Heavy rains and floods in Andhra Pradesh have so far claimed 15 lives and affected more than 4.48 lakh people across seven districts, officials said on Monday.

Three persons are reported missing in rain-related incidents in NTR district. A total of 19 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 20 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deployed for search and rescue operations in the affected districts.

Navy authorities were requested to arrange two helicopters to take up search and rescue operations in the affected areas. One helicopter has already arrived at Vijayawada.

The state government has requested the Centre to arrange six helicopters for airlifting of stranded people and air-dropping food items. It also sought 10 NDRF teams and 40 motorised boats for undertaking search and rescue operations.

Officials said that 80 boats (37 non-motorised and 43 motorised) were arranged to evacuate people from inundated areas in Vijayawada. Another 39 boats from Kakinada, Eluru and Prakasam were on the way to Vijayawada.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said there is no restriction on selling or buying land by any individual in the state amid the ongoing controversy over putting a bar on land transfer.

Sarma told reporters here, “We have brought a bill to protect the iconic structures in the state which are 250 years old by making ‘heritage belt and block’. This a bid by the state government to protect the culture of Assam by giving protection to indigenous people. However, barring those places, there are no restrictions in selling or buying land in any place in Assam.”

He said, “Any person who has white money can buy land anywhere in Assam. There is absolutely no problem in that matter.”

The Assam Land and Revenue Regulation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed in the state Assembly last week. This bill introduced Chapter 12 into the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Act, 1886, allowing the government to designate a ‘Heritage Belt and Block’ around iconic structures over 250 years old.

Bollywood actress and fashionista Sonam Kapoor is set to start shooting her first project post pregnancy early next year and said that she loves living so many interesting characters through her profession.

Sonam confirmed: “I’m super excited to face the camera again post my pregnancy. I love being an actor and I love living so many interesting characters through my profession. Human beings fascinate me and I love playing varied roles. I’m looking forward to my next.”

She added: “I will return to the sets early next year. Details of this project are currently getting locked so I won’t be able to talk at length till the announcement is made. It’s a big project. That’s all I can say right now.”

The domestic commercial vehicle industry is projected to grow at a modest 0-3 per cent in FY25, against the earlier estimated decline of 4-7 per cent, a report showed on Monday.

The current fiscal will be the second consecutive year of growth for the industry after a 1 per cent and 3 per cent YoY growth in wholesale and retail sales, respectively, in FY24, according to credit rating agency ICRA.

This follows a better-than-expected volume growth in four months in current fiscal and expectations of a marginal uptick in demand in the second half.

“Looking ahead, we expect a recovery in volumes in H2 FY25 aided by a back-ended government capex, some pick-up in private capex across manufacturing sectors, and an improvement in rural demand, following visibility around the Kharif crop output and farm cash flows,” said Kinjal Shah, senior vice president and co-group head, corporate ratings, ICRA.

Shambhu border of Haryana-Punjab will not open yet. A hearing on this matter was held in the Supreme Court on Monday. In which the SC has formed the High Power Committee. The Supreme Court said that we are forming a committee, but are not deciding on any issue. This authority is being given to the committee. Officials of Punjab and Haryana are also included in this committee.

A major flood warning was issued on Monday in the Australian island state of Tasmania, with people living near major rivers told to evacuate immediately.

Residents near the Derwent and Styx rivers in Tasmania's southeast were on Monday morning advised to leave immediately, reports news agency.

TasAlert, the state's emergency warning system, said that the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued a major flood warning for the Derwent River, with properties expected to be isolated or inundated by flood waters by Monday afternoon.

"Flood waters are a threat to safety," the TasAlert warning said. "Property, livestock, equipment, and crops are likely to be threatened by flood waters."

Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola Electric clocked its lowest monthly sales this year, dropping 34 per cent sequentially to 27,506 units in August, as its market share nosedived further to 31 per cent.

As per vehicle registration data available on the central government's Vahan portal, Ola Electric had a market share of 31 per cent in India's electric two-wheeler (2W) market in August as its closest rivals TVS and Bajaj Auto logged 20 per cent and 19 per cent market share, respectively.

The company’s retail sales of 27,506 units are lowest in the calendar year to date, down by 34 per cent compared to 41,711 units it sold in July.

According to VAHAN data, 88,451 electric two-wheelers were registered in August 2024, as against 62,767 units in the year-ago period — a growth of 41% year-on-year. Sequentially, however, the industry shrank 41.5 per cent.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib, celebrated its 17th Foundation Day with much fervour and enthusiasm.  The event commenced with the bhog of Sri Sehaj Paath, followed by shabad Kirtan by the Universitystudents. Connecting the students with the teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Dr. Hardev Singh, Head of the Department of Religious Studies, motivated the students to adopt Guru Granth Sahib Ji's message in their life. 

In a momentous gathering held at Riyasat E Rana, Sirhind, the Vishva Jagriti Mission’s all  Punjab Mandals came together for the grand launch of the invitation card for the upcoming Sankirtan by Param Pujya Sudhanshu Ji Maharaj. 

"Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan" launched by CM Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab government are playing an important role in making the state "Rangla Punjab". With the help of these games large number of children and youngsters are joining the sports. These views were expressed by S.D. M., Fatehgarh Sahib, Ismat Vijay Singh, at the Office of District Sports Officer, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College on the occasion of the inauguration of the Block Level Games of Block Sirhind under Season 3 of "Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan."