The Supreme Court will take up the plea for a CBI probe in the Vyapam scam today. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had declared on Wednesday that he would also back such a request in the top court. He, however ruled out resignation from the post. All eyes are on the Supreme Court which is scheduled to take up a batch of petitions for ordering a CBI probe into the multi-crore scandal after the Madhya Pradesh High court had deferred hearing on a state government plea for a probe by the central agency.The High Court, where the state government filed a plea on Tuesday for a CBI probe, deferred the hearing till July 20 as the case is in the apex court.

Temple relocation: Hindu outfit block traffic in Jaipur today

Several right-wing organisations have blocked traffic today (Thursday) at 76 locations in Jaipur in protest against shifting of temples by the government for metro lines. Nearly 100 Hindu outfits and social organisations have extended their support to the movement and a peaceful 'chakka jam' from 9 am to 11 am. Barring vehicles of emergency services,  judges and police, all the vehicles would be stopped at 76 key points in the city.

DoT panel's suggestions to regulate content on mobile apps may hit social media

Major steps to regulate and monitor content on mobile applications, including location of data servers in the country has been recommended by a committee set up by the department of telecom (DoT). This could impact the operation of popular apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook. It feared that crucial consumer data as well as national security information may be compromised by the fast-paced proliferation of applications on mobile phones.It raised concern over the possible pilferage of data and privacy of consumers in the absence of an appropriate legal framework. It suggested that till the time an appropriate legal framework is enacted, the government may put in place "interim provisions enforceable through licensing conditions".

ED emails summons to Lalit Modi after his lawyers refuse to accept them

A day after Lalit Modi's lawyer returned the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate saying he was not authorised to receive them, the agency has emailed a copy of the document to the former IPL chief. The ED had issued summons to Modi in a money-laundering case relating to a 2008 deal between World Sports Group (WSG) and Multi Screen Media (MSM) for television rights of Indian Premier League (IPL) worth Rs 425 crore. If Modi doesn't respond to the summons, ED can move court for a non-bailable warrant or even issue a red corner notice.

Seven PSUs to raise Rs 40k crore via tax-free bonds

Seven state-owned entities, including NHAI, IRFC and NTPC will raise Rs 40,000 crore this fiscal through tax-free bonds. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been permitted to raise Rs 24,000 crore and Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) Rs 6,000 crore. Housing and Urban Development Corporation has been allowed to raise Rs 5,000 crore and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Rs 2,000 crore. NTPC, Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation can issue tax-free bonds of Rs 1,000 crore each.

Microsoft to cut 7,800 more jobs; writes off $7.6 billion in Nokia deal

In a major restructuring of its mobile devices business, US tech giant Microsoft today said it is writing off  $7.6 billion it spent on acquiring Nokia and will cut 7,800 jobs. This is the second round of major job cut after Satya Nadella took over as Microsoft CEO. About a year ago he announced axing up to 18,000 jobs, biggest cuts in its 39-year history. Microsoft had acquired mobile devices business from Nokia in a USD 7.2 billion deal which concluded in April last year. About a third of the layoffs will be in Finland, where Microsoft will shut down a product development unit.

Indian army recruitment goes online

The Indian army is now going online for soldiers' recruitment. Now the candidates applying to be soldiers or junior commissioned officers (JCOs) will have to get themselves registered online through www.joinindianarmy.nic.in website. The recruitment dates will be uploaded on the website. Based on the initial registration, candidates will get a call for tests.

Suvidha trains to replace Premium services with offer of only confirmed seats

The Indian railways will discontinue 'Premium' trains introduced last year, and replace it with Suvidha train. For these trains the passengers will get confirmed berth or seat and no waitlisted ticket will be issued. The traveller can buy tickets for Suvidha trains from the reservation counters or book them online from IRCTC website. The reservation period will be a maximum of 30 days and a minimum of 10 days.
The railways also introduced three new passenger amenities - the NGeT (next generation e-ticketing) for Hindi website, paperless unreserved ticketing through mobile phones for Mumbai suburban and destination SMS-based alert service for Rajdhani and Duronto trains.

Food regulator has created environment of fear, says minister Harsimrat  Badal

Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has said that recall of many food products from the market, including instant noodles Maggi has created an environment of fear in the industry and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) needs to streamline its regulations as its steps are stopping innovations in the processing sector. "a lot needs to be done to remove the recent road blocks or I would say fear psychosis in the industry," she at a industry meeting.

Yoga looks difficult, that's ehy I have not tried it, confesses Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Yoga "looks difficult" and that is why he has not tried it. He said this after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about yoga in a meeting with him in the the Russian city of Ufa. Putin, who holds an 8th Dan black belt in Karate, said, "I don't know how to do yoga. When you people do it, it looks difficult. That is why I have not tried it." Putin mentioned this when Modi thanked the Russian president with regard to the celebrations of the International Day of Yoga on June 21 in Russia.