Focus Is on Structural Reforms, Bold Policy Changes: PM Modi at Kautilya Economic Enclave

 The Union Home Ministry on Friday strongly rejected remarks made by NC VP Omar Abdullah that there is an attempt to curtail the powers of the soon-to-be-elected chief minister or the next elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, saying there is not even an iota of truth in it.

The strong statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah's Office came after former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah asked bureaucrats in the Union Territory to resist any pressure to "further disempower" the incoming elected government.

A court here on Friday sent arrested former principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, and now-suspended police officer Abhijit Mondal to 14-day judicial custody. A special CBI court also sent another doctor, Ashish Pandey, to three-day custody of the central agency till October 7.

Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar on Friday visited troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in South of Pir Panchal region and exhorted them to maintain a high standard of operational prowess. The commander also commended the troops for their professionalism in challenging conditions, the Army said.

India on Friday assured continued support to Sri Lanka’s economic rebuilding and, in turn, got word from Colombo that its territory will not be allowed to be used in a manner inimical to New Delhi’s security interests. During a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar here, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that India’s economic support is critical to realise his vision of a prosperous Sri Lanka and meeting the aspirations of the people.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Friday said the IAF is aiming to have its entire inventory produced in India by 2047 under the indigenisation programme even as he asserted that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd must produce 24 Tejas light combat jets annually as promised to offset the delays in supplies.

At a press conference ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, he also said that India needs to catch up with China on technology and speed in production of military equipment, holding that "we are way behind" the neighbour.

Arunachal Pradesh Governor Lt Gen (Retd.) K T Parnaik on Friday stressed the need to strengthen security along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with the help of technology and integrate the local population with the security forces, according to a Raj Bhavan statement.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday attacked the Congress over the Delhi drug seizure, and accused it of turning entire north India into a hotspot of illegal drug trade when it was in power before 2014.In one of Delhi's biggest drug busts, police seized over 560 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana estimated to be worth around Rs 5,620 crore earlier this week.

The Ayodhya-Delhi Vande Bharat train was held up for around three hours near Etawah in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday following a technical snag due to a cattle runover."A bull accidentally came on the track near Bharthana railway station and was hit by the train that caused substantial damage to the engine, leading to technical problems in its operation," said Shashi Kant Tripathi, the chief public relations officer of the North Central Railway.

Services along both lines of the North-South corridor of Kolkata Metro were disrupted between Dumdum and Dakshineswar stations for over an hour on Friday evening due to signal failure, an official statement said.Metro services, however, remained unaffected between Dumdum and Kavi Subhash stations.

“Inclusive spirit’ is yet another notable factor of India’s growth story. Now, in India, growth is accompanied by inclusion. As a result, 25 crore people have moved out of poverty, over the last 10 years. We are ensuring that the benefits of India’s growth are reaped by everyone,” PM Modi said at Kautilya Economic conclave. 

“The global leaders and financial experts are optimistic about India’s growth. The investors believe that it’s the right time to invest in India. It’s not a coincidence, rather, it’s result of the reforms that have happened in India in the past decade,” PM Modi at Kautilya Economic Conclave. 
 

"Today, India is the fastest growing major economy in the world. Today, India is the 5th largest economy as per GDP. We rank first in the Global FinTech adaptation rate and smartphone data consumption... Almost half of the world's real-time digital transactions are being done in India. India has the world's third-largest startup system in the world. India is the biggest manufacturer of two-wheelers and tractors... Following the mantra of 'reform, perform and transform', we are continuously moving ahead by making decisions. This is the reason why the people in the country have elected the same govt for the third consecutive term after 60 years...You can see our commitment in the first three months of our third term..." PM Modi at Kautilya Economic Conclave. 

"This conclave is being organised at a time when there is a war situation in two big regions of the world. Both these regions are very important for the global economy, especially energy security. Amid this big global uncertainty, we are here discussing 'The Indian Era', it shows that today the trust in India is of different level," PM Modi at Kautilya Economic Conclave. 

Kerala High Court on Friday asked the Centre and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to initiate steps to provide relief funds to the state in connection with the July 30 Wayanad landslides. During a hearing in connection with the disaster which claimed over 200 lives and left many missing, the high court asked the state government to provide the criteria used for preparing the estimate for the disaster relief.

