News Digest: Soliciter general found couple who are ready to adopt to-be-born kid

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Friday, February 03, 2023
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Soliciter general found couple who are ready to adopt to-be-born kid BJP netas, mantris to fan across country to highlight Budget vows Allocation for roads wing of highways ministry up by 50% Aiming to accelerate construction of national highways before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are announced, the government has increased the allocation for the roads wing of highways ministry by 50% to Rs 73,000 crore for 2023-24 while in the case of NHAI, the increase is around 15% to Rs 1.62 lakh crore. More India News»

		Science
		From vaccines to AI: New weapons in the fight against cancer Anomaly during second stage separation failed SSLV: FAC report; Next flight soon US looks to include Indian firms in NASA lunar project; NISAR in 2024, Isro astronaut may visit NASA Centre More Science News»

		Technology
		Android 13 QPR2 beta 3 rolls out for Google Pixels Last month, Google seeded the second beta of Android 13 QPR2 (Quarterly Platform Release 2). Now, Android-maker has released the third beta build of Android 13 QPR2 for eligible Pixel phones with more bug fixes ahead of the stable release slated to come in the coming weeks. Samsung launches Galaxy Book3 series in India: Price, offers and more Consumers can avail of bank cashback worth Rs 1,0000 on the purchase of Galaxy Book3 Ultra and worth Rs 8,000 on the purchase of Book3 Pro series. Consumers can also opt for No-cost EMI for up to 24 months. Additionally, as part of special pre-book offers, on purchase of Galaxy Book3 Ultra, consumers can get an M8 Smart Monitor worth Rs 50,990 at a discounted price of Rs 1999 only. Read OnePlus' 'hottest take' on Samsung Galaxy S23 series phones Samsung Galaxy S23 series key highlight is the camera. Galaxy S23 Ultra marks Samsung's entry in the 200MP club. Samsung talked at length about the S23 series camera at the event. So little doubt that OnePlus' first tweet in the thread mocked the camera. “A good director can make any camera look good,” tweeted OnePlus. More Technology News»

		Business
		RBI asks large banks for information on exposure to Adani Group The RBI has sought information from some large banks on their exposure to Adani Group following a rout in stocks of its companies. A senior banker told TOI that the central bank already has a fair idea of the banking industry’s exposure to the group, thanks to the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits. Budget: 1cr in Rs 5-7L income range to gain from new tax regime Close to one crore individuals in the Rs 5-7 lakh income range stand to gain from the government’s decision to increase the rebate level to Rs 7 lakh under the new tax regime, data available with the finance ministry showed. Several of these individuals are unable to use the benefits available for investment in specified savings instruments, such as public provident fund or 5-year fixed deposits, increasing their tax liability, government sources told TOI. Tax reins tightened, charitable trusts have no margin of error The Budget proposes a slew of amendments that would cost a charitable trust dearly for even the slightest slip — such as a few days’ delay in filing a renewal application. Tax exemption could be lost if there is a delay in filing the I-T return. Tightening of controls will make an already difficult existence for trusts even more challenging, state experts. More Business News»

		Sports
		The Indian fortress: World record 25 straight unbeaten cricket series at home When India pulled off a massive 168 run win in the third and final T20I in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, the Men in Blue shattered multiple records - both team and individual. TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at some very interesting stats and trivia after India's massive 168 run win on Wednesday which also gave them a 2-1 series win. 'It's time to win the senior World Cup now': Shafali Verma to Richa Ghosh Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, who were part of India's victorious u-19 World Cup team were in Ahmedabad, for a few hours on Wednesday, to attend their felicitation ceremony. They are now on their way back to South Africa, the venue for the senior women's T20 World Cup, which starts on February 10. South Africa Women beat India Women by 5 wickets in T20I Tri-series final The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team lost a low-scoring summit clash of the T20I Tri-series against hosts South Africa by five wickets at Buffalo Park in East London on Thursday. More Sports News»

