Month: July 2022

The army recruitment rally for hiring the Agniveers under the Agnipath scheme will begin in 11 districts of Tamil Nadu, informed the officials on Tuesday.

“The rally is being held for enrolment of Agniveer General Duty, Agniveer Technical, Agniveer Tradesman 10th pass, Agniveer Tradesman 8th pass and Agniveer Clerk/ Store Keeper Technical categories/ entries in the Army,” read an official statement.
The online registrations are compulsory and will begin on July 5 and will continue till August 3. The candidates can complete the online registration on the official website: joinindianarmy.nic.in.

The Recruitment Rally is scheduled to be held at Public Matric Higher Secondary School, Avinashi, Tiruppur (District) from September 20 to October 1, 2022, for volunteer male candidates from 11 districts including Coimbatore, Dindigul, Dharmapuri, Erode, Madurai, Namakkal, The Nilgiris, Salem, Theni, Krishnagiri and Tiruppur.

The details of age, education qualification and other criteria for enrolment in the specified categories in the Army are given in the Rally Notification published by Army Recruiting Office, Coimbatore dated July 4, 2022.

The rally will be held by the Army Recruiting Office, Coimbatore under the aegis of HQ Recruiting Zone, Chennai.

The “transformative” Agnipath scheme, announced by Union Minister Rajanath Singh on June 14, in the presence of the three service chiefs provides for the recruitment of into the armed services of youths in the age bracket of 17-and-a-half-years to 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. The Centre later extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.

The Union Cabinet also approved the Agnipath scheme on June 14 and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers.

The government had announced that 46,000 Agniveers to be recruited this year. It had said that the armed forces will have “a younger, fitter, diverse profile” to face future challenges.

There have been protests against the Agnipath scheme in some states and the government has announced support measures to allay apprehensions. (ANI)

The Indian rupee slumped to a new record low of 79.38 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid continued foreign fund outflows and a widening trade deficit.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee started trading at 79.04 against the US dollar and slumped to a low of 79.38 in the intra-day. The rupee closed 41 paise lower at 79.36 against the US dollar.
This is the lowest intra-day as well as the closing level of the rupee. The Indian rupee had closed at 78.95 against the US dollar on Monday.

The rupee fell sharply on Tuesday, a day after the government data showed an increase in the trade deficit.

As per data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Monday, India’s trade deficit widened to $25.63 billion in June. For the first quarter of the current financial year, the trade deficit has widened to $70.25 billion.

The country’s trade deficit has widened due to high imports. India’s merchandise imports in April-June 2022-23 period stood at $187.02 billion, an increase of 47.31 per cent over $126.96 billion in April-June 2021-22.

In the first quarter of the current financial year, India’s merchandise export rose to $116.77 billion, recording an increase of 22.22 per cent over $95.54 billion recorded in April -June 2021-22.

India’s merchandise exports rose by 16.8 per cent to $37.9 billion in June 2022, while imports soared by 51.02 per cent to $63.58 leading to a trade deficit of $25.63 billion during the month.

According to global financial services group Nomura, the high trade deficit is likely to pull the rupee down to 82 against the US dollar.

Nomura said in a report that India’s current account deficit would widen to 3.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the current financial year from 1.2 per cent in 2021-22. (ANI)

Chhattisgarh Police on Tuesday reached television channel news anchor’s residence in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, after an FIR was registered against him following the broadcast of a misleading video on Rahul Gandhi for which the channel had issued an apology.

The anchor Rohit Ranjan, however, was taken in custody by Noida Police after he took to Twitter this morning to post “Chhattisgarh Police is standing outside my house to arrest me without informing the local police, is it legal”. He tagged Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and SSP Ghaziabad and ADG Zone Lucknow in the tweet.

Responding to Ranjan’s tweet, the Raipur Police, Chhatisgarh, posted on its Twitter handle, “There is no such rule to inform. Still, now they are informed. Police team has shown you court’s warrant of arrest. You should in fact cooperate, join in investigation and put your defence in court.”