Total number of Maoists killed in the encounter with Police so far rises to 14, more automatic weapons recovered.

Gold prices rose by Rs 150 to hit a fresh all-time high of Rs 78,450 per 10 grams in the national capital on Friday on increased demand from jewellers and retailers driven by the ongoing festive season.The precious metal closed at Rs 78,300 per 10 grams on Thursday.

"We have seen reports that he (Zakir Naik) has been fitted into Pakistan and warmly welcomed there. It is not surprising for us that an Indian fugitive has received a high-level welcome in Pakistan. It is disappointing and condemnable but not surprising..." said MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

 "EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan for the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on 15th and 16th October..." MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

“As far as minorities is concerned in Bangladesh, we want to ensure their safety. We condemn the atrocities committed on Hindus during festival,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

"President of the Republic of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu will be travelling to India on a state visit from 7th to 10th October 2024. This will be his first bilateral visit to India. He had earlier visited India, in June 2024 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the PM and council of ministers. During his visit, he will also be in Bengaluru and Mumbai where he will have business engagements...," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

On the the conflict in West Asia, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We issued a statement a few days back expressing deep concern - we said that the violence and the situation is of deep concern for us. We had reiterated a call for restraint by all concerned and also the protection of civilians. It is important in our opinion that this conflict doesn't take a wider regional dimension... As of now, from Israel, Iran and other countries, flights are running so people have the option if they want to leave. Families have reached out to us and to our embassies, but at this point, we don't have any evacuation process going on.  We have around 3,000 people in Lebanon, mostly in Beirut... In Iran, we have around 10,000 people, around 5,000 of them are students... In Israel, we have around 30,000 people largely caregivers and workers.”

"We have developed Himachal. We were trying for roads to be developed at a good pace. The central government has extended its support for road development.
We have got more than Rs 200 crores for road development," Himachal PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh said. 

The Delhi High Court on Friday closed the proceedings by a lawyer in connection with Sonam Wangchuk's detention by the city police earlier this week and said the climate activist, who has now been released, can agitate his grievances himself."He does not need (another person) to agitate his rights. He can agitate his rights if he wants to... There cannot be a PIL in this matter... He will agitate in his own way. They (Wangchuk and his associates) will do whatever they want to," a bench headed by Chief Justice Manmohan said.

Kamlesh Singh, Jharkhand's sole Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator, joined the BJP on Friday, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.The Hussainabad MLA withdrew his support from the Hemant Soren-led government on November 1 last year.He was welcomed into the saffron party by Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi during a ceremony at the party's headquarters.

 An IAF helicopter on Friday began its search for two foreign mountaineers who got stranded at Chaukhamba in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Thursday. According to information received from the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) here, the search operation for the foreign mountaineers was started at 8 am.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday alleged that the Congress cannot run the Himachal Pradesh government without the Centre's support even for a day. Addressing a programme organised by the state unit of BJP in Bilaspur, Nadda said the central government gives Rs 500 crore as revenue deficit grant and Rs 800 crore as grant for payment of salaries and pension.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Friday observed the first anniversary of the glacial lake outburst flood, which claimed over 40 lives in the state.

"As we observe this solemn day marking the tragedy of October 4, we take a moment to honour the memory of those who lost their lives and acknowledge the families whose lives were forever changed," Tamang said in a social media post.

An encounter broke out between security personnel and Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Friday afternoon, a senior police official said. The gunfight started at around 1 pm in the Abhujmaad forest along the border of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts. The intermittent exchange of fire is still going on, he said.

he Supreme Court on Friday said it will lay down the law on the issue of high courts revoking orders dictated in open courts after the top court came across a case in which the Madras HC quashed a money laundering case against a former IPS officer and later modified its direction and reheard the matter.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih stayed the proceedings in a money laundering case against former IPS officer M S Jaffer Sait registered in connection with an alleged illegal allotment of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board plot.

The top court posted the matter for hearing on November 22.

Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday expressed confidence that the BJP will form a government in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in Haryana after the assembly elections.

He also said that although elections have not been declared in Jharkhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party's ongoing 'Parivartan Yatra' in that state is getting a good response.

