The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Thursday approved the proposal for procurement of 21 MiG-29s along with a proposal to upgrade the Indian Air Force’s existing MiG-29 aircraft. In addition, the MoD has also given the green light to the procurement of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft. While the MiG-29 procurement and upgradation from Russia is estimated to cost Rs 7418 crores, the Su-30 MKI will be procured from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at an estimated cost of Rs 10,730 crores. Both proposals for procurement of new aircraft and the third proposal for upgradation among others were approved in the Defence…
Author: Our Correspondent
Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan and costumier Neeta Lulla are among the 819 artistes and executives who have received invitations to hitch the Academy of movie Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Bhatt’s last movie, Zoya Akhtar-directed “Gully Boy” was India’s official entry for best international feature category at the 2019 Oscars. However, the film had did not make it to the ultimate five. Other prominent Indian names to receive invitations are casting director Nandini Shrikent, documentary filmmakers Nishtha Jain, Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya, visual effects supervisors Vishal Anand and Sandeep Kamal. In a statement, the Academy said the new invitees…
Lionel Messi scored his 700th career goal for club and country before Atletico Madrid came back to draw 2-2 within the Spanish league and deal Barcelona’s title hopes a serious blow. Barcelona’s third attract four rounds left it in second place, one point behind leader Real Madrid. Madrid hosts Getafe on Thursday with an opportunity to open up a four-point lead with five more matches remaining. Barcelona was two points before Madrid when the league was halted in March due to the coronavirus outbreak. While Madrid has won five of 5 since the resumption after a three-month stoppage, Barcelona has…
The Bombay High court on Tuesday suspended two FIRs lodged against Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami for his alleged provocative and inflammatory comments on the Palghar mob lynching and gathering of migrant workers outside Bandra railroad station amid lockdown. In an interim order, a division bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Riyaz Chagla noted that clear , no offence was disclosed against Goswami and he had not intended to cause public disharmony or incite violence. The court, while admitting the petition filed by Goswami, directed the police to not take any coercive action until final hearing and disposal of the…
Actor Neha Sharma will play the lead role in streamer ZEE5’s upcoming Hindi remake of the Hungarian black comedy Liza, The Fox-Fairy. The film, titled Aafat-e-Ishq, will be directed by Indrajit Nattoji and produced by Zee Studios, the streamer said in a statement on Wednesday. The movie will also feature Ila Arun, Namit Das, Gautam Rode and Pravessh Rana. “This is an interesting concept, dark humour with a pinch of supernatural, which will be exciting for the audience. We have an exciting cast too, featuring in a concept that is quite different from what we have done so far”, Aparna…
Kanwariyas who enter Uttarakahnd’s Haridwar defying the ban on the annual Kanwar Yatra will have to serve a 14-day quarantine here at their own expenses. The decision was taken at a coordination meeting held on Wednesday with the DMs and SPs of neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, Haridwar District Magistrate C Ravishankar told reporters. The meeting was held to devise a strategy in consultation with top officials of neighbouring districts for a strict implementation of the ban in view of public safety, he said. The annual yatra which sees a huge congregation of kanwariyas in Haridwar to collect…
Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Wednesday said that the state will be reopened to tourists starting Thursday, as 250 hotels have been granted permission to resume operations, PTI reported. Goa had shut down for tourists in March, when a nationwide lockdown was imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The minister said the decision to reopen the state for tourists was taken during a Cabinet meeting. “We have decided to allow domestic travellers to enter Goa from July 2 onward provided they comply with certain norms,” the minister said. Tourists from outside Goa will have to carry certificates attesting to…
With the installation of 1.4 lakh Chinese CCTV cameras by the AAP government, massive controversy erupts. This comes amid anti-Chinese sentiment simmering across the country after the recent Galwan Valley faceoff. The Centre has taken a slew of measures to keep Chinese firms off Indian projects. On Monday, India banned 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps including Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat to counter security threats posed by them. In the national capital, the CCTV cameras that have been installed are manufactured by Chinese company Hikvision. Experts said the firm’s mobile application that thousands of people in Delhi have downloaded on…
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in India crossed 6 lakh on Wednesday after new cases of infection were reported on Delhi, Maharashtra and other states. As per the official bulletin released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) released on July 1, India’s tally of confirmed cases stands at 5.85 lakh. Maharashtra, the state with the most number of cases reported yet another massive spike with 5537 new cases. There are a total of 79,075 active cases in Maharashtra while 93,154 patients recovered and 8053 have succumbed to the infection. Mumbai accounts for 29,715 of the active…
Nine men, wanted in the country for their links to foreign-based pro-Khalistan groups, have been declared as “designated terrorists” under the amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Centre said today. The move includes US-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of banned Sikhs For Justice outfit, who has been instigating young men to spread terrorism in Punjab. The Centre had last year amended the stringent Act as it included the provision for declaring individuals “designated terrorists”- earlier only outfits could be designated as terrorists. Apart from Pannun, Paramjit Singh (Babbar Khalsa International), Hardeep Singh Nijjar (Khalistan Tiger Force), Gurmit Singh Bagga (Khalistan…