HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.15 pm: NATION DEL73 PERSONNEL-LD RESHUFFLE Vikram Dev Dutt appointed Air India chief, Manish Kumar Gupta is new vice chairman of DDA New Delhi: Senior bureaucrat Vikram Dev Dutt has been appointed as the Chairman & Managing Director of Air India Ltd as part of a senior-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Tuesday.

DEL74 MEA-JAISHANKAR-LD TALKS UAE FM calls up Jaishankar, condoles loss of Indian lives in terror attack in his country New Delhi: Foreign Minister of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan called up External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday and expressed condolences over the loss of Indian lives in a terror attack in the Gulf country.

DEL64 DEF-RDAY-LD PARADE COVID effect: Only 5,000-8,000 people to be allowed to attend Republic Day parade this year, vaccination mandatory New Delhi: The number of people allowed to attend the Republic Day parade this year is likely to be curtailed to approximately 5,000-8,000 due to the COVID-19 situation, with seats reserved for construction workers, frontline health workers and others, senior officials of the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

DEL75 PB-ED RAIDS-LD CHANNI Punjab CM says ED raids an attempt to put pressure, target him & his ministers in poll season Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that there was an attempt to put pressure and target him and his ministers as the polling day drew near, hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided multiple locations in the state, including those linked to a relative of him.

DEL38 PB-AAP-2NLD MANN Bhagwant Mann is AAP's CM face for Punjab Assembly polls Chandigarh: Bhagwant Mann will be the AAP's chief ministerial face for the February 20 Punjab Assembly polls, the party announced on Tuesday.

DEL32 VIRUS-TESTING Centre flags decline in Covid testing, asks states to enhance it New Delhi: Flagging a decline in the number of COVID-19 tests in many states and union territories, the Centre has asked them to enhance testing so that an effective track of the spread of the pandemic can be kept and immediate citizen-centric action can be initiated.

DEL22 VACCINE-PRECAUTION DOSE-MANDAVIYA Over 50 lakh healthcare, frontline workers taken precaution dose of Covid vaccine New Delhi: Over 50 lakh healthcare, frontline workers and citizens aged 60 years and above have been administered the precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine since January 10, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. BOM9 MH-COURT-LD ANIL DESHMUKH Court denies bail to ex-Maha home minister Anil Deshmukh in money laundering case Mumbai: Aspecial court here on Tuesday rejected a plea filed by former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh seeking `default bail' in an alleged money laundering case.

CAL18 AS-MG-BORDER-RECOMMENDATIONS Assam may concede claims on half of disputed border with Meghalaya: Report Guwahati: Assam has indicated it may concede half of its claimed areas along the disputed border with Meghalaya, according to a report finalised by the joint committees of the two states formed to look into the issue. BUSINESS DEL68 BIZ-GAIL-DIRECTOR-SUSPEND Govt suspends GAIL director Ranganathan after CBI arrest New Delhi: The government has suspended E S Ranganathan, Director (Marketing) of GAIL (India) Ltd, after his arrest by the CBI over allegedly taking bribes to give discounts to private companies buying petrochemical products from the state-owned gas utility.

DEL56 BIZ-LD-RUPEE Rupee slumps 33 paise to 2-week low on high crude prices, rate hike worries Mumbai: Continuing its fall for the third straight session, the rupee on Tuesday slumped by 33 paise to close at a two-week low of 74.58 against the US dollar as a strong American currency and elevated crude oil prices continue to weigh on investor sentiments.

LEGAL LGD19 SC-ACCUSED Accused entitled for fair trial, opportunity be given to make representation against sentence: SC New Delhi: An accused is entitled to a fair trial and must be given an opportunity to make a representation against the sentence to be imposed on him and should be given a fair opportunity to defend himself, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.

LGD14 UP-HC-LAKHIMPUR-BAIL Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Allahabad HC reserves order on bail plea of Union minister's son Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on the bail plea of Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra alias Monu in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which eight people including four farmers were killed.

FOREIGN FGN31 NEPAL-MADHES-PROVINCE-LD NAME Nepal's Province 2 bordering India named 'Madhes Pradesh' Kathmandu: Nepal's south-eastern Province 2 bordering India has been named Madhes Pradesh with Janakpur retained as its capital, settling a long-standing debate on the region's official reference after it was made a province in 2015. By Shirish B Pradhan FGN25 LANKA-INDIA-CREDIT-PETROL India extends USD 500 million line of credit to help Sri Lanka purchase fuel Colombo: India on Tuesday announced a USD 500 million credit line to help Sri Lanka purchase petroleum products as the island nation struggles with a massive fuel and energy crisis. PTI CJ CJ