Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's claims over Chinese transgression in Ladakh as "baseless". Downplaying Gandhi's repeated assertions on the border row, Singh advised the Congress leader to rise above politics in matters of national interest.
As many as 24 rafting guides in Uttarakhand's Rishikesh have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, an official said on Saturday. According to Medical Officer Jagdish Chandra Joshi, nine of them tested positive for the infection through the rapid-antigen test and 15 others through the RT-PCR test on Friday. Nine of them are in institutional quarantine and 15 in self-isolation, he added.
Tens of thousands of Muslims in India took part in protests against French President Emmanuel Macron after Friday prayers. Hundreds of them beat posters of Macron with shoes to express their resentment. The French President had spoken out against Islamic jihadists who had beheaded at least two people and stabbed several others in his country over blasphemous cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed. Protests were held mainly in Bhopal, Mumbai and Hyderabad after Friday prayers. The most surprising part was the assembly of several thousand Muslims in Iqbal Maidan of Bhopal on Thursday night, and the main organizer of the crowd was a local Congress MLA Arif Masood. Despite the spread of Covid pandemic, devout Muslims were asked to assemble at night by the local MLA to protest against the French President. The crowd was misled into believing that Macron had insulted the Prophet, but in reality, it was not so. Macron had taken a tough stance against Islamic jihadists who were beheading innocent people in the name of protecting the honour of the Prophet. The Congress MLA got posters of President Macron printed in advance and, after meticulous planning, invited people through loudspeakers to assemble to register their protest. The entire drama was pre-planned and the intent was obvious: to instigate feelings of Muslim over a non-issue which had no relevance to India. Even French national flags were distributed among the crowd to be trampled upon. A makeshift dais was prepared from where the Qazi of Bhopal Mushtaq Ahmed Nadvi gave inflammatory speech asking the devouts to take revenge against those who had insulted the Prophet. Several Muslim leaders and maulanas were invited to address the gathering. Soon after, Arif Masood gave another inflammatory speech and asked Muslims to take revenge. Masood even went to the extent of criticizing the Indian government on this issue. With voters in 28 assembly constituencies of Madhya Pradesh going to polls on November 3, Masood tried to give the issue a communal colour in order to garner votes. On Friday too, the crowd assembled at Bhopal’s Iqbal Maidan and while chanting anti-Macron slogans they trampled upon the posters of the French President. The most funny part was that most of the protesters did not know who Macron was and what he had said. The protesters said they were merely following the call of the maulana who told them that the Prophet had been insulted in France. In Mumbai’s Muslim-dominated locality Bhindi Bazaar, a local outfit Raza Academy circulated posters alleging that the French President had insulted the Prophet and Muslims should take revenge. Local police took timely action and removed the posters, but after Friday prayers, a crowd congregated to chant anti-Macron slogans. In Mumbai too, most of the protesters did not know who Macron was. Let us go back to recapitulate what actually happened. In France, a teacher displayed an objectionable cartoon of Prophet Muhammad to his students in class, after which a Chechnyan youth beheaded him. The entire French nation stood one in solidarity with the beheaded teacher, and President Macron led the nation in condemning what he called ‘Islamist terrorist attack.’ Soon after, a Tunisian man went on a stabbing spree inside a church in the city of Nice, beheading a woman and stabbing two others to death while chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’. He was shot and seriously injured. The Mayor of Nice described this as an act of “Islamo-fascism”, while Macron said, France will never surrender its core values in the face of such terror attacks. It must be noted here that among European countries, France has the largest number of Muslims. Macron said: “If we are attacked once again, it is for the values which are ours: freedom, for the possibility on our soil to believe freely and not to give in to any spirit of terror. I say it with great clarity once again today: we won’t surrender anything.” Nowhere in this statement did Macron make any remark which could be termed as an insult to the Prophet. He had only spoken about the freedom of belief of every French citizen and had condemned Islamist terror. More than 7,000 French soldiers have been deployed at public places to prevent terror attacks. As a reaction, several Islamic countries, notably led by Turkey, have given a call to boycott all products made in France. On Friday, there were protests against Macron in several Islamic countries. On behalf of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “I condemn the recent terrorist attacks in France, including today’s heinous attacks in Nice, inside a church. Our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the families of victims and the people of France. India stands with France in the fight against terrorism.” My question is: what has the act of a teacher displaying a blasphemous poster in France got anything to do with Indian Muslims? The jihadist attack is not only a matter that concerns France or Europe. The entire world is concerned over Islamic terrorism, and Prime Minister Modi did the right thing in expressing solidarity with France in the fight against terrorism. In 2015, journalists at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo were massacred by Islamic jihadists, and India had condemned that act. The beheadings and stabbings that took place in France this week need to be condemned, but there is another aspect to this issue. The feelings of a majority of Muslims all over the world have been hurt because of blasphemous cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed, whom they consider as ‘Nabi’. Their feelings must be given respect, but this does not mean that the freedom of expression must be curbed in totality. The Holy Quran and the Holy Bible advise followers not to hurt the feelings of others, but I would appeal to Muslim brothers and sisters to also condemn the heinous beheadings and killings by self-proclaimed jihadists. They should not extend any direct or indirect support to these killers. The Holy Quran says, even the murder of a single individual is murder of humanity. Both Prophet Mohammed and Jesus Christ have said that killings in the name of religion is a sin, hurting somebody’s feelings in the name of religion is also a sin. Let us save our world from such sins.
