India

Nashik, Dec 30 (PTI) Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who was seen without a mask at an event here on Thursday, claimed he was following the prime minister's 'example'.

On the sidelines of the event at Nashik in Maharashtra, some reporters asked the Rajya Sabha member why he was not wearing a mask, a norm to be followed to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Hamirpur (UP), Dec 30 (PTI) A 70-year-old man was arrested for raping a four-year-old girl in Bharua Sumerpur area of district here, police said on Thursday.

However, the case is 24-days old, and the accused was arrested from his house on Wednesday only.

Earlier, the police had registered a case of molestation but after the medical examination and confirmation of rape and also the victim's statement in the court, the rape section has been added, SHO Ramendra Tiwari said.

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) India and the Philippines are set to formally seal a government-to-government BrahMos deal soon, capping years of negotiations for the supply of a batch of the supersonic cruise missiles for the Philippine navy, people familiar with the development said on Thursday.

The procurement is expected to signal a major upswing in India's strategic ties with the Philippines which has been focusing on ramping up its naval prowess in the face of its lingering friction with China in the South China sea.

Bengaluru, Dec 30 (PTI) Opposition Congress has outperformed the ruling BJP in the polls held for 58 urban local bodies (ULBs) spread across 20 districts in Karnataka, for which results were declared on Thursday.

Out of a total 1,184 wards that went for polls from these ULBs on Monday, the Congress won in 501 while the BJP managed to win in 433 and JD(S) in 45, the State Election Commission said.

Lucknow, Dec 30 (PTI) Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra on Thursday said all political parties in Uttar Pradesh want the Assembly elections to be held according to schedule while ensuring Covid protocol.

The CEC also asked the state to step up coronavirus vaccination.

The number of polling booths will be increased and the voting time enhanced by an hour, he said, adding polling officials will be vaccinated and those eligible will be given a booster dose.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Heeding to demands made by several states, the GST Council on Friday put on hold a decision to hike the tax rate on textiles to 12 per cent from 5 per cent, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The panel, the highest decision-making body for indirect taxes, met under emergency provisions after states made a request for deferring the January 1 hike in GST tax rates on textiles.

Sitharaman said a similar demand for footwear was not agreed to.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) India logged 309 fresh Omicron infections, taking the total tally of such cases in the country to 1,270, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The 1,270 cases have been detected across 23 states and UTs so far, and 374 people have recovered or migrated.

Maharashtra recording the maximum number of 450 cases followed by Delhi at 320, Kerala 109 and Gujarat 97.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday announced the buyout of British battery maker Faradion Ltd for an enterprise value of GBP 100 million, as the oil-to-retail conglomerate continued with the acquisition of end-to-end technology for its multi-billion-dollar clean energy portfolio.

Malkangiri (Odisha), Dec 31 (PTI) Security forces uncovered an arms dump of the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit along the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border on Friday, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, Odisha Police and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel launched an intensive combing operation in Swabhiman Anchal in Jodambo police station area.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) A commando of CRPF's jungle warfare unit CoBRA was injured in a Naxal triggered explosion in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Friday, officials said.

The improvised explosive device (IED) blast was followed by an exchange of fire between the troops on patrol and the Maoists around 1 pm along the Palodi-Kistaram axis of the district.

A personnel of the 208th battalion of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) has been injured during the anti-Naxal operation and he is being evacuated, they said.