At present, 19.4% of VAT will be applicable on petrol price.Delhi Live Highlights: Delhi cabinet is planning to cut VAT on petrol from 30 per cent to 19.4 per cent. Petrol price now is down by Rs 8 per litre in Delhi.
Amid concerns over the Omicron variant, passengers from ‘at risk’ countries are being tested at the Delhi airport. On Wednesday morning, a few of the flyers complained of queues and a long waiting time. Suman Sharma, a 63-year-old passenger, said he had to wait for four hours at the airport to get her RT PCR report. In another story, a 22-year-old with his father paid £100 for the RT PCR tests but complained that no food or water was being provided. These passengers had landed from London.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport has made seating arrangements for 1,200 to 1,400 people as they wait at the airport. Under the guidelines, all passengers coming from ‘at-risk’ countries have to compulsorily undergo RT-PCR tests and five per cent of passengers arriving from other countries would also have to take the test on a random basis. The passengers will have to wait for the results before leaving the airport or taking a connecting flight.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority has asked the state health department to make sure there are enough hospital beds, medicines, and medical oxygen in the city to battle a possible spike in Covid cases.
The Centre told the Supreme Court that the construction of the new Parliament building and the redevelopment of the Central Vista Avenue were being carried out in compliance with “each and every condition” of the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules “to ensure that it does not cause any pollution”.
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the director of the Central Vista said that the government “has taken all the measures as contemplated under the C&D Waste Management Rules which inter alia includes measures like use of anti-smog gun… use of dust suppressant like magnesium chloride, use of conveyor belt to transfer construction material, keeping all construction material in wet condition etc.”
The Supreme Court while hearing a plea seeking steps to rein in air pollution in Delhi earlier this week had asked the Centre to explain what it was doing about construction activities in areas under its jurisdiction in the national capital.
In the wake of the threat posed by coronavirus variant Omicron, four international passengers — three from Amsterdam in the Netherlands and one from London — who arrived at Delhi’s IGI Airport from ‘at-risk countries’ early on Wednesday tested positive for Covid-19 and have been sent to hospitals for quarantine and treatment, said officials.
The passengers from Amsterdam arrived around 2 am and the one from London around 4 am.
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India may not resume scheduled commercial International flights December 15 onwards, as planned earlier, in light of the evolving situation pertaining to the Omicron variant of Covid19.
In an order Wednesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said: “In view of the evolving global scenario with the emergence of new variants of concern, the situation is being watched closely in consultation with all stakeholders and an appropriate decision indicating the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services shall be notified in due course”.
A senior DGCA official confirmed that this means, as of now, the December 15 date is being kept in abeyance.
BJP member Nishikant Dubey urged the Centre on Wednesday to bring a law soon to implement a Uniform Civil Code in the country.
Raising the issue in the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Dubey said the Allahabad High Court had last month asked the Centre to consider setting up a panel for implementing the mandate of Article 44 of the Constitution, which speaks about a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
"Even after 75 years of Independence, we have not been able to bring in a Uniform Civil Code. I urge the government to soon bring a law to implement a Uniform Civil Code," he said.
Speaking during the Zero Hour, Congress MP from Kerala Shashi Tharoor raised the issue of non-subsidised kerosene given to the southern state through the Public Distribution System (PDS). (PTI)
Arvind Kejriwal praised Delhi government after VAT reduction on petrol, he said, "Today we made petrol very cheap in Delhi. VAT rate reduced from 30% to 19.4%. Petrol and diesel become cheaper in Delhi as compared to other cities of NCR."
The price of petrol in Delhi has been reduced by Rs 8, after the Delhi cabinet decided to slash VAT from 30% to 19.40%.
Petrol will now cost Rs 95.97. Before the reduction, the cost was Rs 103.97.
The Centre had announced a reduction of Rs 5 per litre in the excise duty on petrol and a Rs 10 per litre on diesel in the first week of November, after fuel prices touched a record high. Read more
A Delhi court has taken cognisance of offences in connection with the allotment of Bhandak (West) Coal Block, noting that the accused were only interested in allocation and not the development of the coal block.
The CBI had registered the case under sections 120-(B) of the IPC and relevant sections under Prevention of Corruption Act against a company, M/s Shree Baidyanath Ayurved Bhawan Pvt Ltd. (SBABPL) and Directors/Promoters of the company.