Meanwhile, ADCP Noida said, “In the course of an investigation registered at police station Sector 20, a person named Rohit Ranjan, working in a news channel is being questioned.”

Ranjan had on his show said, “Yesterday, in our show DNA, Rahul Gandhi’s statement was taken in the wrong context by linking it to the Udaipur incident, it was a human error for which our team apologises.”

The Congress filed a complaint in Raipur against Ranjan for allegedly “running a doctored video of Rahul Gandhi”.

According to reports, the FIR filed by Congress said that Rohit Ranjan intentionally linked Rahul Gandhi’s statements on the vandalization of his office to the Udaipur incident in an attempt to incite public sentiments.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi while referring to the attack on his Wayanad office had said, “The children who did this have acted in an irresponsible way. They are kids, forgive them.” (ANI)

Is there anything Ranveer Singh cannot do? Well, we think not! From pulling off the quirkiest outfits, dancing on the streets, to exploring the wilderness of a jungle with Bear Grylls, he has done it all! And now, guess the actor is learning a new language.

Ranveer recently joined Deepika at the stage of a recent event that was held in San Jose, California. The couple graced the 10th Edition of the Konkani Sammelan where Deepika was invited as the chief guest. And the event was filled with many moments that won the hearts of the audience present there. One such moment was when Ranveer took the lead and spoke a line or two in Konkani, making the audience laud. Even his wife Deepika couldn’t help but cheer for him as he flaunted his skills. See for yourself:

Earlier the couple was captured on camera dancing to the tunes of ‘Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe’ from the movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ at Shankar Mahadevan’s concert held on June 3.

In another video from the concert, Shankar Mahadevan, Deepika Padukone, and the crowd can be heard singing the happy birthday song for Ranveer Singh. For the unversed, Ranveer will be turning a day older on Wednesday.

On the work front, Ranveer’s next appearance on-screen will be in Netflix’s “Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls” where he is all set to go on a wild ride with the king of the Wild – Bear Grylls. Apart from this, he has ‘Cirkus’, directed by Rohit Shetty co-starring Jacqueline Fernandez and Pooja Hegde, and ‘Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ directed by Karan Johar opposite Alia Bhatt in his kitty. (ANI)

A person from Lucknow has been arrested for allegedly funding June 3 Kanpur violence, police said.

The man identified as Haji Vasi was absconding since the incident on June 3 when a violent clash broke out between two groups belonging to different communities allegedly over a market shutdown in Kanpur.
AP Tiwari, Additional Commissioner of Police said that a non-bailable warrant was issued earlier against the accused.

“Kanpur Police arrested Haji Vasi on Monday night. He is accused in the June 3 Kanpur violence case. We had a non-bailable warrant against him and were searching for him continuously since the incident. His search was on in Delhi and other neighbouring states. He will be presented to the court,” he said.

Earlier, the Kanpur Development Authority sealed off Vasi’s property, the police said.

On June 11, the police arrested another accused identified as the President of Jamiatul Quresh, Nizam Qureshi from Kanpur, who was often seen with the mastermind of the violence, Hayat Jaffar Hashmi.

Hayat Jaffar Hashmi, the main accused in the Kanpur violence case was arrested along with three other masterminds, namely Javed Ahmed Khan, Mohammad Rahil, and Mohammad Suffian the day after the violence on June 4. All of them were allegedly associated with the Maulana Ali Jauhar Fans Association, and were sent on a 14-day judicial remand on June 5, the police said.

As many as 36 persons were arrested in connection with the clash so far. (ANI)

Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has moved to the Delhi High Court challenging the order of a trial court which sent him to four years of imprisonment in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

Advocate Harsh Sharma on Tuesday confirmed that the appeal has been moved to the High Court challenging a trial court order of conviction and order of sentence against Chautala.
On May 27, 2022, the Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi ordered four years of imprisonment to Chautala. The Court had also ordered to confiscate four properties of him and also imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh.

While passing the order, CBI Judge Vikas Dhull had also ordered to send Chautala in the custody of Tihar Jail.

