Inshorts

Rs 1L as office expenses/yr for retired President

New Delhi: The Government has decided to extend Rs 1 lakh to a retired President and Rs 90,000 to a retired Vice-President on account of office expenses every year, the Home Ministry said on Tuesday. The decisions have been taken by amending rules related to the the President's Pension Rules, 1962 and the Vice-President's Pension, Housing and Other Facilities Rules, 1999.

Sushma Apologises for Janakpur mistake

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday apologised for saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed lakhs of “Indians” in Nepal's Janakpur recently. “This was a mistake on my part. I sincerely apologise for this,” she tweeted after people on Twitter, including a Parliamentarian from Nepal, pointed out that Modi addressed Nepali people in Janakpur earlier this month and not Indians. 

Study centre to be set up at Gauhati University

New Delhi: The Government on Tuesday announced that a Brahmaputra Study Centre would be set up at Gauhati University at a cost of Rs 28 crore to conduct research on the causes of and how to prevent frequent floods in the river. Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh said the study centre would offer an opportunity for research in different aspects of the river in hydrology, waterways, environment, disaster, flood management, hydro-power production, etc.

Rs 33-cr Cheque handed over in Kathmandu

New Delhi: Dr. Ajay Kumar, Deputy Chief of Mission in the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, on Tuesday handed over a cheque for an amount of Rs 33 crore to Secretary, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Madhusudan Adhikari  in Kathmandu. The amount has been released towards 25% of tendered cost (including 10% mobilisation advance) of the two road packages of Birgunj-Thori Road being. The Government of India has so far released a total of Rs 117.63 crores to Nepal for implementing 14 packages of the Postal Highway Projects.

SC refuses to grant bail to restaurateur

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to Yug Tuli, the co-owner of Mumbai's Mojo's Bistro restaurant and an accused in the December 2017 fire incident that claimed 14 lives. However, the Vacation Bench of Justices LN Rao and M Mohan Shantanagouder allowed Tuli to revive his bail plea after three months before the trial judge. Earlier, the Bombay High Court had denied bail to Tuli. His lawyer senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that the tragedy occurred due to the "mistake" of the staff at "1 Above", the other restaurant. But the state opposed bail claiming he could influence witnesses.

SC Stays execution of death row Convict

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the execution of a death row convict who was awarded capital punishment for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh last year. A Vacation bench of Justices LN Rao and Mohan M Shantanagoudar stayed the May 9 order of the Madhya Pradesh HC upholding death penalty of the accused Satish.

New Delhi: The RSS on Tuesday said that its ongoing meeting with the BJP and union ministers is not a coordination meeting but an exercise to exchange ideas. "These are not Samanvay (coordination) meetings neither these are decision-making meetings," RSS all-India prachar pramukh Arun Kumar said in a statement.