US Ready To Offer India Wide Range Of Defence Equipment

The US is ready to help India's defence needs with the latest technologies and equipment, but New Delhi purchasing long-range S-400 missile defence system from Russia would limit cooperation, the Trump administration has cautioned.

The statement came weeks after an identical warning from a senior State Department official who had said that New Delhi's deal to procure the lethal missile system from Moscow will have "serious implications" on India-US defence ties.

The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. China was the first foreign buyer to seal a government-to-government deal with Russia in 2014 for the system.

India and Russia signed a USD 5 billion S-400 air defence system deal in October last year after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Senior State Department official (South and Central Asian Affairs) Alice G Wells told House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation on Thursday that the US now does more military exercises with India than any other country.

"Under the Trump administration, we've been very clear that we're ready to help meet India's defence needs and we are seeking a very different kind of defence partnership building on the 'Major Defence Partner' designation that India has received from Congress," Ms Wells said.

She was replying to the Congressional sub-committee on India buying S-400 from Russia and how to make India-US ties as robust and as meaningful as possible.

Just a few weeks ago, India, the United States, the Philippines and Japan did a sail by in the South China Sea, she said.

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Travellers from Italy, South Korea entering India must carry COVID-19 'negative' certificate

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an additional travel advisory which says that aside from the visa restrictions already in place, passengers traveling from Italy or the Republic of Korea will require a 'tested negative for COVID -19' certificate before they are allowed to enter the country.
• The certificates would have to be issued from designated laboratories authorized by the health authorities of these countries.  This measure by the Health Ministry for the prevention of coronavirus will come into effect from midnight March 10. The Ministry has said that this is only a temporary measure till the coronavirus outbreak subsides.
• Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had earlier confirmed that a total of 29 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in India. This number includes the three initial cases in Kerala who were treated and later discharged from the hospitals.
• Two new cases were discovered on Monday, one in Delhi with a travel history to Italy and another in Telangana. The patient from Telangana had come in contact with a Singapore national who had been infected with the coronavirus. 17 Italian tourists who were in India to tour Rajasthan were also tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
• The government had said on Tuesday that all incoming international passengers must declare their travel history to health and immigration officials at India's airports.

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How P Chidambaram's legal team plans to rescue former Finance Minister

Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister has been untraceable since 4:30 pm on Tuesday following the developments in the INX Media case. Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi High Court dismissed Chidambaram's anticipatory bail plea. Following this, teams of CBI and ED officials reached his residence separately but were unable to find Chidambaram, who is also said to have switched off his phones. The ED issued a look-out circular in connection with the case.

However, the Congress leader's counsels are trying to rescue the former Finance Minister from this situation and have approached the Supreme Court. Sources close to his son Karti Chidambaram have told that the legal team will base their case in the Supreme Court on 10 arguments.

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Job creation should be top priority; even skilled people are finding hard to get jobs, says L&T's AM Naik

AM Naik, Larsen & Toubro Group Chairman and National Skill Development Corporation chief, said the government needed to take urgent steps to ensure job creation and that even skilled people were finding it difficult to find a suitable job in times of slowdown in the economy. The government should focus on building a consumption-driven economy, he said, adding that to boost economic development, it was necessary to fund the industrial growth.

Naik, during an interview, said that job creation could only be boosted if the Centre took steps to ensure economic development and more utilisation of industrial capacity. "Many industries have closed or are partially utilised, or working on certain days of the week, or just one shift a day," said Naik, adding that even though there's gross underutilisation of industry, there was a great demand for growth for a country of 1.3 billion people.

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China had expressed its opposition to India's move to create a separate Union Territory of Ladakh

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar today sent out a crucial message to China, which recently expressed its strong disapproval of the government's Kashmir move, especially the creation of a separate Union Territory of Ladakh. India had brushed away China's remarks, saying all the changes made were "internal matters". Today, at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, Mr Jaishankar said, "The two nations should ensure that it was important that differences between us, if any, should not become disputes".

India-China relationship, Mr Jaishankar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI, has a "unique place" in global politics. "Two years ago, our leaders recognised that reality and reached a consensus in Astana that at a time of global uncertainty India-China relationship should be a factor of stability," he said.