The company had in 1999 submitted an application to the Ministry of Coal (MOC) for allocation of a captive coal block to run their paper mills located in Nagpur, Maharashtra. They requested the allocation of Bhandak (West) Coal Block. Read more
Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to Delhi Police on the bail application filed by JNU student Sharjeel Imam in the case registered against him by the New Friends Colony police station in connection with the violence that broke out on December 15 in 2019.
Imam has been accused of delivering provocative speeches about the Citizenship Amendment Bill and stands chargesheeted under various provisions of IPC including 124A, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Arms Act. The lower court rejected his bail plea in October, saying that fundamental right of ‘freedom of speech and expression’ cannot be exercised at the cost of communal peace and harmony of the society. (ENS)
Aiming to bridge the pandemic-induced learning gap and increase focus on mental wellbeing, government schools in Delhi will be holding six instructional periods every day for the rest of the academic year.
Stating that “class-wise syllabus will not be the only cornerstone of learning”, the Directorate of Education has said that students of Classes 3 to 8 will attend these classes daily.
They are language class for building reading and writing proficiency; maths class for foundational numeracy; Happiness Curriculum; Deshbhakti Curriculum; revision of already provided worksheets; library and reading period. Read more
The price of petrol in Delhi might dip a little, as the Delhi cabinet is going to meet at 11.30 am Wednesday to discuss a reduction in VAT on the fuel.
Sources say a reduction in VAT, which will result in a reduction in the price of petrol, is expected.
The cost of petrol in Delhi at present is Rs 103.97. Read more
The Indira Gandhi International airport authorities informed that, "There are two options for people arriving at the airport. The first, to pay ? 500 for the test and ? 1200 for special lounge facility that includes stay, snacks, beverage etc. The test results take around 6-8 hours. The second is to pay ? 3,900 for a rapid RT PCR test and get the report in a couple of hours." (ENS)
A woman filed FIR in Delhi against people who attacked her on November 19. They used sticks to injure the woman in Shalimar Bagh area. Delhi police has started the probe against unidentified persons.
Amidst different travel restrictions in several countries, IGI Airport officials have informed that flights from China and Singapore will be delayed. (ENS)
With only flights from UK arriving at IGI, incoming passengers said the airport lounge was "crowded" and the passengers were told to get RT PCR tests done and wait for reports, which took 3-4 hours.Many of the passengers complained they weren't provided with water, food, charging points etc. Airport officials informed that flights from China, Singapore and other countries had been delayed. (ENS)
Delhi's air quality this November was the worst for the month in seven years with the city witnessing severe pollution on 11 days and not a single "good" air quality day, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
Experts attributed this to the shifting of the peak stubble burning period by around a week due to a prolonged monsoon season.
The 30-day average of the capital's air quality index (AQI) stood at 376. It was 328 in 2020, 312 in 2019, 335 in 2018, 361 in 2017, 374 in 2016 and 358 in 2015, according to the CPCB. (PTI)
Application process for nursery admissions in Delhi's private schools will begin on December 15. Last date to apply will be January 7.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday declined to entertain a ‘Public Interest Litigation’ which sought a ban on Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s latest book in which he equates Hindutva groups with terror outfits like Islamic State and Boko Haram. The court called the petition a ‘publicity interest litigation’ and dismissed it as withdrawn.
The division bench of Chief Justice D.N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh at the outset of the hearing questioned the petitioner for not joining Khurshid as a paty respondent in the case. “This is a deliberate attempt. We don’t think that you are that ignorant. These are all chance taking petitions. ‘Let's see what happens in court. Otherwise b kya jaane wala hai, publicity ho jayegi. Badda acha’. If the court dismisses, then also some publicity,” observed the court.
The court said that it had not posed a “very complex and detailed query on merit” to the petitioner and if he was feeling so shy about author’s name, he should not have filed the case at all. “Why are you filing the PIL. Most of the PILs are like this, blackmailing or publicity interest litigations. Waste of time hai PILs main,” said the court, adding, “he [petitioner] has not the courage to even join Salman Khurshid as a party respondent.”
A study at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has found that blood groups A, B and Rh+ are more disposed to COVID-19 infection while blood groups O, AB and and Rh- are at a significantly lower risk of infection.
The study was conducted with 2586 COVID-19 positive patients who were admitted to the hospital from April 8 2020 to October 4 2020. These findings were published in the November 21 issue of Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.
“Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a new virus, and it is unclear whether blood groups have any impact on Covid-19 risk or progression. Therefore, we investigated the association of ABO and Rh blood group with Covid-19 susceptibility, prognosis, recovery time, and mortality in this study,” said Dr. Rashmi Rana, Consultant, Department of Research at the hospital.
According to the research paper, the frequencies of A, B, O and AB were 29.93%, 41.8%, 21.19% and 7.89% while in a control group of 79,325, their frequencies are 21.86%, 38.49%, 29.37% and 10.28% respectively.
The Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital has been designed as a dedicated facility to treat patients testing positive for the new Covid-19 variant ‘Omicron’ in New Delhi. The government has ordered that no patient of the new variant will be denied admission on any ground.
So far, no cases of the B.1.1.529 or Omicron variant have been detected in India but the Delhi government has placed the Health and other administrative departments on alert.
As the dedicated facility to treat patients detected with the new variant, Lok Nayak Hospital has been directed to designate one or more separate wards for isolating and treating such patients. Read more
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday questioned the delay in stopping flights from countries affected by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
“Several countries have stopped flights from Omicron affected countries. Why are we delaying it? We had delayed stopping international flights in the first wave also. Majority of flights land in Delhi. Delhi is most affected. Kindly stop the flights immediately,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.
Kejriwal had on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop flights coming to India from countries affected by the new variant with immediate effect. Read more
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought response of the Centre on a plea seeking live streaming of proceedings on petitions to recognise same sex marriages under the special, Hindu and foreign marriage laws.
A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh granted time to the counsel for the Centre to take instructions on the issue and file reply and listed the matter for further hearing on February 3.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by several same sex couples, seeking a declaration recognising same sex marriages under the special, Hindu and foreign marriage laws. Read more
A 30-year-old man allegedly killed his wife and two children by poisoning them and then died by suicide in the outernorth district’s Samaypur Badli.
The deceased have been identified as Amit Kumar, his wife Mikki (27) and their six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son. The police suspect marital issues as the reason behind Kumar’s action.
“The incident came to light on Tuesday morning when Kumar’s brother informed the police that his brother was not opening the door. The police immediately rushed to the spot and entered his room after breaking the door,” a senior police officer said. Read more
With the possibility of strong winds on Tuesday, the air quality in Delhi is likely to improve to the lower end of the ‘very poor’ category, according to a forecast from the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.
After three days of having remained in the ‘severe’ category, the AQI had improved marginally on Monday to reach the ‘very poor’ category. AQI between 301 and 400 is considered ‘very poor’, while AQI falling between 401 and 500 is categorised as ‘severe’. Read more
Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued a notice on an application seeking live streaming of the hearings of petitions seeking legalisation of same-sex marriages in India.
DeSenior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, submitted that it is a matter of national and constitutional importance. "We are dealing with an issue which concerns about 7-8 percent of the population of this country, live streaming should be permitted in such matters," said Kaul.
Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a petition seeking ban on Congress leader Salman Khurshid's book 'Sunrise over Ayodhya'. The court dismissed the petition as withdrawn.
The court said: "These are all chance-taking petitions. Publicity hojayegi. We want to impose a cost. Why have you not joined author as a party? Ye sab chance taking houta hai. Deliberate attempt hai. If you're feeling so shy about name of author, name of senior advocate, why are you filing PIL. Most of PILs are like this, blackmailing and publicity. Waste of time hai ye. You withdraw this. File properly"
"He has not even the courage to even join Salman Khurshid as party"
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday questioned the delay in stopping flights from countries affected by Omicron variant of coronavirus.The B.1.1.529 Covid variant or Omicron, first detected in South Africa last week, was designated by the World Health Organisation as a 'variant of concern', the health body's top category for worrying coronavirus variants.
Kejriwal had on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop flights coming to India from countries affected by the new variant with immediate effect.
"Several countries have stopped flights from Omicron affected countries. Why are we delaying it? We had delayed stopping international flights in the first wave also. Majority of flights land in Delhi. Delhi is most affected. Kindly stop the flights immediately," Kejriwal said in a tweet.
In view of the new Covid variant, a number of countries, including the European Union, have suspended travel to the affected regions, he had said in his letter. "We should do everything possible to prevent the new variant of concern, recently recognised by the WHO, from entering India... I urge you to stop flights from these regions with immediate effect. Any delay in this regard may prove harmful, if any affected person enters India," he had written.
