New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India has maintained accelerated growth momentum, after the contraction in 2020, by balancing the immediate needs of the economy with long-term structural reforms.

She said this on Wednesday while speaking in the first session of the 4th G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Washington DC on the sidelines of the ongoing IMF-WB annual meetings 2022.

She spoke on the global economy, focussing on India's economic development and policy responses, the Finance Ministry tweeted.

Sitharaman called for enhanced policy cooperation and sharing of experiences to deal with downside risks and their spillovers.

The Finance Minister is expected to make her interventions in several sessions during the two-day meeting, official sources said.

New Delhi [India], October 12 (ANI): Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala Binoy Viswam has written to Prime Minister Narendra raising objection against the "11th Report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Languages" saying the report gives undue prominence to Hindi in order to make it India's dominant language.

Chitradurga (Karnataka) [India], October 12 (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi resumed the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from the Challakere town, Chitradurga in Karnataka on Wednesday. The Congress leader will also be meeting around 2000 unemployed youth from the southern state.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is in its Karnataka leg and is on its 35th day here. The march started at 6:40 am, informed the veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will be around 2000 unemployed youth from all over Karnataka, said the Congress veteran.
"Day 35 of Bharat Jodo Yatra began at 6:40 am from Challakere and the entire day will be in the historic Chitradurga district. The afternoon interaction of Rahul Gandhi will be with around 2000 unemployed youth from all over Karnataka who face a bleak future in the so-called 'New India'", tweeted Congress party leader Jairam Ramesh.
Karnataka Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, and State Congress chief DK Shivkumar were also present with Rahul during the Karnataka leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra today.
The state party chief shared the visuals of the march on the micro-blogging site, Twitter on Wednesday.
Large people were seen gathering here with Rahul Gandhi raising the tricolour and following the Congress MP to show their support for the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The Indian National Congress shared a photo of Rahul Gandhi interacting with a group of women dressed in traditional attire.
"Tricolor is behind and Josh is high in front. Steps will not stop, as a resolve has been taken to unite the country", INC tweeted in Hindi.
Rahul Gandhi was also seen wearing a 'waist coat' representing Nagaland.The Padyatra will again resume after halting in Griyammanahalli village Arch. The Congress MP will stay in Swami Vivekananda National School, Hirehalli, Chitradurga at night.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra began on September 7 from Kanniyakumari and has covered a distance of 905 km so far. It will pass through a total of 12 states, to culminate in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with 40 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates who are part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra will cast their vote for the party presidential election at the campsite as a special booth will be established for them to take part in the polls.
The voting for the Congress presidential elections is scheduled to be held on October 17 and the padayatra will take a break for a day for voting.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh clearly stated that the voters only need an ID card for exercising their franchise.
All the arrangements have been made at the travel camp for their voting in the election of Congress President.
The Central Election Authority, headed by senior party leader Madhusudan Mistry, will oversee the voting, a notification of which was issued on September 22.
With Gandhis not running for the top post this time around, the grand old party is all set to get a non-Gandhi president after over 25 years. (ANI)

 Prayagraj, Oct 12 (IANS) The Allahabad High Court has observed that a Muslim man, who marries for the second time against the wishes of his first wife, cannot seek a decree from any civil court to compel the first wife to live with him.

The bench comprising Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Rajendra Kumar, made this observation while dealing with an appeal filed by a Muslim man, challenging a family court's order dismissing his case for restitution of conjugal rights.

The bench, while dismissing the plea, said as per the mandate of the Holy Quran, a man can marry up to four women but if he fears that he will not be able to deal with them justly then can marry only one.

"If a Muslim man is not capable of fostering his wife and children, then as per the mandate of the Holy Quran, he cannot marry another woman," the court observed.

The court also opined that a Muslim husband has the legal right to take a second wife even while the first marriage subsists.

"But if he does so, and then seeks the assistance of a civil court to compel the first wife to live with him against her wishes, she is entitled to raise the question of whether the court, as a court of equity, ought to compel her to submit to co-habitation with such a husband," the judges said.

The bench also observed that when the appellant has contracted the second marriage suppressing this fact from his first wife, then such conduct of the plaintiff-appellant amounts to cruelty to his first wife.

"Under the circumstances, if the first wife does not wish to live with her husband, then she cannot be compelled to go with him in a suit filed by him for restitution of conjugal rights. If the contention of the husband for grant of decree of conjugal rights is accepted, then from the point of view of the wife, it would amount to breach of her fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," it added.

 Bhopal, Oct 12 (IANS) Veteran Congress leader and party's presidential poll candidate Mallikarjun Kharge will, on Wednesday, visit the state capital as part of his campaign for the October 17 election.

