Nearly 50% of India’s ATMs may shut down by March because of new rules, says confederation

The Confederation of ATM Industry on Wednesday warned that almost 50% of automated teller machines across India could face a shutdown by March 2019 because recent regulatory rules are making their operations non-viable. The association’s spokesperson said 1,13,000 of 2,38,000 ATMs are likely to be shut down.

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NDA government making a ‘calibrated effort’ to weaken democracy, says Manmohan Singh

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday accused the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government of weakening democracy with a “careful, well-thought-out calibrated effort”. He was addressing a press conference in Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

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BCCI CEO Rahul Johri cleared of sexual harassment charges as probe finds allegations ‘fabricated’

BCCI CEO Rahul Johri was Wednesday cleared of sexual harassment allegations by the Committee of Administrators’ three-member probe panel, which dismissed the charges levelled by at least two women as ‘mischievous and fabricated.’ Johri was on forced leave for the past three weeks but can now resume office.

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Sushma Swaraj says India asked Pakistan for diplomatic access to Kulbhushan Jadhav

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said India sought diplomatic access to former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is imprisoned in Pakistan on charges of espionage, two days ago, PTI reported. Jadhav is on death row in Islamabad after Pakistan charged him with spying for Indian intelligence agencies in 2016.

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Amritsar blast: Grenade used in attack was made in Pakistan, says Amarinder Singh

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said the grenade used in the attack on a religious congregation in Amritsar on Sunday was made in Pakistan. One of the attackers has been arrested, he added.

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Jammu and Kashmir: Congress, PDP and National Conference set to form an alliance

The Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party and the National Conference have reportedly allied and will soon form the government in Jammu and Kashmir, reports said. The official announcement about the coalition is likely to be made on Thursday.

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J&K: Two candidates in South Kashmir elected sarpanch on just their votes

A candidate contesting for the post of sarpanch in the Takia Behram Shah panchayat in South Kashmir was elected by one vote – because he was the only voter – on Tuesday, when the second phase of panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held. In Kamad panchayat, only one of the two candidates voted and was elected sarpanch. Nobody else voted for either of them.

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Andaman: Seven fishermen arrested in connection with murder of American

The Andaman and Nicobar Police arrested seven fishermen in connection with the murder of an American tourist. The seven fishermen took tourist John Allen Chau to North Sentinel Island, where people of the indigenous Sentinelese tribe live. The tribals allegedly killed Chau.

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Sensex declines over 300 points, Nifty below 10,600 as IT, metal stocks drag

Losses in information technology and metal stocks led to a decline in domestic indices on Wednesday. At 3 pm, the BSE Sensex was trading 236.35 points down at 35,238.16. The National Stock Exchange Nifty was 48.95 points down at 10,607.25.

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Telangana: Trainer aircraft crashes in Ranga Reddy district, no casualties reported

A trainer aircraft crashed in the fields near Mokila village near Shankarapalli in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district on Wednesday. The 25-year-old pilot, Bhaskar Bhushan, is safe and has been hospitalised.

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Maharashtra: Over 20,000 farmers march demanding drought compensation

Over 20,000 farmers on Wednesday marched from Maharashtra’s Thane to Mumbai demanding drought compensation, an unconditional farm loan waiver and the transfer of forest rights to tribals. This comes almost eight months after nearly 35,000 farmers marched from Nashik to Mumbai demanding a complete waiver of loans.

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Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes: Doctor arrested for allegedly injecting girls with sedatives

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday arrested a private medical practitioner, Ashwani Kumar, who allegedly injected girls at the Muzaffarpur shelter home with sedatives. Central Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Abhishek Dayal confirmed that Kumar was arrested after police had recovered several types of sedatives from the shelter home.

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Nagrota Army camp attack: NIA files chargesheet against Jaish-e-Mohammad chief’s brother, 13 others

The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday filed chargesheet against the deputy chief of Jaish-e-Maulana Abdul Rouf Asghar and 13 other people in connection with the 2016 attack on the Nagrota army camp in Jammu and Kashmir. Asghar is the brother of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar.

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#MeToo: Mumbai Police file FIR against actor Alok Nath in rape case

“The Oshiwara Police has filed an FIR against Alok Nath under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code [rape],” Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Sharma said.

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Punjab sacrilege cases: Actor Akshay Kumar appears before special investigation team in Chandigarh

Actor Akshay Kumar on Wednesday appeared before the Special Investigation Team looking into cases related to sacrilege in Punjab. The actor went directly to the police headquarters at Sector-9 in Chandigarh soon after he reached the city.

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Agriculture ministry says farmers were unable to buy seeds after demonetisation: Report

The Ministry of Agriculture, in a report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, has said that millions of farmers in the country were unable to buy seeds and fertilisers for the winter crops because of demonetisation in 2016.

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Haryana: Five dead, nine injured in car accident in Hisar

A speeding car first rammed into another car on the Jindal Railway Overbridge and then ran over two people who were sleeping on the roadside. It then fell from the bridge, a drop of about about 70 feet.

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Karnataka caste killing: Mandya Police arrest six out of seven accused

The police in Karnataka’s Mandya district on Tuesday said they have arrested six of the seven accused in the murder of a man and a woman from different castes. Nandesh, a Dalit man from Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, and Swathi of the dominant Vanniyar caste, had been found dead earlier this month, with their bodies floating near the Shivanasamudra Falls.

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Telangana Rashtra Samithi MP K Vishweshwar Reddy resigns from party ahead of Assembly polls

Telangana Rashtra Samithi MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy resigned from the party on Tuesday ahead of the Assembly elections in the state next month. Reddy said he would be resigning from the Lok Sabha.

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Punjab: AAP leader Suresh Sharma shot at in Amritsar

An unidentified man shot at Aam Aadmi Party leader Suresh Sharma in Amritsar on Tuesday evening. Sharma sustained two bullet injuries on his legs while the attacker managed to escape.

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Goa: Activists, residents march to CM Manohar Parrikar’s house demanding his resignation

Over 100 protestors, including activists, residents and Congress supporters, marched to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s residence in Panaji’s Dona Paula on Tuesday evening. Police stopped the protestors 300 metres from the chief minister’s house.

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Kerala: Veteran Congress leader and Wayanad MP MI Shanavas dies at 67

Senior Congress leader from Kerala and Wayanad Lok Sabha MP MI Shanavas died in Chennai early on Wednesday. He was 67. Shanavas’s health had deteriorated due to infections after a liver transplant surgery on November 2.

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Delhi on alert as police release photo of two suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives in the city

The Delhi Police has sounded an alert and released a photograph of two suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives who had infiltrated the national Capital. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwah said they had received inputs on two Jaish-e-Mohammed suspects approaching Delhi.

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West Bengal minister Sovan Chatterjee resigns after CM Mamata Banerjee rebukes him

West Bengal minister Sovan Chatterjee resigned on Tuesday after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rebuked him for ignoring official responsibilities to focus too much on personal matters. Chatterjee, the fire services, housing and emergency minister, will also resign as mayor of Kolkata.

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