LEAD

Within hours of Turkey being hit by a massive earthquake, New Delhi decided to immediately dispatch search and rescue teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), medical teams and relief material.

This was done following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's instructions to offer all possible assistance to Turkey. This outreach is noteworthy in the wake of bilateral ties, which has witnessed ups and downs in the last few years.

“Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted in the morning.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey on Monday, the US Geological Service said.

The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles).

According to AFAD, the government's disaster management agency, the quake's magnitude was 7.4.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha session on Friday was adjourned after sloggenering and rucas over Adani Group row.

The issue started after US based Hindenburg Research released a report accusing Adani Group of stock manipulation. After the release of the report, Adani Group has been in a tug of war with the short seller, but this has not helped the company as most of the company shares have been in the negative.

Leaders of several opposition parties in a press conference demanded a probe into the allegations raised against the Adani Group by US short-seller firm Hindenburg and said the issue is "endangering the hard-earned money of crores of Indians."

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the Opposition has given the suspension of Business Notice in Parliament under rule 267 to discuss the issue of investment by LIC, Public Sector Banks and financial institutions in Adani Group companies losing market value.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday went out of her way to woo the middle class, particularly the salaried — traditional supporters of BJP, but who have at times felt unacknowledged. She announced changes in the personal tax regime that effectively meant anybody with a taxable income below Rs 7 lakh per annum would now have to pay no income tax.

The changes also nudged taxpayers towards the new income-tax regime introduced in 2020-21 by offering a slew of concessions under this scheme while leaving the old tax regime unchanged. The strong push for the new regime was underlined by making it the default option, meaning that anyone wanting to stick to the old regime will have to specifically opt for it.