Daily Excelsior

RBI cancels banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank: Statement The post RBI cancels banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank: Statement appeared first on Daily Excelsior .

JAMMU, Apr 24: A high-level team of the Indian Railways on Friday conducted a comprehensive safety and technical inspection of rail bridges over the Ravi river on the KathuaMadhopur section of the Jammu division, officials said. The inspection was led by divisional railway manager Vivek Kumar, commissioner of railway safety Dinesh Chand Deshwal, and chief administrative officer for the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project Alok Mishra. Officials said the detailed inspection focus

An Indian Air Force plane has reportedly being crashed in Padder area of J&Ks Kishtwar District. Official Confirmation is Awaited.. The post An Indian Air Force plane has reportedly being crashed in Padder area of J&Ks Kishtwar District. Official Confirmation is Awaited.. appeared first on Daily Excelsior .

BUDGAM, Apr 24: Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said a country that values the dignity of its workers is unstoppable on the path of progress, asserting that their welfare must therefore remain at the centre of governance. Mandaviya, the Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, inaugurated a 30-bedded Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital at Ompora here in the central Kashmir district. The newly inaugurated hospital is the first ESIC hospital i

JAMMU, Apr 24: The district administration on Friday demolished residential properties of two alleged drug peddlers in the outskirts of Jammu city as part of its crackdown on assets linked to persons involved in drug trafficking and trade, officials said. Bulldozers accompanied by heavy police deployment rolled into Indra Nagar Colony of Miran Sahib and razed the houses of two drug peddlers in the area, they said. The action against the duo booked under provisions of the [] The post Administr

SINGAPORE, Apr 24: An Indian national was charged in a Singapore court on Friday for operating an unlicensed cross-border money transfer business involving over SGD 38 million (USD 29 million) in total. Raju Krishnamoorthi, 45, was charged with two counts of operating such a business, The Straits Times newspaper reported. He was charged with engaging in unlicensed remittance activities as a self-employed foreigner without a valid work pass, and conspiring with a company director to abet a false

PESHAWAR, Apr 24: At least 22 terrorists have been killed during an intelligence-based operation by Pakistans security forces in the countrys northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Friday. On April 21, a joint intelligence-based operation was conducted by the security forces in Khyber District of the province on the reported presence of terrorists. During the conduct of the operation, twenty-two terrorists, belonging to Fitna-al-Khwarij, were killed, the Inter-Services Publi

JAMMU, Apr 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has exposed another major land scam involving Custodian land in Jammu district, officials said here on Friday. In a statement, A spokesperson said the Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau again achieved a major success in extracting one of the major land scams in Jammu and Kashmir, wherein Custodian land in Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal and R.S. Pura area of Jammu district has been found usurped by the land mafia in connivance

KATHAMADU, Apr 24: Ganga basin is among the 12 showing above-normal snow persistence in 2026 when overall snow cover across the Hindu Kush Himalaya was below-normal for the fourth consecutive year and even broke last years record-low deficit, a report said Friday. The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) Snow Update by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is an annual report that monitors seasonal snow anomalies in the HKH region and offers an assessment of snow persistence

WASHINGTON, Apr 24: The Trump administration is vowing to crack down on foreign tech companies exploitation of US artificial intelligence models, singling out China at a time that country is narrowing the gap with the US in the AI race. In a Thursday memo, Michael Kratsios, the presidents chief science and technology adviser, accused foreign entities principally based in China of engaging in deliberate, industrial-scale campaigns to distill, or extract capabilities from, leading AI systems made

LONDON, Apr 24: UN experts have expressed serious concern over the continued abduction and forced religious conversion through marriage of women and girls from minority communities in Pakistan, saying impunity was fuelling the practice. Any change of religion or belief must be genuinely free from coercion, and marriage must be based on full and free consent, which is not legally possible when the victim is a child, the experts said in a press release issued by Geneva-headquartered Office of the

JAKARTA, Apr 24: Cheers broke out in Indonesias capital on Friday as residents, city workers, and environmental volunteers hauled bulging nets of invasive fish to the surface of a reservoir in an operation to crack down on janitor fish. Authorities are seeking to remove at least 10 tons (9 metric tons) of the fish from Jakartas waterways, an effort officials hope will restore balance to the Ciliwung River and renew public attention on water quality. From the polluted river to [] The post Explosi

SRINAGAR, Apr 24: Police in Srinagar have deployed the narcotic dog squad across multiple city locations to crack down on drug trafficking, a police official said on Friday. During this special drive under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, trained sniffer dogs have been positioned at key checkpoints to detect concealed narcotics, identify and arrest drug peddlers, he said. The official said deploying highly trained canines enhances on-the-spot detection capabilities and strengthens ground-level enf

