RIVANCH

New Delhi: With 13,052 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's COVID-19 tally has gone up to 1,07,46,183, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 1,04,23,125, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The national recovery rate has climbed to 96.99 per cent. The death toll increased to 1,54,274 with 127 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,04,23,125. The COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent. The total COVID-19 active cases remained below 2 lakh for the 12th consecutive day. There are 1,68,784 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 1.57 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on 7 August, 30 lakh on 23 August, 40 lakh on 5 September and 50 lakh on 16 September. It went past 60 lakh on 28 September, 70 lakh on 11 Oct

Pune: A local court has rejected an application seeking an injunction against the use of 'Covishield' as a brand name by the vaccine-maker Serum Institute of India (SII), the company said on Saturday. SII is producing a coronavirus vaccine named Covishield, co-developed by the University of Oxford and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. The Indian government has purchased 11 million doses of Covishield vaccine. While the court order was not available immediately, the lawyer of Cutis-Biotech, which had filed the suit, said it would file an appeal in the high court. On 4 January, Cutis-Biotech, a pharmaceutical firm, filed a suit in the civil court claiming it was a prior user of the brand name Covishield and sought to restrain SII from using the name. SII had told the court that the two companies operate in different product categories and there is no scope for confusion over the trademark. "Court has rejected the application," said SII's lawyer Hitesh Jain.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had to give four-five mini-budgets in the form of packages in 2020 and expressed confidence that the upcoming budget would also be seen as part of that series. In his remarks to the media before the commencement of Parliament's Budget Session, Modi said the first session of this decade commences on Friday and emphasised that this decade is very important for the bright future of India. Keeping in mind this decade, there should be discussions and presentation of different views this session, he said. The prime minister expressed confidence that MPs will not shy away from contributing to make full use of Parliament for fulfilling people's aspirations. "Probably for the first time in India's history, the finance minister had to give four-five mini budgets in 2020 in the form of different packages," he said. "Therefore, I am confident that this budget will also be see

Bengaluru: Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala, undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in a hospital, would be discharged on Sunday, a bulletin said. "Sasikala Natarajan completed 10 days of treatment today. She has been asymptomatic and maintaining saturation without oxygen for the past three days. As per protocol, she can be discharged from the hospital," Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute said in the bulletin. "The team of doctors attending to her has taken the decision that she is fit for discharge and she will be discharged tomorrow, but has been advised home quarantine," it said. Sasikala was released on Wednesday after she completed four years of imprisonment in a jail here in a case of disproportionate assets. Being treated for COVID-19, the 66-year-old close aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister late J Jayalalithaa had remained in the hospital. Sasikala's return to Tamil Nadu is of political significance as it comes at a time when the s

The year 2020 has brought unprecedented upheaval in the lives of people and businesses across the globe. For the investor community too it was a time of volatility and uncertainty. While the world is warming up and adjusting to the new normal, many people and businesses are still reeling from the economic impact of COVID-19. With the Union Budget 2021-2022 announcement some hours away, here are some expectations from retail investors for this year’s Budget. Equity-related mutual funds Indexation assists investors in paying taxes on the real value of the investments as compared to the nominal value. At present, the government offers indexation benefits for gold investments, debt mutual funds, and real estate. However, equity-related funds are not eligible to be considered. From 2018, Long-term Capital Gains (LTCG) is taxed at 10 percent sans any indexation benefits. While the LTCG up to Rs 1 lakh is exempted from tax every year, the impact on the tax liability is not substantial. Also

Gorakhpur: Dr Kafeel Khan and 80 others have been included in the list of history-sheeters in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh and they will be on the radar of police, officials said on Saturday. History-sheets have been opened against the 81 people on the instruction of Senior Superintendent of Police Jogendra Kumar, they said, adding that the district now has a total of 1,543 history-sheeters, or persons with a criminal record. Kafeel Khan's brother Adeel Khan, however, told PTI that the history-sheet against the doctor was opened on 18 June, 2020, but the information was given to the media on Friday. In a video message released on Saturday, Kafeel Khan said, "The UP government has opened my history-sheet. They say that they will monitor me for life. Good, give two security guards who will keep an eye on me for 24 hours. At least, I will be able to save myself from fake cases." "In Uttar Pradesh, the situation is such that the criminals are not monitored,

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium is understood to have withdrawn its approval to a proposal for the appointment of an additional judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice PV Ganediwala, as a permanent judge of the court following her two controversial verdicts in sexual assault cases. The decision was taken after the judge faced flak for her interpretation of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a source said. Justice Pushpa Ganediwala recently acquitted a man accused of groping a 12-year-old girl's breast because he did not make skin-to-skin contact and days earlier, ruled that holding the hands of a five-year-old girl and unzipping the trousers do not amount to "sexual assault" under the POCSO Act. On 27 January, the Supreme Court stayed the Bombay High Court order acquitting the man after Attorney General KK Venugopal said the order would set a dangerous precedent. The collegium headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, a

For India to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and to accomplish its vision of becoming a self-reliant $5 trillion economy, one of the fundamental requirements will be to focus and invest in education. In the recent past, the government has made significant strides in this sector, a monumental development being the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 reforms that are currently underway. Therefore, the upcoming Union Budget 2021 will be key for two reasons; first, it is likely to provide an in-depth view of the implementation of NEP 2020 and secondly, this is the first Budget post-pandemic and hence, will be key about how the government plans to get the education sector back on track from the pandemic impact. Union Budget 2021 must emphasise on the following segments: We need to deepen our focus on skill development, right from the corporate sector to the low-income group youth ensuring Indians are equipped with the necessary skills to support and accelerate the e

The nationwide Pulse Polio Immunisation (PPI) campaign will be undertaken today (Sunday, 31 January) covering children up to five years of age, with preventive measures for COVID-19, reports said. The countrywide immunisation programme was earlier scheduled to start from 17 January, however, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 vaccination drive which started on 16 January. According to toa report in Hindustan Times , the Pulse Polio immunisation programme was launched in 1995 following the World Health Organization's Global Polio Eradication Initiative. While Polio has existed for a long time, it first became a major public health issue in the late Victorian times with major epidemics in Europe and the United States, a  report in BBC said. The disease causes spinal and respiratory paralysis and can also kill victims. While it remains incurable, vaccines have helped in its nearly total eradication in modern times. Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind launched the fi

Bengaluru: Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala, undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in a hospital, would be discharged on Sunday, a bulletin said. "Sasikala Natarajan completed 10 days of treatment today. She has been asymptomatic and maintaining saturation without oxygen for the past three days. As per protocol, she can be discharged from the hospital," Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute said in the bulletin. "The team of doctors attending to her has taken the decision that she is fit for discharge and she will be discharged tomorrow, but has been advised home quarantine," it said. Sasikala was released on Wednesday after she completed four years of imprisonment in a jail here in a case of disproportionate assets. Being treated for COVID-19, the 66-year-old close aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister late J Jayalalithaa had remained in the hospital. Sasikala's return to Tamil Nadu is of political significance as it comes at a time when the s

The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC)’s Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT) is the first smart city in India that is fast emerging as an attractive destination for financial services players. After the setting up of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) [being the Unified Regulator for IFSC], it has witnessed some path-breaking regulations and policy announcements in a very short span of time for different aspects of financial services such as banking, stock-broking, investors in IFSC, etc. Recently, the IFSCA permitted Global In-House Centres (GICs) of financial companies to be set up in IFSC. The Alternative Investment Funds regime is also attractive and it should see funds/fund managers setting up base in IFSC soon. One must also applaud the IFSCA on being very open to suggestions from investors and pro-development. The IFSCA works closely with the government to address the changing business environment/needs and providing more busine

The Union Budget comes with a lot of expectations, especially amidst the recovery from the pandemic. We expect that the government’s agenda of ‘Housing for All’ will see a major push through this Budget as well. As a Housing Finance Company (HFC) we also expect announcements which will enhance/ renew of prospective buyers towards owning a house and further propels investments in real estate as an asset class. Needless to say the real estate sector, along with manufacturing and services, is also a huge employment generator, and any positive activity in this sector aids the overall buoyancy in the economy. We feel, keeping in mind the real estate price inflation over the last decade or so, as a first step, the government can consider enhancement in a tax benefit for interest in housing loan to Rs 3 lakh from the current levels of Rs 2 lakh. The limit can be higher up to Rs 4-5 lakh in metro locations, which will be in line with the real estate price difference which exists between metr

