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Bengaluru, Nov 20 (IANS) Karnataka's Director General of Police (DGP), Praveen Sood on Sunday declared that the blast in a moving auto in Mangaluru was a terror act and not an accident.

"It's confirmed now. The blast is not accidental but an act of terror with intention to cause serious damage. Karnataka State Police is probing deep into it along with central agencies," the DGP tweeted.

Tension prevailed in the communally-sensitive city on Saturday following the mysterious explosion in the moving auto.

Initially, the police were probing whether it was a case of fire mishap or blast.

However, on further investigation, sleuths of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) found suspicious articles such as two batteries, nuts, bolt and substance with circuit wiring from the incident spot.

It is suspected that a light explosive device had been used for the explosion.

The state Home department has considered the incident seriously as it had taken place on the day the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had visited the city.

With the police identifying it as an act of terror, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is also expected to visit the place and take up investigation.

With the passenger of the auto, identified as Premraj Kanogi, giving contradictory statements to the police, his role is also under the scanner.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday urged the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to scale up investments and mobilise private finance in India's key priority areas like renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate smart technologies.

She made this request to AIIB President Jin Liqun, who met her earlier in the day.

Sitharaman met Liqun in her capacity as the Governor of the second largest shareholder of the bank. Both discussed the ongoing and proposed issues of relevance to the AIIB and India, official sources said.

As India is the largest client of the AIIB, the Finance Minister reiterated during the meeting that it should think of setting up a regional presence in India to facilitate dialogue and outreach to project authorities, sources added.

While appreciating the AIIB's growing portfolio in India, Sitharaman suggested that it should shore up investments in key areas like renewable energy and climate technologies.

Earlier on October 26, the Finance Minister had attended the 7th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the AIIB, where it was decided that the bank will ramp up investments in priority areas for India like clean energy and infrastructure sector with a special focus on education and health.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Nov 18 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai's Personal Assistant was honey-trapped and confidential documents were extracted from him, police sources said on Friday.

Nataraja Sharma, president of Janma Bhoomi Foundation, a registered public organisation that has exposed scams, lodged a case in this regard with the Vidhana Soudha police station here.

The complainant alleged that a well-organised honey-trap gang is operating in the Legislative Assembly.

A D-group woman employee working in Vidhan Soudha honey-trapped Bommai's PA Harish. The gang members recorded their videos, blackmailed Harish and extracted confidential documents pertaining to the administration of the government, police sources added.

The complainant alleged that documents signed by the Chief Minister have been given to opposition leaders.

Land worth crores of rupees was purchased by Harish in the name of the accused woman near Kanakapura Road near Bengaluru, police sources added.

Earlier also, the gang had honey-trapped many politicians and bureaucrats, the complainant alleged.

--IANS
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By Venkatachari Jagannathan
Chennai, Nov 17 (IANS) The countdown for the Friday launch of Skyroot Aerospace-developed rocket Vikram-S, with three small satellites, will begin three hours before the lift-off time which is fixed at 11.30 a.m, said an official.


"The countdown will begin three hours before the rocket's lift off. The rocket is expected to lift off at 11.30 a.m. on Friday. The countdown time is less as it is a small rocket," a senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS.

Further, the single-stage rocket is powered with solid fuel which has also cut down the countdown time.

The official said the rocket will fly off from the ISRO's sounding rocket launch pad at the Sriharikota rocket port.

On Friday, Skyroot Aerospace is expected to become India's first private sector company to develop and fly a rocket.

The Hyderabad-based rocket startup was founded by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka in June 2018. Till date, the company has raised Rs 526 crore funds and has about 200 employees.

Its 545 kg, six-metre-long rocket will carry three satellites from Space Kidz India, Bazoomq Armenia, and N-Space Tech India.

In 25 seconds after the liftoff and at an altitude of 17.9 km, the rocket's engine will burn out. The rocket would eject its payload at an altitude of 81.5 km.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), Department of Space (DOS), on Thursday said it had authorised the rocket launch with three satellites.

According to IN-SPACe - the regulator for private space players, the Vikram-S rocket flight is a technology demonstration flight to showcase the capabilities of the company.

It carries with it three PCB-based payloads for three customers which are equipped with sensors for the measurement of acceleration, pressure and other aspects.

This rocket will help validate the technologies that will be used in the subsequent Vikram-1 orbital vehicle of Skyroot Aerospace that is planned for launch next year, subject to technical clearance by IN-SPACe, the regulator said.

However, the IN-SPACe has declined to answer a couple of crucial questions like when was the draft National Space Transportation Policy-2020 approved and what about the financial guarantee or the insurance cover to be provided by the rocket launching company to the sectoral regulator.

As per the original draft policy, IN-SPACe authorisation requires the financial guarantee or insurance cover by the proposer/rocket launch company as part of its ownership towards fulfilment of nation's liability as per international agreements.

"As per the regulations up to certain value of damage, companies are liable and beyond that the state will foot the bill. The liability determination process is finalised and managed by INSPACe," Secretary, Space and ISRO Chairman, S. Somanath, had told IANS.

