Month: January 2022

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital before formal takeover of Air India.

“Shri N Chandrasekaran, the Chairman of Tata Sons called on PM,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a tweet after the meeting.
Chandrasekaran is also scheduled to meet key officials of the Central government before the formal handing over ceremony of Air India.

Tata Group, which originally founded Air India, is set to regain its ownership after a gap of 69 years.

Last year, Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Pvt Ltd, won the bid to acquire 100 per cent equity shareholding of Government of India in Air India along with equity shareholding of Air India in AIXL and Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS).

Tata Group has won the bid for acquiring 100 per cent stake in Air India for Rs 18,000 crore. (ANI)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a day-long visit to Punjab for campaigning of the upcoming assembly polls, visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Thursday.

The Congress leader was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and the party’s state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Following his visit to Golden Temple, Rahul Gandhi will pay obeisance at Durgiana Mandir and Bhagwan Valmiki Tirath Sthal along with all the 117 candidates in an apparent show of strength ahead of Assembly elections that are due next month.

Gandhi will then travel to Jalandhar by road where he would address the virtual rally “Navi Soch Nava Punjab” at White Diamond, Mithapur, Jalandhar.

Notably, this is the first visit of Rahul Gandhi since the imposition of a ban on physical rallies by the Election Commission of India at the start of the month.

Punjab will go to the assembly polls on February 20. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority in its meeting on Thursday decided to lift the COVID-19 restriction of weekend curfew and odd-even rule for non-essential commercial establishment in the national capital, sources said.

According to sources, weddings can be held in the national capital with 200 people or at 50 per cent capacity of the premises.

Cinema halls, bars and restaurants can also operate at 50 per cent capacity, said sources.

Delhi government offices will also operate with 50 per cent capacity.

However, the decision on the reopening of schools will be taken up in the next DDMA meeting.

Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal chaired the DDMA meet which was also attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The meeting was held virtually.

Last week, the Delhi government allowed all private offices in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, outside of Containment Zones, to function with upto 50 per cent attendance.

The DDMA had, however, advised the private offices to stagger office timing, presence and quantum of staff.

Earlier in the month, DDMA decided to impose a curfew in Delhi on Saturdays and Sundays to curb the COVID-19 surge.

Meanwhile, Delhi reported 7,498 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, said the state government on Wednesday.

As per the bulletin provided by the Health Department, the positivity rate for the day has gone to 10.59 per cent. A total of 70,804 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

During the last 24 hours, 11,164 patients recovered from the infection, taking the total recoveries in the national capital to 17,46,972.

As many as 29 people lost their lives to the deadly virus during the last 24 hours. The death toll in Delhi due to the disease currently stands at 25,710. The covid death rate stands at 1.42 per cent.

There are currently 38,315 active COVID-19 cases in Delhi. (ANI)

Union Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah on Thursday held a door-to-door campaign as a part of a political programme in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura ahead of State Assembly elections.

Shah also addressed an ‘Effective Voter Communication’ programme in Mathura earlier today and drew a comparison of BJP with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP), and said that unlike them, BJP does not work for one caste or dynasty, “it works for entire society”.

“BJP is not the party for one caste but for the entire society,” the Union Home Minister said.

He also thanked the people of the Braj region for always choosing lotus (BJP), “be it the elections of 2014 or 2017.”

Prior to these programmes, the Home Minister also offered prayers at Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan city of Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura today.

Shah’s public engagements are significant as elections on 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in seven phases starting from February 10.

The second phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections will be held on February 14, the third phase on February 20, the fourth phase on February 23, the fifth phase on February 27, the sixth phase on March 3 and the seventh and the last phase will be conducted on March 7.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday offered prayers at Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan city of Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura.

Shah is set to attend various events in Mathura and Gautam Buddh Nagar today that comprises door to door visit as part of campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

The Home Minister would also be attending effective voter communication in Mathura and Greater Noida.

The Home Minister’s public engagements are significant as elections on 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in seven phases starting from February 10. The second phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections will be held on February 14, the third phase on February 20, the fourth phase on February 23, the fifth phase on February 27, the sixth phase on March 3 and the seventh and the last phase will be conducted on March 7.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

And the journey begins! Actor Mouni Roy and Suraj Nambiar have tied the knot at a dreamy wedding as per Malayali rituals in Goa.

