Top news: Postpaid mobile services restored in Kashmir after 72 days, but no internet yet

PMC Bank crisis: RBI governor has told me he will look after customers’ interests, says Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das had assured her he would keep the interests of the customers in mind while trying to resolve the crisis in Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank. Sitharaman said she spoke to the central bank governor on Monday afternoon.

‘Why was nikamma absent?’: Sanjay Nirupam targets Milind Deora amid Mumbai Congress infighting

Maharashtra Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Monday lashed out at his rival Milind Deora amid reports of infighting within the party. In a tweet apparently addressed to Deora, Nirupam called the former Mumbai Congress chief a “nikamma [useless person]”. He had called Deora “nikamma” in an interview to India Today on October 4 and blamed him for “destroying the Congress”.

INX Media case: Enforcement Directorate seeks court’s permission to arrest P Chidambaram

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday sought permission from a court in Delhi to arrest Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media case. Chidambaram is in Tihar Jail since last month in connection with the inquiry of the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case.

Nirmala Sitharaman’s husband says Centre is in ‘denial mode’ about economic slowdown

Noted economist and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s husband Parakala Prabhakar wrote an op-ed article in The Hindu on Monday, blaming the government for the economic slowdown. “There is anxiety all over about the economic slowdown in the country,” Prabhakar wrote. “While the government is still in denial mode, data flowing uninterruptedly into the public domain show that sector after sector is staring at a seriously challenging situation.”

Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee and two others win Nobel for efforts to alleviate poverty

The 2019 Nobel Prize for economics was awarded to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer on Monday. The prize was given to them “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”

‘You have made India, Bangla proud’: Mamata Banerjee congratulates Sourav Ganguly on BCCI top post

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday congratulated former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly, who is set to be to the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Children in pre-schools should not be made to take oral or written exams, says NCERT

National Council of Educational Research and Training said that no child in pre-schools should be made to take a written or an oral test, PTI reported on Monday. The council described the practice as “harmful and undesirable”, one that arises out of “parental aspiration”. The council is an autonomous body that assists and advises the Centre and state governments on policies and programmes that help in the qualitative betterment of school education.

Assam: Man lodged in detention centre dies, family claims he was mentally unstable

A 65-year-old man, who was lodged in a detention centre for illegal migrants in Assam, died at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital on Sunday, The Indian Express reported. Family members of Dulal Paul claimed he was mentally unstable, and was admitted to the hospital on September 28 due to his “deteriorating health”.

Domestic violence cases committed in US can be heard in Mumbai, rules Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that cases of domestic violence committed in the United States can be heard by a magistrate in Mumbai, The Times of India reported on Monday. The court said the cases are not time-bound as it dismissed a plea filed by an information technology professional based in the US.

Wholesale price inflation eases to 0.33% in September, shows government data

India’s wholesale price inflation stood at 0.33% in September, data released by the government showed on Monday. This was lower than the 1.08% recorded in August, and 5.22% recorded during the corresponding month the previous year.

Kashmir: Postpaid mobile services restored after 72 days

Postpaid mobile phone services were restored across all networks in the Kashmir Valley on Monday, 72 days after they were snapped, PTI reported. The services were blocked on August 4, the day before the government revoked the state’s special constitutional status and imposed restrictions to prevent law and order problems.

With the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s latest move, about 40 lakh postpaid mobile phones have become operational. But around 26 lakh prepaid connections and internet services will take longer to be restored.

Pakistan uses terrorism as state policy, under pressure from global anti-terror watchdog: Ajit Doval

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Monday accused Pakistan of providing a safe breeding ground to terrorists, and said it was under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force, reported NDTV. Doval’s comments come at a time when the global anti-terror watchdog is holding meetings in Paris to decide if Islamabad should be retained in the “grey list” of countries that have inadequate measures to handle terrorism financing.

IRCTC shares rise over 100% in stock market debut

Shares of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation made a strong debut in the stock market on Monday. It opened for trading at Rs 644 per share on the BSE, which was a 101.25% rise from its issue price of Rs 320. On the National Stock Exchange, the shares opened at Rs 626 a piece, up 96% from the listing price.

Over 20,000 HAL workers launch indefinite strike to demand wage revision

Over 20,000 workers of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited launched an indefinite strike on Monday to demand wage revision, reported PTI. The decision to go ahead with the strike was taken on Sunday after the 11th round of talks with the management over the weekend failed. The wage revision is due from January 1, 2017.