"I have been to Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana amid the assembly polls. I am totally confident that the BJP is going to form governments there. The atmosphere in Haryana is very good and we are going to form a government there as well," Chouhan told reporters at his residence here.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday spoke on the phone to the man whose son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters were shot dead by an unknown assailant in nearby Amethi.

Ram Gopal, aged about 60, arrived in Sudamapuri village in the Unchahar area of Rae Bareli with the bodies of his family members, who were killed in their rented home Thursday evening.

Two Army personnel were injured in a landmine blast near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district on Friday, officials said.

"In the wee hours, during patrolling at Googaldara near LoC in Trehgam area of the north Kashmir district, two army personnel got injured in a landmine blast," the officials said.

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said the loss of lives in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh was "extremely painful".

Ten people were killed and three injured when a truck collided with a tractor trolley carrying labourers in Mirzapur district early Friday, police said.

"The news of the death of several people in a road accident in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh is extremely painful. In this hour of grief, I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved loved ones and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured," Murmu said in a post in Hindi on X.

NCP-SCP Chief Sharad Pawar Calls for Immediate Decision on Seat-sharing for Maha Assembly Polls

Right to live with dignity extends even to incarcerated" and its denial to the prisoners is a "relic of the colonizers and pre-colonial mechanisms," the Supreme Court has said.

The observations were made by a bench comprising Chief Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra in a landmark judgement delivered on Thursday by which it banned caste-based discrimination like division of manual labour, segregation of barracks, and bias against prisoners of denotified tribes and habitual offenders.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on constituting an independent Special Investigation Team to conduct a probe into allegations of use of animal fat in making Tirupati laddus.

In a post on 'X', he said: "I welcome the Honourable Supreme Court’s order of setting up SIT, comprising officers from CBI, AP Police and FSSAI to investigate the issue of adulteration of Tirupati laddu." Senior YSRCP leader and former minister R K Roja said the apex court’s direction is a welcoming development.

An Air India Express flight returned to the bay at Thiruvananthapuram Airport after suspected smoke was observed during the take-off initiation on Friday morning, sources from the airline and the airport said.The incident was reported at around 10.30 am on the flight bound for Muscat. There were 142 passengers onboard the aircraft, and they were offloaded for inspection, an airport source said.

The Kerala Assembly on Friday paid tributes to the victims of the devastating landslides that occurred in Meppadi in Wayanad district, on July 30, which killed over 230 people and left dozens missing.Making a special reference to the disaster on the opening day of the nine-day-long Assembly session, Speaker A N Shamseer said the House shares in the profound grief of the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here on Friday on a day-long visit to meet with the Sri Lankan leadership, less than a fortnight after Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as the president of the island nation.

"Good to be in Colombo again. Look forward to my engagements with the Sri Lankan leadership today," Jaishankar posted on X soon after his landing at the Colombo airport.

Jaishankar is the first foreign dignitary to visit Sri Lanka since the National People’s Power (NPP) government led by Dissanayake came to power on September 23.

Multinational organizations and businesses can now have access to Zoom India’s first cloud phone solution licensed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) India INDIA, October 4, 2024 — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) today announced the launch of its industry-leading Zoom Phone in India, commencing with the availability of Zoom Phone service with native India phone numbers in the Maharashtra Telecom Circle (Pune). Zoom Phone brings multinational corporations (MNCs) with a domestic presence and homegrown companies unrivaled simplicity and modern functionality to their distributed hybrid workforce, as well as global native coverage in 50 countries and territories.

Maldives president mohamed muizzu likely to visit india next week starting 7 october: sources 

TDP welcomes SC's decision on constituting independent SIT to probe into allegations of use of animal fat in making Tirupati laddus

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday vacated the 6, Flagstaff Road residence to move to his new address in the Lutyens' Zone. The Aam Aadmi Party national convener was seen leaving the house in a car with his parents, wife, and two children. The Kejriwal family departed for party member Ashok Mittal's official residence at 5 Ferozeshah Road near Mandi House.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to each of the deceased's kin and Rs 50,000 to those injured.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also announced a similar compensation for the kin of the deceased.

"The road accident in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh is extremely painful. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families of those who lost their lives in this. May God give them strength to bear this pain. Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of all the injured," PM Modi said on X.

