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After Ghulam Nabi Azad’s resignation, Manish Tewari slams Congress ‘coterie culture’

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 A day after Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the Congress blaming party leader Rahul Gandhi, another G-23 leader Manish Tewari on Saturday slammed the grand-old party for its “coterie culture”.

Talking to IANS over phone, the Anandpur Sahib MP said had the party implemented the suggestions of the G-23 group in December 2020, the current situation would not have arisen.

However, hitting out the at the ‘coterie culture’ he said: “Peons of Congress leaders are giving sermons to those who have given decades to party.” These “so-called” leaders are not capable of winning even the municipal polls.

Asserting that he is not a tenant but a shareholder in the party, the veteran leader said the very fact that Congress is losing all elections confirms that the party is not in sync with the people of the country.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, in his resignation letter, has blamed Rahul Gandhi for the destruction of the party and alleged that proxies are propped up for the president’s post, who will only be a mere puppet.

Azad alleged that the G-23 leaders were abused, humiliated, insulted and vilified in a specially summoned meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee following their letter seeking reforms in the party in 2020.

“Unfortunately, the situation in the Congress party has reached such a point of no return that now “proxies are being propped up to take over the leadership of the party. This experiment is doomed to fail because the party has been so comprehensively destroyed that the situation has become irretrievable. Moreover, the ‘chosen one’ would be nothing more than a puppet on a string,” his resignation letter read.

He said at the national level, the Congress has conceded the political space available to the BJP and state level space to regional parties.

“This all happened because the leadership in the past eight years has tried to foist a non-serious individual at the helm of the party,” he alleged without taking the name of Rahul Gandhi.

Azad alleged that in August 2020 when he and 22 other senior colleagues, including former Union Ministers and Chief Ministers wrote to Sonia Gandhi to flag the abysmal drift in the party, the “coterie” choose to “unleash its sycophants on us and got us attacked, vilified and humiliated in the most crude manner possible”.

National News

iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro Max Prices in India Revealed; Pre-Orders Begin September 12

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Apple has launched the latest iPhone 17 series in India. The four models- iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max – will be up for pre-orders from September 12 at 5.30pm IST. The four iPhone 17 models will go on sale from September 19. The price in India, as anticipated, has seen a slight increase across all models, compared to the iPhone 16 range. For instance, the base iPhone 17 model starts at Rs. 82,900, a slight increase from the base iPhone 16 that started from Rs. 79,900 at launch.

Pre-orders of the iPhone 17 models will start from 5.30pm IST on September 12. Sale begins on September 19.  Apart from the Apple Store, Apple is likely to sell the new range on Amazon and Flipkart as well. Launch offers include no-cost EMI of up to six months, and up to Rs. 5,000 instant cashback on American Express, Axis Bank, and ICICI Bank card holders. Apple Trade-in and GST benefits have also been listed.

Rs. 82900 (256GB)

Rs. ₹102900 (512 GB)

Colour options – Lavender, Sage, Mist Blue, White, Black

Rs. 1,19,900 (256GB)

Rs. 1,39,900 (512GB)

Rs. 1,59,900 (1TB)

Colour options – Sky Blue, Light Gold, Space Black, Cloud White

Rs. 1,34,900 (256GB)

Rs. 1,54,900 (512GB)

Rs. 1,74,900 (1TB)

Colour options – Deep Blue, Cosmic Orange, Silver

Rs. 1,49,900 (256GB)

Rs. 1,69,900 (512GB)

Rs. 1,89,900 (1TB)

Rs. 2,29,900 (2TB)

Colour options: Deep Blue, Cosmic Orange, Silver

Apple has removed the iPhone 16 Pro models from its Apple online store, replacing them with the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. In the iPhone 16 range, only the base iPhone 16 model and the iPhone 16e are listed online.

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National News

Mumbai Metro 3 Progress Report: Aqua Line Connecting Aarey To Cuffe Parade Nears Completion, Final Stretch Awaits Safety Nod – Details Inside

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Mumbai: Mumbai’s ambitious Metro Line 3, the 33.5-km Aqua Line, is nearing completion, promising to transform commuting between Cuffe Parade in South Mumbai and Aarey in the western suburbs. The city’s first fully underground metro has been rolled out in phases. Aarey to BKC has been operational since October 2024, BKC to Worli launched in May 2025, while the final Worli–Cuffe Parade stretch awaits safety clearance, bringing the entire corridor closer to full-scale operations. The mega project has seen several delays in deadlines and is likely to be launched fully very soon.

The city’s long-awaited underground Metro Line 3 project is now in its last lap, with the Worli–Cuffe Parade section awaiting fire safety clearance before inspection by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS). According to Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) Managing Director Ashwini Bhide, commercial operations on the final segment can only begin after CMRS approval, making this the last step before Mumbai’s first fully underground metro corridor becomes fully operational.

