New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the mask of the RSS has come off again as it wants "Manusmriti" and not the Constitution, after the general secretary of the organisation, Dattatreya Hosabale, sought a review of the words "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble to the Constitution. "The mask of RSS has come off again. The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism and justice," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. "The RSS, BJP do not ...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Several opposition parties on Friday denounced RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's call to review the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble, terming it a "deliberate assault" on the soul of the Constitution. The attack came a day after the RSS proposed reviewing the two words, saying they were included during the Emergency and were never part of the Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar. While the Congress saw it as a "deliberate assault" on the soul of...Read More
Guwahati, Jun 27 (PTI) Rail services to Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and parts of southern Assam remained suspended for the fifth consecutive day on Friday, even as the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) claimed steady progress in restoring the affected Lumding-Badarpur hill section. NFR general manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava visited the site to review the situation and assess the progress, an official statement said. "Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is progressing rapidly towards early restorat...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi and discussed the overall situation that emerged following the 12-day hostilities between Iran and Israel. Jaishankar also thanked Araghchi for Tehran's assistance in evacuation of several hundred Indians from Iran. "Spoke to FM @araghchi of Iran this afternoon. Appreciate his sharing Iran's perspective and thinking in the current complex situation," Jaishankar said in...Read More
Kolkata, Jun 27 (PTI) The medical examination corroborated a law college student's allegation that she was gang-raped, a senior official of the Kolkata Police said on Friday. The first-year student of South Calcutta Law College complained to the police that she was gang-raped inside the institution by an alumnus and two senior students of the institution on the evening of June 25. All three accused were arrested on Thursday. The medical examination of the around 24-year-old woman was also cond...Read More
Chandigarh, Jun 27 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said the state government is adopting "out-of-the-box ideas" to strengthen the education sector, which he described as a key to eradicate poverty and social ills. Addressing a gathering after felicitating students who cleared the NEET exam, Mann said a paradigm shift had taken place in the education sector over the last three years due to revolutionary steps taken by the state government. Mann said, "This is the red letter ...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted seven accused, including three absconders, in the December 2024 case related to the grenade attack on Gurdaspur Police Station by Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorists, officials on Friday said. The terror attack on Ghanie Ke Bangar Police Station in Batala, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, was claimed on social media by BKI operatives Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia and Gurpreet alias Gopi, they said. US-bas...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has informed the National Green Tribunal that data regarding the aircraft noise level at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport was easily accessible to all as it was being conveniently displayed on its website. DIAL operates the IGI Airport in the national capital. The green body was hearing a plea for compliance of the tribunal's direction in the matter over noise pollution at the IGI Airport due to landing and takeoff...Read More
Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Jun 27 (PTI) Union Minister George Kurian on Friday said that everything was secondary to the idea of Bharat Mata, amid a controversy over displaying a portrait of the nation as a mother figure with a saffron flag at Kerala Raj Bhavan's official functions. Speaking to reporters here, he said that "the Raj Bhavan and those in the government were secondary to Bharat Mata". The Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Minority Affairs also ...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Rane (Madras) Ltd has sold a 3.48-acre land in Velachery, Chennai to a joint venture firm between Prestige Estates Project Ltd and Arihant Foundations & Housing for Rs 361 crore. The deal was facilitated by real estate consultant CBRE. Rane (Madras) Ltd has entered into an agreement with Canopy Living LLP, a joint venture between Arihant Foundations & Housing Limited and Prestige Estates Project Ltd, to sell 3.48 acres of land in Velachery, the company said in a regulat...Read More
Vijayapura (Karnataka), Jun 27 (PTI) Three people, including a bank manager, have been arrested in connection with the alleged robbery of gold and cash worth Rs 53.26 crore from Canara Bank's Managuli branch, police said on Friday. The accused have been identified as Vijayakumar Miriyala (41), the bank manager, and his accomplices -- Chandrashekhar Nerella (38) and Sunil Narasimhalu Moka (40), police added. The robbery took place at Canara Bank's Managuli branch in Basavanabagewadi taluk of Vi...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The issue of Sri Lanka arresting Indian fishermen stems from an agreement during the Emergency under which their rights for fishing in some specific areas were given up, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. The agreement with Sri Lanka would not have been possible if a genuine Parliament functioned at that time, Jaishankar said at an event organised by the BJP Yuva Morcha to mark the 50th anniversary of the Emergency. Katchatheevu, an uninhabited islan...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The 'Special Intensive Revision' of electoral roll proposed to be carried out in Bihar will have "devastating" effects on voting rights and also on citizenship, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MP Saket Gokhale alleged on Friday. In a post on X, he said those failing to provide the documents required for the revision can easily be branded as "foreigners", and losing voting rights is not the only danger. "Modi Government is taking away your right to vote and bringing ...Read More
Mumbai, Jun 27 (PTI) Veteran movie star Rekha recreated her look from the 1981 film "Umrao Jaan" at the theatrical re-release premiere of the film that brought out the who's who of Bollywood in attendance, including Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt, Tabu, and Hema Malini. Directed by Muzaffar Ali, the period drama has been restored and re-released in cinemas on June 27. The film has been restored by the National Film Development Corporation-National Film Archive of India under the National Film Heritage ...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The initial public offer of Sambhv Steel Tubes Ltd got subscribed 28.46 times on the closing day of bidding on Friday. The three-day initial share sale received bids for 140,02,39,022 shares against 4,92,06,100 shares on offer, according to NSE data. Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) portion received 62.32 times subscription while the category for non-institutional investors fetched 31.82 times subscription. Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) part got subscribed 7.9...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday announced renewal of a scheme to promote registration of employers and employees to expand Employees' State Insurance (ESI) coverage across India. Originally introduced in 2016, SPREE (Scheme to Promote Registration of Employers/Employees) has facilitated the registration of over 88,000 employers and 1.02 crore employees. The renewed SPREE will be open from July 1 to December 31, 2025, offering a one-time opportunity for...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Gold prices plunged Rs 930 to Rs 97,670 per 10 grams in the national capital on Friday as traders rushed to selling amid easing off Middle East tensions and favourable reports about a trade deal between the US and China. According to the All India Sarafa Association, the precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity had closed at Rs 98,600 per 10 grams on Thursday. On Friday, gold of 99.5 per cent purity declined by Rs 850 to Rs 97,200 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes). It...Read More
