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Siddaramaiah is expected to appeal the Karnataka High Court judgment dismissing his petition challenging the August 16 order of Governor Thawarchand Gehlot permitting investigations against him in the case of allotment of housing plots to his wife in Mysuru. The CM's legal team is working on a response to Sep 24 judgment allowing investigations under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. A lower court on Wednesday ordered investigation by the Lokayukta police into the complaints that his family illegally gained the housing plots. The contention of people close to the CM has been that Siddaramaiah played no role in the allotment of plots by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) but has now ended up in a situation of having to face a police investigation.

Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea filed by the Gujarat government seeking a review of the court's verdict which contained certain observations against the state while quashing the remission granted to 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 riots. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan also rejected the application for listing review petition in open court. «Having carefully gone through the Review Petition, the order under challenge and the papers annexed therewith, we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit in the Review Petition, warranting reconsideration of the order impugned. The Review Petition is, accordingly, dismissed,» the bench said. The Gujarat government in its plea had said the apex court's observation in the January 8 judgment, holding the state guilty of «usurpation of power» and "abuse of discretion" for complying with an order of another top court bench, was an «error apparent on the face of the record» primarily on three grounds.

Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily halted all meetings related to the insolvency proceedings of debt-laden edtech firm Byju's, asking the interim resolution professional (IRP) Pankaj Srivastava to maintain status quo for the time being and not to hold any meeting of the lenders. “Until the judgment is pronounced, the interim resolution professional shall maintain status quo and shall not hold any meeting of the committee of creditors,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud directed. The apex court reserved its verdict on an appeal by US lender GLAS Trust Co LLC, the trustee for lenders owed $1.2 billion by Byju’s, against the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) order approving a settlement deal between the Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent of online educational services company, and its operational creditor, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The lender had alleged that the money paid by Byju Raveendran’s brother Riju Ravindran was tainted.

Kuki militants have infiltrated to carry out strikes on September 28, Manipur government now asserted. «Any such misadventures by armed groups is minimal and unsubstantiated». Already Manipur police has stated that the input was verified from different quarters, but it could not be substantiated on ground. The Manipur government in a statement on Wednesday stated, “Based on information gathered on movement of armed groups, this office had shared intelligence inputs vide U0 note bearing no. 1/25/2024-CM dated 16.09.2024 to enable the Police Department to use its machinery and network to develop the said information to determine actionability. It is now ascertained that possibility of any such misadventure by armed groups is remote. The public need not worry further in this regard.” Manipur Director General of police Rajiv Singh stated input of infiltration of 900 trained Kuki militants from Myanmar to carry out attacks on Meitei on September 28 was verified from different quarters, but it could not be substantiated on ground.

central government has revised the variable dearness allowance for unorganized sector workers, resulting in an increase in monthly wages. The revised rates will be effective from October 1, 2024 and are aimed at helping workers cope with the rising cost of living, the ministry of labour and employment said. The rates, which are revised twice a year, were last revised in April 2024. The minimum wage rates are categorized based on skill level, unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly skilled as well as by geographical area as A, B and C. After revision, minimum wage rates in area “A” for workers in construction, sweeping, cleaning, loading and unloading for unskilled work will be Rs 783 a day or Rs 20,358 per month while for semi-skilled workers it will be Rs 868 a day or Rs 22,568 per month.

Indian Air Force will display its full defence prowess, especially air capability and also showcase its range of new aircraft including Rafale, in action at a breathtaking display over the Marina sky on October 6, as part of the 92nd IAF Day, Air Vice Marshal K Prem Kumar said here on Thursday. Prem Kumar, who is the Chief Coordinating Officer of IAF Day parade Chennai 2024 to be held at Marina and Tambaram, said 72 aircraft will participate in the air display over Marina, which is open to the public. «We have planned to create a unique record in the Limca Book of world records. We expect 15 lakh people for the event on October 6 from 11 am to 1 pm,» he told reporters here. There would be a full dress rehearsal on October 4 in coordination with the IAF Tambaram, he added.

Eric Adams was indicted Thursday on charges that he took illegal campaign contributions and bribes from foreign nationals in exchange for favors that included helping Turkish officials get fire safety approvals for a new diplomatic building in the city. Adams, a former police officer, faces conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges in a five-count indictment that describes a decade-long trail of crimes. The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan alleges in the indictment that Adams «compounded his gains» from the illegal contributions by gaming the city's matching funds program, which provides a generous match for small dollar donations. His campaign received more than $10,000 in matching funds as a result of the false certifications, according to the indictment.

