National

India to invite Imran, other leaders for annual SCO meet

INDIA will invite Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan along with other leaders for the annual meeting of council of heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation later this year, officials said. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that all eight member countries, four observers and dialogue partners of the grouping will be invited for the meeting. “The meeting is held annually at the Prime Minister’s level and it discusses the SCO’s programme and multilateral economic ..

Those who did nothing in 60 years questioning Modi Govt, says Shah

UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hit out at the Congress and other Opposition parties for spreading negativity on jobs and economy fronts, saying those who did nothing in 60 years of their rule are now questioning the Modi Government. ..

Rajnath flags off 51st K-9 Vajra-T gun in Guj

DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday flagged off the 51st K-9 Vajra-T gun at the Larsen and Toubro Armoured Systems Complex at Hazira, Surat. The L&T officials showed the Minister the different manoeuvres of the K-9 Vajra-T, a tracked self-propelled howitzer. Rajnath Singh sat in the vehicle on which the gun was mounted and was driven around the Hazira complex. ..

Harish Salve appointed as Queen’s Counsel for England and Wales

INDIA’S former Solicitor General and senior advocate Harish Salve has been appointed as Queen’s Counsel for the courts of England and Wales. He will be formally appointed as QC in March this year. His name featured on the list of appointments of those ‘taking silk’ (a reference to their court dress), which was released by the UK’s Ministry of Justice in January. The title of QC is awarded to those who have demonstrated particular skill and expertise in the conduct of advocacy. Salve was India’s lead ..

States sponsoring terrorism must be taken to task: CDS

CHIEF of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Thursday pitched for strong global action against states sponsoring terrorism,saying there is a need to take the bull by its horns and strike at the root cause. In an address at the Raisina Dialogue, Gen Rawat also said there is a need to take a hardline approach in dealing with terrorism, the way the US went after terror groups after the 9/11 terror attacks. “As long as there are states which sponsor terrorism, we will have to live with the menace. We ..

31 lakh pilgrims take holy dip at Ganga Sagar on Makar Sankranti

OVER 31 lakh pilgrims from different parts of the country, and neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal, on Wednesday took holy dip at the confluence of the sacred Ganga and the Bay of Bengal on the occasion of ‘Makar Sankranti’. Around 40 lakh people have congregated here for the pilgrimage, “breaking all previous records”, a senior State Government official said. “Till noon, more than 31 lakh people have taken dips in the holy waters...

Clear files in 3 days: Gadkari to Transport Ministry officials

ROAD Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has asked his Ministry officials to expedite decision-making by clearing files in three days while cautioning that non-performers would be given compulsory retirement. The Minister on Tuesday said that he has sought a list of non-performing officials in his Ministry for showing the exit door. The Minister, a day earlier, had warned “non-performing” officials or “dead assets” in his Ministry who neither take decisions nor allow others to work of showing ..

Nirbhaya case convicts can’t be hanged on Jan 22: HC told

THE Tihar Jail authorities here on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that “hanging of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case can’t take place on January 22.” “Execution of convicts will surely not take place on January 22. The fate of a death-row convict comes to a finality only after his mercy plea is rejected by the President. “Also, it can only take place 14 days after the mercy plea’s rejection. The prison rules say a 14-day notice must be provided to the convicts after rejection ..

ED arrests 2 for money laundering in H’bad

THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said that it has arrested two persons in Hyderabad in connection with a money laundering probe case linked to an alleged over Rs 1,700 crore bank loan fraud case. G S C Raju, promoter of Leo Meridian Infrastructure Projects and Hotels Ltd (LMIPHL), and his close associate A V Prasad were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and have now been remanded to ED custody, the agency said in a statement...

‘Indo-Pacific concept initiated to disrupt existing structure’

HITTING out at the US over the concept of the Indo-Pacific, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday said that it was initiated to disrupt the existing structure and contain China. Addressing the gathering at the Raisina Dialogue, he also said that an equitable democratic order should not be influenced by use of brutal force. Lavrov also backed India and Brazil to be permanent members of the UN Security Council...

