New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday orally remarked that due to its forgiving nature in commutation of death sentences, the country is witnessing an increase in crime and this has to “come to an end somewhere”. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu was hearing a plea seeking premature release of a life convict whose...

By Arindam Ganguly, OP Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Thursday directed the Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) department to take strong measures to bring down the maternal mortality rate (MMR) to the lowest possible level. The directive came during a high-level review meeting held under the PRAYASS (Proactive Governance Attempt for Yielding Results and Advancing Social...

New Delhi: India’s benchmark Sensex slumped to its lowest in 32 months Thursday as surging oil prices, rising global bond yields and a weak er rupee heightened inflation concerns, adding to pressure from the central bank’s hawkish rate increase a day earlier. The Nifty 50 fell 1.64% to 22,231.8, and Sensex shed 1.44% to 71,593.24. This was...

Aali: A woman allegedly killed her husband by stepping on his neck while he was sleeping in an intoxicated state at Malapatana village under Aali police limits in Kendrapada district Wednesday night. The accused has been identified as Manorama Sahu, 38, and the victim as Niranjan Sahu, 40. Police stated that her son and minor daughter allegedly...

New Delhi: The high-powered GST Council Thursday approved removing the arrest power of tax officials and raising the threshold for prosecution fivefold to Rs 5 crore, while introducing faster and largely automated refunds for taxpayers. Announcing the decisions taken at the 57th meeting of the GST Council, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Council also decided to...

By RABINARAYAN JENA, OP Bhubaneswar: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pulled up the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) over the alleged violation of waste management and environmental norms in the construction of a Micro Composting Centre (MCC) at Bharatpur. The tribunal has directed the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to take immediate legal action and submit...

New Delhi: The government has proposed that prescription drugs, including those with a high potential for abuse and addiction, cannot be advertised without prior approval of the Centre. The Union health ministry, in a draft notification issued September 28 and published in the Gazette of India, has proposed inserting a new sub-rule in Rule 65 of the...

Jajpur: The scheduled student union election at Vyasanagar Autonomous College in Odisha's Jajpur district was cancelled Thursday after miscreants allegedly hurled crude bombs on the campus, officials said. The college authorities issued a notification cancelling the polls following a unanimous decision by the election and academic committees, they said. The institute will remain closed until further orders,...

New Delhi: Flyers will have to shell out more for plane tickets as Air India and Air India Express have announced an increase in fuel surcharges on domestic and select international routes due to the rise in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices amid the continuing Middle East conflict. The Tata Group airlines have followed leading domestic carrier...

New Delhi: India and Greece discussed defence and strategic cooperation Thursday, with emphasis on maritime cooperation, coastal security and shipbuilding. The discussions were held during a meeting between Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Greece's Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Stefanos Gkikas, in New Delhi Thursday. "Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh met Deputy...