Pakistan's military said on Thursday that the country has signed a contract to sell JF-17 Block III fighter jets to Azerbaijan. The aircraft is co-produced by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and developed jointly with China, with whom Islamabad has grown increasingly close as ties with traditional military ally the United States have weakened over the last few years. The military did not provide the cost or quantity of jets agreed to, but said in a statement that the sale was part of Islamabad's efforts to enhance defence cooperation with friendly countries and bolster the air power capabilities of Azerbaijan.

international trade settlement and digital payments, trade and investment in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ), and transport and trade disputes as areas of focus, the government said Thursday after the sixth Session of India-Egypt Joint Trade Committee (JTC). New Delhi also said that necessary approvals for signing the MoU on cooperation between National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) of India and MSME Development Agency (MSMEDA) of Egypt have been obtained. Pharmaceuticals and health sector, gems & jewelry, engineering goods, petroleum and mining, MSME Sector, customs matters, services sector, IT services, electronics manufacturing, apparel manufacturing, renewable energy – green hydrogen and

blasphemy was killed in a fake police shootout last week in Pakistan after violent protests by Islamists, a government minister said on Thursday, ordering criminal proceedings against the officers involved. It was the second such killing in police custody in a week. Shah Nawaz, a doctor working in the town of Umerkot in southern Pakistan, went into hiding after local clerics accused him of blasphemy over a Facebook post, which he said in a video statement was posted on one of his old accounts that had been hacked long ago, according to his family.

Gemba Capital, a Sebi-registered micro VC, said it expects investment activity will surge, helped by early-stage pure-play consumer tech startups growing into successful late-stage companies and venture capitalists actively looking to deploy capital into pure-play consumer tech startups. Over the past 2-3 years, there has been a decline in investment activity in pure-play consumer tech companies across stages. From a peak of $21 billion in 2021, investment activity declined to $4 billion in 2023. Also, the decline is visible across stages, where late-stage funding declined to $3 billion in 2023 from $18 billion in 2021. «In the consumer tech sector, the valuations have seen a rationalisation. This is mostly because the evaluation criteria have become more stringent, with investors exercising more caution before investing in early-stage consumer tech startups. In sectors such as edtech and health tech, we have seen a further rationalisation in valuations,» Govinda Lohia, principal, Gemba Capital, said.

Krsnaa Diagnostics on Thursday said that it has acquired a 23.53% stake in Apulki Healthcare, that operates hospitals dedicated for cancer and cardiac care under public private partnership (PPP) mode. Pune-based Krsnaa didn't disclose the financial details of the acquisition, but said it would be funded through internal accruals over the next 2-3 months. As per the terms of the contract, the company will become the exclusive diagnostics partner for Apulkis cancer and cardiac hospitals for the next 30-plus years.

HDFC Bank Ltd. has sold a housing loan portfolio of about Rs 60 billion ($717 million), seeking to further lighten its credit load amid regulatory pressures on the industry. The portfolio was sold to about half a dozen state-controlled banks through private deals, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is not yet public. The Mumbai-based bank also unloaded another pool of car loans worth about Rs 90.6 billion, securitized in a fixed income product called pass-through certificates, the people said. The lender had been engaged in talks — reported in late August by Bloomberg — to offload the pool to about a dozen local asset management companies.

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technology services player Accenture on Thursday reported a 22.6% year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at $1.68 billion for the fourth quarter ending August 2024. This compares with $1.37 billion profit in June-August quarter 2023. The profit grew on the back of healthy growth in North America and health & public services segment aided by robust new bookings, especially generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) deals. The Nasdaq-listed IT major hiked its annual revenue growth forecast to 3-6% for 2025, including 2-3% from mergers and acquisitions (M&A). This is on the back of improvement in the macroeconomic environment and the US Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut of 0.5%. Accenture follows a September-August financial year. The Accenture forecast is an important indicator of the performance of key Indian IT companies as they start reporting their quarter earnings starting from Tata Consultancy Services in early October.

Israel Defense Force (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has warned Hezbollah that a ground offensive is imminent, stating that Israeli soldiers' "military boots will enter enemy territory," Times of Israel reported. Halevi's remarks came after Hezbollah fired a missile at central Israel on early Wednesday and Israel responded with airstrikes, which have killed 569 people and wounded 1,835 others, Al Jazeera reported. During a drill simulating the invasion, Halevi addressed soldiers of the 7th Armored Brigade, as per Times of Israel.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has successfully secured a loan of Rs 31,673.79 crores from the Power Finance Corporation (PFC). According to MMRDA, this loan will fund nine key infrastructure projects that promise to transform the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's (MMR) transportation network, enhancing connectivity, boosting economic growth, and improving the overall quality of life for its citizens. A formal agreement was signed on Wednesday between MMRDA and PFC, marking the financial closure of several critical infrastructure initiatives.

United Nations General Assembly, Kyiv said Thursday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who had earlier met Russia's top diplomat, told a Security Council session this week that diplomacy was the only solution to the war in Ukraine. Wang met Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga and the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.

Hurricane Helene was advancing Thursday across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, threatening an «unsurvivable» storm surge in northwestern parts of the state as well as damaging winds, rains and flash floods hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S., the National Weather Service in Tallahassee said. Helene is expected to be a major hurricane — meaning a Category 3 or higher — when it makes landfall on Florida's northwestern coast Thursday evening. As of early Thursday, hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas have all declared emergencies in their states. The weather service forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly «catastrophic and life-threatening» in Florida's Apalachee Bay. It added that high winds and heavy rains also posed risks.

Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday initiated a meeting with the seven working groups of the Bharat 6G Alliance, the minister said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Hinting at the arrival of 6G in India, the minister wrote, «6G is India’s future! 6G is India’s potential!» «In line with PM Sh@narendramodi Ji’s vision to make Bharat a “telecom superpower”, glad to have initiated a meeting with the seven Working Groups of the Bharat 6G Alliance,» he further added.