Here are the top 5 news updates of February 5, 2021:
The Congress today appointed Nana Patole as the party's Maharashtra state committee president, replacing Balasaheb Thorat. Patole, the MLA from Sakoli in Bhandara district, had resigned as Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi also appointed six working presidents -- Shivaji Rao Moge, Basavaraj Patil, Mohamed Arif Naseem Khan, Kunal Rohidas Patil, Chandrakanth Handore and Pranati Shushilkumar Shinde -- to work in coordination with Patole.
Ten vice presidents of the state unit, including former Rajya Sabha member Hussain Dalwai, were also appointed. The party also set up a Parliamentary Board in the state with 37 members, a Strategy, Screening and Coordination Committee for the upcoming local bodies elections.
Ahead of the February 6 'chakka jam' by agitating farmers, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait today said the nationwide protest will be peaceful and added that there will be no 'chakka jam' in Delhi. "We have been protesting peacefully and the 'chakka jam' will also be held peacefully across the country on February 6. There will be no chakka jam anywhere in Delhi. The farmers who are unable to join us will hold chakka jam at their respective places," said Tikait. "The people who get stuck will be given food and water, we will peacefully talk to them and explain our point," he added.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police today said adequate security arrangements are in place at borders to prevent any untoward incident and social media contents are under surveillance to prevent the spread of false rumours ahead of 'chakka jam.'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today kept interest rates on hold while assuring to maintain support for reflating the economy by ensuring ample liquidity to manage the government's near-record borrowing. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to continue with the accommodative stance as long as it is necessary to revive growth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy while ensuring that inflation remains within the target, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.
While the Union Budget 2021 laid down an expansive fiscal strategy over the medium term to strengthen the growth engine in the economy, the RBI affirmed its support to such a plan through appropriate monetary tools. To absorb higher government borrowings, the central bank provided retail investors a direct option to invest in government securities. It also sapped some fund from banks by raising the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and use the money for more targeted market operations.
The Supreme Court today granted interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui in a case lodged at Indore in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman also issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh Government on Munawar's plea challenging the high court order refusing to grant regular bail to him.
In the proceedings conducted through video conferencing, the bench, also comprising Justice B R Gavai, also stayed the production warrant issued against the comedian in a separate case lodged in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Faruqui and four others were arrested on January 1 following a complaint by a BJP MLA's son that alleged objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were passed by him during a comedy show at a cafe in Indore on New Year's day.
Extending its winning run to the fifth session, equity benchmark Sensex jumped 117 points today after the Reserve Bank kept interest rates unchanged but continued its accommodative stance to revive growth. The 30-share BSE benchmark briefly crossed the 51,000-level, before ending 117.34 points or 0.23 per cent higher at its fresh closing record of 50,731.63.
Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty scaled the 15,000 mark during the day but shed some ground to close at its all-time high of 14,924.25, up 28.60 points or 0.19 per cent. SBI was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 10 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy's, UltraTech Cement, ITC and HDFC Bank. On the other hand, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Maruti and HCL Tech were among the laggards.
(With input from agencies)
