Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) BJP MP Subramanian Swamy Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dissuade RBI Governor Urjit Patel from leaving, saying his resignation would be wrong for the government, economy and the institution at this time.

The prime minister has to persuade Patel that he cannot leave in larger public interest, he said.

Mumbai, Dec 10 (PTI) Reserve Bank Governor Urjit Patel unexpectedly resigned Monday, four days ahead of a crucial meeting of the board of the central bank that could have discussed issues of simmering differences with the government.

Patel, who is the first governor since 1990 to step down before his term ends, in a brief statement cited "personal reasons" for the decision that was effective immediately.

The government seems to have accepted his resignation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying Patel will be missed "immensely".

New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) RLSP president Upendra Kushwaha resigned from the Union council of ministers and walked out of the BJP-led NDA on Monday, a day before Parliament's Winter Session begins.

Kushwaha, in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he was "dejected" and "betrayed" by the PM's leadership, according to party sources.

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) India has started granting visa on arrival to South Korean nationals, a move that is expected to boost inflow of tourists and business visitors, officials said Sunday.

South Korea is the second country whose nationals are now given visa on arrival by India after Japan, whose citizens have been getting the privilege since March 2016.

India has decided to offer visa on arrival to South Korean nationals with effect from October 1, 2018, a home ministry official said.

Patna, Dec 9 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday accused the BJP of pursuing a politics of "hate and lies" and stressed on the need for ousting it from power at the Centre.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is also the party's in-charge for Bihar, alleged that in Delhi - which is ruled by his party - "names of about 30 lakh voters half of whom are from UP-Bihar have been deleted from the electoral roll at the behest of the BJP".

"Where will the disenfranchised voters of Delhi go.

Washington, Dec 8 (PTI) India will retain its position as the world's top recipient of remittances this year with its diaspora sending a whopping USD 80 billion back home, the World Bank said in a report Saturday.

India is followed by China (USD 67 billion), Mexico and the Philippines (USD 34 billion each) and Egypt (USD 26 billion), according to the global lender.

With this, India has retained its top spot on remittances, according to the latest edition of the World Bank's Migration and Development Brief.

New Delhi, Dec 8 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday locked horns over alleged mass deletion of Bania votes in Delhi, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying the traders community would not vote for ruling party at the Centre.

With the AAP alleging deletion of four lakh Bania votes in Delhi, Union minister Vijay Goel tweeted, saying AAP was fooling them.

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped in northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar area, police said Friday.

The accused, a 17-year-old, has been apprehended, officials said.

The girl alleged that the incident happened Wednesday, following which her family registered a complaint with police.

Officials said that further investigation in the case is currently on.

New Delhi, Dec 5 (PTI) Christian Michel, the alleged middleman who has been chargesheeted in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, was Wednesday produced before a Delhi court which allowed his five-day custodial interrogation by the CBI.

He will again be produced in the court on December 10.

Michel, who is a citizen of United Kingdom, was brought to India late Tuesday night following his extradition by the UAE in connection with the case.

Mumbai, Dec 5 (PTI) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday expectedly kept interest rates unchanged but held out a promise to cut them if the upside risks to the inflation do not materialise.

It also coaxed banks to lend more in order to support the slowing economy.

With all the six member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) voting for a hold on rates, the RBI kept benchmark repurchase (repo) rate at 6.5 per cent.

Having raised rates twice this year, the central bank retained its 'calibrated tightening' policy stance.