An unidentified terrorist was killed and a soldier injured in an overnight encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, the Army said on Wednesday.

“Based on specific input regarding presence of terrorists in general area Kowut, Kupwara, a Joint Search Operation was launched by #IndianArmy and @JmuKmrPolice on days leading up to 23 July 24,” the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps posted on X.

It said suspicious movement was noticed on Tuesday and the suspects were challenged by vigilant troops. In response, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire, leading to a gunbattle.

“In the ensuing fire fight one terrorist has been eliminated and a NCO injured. Operation is in progress,” the Army added.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said his party takes immense pride in the groundbreaking achievement of the Liberalisation Budget of 1991 and asserted that there is a pressing need once again for meaningful and robust second-generation reforms.

In a post on X, Kharge said July 1991 marked a watershed moment in India’s history as the Liberalisation Budget, spearheaded by then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, ushered in a new era of economic reforms.

This visionary move revolutionised the country, empowering the middle class and uplifting millions from poverty and marginalisation, he said.

“The Congress party takes immense pride in this groundbreaking achievement, which catalysed India’s growth trajectory and continues to inspire progress and prosperity,” Kharge said.

“Today, once again, there is a pressing need for meaningful, robust second generation reforms, which help both the middle class and the deprived,” he said.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren

Ranchi : Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday slammed the Centre for “neglecting” the state in the Union budget, and alleged that the BJP leaders are “silent” over the dues from the Centre.

He also claimed that the Centre owes Rs 1.36 lakh crore to the state and demanded that its dues be paid by the Union government.

“Who is guilty of discrimination with the state? The Centre owes Rs 1.36 lakh crore to the state, but every BJP leader is silent on this issue. Give a special package to your crutches – pay us our dues,” Soren said on X.

He was apparently referring to financial measures, announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget proposals on Tuesday, for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, ruled by key NDA allies — Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP — which are providing critical support to the BJP-led government at the Centre.

Announcing a host of developmental projects, Sitharaman proposed a total outlay of over Rs 60,000 crore for various projects in Bihar, where assembly polls are due next year, and Rs 15,000 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal for the development of Andhra Pradesh’s capital city, a dream project of Naidu.

“(Former Jharkhand Chief Minister) Raghubar Das had left behind DVC’s dues of Rs 5,000 crore – which the Centre had deducted from our account without informing us – and BJP leaders were clapping,” Soren said sharing a post by JMM on the microblogging site.

He also asked, “Why are we being neglected despite giving 12 out of 14 MPs in 2014 and 2019 and having 9 (NDA) MPs today?”

Soren had on Tuesday said that the Union budget would help the Centre’s “billionaire friends” at the cost of agriculture, and “loot” the budget of farmers.

This, he said, has happened when 60 per cent of the population of the country depend on agriculture for sustenance.

Mumbai: Stock market benchmarks indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Wednesday, extending their Budget day fall, after the government proposed to hike securities transaction tax on futures & options.

Foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in global markets also played spoilsport for the domestic markets.

After a weak beginning, the 30-share BSE Sensex further declined 233.7 points to 80,195.34. The NSE Nifty dipped 73.45 points to 24,405.60.

From the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever dropped 3 per cent after the firm reported just a 2.2 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,612 crore for April-June FY25 impacted by price reductions.

Bajaj Finance, Nestle, HCL Technologies, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra and Adani Ports were the other big laggards.

However, ITC, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra and NTPC were among the gainers.

The key benchmark indices ended marginally lower in volatile trade on Tuesday as the government proposed to hike the securities transaction tax on futures & options in the Budget for 2024-25.

On Tuesday, the BSE benchmark settled lower by 73.04 points or 0.09 per cent at 80,429.04. The Nifty dipped 30.20 points or 0.12 per cent to 24,479.05.

“Now that the steep increase in STCGs (Short-Term Capital Gains Tax) and the marginal increase in LTCGs (Long Term Capital Gains Tax) on equity is a reality, investors should focus on investing in stocks which can deliver superior returns. In the present context FMCG stocks look attractive from the valuation perspective,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong were trading lower while Shanghai quoted higher.

The US markets ended marginally lower on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,975.31 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude traded higher by 0.38 per cent to USD 81.32 a barrel.

INDIA bloc MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in Parliament premises on Wednesday over the alleged discrimination against opposition-ruled states in the Union Budget.

Besides Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, several MPs of the Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, DMK and the Left joined the protest held on the steps leading up to the Makar Dwar of Parliament.

