New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9 PM NATION DEL79 PM-WB-2ND LD ANNAPURNA (4.34 PM)

PM Modi highlights 'Annapurna Yojana' as key to empowering women in West Bengal New Delhi/Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the objective of the Centre and the West Bengal government is to give the state’s women both courage and decision-making power to move forward, and the 'Annapurna Yojana' is playing a crucial role in realising this vision.

DEL120 MEA-US-2NDLD ENERGY (8.55 PM)

India warns that Washington's Russia sanctions bill holds implications for bilateral ties, energy market New Delhi: India on Thursday warned that a US sanctions bill on Russia that provides for slapping punitive tariffs of up to 100 per cent on top Russian crude oil importing nations carries potential implications for ties between New Delhi and Washington as well as for global energy market.

DEL94 CONG-US-LD SANCTIONS BILL (6.04 PM)

'Appeasement never pays': Congress jabs govt as US passes Russia sanctions bill New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday took a swipe at the Modi government after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose steep tariffs on Russia's trading partners in oil and gas, saying appeasement has never paid and will never pay.

DEL97 JK-3RDLD ENCOUNTER (6.19 PM)

2 Pakistani JeM terrorists killed, 1 suspect detained in J&K's Udhampur Jammu: Two Pakistani terrorists of the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit were killed and an alleged over-ground worker was detained in a remote high-altitude area in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district, officials said on Thursday.

CAL30 WB-LD MAHUA MOITRA (5.28 PM)

Mahua Moitra moves UN rights body over 'exclusion of Muslim officers' from Amit Shah's Bengal events Kolkata: TMC MP Mahua Moitra has written to the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues alleging that senior Muslim IAS and IPS officers in West Bengal were excluded from official events linked to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visits to the state on account of their religion.

DEL111 TMC-EC (8.08 PM)

Rival TMC factions meet EC officials; Mamata camp opposes interim order, Ritabrata side seeks early decision New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday separately heard the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of rebel leaders over a dispute concerning the party's organisational control, with the former opposing any interim order and the latter seeking an early decision on the election symbol ahead of the October 6 bypolls in West Bengal.

DEL108 LEADERS-LD PM BIRTHDAY (7.53 PM)

Leaders across political spectrum greet PM Modi on 76th birthday, hail his 25-year public life New Delhi: Leaders across the political spectrum greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 76th birthday on Thursday, highlighting his 25 years in public office.

MDS32 KA-DROUGHT-LD TALUKS (8.11 PM)

Karnataka govt declares 23 more taluks drought-hit, tally rises to 124 Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Thursday declared 23 more taluks drought-affected, taking the total number of drought-hit taluks notified so far to 124, amid dry conditions in several parts of the state.

MDS34 KL-CHANNEL-MD-2NDLD ARREST (8.34 PM)

Malayalam news channel MD arrested in excise case amid Messi event probe Kochi: The MD of a private Malayalam news channel was arrested by Excise officials from Kalamassery here in the wee hours of Thursday after liquor in excess of the permissible limit was recovered during a police search at his ancestral house in Wayanad, Excise officials said.

LEGAL LGD36 DL-HC-DUSU-VIOLENCE (7.59 PM)

DUSU polls: Delhi HC warns of staying vote counting over hooliganism, violence during campaigning New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over alleged incidents of violence and hooliganism during campaigning for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections and warned that it would stay the counting of votes and declaration of results if authorities do not take satisfactory action for the "unruly conduct".

LGD33 SC-CBSE-LD LANGUAGES (7.13 PM)

SC asks CBSE to consider implementing three-language policy for Class 6 from next year New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the CBSE to consider implementing its policy mandating the study of three languages, including two native Indian languages, for Class 6 students from the next academic session starting 2027.

BUSINESS DEL110 BIZ-UPI-LD FINMIN (8.07 PM)

No US pressure behind UPI MDR levy; FinMin does not expect shift to cash transactions New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Thursday dismissed allegations that US pressure influenced the decision to levy a 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select UPI transactions, saying the latest NPCI guidelines do not give international credit cards any advantage over RuPay, and asserted that it does not expect the levy to trigger a shift towards cash transactions.

DEL117 BIZ-TATA-SP GROUP STAKE (8.40 PM)

Tata Trusts puts Rs 25,000 cr SP Group liquidity plan before Tata Sons board Mumbai: Tata Trusts Chairman Noel N Tata has placed before the Tata Sons board a proposal from the Shapoorji Pallonji Group to monetise part of its stake in Tata Sons, potentially opening a route to resolve the group's liquidity needs without forcing a public listing of the Tata conglomerate's holding company.

DEL119 BIZ-2NDLDALL TATA-CHAIRMAN (8.55 PM)

Tata Sons in open revolt: Board reappoints Chandrasekaran, Trusts call it illegal Mumbai: Tata Sons plunged into its most serious boardroom crisis since the ouster of Cyrus Mistry after directors voted to reappoint N Chandrasekaran as executive chairman for a further five-year term, prompting Tata Trusts to declare the resolution void and reopen a broader battle over the conglomerate's future.

DEL92 BIZ-SEMICON-INVESTMENT (5.52 PM)

Seeing USD 11-12 bn investment commitments under Semicon 2.0: Vaishnaw New Delhi: The government is seeing investment commitments of about USD 11-12 billion under the newly-launched Semicon 2.0 scheme, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

FOREIGN FGN15 US-2NDLD SANCTIONS BILL (5.41 AM)

US House nod for Russia sanctions bill; trading partners China, Russia on target Washington: The US House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russia and steep tariffs on its trading partners in oil and gas, including India and China.

FGN74 BHUTAN-2NDLD JAISHANKAR (8.32 PM)

India firmly committed to Bhutan's progress: EAM Jaishankar Thimphu: India stands firmly committed to Bhutan’s progress and prosperity, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday after meeting with Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay in Thimphu.

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