Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announces 12,500 coaches for festive season

Intraday, Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 85,978 and 26,277 respectively.

At closing, Sensex was down 264 points or 0.31 per cent at 85,571 and Nifty was down 37 points or 0.14 per cent at 26,178.

The market decline was led by banking stocks. Nifty Bank fell 541 points or one per cent to 53,834.

In the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma, Reliance, Titan, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, TCS, SBI, M&M and ITC were the top gainers. Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T, UltraTech Cement, HUL, JSW Steel and Axis Bank were the top losers.

Selling was also seen in the mid and smallcap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was down 88 points or 0.15 per cent at 60,381 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 19,242, down 19 points or 0.10 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, IT, PSU Bank, pharma, metal and energy were major gainers. Fin Service, FMCG, realty, media and private bank were major laggards.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said: "The Nifty took a breather after a few days of continuous gains. The sentiment remains strong as the index continues to stay above important moving averages. This strength is likely to persist as long as it remains above 25,900."

"On the higher end, a fresh round of rally may begin above 26,300. If the Nifty moves above 26,300, it could potentially rise towards 26,600," De added.

Another expert said: "Metals stocks saw a resurgence, while the Pharma and IT sectors saw an uptick on account of weakness in INR. Meanwhile, investors are looking forward to the Q2 earnings report, anticipating an improvement in earnings outlook."

--IANS

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While delivering his speech at a two-day conference of the district collectors here on Friday, the Chief Minister said, “There is no question of any compromise with corruption. This can be as clear a message as possible from me.”

He further stated that collectors are the last mile connectivity between the government and the people. The responsibility of fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the people lies on the shoulders of the collectors. People will reap the benefits of various welfare schemes launched by the government through the successful implementation of those schemes.

“The new government is committed to the development of Odisha. Our government will take several steps to develop agriculture, education, health, industry, infrastructure in villages and urban areas, the empowerment of women, and the acceleration of the state's economic development. The success of these initiatives will reach the people through your hard work and dedication and the hopes of our new government to make Odisha the number one state in India could be realised too,” he said.

He added that the major cause of worry for a government is the successful beginning and completion of the schemes launched by the government.

“I have personally realised during my long political career that there is a huge deviation in it. And there is corruption, irregularities and escalation of project costs due to the inordinate delays. I have observed a general trend that work usually progresses at a snail’s pace throughout the year while all of a sudden expenditure for work goes up at a lightning speed in the month of March. This leads to deterioration in the quality of work. There is no dearth of funds in our government and the funds are being allocated timely. So, there cannot be any excuse for inordinate delay in the progress of work owing to the scarcity of funds,” he said.

He asked the officials to write to the concerned departments to resolve if they come across such issues. The officials have also been advised to contact the finance department and the Chief Minister if the issues are not resolved. He urged the officials to ensure the timely completion of various projects.

He also advised the collectors to conduct quarterly monitoring of block-wise and scheme-wise implementation along with financial and physical progress. The chief minister emphasised the convergence between different departments of the government for the successful implementation of the scheme.

He urged the collectors to conduct field visits to monitor the progress of the status of the implementation of the schemes.

--IANS

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After a delayed start due to a wet outfield, India capitalised on seam-friendly conditions early on, but the visitors slowly clawed their way back into the contest, thanks to a promising partnership between Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque.

Rohit Sharma’s decision to bowl first paid off immediately as India’s pacer Akash Deep, who has been on a roll, made early inroads. He struck twice in his first spell, leaving Bangladesh at 33/2. 

Zakir Hasan fell for a duck, undone by a beautiful delivery from Akash that angled in and shaped away late, edging to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully for a stunning low catch. Shadnam Islam followed soon after, trapped lbw by Akash in a decision that was initially given not out but overturned upon review, thanks to Rohit’s smart use of DRS.

Bangladesh were reeling at 78/2 by lunch with their hopes for recovery rested on their captain Shanto and the experienced Mominul Haque. Both batters weathered the Indian pace attack, with Mominul gradually finding his rhythm and displaying some lovely stroke play.

Shanto, on the other hand, played with solid technique to grind out runs on a pitch that appeared to be flattening out as the day progressed.

However, it wasn’t long before Ravichandran Ashwin worked his magic. India’s ace off-spinner broke through Shanto’s resistance with a clever arm-ball, luring the Bangladeshi skipper into playing for spin before trapping him lbw. 

Shanto’s dismissal for 31, just when he seemed set to anchor the innings, was a blow to Bangladesh’s hopes. Mushfiqur Rahim was then tasked with steadying the ship alongside Mominul. 

The afternoon session saw Bangladesh show signs of recovery, with Mominul playing some aggressive shots, including a couple of boundaries, to relieve the pressure. The pitch, though unpredictable earlier, seemed to ease for batting as the day wore on. But just as momentum began to swing toward Bangladesh, bad light interrupted play and persistent drizzle, forcing an early end to the day.

The early stoppage was a relief for India, as the Bangladeshi middle order, led by Mominul, was starting to assert itself. Mominul remained unbeaten on 40, with Mushfiqur at the other end.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 107 for 3 in 35 overs at Day 1 (Monimul Haque 40 not out, Najmul Hasan Shanto 31: Akash Deep 2-34, Ravichandran Ashwin 1-22) against India

--IANS

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