India’s way is not to be disruptive: Jaishankar

INDIA’S way is not to be disruptive and it is more of a decider than an abstainer, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday. The remarks come at a time when several countries have called for a greater Indian role in the Indo-Pacific. Addressing a gathering at the Raisina Dialogue here, Jaishankar referred to tensions between the US and Iran and said that they are two individualistic countries and what finally happens will depend on the players involved. Discussing ties with China, ..

Scrapping Art 370 a historic step: Army chief

ARMY chief Gen M M Naravane on Wednesday hailed the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 as a “historic step” and said the move has disrupted plans of the “western neighbour and its proxies,” in a clear reference to Pakistan. The armed forces have “zero tolerance against terrorism”, he said at the 72nd Army Day function held at the Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi Cantonment. “We have many options to counter those who promote terrorism and we will not hesitate to use them,” he said...

Creation of CDS post good for ex-servicemen’s welfare: Rajnath

DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said military veterans had inspired the Government to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff, predicting that it will also help in the welfare of ex-servicemen. He said that the veterans had asked for the creation of the post...

Himachal makes world record by preparing largest quantity of khichdi on Makar Sankranti

TATTAPANI, HIMACHAL Pradesh has made it to the Guiness Book of World Records for preparing the largest quantity of khichdi that had to be tilted out of its enormous container with a crane in order to be served to devotees on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Tuesday. A team of 25 chefs cooked 1995 kg of the dish at Tattapani in Mandi district in a vessel weighing 270 kg, with the dimensions of four feet depth and seven feet diameter, that was especially acquired from Jagadhari in Haryana, said the ..

Millions of pilgrims gather at Gangasagar to take a holy dip on Makar Sankranti

MILLIONS of devotees from across the world, including France, Russia and Australia, have flocked to Sagar Island in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas for taking a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Wednesday. Every year during the auspicious occasion, pilgrims converge at Sagar Island, 130 km from Kolkata, to take a religious bath at the confluence of the Hooghly river and the Bay of Bengal and offer prayers at Kapil Muni Ashram...

PM, Jaishankar attend inaugural session of Raisina Dialogue 2020

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the inaugural session of Raisina Dialogue 2020 -- India’s annual global conference on geopolitics and geo-economics -- here on Tuesday. The flagship conference jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation has been India’s contribution to global efforts to discover solutions, identify opportunities and provide stability to a century that has witnessed an eventful two decades...

Govt institutions may introduce Yoga breaks

Y-BREAK or Yoga break -- a 5 minute exercise designed for the workplace to help professionals de-stress and refresh -- may soon become part of the schedule at Government institutions and corporate bodies. Developed by the Ministry of AYUSH through the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, with inputs from reputed Yoga experts, trials of Y-break protocol were launched by the AYUSH Ministry on Monday. Nearly 15 institutions including several corporate houses like Tata Chemicals, Axis Bank and Ernst ..

SC spurns curative pleas by 2 Nirbhaya convicts

THE Supreme Court Tuesday refused to stay the execution of two of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case while dismissing their curative petitions against their conviction and capital punishment. The four convicts -- Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail as a Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7. A five-judge bench of the apex court, during in-chamber ..

Reports not true about Gallantry Medal to Davinder Singh: Police

THE Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday said reports claiming that suspended officer Davinder Singh, who was arrested along with two Hizbul terrorists, was awarded a Gallantry Medal by the Union Home Ministry are not true. The recipient of the medal was another officer with the same name, it said. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Singh was arrested on Saturday in Kulgam district’s Mir Bazar while he was ferrying the two terrorists -- Naveed Baba and Altaf -- in a car...

Special pensions likely for 1965, 1971 war veterans: Army chief

THE Indian Army has proposed special pensions to be given to Emergency Commissioned and Short Service Commissioned officers who had fought in the 1965 and 1971 wars fought against Pakistan, Army chief General M M Naravane said on Tuesday. The Army chief was speaking at an event on Armed Forces Veterans Day...

Farm loan write-offs touch Rs 4.7 lakh cr in last 10 years with new Mah offer: Report

VARIOUS States have cumulatively written off a whopping Rs 4.7 lakh crore of farm loans in the past one decade, which is 82 per cent of the industry-level bad loans, according to a report. In FY19, farm loan NPAs jumped to 12.4 per cent or at 1.1 lakh crore of the Rs 8,79,000 crore of total bad loans in the system, up from Rs 48,800 crore or 8.6 per cent of the total NPAs of Rs 5,6,6,620 crore in FY16, the report by SBI Research said...