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) The change of weather, or rather unexpected rains may have brought relief to Delhiites from soaring temperatures, but the present condition has also resulted in an 'unexpected' burden -- in the form of price rise -- which is going to affect the common man's pocket yet again.

Following three days of rain, the national capital is witnessing a sharp rise in prices of vegetables. And if vegetable sellers are to be believed, this will stay for some time now.

In the last week, most vegetable prices shot up by Rs 10 to 15 in the markets. The prices are expected to rise further in the next few days and the reason is "unwanted rains".

Speaking to IANS, Sachin Bhagat, a businessman in Azadpur Mandi, said that rates have already gone up if one compares it with Monday market.

"All the local vegetables which come from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have been impacted with the unwanted rains. The crops got damaged in a few areas.

"Beans were Rs 50 per kg on Monday (wholesale rate), and on Tuesday morning we sold it for Rs70 per kg. Cauliflower was Rs 60 and now reached Rs 80. Spinach was Rs 10 and now Rs 50. Lady finger jumped from 20 to 35, Brinjal from 25 to 50. Beetroot from 20 to 40. These are wholesale rates I am talking about,'' he said.

However, the businessman further claimed that rates will go down in November and December.

"This happens every year. November and December are quite easy going for common man. Fasal achi hoti hai (good harvesting)... so rates go a bit down. Let's hope for the best (if there is no rain like this).''

Lalit Kumar, another vendor in Azadpur Mandi, said the prices of fruits, too, have also gone up.

Skyrocketting prices of essentials has dealt a heavy blow to the public already struggling to recover from the repercussions of the Covid-induced lockdowns imposed in phases since early 2020.

Be it vegetables or foodgrains, the prices have touched the roof, right from taking them out of the farms to reaching the common man's kitchen.

Prices increase manifold by the time it reaches the consumer from the farms via markets, wholesaler and the vendors.

Interestingly, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a video shared by her office last week, was seen buying vegetables during her day-long visit to Chennai. The video shared on Twitter evoked mixed reactions from the netizens.

The Finance Minister was seen buying some sweet potatoes and interacting with vegetable vendors.

Rising food prices have spiked inflation, which has been above RBI's tolerance limit for the past eight months.

 Chennai, Oct 11 (IANS) A 17-year-old boy studying in a polytechnic tied the nuptial knot with a 16-year-old minor girl at a bus shelter in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu in the presence of onlookers. The video of the incident went viral on social media and the Cuddalore police arrested the boy under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

The district police and the District Child Protection Unit launched an investigation after the video of the act went viral and finally, the police arrested the boy on Tuesday.

The boy was sent to a juvenile observation home in Cuddalore while the girl was given counselling at the office of the child welfare committee. The Cuddalore police in a statement on Tuesday said that it arrested another person, Balaji Ganesh. P (51) for circulating the video of the marriage.

Balaji was booked under the Juvenile Justice Act, Prevention of Women Harassment Act, and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act as the boy and girl belong to the Scheduled Caste.

Shillong, Oct 11 (IANS) After having 'strained relationship' with the National People's Party (NPP), which dominated Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced to field candidates in all the 60 seats in the next assembly elections, due in February next year.

Meghalaya BJP President Ernest Mawrie said that the party would contest in all 60 Assembly seats in the state in the assembly election, which is less than five months away from now. "The BJP would do well in Meghalaya in the upcoming polls as the people are very happy for the schemes being implemented by the BJP-led Central Government," Mawrie told the media.

He said that the party has already finalised its strategies to take on the other parties in the ensuing assembly polls.

In the last assembly polls in 2018, the BJP had nominated 47 candidates including two women nominees, and won two seats - Pynthorumkhrah (Alexander Laloo Hek) and South Shillong (Sanbor Shullai). Shullai is now a cabinet minister of the MDA government headed by Chief Minister and the NPP President Conrad K. Sangma.

With two members, BJP is the junior partner of the NPP-led MDA government but the saffron party's relations have been deteriorating since last year on various policy matters.

Last month, state BJP leaders threatened to withdraw support from the MDA government. But the party is now silent on the pullout decision. BJP MLA and Minister Shullai, who holds the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Arts and Culture, Prisons and Correctional Services, Labour Departments, recently indicated that his party might not withdraw support from the MDA government.

With state BJP leaders largely mum after their pullout threat, political pundits are saying that the party's Central leaders did not endorse the state unit's decision. Chief Minister Sangma has already termed the state BJP leaders' threat as an "individual decision" while NPP state President W.R. Kharlukhi described it as "total farce".

Meghalaya BJP President Ernest Mawrie, former Health and Family Welfare Minister Alexander Laloo Hek, BJP national Vice-President and party's Meghalaya in-charge M. Chuba Ao earlier separately said that the state party leaders unanimously decided to withdraw support from the MDA government but the final decision would be taken by the Central leadership.

