspected breach of privacy rules.
India's economic growth projected to decelerate to 6% in 2023 from 6.6% in 2022: UN
India's economic growth is projected to decelerate to 6 per cent in 2023 from 6.6 per cent in 2022, according to the United Nations. The UN Trade and Development Conference (UNCTAD) in its latest Trade and Development Report Update released Wednesday expects global growth in 2023 to drop to 2.1%, compared to the 2.2% projected in September 2022, assuming the financial fallout from higher interest rates is contained to the bank runs and bailouts of the first quarter.
Prince Harry to attend his father's May 6 coronation
Buckingham Palace says Prince Harry will attend the Coronation service of his father, King Charles III, at Westminster Abbey on May 6, setting aside months of speculation about his presence. Harry's wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in California with the couple's two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the palace said Wednesday.
Sebi celebrates 35th foundation day; unveils new logo
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday unveiled a new logo on the occasion of its 35th foundation day. The logo was unveiled in the presence of former Chairmen, former and present Whole Time Members of the regulator, Sebi said in a statement. The watchdog continues to believe in and follow its rich tradition of consultation and partnership with the industry, it added.
Metro rake runs under river for first time in India, reaches Howrah from Kolkata
Kolkata Metro created history on Wednesday when its rake ran through a tunnel under a river for the first time in the country, a senior official said here. The Metro rake which had only officials and engineers on board ran under the Hooghly from Kolkata to Howrah on the other side of the river. This is a "revolutionary step"in providing a modern transport system to the people of Kolkata and its suburbs, the official said.
Three Sherpas missing in avalanche at Mt. Everest
Three Nepalese Sherpa guides went missing on Wednesday after they fell into a deep crevasse on the most dangerous section of Mt. Everest amidst an avalanche, in the season's first accident at the world's tallest peak. The incident occurred between Camp 1 and the base camp of Mt. Everest when the Sherpa guides were carrying expedition logistics, Nepal officials said.
Supreme Court says Orissa state gave undue benefits to Anil Agarwal foundation to set up Vedanta university
The SCholds the land acquisition proceedings to set up the university to be illegal. Imposes a cost of 5 lakhs on Anil Agarwal Foundation for pursuing the litigation for over a decade.
Jio slams Airtel's complaint against offers of live TV channels with broadband plan
Reliance Jio has slammed Bharti Airtel for filing a complaint with telecom regulator over live TV channels offering with JioFiber, saying the rival company's sole grouse was the reasonable tariffs of JioFiber. Jio dubbed charges made by Airtel as "deliberate malicious attempt to defame" RJIL's consumer-friendly tariffs to protect "narrow interests"
PM Modi's comments at Vande Bharat launch aimed at coming polls: Ashok Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot termed "unfortunate" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that railways had become an arena of politics under previous governments, saying his comments on Wednesday were made with an eye on the coming assembly and general elections. Gehlot said it was not fair to say the development of the national transporter happened only after 2014.
Serum Institute of India restarts manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield
Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Wednesday said the company has restarted manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield amid rising numbers of cases of the virus infection. He said the company already has six million booster doses of Covovax vaccine available and adults must take the booster shot.
IIP growth edges up to 5.6% in February
In the first 11 months of 2022-23, industrial production clocked a growth of 5.5 percent as against 12.5 percent in the corresponding period of 2021-22.
News Alert
Metro rake runs under river for first time in India, reaches Howrah from Kolkata.
News Alert
India’s core CPI inflation in March stands at 5.8% versus 6.1% in February.
India’s CPI in March at 5.66% vs 6.44% (MoM), sharply lower
India’s Food Inflation in March at 4.79% vs 5.95% (MoM).
India’s IIP growth in March is up at 5.6% from 5.2% in January
India’s IIP growth in April 2022-February 2023 was 5.5% against 12.5% in April 2021-February 2022.
India’s CPI inflation in March stands at 5.66% against 6.44% in February
- India's CPI inflation in March of 5.66% lowest in 15 months.
- The number although expected is a big respite.
Twitter now has 1,500 employees, down nearly 80% since Musk’s acquisition
Twitter owner Elon Musk said on April 12 that the social media company now has about 1,500 employees, down nearly 80 percent from about 7,500 people in October 2022, highlighting the deep cuts the tech billionaire has made to slash costs at the company since he acquired it for $44 billion last year.
After taking over the firm in October 2022, Musk has aggressively reduced the company's expenditure, including cutting down employee benefits, pushing out the top management, emptying out offices, stopping payments to vendors, suppliers and landlords, and reducing its cloud costs apart from laying off employees. Read more.
Delhi minister Gopal Rai asks depts to prepare action plans to curb summer air pollution in 7 days
Gopal Rai further said his government will focus on 16 areas like road dust, industrial pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, solid waste management.
News Alert
"Six million booster doses of Covovax vaccine for COVID-19 available. Adults need to mask up and take a booster shot," saidSII CEO Adar Poonawalla.
News Alert
Health Ministry will do a physical meeting in coming days with E-pharmacy companies and will take a final decision if they should completely shut down.
Justice Parthiba Sing of Delhi High Court recuses from hearing Alliance Digital India Foundation’s plea against CCI
Justice Parthiba Sing of Delhi High Court recuses from hearing Alliance Digital India Foundation’s plea against CCI to hold an inquiry into Google App Store policies as they have not complied with anti-trust watchdog’s October 25 order.
