India

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) The government is left with about 25,000 tonnes of onion stock in its buffer that will get exhausted in the first week of November, cooperative Nafed Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar Chadha said on Friday.

Lucknow, Oct 23 (PTI) Asserting that merit is the only criteria for getting jobs in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said fairness and transparency in recruitment remains the hallmark of his government, according to a statement.

"There is no scope left for any irregularity in the recruitment process in the state. Even if some corruption is found in the process, the jail is the only destination for the guilty," the CM said during a virtual address during the distribution of appointment letters among newly appointed assistant teachers.

Jammu, Oct 23 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday condemned former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's statement on the Tricolour, saying it is unacceptable and has hurt sentiments of people.

"Such statements are intolerable and unacceptable in any society," JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.

Reacting to her statement, Sharma said it was highly provocative and irresponsible and has hurt sentiments of people.

Dantewada, Oct 24 (PTI) Security forces have recovered a cache of explosives from a forest on a hill in insurgency- hit Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh, a police official said on Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off, the recovery was made from Duvalikarka hill under Kuakonda police station limits on Friday evening by a team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Raebareli (UP), Oct 24 (PTI) A court here awarded death penalty to a man in connection with the rape and murder of a one-and-a-half-year-old girl in 2014.

Special judge (POCSO) Vijay Pal awarded the death sentence to Jitendra Singh on Friday, government counsel Vedpal Singh said.

On May 3, 2014, an FIR was lodged at the Salon Police Station on a complaint by the child's father, who alleged that his relative raped and later strangled his daughter to death.

Jammu, Oct 24 (PTI) Dozens of Shiv Sena Dogra Front (SSDF) activists on Saturday staged a protest here against PDP president Mehbooba Mufti for her remarks that she would only hold the tricolour when the flag of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir is restored.

Led by SSDF's president Ashok Gupta, the protesters holding tricolour in their hands assembled at Rani Park and raised slogans against the former chief minister besides setting ablaze her pictures.

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) India's first World Cup-winning cricket captain Kapil Dev suffered a heart attack and underwent an angioplasty on Friday but is expected to be discharged in the next couple of days, said the hospital where he is currently admitted.

The 61-year-old complained of chest pain on Thursday following which he was taken to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute emergency department.

Mumbai, Oct 23 (PTI) Former Maharashtra BJP leader Eknath Khadse on Friday joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the presence of the party's chief Sharad Pawar.

Sulking since his unceremonious exit from the Devendra Fadnavis-led ministry in 2016 over land grab allegations, Khadse (68) on Wednesday quit the BJP. The same day, state NCP chief Jayant Patil announced he would be joining the Pawar-led party.

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Delhi's air quality deteriorated on Friday morning with several areas in the national capital recording 'severe' levels of pollution, according to authorities.

The air quality index (AQI) on Friday was recorded at 374 as compared to 302 on the previous day.

The AQI for Delhi, however, is in the 'very poor' category, the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said.

Kanpur (UP), Oct 22 (PTI) A man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly raping a 19-year-old woman for over a year on the pretext of marriage under the Chakeri Police Station area here, police said.

The woman, a private tutor, met the accused at the house of one of her students. He befriended her about a year ago, they said.