Govt. hikes EPFO interest rates to 8.65%

Retirement fund body EPFO has decided to provide 8.65% interest on PF deposits for 2018-19 against 8.55% in the last year to its 6 crore subscribers, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said on Thursday. All members of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of EPFO at a meeting agreed to give a higher interest for subscribers for the current fiscal, the minister said further.

Opposition meet in New Delhi on February 26

Opposition leaders are set to meet in New Delhi on February 26 to discuss the strategy for the coming Lok Sabha polls and the formation of a sub-committee for evolving a common minimum programme. The meeting, originally meant to be held in Mohali along with a public rally, was supposed to be a show of unity among Opposition leaders, sources said.

SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav not happy with party's alliance with BSP

Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday showed his displeasure at the alliance forged by his son and party president Akhilesh Yadav with the Bahujan Samaj Party. Addressing party workers at the SP headquarters in Lucknow, Mr. Mulayam Singh made clear that he was unhappy with Ms. Mayawati’s BSP being given half of the seats in the alliance in Uttar Pradesh in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

Pulwama terror attack: BJP hits back at Congress, says it has shown its ‘true colours’

After the Congress on Thursday targeted the Modi government on the Pulwama terror attack , the BJP hit back, saying the Opposition party has shown its “true colours” after maintaining the “facade” of standing with the government and security forces following the terror strike.

SC appoints former judge Justice D.K. Jain as BCCI ombudsman

The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed retired judge of the court Justice D.K. Jain as the first ombudsman under the new BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) Constitution approved by the court in a judgment on August 9 last.

Gavaskar urges Imran Khan to take the 'first step' to improve ties with India

India stand to lose by boycotting Pakistan in the coming Cricket World Cup, according to former Captain Sunil Gavaskar. He said the country can continue to “hurt them” by shunning bilateral ties. Led by former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, calls for a complete cricket boycott against Pakistan has grown since the terror attack in Pulwama last week that killed more than 40 CRPF personnel.

70 killed in Dhaka chemical, plastic warehouses' fire

Seventy people were killed on Wednesday night as a fire ripped through several multi-storey buildings, many of them housing chemical and plastic warehouses, in a crammed old part of Bangladesh capital Dhaka. The fire broke out in a chemical warehouse on the ground floor of a five-storey building, named Hazi Wahed Mansion, behind a mosque in Old Dhaka’s congested Chawkbazar area and the flames then quickly spread through four other buildings, including a community centre where a wedding party was on, a fire official said.

Pakistan gifts gold-plated assault rifle to Saudi Crown Prince

At a time when Pakistan is under immense global pressure on terrorism, the country’s cash-strapped government has gifted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman a gold-plated assault rifle, a media report said. The unusual gift for a visiting foreign dignitary was presented to Mr. Mohammad during his first official official visit to Islamabad.

Producer Raj Kumar Barjatya passes away

Raj Kumar Barjatya, the father of filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya and producer of films such as Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Hum Saath-Saath Hain and Vivaah, passed away on Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest. The 75-year-old breathed his last at Sir H. N Reliance Foundation, an official from Rajshri productions told PTI.