Delhi

Indore, Oct 29 (PTI) Amid the soaring prices of onion, Union Agriculture Minister has said one lakh tonne of buffer stock of the key kitchen staple is being released by the government to provide relief to people.

He was talking to reporters on Wednesday after taking part in a rally in Dharampuri town of Indore district ahead of the November 3 bypolls to 28 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh.

"The government has already taken cognisance of the issue of rising prices of onion and its one lakh tonne of buffer stock is being released through NAFED," Tomar said.

New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The national capital's overall air quality inched closer to the 'severe' category on Thursday morning as pollution levels rose sharply after a marginal reduction, primarily due to calm winds and spike in farm fires.

The city recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 392 at 10 am. The 24-hour average AQI was 297 on Wednesday, 312 on Tuesday, 353 on Monday, 349 on Sunday, 345 on Saturday and 366 on Friday.

New Delhi, Oct 28 (PTI) Union minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday said she has tested positive for COVID-19.

The women and child development and textiles minister asked the people who came in contact with her to get themselves tested for the disease at the earliest.

"It is rare for me to search for words while making an announcement; hence here's me keeping it simple -- I've tested positive for #COVID and would request those who came in contact with me to get themselves tested at the earliest," she said in a tweet.

New Delhi, Oct 28 (PTI) Prominent Muslim body Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Wednesday voiced support for the boycott call against French products given by Muslims in the Middle East and beyond over the controversy surrounding depictions of Prophet Muhammad.

In a statement, Jamiat general secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani strongly condemned French President Emmanuel Macron for "supporting insulting cartoons of Prophet Muhammad under the pretext of freedom of expression".

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) India and the US on Tuesday announced the extension of the duration of an MoU between them concerning cooperation with the Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP).

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) The CBI investigation in the sensational Hathras case, in which a Dalit girl was allegedly brutally raped and died of injuries, will now be monitored by the Allahabad High Court, the Supreme Court Tuesday said.

The apex court said that all the aspects of the case, including monitoring of probe and providing security to the victim's family as well as the witnesses, would be considered by the high court.

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) Ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, an NGO has moved the Supreme Court seeking urgent hearing of its 2017 PIL challenging the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme meant for funding political parties.

The NGO, 'Association for Democratic Reforms', had earlier also moved a similar plea seeking stay on the scheme ahead of Delhi Assembly polls in January this year. The apex court had refused to grant the interim stay on the scheme.

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) A Delhi court has dismissed the bail plea of Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha, arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, in connection with a case related to larger conspiracy in the north east Delhi riots in February.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat, said in his order passed on October 26, that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the allegations against Tanha were prima facie true.

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) Hitting out at the Uttar Pradesh government over alleged rise in prices, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said the Yogi Adityanath dispensation which spends crores of rupees on "false propaganda" is silent on people's problems.

In Uttar Pradesh, during the festival season, rising prices have "wreaked havoc" on the common people, Priyanka Gandhi said.

"Vegetable prices are skyrocketing. Work and businesses are already stalled," she alleged in a tweet in Hindi.

New Delhi, Oct 26 (PTI) India will drive the global energy demand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he showcased his government's recent reforms in the sector to global investors.

Speaking at the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, Modi said the coronavirus pandemic had resulted in global energy demand falling by one-third, investment decisions being impacted and predictions of a contraction in demand over the next few years.

But India is likely to see energy consumption double over the long term, he said.