Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) The government on Saturday said it has constituted a high-level task force to identify infrastructure projects for Rs 100 lakh crore investment by 2024-25 as India aims to become a USD 5 trillion economy.

The task force, headed by the economic affairs secretary, will draw up a 'National Infrastructure Pipeline' of Rs 100 lakh crore, the finance ministry said in a statement.

This would include greenfield and brownfield projects costing above Rs 100 crore each.

New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) States will have to become key agents of growth to help achieve India's target of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy, Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant said on Saturday.

Speaking at an event organised here by industry chamber PHDCCI, Kant said states have to work together and learn from each other to radically transform India.

Kolkata, Sep 6 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the TMC government in the state will not allow implementation of the NRC in the state.

The implementation of the NRC as nothing but a political vendetta of the BJP-led central government. she told the Assembly.

We will never let BJP implement the National Register of Citizens in West Bengal, she said at the Assembly during a discussion on the motion on NRC under Rule 185.

Kota (Rajasthan), Sep 6 (PTI) A 30-year-old woman has alleged that she was raped by five people, including a neighbour of her, in Jhalawar district of Rajasthan, police said on Thursday.

The woman approached the police on Wednesday accompanied by her husband and complained that when she was grazing cattle in a field on Tuesday afternoon, her neighbour forcibly took her to a nearby forest and raped her, SHO of Gangdhar police station said.

New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) Disgruntled AAP MLA Alka Lamba on Friday quit the party and announced that she has returned to the Congress.

Lamba, who resigned from the AAP's primary membership, said she met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the evening and joined Congress.

"I stayed away from the Congress for six years but I always stood firm on its ideology. Today I have returned to the Congress. As a member of the Congress, I will work towards strengthening the party," she told reporters outside Gandhi's residence at 10, Janpath.

Bengaluru, Sept 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed solidarity with ISRO scientists after Chandrayaan-2's Vikram module lost communication with the ground station during the powered descent leading to huge disappointment.

"Communication has been lost. I could see the anxiety on your faces. There is no need to get disappointed because it is not a small achievement.The country is proud of you," he said.

Bengaluru, Sep 7 (PTI) ISRO may have lost Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander and rover Pragyan housed inside it, a senior official of the space agency associated with the unmanned moon mission said here Saturday.

Earlier in the day, contact from the lander to the ground stations was lost during its powered descent to the Lunar surface minutes before the planned touch-down.

"Vikram lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km.

Chandigarh, Sep 7 (PTI) Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) chief Dushyant Chautala has said his party had believed in strengthening the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and offered it 40 out of 90 constituencies for the Haryana assembly polls, adding that it would now contest all the seats.

The comments come after the BSP had on Friday night announced its decision to part ways with the JJP and field candidates on all seats in the state, less than a month after the alliance was formed.

Srinagar, Sep 7 (PTI) Normal life remained affected in Kashmir on Saturday though authorities lifted the restrictions re-imposed a day earlier in some parts of the Valley as a precautionary measure.

Authorities have been imposing restrictions in vulnerable areas of Kashmir every Friday, apprehending that vested interests might exploit the large gatherings at big mosques and shrines to fuel protests.

A police spokesperson said that the Friday prayers passed off peacefully.

New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) The Quinton de Kock-led South Africa team set foot on India on Saturday for the upcoming three-match T20 series.

"Excited to be back in India and looking forward to playing cricket again," pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada tweeted.

South Africa will start the tour with the T20 matches, the first of which is in Dharamsala on September 15 followed by Mohali (September 18) and Bengaluru (September 22).