He said for the rockets, the liability is determined by the type of the rocket mission, range and others. The ISRO will do this exercise. For the satellites, the issue of liability cannot be estimated and has to be determined case to case basis.

Skyroot Aerospace's Chandana had told IANS that the insurance aspect has been taken care off but declined to mention the insurer's name and coverage citing a non-disclosure agreement.

IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka told IANS that the talk on the queries will be done post the Skyroot Aerospace's rocket launch while declining to answer the queries.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Nov 17 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday announced that he will order a comprehensive probe into the alleged voters' data theft scandal and maintained that the Congress' demand for him to resign was "ridiculous".

Reacting to the party's allegations of stealing voters' data for political gains, Bommai said that Congress has gone bankrupt with ideas.

"Let the truth come out. I am handing over the case for a comprehensive probe. Right from the first direction of the Election Commission, everything will be probed," he said.

The Chief Minister said that Election Commission will give responsibility to undertake a sweep programme for local organisations and BBMP.

In turn they will hand over the work to NGOs and this is not the first time that NGOs are given such work. It was also given in during the tenure of Congress in 2018.

Regarding the demands of his resignation, Bommai stated that if that was the case, the Congress Chief Ministers should have tendered their resignations thrice.

"This is a baseless allegation," he added.

Meanwhile, a Congress delegation met the Commissioner of Bengaluru Pratap Reddy and submitted a complaint against Bommai and others regarding the scandal.

The Congress has alleged that the ruling BJP government is stealing the data of voters and indulging in election fraud through a private agency.

The party accused Chief Minister Bommai, BBMP Special Commissioner Tushar Girinath and the Election Commission of operating as one team to steal voters' data.

It further charged that the BJP workers in the state have been roped in to manipulate electoral rolls.

The BJP workers have been hired on contract basis by a private agency, given identity cards by the authorities to carry out the fraud, according to the BJP.

--IANS
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Gurugram, Nov 16 (IANS) The district consumer dispute redressal forum has ordered the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) to give interim compensation of Rs 2 lakh to a woman, who was critically injured after being attacked by a pet dog of Dogo Argentino breed in the Civil Line area, here in August.

On Tuesday, the Forum also ordered to form a policy for the pet dogs within three months and also said if the corporation wished, then the compensation amount could be recovered from the dog owner, who lives in a bungalow on the Civil Lines.

The forum also directed the civic body to take the dog into custody and to cancel the licence of the owner with immediate effect.

Apart from this, citing a central government notification, the forum also banned 11 foreign dog breeds and ordered that licences to keep these canines be cancelled and the animals be taken into custody.

As per the notification of the government of India dated 25.4.2016 the following pet dogs of foreign breeds are hereby completely banned with immediate effect w.e.f. 15.11.2022 which are as follows: American pit-bull terriers, Dogo Argentino, Rottweiler, Neapolitan mastiff, Boerboel, Presa Canario, Wolf dog, Bandog, American Bulldog, Fila Brasileiro and Cane Corso.

"The victim is entitled to an amount of Rs 2 lakh to be paid as compensation by way of interim relief by the MCG," the forum said.

The incident took place on August 11 when Munni, the victim, a native of west Bengal, was attacked by the pet dog when she was going to work with her sister-in-law. She was referred from civil hospital to Delhi's Safdarjung hospital for treatment.

An FIR was registered at the Civil Line police station.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak will meet on Wednesday at the G20 Summit in Bali during which the two leaders will confirm "a new bespoke, reciprocal route" which will open in early 2023 to give young professionals from both the countries a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in a professional and cultural exchange.

Hours after Sunak and Modi met on the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday, the British Prime Minister announced that 3,000 Indians will be granted visas annually to come to the UK.

Under the new UK-India Young Professionals Scheme, the country will offer 3,000 places annually to 18-30 year-old degree educated Indian nationals to come to the UK to live and work here for up to two years.

According to a statement issued by the UK Prime Minister's Office, India is the first visa-national country to benefit from such a scheme, highlighting the strength of the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership agreed last year.

"The Indo-Pacific is increasingly crucial for our security and our prosperity. It is teeming with dynamic and fast-growing economies, and the next decade will be defined by what happens in this region," Sunak said in a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.

"I know first-hand the incredible value of the deep cultural and historic ties we have with India. I am pleased that even more of India's brightest young people will now have the opportunity to experience all that life in the UK has to offer, and vice-versa, making our economies and societies richer."

The scheme will be reciprocal.

"The launch of the scheme is a significant moment both for the bilateral relationship with India and the UK's wider commitment to forging stronger links with the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen both the economies," the statement added.

Nearly a quarter of all international students in Britain are from India, and Indian investment into the UK supports 95,000 jobs across the UK.

The UK is also negotiating a trade deal with India, which would build on the UK-India trading relationship, already worth 24 billion pounds, and allow the UK to seize the opportunities presented by India's growing economy.

Besides Modi, Sunak is also scheduled will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, becoming the first British Prime Minister to meet the latter in almost five years.

He will be clear on the need for China and the UK, as permanent members of the UN Security Council and major global economies, to establish a frank and constructive relationship.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Nov 16 (IANS) Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday said that the microblogging platform will relaunch its $8 Blue subscription service with verification from November 29 - this time more "rock solid".

