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Parliament (MPs). A total of 141 MPs, 95 from Lok Sabha and 46 from Rajya Sabha, were suspended following a ruckus over the opposition's demand for a statement from Union Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach incident. Here are the restrictions imposed on suspended MPs:

India over an alleged plot to kill Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and expressed its willingness to engage with New Delhi in resolving the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia. “I would say that we would welcome India’s constructive engagement in these two matters (wars in Ukraine and Gaza) as we welcome constructive engagement from countries around the world,” US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. He said the Joe Biden administration has focused a “great deal of time and attention” on the ties with India. Miller’s comments came ahead of foreign minister S Jaishankar’s Moscow trip later this week. India, which has maintained neutrality in the Ukraine war and continued its engagements with Russia, favours dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward to end the conflict. India has strong ties with Israel as well as with the Arab world. The country recently hosted the Sultan of Oman.

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha discussed on Tuesday three bills — Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill — seeking to repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively. The bills were introduced by Union home minister Amit Shah in the monsoon session and were referred to a parliamentary standing committee. The initial bills were withdrawn and were reintroduced during this session, incorporating certain suggestions made by the committee.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Opposition alliance first needs to focus on ensuring a majority in the Lok Sabha and the issue of the prime ministerial face can be settled after the election results are announced. Kharge was speakiung to reporters after the conclusion of the fourth meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI : Meta, the parent firm of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is piloting new generative artificial intelligence (AI) products, including a creator suite that was announced globally on 4 October. Sandhya Devanathan, vice-president and country head of Meta India, said in an interview that the pilot is also active in India now, albeit as a “large pilot" made available to select creators right now.

The 8th edition of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs (CoC) is currently underway in Bangkok, Thailand, hosted by the Royal Thai Navy from December 19 to 22, 2023. Leading the charge is Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, who heads a three-member Indian Naval delegation for the Conclave.

NEW DELHI : Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, which operates master franchise rights from Domino’s Pizza in India, has announced a brand refresh for its flagship pizza brand that involves upgrading hundreds of pizza stores, apart from new packaging and a marketing campaign as the company hopes to get more consumers to choose pizza over local food. “India is a $50-billion food services market; pizza is only a $1-billion market. Our job is to gain share from dosa-sambar, vada pav, samosa, etc.

NEW DELHI : Two-wheeler sales are speeding again. At least that’s what production data and retail sales in the festive months of September, October and November show. Does it mean the segment, hurt by income disruptions during covid, is back on its feet? Mint explains.

NEW DELHI : Vikram Solar Ltd has signed a retainer letter with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for $200 million in funding for its 3 GW cell and module manufacturing plant at Gangaikondan in Tamil Nadu. The letter was signed at the recently concluded climate conference in Dubai, Vikram Solar said in a statement.

credit rating agencies and reforming the structure of the multilateral development banks (MDBs) to mobilise funds for green and sustainable growth across developing nations. “The way forward involves a new toolkit of policies and a reform of the structure of the MDBs to help them engage in capital mobilisation, better project implementation, joint financing, risk sharing and making sustainable infrastructure an asset class,” the Aayog said in its report on a Green and Sustainable Growth Agenda. The report, developed by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, and the Global Development Network (GDN), New Delhi, has been compiled following a G20 international conference on the theme in July this year.

NEW DELHI : Advertising volumes on television decreased 4% in the September quarter from a year earlier, suggesting a slight slowdown even as a few new trends emerged with the auto, finance and e-commerce sectors gaining ground. The period between July and September saw significant shifts in categories, sectors, advertisers, and growth areas in television advertising, per data shared by TAM Media Research. Advertisers from the food and beverage sector maintained top position with 21% of the ad volumes, unchanged from a year earlier, while the personal care and hygiene category gained 2 percentage points over the same quarter last year, accounting for 18% of all ad volumes.

Indian Air Force on Monday joined hands with the Indian Army to help with the unprecedented flooding and rains in Tamil Nadu. «On December 18, Tamil Nadu received unprecedented rains in the last 24 hours that have caused extensive flooding in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts. The IAF responded swiftly and tasked Air Force Station Sulur with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, which is currently being undertaken by MI -17 V5 helicopter,» the Indian Air Force said in a post on 'X'. Indian Army rescued flood-affected people from the Vasavappapuram area in Thoothukudi. They rescued 118 people from the flood-affected areas of Vasaipuram in Tamil Nadu.

NEW DELHI : In a testament to India’s continuing passion for cinematic experiences, as many as 1,648,508 movie enthusiasts watched at least six movies and more in 2023, with an average frequency of at least one visit to the cinemas every two months, according to BookMyShow’s year-end wrap Best of 2023 – Entertainment On A Spree that curates data from 1 January to 5 December 2023. Titles such as Jawan, Pathaan, Gadar 2: The Katha Continues, Jailer, Animal (Hindi), Leo, The Kerala Story, Adipurush (Hindi), Ponniyan Selvan: Part 2 (Tamil), Tiger 3, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, and OMG 2 emerged as crowd favourites.

NEW DELHI : The government in collaboration with the World Bank is working on a proposal to improve air conditioning technology—in anticipation of a spike in use over the next 20 years—to cut carbon emissions, said a senior government official. These super-efficient air conditioners will be 30-40% better than the 5-star ones available now.

NEW DELHI : The fourteenth round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the UK will start in January 2024, the ministry of commerce and industry said in an official statement on Monday. According to the government, India-UK free trade agreement talks completed 13 rounds of negotiations that took place from 18 September to 15 December. Negotiators of both the parties – India and UK – discussed complex issues, including goods, services, and investment, in person as well as virtually.

NEW DELHI : Bhavish Aggarwal, cofounder of Ola Cabs, has announced a startup that he said is building “India’s own" foundational artificial intelligence (AI) model. The government, too, has been speaking about an India AI Programme. What exactly is ‘Indian’ AI? Mint decodes: What is colloquially referred to as ‘Indian’ AI is currently aspirational, referring to datasets that foundational AI models are trained on.

NEW DELHI : Biocon Biologics Ltd (BBL), a subsidiary of Biocon Ltd, on Monday announced a complete integration of the acquired Vitaris’ biosimilars business in 120 countries, a year ahead of schedule. The firm had acquired the American pharmaceutical company’s biosimilars business in November 2022.

NEW DELHI : The Union government has advised all states to implement tighter public health measures to minimise transmission of the Covid-19 virus, following a rise in infections in some states, particularly Kerala. The first case of a new sub-variant of Covid-19, JN.1, was detected on 8 December in the southern state, raising concerns about a resurgent health risk more than two years after India’s last pandemic-related lockdown.

NEW DELHI : Apart from a stable regulatory and policy regime, transparency in decision-making and information flow are key to attracting foreign investors to emerging economies such as India, said Matthew Stephenson, head of investment and services at the World Economic Forum. Foreign investors are keen on emerging markets, especially India, at a time of slowing global growth, but want the right information before making a decision, Stephenson said, speaking with Mint on the sidelines of the World Investment Conference 2023. “You can’t calculate your costs if you don’t have information.

The Northern Railway (NR) has announced the launch of the second Vande Bharat train connecting Varanasi and New Delhi, scheduled to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 2:15 pm today (December 18). According to the statement by the Northern Railway (NR), the train features a distinctive saffron color and introduces several new amenities. 

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Monday said the state cabinet will be expanded soon and it will comprise both old and new faces. He was talking to reporters at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur after returning from New Delhi. Sai took oath as the state's chief minister on December 13.