Supreme Court rejects plea to link social media accounts with Aadhaar, says Madras HC hearing it too

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a public interest litigation that sought to link social media accounts with Aadhaar. The top court said the Madras High Court was hearing a similar petition. “Everything does not need to come to the Supreme Court”, the court added.

BCCI hampered a lot, opportunity for me to set things right: President-elect Sourav Ganguly

The new Board of Control for Cricket in India president-elect Sourav Ganguly on Monday said “it’s a great opportunity for me to do something good” as he is taking over the reigns of the board at a time when its image has got a serious beating.

Vande Bharat train stranded at Allahabad station for more than an hour without AC, lights

Passengers were on Sunday stranded inside the Delhi-bound Vande Bharat Express for more than an hour. The train, considered to be India’s fastest, was indigenously built at a cost of around Rs 97 crore, and was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15.

UP: Man finds newborn girl buried alive in pot while digging grave for his own daughter

A trader in Uttar Pradesh found a newborn girl buried in an earthen pot nearly three feet under the ground in Bareilly last week. The man, identified as Hitesh Kumar Sirohi, had dug a pit to bury the body of his own newborn daughter when he found the other baby.

Voting for BJP is similar to dropping a nuclear bomb on Pakistan, says deputy CM of Uttar Pradesh

Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday claimed that voting for his party is akin to dropping a nuclear bomb on Pakistan, ANI reported. Maurya was campaigning for BJP candidate Narendra Mehta in Thane’s Mira Bhayandar constituency.

Sourav Ganguly set to become new BCCI president, Jay Shah to be secretary: Report

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is set to become the president of India’s cricket board, reports said on Monday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah will be the BCCI secretary while Arun Dhumal from Himachal Pradesh is likely to become the treasurer. Kerala Cricket Association representative Jayesh George is likely to be the joint secretary. Ganguly pipped former India cricketer Brijesh Patel for the position.

Haryana elections: Chief minister compares Sonia Gandhi with dead mouse, Congress demands apology

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday compared interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi with a dead mouse and chastised the party for its dynastic politics. “After the defeat in the Lok Sabha election, Rahul [Gandhi] quit as the party president and said the new Congress chief would not be from the Gandhi family,” Khattar said while campaigning in Sonipat. “We welcomed his decision. It is good to end dynasty politics. Then, these people started searching [for the new president] across the country. After three months, they made Sonia Gandhi the Congress chief. It was like khoda pahaad, nikli chuhiya, woh bhi mari hui... [We dug up a mountain to find only a mouse, that too a dead one].”

Uttar Pradesh: At least 7 dead as house collapses after cylinder blast, several feared trapped

At least seven people died in Uttar Pradesh’s Mau district on Monday morning after a two-storey building collapsed following a cylinder blast, ANI reported. Fifteen people were injured in the incident in Muhammadabad town. Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi told PTI that at least 10 people were feared dead and some others are suspected to be trapped under the rubble.

Telangana transport strike: Two employees commit suicide amid mounting protests

Two employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation died on Sunday amid an ongoing strike against the state government. The two were identified as Srinivas Reddy from Khammam and Sudershan or Surender Goud, according to reports. Two other employees also tried to end their lives but were rescued by the police.

Ayodhya: Restrictive orders imposed as Supreme Court hearings in land dispute case to end this week

Restrictions under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which bans the assembly of four or more people, were imposed in Ayodhya late on Sunday. The orders will be in place till December 10.

The restrictions were placed as the Supreme Court hearing in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case ends on October 17. A judgement is expected by November 17, as Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi retires then.

West Bengal: Man suspected to be a thief, lynched in Howrah district; two beaten up in Malda

A 30-year-old man died in West Bengal’s Howrah district on Sunday morning after he was beaten up by residents who suspected he was a thief, the Hindustan Times reported. Locals reportedly tied up the man, who has not yet been identified, to a tree near a warehouse in Salkia area of the district, the police said.

Kashmiris are resisting government ‘through satyagraha’, says fact-finding report

Not a single person in the Kashmir Valley is happy about the Narendra Modi government’s decision to revoke the state’s special constitutional status, advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan and sociologist Nandini Sundar have said in a report prepared after their visit to the region from October 5 to 9.

Kashmiris are resisting the Centre “through satyagraha or non-violent civil disobedience”. “Since the entire leadership is in jail – from mainstream parties to the separatist parties, this satyagraha is being carried out by the people themselves,” the report added. “There is some societal coercion, but by and large, this is entirely voluntary. This is not happening on the direction of militants, contrary to the advertisements now being run by government.”