The Odisha government has decided to reopen schools for Classes 9 to 12 post Diwali, a TOI report stated. The Naveen Patnaik-led government said that while the academic institutions will continue to remain closed, the school and mass education department will soon release an SOP for classes 9-12, the report mentioned. 
The over-a-century-old Jauljibi fair will not be held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to cancel the fair was taken by the administration after a meeting with traders and social workers of the Jauljibi and Dharchula areas of this Uttarakhand district.
The Election Commission on Saturday said that it did not find Bharatiya Janata Party's promise of providing free coronavirus vaccine in its Bihar manifesto "violative" of the provisions of the model code. The poll panel said this in response to a complaint by RTI activist Saket Gokhale who had claimed that the promise is discriminatory and a misuse of powers by the central government during elections. 
The Rajasthan government introduced three bills on Saturday to negate the impact of the farm laws recently enacted by the Centre.
After hectic electioneering in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is apparently in a holiday mood. He is reported to be taking a few days off and 'holidaying' alone here in the Himachal Pradesh capital.
Low-lying areas in West Bengal's West Burdwan district have come under the fear of floods after a portion of lock gate of Durgapur barrage got severely damaged on Friday night. According to state Irrigation Department officials, the lock gate number 31 of Durgapur barrage suffered heavy damages and became nonfunctional; thereby failing to check the flow of water. It resulted in continuous release of huge quantity of gushing water from the barrage.
A marginal improvement in Delhi's air quality was recorded on Saturday, though it remained in the 'very poor' category. According to a government forecasting agency, the air quality is likely to improve due to favourable wind speed. The city recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 369 at 9.30 am. The 24-hour average AQI was 374 on Friday, 395 on Thursday, 297 on Wednesday, 312 on Tuesday and 353 on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday tore into the Opposition for politicising the Pulwama attack. The mention, at an event in Gujarat, came just days after Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry admitted that Pakistan was responsible for the Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 that killed 40 CRPF personnel and brought the two countries to the brink of a war. The prime minister said the admission by the neighbouring country has "exposed the real faces of those who did politics over the attack". In his direct attack on the Opposition, he said that the country can never forget "how some people were looking for political gains when India lost its sons". 
At least one person was dead, while two others were injured after a crane lost control and collided with a metro pillar in Mumbai on Saturday. According to the details, the incident was reported at Andheri Gundavali bus stop near Western Express Highway.
India on Saturday recorded at least 48,268 new coronavirus cases, pushing the overall caseload in the country beyond the 81 lakh-mark. About 81,37,119 people have been infected with the contagion so far, the data updated by the Union Health Ministry at 8 am today showed. With 551 more fatalities in the last 24 hours, the death toll has moved to 1,21,641. The number of active cases stood at 5,82,649 after a decrease of 11,737 in the last 24 hours. With 59,454 discharges during the last 24 hours, as many as 74,32,829 have recuperated of the highly-infectious virus till now. 
India will have onboard its first-ever seaplane services in Gujarat today. Aimed at revolutionising the country's regional connectivity, the seaplane services will be launched between Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad and the Statue of Unity in Kevadia by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The flight will be operated by SpiceJet's fully-owned subsidiary, Spice Shuttle. The service is expected to boost travel and tourism, and provide last-mile connectivity. Seaplanes are the perfect flying machines that can effectively connect the remotest parts of India to the mainstream aviation network without the high costs of building airports and runways, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.
