India

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Wednesday installed five hotspot devices at the Singhu border providing internet access to the thousands of farmers protesting there against the three new agriculture laws.

Chadha said many more WiFi devices will be installed in the coming days as per the requirement of the protesters.

On Tuesday, Chadha had announced that free WiFi hotspots will be set up at the Singhu border for the farmers who have been camping there for over a month to oppose the contentious farm laws enacted by the Centre in September.

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) In a major move to boost domestic defence manufacturing, the government on Wednesday approved the export of indigenously-developed surface-to-air Akash missile system and set up a high-level committee to authorise the sale of major platforms to various countries.

The defence ministry said a committee comprising Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has been set up to authorise exports of major indigenous platforms.

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) Umesh Sinha has been appointed as the deputy election commissioner in the Election Commission of India, according to a Personnel Ministry order issued on Wednesday.

Sinha, a 1986-batch IAS officer (retired) of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, is at present the secretary general in the commission.

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) The Delhi government has notified the Tree Transplantation Policy under which agencies will have to transplant a minimum of 80 per cent of the trees affected by their development works.

The Delhi Cabinet had approved the policy on October 9.

Jammu, 29 Dec 2020: A total of 203 Kashmiri separatists, including 166 locals, were killed by Indian security forces in the Indian Administered Kashmir in the year in 2020, Indian official sources said. Apart from that 43 civilians were killed and 92 others injured by Indian security forces.

Srinagar, 30 Dec 2020: 3 unidentified Kashmiris were killed on Wednesday by Indian security forces in Parimpora area of the Indian Administered Kashmir, Indian officials said.

Srinagar, Dec 29 (PTI) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday asserted that the Gupkar alliance was striving to achieve the restoration of special status of Jammu and Kashmir "within the Constitution of the country".

She also criticised the BJP-led central government over the three agri laws which have triggered protests by a section of farmers.

Noida, Dec 29 (PTI) A youth who was in an interfaith relationship with a girl has been arrested in Greater Noida under the Uttar Pradesh's new anti-conversion law, police said on Tuesday, the second such case to be lodged in Gautam Buddh Nagar district.

The man, around 20, had got into a relationship with the girl, but allegedly did not reveal his real name and religion to her, according to Greater Noida Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Pandey.

Howrah (WB), Dec 29 (PTI) Unidentified gunmen shot dead a ruling Trinamool Congress worker outside Shalimar railway station in West Bengal's Howrah district while he was returning home from work on Tuesday evening, police said.

Dharmendra Singh, who was in his early 40s, was a member of the TMC's youth wing.

"He was on a motorbike with another person. Unknown miscreants on bikes shot him from point blank range. Doctors declared him brought dead after he was taken to a hospital. We are investigating the matter," a police officer said.

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) The government has sacked from service a senior customs department official who was accused of sexually harassing and molesting a foreign lady passenger at Delhi airport, sources said.

Sources with direct knowledge of the development said Customs Superintendent Devender Kumar (Hooda), Group 'B' gazetted officer of General Commissionerate positioned at the IGI Airport, was retired from service under the Fundamental Rules 56 (j) in the public interest.