The third meeting of the Advisory Council of the 15th Finance Commission was held in New Delhi today. 

During the meeting, the Council Members were d by the Commission on the progress made in terms of State Visits by the Commission and consultations with the RBI, bankers and financial institutions. 

Besides, issues of Public Sector Borrowing Requirement, issues concerning GST and its implementation, transparency in publishing accounting data related to debt and deficit, interest rates and private investments were also discussed in detail. 

According to an official release, views of the members were sought on the possible scenario for macro variables like GDP projections.

Renowned character actor and one of the most recognisable faces in the Telugu cinema, Rallapalli breathed his last at a corporate hospital, here on Friday.  He was 73 and is survived by a daughter. 

Rallapalli was diagnosed with a liver disease and brought to the hospital about four days ago. His condition remained critical and at about 6 pm on Friday, he was declared dead. Born in Kambadur village in Anantapur district on August 15, 1945, Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao initially dabbled in theatre while working in Song and Drama Division of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting before being introduced as a film actor with Stree. 

Rallapalli, who had acted in about 850 films, essayed a variety of roles and carved a niche for himself with his inimitable and witty style of acting. Rallapalli, who shot to fame with late director Eranki Sharma’s Kukka Katuki Cheppu Debba (1979), won three Nandi awards -- Best Actor for the National Award winning film Oorummadi Brathukulu (1976), Best Male Comedian for Patnam Pilla Palletoori Chinnodu (1986) and Best Supporting Actor - Television for Ganapathi (1998). 

Normal life across Odisha, particularly in western districts, has been paralyzed following an intense heat wave condition, which is prevailing for more than a week. 

As many as 10 places of the state recorded temperature over 40 degree Celsius. Mercury rose to 45.5 degree Celsius in Titilagarh followed by 44.6 degree Celsius in Bolangir and 44 in Sonepur yesterday. 

Most of the Western Odisha towns have crossed 43 degrees Celsius. As per the information, five persons lost their lives reportedly due to sunstroke in different places of the State yesterday. 

The Bhubaneswar Met office has predicted that mercury is likely to be above normal in interior and western Odisha, while hot and humid weather is likely to prevail in coastal parts of the State for next few days. Scorching heat and drinking water crisis have compounded the miseries of people in these areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Dehradun this morning on a two-day visit to Uttarakhand.

Mr Modi will perform Pooja at the Kedarnath shrine today.

Prime Minister will also review the development works at Kadarpuri.

Mr Modi will visit the Badrinath shrine tomorrow before returning to Delhi. 

Polling is underway in Australia for Parliamentary elections. Voting is taking place for 150 members of the House of Representatives (the lower house) and 76 seats of Senate (the upper house).

Australia, one of the world's oldest continuing democracies, has mandatory voting and a record 16. 5 million enrolled voters.

This is the first general election since political infighting ousted the nation's fourth leader in a decade.

The nation holds elections every three years, but no Prime Minister has succeeded in serving a full term since 2007.

Surveys have shown that the economy, cost of living, environment and health are central concerns for voters.

India has expressed its full support for sustainable peace, economic development and stability in Afghanistan.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj gave this assurance to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's Special Envoy and High Peace Council Secretary Umer Daudzai in New Delhi yesterday.

Mr Daudzai briefed the Minister on the outcome of the recently held Loya Jirga in the country.

Both sides also discussed India’s role in Regional Peace Consensus with regards to Afghanistan, progress in peace talks and bilateral relations.

Mr Daudzai also met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay K Gokhale.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited has appointed Nitin Chugh as its next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from December 1, 2019.

The appointment comes at the end of an extensive search undertaken by the board as a part of the succession planning process, pursuant to the upcoming retirement of the bank’s current MD and CEO, Samit Ghosh, on November 30, 2019.

The bank has received the approval of its application for Chugh's appointment, from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 14, 2019. Nitin Chugh will join the bank by August 2019 as President and will work closely with Samit Ghosh, existing MD and CEO to ensure a smooth transition.

Pakistan's currency hit an all-time low against the US dollar after it dropped to Rs 148 per dollar in the inter-bank market. 

The devaluation followed bailout package by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the weekend. 

The IMF agreed to provide USD 6 billion to Pakistan under stringent conditions, including a higher role of market forces in determining currency rates. 

Opposition parties blamed Imran Khan-led PTI government's policies for weakening the national currency. Maryyium Aurangzeb of PML-Nawaz said in Islamabad that the prime minister is responsible for the mess in which he has landed the country. 

US Navy chief Admiral John Richardson said his recent visit to India was a "critical opportunity" to strengthen ties between the two navies and sharing views on a multilateral approach in maintaining maritime domain awareness in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

Richardson, who was on a three-day visit to India, met his Indian counterpart Admiral Sunil Lanba and other senior officers and discussed joint exercises between the two navies amid rising Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

He told reporters in Washington that both the countries have explored ways to make the growing relationship between the US Navy and the Indian Navy "more vibrant". 

Commandos of the National Security Guard, NSG, scaled the Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, in their maiden attempt. 

The NSG  in a statement said in New Delhi today that a seven-member team led by Lt Col J P Kumar, successfully unfurled the Indian flag at the 8,848-metre tall peak at about 7 am today. The team adopted the southeastern approach via South Col in Solukhumbhu region of Nepal.

NSG Director General Sudeep Lakhtakia congratulated the team, saying "Everest demands doggedness, tenacity, perseverance, courage and multiple skills to survive in toughest conditions.