A 10th-century sculpture of Sun God has been found in an agriculture field in Andhra Pradesh. According to G Shiva Kumar, Joint Secretary, Rayadurgam Heritage Association, the sculpture has been found in a field at Kalugodu village, Gummagatta Mandal of Anantapur district in the state. A farmer of the village was digging his field on Friday and the two feet high stone sculpture was found, he said. 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tribute to former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her 36th death anniversary today. Taking to Twitter, the prime minister said I most respectfully pay my tributes to her.
The 2+2 dialogue between India and the United States was held just a week before the presidential elections in the US and this conveys a lot about where bilateral ties between both the countries are heading. According to a Europe-based think tank, there is bipartisan recognition in the US of the need to counter Chinese belligerence and the 2+2 dialogue reflects the confidence that India and US have in the robustness of their relationship.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the country's first seaplane service between the Statue of Unity site at Kevadiya Colony to the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, marking the 145th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He will also participate in the Rashtriya Ekta Divas Parade. The police forces of Gujarat Police, Central Reserved Armed Forces, the Border Security Force, the Indo Tibetan Border Police, the Central Industrial Security Force and the National Security Guards will participate in the parade. The prime minister will also witness a rifle drill by female officers of the CRPF. The Indian Air Force will be performing a flypast. Modi will interact with more than 400 trainee officers from services such as the Indian Administrative Services through a virtual conference.
The government has asked states to constitute committees for coordination and overseeing COVID-19 vaccination drive while ensuring minimal disruptions in other healthcare services. They will also carry out stressed early tracking of social media to dispel rumours which could impact the community acceptance of coronavirus inoculation.
Conversion just for the sake of marriage is not valid, the Allahabad High Court said while hearing a case. The statement by the court came after a couple had approached the court to direct police and the woman's father not to disturb their marital life. The court had, however, dismissed the plea made by the newly married couple. 
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth on Friday said after the coronavirus pandemic ends, arrangements will be made for "darshan" of Lord Ram from every village in the state. "In Ayodhya, construction of Ram temple is on. Had there been no COVID-19, we would have made arrangements to send everyone from villages to Ayodha." the CM said while addressing a gathering in Chitrakoot.
A major Gurjar organisation is set to begin an agitation over reservation for the community from November 1. According to a senior police official, additional forces have been deployed and have been put on alert to deal with any untoward situation. Mobile internet services have also been suspended in Karauli, Bharatpur, Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur, he said. Talking to reporters in Hinduan, Gurjar leader Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla urged members of the community to reach Pilupura (Bayana) for the agitation on Sunday.
The Shiv Sena on Friday trained guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Munger firing incident that left one youth dead. Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut termed the incident an attack on Hindutva to question the silence of the BJP and Bihar's Governor Phagu Chauhan.
A Hyderabad man has been booked for landing a helicopter on a government school ground in Revuru village of Ananthasagaram mandal. According to the details, the helicopter landed on Zilla Parishat High School ground around 2.30 pm on October 27. Identified as Ramakoteswara Rao, a resident of Hyderabad, and his family flew in the helicopter to Revuru village to attend the wedding of one Boina Janardan Reddy's daughter on October 27, Ananthasagaram police station in-charge, Sub-inspector P V Subbarao said. 
A US court has asked Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO, to pay compensation of USD 1.2 billion to a Bengaluru-based startup, Devas Multimedia, for cancelling a satellite deal in 2005.
A Delhi resident was arrested by a team of Directorate General of GST Intelligence's (DGGI) Gurugram Zonal Unit on charges of creating and operating fictitious firms on forged documents and passing fake input tax credit totalling over Rs 392 crore through issuance of invoices without actual receipts/supply of goods or services. DGGI investigations revealed that accused Kabir Kumar created multiple proprietary companies on paper that were shown as based in Gurugram, New Delhi, Faridabad, Solan, Noida, Jhajjhar, and Sirsa etc.
Renowned author Tarek Fatah on Friday strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in France, including the church attack in Nice in which three people were killed. In an exclusive chat with India TV, Fateh said that the Islamic world is currently divided. He said that Turkey, Malaysia, and Pakistan are making comments that are not in accordance with the Arab countries.
During coronavirus tests of security personnel a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit in Kevadiya, as many as 23 policemen were found infected with the disease, officials said on Friday. Over 5,000 police and State Reserve Police (SRP) personnel from different districts have been deployed in areas surrounding the Statue of Unity in the wake of Modi's visit to the monument near Kevadiya village in Narmada district on Friday and Saturday.
A brawl was reported at the famous Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba in Haryana's Sonipat district between a group of five men and staff. According to reports, the altercation started after the five men were asked to pay the food bill. The video of the incident has now gone viral on the internet. 