PUNE, Apr 24: Domestic consumption is sustaining the growth momentum in the economy, and predictable policy support is essential to ensure that the pace of GDP expansion continues, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. Speaking at an event organised by SBI here, Sitharaman also said that a committee of bankers is looking into the issue of whether to allow exclusive distribution tie-ups for selling third-party products by banks or adopt an open architecture approach. She also

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: Seamless, barrier-free tolling on several national highways across the country will be implemented by December, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday. Addressing the second edition of Logistics Shakti Summit & Awards 2026, Gadkari said India will have to develop good infrastructure to reduce logistics cost. We plan to put up several seamless barrier-free tolling systems on several national highways across the country by December, Gadkari said. This

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: Alkem Laboratories Ltd on Friday said its CEO Vikas Gupta has resigned to pursue new professional opportunities. Gupta, also a key managerial personnel of the company, will continue till June 30, 2026 for smooth transition of responsibilities, Alkem said in a regulatory filing. In his resignation letter shared on exchanges by the company, Gupta said he decided to step down to pursue new professional opportunities that align closely with my long term professional and personal g

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: Realty firm Unitech Ltd on Friday said its nominee director Uma Shankar has resigned due to personal reasons. In a regulatory filing, Unitech informed that Shankar, nominee director (Non-Executive) resigned from the board of the company with effect from March 7, 2026. The company also regretted about the delayed filing about her resignation to the stock exchanges, saying the same was purely unintentional and occurred due to oversight. The Supreme Court had directed the Union g

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: A majority of Indian travellers surveyed across key cities are seeking better hospitality services, with slow resolution of issues, insufficient compensation and inconsistent communication emerging as critical pain points, according to a survey by US-headquartered Vertex Group released on Friday. The survey was conducted among 10,000 travellers in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kolkata recently. While 45 per cent of travellers reported satisfaction with recent hospit

NEWW DELHI, Apr 24: The Government on Friday said the three-day trade talks between Indian and US officials concluded on April 23, with both sides agreeing to stay engaged to sustain the momentum ahead. Both sides discussed several areas, such as market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment and digital trade, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement. The meetings were conducted in

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: CropLife India, which represents nearly 70 per cent of the domestic pesticide industry, has urged the government to include a five-year regulatory data protection provision in the draft Pesticides Management Bill (PMB), warning that its absence is discouraging companies from introducing newer and safer crop protection technologies in India. Addressing reporters on Friday, CropLife India Chairman Ankur Aggarwal said that under the current framework still anchored in the Insect

MUMBAI, Apr 24: The domestic commercial vehicle (CV) industry is expected to clock a record overall volume of around 12.4 lakh units this fiscal, surpassing the previous peak of the financial year 2019, ratings agency Crisil said on Friday. The expected growth in the domestic commercial vehicle (CV) industry follows a strong 13 per cent rebound in the just-concluded financial year. According to Crisil, financial year 2026 was marked by a strong domestic recovery, driven by several factors, such

New Delhi, Apr 24: Opposition parties on Friday submitted a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, sources said. The fresh charges against the CEC include continued partisan asymmetry in the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct. The opposition has accused the poll panel of not acting on complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modis address to the nation on April 18, ahead of assembly elections in West Bengal and [] The po

Besides Raghav Chadha, Rajya Sabha MPs Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal also quit Aam Aadmi Party The post Besides Raghav Chadha, Rajya Sabha MPs Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal also quit Aam Aadmi Party appeared first on Daily Excelsior .

New Delhi, Apr 24: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had disagreed with the appointment of Raj Kumar Goyal as chief information commissioner, suggesting the names of IAS Sumita Dawra, Justice S Muralidhar, and Professor Faizan Mustafa, according to minutes released under the Right to Information Act. In an RTI response to activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), the Department of Personnel and Training gave the minutes of meeting which was held on December 10, 2025, in [] The

New Delhi, Apr 24: The mechanical load from the constant beating of the heart could be helping in consistently suppressing the growth of cancer cells, according to a new study, which offers an explanation as to why cancer of the blood-pumping organ is rare. Cellular pathways in tissues of the heart alter gene regulation in cancer cells to keep them from proliferating, researchers said. Findings published in the journal Science shed light on how mechanical forces could be important in [] The post

SRINAGAR, Apr 24: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah claimed on Friday that opposition parties are winning Assembly polls in the three key states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. I tell you, and the rest, god knows, Mamata Banerjee is winning in Bengal, Congress is winning in Kerala and (MK) Stalins party (DMK) is winning in Tamil Nadu. This is Gods blessing, Abdullah told reporters at Hazratbal when asked about the ongoing elections. Responding to a question on [] The post

