ED recovers Rs 32 lakh, $10,000 during searches at Trinamool Congress MP KD Singh’s house

The Enforcement Directorate claimed on Friday that it has seized Rs 32 lakh and $10,000 from the official residence of Trinamool Congress MP KD Singh in New Delhi, as well as from a few other locations, PTI reported. The seizures were made as part of money laundering investigations against the Rajya Sabha MP.

Single-judge bench in Supreme Court will now hear bail, transfer of cases pleas

The Supreme Court has notified the Supreme Court (Amendment) Rules, 2019, which empowers the chief justice of India to appoint single-judge benches to hear pleas for bail and transfer of cases, The Hindu reported on Friday. The new rules expand the authority of the chief justice as “master of the roster” to handpick a judge to decide these cases urgently.

Adityanath will have to leave Uttar Pradesh if NRC is implemented, says Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath will have to leave the state if the National Register of Citizens was implemented, PTI reported. Yadav termed the NRC “a medium to instill fear”.

Rahul Gandhi takes a dig at Narendra Modi, says no event can hide the country’s economic mess

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said no “jamboree” could hide the country’s economic mess, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled “Howdy, Modi!” event in the city of Houston in the United States on Sunday.

J&K: Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter seeks information on detentions on behalf of her mother

Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti has sought information on detentions in Jammu and Kashmir on behalf of her mother. In a tweet on Friday, Iltija Mufti said she wrote to the Union home secretary and his counterpart in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 but was yet to receive a response.

Kolkata: BJP marches in protest against alleged assault on Babul Supriyo at Jadavpur University

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday organised a rally in Kolkata to protest against the alleged assault on Union minister Babul Supriyo in the city’s Jadavpur University on Thursday. The minister claimed that he was heckled when he visited the university campus to address a seminar organised by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.

Delhi: BJP’s Mehrauli district president sacked for assaulting wife outside party office

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s district president in Delhi’s Mehrauli, Azad Singh, was removed from his post on Friday after a video in which he is seen slapping his wife started doing the rounds on social media.

Scroll.in show ‘Eco India’ wins international prize for video on women oyster farmers in Maharashtra

The “Eco India” sustainability magazine show produced by the video team of Scroll.in in collaboration with Germany’s public international broadcaster Deutsche Welle has won the second prize in a video competition organised by non-profit organisation Women in Seafood.

Global climate strike: Thousands of students from Kolkata to Sydney join demonstrations

Thousands of students and climate activists on Friday took to the streets of Australia and other Asia-Pacific countries for a global general strike. The protestors urged the world leaders who will arrive in New York for a United Nations Climate Action Summit next week to take urgent measures to stop an environmental catastrophe.

UN chief Antonio Guterres may raise Kashmir dispute in General Assembly session, says spokesperson

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres may raise the ongoing situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the General Assembly session next week, a spokesperson said on Thursday. This came a day after Guterres emphasised that dialogue between India and Pakistan was an “absolutely essential element for the solution of the problem”.

PM Modi calls corporate tax cuts a historic move, says it will give great stimulus to Make in India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed the measures to cut corporate tax as “historic” and listed out how the measures would help the Indian economy, including providing “a great stimulus to Make in India”. The prime minister’s remarks came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced reductions in corporate tax rates for domestic companies and new manufacturing firms in a fresh bid to boost economic growth earlier in the day.

Corporate tax cuts: Piyush Goyal says it is the largest stimulus so far, Jairam Ramesh mocks timing

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the reduction in corporate tax rate would give a “necessary fillip to the economy”, and was “probably the largest” of all stimulus measures announced by the government in recent weeks.

SC agrees to hear plea of Payal Tadvi and Rohith Vemula’s mothers, asks Centre to respond in 4 weeks

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to respond within four weeks to a petition filed by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who committed suicide because of alleged caste discrimination. They had moved court last month, seeking to end caste discrimination in universities and other higher education institutions.

Police identify decomposed body found in actor Nagarjuna’s farm

The Cyberabad Police on Friday identified the decomposed body found in a house located on agricultural land belonging to Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Agricultural labourers on Wednesday said there was a foul smell and alerted the police when they found the skeletal remains of the man.

Corporate tax rates slashed to 22% for domestic firms in bid to boost growth, Sensex surges

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced reductions in corporate tax rates for domestic companies and new manufacturing firms in a fresh bid to promote economic growth. The changes to taxation laws were made through an ordinance.

Sensex surges over 1,800 points, Nifty above 11,000 after government cuts corporate tax rates

Indian share markets on Friday surged sharply after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a reduction in corporate tax rates for domestic companies in a bid to boost economic growth. Both the BSE Sensex and National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 rose as much as 5% each within an hour.

Jammu and Kashmir’s first global investors’ summit postponed to next year

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday postponed its first summit for prospective investors to 2020. The event was scheduled to take place from October 12 to October 14 in Srinagar.

‘If Pakistan stoops low, we will respond by soaring high,’ says India’s UN envoy Syed Akbaruddin

Syed Akbaruddin, New Delhi’s permanent representative at the United Nations, said on Thursday that India will soar high if Pakistan “stoops low” by raking up the Kashmir dispute at the United Nations General Assembly session next week. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he will raise the Kashmir matter at the General Assembly session in New York City on September 27. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to address the session on the same day.

Motor Vehicles Act: Most states opposing increased fines didn’t object before new law was passed

As many states protested the hefty fines being levied for traffic violations since the introduction of the amended Motor Vehicles Act, it has emerged that none of them objected the increased penalties when a Group of Ministers discussed the matter at multiple meeting held two years ago.

UP: BJP leader Chinmayanand, accused of rape, arrested by special investigation team

Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Chinmayanand was arrested on Thursday morning in connection with allegations of sexual harassment and rape levelled by a law student of a college run by him in Uttar Pradesh. Police have reportedly taken him for a medical examination.

Tough for Imran Khan to accept that J&K is on path to prosperity now: India’s US envoy writes in NYT

Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India’s ambassador in the United States, on Thursday wrote an op-ed article in the The New York Times, claiming that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan found it difficult to accept that Jammu and Kashmir was now back on the road to progress and development after the revocation of its special status.

Mumbai: Suspected gas leak reported across city, BMC deploys fire engines to find source of leak

Residents in several parts of Mumbai’s western and eastern suburbs complained of a foul smell on Thursday night, suspected to be of a “gas leak”. Many took to Twitter to complain about a gas-like pungent odour in their areas by tagging Mumbai Police and Mahanagar Gas Limited. No gas pipeline agency has confirmed any leakage from their side yet.

Aarey car shed row: Area cannot be regarded as forest just for its greenery, Maharashtra tells HC

The Maharashtra government on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that the Aarey area in North Mumbai cannot be given the status of a forest. Government counsels Ashutosh Kumbhakoni and Anil Sakhare made the submission while seeking dismissal of a plea by non-governmental organisation Vanashakti.

Centre asks banks not to declare stressed MSME loans as non-performing assets till March 2020

The Centre on Thursday asked banks not to declare any stressed loan accounts of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises as a non-performing asset till March 2020, and work on recasting their debt instead

RBI governor advises Centre to take up structural reforms to protect economy from global conditions

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday advised the government to opt for more structural reforms to cushion the economy from rising global headwinds. However, Das said that despite rising external risks, the Indian economy was resilient as foreign debt was only 19.7% of the Gross Domestic Product.

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