Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the state-of-the-art office-cum-residential complex of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, ITAT at Cuttack, Odisha today evening through video conferencing. 
 
Union Law Minister, Petroleum Minister, Chief Minister of Odisha, Chief Justice and Judges of Orissa High Court, along with other dignitaries would also be present during the event.
 
On this occasion, an e-Coffee Table Book on ITAT will also be released.
 
AIR correspondent reports, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, ITAT, is an important statutory body in the field of direct taxes and its orders are accepted as final, on findings of fact.
 
It is presently headed by Justice (Retd) P.P. Bhatt, formerly Judge of the High Court of Jharkhand and High Court of Gujarat.
 
ITAT was the first Tribunal to be created on 25th January, 1941 and is also known as Mother Tribunal.
 
Starting with three benches in 1941 at Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta it has now grown to 63 Benches and two circuit benches spread across thirty cities of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ro-Pax terminal at Hazira and flagged off the Ro-Pax ferry service between Hazira and Ghogha in Gujarat through video conferencing.

He also interacted with the local users. He renamed the Ministry of Shipping as the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said today, people of Gujarat have got their Diwali gift. Everyone will benefit from this better connectivity.

He added that business will be boosted and connectivity will become faster. He further said RO-PAX service between Hazira and Ghogha has made dreams come true for the people of Saurashtra and South Gujarat, as the journey is shortened from 10-12 hours to 3-4 hours.

He said this will save time and expenses will also be reduced. He said about 80000 passenger trains and 30000 trucks will be able to take advantage of this new service in a year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects worth around 614 crores in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi this morning via video conferencing. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be present on the occasion. Prime Minister will also interact with the beneficiaries of these projects during the event.
 
Commissioner of Varanasi Deepak Agrawal said that around 1500 people will participate in the program through video conferencing. There is an arrangement of live display of the program at 6 places in the city on big screens and through 5 LED mobile vans. The 16 projects which will be inaugurated include Sarnath Light and Sound show. The show is going to be a major attraction for the tourists who reach this heritage site from all over the world. With the inauguration today the first light and sound show will be organised for the public at 7.15 evening.
 
During the event, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for projects including the redevelopment of Dashashwamedh Ghat and Khidkiya Ghat, barracks for PAC police force,  along with  upgradation of the multi-purpose hall in Girija Devi Sanskritik Sankul, and development of tourist places.

India’s latest all-weather earth observation satellite EOS-01 will be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) this afternoon, using the workhorse rocket PSLV-C49. Nine other customer satellites will also be carried into space by the rocket, in its 51st flight. It will be ignited at 3.02 pm, from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in southern Andhra Pradesh, close to Chennai. The 26-hour countdown for the launch mission began  at 1.02 pm yesterday and is progressing smoothly.

This will be India’s first mission from her launch pad at Sriharikota this calendar year. The ISRO scientists say the sequence of preparations ahead of the launch, as part of the countdown, is progressing with precision. The earth observation satellite EOS-01 is equipped with the synthetic aperture radar that has an enviable resolution. Coincidentally, the launch of its peer RISAT-2BR1, is the previous mission that took place from the national spaceport in December last year. The intended applications of the satellite include in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support. Its operational life will be five years, providing crucial data, seamlessly. 

India on Wednesday successfully flight-tested the enhanced version of Pinaka multi-barrel rocket system (MRLS). Indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the enhanced Pinaka along with guidance Pinaka will cover the range between 60 to 90 kilometres and will be deployed by the Indian Army.

The test-flight was carried out from Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.

The DRDO said that this new rocket system has a longer range with reduced length compared to the earlier variant (Mk-1), which will now be phased out. The design and development has been carried out by Pune-based laboratories of DRDO, Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL).

Indian Naval Ship, Airavat reached Port Sudan yesterday as a part of Mission Sagar-II. Indian government is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic, and towards the same INS Airavat is carrying a consignment of 100 Tonnes of food aid for the people of Sudan.
 
Mission Sagar-II, follows the first ‘Mission Sagar’ undertaken in May-June 2020, wherein India provided food and medicines to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.
 
As part of Mission Sagar-II, INS Airavat will deliver food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.
 
Mission Sagar-II, is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region ‘SAGAR’ and highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her maritime neighbours and further strengthens the existing bond.

West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels, who top-scored in both of the team’s T20 World Cup final wins during a career that also had its share of controversies including a two-year ban for corruption, has retired from all forms of cricket.

‘ESPNcricinfo’ reported that Cricket West Indies chief executive Johnny Grave confirmed to it that Samuels had told CWI of his retirement in June, having last played in December 2018.

While his overall batting average is not overwhelming, Samuels was known as the man for big occasions, evidences of which were his exploits in the team’s T20 World Cup title triumphs in 2012 and 2016.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of General Insurance Business of Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited (Bharti AXA) by ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited (ICICI Lombard) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.

Earlier in August, ICICI Lombard announced its merger with Bharti AXA's non-life insurance business. The combined entity is set to emerge as the third-largest non-life insurer in India. Post the proposed deal, ICICI Bank's shareholding will come down to 48.1% while Bharti & AXA will together hold ~7.3% stake in the merged entity.

The exchange ratio for the same stands at 2 shares of ICICI Lombard for every 115 shares held by the shareholders of Bharti AXA General Insurance business. ICICI Lombard believes that there is significant headroom available for operating leverage and cost-effectiveness and that they do not require any capital raise at the moment given the solvency margins remain well above the regulatory requirements.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Sunday midnight handed over the Lucknow airport to the Adani group on lease for a period of 50 years.

The AAI had handed over the Mangaluru airport to the group on October 30 midnight.

The central government in February 2019 privatised six major airports of the country -- Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. After a competitive bidding process, the Adani group won the rights to run all of them for 50 years.

"On November 2, 2020, at 00:00 midnight, AAI's senior officials exchanged Memorandum & handed over Lucknow Airport @aailkoapt to @AdaniOnline," the AAI said on Twitter.

"Shri A.K Sharma, APD (Airport Director), Lucknow exchanged symbolic key in accordance with concession agreement & future development," it added.

The AAI had signed concession agreements with the Adani group on February 14 for operations, management and development of the Mangaluru, Lucknow and Ahmedabad airports.

Shane Watson, the former Australia all-rounder and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener, formally announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old released a video announcing the decision on Tuesday. “This closing chapter is going to be so hard to top, but I am going to try. I truly am forever grateful to have lived this amazing dream,” said the caption.

Watson had informed about his decision after CSK’s final IPL 2020 match against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, which the Yellow Army won by nine wickets.

“It all started as a dream as a young kid saying to my Mum, as I watched a Test match, that I want to play for Australia. Now as I officially announce my retirement from all cricket I feel crazily lucky to live my dream,” said Watson.