Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court Monday sought response from the Centre on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the newly enacted three contentious farm laws.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde issued notice to the central government and sought its reply within four weeks.

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) The national capital's air quality was in the very poor category on Tuesday morning, the first time this season, with calm winds and low temperatures allowing accumulation of pollutants.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, an increase in farm fires in Punjab, Haryana and neighbouring regions of Pakistan is also going to impact the air quality in Delhi-NCR.

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Industrial production declined by 8 per cent in August, mainly due to lower output of manufacturing, mining and power generation sectors, official data showed on Monday.

According to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, manufacturing sector production registered a decline of 8.6 per cent, while the output of mining and power segments fell 9.8 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively.

The IIP had contracted by 1.4 per cent in August 2019.

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Retail inflation rose to 7.34 per cent in September, mainly on account of higher food prices, according to government data.

The inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 6.69 per cent in August. It was 3.99 per cent in September last year.

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur on Monday lamented "weaponising" the sedition law, adding one of the worst forms of curtailment of freedom of speech is charging a person with sedition.

Observing that law is being misused to curb free press and speech, the retired judge said a lethal cocktail" of use and misuse of law is being used to impact adversely the liberty of all those who dare to speak up.

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) The Indian Navy has scrapped a tender to procure four Landing Platform Docks or amphibious warships at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, nearly seven years after launching the acquisition process, government sources said.

The withdrawal of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the long-pending project was triggered by the Navy's requirement of new specifications for the amphibious warships which are known as Landing Platform Docks (LPDs), the sources said.

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The Delhi government has exempted road tax on battery-operated vehicles under its new Electric Vehicle Policy, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Sunday.

People have been asked to give their suggestions on the exemption of the registration fees of electric vehicles, according to a Delhi government statement. It said an order to waive the fees will be issued in three days.

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) A case has been registered against a Delhi BJP leader over a video of him purportedly hurling abuses on an on-duty traffic constable, police said on Sunday.

In the video, which viral on social media, former North Delhi mayor Yogender Chandolia was seen hurling abuses on a traffic constable.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sanjay Bhatia said a case had been registered under relevant sections and an investigation was underway.

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) The Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile, having a range of around 1,000 km, developed a technical snag during a test firing on Monday at a facility in Odisha, forcing its developer DRDO to abort the trial, official sources said.

The missile was test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from an integrated test range in Balasore in Odisha at around 10:30 AM.

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Students' groups on Monday staged protests here against the Delhi University (DU) administration over the high cut-offs announced for undergraduate admission.

The protests were held by the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) and the Left-affiliated Students' Federation of India (SFI). They alleged that high cut-offs favour students of big private schools and demanded more transparency in the admission process.