The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Thursday approved the purchase of 97 Tejas fighter jets and 156 Prachanda Helicopters for the Indian Air Force as part of a Rs 1.4 lakh crore package that will go to public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), a senior official confirmed. The DAC headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also gave the go-ahead for the IAF’s plan to upgrade 84 Sukhoi 30 fighter jets.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that he was looking forward to the COP28 summit in Dubai, to move ahead with the concrete steps on climate action that formed part of the New Delhi declaration of the G20. PM Modi said that COP28 will also provide an opportunity to review progress made under the Paris Agreement, and chart the future course on climate action.
An exclusive Exit Poll conducted by CVoter for ABP News has revealed that the Congress is tantalisingly close to retaining Chhattisgarh in the latest round of Assembly elections. This is in contrast to the previous elections in 2018, when the Congress had ended the 15-year reign of the BJP by sweeping the state, winning 68 out of 90 seats.
The air quality in the national capital remained in "poor" category on Thursday, according to the data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). However, Bawana station recorded PM 2.5 at 449 and PM 10 at 418, in the severe category while the CO reached 60, or "satisfactory".
At least five people were killed in Gujarat's Kheda district, while two others are battling for their lives, after consuming a toxic ayurvedic syrup. The syrup 'Kalmeghasav - Asava Arishta', reportedly contained lethal methyl alcohol and was sold over the counter in Bilodara village near Nadiad town.
At least four persons of a family were injured in a house crash triggered by a gas cylinder explosion in Chembur, north-east Mumbai around dawn of Wednesday. According to BMC Disaster Control, 11 persons were rescued from the crash debris after the explosion that rocked the vicinity around 7.30 a.m.