Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI) Secularism as principle and practice in India is in "danger" and the ruling dispensation may even try to remove the word from the Constitution, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said, but asserted that "forces of hatred" cannot alter the country's secular character.

Secularism is only a word and even if the government takes it out of the Constitution, it would still be a secular Constitution because of its basic structure, Tharoor told PTI in an interview on his new book 'The Battle of Belonging'.

31 Oct 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has angered both India and Pakistan after leaving Kashmir out of its map of the two countries on its new banknotes, leaving both countries confused and outraged at a move that gives the disputed region symbolic independence.

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) Cooperative Nafed on Saturday invited bids from importers for supply of 15,000 tonnes of red onions by November 20 in order to boost the domestic availability and check price rise.

The cooperative has asked bidders to supply 40 to 60 mm size of red onions from any country of origin at Rs 50 per kg by November 20. They can bid for a minimum quantity of 2,000 tonnes to be supplied in multiple lots of 500 tonnes, it said.

New Delhi, Oct 30 (PTI) Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has approved the Delhi government's proposal to allow buses to run with full seating capacity even as COVID-19 cases are witnessing a surge in the city.

The buses are currently running with 20 passengers in view of the outbreak of coronavirus.

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) The month of October was the coldest in 58 years in the national capital, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

The mean minimum temperature in October this year was 17.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest since 1962, when it was 16.9 degrees Celsius, the IMD said.

Normally, Delhi records a mean minimum temperature of 19.1 degrees Celsius in October.

Washington, Oct 30 (PTI) India and the US have held wide ranging discussions on issues on the UN Security Council agenda and agreed to work closely given their shared values of democracy, pluralism and rule-based international order, officials here said.

Earlier this year, India, along with Mexico and Ireland, was elected a non-permanent member for a two-year term starting January 1, 2021.

New Delhi, Oct 30 (PTI) The national capital's air quality was recorded in the very poor category on Friday morning, while a government forecasting agency said some improvement is likely due to favourable wind speed.

On Thursday, the city's air quality index (AQI) touched severe levels for a brief period before slipping back into the very poor category.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitoring agency, SAFAR, the share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution was 36 percent on Thursday -- the maximum so far this season.

New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The government on Thursday banned exports of onion seeds with immediate effect amidst rising prices of the bulb in the domestic markets.

Earlier, the export of onion seeds was in the restricted category, which means an exporter was required to obtain a licence or permission from the government for shipments.

"The export of onion seeds is prohibited, with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) Contracting for the seventh consecutive month, the output of eight core infrastructure sectors dropped by 0.8 per cent in September, mainly due to decline in production of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and cement.

The production of eight core sectors had contracted 5.1 per cent in September 2019, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry showed on Thursday.

The decline in output during the month under review was lowest since March.

New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The Union Cabinet on Thursday raised the price of ethanol for doping in petrol by 5-8 per cent, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

The move will help farmers get remunerative price while also cutting down oil imports, he said.

As much as 10 per cent ethanol is doped in petrol.

The move also checks pollution as ethanol is environment-friendly, the minister added.