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Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Dec 17 (PTI) Concerns raised by district authorities over public disorder if Karthigai Deepam (lamp) was lit on a stone pillar near a dargah atop the Thirupparankundram hill, was "non-existent" aimed at stopping the Tamil culture, senior advocate S Sriram submitted before the Madras High Court on Wednesday. When the state was "unwilling" to enforce their rights, then the public could seek its enforcement, Sriram said, advancing his arguments on behalf of the devotees oppos ...Read More >
Itanagar, Dec 17 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein on Wednesday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on being conferred Ethiopia's highest national honour, describing the recognition as a reflection of India's rising global stature and trusted leadership on the world stage. In a post shared on social media, Khandu termed the honour a moment of pride for the nation. "Heartiest congratulations to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji on re ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The satellite-based toll collection system will be operational across the country by 2026-end, which will eliminate the waiting time at toll plazas for commuters and bring more revenue for the government, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the road transport and highways minister said the new technology will be satellite and AI-based and commuters will not have to wait at toll plazas ...Read More >
Bilaspur (HP), Dec 17 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday promised to clear all pension arrears by 2027 and to include effective decisions in the interest of pensioners in the upcoming state budget. Speaking at the Pensioners' Day function organised by the Himachal Pradesh Pensioners' Joint Front at Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district, Sukhu said the state government has spent Rs 2,155 crore to clear arrears of employees and pensioners. Stating that the state i ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The Indian rupee, depreciating mainly due to 50 per cent tariff imposed on India by the US, is likely to bounce back strongly in the second half of the next fiscal, an SBI research report said on Wednesday. Since April 2, 2025, when the US announced sweeping tariff hikes across economies, the Indian rupee (INR) has depreciated by 5.7 per cent against USD (most amongst the major economies), notwithstanding sporadic phases of appreciation owing to optimism over the US-Indi ...Read More >
Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) Despite facing criticism, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday stood by his controversial comments that India faced a "total defeat" in aerial fight with Pakistan on the first day of Operation Sindoor on May 7. The former Union minister refused to apologise for his comments on the Indian military operation against terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK in aftermath of massacre of tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in April. Talking to reporters in Pune on ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Shares of Park Medi World Ltd, which operates a hospital chain under the Park brand, on Wednesday made a disappointing market debut and ended with a discount of nearly 9 per cent against the issue price of Rs 162. The stock was listed at Rs 155.60, a 3.95 per cent discount to the issue price, on the BSE. During the day, it tanked 9.35 per cent to Rs 146.85. Shares of the firm ended at Rs 148.15, down 8.54 per cent. At the NSE, the stock started trading at Rs 158.80, dow ...Read More >
The Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) at Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka, the primary integrated centre handling all Indian visa services in the capital, closed its operations from 2 pm on Wednesday. "In view of the ongoing security situation, we wish to bring to your kind notice that IVAC JFP Dhaka will be closed at 2 pm today," the IVAC said in a statement. It added that all applicants with appointments scheduled for submission on Wednesday would be rescheduled for a later date, PTI reported ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 17 (PTI) The state police chief has received a complaint alleging that a parody song titled 'Pottiye Kettiye', which circulated during the recent local body elections in Kerala, "hurt religious sentiments", sources said on Wednesday. The parody, based on a popular devotional song dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, makes references to the Sabarimala gold loss case and the alleged role of the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, they said. State Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar ha ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) India on Wednesday summoned Bangladesh envoy Riaz Hamidullah and lodged its protest over plans by certain extremist elements to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka. New Delhi also expressed its serious concerns over the deteriorating security situation in Bangladesh and reiterated its call for holding free, fair and credible parliamentary elections. The polls are scheduled for February 12. Hamidullah was summoned to the Ministry of External Af ...Read More >
Nashik, Dec 17 (PTI) In mounting trouble for Maharashtra Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate of the NCP, a court in Nashik district on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against him in a cheating and forgery case dating back to 1995. The development comes a day after the district court upheld the two-year jail term handed to Kokate by the magistrate's court in February this year. Earlier on Wednesday, Kokate moved the Bombay High Court, challenging his conviction and the two-year jail term in the ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The Delhi-Dehradun expressway, which will reduce travel time between the two cities to two hours from the existing 6.5 hours, will be open for public in the next 10-15 days, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the road transport and highways minister said he has sought time from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the inauguration of the 212-kilometre 6-lane access controlled expressway. "In the next 10-15 days, the ...Read More >
Bengaluru, Dec 17 (PTI) A woman was booked on charges of obstructing a police inspector from discharging his official duties and threatening to commit suicide if he did not accept her love proposal, police said on Wednesday. The 45-year-old inspector attached to the Ramamurthy Nagar Police Station here alleged that the woman repeatedly harassed him, they said. According to his complaint, the harassment began on October 30, when he started receiving calls from an unknown woman from multiple pho ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Chairperson of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka on Wednesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to refer the VB-G RAM G Bill to the Standing Committee concerned for a detailed examination. In a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Ulaka, who is the Congress MP from Koraput in Odisha, said that the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, (VB-G RAM G) seeks to intr ...Read More >
