NEW DELHI: Nearly 45 crore Indians are losing close to Rs 20,000 crore every year to real-money online games, according to government estimates.

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Friday said that the Parliament has passed five key bills in the just-concluded Monsoon Session, that overhauled colonial-era maritime laws and will boost the Blue Economy, enhance trade efficiency, and align with global standards.

PATNA: Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday sharpened his attack on the Centre, terming the three new bills, which allow the removal of elected representatives arrested on serious criminal charges and held in custody without bail for more than 30 days, as “torture bills”.

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three pivotal bills in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, which proposes automatic removal of elected officials - Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and Union Ministers - if they are arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges.

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday lashed out at the Centre for bringing the 130th Constitution Amendment bill, saying it was a step towards "super-emergency" and "end the democratic era of India forever".

NEW DELHI: Shashi Tharoor, the Congress Working Committee member and senior party MP, has once again made a remark independent of his party line and this time on the controversial ‘disqualification’ bills.

BENGALURU: The Greater Bengaluru Governance (Amendment) Bill 2025 was passed in the Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar presented the Bill in the House. After discussions with opposition leaders and legislators, it was approved.

WASHINGTON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the discussion with US President Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House included plans for Ukraine to purchase $90 billion in American weapons through European funding, as part of the country's security guarantees, as quoted by a media report.

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday returned the modified Income Tax Bill, along with the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to the Lok Sabha as part of the parliamentary procedure.

NEW DELHI: India’s dealmaking environment remained resilient amid global macroeconomic headwinds, as the total deal value rose 2 per cent in the first half this year, from H2 2024, to touch $50 billion, a report said on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Indian Ports Bill, 2025 by voice vote, replacing the colonial-era Indian Ports Act of 1908, even as sustained sloganeering and protests from Opposition benches drowned out much of the debate.

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Income Tax Bill, 2025, marking a significant step towards replacing India’s six-decade-old direct tax framework with the government seeking to balance investor confidence, taxpayer relief, and administrative efficiency with the new law.

NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was all set to introduce revised Income Tax Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

MUMBAI: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) withdrew the highest amount of money from the IT sector in India during the month of July, worth $2.3 billion, said a report on Thursday.

AHMEDABAD: Adani Power on Thursday said it has received a Letter of Intent (LoI) to develop and operate 2,400 MW greenfield thermal power plant in Bihar at an investment of $3 billion.

PHAGWARA: A delegation from the Seeds, Pesticides and Fertilizers Association, Nawanshahr, led by its president Mohinderpal Singh Khalsa, met former Rajya Sabha Member Avinash Rai Khanna and submitted a memorandum requesting the removal of seed dealers from the offence category under the Punjab (Amendment) Seed Bill 2025.

NEW DELHI: The Opposition Aam Aadmi Party on Monday announced its decision to oppose the education bill on school fee fixation, with Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Atishi assailing the government for delaying its tabling in the House by four months.

NEW DELHI: The use of simplified language in the new Income Tax Bill, 2025 marks a significant shift in making the provisions easier to understand, reducing the potential for misinterpretation and enhancing taxpayer-centricity and compliance, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha witnessed yet another stormy session on Thursday as opposition members (MPs) disrupted proceedings with slogans and placards, forcing multiple adjournments and ultimately halting legislative business for the day.

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will come under the National Sports Governance Bill 2025, set to be tabled in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament, ministry sources told IANS on Tuesday.

BATHINDA: : The absence of mention of idols and religious texts of gurus of Ravidasiya, Valmiki and Kabirpanthi communities in the 'Punjab Prevention of Crimes against Holy Scriptures Bill' introduced in the Punjab Assembly by the Aam Aadmi Party government reflects anti-Scheduled Caste mindset, said BJP leader Paramjit Singh Kainth.

PHAGWARA: Former Union Minister Som Parkash has called upon all like-minded political parties, social organizations, and community leaders to unite in opposition to the Punjab Government’s proposed “Religious Places and Scriptures (Prevention of Desecration) Bill, 2025,” which he alleges deliberately omits sacred texts and religious symbols of Dalit communities.

NEW DELHI: Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said the National Sports Governance Bill, which will be tabled in the Parliament during next week’s monsoon session, has been drafted with inputs from international organisations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the FIFA, in addition to extensive consultations with National Sports Federations, athletes and coaches.