The Centre on last Thursday had asked all states and Union Territories to conduct rigorous screening and testing of all international travellers coming from or transiting through South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana, where the variant of serious public health implications has been reported. ---PTI
The condition of veteran journalist Vinod Dua continues to be “extremely critical and fragile”, his daughter, actor-comic Mallika Dua, said on Tuesday.
The 67-year-old journalist, a pioneer in broadcast Hindi journalism with stints in Doordarshan and NDTV, was last night moved to the Intensive Care Unit of Apollo Hospital on the advice of doctors here.
“… he was moved to the Apollo Hospital ICU last night where he can be cared for better. He remains extremely critical and fragile. He has been a fighter his entire life. Uncompromising and relentless. His family is the same when it comes to him,” Mallika Dua wrote on her Instagram Story. Read more
Defending its home delivery of ration scheme, the Delhi government Monday argued before the Delhi High Court that “politics has taken over public interest” and termed the objections against it “egotistic” and a “camouflage”. Terming it a progressive scheme, the government said there was no explicit prohibition against it under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
“It would require a very very strange legislation to suggest that in this time for the last two years of doorstep delivery of almost anything and everything, be it Amazon or non-Amazon, be it food articles like Swiggy or other deliveries, your lordship is told that ration delivery to the deserving and the entitled should not be done by this methodology,” argued Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represents the government, during the hearing of a petition challenging the scheme. Read more
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has asked the state health department to make sure there are enough hospital beds, medicines, and medical oxygen in the city to battle a possible spike in Covid cases.
In a meeting held Monday to discuss interventions and actions to be taken in view of the Omicron variant being detected in several countries, chaired by L-G Anil Baijal, it was decided to stick to the test, track, treat strategy earnestly, and to follow-up with international passengers who have to be placed under home isolation. Read more
The Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC) launched a guidebook for EV Charging in workplaces for corporates, Monday.
DDC vice-chairperson Jasmine Shah said research suggested that 90% of EVs are charged at home or workplace.
“This guidebook details the processes involved for effective decision-making to install workplace charging and is aimed at making corporates an integral part of the EV movement,” he said. Read more
RT-PCR testing for all people arriving from 'high-risk' countries, genome sequencing of the positive cases and mandatory isolation according to the Centre's guidelines are among the decisions taken by the DDMA on Monday amid concerns over the coronavirus variant 'Omicron' detected in some nations.
At the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting, the chief secretary of Delhi was told to ensure continued contact and coordination between the Civil Aviation Ministry and other departments and ministries concerned to ensure concurrent evaluation and speedy decisions, officials said.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in a press briefing, said the new 'Omicron' variant was discussed by experts in the meeting and it was stressed that there should be no relaxation in preparation to deal with Covid infections and in monitoring the situation. (PTI)
The national capital reported 34 new cases of COVID-19 and one death in a day while the positivity rate stood at 0.08 per cent, according to the data shared by the health department here on Monday.
This is the third day on the trot that Delhi has reported a fatality due to the viral infection.
The national capital has recorded seven deaths due to the infection in November so far. Four people had succumbed to the viral disease in October and five in September.
With the new cases, the coronavirus infection tally in the city climbed to 14,40,900. Of this, over 14.15 lakh patients have recovered from the disease. (PTI)
Charging sockets, CCTV cameras, fire detection systems, and dynamic route maps on LCD screens are part of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) ‘refurbishment’ of the first of 70 trains that were inducted as part of Phase I of the Delhi Metro from 2002 onwards. These trains have been showing signs of wear and tear.
While the newer trains came with these facilities, the older ones had to be retrofitted to include these in a ‘mid-life’ refurbishment exercise, according to DMRC officials. Read more
Former JNU student Umar Khalid, through his lawyer, asked a Delhi court Monday why the police allowed the Northeast Delhi riots to take place when a protected witness was supposedly in touch with the local SHO, informing him about the planning.
Senior advocate Trideep Pais was arguing for bail on behalf of Umar before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat. However, his arguments could not be concluded and will continue on December 9. Read more
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday handed over a cheque of Rs 1 crore to the husband of a municipal sanitation worker who died of COVID-19.