The 33.5-km Aqua Line, connecting Cuffe Parade in South Mumbai to Aarey in the western suburbs, has been Mumbai’s most ambitious transport infrastructure project to date. Its completion marks a major milestone in the city’s efforts to decongest overcrowded suburban railways and reduce dependence on private vehicles.

A major achievement came on July 23, 2025, when MMRCL successfully energised the entire stretch by activating the 25 kV traction line. This enabled the commencement of trial runs on the remaining Worli–Colaba Cuffe Parade section. While the launch was initially scheduled for August, pending trial runs and safety clearances have pushed back the timeline slightly. Once CMRS inspection is complete, the corridor can finally open for public use.

The Aqua Line has been rolled out in phases. The first operational stretch, covering Aarey-JVLR to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), was inaugurated on October 7, 2024, offering commuters in the western suburbs direct connectivity to Mumbai’s emerging financial hub. The second segment, running from BKC to Worli’s Acharya Atre Chowk, was flagged off on May 9, 2025, and opened the following day. Together, these two phases cover 22.5 km, which has already seen strong ridership. The final leg from Worli to Cuffe Parade will unlock seamless north–south connectivity across Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the Aqua Line recently crossed the 1 crore ridership mark, as per an update on August 28. Stretching from Aarey JVLR to Acharya Atre Chowk, the corridor has quickly become a vital urban lifeline. Officials hailed the milestone, noting the positive response from commuters who have embraced the new metro as a faster, more reliable alternative.

When fully operational, Metro Line 3 is expected to carry 4.5 lakh passengers daily, with projections of 6.5 lakh trips as ridership scales up. It promises to cut travel time drastically between South Mumbai and the western suburbs, while offering direct rail access to both domestic and international airports, a long-pending demand of the city.

The corridor will also enhance last-mile connectivity to six key business districts, 30 major office hubs, 12 educational institutes, 11 hospitals, 10 transport nodes and 25 cultural and religious sites. Crucially, it will integrate with existing suburban rail at Churchgate and CSMT, and provide relief to congested road corridors like the Western Express Highway.

Beyond its commuter benefits, Metro Line 3 represents a symbolic shift in Mumbai’s infrastructure ambitions. By introducing India’s first fully underground metro corridor at such a scale, it sets a benchmark for future projects.

With safety trials in their final phase, the countdown has begun. Once CMRS approval is secured, the Aqua Line will be opened in its entirety, reshaping Mumbai’s commuting landscape for decades to come.

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Business

Sensex, Nifty jump over positive development on India-US trade talks

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Mumbai, Sep 10: The Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Wednesday, on the back of promising developments in the US-India trade discussions along with strong overnight global cues.

US President Donald Trump’s initiative to improve India-US relations and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s positive response to the same is a positive cue for the Indian market.

The Sensex was up 334 points or 0.41 per cent at 81,435 in the early morning trade, and the Nifty was up 106 points or 0.43 per cent at 24,975.

The broadcap indices made strong gains, as Nifty Midcap 100 inched up by 0.73 per cent, and the Nifty Small cap 100 moved up 0.71 per cent.

In the Nifty pack, Larsen and Toubro, Kotak Mahindra, Dr Reddys Labs and TCS were the major gainers. The major losers were Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel and Hindalco.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT, the top gainer, jumped 1.88 per cent. Nifty PSU bank and Nifty Realty were the other major gainers. Only Nifty Auto (down 0.33 per cent) and Nifty Consumer durables were in the red.

Nifty on Tuesday faced resistance near the 24,900 level for the second consecutive session. The index formed a small green candle with a long lower shadow on the daily chart, reflecting ongoing consolidation and intraday volatility.

“Nifty continued its upward journey yesterday, rising for the fifth consecutive session and closing at a two-week high. By closing above 24791, Nifty managed to reclaim its level above 50 DEMA. The index has now decisively surpassed its 5, 10, 20, and 50-day DMAs, which is a bullish signal on short-term charts,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities.

According to market analysts, buying interest is visible at lower levels, and the 24,900–25,000 zone continues to act as a stiff hurdle. Immediate support is placed at 24,620, and as long as the index trades below 25,000, some consolidation or mild weakness may persist, they said.

US markets made strong gains overnight as the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.43 per cent, while the Nasdaq advanced by 0.37 per cent and the S&P 500 gained 0.27 per cent. The rally was driven by expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts following a sharp downward revision to US job data.

The Asian markets were firmly in green during the morning session. China’s Shanghai index advanced 0.17 per cent, and Shenzhen added 0.24 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.6 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.98 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi inched up 1.55 per cent.

On Tuesday, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) snapped their 11-day selling streak by purchasing equities worth Rs 2,050 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 83 crore.

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