Hopes for swift action on a sacrilege bill in Punjab just hit a major snag. The bill, introduced in the state assembly only yesterday, has been sent to a standing committee for a six-month review. This unexpected move casts a long shadow over the "Tower Morcha," a nearly nine-month-long protest by Bhai Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, who's been perched on a BSNL tower in Samana demanding this very law.

The recently introduced Punjab Sacrilege (Prevention and Punishment) Bill by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government appears to be a politically motivated move rather than a sincere attempt to deliver justice or protect religious sentiments.

CHNANDIGARH: Underscoring a truly unique and historic achievement of the recent Punjab Vidhan Sabha session, wherein all acts, bills, and resolutions presented by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government were passed unanimously, Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday attributed this remarkable consensus to the Aam Admi Party (AAP) government's unwavering focus on the welfare and progress of the state's populace.

AMRITSAR: Punjab BJP spokesperson Prof. Sarchand Singh Khiala termed the Beadbi (sacrilege) Bill introduced in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha as a mere political stunt by Arvind Kejriwal.

CHANDIGARH: After three hours of intense debate of allegations and counter allegations, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday unanimously decided to refer the highly emotive Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill of 2025 to a select committee for consultation with all stakeholders.

CHANDIGARH: Reiterating that his government is duty-bound to curb sacrilege incidents in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday presented the Punjab Prevention of Crime Against Religious Scriptures Bill, 2025 in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Legislative Assembly today unanimously passed the Punjab State Development Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Punjab Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2025, presented by the Punjab Finance Minister, Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema.

CHANDIGARH: In a landmark move to ensure stringent punishment for those committing the heinous crime of sacrilege, the Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, on Monday approved the historic Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025.

NEW DELHI: The cumulative Earth intelligence's direct revenue opportunity for technology product and service providers will reach nearly $20 billion from by 2030, a report said on Wednesday.

CHANDIGARH: BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh has demanded that Hindu temples and idols should also be included in the proposed sacrilege bill for which a special Punjab Assembly session has been called.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” into law during the Independence Day ceremony at the White House.

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday praised the Members of the House for showing patience during the debate on the Chartered Accounts Bill and the Bill for re-unifications of the Delhi Municipal Corporations.

NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to table the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: As pressure mounts on Big Tech to sanitise their platforms and stop scraping users data, India needs to learn from the US antitrust bill called the American Innovation and Choice Online Act which has now been endorsed by the Department of Justice (DoJ).

SEOUL: The South Korean Cabinet on Tuesday approved bills to allow single people to adopt children, as the number of one-person households is sharply increasing.

NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to table on Tuesday 'The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022' in the Rajya Sabha to unify three municipal corporations in the national capital.

NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to table the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022 for consideration and passing in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to table the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022 for consideration and passing in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Antarctic Bill 2022 aimed at having India's own national measures for protecting the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystem by extending Indian laws to the southern continent was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

NEW DELHI: A private member's bill moved by BJP member Rakesh Sinha in the Rajya Sabha to regulate the rising population was withdrawn on Friday.

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday moved a Private Members Bill to repeal the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Repeal Bill, 2022 seeks to annul the UAPA, 1967.

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Constitution (Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill 2022. The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to omit 'Bhogta' community from the list of Scheduled Castes in relation to Jharkhand and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain communities in the lists of Scheduled Tribes in relation to the State.

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday will continue discussions on the 'Finance Bill 2022' and 'Appropriation Bill, 2022' moved by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the previous day.

LOS ANGELSE: As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill into law, The Walt Disney Company issued a statement vowing to help repeal the controversial legislation.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday opposed the CrPC amendment bill brought by the government in the Lok Sabha to amend the laws saying that it violates Article 21 and is beyond the legislative competence of the government.

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday is likely to move the Appropriation Bill, 2022 in the Rajya Sabha.

AMARAVATI: Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Tammineni Seetaram, adjourned the House sine die after passing the Appropriation Bill 2022 and Appropriation (No. 2) Bill 2022 by voice vote here on Friday.

NEW DELHI: Four Private Members Bills are likely to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to table 'The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022' in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday informed the Assembly that 50 years ago people used to donate or gift their land to the government for developmental schemes.

LOS ANGELSE: The Recording Academy has announced the first slate of artists to perform at this year's show - Brothers Osborne, BTS, Brandi Carlile, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, and Olivia Rodrigo.