The current financial year 2020-21 has seen deep erosion in the economy with sources pegging the year to close with a contraction of 7.7 percent in the gross domestic product (GDP). However, after the steep drop in the first two quarters, the economy is seen to be recovering with positive GDP growth in the last two quarters. The manufacturing sector has shown a swift recovery from Q2 and is poised to deliver further growth provided the market is ready for it. While the supply side has striven to recover its operations to pre-COVID levels, the demand is still lagging in several sectors of the economy. The government must focus its efforts firstly on improving demand in the domestic market. One major step towards this objective is to reduce the Goods and Service Tax (GST) rate for certain categories like furniture and air conditioners which are also identified as key thrust areas for investment by the government. The inflationary pressure on commodities like metals and plastics will im

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) is a comparatively new law in force that is triggered with various changes till it enters the area of perfection. It is natural to have changes and amendments in the law for a decent number of years after its application. However, GST has witnessed so many amendment times and again that its original structure which was kept by the Parliament before the country seems to be taking new shape and a new variant of GST, considering the recent amendments and approach of amendments in the law, is quite brainstorming as well as full of complexities as far as taxpayer is concerned. Here are some structural changes which I feel should be at the core of the discussion for smooth compliance with GST law: Ensuring free flow of input tax credit Recently various input tax credit (ITC) restriction measures have been introduced to fill up the loopholes, which fraudsters are taking advantages of. The first and foremost change is the restriction in the claim of ITC. Wh

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released the NTSE Stage 2 Exam 2020 admit card on 29 January. Students can download the NTSE Admit Card 2020 by logging into the official website ncert.nic.in . According to a report in Jagran Josh , the NTSE Stage 2 Exam 2020 hall ticket has been released for students who have cleared the first stage and have qualified to participate in the all-India level test. Here's how to download the NTSE Stage 2 Admit Card: Step 1: Candidates need to visit the official website ncert.nic.in . Step 2: Once there, they need to click on the NTSE icon and find the link for 'Admit card for NTS Stage-II Examination 2020'. Step 3: Candidates will be redirected to a new page with input fields where they will have to enter their roll number, date of birth, and security captcha. Step 4: Candidates need to verify all details and submit on the website. Step 5: The NTSE Stage 2 Admit Card 2020 will be displayed on the s

Pune: Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Saturday said his company has applied to start the trials of another COVID-19 vaccine and that it hopes to launch it by June 2021. The city-based firm has already produced 'Covishield' vaccine, co-developed by the University of Oxford and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. The Centre has purchased 11 million doses of Covishield vaccine for the ongoing inoculation drive. In a tweet, Poonawalla said, "Our partnership for a COVID-19 vaccine with @Novavax has also published excellent efficacy results. We have also applied to start trials in India. Hope to launch #COVOVAX by June 2021!" The country launched its COVID-19 vaccination drive from 16 January in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the world's largest inoculation programme with priority to be given to nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3pyQpkp Press Trust of India

Kolkata: Former West Bengal minister Rajib Banerjee, who recently quit the TMC , will Saturday fly with a few other disgruntled MLAs and leaders to New Delhi where they may join the BJP, sources in the saffron party said. Banerjee and MLAs Prabir Ghosal and Baishali Dalmiya, who was recently expelled from the TMC, and former Howrah mayor Rathin Chakraborty, will be flying to the National Capital on a special plane, and meet central BJP leaders. Former TMC MLA from Ranaghat Paschim in Nadia district Parthasarathi Chattopadhyay is also likely to accompany them. Banerjee said he had a word with Union Home Minister Amit Shah who called him to Delhi. "After I resigned from the TMC, I received a call from the BJP leadership.....Amit Shah ji told me to come over to Delhi. If I get assurances regarding the state's development, I will join the party," he told a Bengali news channel. When asked what role does he expect to play in the BJP, Banerjee said it is for the party to