The case will now be heard by another judge of the Delhi High Court on April 18.
Current surge of Covid-19 cases cannot be called a wave, says health ministry
The current Covid case rise in the country is not an issue of concern, a top health ministry official said on April 12, adding the infections maycontinue to rise for the next eight to ten days.
The XBB sub-variant of the coronavirus has been isolated and an assessment of vaccine efficiency has been done. The variant is not fatal, the officials said on condition of anonymity.
Even though the cases of COVID are rising, the current surge of COVID cases cannot be called a wave, the official said.
Vande Bharat train 'big gift' for Rajasthan: CM Ashok Gehlot
Describing the launch of the Vande Bharat Express between Ajmer and Delhi Cantonment as a "big gift" for Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said the state will become an economic leader in the country if rail facilities are increased here.
Speaking at the Jaipur railway station after the state's first Vande Bharat train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually, Gehlot said there is a great need for development of railways in Rajasthan due to its geographically distinct identity.
Delhi police busts racket of fake IPL tickets
Central District Police has busted a racket that used to print fake tickets for IPL matches and apprehended five persons including three minors. More details awaited, saidDelhi Police.
Sundar Pichai responds to reports of second mass layoff at Google
Following a second round of mass layoffs at Meta, when Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was asked if Google is carrying out or planning something similar, hesaid that the company isprioritising and moving people to its most important areas. But, during the interview with Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Pichaidid not rule out another mass layoff.
"We’re very, very focused on this set of opportunities we have, and I think there’s a lot of work left," Pichai told the publication referring to the company's ongoing work with its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Bard, new Workspace features in Gmail and Google Docs, and others.
"There’s also an important inflection point with AI. Where we can, we are definitely prioritising and moving people to our most important areas, so that is ongoing work," he added.
News Alert
At the end of April, opposition parties will convene after discussions with them. President of the Congress Mallikarjun Kharge and Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar will meet with opposition parties: Sources
Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav meet Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, pledge to take opposition unity forward
- We will try to unite as many political parties as we can and move forward together," says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
- Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi also said, "This is a historic step to unite the opposition. We will develop the vision of the opposition parties and move forward; we will all stand together for the country."
- Today we had a historic meeting here and discussed many issues. We all have decided to unite all (opposition) parties and fight the upcoming elections unitedly, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge added.
Bathinda Military Station firing
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been briefed by Army Chief General Manoj Pande on the Bathinda Military Station firing incident
- Four army jawans of an artillery unit succumbed to gunshot injuries sustained during the firing incident at Bathinda Military Station today
News Alert
- Delhi's former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia brought to Rouse Avenue Court
- Rouse Avenue Court to continue to hear Manish Sisodia's bail arguments shortly.
China warns as US, Philippines stage combat drills
- China warned on April 12 that a deepening security alliance between the United States and the Philippines should not harm its security and territorial interests and interfere in long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
- In Washington, the U.S. and Philippine defense and foreign secretaries met on Tuesday to discuss the development of nine Philippine military camps, where American forces have been allowed to stay indefinitely under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Former Deputy CM Laxman Savadi quits BJP, after bieng denied ticket in Karnataka polls
- Former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi on Wednesday announced his decision to resign from primary membership of the BJP, a day after the ruling party denied him a ticket to contest in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Bomb threat received at Patna airport
- Bomb Squad team arrives at the Patna airport after a bomb threat call was received, details awaited.
Vande Bharat launch: PM Modi praises Rajasthan CM Gehlot for attending the launch
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday referred to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot as a friend and praised him for attending the launch event of the state's first Vande Bharat Express despite the ongoing political crises in his Congress party.
- "I express my special gratitude to Gehlot ji as he is going through many political crises these days but despite that, he took out the time for development work and participated in a railway programme. I welcome him," Modi said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at International Conference on Defence Finance & Economics
- I have been informed that there are studies that corruption and waste in the defence expenditure are greatly reduced by a robust system of defence finance.
- To have a fair, transparent and honest system of defence capital and revenue procurements, we must have comprehensive Blue Books, codifying the rules and procedures of procurement of defence equipment and system.
PM Modi to launch development projects in Assam
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch development projects, including an AIIMS and three medical colleges built at a cost of around Rs 14,300 crore, during a visit to Assam on Friday.
- Among other projects, Modi will lay the foundation stone of a bridge on the Brahmaputra river connecting Palashbari and Sualkuchi and also launch the beautification exercise of Rang Ghar, Sivasaga, a statement said.
Maharashtra govt sanctions Rs 21.9 crore to set up 14 agri projects in Latur
- The Maharashtra government on April 12 has sanctioned Rs 21.99 crore to set up 14 agriculture projects in Latur district, an official said.
- Under the project, warehouses, sanitation and grading units and dal mills will be set up at various places in the district, he said.
Delhi school evacuated after bomb threat
- The Indian School in Sadiq Nagar received abomb threat via email.
- As a precautionary measure, the school has been vacated. Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad informed, says Delhi police.
Local train services disrupted as overhead wire snaps in Mumbai
- Three local trains, including an air-conditioned (AC) one, were held up due to the problem, while the other trains were diverted on a slow track, a Western Railway (WR) spokesperson said.
- The suburban services, considered as the lifeline of Mumbai, were affected at around 10 am after the wire over a Churchgate-bound fast line snapped between Dahisar and Borivali stations, officials said.
