Top news: Congress and BJP trade barbs after report shows unemployment at 45-year high

Pakistan summons Indian envoy over foreign minister’s call with Hurriyat leader

Pakistan on Thursday summoned India’s high commissioner to lodge a protest after its envoy was summoned by New Delhi a day earlier. According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria in Islamabad.

Unemployment: Centre did not release report as data is still under process, says NITI Aayog

The NITI Aayog on Thursday said the report that said unemployment rate in India was at a 45-year-high of 6.1% in 2017-’18 was not final and the data related to it was still under process. Reacting to the “buried” report, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that the country could not have experienced a growth of 7% if unemployment had been on the rise

Core sector growth slowed to 2.6% in December, shows data

The combined index of eight core industries was 132.1 in December 2018, 2.6% higher compared to the index in the corresponding month in 2018, the government said on Thursday. Its cumulative growth between April and December was 4.8%.

Kerala Budget: Rs 739 crore earmarked for development of Sabarimala temple, says finance minister

The Kerala government on Thursday earmarked Rs 739 crore for the development of Sabarimala temple, which has seen several violent protests since September 2018, when the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to enter the hill shrine. Kerala Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac presented the Budget for 2019-’20 financial year.

Sabarimala: Supreme Court to hear petitions challenging women’s entry into temple on February 6

The Supreme Court will hear on February 6 the petitions seeking a review of its September 28 verdict allowing women of menstruating age to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. A batch of 49 review petitions are up for hearing before the Supreme Court.

United States: Eight Indians arrested for visa, immigration scam in Detroit

Authorities in the United States arrested eight persons on Wednesday after busting a “pay to stay” visa racket in Detroit. The accused were charged with fraudulently helping at least 600 immigrants to illegally stay on in the country and now face deportation. They are either Indian nationals or Indian-Americans.

Sahara case: Supreme Court orders Subrata Roy, other directors to appear before it on February 28

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy to appear before it on February 28, for failing to deposit Rs 25,700 crore in connection with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s case against the group. The court said it had given six months to the Sahara Group to furnish the amount, but the firm deposited just Rs 15,000 crore.

Congress wants to allocate Rs 3 lakh crore for minimum income scheme, says P Chidambaram

Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said the party was looking to earmark Rs 3 lakh crore to set the minimum income scheme for the poor rolling and asserted that it was an “eminently doable” idea. Chidambaram claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had two years to implement the idea as universal basic income was first discussed in the 2016-’17 economic survey.

Muzaffarnagar: Villagers allegedly herd stray cows inside school, teachers take classes in the open

The Uttar Pradesh Police has registered a first information report against 24 people for allegedly vacating students and teachers of a government primary school in Muzaffarnagar to keep stray cows. The incident comes a month after Chief Minister Adityanath had directed officials to make immediate arrangements for shelter facilities for stray cows.

Uttar Pradesh: Enforcement Directorate conducts searches in Lucknow in Dalit memorial scam case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday searched six locations in Lucknow in connection with an alleged scam in building memorials for Dalit leaders across Uttar Pradesh. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati had constructed these memorials when her government was in power between 2002 and 2007.

BJP calls report on rise in unemployment ‘fake news’, compares Rahul Gandhi to Mussolini

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday claimed that the data on unemployment that was made public earlier in the day was fake news. The saffron party also criticised Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who mocked the Centre over the data. “It’s clear that he has inherited Mussolini’s shortsightedness and has myopic understanding of issues,” the party tweeted.

Citizenship Bill: Manipur observes 24-hour shutdown, massive protest rally organised in Tripura

A group of organisations called for a 24-hour strike in Manipur on Thursday to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, PTI reported. The strike was called by the Manipur People Against Citizenship Amendment Bill, which is a collective of 66 organisations.

Rahul Gandhi mocks Modi over unemployment data, says ‘Fuhrer’ promised 2 crore jobs a year

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi after unreleased data on unemployment was made public. A media report has said that the National Sample Survey Office’s Periodic Labour Force Survey recorded the unemployment rate in India at a 45-year-high of 6.1% in 2017-’18.

Markets: Sensex surges over 535 points, Nifty trades at 10,800 ahead of Union Budget

Indian benchmarks surged more than 1% during intraday trade on Thursday, a day before the Centre presents an interim budget. Positive comments by the United States Federal Reserve after it kept interest rate unchanged also helped the markets.

Pakistan rejects India’s objections to foreign minister’s call with Kashmiri separatist leader

Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed India’s objections to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s telephonic conversation with Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said that Kashmir is an outstanding dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Budget session: Society resents MPs who do not participate in Parliamentary debates, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that all MPs should utilise the Budget Session of Parliament to debate matters of importance. He claimed that the society resents those who do not take an interest in Parliamentary debates.

Jammu and Kashmir: At least five civilians, two CRPF jawans injured in grenade attack in Anantnag

At least five civilians and two Central Reserve Police Force personnel were injured in a grenade attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Thursday. Some reports claimed only one CRPF jawan was injured.

Unprotected SBI server exposed customers’ bank account details, now fixed: Report

An unprotected server of State Bank of India allowed anyone to gain access to customers’ bank balances and recent transactions until the glitch was removed by the lender. It is not clear how long the server remained unprotected.