		Education
		JEE Main Answer Key 2023 for January session released on jeemain.nta.nic.in, download now The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Thursday released the JEE Main Answer Key 2023 for Session 1 examinations. Candidates those who took the January session exams can download it from the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in. The Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2023 answer key challenge can be raised till February 04, 2023. Vikram Deb Autonomous College Jeypore to become university As the latest development comes in, the Odisha government has announced to upgrade the Vikram Deb Autonomous College, Jeypore, Koraput district to an affiliating university. The higher education department released a notification about the upgradation of the college into a university. Read the complete article below for more related details and information. COMEDK UGET 2023 exam calendar released on comdek.org, registrations to begin from Feb 15 The COMEDK UGET 2023 exam dates have been released. The registration process for the COMEDK Undergraduate Entrance Test (UGET) 2023 will begin from February 15, 2023. The last date to submit the COMEDK UGET online application form is April 24, 2023. The exam will be held on May 28, 2023. More Education News»

		Environment
		Union Budget 2022-23: Rs 3,030 crore allocated to Environment Ministry Germany pledges $222 million for Brazil environment, Amazon German development minister Svenja Schulze announced Monday that her government will make 204 million euros ($222 million) available for environmental policies in Brazil. Three dead as rain pounds New Zealand's largest city Auckland Authorities declared a state of emergency for the Auckland region and the nation's new Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, flew to the city on a military plane to assess the damage. Hipkins was sworn in to the top job on Wednesday after Jacinda Ardern resigned. More Environment News»

		World
		US: Winter storm cancels flights, keeps thousands without power Hundreds more flights were canceled again in Texas, although not as many as in previous days. But another wave of frigid weather in the US is on the horizon, with an Arctic cold front expected to move from Canada into the northern Plains and Upper Midwest and sweep into the Northeast by Friday. The front is expected to bring snow and wind chills lower than minus 50 (minus 45 Celsius) to northern New England, according to the National Weather Service. Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskyy wants tougher Europe, Putin evokes victory over Nazis Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged European leaders visiting Kyiv on Thursday to pile more sanctions on Russia, where President Vladimir Putin evoked a famous World War Two victory over the Nazis to rally his nation. Putin evokes Stalingrad to predict victory over 'new Nazism' in Ukraine President Vladimir Putin evoked the spirit of the Soviet army that defeated Nazi German forces at Stalingrad 80 years ago to declare on Thursday that Russia would defeat a Ukraine in the grip of a new incarnation of Nazism. In a fiery speech in Volgograd, known as Stalingrad until 1961, Putin lambasted Germany for helping to arm Ukraine and said, not for the first time, that he was ready to draw on Russia's entire arsenal, which includes nuclear weapons. More World News»

		Environment
		Union Budget 2022-23: Rs 3,030 crore allocated to Environment Ministry Germany pledges $222 million for Brazil environment, Amazon German development minister Svenja Schulze announced Monday that her government will make 204 million euros ($222 million) available for environmental policies in Brazil. Three dead as rain pounds New Zealand's largest city Auckland Authorities declared a state of emergency for the Auckland region and the nation's new Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, flew to the city on a military plane to assess the damage. Hipkins was sworn in to the top job on Wednesday after Jacinda Ardern resigned. More Environment News»

		Hyderabad
		Gamers fret as budget tax eats into winnings The new taxation rule on online gaming has come as a dampener for gamers in the state already bound by the ban on real money games (RMG) in Telangana. Major fire guts godown in Hyderabad's Chikkadpally, no casualty A major fire broke out at a warehouse containing decor materials in Chikkadpally early on Thursday morning. Thirteen fire tenders and around 50 firemen from across the city battled the blaze for over five hours before it was brought under control around 11.30am. No one was hurt and officials are yet to pinpoint the cause of fire. Two other shops were gutted in the fire. Hyderabad police perplexed as crooks breach security to rig GRE While representatives of Educational Testing Service (ETS), which conducts GRE and TOEFL, have alleged that their decoy candidate taking the online test was helped by one of the fraudsters hiding in the room, cops are yet to figure out how he escaped notice of the proctor keeping watch remotely. More Hyderabad News»