During the argument, Chautala physically appeared and remained present in the courtroom. Appearing for Chautala, Advocate Harsh Sharma cited medical grounds for less punishment and submitted that “I, (OP Chautala), have been infected with polio since birth and I am partially disabled.”

CBI’s Special Public Prosecutor Ajay Gupta had opposed the submissions of Chautala’s lawyer for a grant of concession on the grounds of ill-health and age.

CBI had urged the court that “maximum punishment shall be given as it would send a message to the society.” “The person, in this case, is a public figure and giving minimum punishment would send a wrong message. He is not having clean antecedents. It is the second case, in which he has been convicted,” CBI said.

Special Judge (PC Act) Vikas Dhull on May 21, convicted Chautala and said the accused had failed to satisfactorily account for such dis-proportionality by proving his source of income or means by way of which, he acquired assets during this period.

“Hence, accused Om Prakash Chautala is convicted for the offence under Section 13(1)(e) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Put up May 26, 2022 at 10.00 AM for arguments on the point of sentence,” said the court.

According to the CBI’s FIR, accused Chautala, while functioning as Chief Minister of Haryana during the period from July 24, 1999, to March 5, 2005, in collusion with his family members and others, accumulated assets, immovable and movable, disproportionate to his known lawful sources of income, in his name, in the names of his family members and others to the extent of Rs.1,467 crores.

The FIR further stated that the accused accumulated enormous wealth and invested the same throughout the country in the shape of thousands of acres of land, multi complexes, palatial residential houses, hotels, farmhouses, business agencies, petrol pumps and other investments apart from investments in foreign countries.

The FIR also stated that 43 immovable properties in all, apart from cash and jewellery were accumulated. Apart from 43 alleged properties listed in the FIR, additional properties were also suspected to be of the accused family.

An investigation with regard to additional properties was also conducted for ascertaining the link of the accused family with the said properties.

The chargesheet filed in the matter after the conclusion of the investigation stated that accused OP Chautala had acquired assets, both immovable and movable, which were disproportionate to his known source of income.

The disproportionate assets were calculated to be Rs 6,09,79,026 only and the percentage of disproportionate assets was 189.11 per cent of his known sources of income.

Accordingly, CBI had chargesheeted the accused for the offence under Section 13(1)(e) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Apart from the charge sheet filed against the accused OP Chautala, the CBI had filed two more charge sheets arising out of the present FIR, against the sons of the accused i.e. Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala and others, which are being tried separately. (ANI)

Saral Vastu expert Chandrashekhar Angadi popularly known as Chandrashekhar Guruji was stabbed to death by two unidentified people at a hotel in Hubballi on Tuesday morning.

According to Police, Chandrashekhar Guruji was staying at the hotel in Hubballi for the last four days. On Tuesday two people came to the hotel to meet him and called him to the lobby. Soon after Chandrashekhar Guruji reached the lobby, the assailants stabbed him multiple times and ran away. He was rushed to the KIMS Hospital where he was declared dead.

“Some people called him to the lobby area of the hotel where he was staying. One person wished him and then suddenly started stabbing him. Due to multiple injuries, by the time he was shifted to the hospital, he was dead. We have registered a case and are searching for the accused,” said Police Commissioner Labhu Ram.

The investigation has been started. A hunt has been launched to trace the absconding killers.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday challenged Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake to revive the country’s economy in six months.

Addressing the Parliament, PM Wickremesinghe said that he is ready to step down if Dissanayake can revive Sri Lanka’s economy in 6 months.
Earlier, Dissanayake had boasted that he is capable of restoring Sri Lanka’s economy in six months.

“So if there is such a plan, I am ready to resign and let him take up this position. I am ready to give up my position and support that program. Because the positions I hold are not new to me. At a time when the country has become anarchic and no one has taken responsibility, I have not accepted this position out of the desire for the chair,” he added.

“It would be great if he has a plan to restore the country’s economy within six months. With such a plan, we will be able to restore the economy in a short period of time. Not only that, but it also sets a good precedent for the world,” said the Sri Lankan Prime Minister.

PM Wickremesinghe said that taking a country whose economic growth has fallen to negative ratings to a positive economic growth rate in six months is an action that has never happened in any country in the world.