We are passing this order...considering feelings of crores of people having faith in the deity. We direct the SIT to have:

(1) 2 officers of CBI nominated by Director

(2) 2 officers of AP state police

(3) 1 senior officer of FSSAI

Justice Gavai further said, “Both are warring groups...lakhs of devotees' faith involved.”

“We don't want this to turn into political drama. If there is independent body, there will be confidence.”: Justice Gavai

“We suggest independent SIT. It can have 2 from CBI, 2 from State govt, and 1 from FSSAI. Can keep matter pending.”: Justice Gavai

The Supreme Court hearing in the Tirupati Laddu Controversy has begun by a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan

The French Ambassador to India, has said that France would like to host 30,000 Indian students in France in the coming year, and added that one of the most important objectives for the European country is to develop people-to-people exchanges, in this bilateral relationship.
 

Apple to Open 4 More Stores in India, Start Selling 'made in India' Iphone 16 Pro 

Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Friday, extending their previous day's sharp slump, amid unabated foreign fund outflows and spiralling conflict in the Middle East.

Falling for the fifth day running, the BSE Sensex dropped 354.67 points to 82,142.43. The NSE Nifty declined 114.1 points to 25,136.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finserv were the major laggards.

Sensex Drops 354.67 Points to 82,142.43 in Early Trade; Nifty Declines 114.1 Points to 25,136

Union Minister Piyush Goyal Highlighted that it was very difficult task to bring the manufacturing in the country as the economic situation was very bas when PM Modi took charge in 2014 .
 

Rupee Turns Flat at 83.96 Against the Us Dollar in Early Trade

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maharashtra on Saturday to launch several development initiatives costing over Rs 56,000 crore, his office has said.

The PMO said Friday that Modi will inaugurate the Banjara Virasat Museum, celebrating the rich heritage of the Banjara community, in Washim, and launch projects worth Rs 23,300 crore related to the agricultural and animal husbandry sector.

Later in the day, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various development projects worth over Rs 32,800 crore in Thane.

From BKC Metro Station, he will flag off a train scheduled to run from BKC to Aarey JVLR, Mumbai and will also take a ride in the metro between BKC and Santacruz stations, the PMO said.

Junior doctors in West Bengal continued their total 'cease work' at all state-run medical colleges and hospitals on Friday demanding justice for their colleague who was raped-murdered at RG Kar hospital and improved safety measures at medical facilities.

"We are holding a governing body meeting among ourselves to decide on our next step. But we are sticking to our demands for safety and security at all hospitals across West Bengal," one of the protesting doctors told PTI, a day after some senior medics requested them to call off their total 'cease work' in light of the sufferings of ordinary patients.

Ten people lost their lives when a truck collided with a tractor in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, late last night. The accident occurred around 1 AM on the GT Road Kachhwa border.

Tirupati Laddu Prasadam issue: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the FSSAI to issue supplementary notice and grant time to AR Dairy Food to respond to it in the case relating to the supply of ghee used for making Tirupati laddus.

India on Thursday welcomed the UK's decision to hand over the sovereignty of Chagos Islands including strategically located tropical atoll of Diego Garcia to Mauritius under a historic agreement. The UK is giving up the rights on the islands after more than 50 years which London said demonstrated its commitment to safeguarding global security and averting threats to peace in the Indian Ocean and wider Indo-Pacific.

CBI has arrested Dr Ashish Pandey in the case of financial irregularities at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College: CBI Sources

If sexual acts by a man with his own wife is made punishable as "rape", it may severely impact the conjugal relationship and lead to serious disturbances in the institution of marriage, the Centre has told the Supreme Court. Opposing the criminalisation of marital rape, which is sought by many petitioners before the apex court, the Centre has filed its preliminary counter affidavit in the top court.

 The Supreme Court will hear a batch of pleas, including those seeking a court-monitored probe, into the alleged use of animal fat in making Tirupati laddus on Friday.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested the apex court, which was scheduled to hear the matter at 3.30 pm on Thursday, that the case be taken up at 10.30 am on Friday.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved conferring classical language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"This is a historical decision and it goes very well with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government's philosophy of taking pride in our culture, taking pride in our heritage and taking pride in all the Indian languages and the rich heritage that we have," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a cabinet briefing.