Reveal your power, believe you can do it: PM to youths

RECALLING Swami Vivekananda’s conviction in youths’ power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted the young generation to “reveal that power”, while lauding them for leading “new stream of innovations” in the country. Mentioning some of his Government’s most crucial steps, including annulment of Article 370 of the Constitution and surgical and air strikes against Pakistan, the Prime Minister said “Our Government is with young spirits and dreams.”..

109 children were sexually abused every day in India in 2018: NCRB

AS MANY as 109 children were sexually abused every day in India in 2018, according to the data by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), which showed a 22 per cent jump in such cases from the previous year. According to the recently released NCRB data, 32,608 cases were reported in 2017 while 39,827 cases were reported in 2018 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). POCSO Act, 2012 is a comprehensive law to provide for the protection of children from offences of sexual ..

Newspaper vendor’s daughter cracks Haryana Civil Services examination

THIS is a kind of a success story which everyone dreams of, but there are a few like 26-year-old Shivjeet Bharti, who can make dreams come true against all odds. One of the 48 students to clear the Haryana Civil Services (Executive) examination (HCS), Bharti is one among the many who come from a humble background. Bharti is the daughter of a newspaper vendor from a nondescript village, Jaisinghpura in Haryana, where the state government is pushing the “Beti Bacho, Beti Padhao” campaign to change the ..

Now, watch 200 channels in Rs 130 instead of 100: TRAI

TELECOM Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made amendments to New Tariff Order (NTO) allowing consumers to have 200 channels instead of 100 at the same price of Rs 130. “There were 100 channels which were given at Rs 130 and it included mandatory channels broadcasted by Prasar Bharati. Now, you have 200 channels in Rs 130 excluding the Prasar Bharati channels,” said RS Sharma, TRAI Chairman. “Fine-tuning the provisions of New Tariff Order (NTO) we are providing more channels to consumers,” he ..

Nusli Wadia withdraws defamation cases, Rs 3,000 cr damage suit against Ratan Tata

BOMBAY Dyeing Chairman Nusli Wadia on Monday withdrew all defamation cases including the Rs 3,000 crore suit for damages against Tata group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and others. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde allowed Wadia to withdraw the petition in the apex court after the court recorded that Tata and others had no intention to defame him (Wadia)...

PoK has been ours and will always be, says Ajmer Dargah Diwan

AJMER Shareef Dargah Divan Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan has openly welcomed the statement of Army chief M M Naravane and has appealed to the Indian Government to direct the Indian Army to take whatever measure they think is right for merging Pakistan occupied Kashmir with India. A video of Khan’s appeal has gone viral on social media...

‘Respect for all religions inherent in Indian blood’

VICE President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said respect for all religions was inherent “in the Indian blood” and asserted secularism does not mean ‘insult’ or appeasement of one particular faith. For a long time, India has sheltered persecuted persons and given refuge to many, Naidu said at an event here to mark the centenary of Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam, a Tamil monthly of Sri Ramakrishna Math. Speaking on the occasion coinciding with the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, Naidu said people should ..

Yogi, Naqvi inaugurate ‘Hunar Haat’

UTTAR Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday inaugurated the 12-day ‘Hunar Haat’ in Lucknow which seeks to provide employment opportunities and market exposure to artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts. On the occassion, Adityanath said the traditional art of the master artisans of the country is being enthusiastically projected through the ‘Hunar Haat’...

Fortunate to have got a chance to spend night at Belur Math: Modi

DESCRIBING Belur Math as a pilgrimage site, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said visiting the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, in Howrah district, was nothing short of “homecoming” for him. The Prime Minister also contended that he was grateful to the authorities of the monastic order for granting him an opportunity to spend a night at the Math...

‘J&K top cop arrested along with 2 terrorists is being treated at par with ultras’

A SENIOR police officer, posted with the strategic anti-hijacking team at Srinagar airport, was arrested along with two terrorists whom he was ferrying in a car in Kashmir Valley, a top police officer said here on Sunday. Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said it was a ‘heinous crime’ and Davinder Singh was being treated at par with the terrorists and jointly interrogated by all security agencies. While refusing to divulge details of the probe so far, Kumar said that after the ..