New Delhi, Apr 24: Seamless, barrier-free tolling on several national highways across the country will be implemented by December, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday. Addressing the second edition of Logistics Shakti Summit & Awards 2026, Gadkari said India will have to develop good infrastructure to reduce logistics cost. We plan to put up several seamless barrier-free tolling systems on several national highways across the country by December, Gadkari said. This

KOLKATA, Apr 24: Asserting that people voted with enthusiasm for a change in the first phase of the assembly elections here, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said Anga, Banga and Kalinga, the ancient kingdoms that are present-day Assam, Bengal and Odisha, will have a BJP Government next month. Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Shah said the BJP will secure an absolute majority in the assembly elections, and bag more than 110 of the 152 seats that went [] The post Anga, Banga, Kali

SRINAGAR, Apr 24: Six persons were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) in Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla district on Friday for allegedly disrupting public order. Sopore Police booked the six under the PSA for their involvement in recent law and order disturbances and acts of vandalism during a student protest in Sopore area of the north Kashmir district, a police spokesman said. He identified the persons as Umar Akbar Hajam, a resident of Seelu, Salman Ahmed Shala, a [] The post Si

SRINAGAR, Apr 24: A day after Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma launched a sharp attack on the Omar Abdullah Government, the Chief Minister hit back accusing the BJP of admitting that statehood for J&K was being delayed as punishment because people voted for the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. The latest exchange was triggered after Sharma on Friday accused the Omar Abdullah-led government of non-performance, corruption and misplaced priorities, and being busy in marathons, skiing and 5-sta

Jammu, Apr 24: The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today launched Drug-Free J&K Campaign in Reasi, urging communities, institutions, and individuals alike to unite in the fight against drug abuse, a crisis he warned is eroding the very foundations of society from within. The Lieutenant Governor appealed for a broadbased peoples movement while highlighting that for the past 12 days, a collective force has risen across the Union Territory against drugs and people are resolutely committed to the o

KOLKATA, Apr 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday claimed that the wave of change in West Bengal has become evident in the first phase of polling and asserted that the support shown in favour of the BJP sounded the conch shell of its victory in the assembly elections. Addressing a rally at Panihati under the Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency in North 24 Parganas, Modi alleged that the ruling TMC had crushed the temple of democracy in Bengal through [] The post Modi Says Phase-1 Polling Signal

New Delhi, Apr 24: AAP supremo and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday shifted to a Type-VII government bungalow on 95, Lodhi Estate, after the Centre allotted him the accommodation, the party said. In a post on X, Kejriwal said the Centre had recently allotted him the bungalow following court directions, considering his position as the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). In the last few days, the Central government allotted me a house on the [] The post Kejriwal sh

BUDGAM, Apr 24: Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said India would emerge among the top 10 sporting nations by 2036 and break into the top five by 2047. Speaking to reporters after inaugurating a 30-bedded Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital at Ompora in the central Kashmir district here, Mandaviya credited the Narendra Modi-led government for streamlining sports governance and creating a more structured system. It (the government) is providing opportunity to the yout

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: The GST Council should consider reducing tax on household insecticides to 5 per cent, from 18 per cent currently, to combat vector-borne diseases, and strengthen preventive healthcare outcomes, a report by EY-HICA said on Friday. Household insecticides such as liquid vapourisers, coils, aerosols, continue to play an important role in Indias preventive health ecosystem, particularly at the household level where protection against vector-borne diseases remains uneven. The joint

New Delhi, Apr 24: Gold prices fell Rs 462 to Rs 1.51 lakh per 10 grams in futures trade on Friday, tracking weak global trends amid a stronger US dollar and rising crude oil rates. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, the yellow metal for June delivery declined Rs 462, or 0.3 per cent, to Rs 1,51,299 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 8,310 lots. Analysts said pressure on precious metals came from a firm dollar and elevated energy [] The post Gold Futures Drops To Rs 1.51 Lakh/10g As Strong Dol

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: Telecom operator Vodafone Idea will opt for minor corrections in existing mobile tariff but has no plan yet to go for an across-the-board hike in rates, a top official of the company said on Friday. Recently Bharti Airtel increased prepaid mobile recharge plan by around 4-5 per cent and analysts have projected that telecom operators may raise tariff by about 15 per cent in the first half of this year. Minor corrections will be there but [] The post Minor correction in tariff t

MUMBAI, Apr 23: Three-wheeler maker Atul Auto has partnered with TDK Ventures-backed Exponent Energy to jointly develop and deploy rapid-charging electric three-wheelers, aiming to position 15,000 vehicles in three years, a statement said on Friday. Under this collaboration, Atul Autos vehicles will be integrated with Exponent Energys OTO three-wheeler mobility platform a unified architecture comprising battery technology, powertrain systems, and vehicle software, the Bengaluru-based full-stack

