(ET) The first batch of Sikh devotees, led by the Panch Pyaras, commenced their journey to Shri Hemkund Sahib for the 2025 pilgrimage. The group departed carrying the Nishan Sahib (holy flag) under full police protection, Chamoli Police said in a post on X. In their message, Chamoli Police stated, “Shri Hemkund Sahib Yatra 2025: The first group of Sikh devotees, led by the Panch Pyaras, has set out for Shri Hemkund Sahib with the Nishan Sahib and complete police security.” The police have ensured comprehensive security arrangements to facilitate a safe and smooth pilgrimage for all devotees. Following the…
Author: Aruna Sharma
(ET) Amid a gradual uptick in COVID-19 cases in Karnataka over the past few days, state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday asked people to stay calm and continue with their daily routines. Addressing reporters here, Rao said, “I appeal to everyone not to panic because when you see reports in the media that COVID-19 has returned to haunt people, people get alarmed.” He also appealed to the media to present an accurate picture of the situation and not exaggerate the severity of the COVID-19 disease, which became an pandemic five years ago. The Health Minister’s reaction came in the wake…
(HT) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday at the Niti Aayog meeting said that no goal is impossible if the Central and state governments work together. “We have to increase the speed of development. If the Centre and all the States come together and work together like Team India, no goal is impossible,” Modi said as he chaired the 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog. The Governing Council meeting took place under the theme ‘Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047’. During the meeting, the prime minister highlighted that a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed India) is the goal of every Indian citizen.…
(Mint) The government has ratified the rate of interest on employees’ provident fund at 8.25 per cent for FY25, enabling retirement fund body EPFO to deposit the annual interest accumulation in the post-retirement funds of over 7 crore subscribers. EPFO, on February 28, had decided to retain the interest rate of 8.25 per cent on employees’ provident fund (EPF) deposits for the financial year 2024-25, equal to the rate provided in the preceding fiscal. The approved rate of interest for 2024-25 was sent for concurrence of the Ministry of Finance. “Ministry of Finance has given concurrence to 8.25 per cent…
(BS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met the victims of the cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and described the damage caused as a “big tragedy”, pledging to highlight their plight at the national level. The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha visited Poonch town and interacted for over an hour with the affected population, including the families who lost their members in the shelling between May 7 and May 10. “It is a big tragedy. Many people lost their lives. They (Pakistan army) have hit civilian targets directly. I talked to the…
(ET) The government has finalised India’s coal production target for FY26 at 1.15 billion tonnes, marginally lower than the target set in November at 1.19 billion tonnes for the same period. It is higher than the total production of 1.05 billion tonnes recorded in FY25. In its action plan for FY26, the coal ministry stated that it will provide coal linkages to consumers without any need of specific end use in addition to the present end use-based linkages. This would require changes to the non-regulated sector auction policy of 2016, it said. The ministry will also hold three auctions in…
(The Hindu Business Line) The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is navigating a critical phase of capacity expansion, safety upgrades and project realignment, even as it grapples with significant delays across several flagship projects. In a review meeting at the Ministry, held earlier this month, some of its projects were found to have been delayed by nearly two years (22 months). Capex target for FY26, has been pegged at ₹7,500 crore – which will include some part of its second phase expansion projects. Against a budgeted capex of ₹400 crore in April, the spending was about ₹500 crore. In FY25, the…
(FE) ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-owned ONGC. expects to complete its offshore gas exploration project in Mozambique by late 2027 or early 2028, its managing director Rajarshi Gupta said in an analyst call. “In Mozambique we are doing very well and the work has already started. We expect force majeure to be removed anytime now and all the vendors are in place. So we are confident that by late 2027 or early 2028, we should commission this,” he said. The company holds a 10% stake in the “Offshore Area 1 LNG” project with a cost of $20 billion.…
(FE) Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has signed a five-year deal with DNA, a major telecom provider in Finland. The goal is to speed up DNA’s cloud transformation plan. As part of the agreement, TCS will help move up to 80% of DNA’s business applications to the public cloud by the year 2030. This continues the long partnership between the two companies, which has lasted 17 years. The project aims to improve customer service, make operations more efficient, and reduce costs. Jussi Tolvanen, CEO of DNA Plc, said: “Cloud adoption is essential for DNA’s business, as we have millions of customers and…
(FE) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Board on Friday announced the dividend payout worth Rs 2.69 lakh crore for the central government for the fiscal year 2024-25. This is the highest ever surplus paid by the central bank and is 27 per cent higher in comparison to FY24. For FY24, the RBI had paid a record Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government and before that, for financial year 2022-23, the payout was Rs 87,416 crore. Economists had pegged the surplus transfer to the government in the range of Rs 2.5-3.5 lakh crore for the financial year. The…