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Odisha commerce and transport minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena and state law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan have called for a detailed investigation into the helicopter rides taken by VK Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, between February and September last year. They demand to know how 450 helipads were constructed for these travels, the authorization process, and who funded the rides, reported TOI. Harichandan emphasized the need to investigate the costs and authorization of the helicopter rides. He questioned how government funds were used for constructing helipads and who provided the necessary permissions for Pandian's extensive travels. Pandian, who was then serving as the 5T secretary, visited 400-450 places during this period. “We will investigate who covered the cost of the helicopter rides. Clarity must be provided on this matter. It needs a thorough probe. At the govt level, helipads were constructed wherever the helicopter landed, and govt funds were used. He (Pandian) visited 400-450 places. It is not clear who authorized this and how the authorization was issued. A department secretary does not have the authority to use helicopters. How, then, was permission granted?” TOI quoted Harichandan as saying.

While Joshi started early, the vehicle he chose to reach his destination was not quite appropriate. He bought a traditional life insurance policy to save for his son’s education. For an annual premium of Rs.80,000, the policy covers him for Rs. 8 lakh and will start annual payouts when Swaraj turns 16. The returns work out to less than 6%. “Traditional insurance policies are not the best investment. They usually offer very low returns,” says Rohit Shah, Founder and CEO of GYR Financial Planners. Choosing the wrong investment is a common problem. It becomes even more acute while saving for critical long-term financial goals such as children’s education and weddings. Going for the wrong investment option could leave you with a shortfall in the target amount and jeopardise your planning. A study by financial planning firm, Finsafe India, shows that one out of three investors do not know where to invest. “This indicates a strong need for better financial education and investment guidance,” says Mrin Agarwal, Founder and CEO, Finsafe India.

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena on Sunday said de-silting work of three arterial drains of the national capital is progressing with removal of over 700 MT silt in a week. Saxena had visited Sunehri, Kushak and Barapulla drains on August 4. In a series of posts on X, he said, «Took stock of the ongoing de-silting work at Sunehri, Kushak and Barapulla drains that commenced after my visit on 04.08.2024. De-silting work is progressing satisfactorily at these sites with over 100 workers equipped with hi-tech machines working on war footing, round the clock.» With collective efforts of all agencies and a decisive push, the results have begun to show, he noted.

House Of The Dragon" is likely to have season 3 and season 4. However, the show needs to have 10 episodes each to cover «Dance of the Dragons» events as suggested by «A Song of Ice & Fire» book series author, screenrant reported. "House Of The Dragon" is a prequel series which already has two seasons. «Dance of the Dragons» will require two seasons to showcase events, including Battle of the God's Eye, and Storming of the Dragonpit. However, nothing has been confirmed officially.

terrorists and security forces in Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir, resulted in the deaths of two soldiers and injuries to three others. The clash erupted during a cordon and search operation in Ahlan Gagarmandu, part of the Kokernag area. Following intelligence reports about the presence of terrorists in the area, security forces launched a coordinated operation. The Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and CRPF were involved in the mission. During the operation, terrorists opened fire on the search party, leading to a fierce exchange of gunfire. According to PTI, an official reported, «Two soldiers were killed and three others were injured after an encounter erupted between terrorists and security forces in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.» The wounded soldiers have been evacuated from the site.

motor insurance in non-life industry premiums has fallen below 30% for the first time, according to data released by the General Insurance Council as of June-end, reported TOI. The non-life industry wrote premiums totaling Rs 72,758 crore, marking a 13.3% increase from the previous year. Health insurance continues to lead the growth with a 16.6% increase in premiums, reaching Rs 29,915 crore, while motor insurance grew by 11.9% to Rs 21,348 crore. At the end of the quarter, health insurance accounted for 41.1% of the total non-life insurance premiums, whereas motor insurance's share decreased to 29.3%. The shift in share is attributed to a slowdown in car sales, with insurers pointing out that the focus of motor insurance is largely on new cars due to regulatory requirements. These rules mandate buyers to purchase three years of cover upfront for cars and five years for two-wheelers, influencing the dynamics of motor insurance premiums.

