Lucknow, Nov 14: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Friday, met the state’s World Cup winning Women’s Cricket Team player Deepti Sharma and also led a Cabinet meeting which took 20 key decisions, including one on easing the registration process for old age pension, an official said.

Sharma, who is serving as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the state, was praised by Chief Minister Adityanath for her good performance in the World Cricket final and winning the Player of the Tournament award.

“Deepti has done the Uttar Pradesh Police proud at the world stage,” CM Adityanath had tweeted soon after the women’s cricket team lifted the World Cup on November 2.

Cricketer Deepti Sharma was earlier appointed as DSP in January this year under the sports quota as part of Chief Minister Adityanath’s Skilled Athlete Scheme.

During the Cabinet meeting held at the CM residence on Friday, CM Adityanath led his Ministers in congratulating the women’s cricket team for winning the World Cup.

The Cabinet also condemned the fatal Delhi blast on November 10.

A key decision taken at the meeting relates to saving the elderly the trouble of running around for pension.

The Cabinet decided that the social welfare department will deploy call-centre executives to contact and seek consent of the beneficiary and fill their forms online through common service centres.

The forms will be verified using family IDs before the release of their pension, saving the elderly to run around to complete formalities.

As a pilot project, the scheme will be tried in five districts, including Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Hardoi, Kannauj and Lalitpur, an official said.

In the existing system, an online application by an elderly person seeking pension needs the verification by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and village Block Development Officer before an approval from the District Magistrate-led Committee.

An official said the proposed new system will speed up the entire process.

The scheme will benefit all elderly over the age of 60 with an annual income of Rs 56,460 or less in urban areas and Rs 46,080 or less in rural areas.

The Cabinet also approved a scheme to provide car loan to employees of judicial services.

Other Cabinet decisions included approval for a private university in Shahjahanpur and beneficial rate revision for cane procurement.

Mumbai: Bangur Nagar Police have arrested two men from Mumbai’s Goregaon West for stealing a mobile phone that an autorickshaw driver had strapped to his steering wheel for navigation. The accused, Sohail Khan (26) and Sandeep Mohite (36), both residents of the Bhagat Singh Nagar slum, were taken into custody after the midnight theft on November 11. Police said both men are currently unemployed.

The incident occurred around 12.30 am on Link Road near the slum colony. the complainant, 44-year-old rickshaw driver Manoj Sav, was seated in his vehicle waiting for passengers when the duo swiftly snatched his phone, worth Rs 6,000. The device had been secured to the steering using a rubber band. Sav realised the theft only later and later lodged a complaint at Bangur Nagar Police Station.

During the investigation, police first traced and arrested Sohail Khan. His interrogation led officers to the second accused, Mohite. Based on their statements, police recovered two stolen mobile phones worth Rs 11,000, indicating that the men had likely committed multiple thefts in the area.

Further checks revealed an extensive criminal history for Mohite. Police records showed he has 22 previous cases registered across Bangur Nagar, Goregaon and Kasturba Marg police stations. Due to his repeated involvement in theft and related offences, Mohite had previously been externed from city limits by DCP Sandeep Jadhav. Khan, too, has two prior cases registered against him at Goregaon and Bangur Nagar.

Police officials said the arrests have helped crack multiple theft incidents reported recently and added that further investigation is underway to determine whether the duo were involved in additional crimes.

Mumbai, Nov 14: Indian equity indices recovered from early losses to end the session on a positive note on Friday as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed towards a landslide win in the Bihar elections.

The key indices remained volatile throughout the session as counting for votes for Bihar’s Assembly election continues.

Sensex settled at 84,562.78, up 84.11 points or 0.10 per cent. The share index started the session at 84,060.14, falling over 400 points against last day’s closing of 84,478.67 amid caution ahead of Bihar election results. However, the index jumped over 550 points from the day’s low to close in green.

Nifty closed at 25,910.05, up 30.90 points or 0.12 per cent.

“Indian markets today witnessed a roller-coaster session with the benchmark index Nifty showing sharp two-sided moves. In the first half, Nifty surged and tested the crucial 26,000 level before facing resistance and slipping lower later in the day,” Ashika Institutional Equities said in its note.

Volatility remained elevated as investors stayed cautious ahead of Bihar election results, which hold significant political importance.

Tata Motors, Eternal, Axis Bank, BEL, Trent, SBI, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, Adani Airports, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, ITC and NTPC were the top gainers from the Sensex basket. Infosys, Tata Steel, Tata Motors PV, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Tech Mahindra ended the session lower.

Sectoral indices experienced a mixed approach with selling in the IT and auto sectors and buying in the FMCG, banking and finance stocks. Nifty Bank rose 135 points or 0.23 per cent, Nifty Fin Services jumped 95 points or 0.35 per cent, and Nifty FMCG closed 317 points or 0.57 per cent higher. While Nifty IT slipped 378 points or 1.03 per cent, and Nifty Auto fell 143 points or 0.52 per cent.

Broader market followed suit as well, with Nifty Midcap 100 closed flat, Nifty Small Cap 100 rose 68 points or 0.38 per cent, and Nifty 100 ended the session slightly up.

Rupee traded in a narrow range near 88.70 as the dollar index remained flat around $99.20, offering limited directional cues.

“With no major U.S. data releases due to the recent shutdown, the market stayed largely dependent on flows, where mixed FII activity and consistent DII buying kept the rupee in a confined band. Crude prices have begun to rebound, and if WTI sustains above $60, it may add fresh pressure on the rupee in the coming sessions. Overall, the rupee is expected to remain range-bound with levels seen between 88.45–88.95,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.