Patna, Dec 17 (PTI) The Bihar Congress workers on Wednesday staged a protest against the BJP-led central government here, a day after a court quashed the Enforcement Directorate's charge-sheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. A large number of Congress workers, led by the party's state unit president Rajesh Ram, gathered near the Income Tax roundabout and raised slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The domestic steel demand is estimated to grow by around 8 per cent in FY26, but softer steel prices will keep margins under pressure for producers, rating agency ICRA said on Wednesday. In a report, Icra projected the industry's operating margin to remain flat at about 12.5 per cent in FY26, lower than earlier expectations of an improvement. "While we project steel demand growth to remain healthy at 8 per cent for FY26, incremental supply has created a temporary surplu ...Read More >
Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) Wasim Iqbal cracked a 45-ball 85 to help India Seniors to a commanding seven-wicket victory over India A in the second match of the Physical Disability Series here on Wednesday. India A put on a modest 143 for six batting first with Jitendra VN scoring 35 and Akash Patil making 37 not out. In response, India Seniors chased down the target with more than five overs to spare, making 144 for three in 14.5 overs here at the Wankhede Stadium. Brief Scores: India A: 143/6 in 20 ...Read More >
Panchkula (Hry), Dec 17 (PTI) A special CBI court has acquitted a Haryana judicial officer and his parents in a dowry-death case dating back more than 12 years after his wife was found dead with bullet injuries in Gurugram. The court has acquitted Ravneet Garg, who was then the chief judicial magistrate of Gurugram, and his parents in the 2013 dowry-death case. Garg's wife, Geetanjali, was found dead in July 2013 near the Gurugram police lines area with bullet injuries. Garg was posted as the ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Expressing concern over high fatalities in road accidents, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the Centre plans to provide states with modern ambulances with the condition that these vehicles must reach accident spots within 10 minutes. Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways acknowledged that the government has not been successful in reducing the number of deaths due to road accident ...Read More >
Mumbai: The Bombay HC on Tuesday said it was inclined to allow human rights activist Gautam Navlakha to shift to his house in Delhi till the trial in the Elgar Parishad Maoist links case begins.Navlakha is not a "flight risk" as there have not been any instances where he tried to escape, high court said, adding he felt he was forced to stay in Mumbai and also that he was completely uprooted from his life and social circle. Navlakha was granted bail in 2023 by HC but a condition was imposed that ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran on Wednesday said that quality, relevance and adaptability of higher education will play a key role in transforming India's demographic dividend into growth accelerator in next 20 years. Speaking at the CII Global Higher Education Summit here, he said, states hold the key to the next phase of higher education reform in India. He stressed on addressing shortage of teachers urgently through mechanisms such as professors of pract ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Japanese investment bank Mizuho Securities on Wednesday said it is acquiring over 60 per cent stake in Avendus Capital from US-based investment firm KKR. Mizuho Securities, an arm of Mizuho Financial Group, aims to further strengthen its business foundation in India's rapidly developing and maturing capital markets. In a statement, Mizuho Securities said it has entered into an "agreement with the majority shareholder of Avendus Capital Private Limited to acquire over 60 ...Read More >
Indore, Dec 17 (PTI) Forest authorities on Wednesday captured a leopard that had entered a residential township in Indore, officials said. Residents of 'Sahara City', adjacent to the Devguradia forest area, had been complaining for the past four days about the leopard's movements, Divisional Forest Officer Pradeep Mishra told PTI. "Following the complaint, a cage was set up in the residential township, in which the leopard got trapped. It is a six-year-old male leopard," he said. The big cat ...Read More >
Srinagar, Dec 17 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature. "Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function. Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means. "We have see ...Read More >
Jamnagar, Dec 17 (PTI) Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi visited Vantara, a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre, in Gujarat's Jamnagar before ending his GOAT India Tour. According to sources, Messi, along with fellow football stars Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, reached Vantara on Tuesday evening at the invitation of industrialist Mukesh Ambani's family. At Vantara, Messi took a round of the wildlife facility founded by Mukesh Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani, sources said. ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that progress on the installation of the Kavach system was "very fast" and 2,000 km of the rail network had been brought under the system. Replying during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, he said the Kavach is a complex system which has five major systems within, including laying down of optical fibre cable (OFC) all along the tracks and installation of telecom towers. The Indian Railways has completed ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Silver futures rallied sharply by Rs 8,356 to hit a fresh record of Rs 2,06,111 per kilogram on Wednesday amid strong global cues, persistent supply concerns and expectations of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve next year. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), silver futures for March contract surged by Rs 8,356, or 4.2 per cent, to hit a fresh peak of Rs 2,06,111 per kilogram. It had closed at Rs 1,97,755 per kg on Tuesday. The May 2026 contract for silver also witness ...Read More >
Puri, Dec 17 (PTI) Odisha Police on Wednesday registered a case after a photograph of the 'Ratna Singhasan' (bejewelled throne) inside the sanctum sanctorum of Shree Jagannath Temple went viral on social media, raising questions over the security arrangements at the 12th-century shrine. Puri SP Prateek Singh said, "We have registered a case at the Singha Dwar police station under sections of the Shree Jagannath Temple Act. Our cyber team is monitoring social media platforms where the pictures o ...Read More >
Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) Maharashtra Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate "dishonestly induced" the state government to allot him a flat meant for the economically weaker section of society, a Nashik court has held, upholding his two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. The court noted that the minister was a "prosperous" farmer. However, the court granted him partial relief by setting aside the lower court's order to cancel the flat allotments, citing lack of jurisdiction for a criminal ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Out-of-favour India batter Sarfaraz Khan says he has got a "new life" thanks to five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings after the team bought him at his base price of Rs 75 lakh in the mini players' auction in Abu Dhabi. The 28-year-old Sarfaraz, who slammed a 22-ball 73 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match just hours before the auction on Tuesday, went unsold in the first round but was later picked up by CSK. "Thank you so much, CSK for giving me new life. I will mak ...Read More >
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