HDFC faced a hostile banking landscape following the merger in 2022, HDFC Bank MD & CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan was quoted as saying by a ToI report on August 10. Jagdishan acknowledged that the banking landscape changed dramatically after the lender decided to merge with parent HDFC in April 2022, but he defended the decision. Speaking at the bank’s annual general meeting, Jagdishan highlighted that the global economic situation had shifted, altering their initial growth projections due to tighter liquidity conditions and shifts in consumer preferences. Jagdishan noted that the bank's decision to merge had initially factored in growth rates based on a benign liquidity environment. However, this changed after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a series of repo rate hikes from May 2022, starting with a 40 basis point increase, in response to rising commodity prices following the Ukraine invasion. These rate hikes, totaling 250 basis points, alongside RBI's measures to drain surplus liquidity, increased deposit costs for banks, impacting HDFC Bank significantly as it needed to raise deposits not only for incremental growth but also to cover HDFC's erstwhile assets.

Ukraine army’s surprise charge into Russia this week was a stunning maneuver that caught the Kremlin’s forces off guard.The Kremlin declared a “federal-level” emergency in the Kursk region following the large-scale incursion and sent reinforcements there on Friday, four days after hundreds of Ukrainian troops poured across the border.Meanwhile, a Russian plane-launched missile slammed into a Ukrainian shopping mall in the middle of the day, killing at least 14 people and wounding 44 others, authorities said. It was the latest in an unrelenting barrage of strikes on civilian targets, which made July the deadliest month for civilians since October 2022, according to the U.N.

Rachel Wolfson has been covering the cryptocurrency, blockchain and Web3 sector since 2017. She has written for Forbes and Cointelegraph and is the host and founder of Web3 Deep Dive podcast.

Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.

European Commission investigation into social media platform X could take its handling of harmful content related to the recent UK riots into account, a spokesperson said. Last month, European Union officials issued charges against X, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires very large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security. While Britain has not been a member of the EU since 2020, harmful content in breach of DSA rules shared in Britain may have been seen by users in Europe, constituting a potential breach of the law.

BJP and JD(S), on Friday continued their protest march, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam.' The week-long Bengaluru-Mysuru padayatre (foot march) has sought to highlight the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by MUDA, including to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi. The seventh day of the 'Mysuru Chalo' protest march began at Srirangapatna in Mandya district, and is scheduled to cover a distance of 10 km. This even as the Congress is hosting a mega «Janandolana» convention at Maharaja's College Grounds in Mysuru today in support of Siddaramaiah and to counter the opposition's allegations and their foot march. BJP-JD(S) are scheduled to conclude their protest march on Saturday by holding a mega rally on reaching Mysuru.

Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.

Apple Original Films has announced a sequel to the action-comedy «Wolfs,» starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. The release strategy has changed, with a limited theatrical run before its streaming debut.

Samsung is recalling more than 1.12 million electric ranges used for stovetops after reports of 250 fires and dozens of injuries

development activities but land has also been acquired for compensatory aforestation, the government said on Thursday. While replying to a supplementary question in the Rajya Sabha, environment and forest minister Bhupendra Yadav also said the country's consolidate overall forest cover has increased and the government is trying to further increase it. He said while forest cover in five northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya — has reduced, states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Karnataka and Jharkhand have seen their forest cover increase. «In last 10 years, 1,73, 396 hectares forest area (which is 1,733 sq km) has been lost due to development activities, however, under compensatory aforestation, land has also been acquired,» the minister said.

₹15,000 crore. The group has already committed billions of dollars towards green energy investments in Gujarat. Elaborating on its green energy roadmap, RIL said that by 2025 it will establish 20 GW solar capacity for captive needs of round-the-clock power and intermittent energy for green hydrogen.

₹5.9 trillion, a record high. The previous such record was ₹5.49 trillion on 4 June, when the Bharatiya Janata Party's failure to win a simple majority in the Lok Sabha elections spooked investors. Bond yields plunged and stocks rose across markets after Wednesday's soothing words from the Bank of Japan, with the Nifty gaining 1.27% to close above the 24,000 mark at 24297.5, while the Sensex rallied 1.11% to 79,468.01.

services tax authorities have sent notices to more than 20 general insurance companies with operations in special economic zones (SEZs), demanding about ₹2,000 crore in unpaid GST over services provided to employees of industrial units at SEZs and their families. HDFC Ergo General Insurance Co, Star Health & Allied Insurance, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co, New India Assurance Co and United India Insurance Co are among the companies that received show-cause notices (SCNs) over Integrated GST from the Directorate of GST Intelligence (DGGI), people in the know said. No tax is levied on exports and supplies to SEZs under Section 16 of the Integrated GST (IGST) Act.

Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry says it's ordered Egyptian airlines to avoid Iranian airspace for three hours on Thursday after a notice from Tehran to do so because of military exercises

Arbitrum Orbit chains now support bridged USD Coin (USDC) as a custom gas token.