Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The Train 18 will run from Delhi to Varanasi, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal confirmed on Wednesday, saying the run-time would be eight hours, about "one-and-a-half-times" faster than the fastest train on the route.

While the railways had been saying that it had proposed two routes for the train, Delhi to Bhopal and Delhi to Varanasi, this is the first time that the route has been officially confirmed.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The CBI has arrested a Sub Inspector of Delhi Police for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 80,000, officials said Wednesday.

Sub Inspector Gopal Singh posted at Lodhi Colony Police Station was taken into custody by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), they said.

It was alleged that the officer had demanded the bribe from the accused in a case that he was probing, assuring to "go soft on him", they added.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The BJP Wednesday demanded Congress president Rahul Gandhi's apology for terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's televison interview "staged" and that it was conducted by a "pliable journalist".

In a late night statement, BJP media head Anil Baluni defended the journalist who interviewed Modi and said Gandhi's attack on the media person was reflective of the Congress' mindset about journalists in general.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi Tuesday condoled the demise of Bollywood actor and writer Kader Khan, who passed away in Canada after prolonged illness.

Khan, 81, died at a hospital in Canada on Monday.

"I am sorry to hear about the demise of noted actor Kader Khan Ji. I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans all around the world," Gandhi said.

"We will miss him," the Congress chief said in a Facebook post.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) India and Pakistan Tuesday exchanged details of civilian prisoners and fishermen lodged in each other's jails.

The Ministry of External Affairs or MEA said India handed over to Pakistan lists of 249 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 98 fishermen in its custody.

Pakistan has shared lists of 54 civilian prisoners and 483 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or are believed-to-be-Indians.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) GST collection dropped to Rs 94,726 crore in December 2018, lower than Rs 97,637 crore collected in the previous month.

The total number of sales returns or GSTR-3B filed till December 30, 2018, is 72.44 lakh, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Compensation released to states for August-September stood at Rs 11,922 crore.

Of the Rs 94,726 crore collected, Central GST (CGST) collection is Rs 16,442 crore, State GST (SGST) is Rs 22,459 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) is Rs 47,936 crore and Cess is Rs 7,888 crore.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) The Shiv Sena said Tuesday "Lord Ram is not bigger than the law" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he has said that his government can take a decision on an ordinance for the Ram temple's construction only after the judicial process is over.

The Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP, has demanded an ordinance to pave the way for the temple's construction in Ayodhya, arguing that the matter has been dragging in courts for decades.

New Delhi, Dec 31; PTI: The Congress and other opposition parties on Monday demanded in the Rajya Sabha that the triple talaq bill be sent to a select committee for further scrutiny, even as the government accused them of doing politics on the issue.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the bill is very crucial and requires further scrutiny and claimed that more than half of the members belonging to several parties have demanded that the bill be sent to a select committee.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Amid the controversy over how much capital the Reserve Bank should keep as its reserves, a BJP MP Monday said by holding on to the excess money, it is resorting to raiding the economy.

Participating in the debate on the Supplementary Demands for Grants in the Lok Sabha, Anurag Thakur also cited infrastructure projects being stuck due to lack of liquidity.

He sought to blunt opposition charges that the government was encroaching on the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi has approved the appointment of 10 new national spokespersons of AICC, some of whom were earlier media panelists.

Among the new national spokespersons are Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain, Pawan Khera, Jaiveer Shergill, Ragini Nayak, Gourav Vallabh and Rajiv Tyagi.

Uttar Pradesh leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh, Sunil Ahire, Hina Kaware (MLA) and Sravan Dasoju have also been appointed new spokespersons of the party.