"Sunita Ji was a frontline warrior working as a Swachhata Karamchari with the East MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi). She succumbed to death after being infected while on COVID-19 duty. She was a courageous woman who served the people of Delhi during the toughest times. She put her life on stake to protect us," Kejriwal said after he met her family and handed over a cheque of Rs 1 crore to her husband. (PTI)
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai Monday said a ban on construction and demolition activities in the city will continue till further orders because of the high air pollution levels.
The ban on the entry of trucks, barring those engaged in essential services, will continue till December 7, while CNG and electric trucks will be allowed to enter Delhi, he said after a review meeting with officials of the departments concerned.
According to experts, low temperature and low wind speed have led to stagnant conditions and Delhi's air quality is likely to remain very poor in the coming days. The situation can improve if it rains, as predicted by the India Meteorological Department, the minister said.
"Considering the situation, we have decided to extend the ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi till further orders. Non-polluting construction activities such as plumbing work, interior decoration, electrical work and carpentry are allowed," he said. (PTI)
Delhi recorded a marginal improvement in air quality on Monday -- air pollution levels receded from severe to very poor -- due to favourable wind speed, authorities said. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) read 389.
The city had recorded severe air quality for three days on the trot. Neighbouring Faridabad (276), Ghaziabad (365), Greater Noida (350), Gurgaon (395) and Noida (356) also saw a marginal improvement in air quality.
The India Meteorological Department said favourable wind speed, up to 15 kmph, aided dispersion of pollutants during the afternoon. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 10.3 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature settled around 26.1 degrees Celsius. (PTI)
The Delhi Police has arrested four men for allegedly being involved in "clickjacking" and SIM card blocking activities, officials said on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Kasif Akhtar (23), a resident of Okhla, Gaurav Kumar (26), a resident of Patna in Bihar, Musa Gous Sheikh (32), a resident of Mumbai, and Mohammad Ali (48), a resident of East Thane in Maharashtra, they said.
The kingpin of the gang is an African national who used to send phishing mails to victims to grab their information like bank account number, user id and password, police said, adding that they used to target people having current or business bank accounts.
Clickjacking is when an attacker tricks a user into clicking on one thing when they are actually clicking on another. (PTI)
The Delhi Police on Monday said the validity period of No Entry Permission (NEP) stickers for commercial goods vehicles for plying during restricted hours has been extended up to December 31. The police said this circular applies only to those vehicles which have been granted the NEP for 2019.
"The competent authority is pleased to extend the validity period of No Entry Permission stickers of year 2019 (valid up to 31.12.2019) for the commercial goods vehicles for plying during restricted hours up to December 31, 2021," the Delhi Traffic Police said in a tweet. (PTI)
AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his party has "the most honest, dedicated and patriotic leaders". His remarks came after Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raghav Chadha won the "Stylish Politician of the Year" award at the second season of the India Fashion Awards.
"We have the most honest, most dedicated and most patriotic leaders in our party. Now, we have the most stylish too! Congrats @raghav_chadha," Kejriwal tweeted. BJP leader Maneka Gandhi presented the award to Chadha, MLA from Rajendra Nagar, at an event. (PTI)
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee on Monday wrote to Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, demanding him to take up with the Pakistan government the issue of a business promotion agency using the premises of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib for promotion of women apparel. In pictures shared on social media, a model can be seen posing for an advertisement for a women's clothing brand at the gurdwara in Punjab province of Pakistan.
The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, is believed to have spent his last days in the gurudwara from 1521 to 1539.
“We urge the Government of India to immediately take up this serious issue with the Pakistan government considering the sentiments of the community,” DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote in the letter. (PTI)
The Delhi government Monday defended its Doorstep Delivery of Ration Scheme before the Delhi High Court, saying that it is a “complete misconception” that fair price shops cease to exist on implementation of the scheme.
The Delhi government contended that it is an optional scheme and beneficiaries can opt-out anytime and that not a single beneficiary has questioned the mode and manner of implementation of the scheme.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said the emphasis is that the fair price shops (FPS) should not be ousted from the system with the implementation of the scheme. “The Centre's submission is that FPS is an integral part of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), therefore, you cannot do away with that,” the bench said. (PTI)
Fly kites and avail of a delectable high tea — spread across three-courses— from the ramparts of the 200-year-old famous Haveli Dharampura in Chandni Chowk and more. Read more
Days after two men allegedly assaulted a police constable, tried to shoot at him and robbed his wallet, Delhi Police arrested one of them after a brief exchange of fire from Narela on Sunday.