United Nations: The UN counterterrorism chief is urging countries to repatriate the 27,000 children stranded in a massive camp in northeastern Syria, many of them sons and daughters of Islamic State extremists who once controlled large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Vladimir Voronkov told an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday that “the horrific situation of the children in Al Hol (camp) is one of the most pressing issues in the world today.” The 27,000 children “remain stranded, abandoned to their fate,” vulnerable to be preyed on by Islamic State enforcers, “and at risk of radicalisation within the camp,” he said. Al Hol, the largest camp for refugees and displaced Syrians in the country, is currently home to almost 62,000 residents, according to UN humanitarian officials. More than 80 percent are women and children, many of whom fled there after Islamic State militants lost their last Syrian stronghold in 2019. There are a number of other camps in the northeast as w

Moradabad:  At least 10 people were killed and around a dozen received injuries when a private bus collided with a truck on the Moradabad-Agra Highway on Saturday morning owing to poor visibility due to dense fog, an official said. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief and announced a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured. Top police and administration officials including District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Prabhakar Chaudhary have reached the spot. The accident took place at around 8 am on the Nanpur-Chandausi stretch of the highway near Manpur village under Kundarki Police Station area here, Singh said. Rescue operation is underway and the injured have been admitted to a nearby government hospital, Singh said. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, he said. In a series of tweets, the chief minister's office said Adityanath has directed offici

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday told leaders of various political parties that his government has been continuously trying to resolve the issues raised by protesting farmers through talks, sources said. Addressing floor leaders of various political parties at the customary all-party meeting convened by the government for the smooth conduct of the Budget Session, the prime minister said the Centre's proposal on the three new agriculture laws still stands, the sources said. Citing the prime minister's address at the virtual meeting, they said Modi told the leaders that Tomar was just a phone call away for protesting farmers and the agriculture minister had conveyed the same to farmer leaders earlier this month. The all-party meeting is convened for the government to put forth its legislative agenda before political parties. Leaders from various parties flag issues they wish to raise during the meeting. At Friday's meeting, various leaders including Gh

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will close the application form for Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) today (30 January). According to a report by Careers 360 , eligible candidates can pay the GPAT 2021 registration fees till 31 January. The application form can be filled at the official website gpat.nat.nic.in. The report added that the NTA will open the GPAT application form correction window 2021 from 1 to 2 February. Here's how to fill GPAT 2021 application form : Step 1: Candidates need to visit the official website - gpat.nta.nic.in. Step 2: Candidates need to click on thelink Apply for GPAT 2021 and then click on 'New Registration' and read all instructions carefully. Step 3: They need to click on proceed to fill the application form and using GPAT application number, password and login to complete the registration. Step 4: Submit the personal, academic, BPharm, contact and other asked details carefully. Step 5: Upload passport size photograph and

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has temporarily suspended internet services at the Singhu, Ghazipur, and Tikri borders, where farmers have been protesting against the new agri laws, an official said on Saturday. Apart from the three borders of Delhi, internet services will remain suspended in their adjoining areas too effective from 11 pm of 29 January to 11 pm of 31 January, the official said. The decision has been taken to "maintain public safety and averting public emergency" under Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules 2017, the official said. On 26 January, when large scale violence was reported during the farmers' tractor rally, internet services were temporary suspended in some parts of Delhi. The Haryana government had on Friday suspended mobile internet services in 17 districts till 5 pm. Lakhs of farmers across India have spent the last several weeks demanding the Centre to repeal farm reforms they

Washington: Unknown miscreants have vandalised, broken and ripped from the base a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a park in the US state of California, shocking and outraging Indian-Americans across the country, who have demanded that the officials investigate it as an incident of hate crime. The 6-ft tall, 650-pound (294 kg) bronze statue of Gandhi, in the Central Park of the City of Davis in Northern California, appeared to have been sawed off at the ankles and half its face was severed and missing, local Davis Enterprise daily reported. The vandalised statue of Mahatma Gandhi was found by a park employee in the early hours of morning of 27 January, the police said. The statue is being removed and will be stored in a safe place until it can be evaluated, said Davis City councilman Lucas Frerichs. Investigators are still unsure of when exactly the statue was torn down or what the motive may have been, The Sacramento Bee reported. "Seeing as it's a cultural icon to a porti