He also said that with the new release, "changing your verified name will cause loss of checkmark until name is confirmed by Twitter to meet Terms of Service".

Musk had earlier paused Blue service after several fake accounts came up on Twitter, impersonating brands and celebrities.

After facing a barrage of criticism, Twitter stopped the Blue service.

In some bad news for existing verified account holders on Twitter, Musk said that all unpaid legacy Blue checkmarks will be removed in a few months.

Earlier, reports said that legacy verified accounts will not be charged $8.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) A day after the Supreme Court termed forced religious conversion a "very serious" issue, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Surendra Jain urged the Centre to make a central law soon to stop "illegal conversions".

Jain, the VHP's Central Joint General Secretary, said that "various incidents that happened across the country and also the commissions formed on this subject say quite loud and clear that illegal conversion is a threat to the fundamental right to religious freedom and national security".

The Supreme Court on Monday gave a clear warning that if this is not stopped, then a "dangerous situation" will be created for the country.

The apex court has said that religious conversions by means of force, allurement or fraud may "ultimately affect the security of the nation and freedom of religion and conscience of citizens" while directing the Centre to "step in" and clarify what it intends to do to curb compulsory or deceitful religious conversions.

"There may be freedom of religion but there may not be freedom of religion by forced conversion… This is a very serious issue. Everybody has the right to choose their religion, but not by forced conversion or by giving temptation," it added.

Jain asserted that the judiciary had in many cases earlier also stressed the need for a central law on illegal conversions. "It has become clear time and again that conversion done by force, fraud and allurement is illegal, but in the absence of a clear law, the plotters and connivers could not be punished".

The VHP leader also said that "history teaches us the unfortunate lesson that such illegal conversions have already changed the geography of India putting it into geostrategic, geopolitical and geo-cultural disadvantages and still threatening its security, prosperity and territorial integrity. Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh were created because of religious conversions".

"Illegal conversion is also responsible for the plight of Hindus in Kashmir, the North-East, Bengal and many districts of Kerala. Conversion is also the main reason behind the gruesome and barbaric murder of hundreds of girls like Shraddha, Nikita and others," he said.

"For this (illegal conversion), many anti-national forces are active in India with the support of foreign powers. Many a time, conversion mafia, jihadis and crusaders are also reported to have been caught for such converersion... They even use innocent and handicapped children to serve their purposes. Security agencies have expressed apprehension that these children are also used as human bombs by the conversion mafia," Jain asserted.

Jain added that illegal conversion not only poses a threat to national security and territorial integrity but also to social harmony and co-existence. "After independence, all the commissions set up to look into the illegal conversion activities and networks, have expressed a clear opinion that a central law must be made to stop it."

The VHP leader said that at present, laws have been made in eight states to stop illegal conversions.

"...It has become clear from the activities of the X'ian missionaries in the northeastern and the eastern states and the activities of the PFI across the country that national security has been in danger due to religious conversions. Despite this, some political parties oppose an anti-conversion law due to vote bank politics, while earlier the same political parties themselves had brought such laws in the states ruled by them," he said

Jain reiterated that it is the need of the hour that a pan-India comprehensive central law should be brought forthwith to rid the country of illegal religious conversions.

--IANS
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Bhopal, Nov 15 (IANS) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday said that "every person living in India is a Hindu", adding the DNA of Indians is same.

He also asserted there was no need for anyone to change his way of offering rituals.

Addressing the gathering of large participants of Swayamsevaks (Sangh volunteers) in Ambikapur on the occasion of "Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas" in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, he reiterated that unity in diversity is India's age-old feature.

"Hindutva is the only idea in the world that believes in taking everyone along," Bhagwat said.

"We have been telling since 1925 that everyone living in India is a Hindu. Those who consider India as their motherland and want to live with a culture of unity in diversity and make efforts in this direction, irrespective of whatever religion, culture, language and food habits and ideology they follow, are Hindus," he added.

He said the ideology of Hindutva recognises diversity and believes in unity among people.

"The Sangh's work is to build individual and national character and bring unity among people," the RSS chief said.

Meanwhile, he also emphasised on respecting everyone's faith and asserted the DNA of all Indians is the same and they had common ancestors.

"Despite having diversities we all are like... we had common ancestors. Every Indian who is part of the 40,000-year old 'Akhand Bharat' has common DNA. Our ancestors had taught that everyone should stick to their faith and rituals and not try to convert others' faith. Every path leads to a common place," Bhagwat said.

Appealing to people to visit Sangh's 'sakhas' (congregation of RSS workers), he said the 97-year-old organisation's aim is to unite people and make societies influential while walking on the path of truth.

He also appealed to the people to not look at the Sangh from a distance as a spectator.

"Instead, make your personality useful for the country and work for the welfare of the country and the society. Become a swayamsevak to lead such life," Bhagwat added.

The RSS chief, who was on his second visit to Chhattisgarh ahead of the 2023 assembly elections, also unveiled the statue of late former Union Minister Dilip Singh Judeo.

--IANS
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