PMO seeks report from Ministry of Civil Aviation for recent delays in Air India flights due to VIPs
The Prime Minister's office has sought a report from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The PMO has sought information from the ministry on how many flights have been rescheduled to make way for VIP travel. The PMO's action comes as Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis (Air India flight to New York) and minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju (Air India flight from Leh)  are in the line of fire for delaying the flights. Fadnavis flight got delayed as his aide had forgotten to carry proper passport and  Rijiju is facing the heat for allegedly getting passengers de-boarded to accommodate him.

Nationwide mobile number portability from tomorrow
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had extended the deadline for nationwide mobile number portability in May. Operators in India are set to rollout nationwide mobile number portability tomorrow, July 3. A mobile subscriber who purchased a mobile subscription in one state but now lives in another state could now port the number to the local telecom circle with the operator that offers the best tariff. In order to retain subscribers, operators have begun offering free roaming across India on the same number.
 
Madrasas that do not teach primary subjects to be considered 'non-schools', says Maharashtra govt
In a controversial decision, the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra has decided to derecognise madrasas, which do not teach primary subjects, as 'schools'. Madrasas which do not teach primary subjects such as English, Maths and Science would be considered as "non-schools" and children studying in them as "out of school" students, state Minorities Affairs Minister Eknath Khadse said. Khadse added that as of now, madrasas only impart religious education.

AAP government sets aside over Rs 520 crore for advertisements, BJP files complaint with Delhi L-G
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi is slated to spend a whopping amount of over Rs 520 crore on advertisement for FM radio channels.Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia put the blame for the same on media.Sisodia said that the AAP government was compelled to take the step as the media failed to show the work being done by it. The move doesn't seem to have gone down well with the opposition, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed a complaint in this regard with Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung, accusing the AAP government of overspending. The Congress also hit out at the ruling party over the move, alleging that spending public money on "self promotion" amounted to "corruption".

Government will soon appoint heads of major PSU banks: Raghuram Rajan
The government will soon appoint new heads of major public sector banks, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said today. ”The government is seized of the issue — the need to move quickly on the appointment process… Now we are very close to the announcement, but the final word on that has to come from the government,” he told reporters after a meeting of the RBI board in Chennai.

Jaitley shrugs off Congress threat to disrupt Parliament over Lalit Modi ...
Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday shrugged off concerns that the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament  getting washed out over Congress' demand for resignation of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje over their alleged links with Lalit Modi. "Some people may be of relevance to television channels, (but) they have no relevance to governance as far as the government of India is concerned," he told reporters in New Delhi.
 
Sensex Takes a breather after two days of gains, Nifty settles below 8,450
The Sensex ended 75 points lower at 27,946 and the Nifty slipped 8 points to settle at 8,445 as traders booked profits after two days of gains. The benchmark indices for the most part of the day traded on a flat note. The Sensex traded in a range of 200 points and the Nifty touched high of 8,479.25 and low of 8,433.

Sun TV moves supreme court over ED attachment of properties
Dayanidhi Maran-controlled Sun TV Network Ltd approached the Supreme Court on Thursday challenging an attachment of roughly Rs.742 crore of assets by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In June, the Madras high court had refused to entertain Sun TV’s petition regarding this attachment, saying that since it was under the 2G case, only the Supreme Court could hear it.

China ready to talk with India over Lakhvi
Amid India's concerns over China's move to block action against Pakistan over release of Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, China has proposed to discuss the issue with India in the joint mechanism on counter-terrorism. In the first detailed comment from China over its move to block action against Pakistan in the UN Security Council, a senior Chinese official said the two countries are victims of terrorism and are working quite well to combat the menace.

Jaya condemns Stalin for slapping Chennai metro passenger
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday condemned DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin for "slapping" a co-passenger in a metro train. Jayalalithaa said that Stalin travelled in the train on Wednesday only to score political points and gain publicity. "He slapped a passenger in the train and the same has been published by the media. This is condemnable and is unbecoming of a person who is a member of legislative assembly," she said.

Subsidised LPG sales under DBT could save Rs 12,700 crore, says CEA Subramanian
Sales of subsidised LPG cylinders under the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme (DBT) have come down by about 25% as most "ghost beneficiaries" have been eliminated, CEA Arvind Subramanian said. "... essentially, what we find is that on an average, the DBT scheme has reduced subsidised domestic LPG sales by about 25%," Subramanian said while speaking at the UNDP conference call in New Delhi.

India launches online system for foreign employers
India has launched an online registration system for foreign employers who seek to recruit Indian workers, including nurses. According to the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, all the foreign employers need to register in the eMigrate system.The system makes it mandatory for the employer to fill in a registration application which will then be vetted by the Indian mission.
 
Moderate quake in Kashmir Valley, no damage reported
A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale today struck Kashmir Valley, but there were no reports of any damage due to the tremor."A moderate intensity earthquake was recorded at 12.48 pm today," a spokesman of the MeT department said.

BBC to cut more than 1,000 jobs as viewers shift to internet
The BBC said Thursday that it is cutting more than 1,000 jobs, mostly in management, as part of a long-term drive to reduce costs that has been accelerated by changing viewing habits. More people are watching programmes online, leading to a sharper than expected decline in the numbers paying the BBC licence fee levied on all households with a television, the British broadcaster said.

Online recruitment registers a 32% YoY growth in June 2015
A new study shows that online recruitment in India has grown at an escalating pace of 32% year-on-year. The Monster Employment Index, (started in 2010 collects data for month of online job posting activity in the country) shows that the month of June registered the highest increase in online recruitment this year,While the Banking, Financial services and Insurance (BFSI) shows a remarkable growth of 72%, Production and Manufacturing stands follows with 67% YoY growth.