Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will have to do a tight-rope walk between staying fiscally prudent and general public expectations of lower taxes and a wider social security net, while at the same time firing the engines of the economy before general elections. Sitharaman will on Wednesday present her fifth straight Budget at a time when the economy is slowing due to global headwinds and specific sectors need attention. In the run-up to the Budget presentation, expectations are rife that she may tweak income-tax slabs to provide relief to the middle class and increase spending on the poor through programmes such as the rural job scheme while ramping up financial incentives for local manufacturing.
Director General of Police Hitesh Chandra Awasthi had said on Thursday, "The post-mortem of the two girls was done by a panel of doctors and no injury before death or external injuries were found on their bodies.The cause of death could not be ascertained and viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis."
Papalpreet Singh, the mentor of absconding Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief Amritpal Singh who was caught by the police in Amritsar district, was brought to Dibrugarh in Assam, over 2500 km away from the northern state, and lodged in the central jail along with seven others of the pro-Khalistan outfit on Tuesday.
Reigning men's Olympic hockey champions Belgium beat New Zealand 2-1 on Sunday as the Red Lions took the lead in the Pool B standings after a twisting shot found the top corner of the goal, salvaging the win after a sluggish performance.
The Centre has estimated that nearly 14,000 people have gathered along the Punjab-Haryana border with 1,200 tractor-trolleys, 300 cars, 10 mini-buses as well as small vehicles and conveyed its strong objections to the Punjab government for it, sources said on Tuesday.
France overcame a slow start to beat neighbours Belgium 2-0 for their first points of the Nations League campaign.
The women's compound team thus has been unbeatable this season, having won the World Cup Stage 1 and Stage 2 gold medals in Shanghai and Yecheon in April and May respectively.
Tech giant Microsoft regained the top spot in the list of best employers to work for in India in 2024, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Amazon, according to a Randstad Employer Brand Research report released on Wednesday. Microsoft had topped the list in 2022, but slipped to fifth in 2023. The 2024 list is based on responses from 3,507 people.
Highest level of anti-terror measures, with deployment of over 5,000 personnel, including 300 commandos, will be in place to provide watertight security to England and India teams in Chennai for the first cricket Test, beginning Thursday.
Five Army personnel and a terrorist, who is said to be part of the group that carried out an attack on civilians in Dhangri village of Rajouri early this year, were killed, while a major-rank officer was injured in the operation so far.
The Badlapur school, where two young girls were allegedly sexually abused, preferred to cover up the crime instead of helping their parents file a police complaint, said Susieben Shah, chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, on Wednesday.
Prajwal Revanna, the suspended Janata Dal-Secular MP facing sexual abuse allegations, was arrested on Friday upon his return from Germany, a month after he left the country in the wake of explicit videos of his alleged actions doing the rounds in Karnataka's Haasan.
The yatra will wind its way through certain communally sensitive areas like Kalupur, Dilli Chakla, Shahpur and others in the walled city area before culminating back at the temple in the evening.\n\n
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
An extended 33-member New Zealand cricket squad left for Dubai on a chartered flight from Islamabad on Saturday evening, a day after abandoning its entire tour of the country over security fears.
Roundup of matches across the country in the ongoing BCCI Ranji Trophy
'The romanticism of late night tennis in New York, it's time to move past that'
European champions Spain claimed a place in the Nations League quarter-finals with a 3-0 home win over Serbia.
Romania's tight-knit defence denied Ukraine any real sniff at goal, helping secure their country's second win across 17 matches at European Championships.
It's a single phase polling in Mizoram while first phase of assembly elections is underway in Chhattisgarh.
Polling to 115 of 117 seats of the Punjab Assembly will be held amidst tight security.
Zoramthanga said people fleeing from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur feel safe in Mizoram which is ruled by his party.
Coimbatore will be under a tight security cover on Wednesday when a special court pronounces sentences for the 70 people convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder charges in the 1998 serial blasts case. The founder-leader of the proscribed Al-Umma S A Basha and its general secretary Mohammed Ansari are among the 70 convicts.
Piotr Zielinski converted two penalties for Inter Milan as they played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Juventus.
Images from the US Open women's singles first round matches, at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Tuesday.
Farmer unions on Monday had announced a countrywide 'chakka jam' on February 6 when they would block national and state highways for three hours in protest against the internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.
Jannik Sinner secured the year-end world number one ranking by beating Czech 30th seed Tomas Machac in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals.
Amid the huge rush of devotees in Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with officials in Lucknow to review the steps taken for crowd management and advised VIPs planning to visit the temple to inform the authorities in advance.
'Are we to believe that coordinated moves by the Canadian and US authorities are no longer taking place?', asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Tension gripped the north Kashmir Baltel base camp of the annual Amarnath yatra following clashes between security forces and locals on Thursday evening.
A local court in Vijayawada remanded Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu in judicial custody for 14 days in an alleged multi-crore corruption scam on Sunday.
The two-month-long annual Amarnath Yatra to the Himalayan Hindu cave shrine has started with thousands of pilgrims proceeding towards the shrine from north and south Kashmir routes.
Robert Lewandowski smashed home a rebound to earn Barcelona a 2-1 win against Athletic Bilbao in an absorbing LaLiga clash on Saturday.
With New Delhi bracing for Diwali celebrations this weekend, the police have put in place a tight security regime across the city with emphasis on crowded places like markets and malls.
Counting began at 8 am under multi-tier security cover. At first, postal ballots will be counted and then EVMs opened.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday embark on a near two-day meditation exercise at the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, and the district has come under a thick security blanket following the high profile event.
Arrested 26/11 key handler Abu Jundal was brought to Mumbai in the wee hours on Saturday after a Delhi court handed over his custody to Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad, which wanted him in connection with a series of terror attacks in Maharashtra.
Counting of votes will be held on Sunday in assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in what is seen as a semi-final contest ahead of the general elections in less than six months.
Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann won from Dhuri assembly seat on Thursday, whereas Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu was defeated from Amritsar East seat.
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