Protesting against the budget, Kharge said, “This Budget is anti-people, no one has got justice. They have talked about special package but special status has not been given. This is a deceptive budget and injustice to the people.”

The MPs raised placards such as ‘We want India budget not NDA budget’ and ‘NDA betrays India in Budget’.

“Yesterday, through the budget, the government of India violated all the principles to keep the federal system,” Congress general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal, said.

“The aim of the budget was to protect the government. Giving so many sops to just two states. We are not against giving funds to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar but other states should also get justice. That is why we are agitating today. Even the people are agitated with this,” he said.

SP MP Jaya Bachchan slammed the budget, saying youth have been given false promises.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said his state Uttar Pradesh has been discriminated against. They snatched away jobs and are now talking of apprenticeships, he said.

The decision to protest had been taken at a meeting of floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties at the 10 Rajaji Marg residence of the Congress president on Tuesday evening.

Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Congress’ deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, Congress’ deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, TMC leaders Derek O’Brien and Kalyan Banerjee, DMK’s T R Baalu, JMM’s Mahua Maji, AAP’s Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh, and CPI(M)’s John Brittas, among others, had attended the meeting.

“The concept of a budget has already been destroyed by this year’s Union Budget. They have completely discriminated against most of the states. So the general sentiment of the INDIA bloc meeting was that we have to protest against this,” Venugopal had told reporters after the meeting.

Later, in a post on X, Venugopal had said, “The Union Budget presented today was extremely discriminatory and dangerous, which completely goes against the principles of federalism and fairness that the Union Government must follow.”

In protest, Congress chief ministers will be boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27.

“This government’s attitude is completely antithetical to Constitutional principles. We will not participate in an event that is solely designed to hide the true, discriminatory colours of this regime,” he had said.

Delhi: A Delhi court has issued summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a defamation case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suresh Karamshi Nakhua, after Rathee allegedly referred to him as a “violent and abusive” troll in a YouTube video.

District Judge Gunjan Gupta of the Saket Court passed the order on July 19.

The court also issued a notice to Rathee on Nakhua’s plea for interim relief, scheduling the next hearing for August 6.

Advocates Raghav Awasthi and Mukesh Sharma appeared for Nakhua.

The defamation case revolves around a video titled “My Reply to Godi Youtubers | Elvish Yadav | Dhruv Rathee,” which Rathee uploaded on his YouTube channel on July 7, 2024. In the video, Rathee allegedly referred to Nakhua, the spokesperson for the Mumbai unit of the BJP, as part of “violent and abusive trolls.” Nakhua claims these allegations are baseless and have tarnished his reputation.

The suit argues, “That the Defendant No.1 [Dhruv Rathee], in a highly provocative and incendiary video that spread like wildfire across digital platforms, made bold and unsubstantiated claims against the Plaintiff. The insidious intent behind this video lies in its unfounded insinuation that the Plaintiff is somehow linked to violent and abusive troll activities.”

Nakhua stated that Rathee’s allegations have led to widespread condemnation and ridicule against him. The suit further contends, “Through this cunningly crafted video, a deliberate campaign to besmirch the Plaintiff’s integrity and reputation is apparent, as baseless accusations and malicious connections are artfully insinuated. The primary creator of this video, that is the Plaintiff, seeks not only to cast doubt on the Plaintiff’s character but also to tarnish his hard-earned standing in society. This has planted seeds of suspicion and mistrust that can have far-reaching consequences. The repercussions of such false allegations are manifold, extending well beyond the realm of the video itself to irrevocably impact both the personal and professional domains of the Plaintiff, leaving scars that may never fully heal.”

Yoga guru Ramdev

Haridwar: Yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday justified the order for all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners’ names, saying no one should have any problem in introducing themselves.

“When Ramdev has no problem in revealing his identity, then why should Rehman have any problem?” he told reporters in Haridwar.

Ramdev’s remark comes after the Muzaffarnagar Police last week sparked a controversy by asking all hotels, restaurants and dhabas along the Kanwar Yatra route to put up signboards with their owners’ names, address and mobile number.

On July 19, the Uttar Pradesh government extended the controversial order across the state and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said similar instructions are already in place there.

Agreeing with the decision of both the state governments, Ramdev said one does not need to hide their name, but do one’s work with truth and honesty.

“If the work is done with truth and honesty, then whether the person is a Hindu or a Muslim or belongs to any other religion or class, he should be proud of himself,” the yoga guru said.

He added that the things being fabricated in this matter are wrong.

Regarding the opposition parties’ criticism of the order, Ramdev said their protest has a political motive and some people even oppose the “god-like” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is condemnable.