		Chandigarh
		Resolve PSPCL crisis, Punjab on brink of power outage: Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa to state government Senior Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa has asked the Bhagwant Mann-led government to pay heed to issues raised by the engineers’ association of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), failing which the state would plunge into darkness. Clusters may not help cotton growers in Punjab, Haryana Union Budget for 2018-19 has proposed to adopt a cluster-based and value-chain approach through public-private partnerships with collaboration between farmers, state and industry for input supplies, extension services, and market linkages to enhance the productivity of extralong staple cotton. Punjab has been continuously losing area under cotton crop till 2012-13, the area under cotton was used to be around 5 lakh hectares which in the last two years have come down to even less than 25 lakh hectares. The severe whitefly attack on the crop in 2015 eroded the faith of growers and it started coming down to nearly 3 lakh hectares. Finally, the pest attack in two successive years marooned the cotton growers and the skyrocketing cotton prices touching even the psychological level of Rs 10000 per quintal failed to enthuse them going by it. The cotton ginning factories too have come down from over 400 till 2007 to presently only 77. Consequently, they need helping hand. "The farmers in Punjab have witnessed the shortening of the staple due to successive pest attack on cotton crop in Punjab in the ongoing season. The staple length was found to be even less than 27mm in many places under such circumstances. The cotton growers may not be attracted back towards the crop and they may continue with Steady decline in allocation under flagship schemes: SKM The Skandia Kisan Morcha (SKM) has criticized the Union Budget for its lack of attention to the agricultural sector. The SKM claims that the budget allocates less money to rural development than in previous years, and that the government has neglected farmers and the agricultural sector. The SKM also claims that the budget does not mention the status of the MSP for crops, and that flagship schemes like the PM Annadata Aay Sangrakshan Abhiyan have seen a decline in allocation. The SKM also claims that the budget cuts support for farmers from schemes like the PM Fasal Bima Yojana and the Fertiliser Subsidy. More Chandigarh News»

		Ahmedabad
		Wanted: A Pied Piper for rats at Ahmedabad's Vastrapur lake If you are at Vastrapur lake garden and suddenly see people throwing their hands up, screaming and jumping around, they are not about to spark a flash mob. Instead, chances are high that they were trying to escape the bandicoot rats they had just spotted. In Gujarat, stamp duty collection up 19% to Rs 8,769 crore in 2022 Continuing its robust bounce back after the Covid-19 pandemic, the real estate sector notched up an impressive performance in the year 2022, with property registrations up 11% and government revenue in the form of stamp duty and registration fee rising by 19% over the preceding year. NRG accuses wife, in-laws of cheating him of Rs 10 lakh A 29-year-old man from Gandhinagar, who works at a private firm in Canada, was allegedly duped of at least Rs 10 lakh by a woman from Ludhiana in Punjab after their wedding. Manoj Gajjar, 54, a resident of Water Lily at Adani Shantigram, filed an FIR with Santej police accusing four people of cheating his son Neel Gajjar who lives in Canada. More Ahmedabad News»

		Chennai
		Tamil Nadu lawyers write to President Draupadi Murmu opposing collegium proposal on Victoria Gowri A group of advocates from Tamil Nadu has written to President Draupadi Murmu urging her to reconsider the Supreme Court collegium recommendation to elevate advocate Victoria Gowri as judge of the Madras high court. The advocates including seniors such as R Vaigai, V Suresh and N G R Prasad, in their petition dated January 17, said Victoria Gowri in her capacity as a BJP leader had made several hate speeches against minorities. They said these speeches are available on YouTube as well as in publications associated with the RSS. The petitioners said she had made extreme comments about love-jihad and religious conversions and had accused Roman Catholics of nefarious activities. DSP's son among 4 held for death of biker, drunk driving in Chennai A deputy superintendent of police's son, who drove a car in an inebriated condition, fatally knocked down a biker and injured a pedestrian at Neelankarai early on Thursday. Police said Anbarasan, 28, son of deputy superintendent of police Thangavel from Vellore, was driving the car to Mamallapuram. 7 schoolboys held for killing guest worker in Chennai Seven Chennai school students, all under the age of 16, have been detained for murder after a man they beat up died in hospital on Thursday. More Chennai News»

