Punjab: Navjot Singh Sidhu skips Cabinet meeting, says he cannot be ‘taken for granted’

Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday skipped the first cabinet meeting after the Lok Sabha elections amid reports of rift between him and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Sidhu said he could not be “taken for granted”

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy revokes order barring CBI inquiries in the state

The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday cancelled a government order which barred the Central Bureau of Investigation from conducting inquiries in various cases in the state. The order was issued by previous Chandrababu Naidu government.

NEET results: Over 80% of SC, ST and OBC students who qualified cleared general category cut-off

More than 80% of the qualifying candidates from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test cleared the cut-off meant for general category students as well.

Telangana: 12 Congress MLAs join ruling party TRS

In a big setback to the Congress in Telangana, 12 of its 18 MLAs on Thursday met Assembly Speaker P Srinivas Reddy and gave him a representation seeking to merge the Congress Legislature Party with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

Wipro founder Azim Premji to retire on July 30

Information technology giant Wipro Ltd announced on Thursday that its founder Azim Premji will retire from the post of executive chairman and managing director by the end of July. Chief Executive Officer Abidali Z Neemuchwala will be re-designated as the chief executive officer and managing director.

Malegaon blast case: Pragya Thakur fails to attend court again, lawyer says she is unwell

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, failed to appear before a court in Mumbai on Thursday – for the second time this week. Her lawyer told the court that she is suffering from high blood pressure and is not in a condition to travel from Bhopal to Mumbai.

RBI will issue revised circular on resolution of bad loans in three to four days: Shaktikanta Das

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank will issue a revised circular on bad loan recognition within the next few days to replace the February 12 circular that the Supreme Court had struck down

Ramdev’s Patanjali acquires forested common lands in Aravalli hills in Haryana: Business Standard

The Patanjali group and some other land dealers have allegedly acquired more than 400 acres of forested common lands in the Aravalli hills of Haryana’s Faridabad district, a report said. The transactions for large-scale forest land took place between 2014 and 2016, the report said.

Mumbai medical student’s death: HC grants Crime Branch partial custody of accused doctors for 4 days

The Bombay High Court on Thursday denied the Mumbai Police Crime Branch full custody of three doctors accused of abetting the suicide of medical student Payal Tadvi. The court has allowed the Crime Branch to question them on Thursday from 2 pm to 6 pm and then from Friday till Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm.

Kerala: Six patients under observation test negative for Nipah virus

Six patients admitted in a quarantine facility at the Government Medical College in Ernakulam, Kerala, have tested negative for the Nipah infection. The state’s Health Minister KK Shailaja on Thursday said the National Institute of Virology in Pune has cleared their samples.

Karnataka mining baron Janardhan Reddy seeks SC’s permission to visit Ballari

Former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy on Thursday moved the Supreme Court to seek permission to travel to the state’s Ballari district to visit his ailing father-in-law. A vacation bench headed by Justice Indira Banerjee will take up the matter on Friday.

Reserve Bank of India scraps charges on digital payments made through RTGS and NEFT

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday decided to scrap charges levied on digital transactions through Real-Time Gross Settlement system, or RTGS, and National Electronic Funds Transfer, NEFT, in an effort to boost the “digital funds movement”.

Modi government has kept alive expectation of change, says S Jaishankar

Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Thursday said the five years of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept alive and even strengthened the expectation of change in India. He said this was one of the biggest takeaways from the results of the Lok Sabha elections.

Kerala: Six patients under observation test negative for Nipah virus

Six patients admitted in a quarantine facility at the Government Medical College in Ernakulam, Kerala, have tested negative for the Nipah infection. The state’s Health Minister KK Shailaja on Thursday said the National Institute of Virology in Pune has cleared their samples.

Karnataka mining baron Janardhan Reddy seeks SC’s permission to visit Ballari

Former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy on Thursday moved the Supreme Court to seek permission to travel to the state’s Ballari district to visit his ailing father-in-law. A vacation bench headed by Justice Indira Banerjee will take up the matter on Friday.

RBI reduces repo rate for a third time this year, lowers GDP growth forecast to 7% for 2019-’20

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday lowered the repo rate, or the interest rate at which it lends to commercial banks, by 25 basis points to 5.75%. This is the third time this year that the central bank has cut the rate. The revision is likely to lower interest rates on new bank loans.

‘No pressure to revise clause on Hindi in draft education policy,’ says panel chief K Kasturirangan

Former Indian Space Research Organisation chief Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan on Wednesday denied that a panel he headed on drafting the National Education Policy was under any kind of pressure. “There was no pressure, and nobody even rang us to say that there was a problem,” Kasturirangan said in an interview.

Gujarat: Parents allege nurse cut off five-month-old’s thumb, seek action

A nurse at state-run Vadilal Sarabhai Hospital in Ahmedabad allegedly chopped off the thumb of a five-month-old girl. The parents of Mahenoor Mohammad Mohsin Qureshi filed a complaint of medical negligence at Ellisbridge police station after the hospital asked them to take the girl to a private facility or to the newly-opened Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel hospital

Mumbai: Air hostess alleges gangrape by colleague and his friends, one arrested

A security officer of a private airline has been arrested for allegedly raping a 25-year-old air hostess at a flat in Andheri, Mumbai, the police said on Wednesday. Swapnil Badoniya, 23, confessed to the crime, and was sent to police custody till June 10.

Government announces eight Cabinet Committees, PM Modi to head panels on growth, employment

The government on Thursday announced the constitution of eight Cabinet Committees, including two panels to address slow growth and unemployment. It is perhaps the first time that Cabinet committees on the two concerns have been set up.

Modi swearing-in: Sharad Pawar allotted seat in VVIP section, not fifth row, says President’s Office

The Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday clarified that Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar was provided a seat in the VVIP section during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. Press Secretary to the President Ashok Malik issued the clarification on Twitter after media reports suggesting that Pawar had skipped the ceremony in New Delhi on May 30 after he was allotted a seat in the fifth row.

Monsoon delayed by a week, onset over Kerala likely to be around June 8, says IMD

The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday said favourable conditions for the onset of the southwest monsoon may not reach Kerala before around June 8. A forecast on Saturday had predicted the arrival of the monsoon on June 6, and another on Tuesday had said it would get delayed till June 7.

Nipah virus: Eight districts in Karnataka and seven in Tamil Nadu put on high alert

Eight districts in Karnataka and seven districts in Tamil Nadu were put on high alert on Wednesday, a day after a new case of Nipah virus infection was confirmed in Kerala’s Ernakulam district. Some of these districts share border with Kerala.