Jammu, Jun 27 (PTI) In an indirect support to the RSS' call to review the words "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble of the Constitution, Union minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said any right-thinking citizen will endorse it because everybody knows that these words were not part of the original Constitution written by Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar. The RSS on Thursday called for reviewing the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the preamble of the Constitution, saying they were included during the ...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The armed forces on Friday paid tribute to Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw on his death anniversary and said he remains an enduring symbol of courage, integrity and strategic brilliance. The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) in a post on X also shared a clip extolling the legendary officer's legacy. "Remembering Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, MC #SamBahadur on his 17th death anniversary. He was the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Ma...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The Gross Value of Output (GVO) from the agriculture and allied sector increased 54.6 per cent during FY12 to FY24 to Rs 29.49 lakh crore at constant prices, National Statistics Office (NSO) said on Friday. The NSO, part of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), has released the annual publication of 'Statistical Report on Value of Output from Agriculture and Allied Sectors (2011-12 to 2023-24)'. "Gross Value of Output (GVO) from the agricultur...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) R D Burman had already made four films, all forgotten and with them their music, when he came up with "Teesri Manzil", the 1966 Shammi Kapoor starrer that broke all traditions of Hindi cinema music and is testament to the talent of the ever-experimenting genius. Burman, one of India's most versatile composers, would have been 86 on Friday. With songs that ranged from romantic to rock, the "Teesri Manzil" album was an instrumentalist's dream, a soundscape not heard befor...Read More
Bengaluru, Jun 27 (PTI) Karnataka High Court on Friday issued a notice to the state government in response to a petition challenging the proposed Cauvery Aarti near the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir, raising alarms over potential ecological and safety hazards. A division bench led by Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice C M Joshi passed the order after considering preliminary arguments from Advocate Rajanna R, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner Sunanda Jayaram. The bench h...Read More
Mumbai, Jun 27 (PTI) India's current account balance recorded a surplus of USD 13.5 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) in January-March quarter of 2024-25 as compared with USD 4.6 billion (0.5 per cent of GDP) in the year-ago period, RBI said on Friday. The current account was in deficit of USD 11.3 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP) in December quarter of 2024-25. On annual basis, India had a current account deficit at USD 23.3 billion (0.6 per cent of GDP) during 2024-25, lower than USD 26 billion (0....Read More
Dehradun, Jun 27 (PTI) Olympian Anish Bhanwala won back-to-back trials in men's 25m rapid-fire pistol, while Tamil Nadu's Narmada Nithin clinched the top spot in women's 10m air rifle on day four of the national selection trials 3 and 4 for Group 'A' rifle and pistol shooters here on Friday. Narmada scored 253.7 in the 24-shot final to edge out World Cup Final silver medallist Sonam Uttam Maskar by 1.7 points. Delhi's Rajshree Anilkumar secured the third place with a score of 230 after 22 shots...Read More
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 27 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday condemned the RSS's call to review the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Indian Constitution's Preamble, describing it as "a brazen attempt to dismantle the core ideals of our Republic." In a post on 'X,' the chief minister said, "Invoking the emergency to discredit these principles is a deceitful move, especially when the RSS colluded with the Indira Gandhi Government during that time for its own survival." "...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Equity investors became richer by Rs 12.26 lakh crore as stock markets surged for the fourth day in a row on Friday amid de-escalation in geopolitical tensions and softening crude oil prices in international markets. On Friday, the BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 303.03 points or 0.36 per cent to reclaim the 84,000 level and settled at 84,058.90. During the day, the Sensex jumped 333.48 points or 0.39 per cent to 84,089.35. In the past four days, the benchmark has jumped 2...Read More
Kolkata, Jun 27 (PTI) Union minister and BJP's West Bengal unit president Sukanta Majumdar on Friday claimed that the alleged gang rape in a law college in Kolkata shows that female students are "not safe" in educational institutes in the state. Condemning the incident, the ruling Trinamool Congress said the police swiftly apprehended all three accused in the case and urged the opposition party not to politicise the issue. Majumdar, the union minister of state for education, alleged that the l...Read More
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday denounced RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's call to review the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Constitution's Preamble, saying these ideas reflect the core values for which freedom fighters sacrificed their lives. The left party alleged the RSS' proposal exposes its "long-standing objective of subverting the Constitution and its intent to transform India into a Hindu Rashtra". Hosabale, while addressing a...Read More
Patna, Jun 27 (PTI) The opposition INDIA bloc in Bihar on Friday strongly opposed the Election Commission's (EC) proposed intensive revision of electoral rolls ahead of the state assembly elections. Averment to this effect came at a joint press conference here addressed by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Congress' media and publicity department chief Pawan Khera and CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, among others. "We suspect that this exercise, which seeks documents from voters that ...Read More
Mumbai, Jun 27 (PTI) India's forex reserves dropped by USD 1.01 billion to USD 697.93 billion for the week ended June 20, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had jumped by USD 2.29 billion to USD 698.95 billion. Forex reserves had touched an all-time high of USD 704.885 billion in September 2024. For the week ended June 20, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, dropped by USD 357 million to USD 589.06 billion, the data re...Read More