LOS ANGELSE: The 27th annual Critics Choice Awards celebrated the best in television and film at a glittering ceremony here at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel. Jane Campions 'The Power of the Dog', as reported by IANS, and the comedy drama series 'Ted Lasso' led the night's winners with four trophies each. The dark comedy series 'Succession' took home three awards.

WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Friday passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill for the fiscal year 2022 to fund the federal government through the end of September, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

DHARAMSALA: Two persons were killed and another injured during a fall of paragliding take off at Bir Billing in Kangra district of HP on Tuesday.
S P Kangra Dr K Sharma while confirming the accident said,

BENGALURU: The ruling BJP government is all set to table the controversial anti-conversion Bill in the Karnataka Assembly session, which will resume on Monday. The Bill is likely to be tabled in the last leg of the ongoing session.

NEW DELHI: German motor vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen is in talks with Huawei to acquire its autonomous driving unit for billions of dollars, the media reported.

SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk has revealed that billionaire investor and Vice President of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger once told him that Tesla would fail.

PHAGWARA: BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh today said if voted to power in Punjab the party would bring in an anti-conversion bill in view of large-scale conversions taking place in rural parts of the state.

WASHINGTON: In a bid to address algorithmic amplification of harmful content on social media platforms and curb screen addiction, a new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the US Congress.

SAN FRANCISCO: Google's video calling app Duo has now surpassed the 5 billion download milestone over on the Play Store.

SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday asked the National Assembly to swiftly approve an extra budget bill designed to help support small merchants hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

LOS ANGELSE: The soundtrack of the animated film 'Encanto' has returned to the top of Billboard 200 albums chart.

NEW DELHI: Almost a month after its formation, the Joint Committee of Parliamentarians has invited suggestions from people on the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha last month.

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft's board of directors has hired a reputed law firm to review the effectiveness of the company's sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies and practices, including the inquiry against Bill Gates.

NEW DELHI: A cryptocurrency CEO has become one of the richest people on Earth, CNN reported.

NEW DELHI: The volume of the bilateral trade between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is tipped to increase from $60 billion to $100 billion in the next 5-8 years in tune with the growing partnership between the two countries.

SAN FRANCISCO:Following a debate, the US House Judiciary Committee has advanced all but one of the bills before it that focus on curbing Big Tech and its ability to promote its products and services over others -- and the last one will likely get the nod on Thursday.

GUWAHATI: The BJP government in Assam is contemplating to introduce cow protection bill in the next Assembly session to prohibit transport of the animal outside the state, Governor Jagdish Mukhi said on Saturday, while addressing the second day of the first session of the new state Assembly.

WASHINGTON: In a counterproposal to Senate Republicans on Friday, the White House lowered the overall price tag of President Joe Biden's $2.3-trillion infrastructure plan to $1.7 trillion.

COLOMBO: The Sri Lanka Parliament has passed the Port City Economic Commission Bill, which officially declares 269 hectares of land reclaimed from the ocean and annexed to the city of Colombo as the country's first special economic zone (SEZ) for services-oriented industries.

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon signed a legislation to curb anti-Asian hate crimes that have skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic in the US.

NAWANSHAHR: A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party led by Shiv Kaura, General Secretary, Trade and Industry Wing, Punjab, here today called on Deepjot Kaur, Assistant Commissioner, Nawanshahr to apprise the administration of their pitiable plight during the present lockdown orders. Other members of the wing including Gagan Agnihotri, Tejinder Teja, Rajesh Chumbar members were also present.

WASHINGTON: Bill and Melinda Gates have announced in a joint statement that they were getting divorced after 27 years of marriage.
After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the couple tweeted on Monday.

BEIJING:China is expected to produce more than 3 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses this year, an official said on Tuesday.
The country's current production capacity is around 5 billion vaccine doses annually, said Zheng Zhongwei, head of the working group for vaccine development under the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against Covid-19, Xinhua news agency reported.

INDIANAPOLIS: Last week, U.S. Senators Todd Young (Republican-Indiana) and Dick Durbin (Democrat-Ill.), along with Senators John Cornyn (Republican-Texas), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Coons (Democrat-Del.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), introduced bipartisan legislation to provide a temporary stopgap to quickly address our nation’s shortage of doctors and nurses.