Taking a jibe at JVP leader, Wickremesinghe further advised Dissanayake to lay out the plan of the country’s economic revival to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa or to the Sri Lankan Parliament as that plan would win him the Nobel Prize in Economics.

“That is why I am asking MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake to submit this plan to the President. If you don’t want to go to the President, present it to this Parliament. Let us discuss it in this Parliament. If that plan is better and more effective than the plan we are implementing now, we will implement it. Such a plan would be brilliant enough to win the Nobel Prize in Economics,” said Wickremesinghe.

He further stated “if there is a more effective plan than the one we have presented, if there is a faster plan, then present it. We can discuss it. Run it the most effective path to recovery.”

Wickremesinghe said that the island country is participating in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a bankrupt country.

“Our country has held talks with the IMF on many occasions before. But this time the situation is different from all those previous occasions,” he said in Lankan Parliament.

“We are now participating in the negotiations as a bankrupt country. Therefore, we have to face a more difficult and complicated situation than previous negotiations,” Wickremesinghe said.

The Prime Minister further in the speech said that once a staff-level agreement is reached, it will be submitted to the IMF Board of Directors for approval.

Sri Lanka has been facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, leading to an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel across the island nation.

The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.

The economic crisis has particularly impacted food security, agriculture, livelihoods, and access to health services. Food production in the last harvest season was 40 – 50 per cent lower than last year, and the current agricultural season is at risk, with seeds, fertilizers, fuel and credit shortages.

Sri Lanka is one of the few nations named by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which is expected to go without food due to the global food shortage expected this year. (ANI)

Actor Vijay Deverakonda dropped a jaw-dropping picture on his social media account.

Arjun Reddy star took to his Instagram handle and shared a picture, leaving his fans to go crazy over his look. In the picture, Vijay struck a hot pose and was seen unbuttoning his shirt.
Sharing the picture, the actor wrote, “Unbuttoning – before the shot that broke the internet.”

Vijay’s social media post garnered several likes and comments from his fans and followers. Some of whom also left fire and heart emojis.

Recently Vijay also surprised his fans by unveiling a new look from his film ‘Liger’ on Saturday.

In the poster, Vijay is seen standing naked with flowers in his hand. His chiselled abs are clearly visible in the picture.

Sharing his look, Vijay took to Instagram and wrote, “A Film that took my everything. As a performance, Mentally, physically my most challenging role. I give you everything! Coming Soon #LIGER (sic)”

Netizens have been going gaga ever since they saw Vijay’s bold avatar.

Ananya Pandey and Vijay Deverakonda will feature in the boxing drama ‘Liger’ and it is one of Vijay’s most anticipated films because it marks his Bollywood debut.

Pan-India film ‘Liger’ will hit the screens on the 25th of August 2022. The Puri Jagannadh directorial also marks the Bollywood debut of boxing legend Mike Tyson. It will release in five languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. (ANI)

Several attempts were made to attack Sidhu Moose Wala during the Punjab assembly elections in April and the Aam Aadmi Party-led state “government too left no stone unturned” to curtail his security and “publicized” the withdrawal of his security, said Balkaur Singh, father of the Punjabi singer-politician.

“Sixty to eighty people were after him (Sidhu Moose Wala) to kill him. Efforts were made at least eight more times during the elections to kill him. The government too left no stone unturned, withdrew his security and publicized it,” Balkaur Singh said on Monday.

Moosewala, the 28-year-old singer, was gunned down near his village in Mansa on May 29, a day after his security was scaled down by the newly formed Bhagwant Mann government.

“Gangsters are running a parallel government (in Punjab). Young men are dying. Vicky Middukhera’s revenge was taken, tomorrow someone will do it for Sidhu. But it is our houses being destroyed,” Singh said while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a road in Mansa district’s Burj Dalwa village.

The murder of Moosewala saw several arrests. Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, the mastermind in the case, is under police remand till July 6.

A special cell of the Delhi Police recently apprehended two most wanted criminals of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Goldy Brar Gang.