Last week, after the government's move to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, China voiced its "serious concern".

Beijing asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and said the two nations should avoid actions that "unilaterally" change the status quo and "exacerbate tensions".

China also expressed its opposition to India's move to create a separate Union Territory of Ladakh.

India said the decisions on Kashmir were "an internal matter concerning the territory of India".

"India does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise," the foreign ministry said.

Pointing to Mr Jaishankar's tenure as India's ambassador to China, Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi said for many years, he has made "positive and active contribution to China-India relations".

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Kashmir Special Status (Article 370) Ends "At Once"

Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has been abolished by a presidential order that would come into force "at once", Home Minister Amit Shah said in parliament today, announcing the most far-reaching move on the state in nearly seven decades. The announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of his cabinet at his house this morning. Jammu and Kashmir will also be bifurcated into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Prepping for any trouble in the state after the announcement, the centre today moved 8,000 paramilitary troops from different parts of the country to Kashmir, in addition to nearly 35,000 personnel moved in the past week.

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Soon, Mumbai-Pune In 35 Minutes. World's First Hyperloop Project Is A Go

In an impetus to the dream journey between Mumbai and Pune in under 35 minutes, the Maharashtra government has approved the Virgin Hyperloop One-DP World consortium as the "Original Project Proponent" (OPP) for the Pune-Mumbai hyperloop project -- a move that will generate jobs and over $36 billion in various socio-economic benefits.

According to Virgin Hyperloop One, the state government -- one of the first proponents of hyperloop technology in the world -- has deemed hyperloop a public infrastructure project, setting it up to be the first hyperloop project in the world.

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SBI cuts interest rates on FDs with effect from August 1

The State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, has just slashed interest rates on its fixed deposits (FDs) of less than Rs 2 crore, or retail deposits, as well as the larger deposits across nearly all tenures offered. While deposits of 7 days to 45 days will now earn 75 basis points (bps) less, most of the tenures have seen rates dip by 10-20 bps. The smallest rate cut of 5 bps will apply on the 2-year to less than 3-year tenure. The new interest rates on SBI FDs will come into effect from August 1. 

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Andhra Pradesh becomes 1st state in India to reserve 75% private jobs for locals

Andhra Pradesh has become the first state in the country to offer 75 per cent reservation to locals in private jobs. Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday passed the Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local Candidates in Industries/Factories Act, 2019, under which privates jobs across factories, industrial units, joint ventures, private projects will be reserved for local Andhra people. 

Fulfilling his poll promise, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said his government, for the first time in the history of the Telugu state, had provided over a lakh permanent jobs to the locals. During his state-wide Prajasankalp Padyatra before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the YSRCP chief had promised to create jobs for locals 

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Questions asked by the Minister of Education of Maharashtra, so they allegedly gave the order of arrest

A graduate student of Amravati district of Maharashtra has accused the Education Minister Vinod Tawde of ordering him to be arrested at the time when he was recording the conversation between him and a student. The minister has denied the charge. Student Yuvraj Pressad also claimed that due to the alleged order the local police kept him in custody for nearly several hours and seized his smartphone too.Later, the video recording was removed and the smart phone was returned to him.Tawde denied the allegations saying that he did not order the arrest of any student and 'lies' were being spread against him. A top police official in Amravati told that neither the student was arrested, taken into custody and nothing was removed from his mobile.
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Karnataka Battle In Top Court, Rebel Lawmakers Told To Meet Speaker Today

Ten Karnataka lawmakers who allege their resignations haven't been accepted in an attempt to help the ruling Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition in the state flew to Bengaluru this evening after the Supreme Court ordered them to meet the Speaker.

The rebel lawmakers were asked to appear before Speaker Ramesh Kumar at 6 pm. The court ordered police protection for them and said the Speaker must decide today on whether the resignations stand.

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India Bid For Final Berth Against Unstable New Zealand

Two-time champions India after proving their dominance in the league stage will look to brush aside New Zealand and book a final berth when the two sides face-off in the 1st semi-final at the Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday. All-round performances and some individual batting prowess saw India top the World Cup 2019 league stage. However, with the No.4 conundrum still unsolved and middle-order woes mounting, India will fancy their chances against an unstable New Zealand. The 2015 World Cup runners-up will be wary of India, specially after registering a slump in performances, during the concluding stage of the preliminary round. 

