Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday extended Jewish New Year greetings to the people of Israel and its premier Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Warm Rosh Hashanah greetings to my friend @netanyahu, the people of Israel and to the Jewish community all over the world. May the new year bring good health, peace and prosperity in everyone's life. Shana Tova!" Modi tweeted.

Melbourne/Sydney; 19 Sep 2020 (UMMN):  Following statement was issued by The Humanism Project – Australia;

The Humanism Project (THP) represents Indians in Australia who belong to various faiths, linguistic and cultural backgrounds and take pride in the rich diversity of our heritage. We are deeply concerned about the human right violations, assault on minorities, suppression of dissent and authoritarian tendencies of the current political dispensation in India.

New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) The government has reduced the import duty on masoor dal by 20 per cent till October-end, a move aimed at increasing availability in the domestic market.

A notification of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has amended a June 2017 notification "so as to reduce" the basic customs duty on lentil (masoor dal) for the period from September 18, 2020 to October 31, 2020".

The import duty on lentil has been reduced from 30 per cent to 10 per cent from countries other than the US.

New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday accepted the resignation of Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who had resigned in protest against three farm sector bills.

The Shiromani Akali Dal leader resigned on Thursday.

"The President of India, as advised by the prime minister, has accepted the resignation of Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect," the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement.

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) The government on Wednesday said there has been no infiltration along the Sino-Indian border in the last six months, while 47 infiltration bids have been reported along the Indo-Pak border during the period.

The Union Home Ministry also informed the Rajya Sabha that 594 attempts of infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani militants have been reported in the last three years, of which 312 were successful.

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Opposition leaders like Congress' Ahmed Patel, CPI's D Raja, CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury, DMK's Kanimozhi and RJD's Manoj Jha will meet the president on Thursday to highlight their concerns over the probe into the Delhi riots, a senior leader told PTI.

The leaders will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at 12:30 pm, Raja confirmed.

"We will submit a memorandum regarding the Delhi police's investigation and inquiry into the Delhi riots and how they are handling the inquiry.

Mumbai/New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and requested people who came in his contact recently to follow protocol.

His office said the minister is in Nagpur and has slight fever.

"Yesterday, I was feeling weak and consulted my Doctor. During the course of my check up, I have been tested COVID-19 positive," Gadkari tweeted.

"I am at present doing well with the blessings and good wishes of all. I have isolated myself," he added.

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah greeted the people of Telangana, Marathwada and the Hyderabad-Karnataka region on the occasion of the Hyderabad Liberation Day on Thursday.

On September 17, 1948, Hyderabad was liberated from the rule of the Nizam and merged with the Indian Union.

"Greetings on Hyderabad Liberation Day to the people of Telangana, Marathwada & Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 70 on Thursday, a landmark birthday that saw greetings pour in from across the world and country with the president and vice president joining international leaders and leading politicians in wishing him and lauding his contribution.

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) A record single-day increase of 97,894 infections pushed India's COVID-19 tally to over 51 lakh, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 40 lakh on Thursday, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to 51,18,253, while the death toll climbed to 83,198 with the virus claiming 1,132 lives in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The total recoveries surged to 40,25,079 while the active cases of COVID-19 crossed 10 lakh for the first time.