New Delhi Mar 22 PTI Delhis GDP went up by 50 percent in five since 2016-17 indicating that the citys economy is in a strong position Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal said on WednesdayIn his address to the Delhi Assembly which was initially interrupted by BJP legislators who demanded that The Kashmir Files movie be made tax-free the LG said that Delhis economy in 2020-21 was adversely affected due to CovidIn 2021-22 Delhis Gross State Domestic Product calculated on current prices was Rs 923967 crore and in last five years it grew by 50 percent as compared to Rs 616085 crore in 2016-17 This shows the strong position of Delhis economy he said in his addressHe also said that Delhis per capita income in 2021-22 was Rs 401922 which is three times higher than that of the countryIn his address the L-G mentioned Delhi government achievements in various fields including electricity education pollution remediation in situ slum development green energy etcHe also said Delhi has the cheapest electricity rates in the country and that 914 percent households availed the benefit of power subsidy in 2020-21On the Delhi governments achievement in the education sector the L-G said that the pass percentage in class 10th and 12th has registered successive growthThe pass percentage in class 10th and 12th was 9752 percent and 9914 percent respectively Baijal saidHe also said that the Delhi Teachers University Bill 2022 was also passed to provide professional training to teachers by establishing a dedicated universityIn his address Baijal said that the Delhi governments Public Works Department was constructing 784 multi-storey flats in Devanagar area for slum-dwellers under its in-situ rehabilitation policyHe also said that the Delhi government was supplying 945 million gallons per day water across the city with a network of 15000 km water pipelinesWater is also being supplied in 1577 unauthorised colonies by the government Where there is no water pipeline the government is supplying water through tankers Baijal said PTI VIT AKM TIR TIR

New Delhi Jan 19 PTI Over 25 beautiful murals depicting different yoga poses freedom movement leaders girl education and other thematic works have been put up on the walls of a school in south Delhi to promote cleanliness and Azadi ka Amrit MahotsavThe move by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation also seeks to improve its ranking in the next Swachh Survekshan officials said on WednesdayIn view of Swachh Survekshan 2022 and Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav SDMCs Najafgarh Zone has made more than 25 beautiful and attractive paintings on walls of Primary School Kakrola the officials saidThese paintings are based on various themes like nationalism freedom movement cleanliness exercise and yoga The motive behind making these paintings is to give the school a beautiful and clean look and to make children aware of important subjects like nationalism freedom movement the SDMC said in a statementSuch paintings will be made in other SDMC schools of Najafgarh Zone as well The SDMC has been making such wall paintings in all four zones Various RWAs have also been demanding to make such paintings in their localities The civic agency has been making such paintings on walls of dhalaos public toilets primary schools municipal offices amon other places officials said PTI KND TIR TIR

New Delhi Dec 22 PTI Amid rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital a video purportedly showing shoppers falling on each other and struggling to walk in a crowded Sarojini Nagar market went viral on social media on WednesdayIn the video which was recorded on Sunday people are seen jostling to make their way through the market and flouting social distancing normsAshok Randhawa president of Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders Association blamed hawkers for the situationWe can only ensure that customers follow Covid-appropriate behaviour inside shops but cannot do anything about it when they are anywhere outside The hawkers do not listen to the market association The authorities have to take responsibility and penalise those not maintaining social distancing and not wearing masksWe are scared of another lockdown as we have already faced huge losses during the two previous lockdowns We are ready to cooperate with the authorities to improve the situation he saidRandhawa said the market has four gates Guards with sanitisers and thermometers have been deployed at all gatesDelhi on Wednesday recorded 125 fresh COVID-19 cases the highest since June 22 that took its tally to 1442515 The positivity rate stood at 020 per cent according to health department dataThe city had reported 102 cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 020 per cent and 91 cases on Monday with the same positivity rate On Sunday the city logged 107 cases with a positivity rate of 017 per centEarlier in the day the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA directed district magistrates to ensure that no gatherings to celebrate Christmas and New Year take place in the cityRestaurants and bars will continue to operate with up to 50 per cent of the seating capacity Marriage-related gatherings are permitted with a maximum of 200 people in attendance PTI NIT NIT DIV DIV