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Rahul Gandhi officially resigns as Congress President; says 'thank you' in open letter

Rahul Gandhi said today it was "an honour to serve the Congress party" in a letter, he tweeted hours after declaring that he was no longer the party president. The designation of "President" also vanished from his Twitter bio, which now says "Member of Congress and Member of Parliament". A new Congress president will be chosen "within a week", party sources said, indicating an acceptance, finally, in the ranks that Rahul Gandhi will not return as their chief. 

As president of the Congress party, I am responsible for the loss of the 2019 election. Accountability is critical for the future growth of our party. It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress president. 

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New industrial policy to be announced soon

The government will soon announce a new industrial policy aimed at promoting growth of industries and creation of jobs, President Ram Nath Kovind said.

Addressing the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, the President said work is underway in full earnest to transform India into a global manufacturing hub.

The new policy will replace the industrial policy of 1991 which was prepared in the backdrop of balance of payment crisis. This will be the third industrial policy after the ones released in 1956 and 1991. 

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Shoaib Akhtar Calls Sarfaraz Ahmed 'Brainless Captain' After Loss To India

Former Pakistani fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar has criticised the Pakistan team for their poor show against arch-rivals India in the World Cup 2019 encounter. Riding on a hundred by the vice-captain Rohit Sharma and half centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, India beat Pakistan by 89 runs. Shoaib was critical of Pakistan captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed and called him 'brainless' while explaining the outcome of the match that took place in Manchester on Sunday. Sarfaraz won the toss and sent India to bat first in the crucial game and the decision back-fired, giving Pakistan their third loss of World Cup 2019. 

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Vijay Mallya was heckled At India-Australia World Cup Match

Businessman Vijay Mallya was subjected to cries of "chor hai (you are a thief)" as he left The Oval stadium in London yesterday, where he was watching a cricket World Cup match between India and Australia with his son, Siddharth Mallya. The former Kingfisher Airlines boss is facing extradition to India where he is wanted on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to Rs. 9,000 crore.

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RBI Cuts Rate To Lowest In 9 Years To Boost Growth, Loans May Get Cheaper

The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), led by Governor Shaktikanta Das, on Thursday unanimously lowered key lending rate or repo rate by 25 basis points or 0.25 per cent to 5.75 per cent. The six-member committee also changed the policy stance to "accommodative" from "neutral". Repo rate is the interest rate at which commercial banks borrow short-term funds from the RBI. The rate cut comes after official data last month showed the country's GDP or gross domestic product grew 5.8 per cent in the quarter ended March 31. That meant India lost its status as the fastest growing major economy to China, which clocked a growth of 6.4 per cent in the three-month period. 

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Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil Quits Congress, Others May Follow

Veteran Maharashtra leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, said to be on his way to the BJP, formally quit the Congress today. The buzz is that around 10 lawmakers are likely to follow him, in view of the party's abysmal performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Though the Congress has dismissed the possibility, such a development may prove a huge setback for the party ahead of the assembly elections in the state that will be held in November.   

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Congress slams BJP for declaring Kargil war veteran as foreigner

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over a tribunal in Assam declaring a Kargil war veteran a foreigner, saying it shows the "high-handedness and flawed manner" in which the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise is being implemented in the northeastern state.

Mohammad Sanaullah, a resident of Kolohikash village in Kamrup district, was declared a foreigner by the Foreigners Tribunal, Kamrup.

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Congress Dumps "Proof" Of Loan Waiver Outside Shivraj Singh Chouhan's House

BHOPAL: Senior Congress leader Suresh Pachouri today dumped bundles of documents at the residence of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as "proof" that his party has waived off loans of 21 lakh farmers after coming to power in the state in December last year.

However, Mr Chouhan refuted the Congress' claims, dubbing it as a "bundle of lies".

Former Union minister Mr Pachouri along with state minister PC Sharma and other Congress leaders brought cartons of documents in two vehicles. They then put the cartons on their heads and walked to the former chief minister's official residence where they dumped the documents.

The Congress claimed that these documents proved that the Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh has acted on the party's pre-poll promise of waiving off farm loans.

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