PM renames KoPT after Syama Prasad Mookerjee

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday rechristened Kolkata Port Trust after Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, drawing criticism from the Opposition camp, which said he was more of a “name-changer” than a “game-changer”. Modi, while addressing the 150th anniversary programme of Kolkata Port Trust, invoked Mookerjee and B R Ambedkar and said their contributions had led to the development of the country post Independence, but suggestions made by them were not implemented after they resigned ..

‘India aiming at $250 bn maritime economy by 2024’

INDIA is looking at a USD 250 billion maritime economy by 2024, which the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has the responsibility to safeguard, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said here on Sunday. India’s exclusive economic zone in the seas along its 7,500-kilometre coastline comprises over 2 million square kilometres, he said. “With a target of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024, we are looking at over USD 250 billion coming from the maritime zone. “It is this USD 250 billion economy that the ICG has ..

3 militants killed in J&K encounter

THREE “most wanted” Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed on Sunday in an encounter with security forces in the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said. The terrorists -- Umer Fayaz Lone alias “Hamad Khan” of Seer village, Faizan Hamid of Mandoora and Adil Bashir Mir alias “Abu Dujana” of Monghama -- were wanted for their complicity in terror crimes, including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities, a police spokesman said...

Govt decides to withdraw NSG from VIP security duties

AFTER effecting a major VIP security cut and withdrawal of SPG cover from the Gandhis, the Union Government has now decided to completely remove NSG commandos from this task, official sources said. This will be after over two decades that the ‘black cat’ commandos of the elite counter-terror force will be taken out from VIP protection duties, a task not originally charted for it when the force was conceptualised and raised in 1984...

History written after Independence overlooked several major aspects: PM

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said several important aspects of the country’s history were overlooked by historians who wrote about it after Independence without delving deeply into the subject. One of the key aspects of nation-building is to preserve the country’s heritage, he said. “We want to show before the world our country’s heritage, wan to make India a hub of heritage tourism. Five iconic museums of the country will be developed to international standard, starting with the Indian ..

JNU forms 5-member committee to look into Jan 5 violence

THE Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Saturday formed a five-member committee to look into the violence on the campus on January 5. The committee comprises Prof Shashant Mishra, Prof Santosh Vipula, Prof Mazar Asif, Sudheer Pratap Singh and Prof Bhaswati Das. JNU Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar had said on Friday that classes will start from January 13. Delhi Police Crime Branch, which is investigating the case of violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University, had on Friday identified nine suspects ..

HC restrains ‘Chhapaak’ makers from screening film without credit to lawyer

THE Delhi High Court on Saturday restrained the makers of Deepika Padukone-starrer ‘Chhapaak’ from screening the film without giving credit to the lawyer, who represented acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal on whose life the movie is based, for inputs she shared with them...

Researchers from IIT-KGP develop device that can perform CBC test for Rs 10

RESEARCHERS from the IIT- Kharagpur have developed a spinning disc-based device that can perform Complete Blood Count (CBC) test with 95 per cent accuracy at only Rs 10, the institute said in a statement on Saturday. The average present cost of CBC -- a collection of commonly required blood tests routinely suggested by doctors to assess a wide range of diseases -- is Rs 200...

Modi, Mamata meet at Raj Bhawan

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met on Saturday at Raj Bhawan, amidst ongoing protests across the city against the amended Citizenship Act. The agenda of the meeting has not been disclosed...

Ready to take PoK: Army chief Naravane

WHILE maintaining that both Northern and Western frontiers are equally important for India, Army chief General M M Naravane on Saturday said whenever Government gives the go-ahead, his force is ready to take away Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Making it clear that accordingly rebalancing of deployment of the forces and weapons are being carried out, the General commenting on Pakistan occupied Kashmir said: “If Parliament wants that area should be taken we will definitely do so and action will be taken ..