New Delhi Dec 22 PTI The defence ministry has imposed a fine of less than 1 million euros on European missile maker MBDA for delay in fulfilling its offset obligations under the Rafale aircraft deal sources said on WednesdayFrench aerospace major Dassault Aviation is the manufacturer of the Rafale jets while MBDA supplies the missile systems for the aircraftIndia had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 to procure 36 Rafale jets at a cost of Rs 59000 crore and the offset obligations were part of the contractAs a part of the deal 50 per cent of the total contract value has to be reinvested in India as offsets in each year between September 2019 and September 2022The sources said the defence ministry has imposed and collected a fine of less than 1 million euros from MBDA for delaying its offset obligations for the September 2019-September 2020 period MBDA has deposited its penalty but has also lodged its protest with the defence ministry they saidMBDA did not respond to PTIs request for a statement on this matterThe first batch of Rafale fighter aircraft came to India in July last yearThe CAG had in September last year said that Dassault Aviation and MBDA are yet to fulfil their offset obligations of offering high technology to India under the Rafale aircraft deal according to the Comptroller and Auditor Generals report released on WednesdayIn its report tabled in Parliament the national auditor had said that Dassault Aviation and MBDA proposed in September 2015 to discharge 30 per cent of their offset obligations by offering high technology to the Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO but the two firms were yet to do it PTI DSP ANB ANB

Chandigarh Oct 20 PTI The Punjab Police and the BSF have recovered a huge cache of weapons near the India-Pakistan border in the Khemkaran area of Tarn Taran district an official said on WednesdayIn a joint operation the Counter Intelligence wing of the Punjab Police and the Border Security Force BSF recovered 22 pistols 44 magazines and 100 rounds of ammunition the police official saidOne kg of heroin was also recovered he added PTI CHS VSD IJT IJT

Kochi Oct 19 PTI The sluice gates of Idamalayar and Pampa reservoirs were opened early on Tuesday in the wake of increase in the water level and more rains forecast in the coming days in KeralaThe development comes a day after the state government opened the shutters of Kakki and Sholayar dams to release surplus waterThe Ernakulam district administration confirmed the opening of shutters 2 and 3 of Idamalayar dam by 50 centimetres eachOpening of shutters 3 and 4 of the Pampa dam by 45 centimetres each was confirmed by the Pathanamthitta district administrationThe state government on Monday had announced that Idukki dam built across the Periyar river Idamalayar in Ernakulam and Pampa dam in Pathanamthitta were going to be opened on TuesdayEven though rains subsided in several parts of Kerala on Monday after receiving heavy downpour last week the decision to open shutters of these dams was taken as water levels there had reached close to the danger marks and more rains were expected from WednesdayIn view of the prevailing situation and expected worsening of weather conditions the government had on Monday also cancelled pilgrimage to the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala for the Thula masam poojasIt had also advised people living in low lying areas and close to the rivers whose dams have been opened or scheduled to be opened to be vigilant and move to the relief camps set up across the state in the wake of the heavy rains which has claimed 38 lives so farAccording to the State Disaster Management Authority SDMA the number of rain-related deaths in Kerala from October 12 to October 18 is 38During the same period at least 90 houses have been destroyed in the rains while 702 houses have been partially damaged SDMA has said PTI HMP ROH ROH

Srinagar Aug 31 PTI Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday advised the parliamentary standing committees to undertake regular study tours of far-flung areas in Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh as well as the northeastern states and suggest possible solutions for mitigation of grievances of local peopleBirla stated this during his week-long visit to the Union Territories UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as part of the parliamentary outreach programme for strengthening the Panchayati Raj institutionsAddressing panchayat leaders from across Jammu and Kashmir Birla said with the holding of local elections in the union territory democracy has strengthened at the grassroots level and democratic institutions have become more answerable to peopleJammu and Kashmir is moving towards peace prosperity and development And I invite all panchayat leaders to visit parliament in the national capital The Lok Sabha Secretariat will organise training and capacity-building programmes for you Birla saidLater at a press conference Birla said he would advise all parliamentary committees to regularly visit remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh and the northeastern statesI would suggest all parliamentary standing committees to regularly go on study visits to far-flung areas of UTs of Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh and north-eastern states The aim of these visits would be to understand the ground realities and suggest possible solutions for mitigating grievances of the local people Birla saidDuring his visit Birla visited remote areas of both UTs such as Pangong Tso Lake and Pahalgam and interacted with local panchayat leaders He is scheduled to visit Gulmarg on WednesdayIn the last few months 13 parliamentary committees and more than 300 MPs have visited the Kashmir valley and more than 200 MPs have visited Ladakh PTI JTR RT RT