To a query about the reasons behind the decision to quit the ruling coalition almost at the end of the full five year term, Hek had told IANS that "everything would be disclosed and explained in detail at an appropriate time".

NPP's relation with the BJP had been gradually souring over various issues, specially after the arrest of BJP state Vice President Bernard N. Marak, who was arrested from Uttar Pradesh by the Meghalaya Police on July 25 for allegedly running a brothel in the West Garo Hills district.

Hyderabad, Oct 11 (IANS) From a gun-wielding Maoist to lawyer to a legislator and now PhD in political sciences, Danasari Anasuya's life is full of struggles.

Seethakka, as the Congress leader and member of the Telangana Assembly, is popularly known, Tuesday took to Twitter to declare that she has completed the PhD from Osmania University.

The 50-year-old tribal MLA did her PhD in social exclusion and deprivation of migrant tribals of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh - a case study of Gotti Koya tribes in Warangal and Khammam district.

"In my childhood, I never thought I would be a Naxalite (Maoist), when I am Naxalite, I never thought I would be a lawyer, when I am lawyer, I never thought I would be MLA, when I am MLA I never thought I will pursue my PhD. Now you can call me Dr Anusuya Seethakka PhD in political science," wrote Seethakka, MLA from Mulugu.

"Serving people & gaining knowledge is my habit. I will never stop doing it until my last breath," she said.

She thanked her PhD guide Prof. T Tirupathi Rao, former Vice Chancellor of Osmania University, HOD Prof Musalaia, Prof Ashok Naidu, and Prof Chandru Nayak.

Congratulations poured in for Seethakka on her achievement. Leaders of Congress and people from different walks of life congratulated her and expressed their best wishes for her future endeavors.

Party's central leader and incharge of party affairs in Telangana Manickam Tagore, state Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy, and senior leader Madhu Goud Yaskhi were among those who congratulated her.

Belonging to the Koya tribe, Seethakka had joined Maoist movement at an early age and was heading an armed squad active in the same tribal belt. She participated in many gunfights with the police and lost her husband and brother in encounters.

Disillusioned with the movement, she surrendered to the police under a general amnesty plan in 1994. With this, life took a new turn for Seethakka, who pursued her studies and secured a law degree. She also practised as an advocate at a court in Warangal.

She later joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and contested from Mulug in 2004 elections. However, facing a Congress wave, she finished runner-up. However, in 2009, she won the election from the same constituency.

She finished third in 2014 polls and in 2017, quit the TDP to join Congress. She made a strong comeback in 2018 by wresting the seat despite the statewide sweep by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

Seethakka hit the headlines with her humanitarian work in remote villages in her constituency during Covid-19 pandemic.

Carrying a load of essentials on her shoulders, she walked through the forests, rocky terrain and crossed rivulets to help the needy during the ongoing lockdown.

Having operated in the same forest as a gun-wielding Maoist rebel in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she was not unfamiliar with the terrain. The only difference, in her own words, was that as a Maoist had a gun in her hand and during the pandemic she carried food and other essential commodities.

 Rajkot (Gujarat) [India], October 11 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public meeting at Jamkandorna in Rajkot district of Gujarat today.
"Being in Jamkandorana is always special," tweeted PM Modi. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of Gujarat were present at the public rally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a Gujarat visit on Monday laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple projects worth over Rs 8,000 crore at Amod, Bharuch.
He laid the foundation stone of Bulk Drug Park at Jambusar, Deep Sea Pipeline Project at Dahej, Phase 1 of Ankleshwar Airport and the development of Multilevel Industrial Sheds at Ankleshwar and Panoli.
The Prime Minister also dedicated several projects which will give a boost to the chemicals sector in Gujarat including GACL Plant, Bharuch Underground Drainage and IOCL Dahej Koyali Pipeline.
He said the foundation stone of Bharuch Airport in Ankleshwar has also been laid so that the people here do not have to depend on Baroda or Surat.
Noting that Bharuch district has more industry than some other small states of the country, he said that with the new airport project, the region is bound to take the high road in terms of development.
"This is the new face of Gujarat. Gujarat, in the last two decades, has transformed from a state lagging in every field to a thriving industrial and agricultural state. With busy ports and a developing coastline, the lives of the tribal and fisherman community got transformed," he said.
PM Modi said that due to the hard work of the people of Gujarat, a golden age has started for the youth of the state.
"We should not lose this opportunity by creating an enabling environment free of obstacles, he said. Both policy and intention (Niti and Niyat) are needed for realizing these dreams, he said. (ANI)