Thanks to social media for giving a glimpse into the dreamy wedding of Mouni and Suraj.
As per the viral pictures and videos on the internet, the two got hitched on Thursday morning as per the Malayali rituals in Goa.

Mouni, who belongs to a Hindu Bengali family, looked resplendent in a broad red-bordered white saree which she accessorised with heavy gold jewellery inclusive of customised matha patti, broad bangles, heavy jhumkis, a heavy bridal choker set teamed with a Ganapati-style heavy pendant set and a broad waistband.

Keeping her makeup subtle, the ‘Naagin’ star accessorized her hair in a gorgeous white gajra running through her long braid.

Meanwhile, Suraj who belongs to a Malayali family sported a tanned brown colour kurta with traditional white dhoti.

The intimate ceremony was attended by the couple’s family members and close friends. Mouni’s close friends from the entertainment industry including Arjun Bijlani, Mandira Bedi, Manmeet Singh from Meet Bros musical duo and Aashka Goradia also attended the ceremony. (ANI)

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) whether it will ask President Ramnath Kovind to resignn for having praised Tipu Sultan as a ‘historical warrior’ and ‘freedom fighter’ in the Karnataka Assembly in 2017.

Raut’s statement comes following protests by BJP and Bajrang Dal over the Maharashtra government’s move to “rename” a refurbished sports complex in Mumbai after 18th Century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.
“President Kovind went to Karnataka and praised Tipu Sultan that he was a historical warrior, freedom fighter. So, will you ask for the President’s resignation too? BJP should clarify this. This is drama,” Raut told the media persons in Mumbai.

“BJP thinks that only they have history’s knowledge. Everyone’s sitting down to write a new history, these historians are here to change history. We know about Tipu Sultan, don’t need to learn from BJP,” he added.

“If they say it has been named after Tipu and that they will do this and that then they should let it be, saying all this doesn’t suit them. State Government is capable of making decisions. Don’t write a new history. You can continue trying to change history in Delhi but you won’t succeed,” he stated. (ANI)

As the country on Wednesday was engaged in celebrating 73rd Republic Day, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) inducted a fleet of three new Floating Border Out-Post (FBOP) vessels aimed at protecting the country’s maritime borders.

“On Republic Day Parade 2022, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) delivered the 2nd lot of 03 Floating Border Out-Post (FBOP) vessels out of 09 FBOPs for BSF to enable protect our maritime borders, adding a boost to border guarding,” the BSF said.

A senior BSF officer told ANI that FBOP vessels play a crucial role while protecting maritime borders as they help in demarking borders on waters.

The officer said that these vessels will act as a floating base for the flotilla of fast patrol boats and will supply petrol, drinking water, provisions to the smaller boats and will be deployed on India’s eastern and western borders.

The three indigenously build FBOP vessels will act as the strategic base stations at India’s border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

These vessels are important for the nation with regards to its safety and will also help in boosting the business through the country’s coastal and inland waterways.

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) delivered the three FBOP vessels to the BSF, which will provide land and riverine security along 3,323 km of India-Pakistan and 4,096 km of India-Bangladesh international borders.

A batch of three similar vessels was delivered to the BSF earlier last year and the next batch of three vessels will be delivered soon.

With the induction of the second batch of FBOP vessels, the total number of such vessels in the BSF fleet has now reached 12.

The three FBOP’s, with a length of 46 meters, are part of a series of nine vessels being built for the Water Wing of the Border Security Force. These vessels are designed in-house by CSL and classed by the Indian Register of Shipping. Each FBOP is designed with storage arrangements for four fast patrol boats, which can be launched and hoisted using its davit system. (ANI)

India logged 2,86,384 new COVID-19 cases and 573 deaths in the last 24 hours, stated the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.

With this, the country’s active caseload mounted to 22,02,472, which is 5.46 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases reported so far.
As per the health bulletin, the daily positivity rate is 19.59 per cent while the weekly positivity rate is 17.75 per cent.

With 3,06,357 recoveries reported in the last 24 hours, the cumulative recoveries reached 3,76,77,328. The recovery rate is currently at 93.33 per cent.

However, with the addition of new fatalities, the COVID death toll in the country climbed to 4,91,700.

As many as 14,62,261 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours to detect the presence of the virus. Over 72.21 crore tests have been conducted so far in the country, stated the official release from the Ministry.

Meanwhile, under the ongoing nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive, over 163.84 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far. (ANI)