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Friday announced its foray into the industrial electronics manufacturing space, with the beginning of operations at its Coimbatore campus in Tamil Nadu. The new business vertical L&T Electronic Products & Systems (LTEPS) will be headquartered in Bengaluru, while manufacturing will be carried out in Coimbatore. To begin with, two manufacturing lines have been commissioned, offering electronics manufacturing services to both domest

SIAULIAI AIR BASE (Lithuania), Apr 24: When NATOs call came, the French fighter pilots scrambled with practised urgency, already suited up to shorten their response times. They dashed in vans to hangars where their prepped and armed Rafale jets awaited, clambered into the cockpits and fired up the engines, which puffed and screamed. Within minutes of takeoff from the Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania, they were over the Baltic Sea, first intercepting a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft and then

Leh, Apr 24: In a major boost to the promotion of cultural and heritage tourism in Ladakh, a mesmerising Sound and Light Show was inaugurated yesterday, at the historic Leh Palace by the Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena. The project, implemented by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) under the Ministry of Tourism, has been executed at a cost of 8.57 crore, reflecting [] T

ISLAMABAD, Apr 24: Pakistan has returned the total USD 3.45 billion it owed in debt to the United Arab Emirates, the countrys central bank said Friday. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a social media post confirmed the repayment and said that the transaction was completed on Thursday. State Bank of Pakistan repaid a deposit of USD 1 billion to Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), UAE on April 23, 2026. Deposits of USD 2.45 billion were repaid last [] The post Pakistan repays USD 3.45 billio

MUMBAI, Apr 24: Superstar Salman Khan on Friday announced that his upcoming action film with filmmaker Vamshi Paidipally will be released on Eid 2027. The untitled film, produced by Dil Raju under his banner Sri Venkateswara Creations and featuring Tamil star Nayanthara as the female lead, went on floors in Mumbai earlier this week. Salman shared the news while posting a behind the scenes video from the sets on his Instagram. Thoda durr ki sochna chahiye, Thats why announced Eid.. [] The post Sa

BANGKOK, Apr 24: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Thailands Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday during a visit aimed at strengthening the countries strategic partnership and expanding cooperation. The two agreed to strengthen collaboration in fighting transnational crime and cyberscams and other areas, Thai government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said. She said Anutin thanked China for its continued support for Thailand, while Wang congratulated Anutin on retaining his office afte

SRINAGAR, Apr 24: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday attached a plot of land belonging to a terror accused in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The attached property at SK Bagh area of Budgam belongs to Tafazul Hussain Parimoo, a resident of Sheikh-ul-Alam Colony in Nowgam here. Parimoo is presently in NIA custody in a case registered under various sections of the UA(P) Act, Arms Act, and Explosive Substances Act, the officials added. (Agencies) The post NIA At

LONDON, Apr 24: Vikram Doraiswami wrapped his tenure as Indias High Commissioner to the UK this week to head over to Beijing, where he will take up his new post as Ambassador to China. UK Foreign Office Minister for the Indo-Pacific Seema Malhotra hailed Doraiswamis role in taking the bilateral partnership to a new level during the course of his over three-year assignment in London. The British Indian minister referenced his unflappable nature and charm in overseeing the successful conclusion []

ISLAMABAD, Apr 24: Pakistans capital Islamabad continues to remain closed for heavy traffic on Friday as authorities await the possible visit of top leaders of the US and Iran for peace talks, which were stalled due to differences on key issues. The administrations of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi had closed all major roads and markets in VVIP movement areas on Sunday amid indications that the talks could begin any day during the week. More than 10,000 security [] The post Islamaba

SAMANA (PATIALA), Apr 24: Activist Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, who had been sitting atop a 400-foot BSNL tower for about 560 days demanding stricter laws against sacrilege incidents in Punjab, was finally brought down on Friday morning, officials said. The development brought to an end a dramatic protest that began when Khalsa (43) climbed atop the tower in Samana near Patiala on October 12, 2024, demanding stringent punishment for the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib. He was brought down by [] The

NEW DELHI, Apr 24: The Supreme Court on Friday referred to another bench a plea of alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case seeking his release from jail. The Delhi High Court had on April 8 dismissed the petition of the British national in the case, saying there was no merit in the plea of James who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices [] The post SC refers to another benc

Guwahati, Apr 24: The Gauhati High Court on Friday rejected an anticipatory bail petition of Congress leader Pawan Khera in connection with his allegations that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarmas wife possessed multiple passports and undisclosed properties abroad. The single bench of Justice Parthiv Jyoti Saikia rejected Kheras anticipatory bail application filed on Monday after he was asked by the Supreme Court to approach the Gauhati High Court, a lawyer representing the Congress leader