Karnataka education board will be conducting the second year pre-university (PU) exams in the state from 24 May, announced Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar on Friday. The minister said that the board exams will be continued till 10 June, 2021. Karnataka 2nd PUC Exam will be held from 24th May to 10th June: S Suresh Kumar, State Education Minister — ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2021 If anyone has any objection to the conduct of 2nd year PU exams on the tentatively decided dates, they can raise objections within a week. As per the schedule , the exams will begin with History and Physics on 24 May. Language papers like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Arabic, and French are set for 25 May. while Basic Maths exam is on 26 May, Maths paper will be on 27 May, along with Accountancy and Optional Kannada. Political Science paper is on 29 May, while Business Studies, Chemistry, and Education is on 31 May. On 2 June, Psychology, Biology, Electronics and Com

The farmers' protests in Delhi, which earlier appeared to be winding down after the violence on Republic Day , seem to have got a new lease of life at the Ghazipur border. The unexpected turnaround was partly caused by an emotional address to the media by Bharatiya Kisan Union national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait. On Saturday, a mahapanchayat will be held in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar to decide the union's future course of action. Nevertheless, crowds continue to swell at the Ghazipur border, two days after the local Ghaziabad administration had given an ultimatum to the farmers to end their protest. The events of the past two days also constitute a turnaround for Rakesh Tikait, the 51-year-old farmer leader who was earlier a sub-inspector with the Delhi Police. As noted by The Indian Express , some farmers earlier believed that he was 'promoted' by the Centre to neutralise more aggressive farmers' unions from Punjab and Haryana. What appeared to further l

The U nion government has on Friday announced that it will establish a virtual university to boost technology adoption in education. The central government also indicated that the Budget 2021-22 may give it a special attention. According to a report in Mint , the education ministry has said that the government will soon take necessary steps to establish virtual universities, which will be different from the concept of open universities. The education ministry added that this will help in achieving the desired GER (gross enrolment ratio in higher education, as envisaged in the National Education Policy. According to a report in The Indian Express , education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank held a meeting in this regard, which senior officials of the ministry attended. . Pokhriyal also reportedly said that the branding of Study in India programme should be taken up on a wider scale. The National Education Policy (NEP) unveiled last year had envisaged the establishment of a National

Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal has invited applications for the recruitment of professionals in the post of Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor. Candidates who are interested in the posts and eligible to apply are advised to visit the official website of the varsity at visvabharati.ac.in and go through the details of the recruitment procedure. Candidates can register for the posts online till 6 pm on 27 February. The recruitment drive is looking forward to shortlist candidates for as many as 106 vacant posts . While 53 vacancies are for Associate Professor, 33 seats are vacant for the post of Professor and 20 for Assistant Professor. There are also specified educational qualifications required for different posts for a candidate to become eligible to apply. As per Jagran Josh , a Professor must have a PhD degree in the allied/concerned/relevant discipline, and must have some published work. They must be actively engaged in research with evi

New Delhi: The minimum temperature in the National Capital rose slightly to 5.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday, but is likely to dip again on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department said. Cold wave conditions had prevailed in Delhi on Friday with the minimum temperature settling at 4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal. A cold wave is predicted on Sunday, too. In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius. A severe cold wave is when the minimum is 2 degrees Celsius or less. "The minimum temperature on Tuesday and Thursday had settled at 2.1 degrees Celsius and 3.8 degrees Celsius, respectively, due to the cold and dry northwesterly winds barrelling through the plains," the IMD said. Delhi had recorded a "cold day" on Sunday with the maximum temperature dropping to 15 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal and the lowest this month. On New Year's, the city had recorded a minimum of 1.1 degrees Ce

Every year, Shaheed Diwas or Martyrs’ Day is observed on 30 January in India. This day marks the death anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, or Mahatma Gandhi. It was on this day that Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse. Shaheed Diwas is also observed as a day to pay tribute to all the freedom fighters who had sacrificed their lives in order to gain India's independence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to write that Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals “continue to motivate millions” even today. Tributes to the great Bapu on his Punya Tithi. His ideals continue to motivate millions. On Martyrs’ Day we recall the heroic sacrifices of all those great women and men who devoted themselves towards India’s freedom and the well-being of every Indian. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 30, 2021 President Ram Nath Kovind too paid his tributes to the Father of the Nation via Twitter. On behalf of a grateful nation, my humble tributes to the Father of the Nation, M

