Delhi

New Delhi, Feb 4; PTI: The Union Home Ministry will examine the role of some IPS officers in the alleged obstruction put up against a CBI team probing the Saradha ponzi scam in Kolkata and whether they violated the service conduct rules while preventing questioning of city police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, officials said on Monday.

The Union home ministry is the cadre-controlling authority of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the country.

New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) The government plans to auction three mineral blocks having reserves of 280.295 million tonne in the current and next month.

Of the mines to be auctioned, two are limestone blocks while one is graphite mine, according to latest data of mines ministry.

New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) The proceedings of Lok Sabha were adjourned for nearly 45 minutes on Monday morning amid protests by Trinamool Congress members over alleged "misuse" of the CBI by the central government.

As soon as the House paid obituaries to former members who had died in the recent past, members of the TMC raised the issue, saying they have given notice for an adjournment motion to discuss the issue.

New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) A new book pieces together stories of people at the receiving end of mob violence and seeks to find out what triggers lynchers to flout laws with impunity.

In recent years, cases of mob lynching have increased to an alarming extent and the emergence of mobocracy has put India's secularity and democratic constitution to test, says Ziya Us Salam in his book "Lynch Files: The Forgotten Saga of Victims of Hate Crime".

He says the mob giving out instant justice is not the way our Constitution makers had planned.

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Former Madhya Pradesh Police chief Rishi Kumar Shukla was on Saturday appointed CBI director for a fixed tenure of two years, according to an order issued by the personnel ministry.

The 1983-batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre is at present chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation.

He succeeds Alok Kumar Verma, who was on January 10 removed from the post.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Top leaders of various opposition parties met on Friday to discuss the issue of alleged tampering of EVMs and develop their future course of action.

Sources said the Congress convened the meeting to discuss a joint strategy on the issue of alleged tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs) as some parties have questioned their efficacy and demanded the EC revert to the old system of ballot paper.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The government will provide a total of Rs 3,900 crore for servicing Air India's loans transferred to a special purpose vehicle, according to Budget documents.

The Air India Asset Holding Ltd, a special purpose vehicle, has been set up as part of financial restructuring of the debt-laden national carrier.

According to the documents presented in the interim Budget for 2019-20, the government has decided to allocate Rs 1,300 crore for the special purpose vehicle this fiscal.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) There has been a decline in budget outlays for IITs, IIMs, IISER, and statutory and regulatory bodies such as UGC and AICTE in the interim budget for 2019-20 as compared to the allocation for 2018-19.

This comes at a time the Human Resource Development Ministry has said it will implement 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections of the general category from the 2019 academic session and has directed to increase around 25 per cent seats in higher educational institutions and universities across the country.

Noida (UP), Feb 1 (PTI) The Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway connecting Uttar Pradesh with the national capital was shut on Friday evening as a huge mass of farmers marched on the road in a rally, officials said.

The Delhi Traffic Police cautioned commuters asking them to take alternate routes between Delhi and Noida suggesting usage of NH-9 instead of the DND to those moving to Ghazipur via Mayur Vihar.

"Due to the rally/protest by farmers, the DND road between Noida and Delhi has been shut," the Delhi Traffic Police tweeted at 5 pm.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal's Durgapur on Saturday to launch a nearly 300-km-long electrified section of the railways.

He will also inaugurate a 20-km-long Hijli-Narayangarh third line, a statement from his office said.

The prime minister will dedicate to the nation the railway electrification of the 294-km-long Andal-Sainthia-Pakur-Malda and the Khana-Sainthia sections.