Members of the Muslim community on Thursday protested at Iqbal Maidan here against French President Emmanuel Macron over the controversy about the depiction of Prophet Muhammad in cartoons.
The Haryana government has brought down the prices of RT-PCR and rapid antigen Covid-19 tests for private laboratories to Rs 900 and Rs 500 respectively.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra has tendered an unconditional apology to AAP leader and Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain for his corruption remark. 
National Conference President Farooq Abdullah was prevented from leaving his residence to offer prayers at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar, on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, the party claimed on Friday. However, no official from the administration was available for comments on the issue.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Friday condemned the killing of three party workers by terrorists in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. Nadda said that their sacrifice will not go in vain.
Two persons, including a local Congress leader were killed in a blast in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut. According to the details, the blast was reported at a firecracker-making unit in the Sardhana area of Meerut, on Thursday. The deceased Congress leader was identified as Asim Khan. The impact of the blast was so strong that the house of the Congress city unit chief, where the illegal factory was allegedly being run, came down and several adjoining houses and shops were also damaged.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) dropped to the severe category in Delhi-NCR on Friday morning. According to the data shared by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI value was 380 at 7 am. In the Patparganj area, the AQI value was 404, 408 in Anand Vihar, 447 in Bawana, and 411 in Wazirpur. 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted people on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi and hoped that this day furthers compassion and brotherhood. Taking to Twitter, the prime minister today said hope this day furthers compassion and brotherhood. 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning embarked on a two-day visit to Gujarat. He will pay homage to former Gujarat CM and his mentor Keshubhai Patel upon his arrival here. Patel, 92, passed away on Thursday following a cardiac arrest.
At least one person was dead, while 14 others were injured after the bus they were travelling overturned in Uttar Pradesh today. According to the details, the accident occurred on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway early on Friday, while the bus was enroute to Siwan in Bihar from Delhi.
India on Friday recorded as many as 48,648 new coronavirus cases 563 deaths in a span of 24 hours in the country, Health ministry data. The recoveries inched closer to 89 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 91.15 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data. On Thursday, the country's caseload surpassed 80-lakh mark, 18 days after it had gone past 70 lakh.
India has dealt with the "worst crisis" in decades along its border with China with "firmness and maturity" despite facing the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday.
Now, asymptomatic COVID-19 patients can be distinguished from healthy individuals as scientists claim they have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that shows the results on an app that can be downloaded on smartphones. According to the researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, the app analyses patients through their cough recordings. These differences are not decipherable to the human ear, but can be picked up by artificial intelligence, they said.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday released a 'sciencetoon' book with comprehensive information on the COVID-19 pandemic, its symptoms and prevention through precautions.
"Violence against women and girls perpetrated by terrorists deserve our strong condemnation. Such women-targeted violence distorts the very basis on which civilised societies rest," India said in a statement to the Security Council open debate on Women, Peace and Security Thursday, while it underscored the need for the UN Security Council to effectively integrate women, peace and security considerations into the sanctions regimes, including by listing terrorist entities involved in violence against women in armed conflicts.
Single-use plastic and polythene bags will remain prohibited in Ambala, with effect from November 1, the Secretary of Municipal Corporation, Ambala City said on Thursday. Earlier in September this year, the district administration has asked hotels, restaurants, shopkeepers and vendors to give an undertaking that they will not use single-use plastic. In addition, those from whose premises or outside the banned product is recovered will also be taken to task.
The last six years have seen the spirit of competitive and cooperative federalism in all our actions. A country as large as ours cannot develop only on the one pillar of the Centre, it needs the second pillar of states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said. In an exclusive interview to the Economic Times, the prime minister spoke about the Centre's economic strategy. On being questioned about the Goods and Services Tax (GST) coming under considerable stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PM Narendra Modi said the fight against COVID-19 also got strengthened because of this approach.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is conducting raids at 9 locations in Kashmir and Delhi in connection with a terror funding case. The properties of six NGOs that are being searched include Falah-e-Aam Trust, Charity Alliance, Human Welfare Foundation, JK Yateem Foundation, Salvation Movement and JK Voice of Victims. 
Suspended IAS officer M. Sivasankar was on Wednesday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Kerala gold smuggling case, official sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured citizens that everyone in the country will be inoculated once a vaccine for the highly-infectious coronavirus becomes available. "No one will be left behind," the prime minister said in an interview with the Economic Times. Republic Day 2024 : As India's 75th Republic Day Parade kicked off in the national capital, a 30-member band contingent and a marching c...
