DH Evening Brief: Feb 2, 2022

Here are the top headlines this evening.

Crypto not illegal, will be taxed like gambling win, says Finance Secy

The government said it doesn’t treat trading in crypto assets as illegal, a day after it announced taxing such transactions just the same as winnings from gambling. Read more

Will Congress pick Channi over Sidhu as CM face in Punjab?

The Congress central leadership could prefer Dalit leader Charanjit Singh Channi over state congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a Jat Sikh, as its chief ministerial candidate for the ensuing assembly elections on February 20, sources told DH. Read more

Digital rupee can be exchanged for cash: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the digital rupee, proposed in the Union Budget, could be exchanged for cash and will open new opportunities in the fintech sector. Read more

In heated meeting, Centre seeks tougher action from Google, Facebook, Twitter on fake news

Indian officials have held heated discussions with Google, Twitter and Facebook for not proactively removing what they described as fake news on their platforms, sources told Reuters, the government's latest altercation with Big Tech. Read more

Chinese PLA tortured Arunachal youth in its custody: MP Tapir Gao

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) that handed over Arunachal Pradesh youth Miram Taron to the Indian Army on January 27 -- nine days after he was allegedly abducted, had tortured the teenager while he was in its custody, Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao claimed on Wednesday. Read more

Won't talk about it in public, says CM Bommai on Karnataka Cabinet expansion

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday declined to comment on the expansion of his Cabinet even as party legislators mounted pressure on him. Read more

In Pics | Winners and losers in the 'amrit kaal' Budget

Narendra Modi’s government laid out the Budget for the financial year starting April 1, months after a devastating second Covid-19 wave that crippled small businesses and deepened the country’s already vastinequalities. See pics

Don't want to be Hema Malini: Jayant on BJP's bid to engineer defections in RLD

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary on Wednesday accused the BJP of trying to engineer defections in his party ahead of the forthcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. Read more

Union Budget 2022: This policy change offers big boost for Ambani, Adani

India’s plans to classify data centres and energy storage as infrastructure assets allowing firms to access cheap and long-term credit, in a big boost for billionaires Gautam Adani, Sunil Mittal and Mukesh Ambani’s plans to aggressively grow in these segments. Read more