India successfully conducted an interceptor missile test off the Odisha coast Sunday night, achieving a major milestone in developing a two-layer Ballistic Missile Defence system, defence sources said.

The interceptor was launched from Abdul Kalam Island, earlier known as Wheeler Island of the Integrated Test Range (ITR), at about 8.05 pm, the sources said.

This Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) mission is for engaging the targets in the exo-atmosphere region at an altitude above 50 km of the earth's atmosphere, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist said.

State-run telecom firm BSNL has inked a pact with Japan’s Softbank and NTT Communications to roll out 5G and internet of things (IoT) technology in India, a top official has said.

“We have signed an agreement with Softbank and NTT Communications to roll out 5G and IoT products and services in India. Under the agreement, we will look at solution specially for the smart cities,” BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Shrivastava told PTI in an interview.

He said most of the BSNL competitors are still looking at monetising their 4G services and hence leading companies have started looking at the State-run firm for 5G services roll out.

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA: Opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the Maldives' presidential election, results showed Monday, a surprise defeat for President Abdulla Yameen following a campaign observers said was rigged in the strongman's favour.
Results released by the Elections Commission early Monday morning showed Solih had secured 58.3 percent of the popular vote.

Celebrations broke out across the tropical archipelago with opposition supporters carrying yellow flags of Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and dancing on the streets. There was no response from Yameen after results were announced.

Solih had the backing of a united opposition trying to oust Yameen but struggled for visibility with the electorate, with local media fearful of falling afoul of heavy-handed decrees and reporting restrictions.

There were also no other candidates at Sunday's election held with all key dissidents either in jail or exile.

Earlier in the night Solih had called on Yameen to concede defeat once the tally showed he had an unassailable lead.

"I call on Yameen to respect the will of the people and bring about a peaceful, smooth transfer of power," he said on television.

rime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Sikkim's first-ever airport at Pakyong on Monday. The Prime Minister arrived in Sikkim on a two-day visit on Sunday.

He will also address the people at the St Xavier's School at Pakyong after inaugurating the airport.

The Prime Minister reached in an MI-8 chopper from Bagdogra and was received by Governor Ganga Prasad, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and others at Libing Army Helipad. He was given a gun salute by the Army there.

rime Minister Narendra Modi launched Centre's flagship Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) from Ranchi on Sunday, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). However, the scheme will now become operational from September 25 on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. The ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme, renamed the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan (PMJAY) aims to provide coverage of Rs. 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families, according to a release issued by PIB (Press Information Bureau).

Fuel prices continue to soar across the country, pushing the petrol price in Mumbai today past the Rs 90 per litre mark. A litre of petrol in Mumbai costs Rs 90.08, while the price in Delhi is Rs 82.72. Diesel, meanwhile, is being sold at Rs 78.58 per litre in Mumbai and Rs 74.02 per litre in Delhi. In Patna, petrol is priced at Rs 91.96/litre –one among the highest in the country — and diesel at Rs 79.68/litre.

According to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the largest fuel retailer in India, petrol is retailing at Rs 83.37/litre in Bengaluru, Rs 82.14/litre in Lucknow, Rs 84.54/ litre in Kolkata, Rs 87.70/litre in Hyderabad, Rs 85.17/litre in Guwahati and 85.99/litre in Chennai. Diesel prices too registered a surge in major metros across the country. In Bengaluru diesel is priced at Rs 74.40/litre, in Lucknow at Rs 74.15/litre, in Kolkata at Rs 75.87/litre, in Hyderabad at Rs 80.51/litre, in Guwahati at Rs 77.40/litre and in Chennai at Rs 78.26/litre.

Midsized private sector lender Yes BankNSE -29.04 % has paid Rs 38 crore in fines to the GST department for alleged violations in domestic remittances, officials said Friday.

A bank official, however, said the money has been paid "in protest" and the lender believes that it has not violated any norms.

The bank, which saw Friday its stocks bleed as much as over 35 per cent intra-day and close with a loss of 29 per cent after news came out that the RBI has asked incumbent CEO Rana Kapoor to step aside by end of next January, has paid the fine earlier this week.

Many peers have received similar demands and the "in protest" protest payment will be taken to its logical end, the officials added.

The issue relates to remittances by migrants from urban pockets to their homes in rural areas. The tax department feels the bank has violated norms and under-paid the tax, while the bank feels the opposite.

Over Rs 32 crore has been paid to the GST department, while Rs 6 crore has been paid in

Mumbai: Village Rockstars, an Assamese language feature by National Award-winning filmmaker Rima Das, was on Saturday selected as India’s official entry for the best foreign language film category of the 2019 Academy (Oscar) Awards.

Village Rockstars beat 27 other contenders, including Hichki, Padmaavat, Raazi, Love Sonia, Nude, Pihu and Padman, said Rajendra Singh Babu, chairman of the Film Federation of India.

Das is the writer, director, cinematographer, editor and producer of Village Rockstars, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017.

The coming-of-age film tells the story of 10-year-old Dhunu, a young girl from a remote village in Assam, who dreams of owning a guitar and forming a rock band despite the abysmal financial situation at home.

The film has travelled to more than 70 film festivals around the world. At the 65th National Film Awards earlier this year, the 87-minute drama also won four awards — for Best Feature, Best Editing, Best Location Sound Recordist and Best Child Artist.

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday relaxed know-your-client (KYC) requirements norms for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

After considering the interim recommendations of the Sebi working group under the chairmanship of Harun R. Khan, a former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, the capital markets regulator said beneficial ownership criteria in Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, or PMLA Rules, should be made applicable for purpose of KYC and not for determining eligibility of FPIs.

The World Women's Boxing Championships, to be hosted by India after more than a decade, will be held from November 15 in the national capital, a top official of the international body said on Friday.

"The AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships will be held in New Delhi in November 13-25," an official of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said.

The marquee tournament was last held in India in 2006 and remains the best for the country in terms of performance. India had topped the medal tally with four Gold, three Silver and one Bronze medal.

The celebrated M C Mary Kom, who has been nicknamed 'Magnificent Mary' by the AIBA, will be gunning for a sixth world title at the event which would conclude with the finals on November 24.

She won successive Gold medals in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 editions.

"The deadline for registration in the AIBA Database to the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships is October 5," the official said.

In the last edition of the event, which started in 2001, India won just a Silver, through Sonia Lather in the featherweight (57kg) category. The first edition of the women's world championship was held in the Unites States in Scranton in 2001. All participating countries would be required to land in New Delhi before November 13.