“This kind of hatred and feeling of animosity, whether it is for the prime minister of the country, for Hindus, or for any other religion or caste, is not acceptable in any way. This is not the eternal culture or ‘sanskaar’ of India. The culture of India is based on non-violence, love, coexistence, harmony and unity,” he added.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand authorities on Sunday said the state police and administration have completed their preparations for the Kanwar Yatra starting from Monday.

Additional Director General of Police A P Anshuman and Inspector General of Police of Garhwal Karan Singh Nagnyal took stock of the preparations for the Kanwar Mela, officials said.

For the sake of arrangements, the entire Kanwar fair area has been divided into 13 super zones, 31 zones and 126 sectors, they said.

Apart from the state police, a bomb disposal squad, eight companies of paramilitary forces of the Centre and four teams of sniffer dogs will also be deployed for the fair, they added.

Apart from this, 22 drone cameras will be used to keep an eye on the activities, while CCTV cameras will also monitor people’s movements.

Every year in the month of Saavan, devotees of Lord Shiva from many states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana reach Haridwar and Rishikesh carrying Kanwad to collect holy water from Ganga.

SAYS JOB QUOTA BILL COMMENTS NOT INTENDED TO INSULT K’TAKA, PEOPLE

PhonePe CEO and Founder Sameer Nigam, PhonePe logo

New Delhi: Amid a furore over his comments on the now-stalled Karnataka job quota bill, PhonePe CEO and Founder Sameer Nigam on Sunday offered an “unconditional apology” and said he never intended to insult the state and its people.

The move assumes significance as PhonePe drew criticism and boycott calls on social media after Nigam had slammed the now-suspended Karnataka government’s quota-for-jobs bill, that had originally proposed reservation for locals in private sector.

Issuing a personal statement on Sunday, Nigam said PhonePe was born in Bengaluru and the team is incredibly proud of its roots in this city, which is well known for its world-class technology talent and vibrant diversity.

“I read some recent media articles, relating to a few personal comments that I made last week regarding the draft job reservation bill. I would first and foremost like to clarify that it was NEVER my intention to insult Karnataka and its people,” Nigam said.

He added, “If my comments hurt anyone’s sentiments in such a way, I am truly sorry and would like to offer you an unconditional apology.”

Nigam said he has highest regards for Kannada, and all other Indian languages, and truly believes that linguistic diversity and rich cultural heritage is a national asset that all Indians should be proud of.

Emphasising on PhonePe’s roots in the city, Nigam said from Bengaluru, over the past decade, the company expanded across the length and breadth of India and been able to deliver secure and efficient digital payments for over 55 crore Indians.

Bengaluru’s reputation as the ‘Silicon valley of India’ is truly well-deserved, he said.

“The city thrives on an incredible culture of innovation, and attracts the most brilliant young minds from Karnataka and the rest of India. As a company, we are deeply grateful for the supportive business environment that Karnataka’s governments and its local Kannadiga populace have offered us,” he said, adding that without an inclusive ecosystem and progressive policies, Bengaluru would not have become a global technology superpower.

“As a company we also thrive on celebrating diversity, we have always tried hard to deliver fair, unbiased and meritocracy-based employment opportunities for all Indians — including all local Kannadigas.

“We believe such an approach gives every Indian a good job a chance to shine, and ultimately helps create more societal and economic value for Bengaluru, Karnataka and India,” Nigam said.

Bengaluru’s Indian startups are competing against trillion dollar giants like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft. To do so, these companies must be able to employ the very best talent available in India purely based on their technology skills and proficiency in fields such as coding, design, product management, data sciences, machine learning, AI and beyond, he pointed out.

As a nation, that is the only way to build world-class companies that can compete globally, Nigam noted.

“I also want to help create lakhs of jobs for Bengaluru and Karnataka. And, I believe with more dialogue and discussion, we can find ways to create more sustainable employment avenues,” he said, adding, “Let’s all work together to do this meaningfully and while creating long-term impact”.

Last week, Nigam post on the controversial, and now-stalled bill had sparked off a backlash on social media.

“I am 46 years old. Never lived in a state for 15+ yrs. My father worked in the Indian Navy. Got posted all over the country. His kids don’t deserve jobs in Karnataka? I build companies. Have created 25000+ jobs across India! My kids dont deserve jobs in their home city? Shame,” Nigam had posted on X recently.

His post had unleashed massive trolling, as social media users in Karnataka lashed out at Nigam and called for a boycott of PhonePe.