With the announcement of the seven-phase polling for assembly elections for five states on Saturday, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into force with immediate effect. ....

Stating that the Union Budget is for the whole of India and not just the poll-bound states, the Election Commission said on Saturday that there is no need to defer the Budget presentation on February 1. ....

A 1987-batch IPS officer, Viresh Kumar Bhawra, on Saturday assumed the charge of Director General of Police (DGP) in Punjab, replacing Siddharth Chattopadhyaya. ....

For the first time ever, the election commission of India on Saturday announced a campaign curfew in the five poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand as it announced the complete schedule of the election, starting from February 10. As of now, no rallies will be allowed till January 15, the election commission said. The situation is dynamic and will be reviewed only after January 15, the CEC said. ....

Spanned over seven phases, the elections to five states Assemblies -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gao, Punjab and Manipur -- would be held from February 10 to March 7, and the counting of votes will take place on March 10, the Election Commission of India announced on Saturday. ....

A court in Kothagudem town of Telangana on Saturday sent TRS MLA Vanama Venkateswara Rao's son Vanama Raghavendra Rao to judicial custody for 14 days in a case relating to the suicide of a businessman, his wife and their two daughters. ....

A private helicopter, chartered by a couple from Karnataka who was travelling to Kerala for treatment, made an emergency landing in Erode district on Saturday due to bad weather. ....

With more than 73,000 new Covid-19 registered in the last seven days, speculations are rife that West Bengal, which has already announced formation of micro-containment zones, might impose a full lockdown curb the unprecedented spike. ....

The Gangasagar Mela, which occurs at West Bengal's Gangasagar (also known as Sagar) Island during Makar Sankranti every year, starts today and will continue till January 16. ....

Appointments for the ‘precautionary dose’ of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine in India will begin from Saturday, according to the announcement made by the central government. The Centre has also said that no new registrations in the CoWin platform would be required for those taking the shot. ....

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged on Friday that BJP councillors have increased the budget of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to Rs 1,851 crore from its targeted budget of Rs 400 crore. ....

Noted actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan has urged the Tamil Nadu government to implement the Right to Service Act with immediate effect. ....

Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday lashed out at Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa for behaving like "cowards" by running away from their responsibilities. ....

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu aimed a jibe at the BJP over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach, saying he was "troubled" only by a 15-minute wait. The farmers, he said, had to wait for more than a year to get the farm laws scrapped. ....

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had cancelled her major poll rallies due to the Covid-19 surge, will start campaigning for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls virtually from Saturday. ....

India on Friday revised the existing guidelines for all international arrivals in India in view of the rising Covid cases and the Omicron threat, to make seven days home quarantine mandatory. ....

After reports of construction of a bridge at Pangong Tso lake by the Chinese forces emanated, the Congress has questioned the government about the status at the borders. ....

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve all records in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, and also asked the state and Central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday, when it will take up the matter again. ....

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was to inaugurate the National youth festival at Puducherry on January 12, has cancelled his visit due to a surge in Covid cases in the Union Territory (UT) and Tamil Nadu. ....

An FIR has been registered against hairstylist Jawed Habib after a video went viral showing him spitting on a woman's head while giving her a haircut. ....