Anand Mahindra awarded Padma Bhushan New Delhi: Eminent personalities, including former union ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes, Olympian boxer Mary Kom, former Mauritius prime minister Anerood Jugnauth have been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan on the Republic Day this year, officials said on Saturday. Classical singer from Varanasi Chhannulal Mishra is also given Padma Vibhushan. Source: Livemint
UK’s Johnson hails ‘new chapter’ as he signs EU divorce treaty Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday hailed “a new chapter” in Britain’s history as he signed its divorce treaty with the EU, clearing another hurdle before the country exits the bloc next Friday. It allows Britain to end its decades-long membership of the European Union and leave its closest neighbours and trading partners after several years of domestic acrimony and delays. “The signing of the withdrawal agreement is a fantastic moment, which finally delivers the result of the 2016 referendum and brings to an end far too many years...
Special court grants bail to former BPSL director Sanjay Singal NEW DELHI : The special court on Friday granted bail to Sanjay Singal, former managing director of BPSL, in the money laundering case registered in connection with alleged siphoning of funds. The bail was granted by Special CBI judge Arun Bhardwaj while directing him to furnish a bail bond of ₹10 lakh and two sureties of like amount. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 18 January had filed chargesheet in the special court against Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL) and 24 other accused including former BPSL managing director Sanjay Singhal, in connection...
Journalist Deepak Chaurasia alleges attack at Shaheen Bagh, FIR registered The Consulting Editor of News Nation TV channel, Deepak Chaurasia, was allegedly attacked by protestors at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh on January 24. The senior reporter filed a complaint saying he was beaten up and his camera was snatched by a mob at the protest site. The Shaheen Bagh police station has registered an FIR under sections 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 34 (common intention against unknown persons). Source: Moneycontrol
US official asks India to release political detainees NEW DELHI: A visit by foreign envoys to Jammu and Kashmir is a “useful” step, a senior US diplomat said late Friday, while urging the Indian government to release “political leaders detained without charge” following the lockdown that was imposed in the union territory in August. “I was pleased to see some incremental steps, including the partial return of internet service in Kashmir. And the visit by our ambassador and other foreign diplomats to Jammu and Kashmir is something that I know was extensively covered in the press. We see this as...
Serena Williams Loses at Australian Open MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams tumbled out of the Australian Open in the third round on Friday, eliminated by an opponent who had previously been one of her least daunting. The eighth-seeded Williams, a seven-time Australian Open champion, lost to the 27th-seeded Wang Qiang of China, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5. At the same time Williams was battling at Rod Laver Arena, her close friend Caroline Wozniacki played the final match of her career at Melbourne Arena, losing to the 78th-ranked Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. Source: The New York Times
Red Bull’s Avinash Pant joins Facebook India as marketing head NEW DELHI : Facebook on Friday announced the appointment of Avinash Pant as marketing director for its India operations. The newly created role has the mandate to drive the company’s consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. He will report to Ajit Mohan, vice-president and managing director of Facebook India. Pant’s appointment comes a year after Facebook announced new leadership structure in India bringing company’s operations under Ajit Mohan, reporting directly to its headquarters in Menlo Park. Source: Livemint
Ajit Agarkar applies for national selector’s job, front-runner for chairman’s post Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar on Friday entered the race for the national selector’s job and is a frontrunner for the chairman’s post. Agarkar, who is a former chairman of Mumbai senior selection committee, is in contention for the chairman’s post as the new constitution doesn’t have provisions for zonal system. With BCCI setting January 24 as the deadline for sending applications, the 42-year-old Agarkar is certainly the post high-profile name with 26 Tests, 191 ODIs and 3 T20 Internationals, picking 349 wickets across formats. Source: Hindustan Times
Realme’s first fitness band to launch next month, confirms CEO Madhav Sheth Realme has steadily been expanding its ecosystem in India that will allow the brand to take on Xiaomi more strategically. Last year, India CEO Madhav Sheth teased the first fitness band that will join the Realme family. On the latest AskMadhav episode on YouTube, Sheth finally confirmed that the company’s first fitness band will be released in February. Without sharing any specifics about the device, Sheth revealed a tentative timeline for the anticipated Realme fitness band. He also made some revelations about the introduction of advertisements on Realme...
Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali group is aiming at ₹25,000 crore revenue this fiscal New Delhi: Haridwar-based Patanjali group, which has acquired debt-ridden Ruchi Soya, is expecting ₹25,000 crore turnover this fiscal, and aims to become the country’s largest FMCG company in coming years, Yoga Guru Ramdev said on Friday. The company will register a joint turnover of ₹25,000 crore in the current fiscal ending March 2020, in which around ₹12,000 crore would be contributed by Patanjali group firms and ₹13,000 crore will come from Ruchi Soya, he said. Source: Livemint
