News18 Evening Digest: Govt Likely to Hike MSP, Sensex Tumbles Over 800 Points and Other Top Stories

Govt Hikes MSP of Rabi Crops Amid Farmers’ Protest, Announcement Likely Soon: Sources

The Union Cabinet has approved an increase in minimum support price (MSP) for crops, sources told News18 on Monday. The move is aimed at placating angry farmers on protest across Punjab and Haryana, as well as countering the opposition which has been bolstered by the BJP’s longtime ally Akali Dal walking out of the government over the controversial farm bills. READ MORE

Sensex Plummets 812 Points, Nifty Cracks Below 11,300 as Virus Fears Dent Sentiment

Indian shares ended lower on Monday, dragged by banking and metal stocks, as a rise in coronavirus cases at home and abroad dented investor sentiment. The Nifty index fell as much as 2.19% to 11,252.6 and the benchmark BSE Sensex was down 2.02% each at 38,990.76. The fall wiped off Rs 4.58 lakh crore investor wealth. IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, followed by Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, M&M, Maruti, Axis Bank and ONGC. On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Infosys and TCS were the gainers. READ MORE

In Historic First, 2 Women Officers Set to Join Crew of Frontline Indian Navy Warships

In a historic first, two women officers — Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi and Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh — will be deployed as “Observers” onboard Indian Navy warships as part of the ship’s crew, paving the way for women air combatants to operate from frontline warships. They would be the first set of women airborne combatants who would be operating from warships. Earlier, entry of women was restricted to the fixed wing aircraft that took off and landed ashore. READ MORE

Flying High: Air Force’s Rafale Squadron to Get First Woman Fighter Pilot Soon

After the Indian Navy, the air force may be ready to break another glass ceiling with a woman fighter pilot being trained to operate the newly inducted Rafale jets. Sources told News18 that a woman fighter pilot is currently being trained to join the Golden Arrows squadron operating the Rafale fighter jets. She has been flying MiG-21 fighters and was selected for the Rafale fleet following an internal process, sources said. READ MORE

Over 78% People in India Used Their Connections to Get Covid-19 ICU Bed in Hospitals, Finds Survey

Only 4% patients were able to get a Covid-19 ICU bed through the routine process, while 78 per cent had to use connections and clout, a survey by LocalCircles revealed on Monday. Of the 17,000 respondents, 92% said that it should be mandatory for hospitals to post and upgrade real time Covid-19 ICU bed availability. READ MORE

Internet is Convinced Walter White from ‘Breaking Bad’ Sent Ricin to Poison US President Trump

2020 keeps getting wilder with every passing month. On Sunday, an envelope addressed to the White House and intercepted by US authorities contained a substance identified as ricin, a deadly poison. While ricin is an uncommon concept to most, fans of the popular TV series Breaking Bad will know otherwise. Protagonist Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, had tried to use ricin to kill a major character on the show. Now the Internet is convinced it was indeed Walter White who sent the ricin to the White House. READ MORE