		Bangalore
		EC sets up cells, checkposts to crack down on election freebies in Karnataka With reports pouring in of political functionaries across parties enticing voters with freebies and making donations to religious institutions, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun tracking movement and distribution of goods and monetary transactions. Priyank Kharge wants court-monitored probe into PSI scam, files PIL The high court on Thursday ordered notice to the state government and the Karnataka State Police (recruitment wing) in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Congress legislator Priyank Kharge, seeking a court-monitored fair, independent and transparent investigation into the police sub-inspector recruitment scam. Missing passport pouch stops doctor & family from flying to Australia in Kempegowda International Airport A pouch containing four passports belonging to an Australian family placed in a tray along with a wallet and cellphone allegedly went missing during pre-departure security check by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Kempegowda International Airport, resulting in all of them missing their flight. More Bangalore News»

		Bangalore
		EC sets up cells, checkposts to crack down on election freebies in Karnataka With reports pouring in of political functionaries across parties enticing voters with freebies and making donations to religious institutions, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun tracking movement and distribution of goods and monetary transactions. Priyank Kharge wants court-monitored probe into PSI scam, files PIL The high court on Thursday ordered notice to the state government and the Karnataka State Police (recruitment wing) in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Congress legislator Priyank Kharge, seeking a court-monitored fair, independent and transparent investigation into the police sub-inspector recruitment scam. Missing passport pouch stops doctor & family from flying to Australia in Kempegowda International Airport A pouch containing four passports belonging to an Australian family placed in a tray along with a wallet and cellphone allegedly went missing during pre-departure security check by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Kempegowda International Airport, resulting in all of them missing their flight. More Bangalore News»

		Mumbai
		Bombay HC: Does probe into Tunisha Sharma death show suicide abetment? The Bombay high court on Thursday questioned the state whether the investigation into the death of television actor Tunisha Sharma is moving in the right direction and whether it shows an offence of abetment of suicide. Humidity is back as temperature rises in Mumbai Hot and humid weather conditions returned as both day and night temperatures in the city stayed above normal on Thursday. Cyber crime: South Mumbai businessman falls prey to mobile tower fraud, loses Rs 1.5 crore A 51-year-old south Mumbai businessman was duped of Rs 1.5 crore by cyber fraudsters on the pretext of installing a mobile tower on his terrace, promising Rs 45,000 monthly rent. The victim paid the money in 32 transactions through RTGS in the last two years. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Minor, staying at shelter home, raped in east Delhi A girl was allegedly raped near east Delhi’s Anand Vihar almost a month ago, but police got to know about it only on Thursday when she went to a hospital after falling ill. Nobody has been arrested. Like Punjab, let Delhi teachers train abroad, CM Arvind Kejriwal appeals to LG VK Saxena The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government trained its gun again on the lieutenant governor on Thursday over the issue of training of government school teachers in Finland. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “I am delighted to see 36 teachers from Punjab going to Singapore for training. I appeal to the LG sahab to also allow Delhi’s teachers to go to Finland for training.” With a month to go for first of G20 events, Delhi LG VK Saxena asks agencies to speed up preparations The LG office on Thursday directed civic bodies to speed up preparations for the upcoming G20 events and ensure the city is ready to host them. More Delhi News»

		Delhi
		Minor, staying at shelter home, raped in east Delhi A girl was allegedly raped near east Delhi’s Anand Vihar almost a month ago, but police got to know about it only on Thursday when she went to a hospital after falling ill. Nobody has been arrested. Like Punjab, let Delhi teachers train abroad, CM Arvind Kejriwal appeals to LG VK Saxena The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government trained its gun again on the lieutenant governor on Thursday over the issue of training of government school teachers in Finland. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “I am delighted to see 36 teachers from Punjab going to Singapore for training. I appeal to the LG sahab to also allow Delhi’s teachers to go to Finland for training.” With a month to go for first of G20 events, Delhi LG VK Saxena asks agencies to speed up preparations The LG office on Thursday directed civic bodies to speed up preparations for the upcoming G20 events and ensure the city is ready to host them. More Delhi News»

		Delhi
		Minor, staying at shelter home, raped in east Delhi A girl was allegedly raped near east Delhi’s Anand Vihar almost a month ago, but police got to know about it only on Thursday when she went to a hospital after falling ill. Nobody has been arrested. Like Punjab, let Delhi teachers train abroad, CM Arvind Kejriwal appeals to LG VK Saxena The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government trained its gun again on the lieutenant governor on Thursday over the issue of training of government school teachers in Finland. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “I am delighted to see 36 teachers from Punjab going to Singapore for training. I appeal to the LG sahab to also allow Delhi’s teachers to go to Finland for training.” With a month to go for first of G20 events, Delhi LG VK Saxena asks agencies to speed up preparations The LG office on Thursday directed civic bodies to speed up preparations for the upcoming G20 events and ensure the city is ready to host them. More Delhi News»

		Allahabad
		Over 2,700 men lost and reunited between January 6 and 30: Data This year at the ongoing Magh Mela more men went missing on the campus compared to their female counterparts. Allahabad HC rejects Abbas Ansari's plea to quash criminal proceedings The Allahabad HC on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by Mau Sadar MLA Abbas Ansari seeking quashing of criminal proceedings in connection with the 'hisab-kitab' remark case, observing that acts done with the objective and intent to cause public disorder or to demean dignity of the targeted groups have to be dealt with as per law. HC rejects Ansari's plea to quash proceedings in 'hisab-kitab' case The allahabad high court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by Mau Sadar Mla Abbas Ansari seeking quashing of criminal proceedings in connection with the hisabkitab’ remark case. The court observed that acts done with the objective and intent to cause public disorder or to demean dignity of the targeted groups have to be dealt with as per law. Abbas is son of jailed mafia don Mukhtar Ansari, and dismissing his petition justice Dinesh Kumar Singh termed it as devoid of merit. The court also observed that “the unity and integrity of the nation cannot be overlooked and slighted as acts that promote or are likely to promote divisiveness alienation and schematism do directly and indirectly impinge on diversity and pluralism when such acts are done with the objective and intent to cause public disorder or to demean dignity of the targeted groups they have to be dealt with as per law and such an act would attract the offence under section 153a promoting enmity between different groups of IPC.” It was also argued by the counsel for Abbas that to constitute an offence under section 153a of IPC there must be an intention of the person making the statement to create disorder or to incite people to violence even if it is believed that Abbas More Allahabad News»

		Bhopal
		KIYG: At 14, weightlifter Akanksha Vyavahare aims high Akanksha Vyavahare is only 14-years-old but her exploits are huge. After making several national records in her weight category, Akanksha, who is a part of TOPS Development List, is all set to debut in the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 Madhya Pradesh (KIYG 2022 MP). The teen, who has won several medals at the national level, is very excited and thrilled about her KIYG debut. Khelo India: Maharashtra girls & Uttar Pradesh boys steal the show in table tennis On Wednesday, the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 Madhya Pradesh (KIYG 2022 MP) witnessed some exhilarating performances with table tennis competition in Indore, Volleyball semi-finals in Bhopal and badminton match in Gwalior among others. Madhya Pradesh makes a splash, wins all 4 golds in Kayaking & Canoeing On a historic Day 3 of the Khelo India Youth Games 2022, Madhya Pradesh, the hosts made a big splash at the beautiful Upper Lake in the capital city, by garnering all four gold medals on offer in Kayaking and Canoeing. More Bhopal News»

		Bhubaneswar
		1000-seat gigantic auditorium at OUAT to be ready by December BJP, BJD indulge in slugfest over budget allocation in Odisha A day after Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s sharp attack on BJP over meagre allocation for Ayushman Bharat mission in the Union Budget 2023, BJP leaders on Thursday lashed out at the state government for allegedly failing to provide proper healthcare to Odisha people. Railways increases speed limit at four places in Odisha More Bhubaneswar News»

		Unsubscribe | To manage your newsletter subscription settings, click here	Other Newsletters from TOI : Breaking News | Top Headlines | Tech | Entertainment | Movie Reviews | Life & Style