The police said the accused, identified as Pramod, was fighting with his friend at Jahangirpuri on Thursday when Delhi Police constable Amardeep tried to stop them. Pramod got angry, took out his pistol and tried to shoot at Amardeep’s chest but the pistol got jammed, said the police. Read more
A 28-year-old Afghan national found dead in a street in north Delhi's Wazirabad area, police said on Monday. The incident took place on Sunday night.
Police said that a call was received from a passerby that a man, appeared to be an Afghan national, was lying unconscious at street number 9.
The person identified as Shiraj, was found dead. Prima-facie, it is suspected that he died due to bullet injury, however, the autopsy report will ascertain the reason behind the death, a senior police officer said.
The post-mortem will be conducted on Monday at Sabzi Mandi mortuary, he said. (PTI)
Dengue cases in Delhi this season has jumped to over 8,200, with more than 6,700 of those being recorded in November alone, according to a civic report released on Monday.
On November 17, the city had recorded a cumulative total of 5,277 dengue cases, making it the highest number of cases of the vector-borne disease recorded in the national capital in a year since 2015.
The number of cases had mounted 7,128 on November 22.
Nearly 1,148 fresh cased have been logged in the last one week, however, no fresh fatality due to dengue has been reported. (PTI)
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments to explain the steps they've taken in compliance with directions by Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR to curb air pollution and seeks compliance reports from them.
It posts the further hearing on Decemeber 2.
In its hearing on Delhi's pollution crisis, the Supreme Court on Monday says that it will ask the Centre whether continuing construction work at the Central Vista project is adding to dust pollution. It also instructed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to explain what steps were taken to curb air pollution caused by the project in Delhi.
In its hearing on Delhi's pollution crisis, the Supreme Court on Monday said that despite all the advisories and instructions issued, the ground results are zero. The apex court reiterated the need for strict compliance with the measures already directed by the Centre.
In its hearing on Delhi's pollution crisis, the Supreme Court on Monday warned that if the state governments do not implement the directions issued by the 'Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas’, then the court will set up a task force for implementation of measures to reduce pollution.
The 25-day Winter Session of parliament, during which 36 bills are expected to be passed including one to cancel the farm laws began on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking outside the Parliament ahead of the commencement of the Winter Session, said the government was ready to discuss and reply to queries about all issues. “The government is ready to debate any issue and answer any question. We should debate in Parliament and maintain the decorum of the proceedings,” Modi said.
?Follow Live Updates on the Winter Session here
To help students scale up their start-up ideas developed with government seed money, the Delhi government is starting a televised event starting Sunday for students to pitch their projects to investors.
As part of its ‘Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum’, the government started the ‘Business Blasters’ initiative across all its senior secondary schools in September by giving Rs 2,000 as seed money to class XI and XII students to develop their entrepreneurship ideas.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday, requesting him to stop international flights from regions seeing a rise in Covid-19 cases.
“Our country has fought a tough fight against corona for the last one and a half years. With great difficulty and due to selfless service of millions of our Covid warriors, our country has recovered. We should do everything possible to prevent the new variant of concern, recently recognised by WHO, from entering India. A number of countries, including the European Union, have suspended travel to the affected regions. I urge you to stop flights from these regions with immediate effect. Any delay in this regard may prove harmful, if any affected person enters India,” he wrote.
The AQI will remain in the ‘very poor’ category for the next 5 days. Winds are likely to bring marginal improvement in the air quality on Monday and Tuesday. Foggy conditions are likely to persist all week.
The RSS-affiliated National Democratic Teachers’ Front (NDTF) won the post of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) president after 24 years. NDTF’s A K Bhagi defeated Abha Dev Habib from the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), which had held on to the post for the last five terms. Out of the 7,194 votes polled, Bhagi got 3,584 votes while Habib secured 2,202 votes.
“Rumours/apprehension on NEP 2020 can’t be staple diet for teachers’ movement… NDTF wants to categorically state that it shall vigorously oppose any measure to reduce faculty strength or reduce any financial grants to the University and colleges & attempt to replace regular teaching courses by MOOCs. However, NDTF shall welcome the progressive, socially inclusive and pro-students’ steps envisaged in the NEP,” Bhagi said in a statement. (Read more here)