PATNA: Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi has requested Bihar Chief Nitish Kumar to deposit the electricity bill of his official banglow from the government treasury.

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat Assembly on Thursday passed a Bill to amend the 'Dharma Swatantrya' (Freedom of Religion) Act, 2003 which aims to combat forceful religious conversions, better known as 'Love Jihad', on the concluding day of the Budget session.

GANDHINAGAR: Sparks flew in the Gujarat Assembly on the concluding day of the Budget session on Thursday with Congress legislator Imran Khedawala tearing a copy of the Bill proposed to amend the 'Dharma Swatantrya' (Freedom of Religion) Act, 2003 aimed to combat forceful religious conversions, better known as 'Love Jihad', that was tabled in the House by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

CHANDIGARH: Punjab government has created a record, with zero pendency in the state treasury during the Financial Year 2020-21 ending March 31, after a gap of almost 15 years.

MOSCOW:Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, has passed a bill enabling incumbent President Vladimir Putin to run for two more terms starting 2024.

GANDHINAGAR: On the penultimate day of the Budget session on Wednesday, the Gujarat Assembly passed eight Bills, including one to amend Section 195 of the CrPC and sanctioning of eight new private universities.

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday approved the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) (Amendment) Bill 2021, which was passed by Parliament last week.

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat government in all likelihood will table a Bill to amend the 'Dharma Swatantrya' (Freedom of Religion) Act, 2003 in the ongoing Budget session of the Assembly to combat forceful religious conversions, better known as 'Love Jihad'.

BEIJING: PUBG Mobile, one of the most popular battle royale games in the world has managed to cross one billion accumulated downloads outside China, making it one of the most successful games worldwide.

BENGALURU: Amid continued protest by the Congress for the third day in a row, Karnataka ruling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed finance related bills in the Assembly sans debate through voice vote.

BENGALURU: Amid continued protest by the Congress for the third day in a row, Karnataka ruling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed finance related bills in the Assembly sans debate through voice vote.

NEW DELHI: The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (GNCTD) was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday even as pandemonium prevailed.

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said he was "devastated" by the shooting a day earlier at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, that killed 10 people, urging the Senate to immediately pass the bills on gun reform recently approved by the House.

CHANDIGARH: All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF )has written to the Prime Minister
that electricity consumer, power employees, and engineers who are the major stakeholders in the power sector should be consulted before sending draft electricity (amendment ) bill 2021 to Parliament

NEW DELHI:The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have opposed the proposed amendments to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill-2021, moved in the Lok Sabha.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government of trying to curtail the powers of the elected Delhi government through the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill - 2021, moved in the Lok Sabha.

NEW DELHI: After a week-long logjam in the House, the functioning of the Lok Sabha on Monday was quite smooth, giving opportunity to the government in introducing five Bills which include one that ensures better protection to the children.

CHANDIGRH: Officers of the investigation wing of Punjab State GST today arrested 5 persons for creating and operating a bogus billing network across various states including Punjab, Delhi and Haryana and availing & passing on fraudulent ITC to the tune of more than Rs. 122 Crore to various firms without due payment of tax to the Government.

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has signed the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill into law, after weeks of partisan fighting in the Congress, marking the first legislative victory for Biden since he took office.

WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved the final version of the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

CHANDIGARH:The Punjab Vidhan Sabha today passed eight important bills in the budget session chaired by Speaker Rana KP Singh.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday gave go-ahead to introduce the Punjab Abadi Deh (Record of Right) Bill, 2021 in the ongoing budget session of Vidhan Sabha.

NEW DELHI: Hospitality major OYO Hotels & Homes' valuation has reached the $9 billion-mark, according to industry sources.

CHANDIGARH: In order to boost the pace of infrastructure Development in the state by levying special ID fee , the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday gave a nod to introduce Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021 in the ongoing Budget Session.

TOKYO:Japan's cabinet on Wednesday green-lit a Bill to ratify a free trade deal (FTA) signed last year by 15 Asia-Pacific countries.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will cover a third of global trade and population, making it the world's largest FTA, will become the "foundation of trade in Asia," Japanese Trade Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama told a press conference on the matter.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday condoled the sad and untimely demise of legendary Punjabi folk singer Sardool Sikandar, with Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announcing that his government will clear the deceased’s hospital dues of Rs 10 lakh.