HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the highlights at 1700 hours:

TOP NEWS:

DEL70 3RDLD BUDGET Populist push in Budget before polls: Rs 5 L income exempt from tax, Rs 6,000 cash to small farmers

New Delhi: Making a big populist push in its final budget before elections, the Narendra Modi-government Friday exempted people with an earning of up to Rs 5 lakh from payment of income tax, announced an annual cash dole-out of Rs 6,000 to small farmers and provided a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to workers in the unorganised sector.

DEL73 BUD-LD AGRI Bonanza for 12cr distressed farmers, govt to give Rs 6,000/yr to buy inputs

New Delhi: To woo distressed farmers ahead of general polls, the Centre Friday announced a direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to those holding cultivable land up to two hectare, a move that would benefit 12 crore farmers and cost the exchequer Rs 75,000 crore annually.

DEL33 BUD- LD DEFENCE Defence budget pegged at Rs 3.05 lakh crore

New Delhi: An outlay of Rs 3.05 lakh crore was Friday set aside for the defence budget for 2019-20 which was a hike of around Rs 20,000 crore compared to allocation of Rs 2.85 lakh crore in the current fiscal.

DEL51 BUD-HOME MHA gets Rs 1.03 lakh crore; emphasis on border infrastructure, police modernisation

New Delhi: For the first time, budgetary provisions for the Home Ministry has crossed the Rs 1-lakh crore mark and is pegged at over Rs 1,03,000 crore for the next fiscal, with special emphasis on improving border infrastructure of police forces.

DEL64 BUD-PM Budget empowers all sections of society: PM

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the interim budget touches all sections of the society and includes everyone, asserting that it is a merely a "trailer" of what will guide India towards prosperity after the Lok Sabha polls.

DEL59 BUD-RAHUL Giving farmers Rs 17 a day insult to everything they stand, work for: Rahul

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged the government destroyed the lives of farmers over the past fiver years, and said its Interim Budget announcement of "Rs 17 a day" for them was an insult to everything they stand and work for.

NATION:

DES7 NCR-DND-TRAFFIC Farmers' rally to affect traffic on Delhi-Noida route via DND: Police

Noida (UP): Traffic between Delhi and Noida via DND is likely to get affected on Friday afternoon due to a proposed rally by a farmers' group, said officials.

DES10 BUD-CBI Nominal cut in budget allocation for CBI

New Delhi: The country's premier investigation agency CBI has been allocated Rs 777.27 crore in the interim union budget for 2019-20, a marginal reduction from last year's allocation.

BOM2 MH-JAYAPRADA-AMARSINGH Even if I tie rakhi to Amar Singh, people will talk about us: Jaya Prada

Mumbai: Actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada Friday said she considered Amar Singh her "godfather" but added that people would continue to talk about them even if she tied him a rakhi.

CAL5 WB-CEC CEC seeks explanation from WB govt on absence of Kolkata CP in Thursday meeting

Kolkata: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora Friday sought an explanation from the West Bengal government over the absence of the Kolkata police commissioner during a meeting of the EC's full bench here.

CAL7 BUD-MAMATA Interim budget has no value: Mamata

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Friday the interim budget for 2019-20 had absolutely no value as the term of the NDA government would end soon.

LEGAL:

LGD14 SC-2NDLD BASSI SC seeks CBI, interim chief's reply on DSP Bassi's plea challenging transfer

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday sought responses from the CBI and its interim director M Nageswara Rao on a plea of Deputy Superintendent of Police A K Bassi challenging his transfer to Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

LGD16 GREEN-AGRA NGT orders UP govt to submit 25 cr for failure to curb pollution in Agra

New Delhi: Major pollution is being caused in the Yamuna at Agra by dumping of garbage and sewage, the National Green Tribunal has said and directed the Uttar Pradesh government to furnish a performance guarantee of Rs 25 crore for its failure in discharging its duties.

FOREIGN:

FGN9 US-FORCEFEEDING-INDIANS US immigration authorities force-feed detainees from India, Cuba

Washington: At least six immigrant detainees, including Indians, have been force-fed through nasal tubes by immigration authorities in the US after they went on a hunger strike to protest conditions at a processing centre in Texas, drawing a strong reaction from Indian-American groups which described it as violation of human rights.

FGN10 US-CHINA-3RDLD TALKS Trump says he will meet Xi to strike "great" trade deal as US-China talks end with no agreement

Washington: US President Donald Trump said he would soon meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to try to secure a "great" trade deal between the world's two largest economies as crucial talks to resolve the tariff war that rattled the global economy ended without any deal.

SPORTS:

SPD5 BUD-SPORTS Allocation for sports increased by over Rs 200 crore in 2019-20 interim budget

New Delhi: The government on Friday increased the sports budget by Rs 214.20 crore for the financial year 2019-2020, including a hike in funds for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and incentives for sportspersons.