India

New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Over Rs 49,000 crore in foreign funds were received by more than 18,000 NGOs in the country in the last three years, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said Rs 16,940.58 crore were received by the NGOs in 2017-18, Rs 16,525.73 crore were received in 2018-19 and Rs 15,853.94 crore in 2019-20.

New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) The Congress asked the government on Wednesday why was it "quiet" and "running away" from a caste-based census, which was mooted by a woman MP of the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and even by the chief ministers of Bihar and Odisha.

A caste-based census is required to assess the exact ground situation because in at least 30 states and Union territories, the reservation for backward classes has crossed the upper limit, the opposition party said.

Kanpur (UP), Aug 10 (PTI) A retired police inspector has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl here, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Sunday when retired inspector, Dinesh Chandra Tripathi, who hails from Prayagraj, was watching television with his tenant's 13-year-old daughter at his house in Friends Colony, Deputy Commissioner of Police Anoop Singh said.

Bhopal, Aug 9 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh government will release 339 prisoners, including five women, from various jails on Independence Day, state minister Narottam Mishra said on Monday.

Inmates are released on August 15 annually by taking into account good conduct as well as other laid down parameters.

"These prisoners have completed 14 to 20 years of their sentences and the rest is being pardoned. They have learned life skills during their term. I hope they will be able to rehabilitate themselves in society once released," he added.

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 9 (PTI): A day after the Kerala Government Medical Officers' Association (KGMOA) petitioned the State government to increase security at hospitals, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday directed the authorities concerned to set up security cameras.

At a high-level meeting called for by him to discuss the attacks against the doctors, Vijayan said stern action would be taken in such incidents.

Lucknow, Aug 9 (PTI) The Congress in Uttar Pradesh on Monday organised a state-wide 'BJP gaddi chhodo' march on the occasion of August Kranti Diwas.

The Congress workers marched for about 4 kms in all the 403 assembly constituencies in the state.

The party claimed that during the march, police tried to thwart the programme by arresting Congress workers in most of the districts.

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) India is evacuating its staff from its consulate in Afghanistan's Mazar-e-Sharif in view of the rapidly escalating violence by the Taliban around the capital city of Balkh province, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.

The Indian-based staff of the consulate and a number of Indians residing in Mazar-e-Sharif are being evacuated due to the deteriorating security scenario in the city as well as areas around it, they said.

Srinagar, Aug 10 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he feels like "coming home" when he visits the Kashmir Valley as he pitched for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood before holding assembly elections.

Addressing his party workers after inaugurating a new party headquarters here, a visibly emotional Gandhi said, "My family lives in Delhi. Before that my family lived in Allahabad. And before Allahabad, my family lived here."

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has shown an income of over Rs 3,623 crore in 2019-20 and it earned Rs 2,555 crore from electoral bonds.

According to the BJP's audited annual accounts for 2019-20 put in public domain by the Election Commission, the party's receipts stood at Rs 3623,28,06,093.

Its expenditures stood at Rs 1651,02,25,425.

The BJP received Rs 2,555 crore (Rs 2555,00,01,000) from electoral bonds in 2019-20.

Jaipur, Aug 10 (PTI) The Rajasthan government has introduced a scheme to provide interest-free loan up to Rs 50,000 to street vendors, people in the age group of 18-40 years working in the service sector and unemployed of urban areas hit by Covid-19-induced financial crisis.

In compliance with the budget announcement made by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the finance department issued a circular regarding the Indira Gandhi Urban Credit Card Scheme- 2021 last week.