Ayodhya: BJP’s Ram Madhav says case is ‘going nowhere’ in Supreme Court

Bharatiya Janata Party National General Secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday said the Ram temple case in the Supreme Court is “going nowhere”. Madhav said the Centre has to look at some measures to resolve the matter, since the Supreme Court has repeatedly postponed dates of the hearing.

Ram temple: Shankaracharya sets date to lay foundation, asks Hindus to be ready to face bullets

Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati on Wednesday urged the Hindu community to be ready to face bullets for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The religious leader set February 21 as the final date to proceed to Ayodhya to lay the foundation of the Ram temple.

SC says Sreesanth’s conduct during IPL spot-fixing episode ‘not good’, player alleges police threat

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, questioned banned cricketer S Sreesanth for not immediately bringing it to the notice of Board of Control for Cricket in India that he was being approached for alleged spot-fixing during an Indian Premier League match in 2013.

Bhima Koregaon: Surendra Gadling, Varavara Rao transferred from Pune jail despite pending SC order

Police in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra received custody of advocate Surendra Gadling and poet Varavara Rao from Yerawada jail in Pune on Wednesday after a special court approved their transfer warrant despite a pending case in the Supreme Court.

SC says Sreesanth’s conduct during IPL spot-fixing episode ‘not good’, player alleges police threat

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, questioned banned cricketer S Sreesanth for not immediately bringing it to the notice of Board of Control for Cricket in India that he was being approached for alleged spot-fixing during an Indian Premier League match in 2013.

Ram temple: Shankaracharya sets date to lay foundation, asks Hindus to be ready to face bullets

Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati on Wednesday urged the Hindu community to be ready to face bullets for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. At a Param Dharam Sansad in Prayagraj city of Uttar Pradesh, the religious leader set February 21 as the final date to proceed to Ayodhya to lay the foundation of the Ram temple.

Ayodhya: BJP’s Ram Madhav says case is ‘going nowhere’ in Supreme Court

Bharatiya Janata Party National General Secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday said the Ram temple case in the Supreme Court is “going nowhere”.

CBI row: SC dismisses plea challenging Rakesh Asthana’s appointment to Bureau of Civil Aviation

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of former Central Bureau of Investigation special director Rakesh Asthana as director general of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The petitioner, advocate ML Sharma, had challenged the appointment, citing a pending first information report against Asthana on bribery allegations. The Delhi High Court had on January 11 refused to quash the FIR against Asthana.

Parliament: President Kovind hails Modi government’s ‘New India’ vision on day 1 of Budget Session

President Ram Nath Kovind addressed legislators from the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha in the Central Hall of Parliament on Thursday on the first day of the Budget Session. He claimed the country was passing through a difficult period before the 2014 General Elections, but the present government came out with an initiative to create a “new India”.

Congress wins Rajasthan’s Ramgarh seat; BJP surges ahead in Jind, Haryana

Congress’ Safiya Khan has defeated BJP’s Sukhwant Singh by 12,228 votes in the Ramgarh Assembly seat. This increases Congress’ tally in the Rajasthan Assembly to 100 out of 200 seats. In Haryana’s Jind, BJP candidate Krishan Middha is ahead of Jannayak Janata Party candidate Digvijay Chautala by 5,737 votes. Counting of votes cast for one seat of the Rajasthan Assembly and the bye-election for another in Haryana began on Thursday morning.

CBI row: Another SC judge recuses himself from hearing plea against interim chief’s appointment

Justice NV Ramana on Thursday recused himself from hearing a petition challenging the appointment of Nageswara Rao as interim director of the Central Bureau of Investigation. Ramana is the third judge to rescue himself from hearing the petition, which was filed by non-governmental organisation Common Cause.

AgustaWestland deal: Accused Rajeev Saxena, Deepak Talwar arrested after being brought to India

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday arrested Dubai-based businessman Rajeev Saxena, who is an accused in the AgustaWestland chopper scam, and corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar after they were extradited to India from Dubai. Saxena and Talwar were arrested around 2 am on Thursday,

Watch: Ramdev asks saints at Kumbh to give up tobacco, cites Ram, Krishna as examples

Yoga guru Ramdev on Wednesday asked saints at the Kumbh Mela to stop smoking. “We follow Ram and Krishna who never smoked in their life then why should we?” he asked them. “We must take a pledge to quit smoking.”

Unemployment was at 45-year high after note ban, shows Centre’s ‘buried’ report: Business Standard

The National Sample Survey Office’s Periodic Labour Force Survey recorded the unemployment rate in India at a 45-year-high of 6.1% in 2017-’18. Two independent members of the National Statistical Commission had resigned this week after the government allegedly failed to publish the report that was prepared last month. The report is still not public.

Uttar Pradesh: 13 people booked for ‘recreating’ Gandhi’s assassination

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday filed cases against 13 people associated with the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha for shooting at an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi to mark his 71st death anniversary, PTI reported. Police said no arrests have been made till now.

Union minister Anantkumar Hegde now calls Rahul Gandhi a ‘hybrid specimen’

Union minister Anantkumar Hegde on Wednesday made another controversial remark, claiming that Congress President Rahul Gandhi is a “hybrid specimen” with a Muslim father and a Christian mother, PTI reported.

India warns Pakistan envoy after Islamabad’s phone call to Hurriyat leader

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale summoned Islamabad’s envoy on Wednesday night to condemn a phone call between Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.