Mumbai: Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday said he won't be proceeding with the indefinite fast against the new farm laws and claimed that the Central government has agreed to some of his demands. "The union government has agreed to some of my demands and also announced setting up a committee to improve the lives of farmers. I have decided to suspend my proposed indefinite fast starting from Saturday," he said on Friday. Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary and BJP leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadanvis met Hazare during the day. "A high-level committee, with some members nominated by Hazare, will consider his demands and submit a report in six months," said Choudhary. In a statement earlier in the day, Hazare (84) had announced that he will be starting the hunger strike from his village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra on Saturday. In that communication, Hazare had said he had written to the prime minister and

New Delhi: The first part of the Budget Session of Parliament is likely to end on 13 February instead of 15 February, sources said on Friday, underling that the total number of working days would however remain the same. The matter was discussed in the Business Advisory Committee of Lok Sabha where leaders of various parties were unanimous to end part one of the session on 13 February. As per earlier schedule, the session was to go on a recess after meeting on 15 February, a Monday. Now, at least Lok Sabha would meet on 13 February, a Saturday, before being adjourned to meet again on 8 March. This would mean that the number of working days would remain. In the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the two Houses had met on Saturdays and Sundays. But this time, the usual weekend breaks have returned. The Budget Session is scheduled to end on 8 April. The Business Advisory Committee of Lok Sabha also decided to allocate 10 hours for the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair an all-party meeting on Saturday to put forth the government's legislative agenda for the Budget Session of Parliament. This time the customary all-party meeting is being held after the beginning of the session. The Budget Session began on Friday with President Ram Nath Kovind addressing the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Usually such all-party meetings are held ahead of parliamentary sessions to ensure smooth functioning of both the Houses. During the virtual meeting, Opposition parties are likely to demand a debate on the farmers' agitation underway at various border points of Delhi. The Opposition parties had raised a similar demand at an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday, but the government suggested that the issue of farmers' agitation can be raised during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address for which 10 hours have been allocated in Lok

New Delhi: Hours after a low intensity explosion took place outside the Israeli embassy in the heart of the national capital on Friday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi and assured him of "fullest protection" to his country's diplomats and the mission. In a tweet, Jaishankar said India has taken the incident "very seriously" and that no effort will be spared to find the culprits. Friday also marked the 29th anniversary of the establishment of India-Israel full diplomatic ties. The Delhi Police said that the low-intensity improvised device went off at 5.05pm and that no one was injured in the explosion and there was no damage to any property. "Spoke just now to Israeli FM Gabi Ashkenazi about the explosion outside the Israeli Embassy. We take this very seriously. Assured him of the fullest protection for the Embassy and Israeli diplomats," Jaishankar tweeted. "Matter is under investigation

Legislations dealing with economic offences like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (‘Money Laundering Law’) and the Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction Act, 1988 (‘Benami Property Law’) have remained dormant for many years in the past. In fact, the latter legislation got its teeth only in the year 2016, when it was amended to its current form. These legislations are being used post-2014 and 2016 quite vociferously to bring defaulting persons to justice. The provisions of the two legislations provide the authorities concerned the power to attach properties, which are either proceeds of crime or are involved in a benami transaction. Attachment of property is an interim measure, which primarily puts a bar on further transfer of property. Attachment is resorted to by the government to ensure that it is not deprived of the opportunity to eventually confiscate/ recover the proceeds of crime or benami property, which has either been ill-gotten by violating laws or has been

The first-ever paperless fiscal Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February 2021. The expected announcements bear the heavyweight of people’s expectations stemming from the economic downturn caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While India has fared relatively well through the pandemic considering its population and healthcare infrastructure prevalent prior to the pandemic, the biggest challenge lies in nursing the economy which was anyway showing signs of slowdown even prior to the pandemic. In 2020, the government announced multiple stimulus packages to aid ailing businesses and the workforce. However, the ongoing pandemic has emphasised the importance of insurance (health and life) as a form of financial protection for oneself and family, reiterating the unpredictability of life-altering events. While there has been an increased awareness of insurance offerings among consumers, especially term and health insurance, significant headway has to be