‘ISIS sympathiser’ wanted by TN police held in Guj

AN alleged sympathiser of the terror outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), wanted by the Tamil Nadu and Delhi police, was arrested by the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat on Thursday, an official statement said here. Jaafar Ali, resident of Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, was arrested from Gorva area of Vadodara city. He was allegedly planning to start an ISIS module in Gujarat, the ATS said in a release here. “ATS received an input from a sister agency that six men from Tamil Nadu ..

Conviction rate for rape only 27.2 pc even as country celebrates justice in Nirbhaya case

NEW DELHI WHILE many believe justice has been delivered in the Nirbhaya case with death warrants being issued against the rapists, the conviction rate in rape cases is abysmally low at 27.2 per cent which activists say is due to lapses in the criminal justice system. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 1,56,327 rape cases were on trial in 2018. Of these, trial was completed in 17,313 cases, resulting in conviction in only 4,708 cases. There was acquittal in 11,133 rape cases and ..

Man’s act to put footmarks of daughter on car earns praise

THE gesture of a man to put footmarks of his two-year-old daughter on his newly purchased car as a symbol of Goddess Laxmi has earned him praise from social media users and Maharashtra Minister Ashok Chavan. While performing the ‘puja’ after buying a new car, Nagesh Patil, a resident of Kolhapur, dipped the feet of his..

Average 80 murders, 91 rapes daily in 2018, says NCRB data

AN average of 80 murders, 289 kidnappings and 91 rapes were reported every single day across the country in 2018, according to the latest data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Altogether, 50,74,634 cognizable crimes comprising 31,32,954 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 19,41,680 Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes were registered in 2018, up from 50,07,044 in 2017, the data stated...

‘JNU forms panel to probe Jan 5 violence’

THE Jawaharlal Nehru University has formed a five-member committee to probe the January 5 violence on the campus that had left around 35 people injured, and recommend measures to ensure safety of students, Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said on Thursday. The panel will also probe lapses, if any, in security, Kumar told PTI. “We have formed a five-member panel which will work in association with our internal security committee. The panel will also look into lapses, if any and recommend measures to ..

ED attaches over Rs 2,500 cr assets of Haryana-based firm in fraud case

ASSETS worth over Rs 2,500 crore have been attached in connection with a money laundering and fraud case against Haryana-based SRS group, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Thursday. “Movable and immovable assets like land, real estate projects, commercial projects, residential houses, a school, cinema hall, balances in bank accounts and fixed deposits totalling to Rs 2,510.82 crore of the SRS Group, its promoters, their family members and associate companies have been attached,” the agency ..

PM meets economists ahead of Budget, says economy strong

UNFAZED by projections of GDP growth slowing to an 11-year low in the current fiscal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong and it has the capacity to bounce back. Modi, who seems to have taken charge of the efforts to revive the economy, has over the past few days held as many as 12 brainstorming meetings with different stakeholders over various issues affecting the economy and to thrash out appropriate policy interventions in the upcoming ..

Mamata to boycott Oppn meet over CAA, NRC

WEST Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will boycott the next week’s Opposition meeting in Delhi, alleging that Congress and Left parties are playing dirty politics in the State. The meeting was called by Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi on January 13 The TMC supremo said that she will fight against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) alone. The meeting is scheduled to take place on January 13...

Envoys of 16 nations visit Valley to assess situation

US AMBASSADOR to India Kenneth I Juster and envoys from 15 other countries arrived here on Thursday on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the first visit by diplomats since August last year when the State’s Special Status was revoked and it was downsized to a Union Territory. The Delhi-based envoys, who came here on a special chartered flight, landed at Srinagar’s technical airport and were taken directly to the Army cantonment for a briefing. Top officials from the newly carved out Union Territory ..

MP Forest Department mulls reintroducing white tiger into wild

White tigers have attracted the attention of people ever since the first white tiger was discovered by Rewa Maharaja Martand Singh in the year 1952. However, not many white tigers have been seen in wild since last many decades. As of now, nine white tigers are in captivity of Indore and Rewa zoo. Now a discussion has started that as captive white tigers are unable to survive in wild due to lack of hunting skills but there are chances that their next generation, ..

Woman battling with brain tumour plants 30,000 trees

A 27-YEAR-OLD woman from Gujarat suffering from an end-stage brain tumour has become a symbol of grit and determination by planting over 30,000 trees to tackle air pollution which she believes is the reason why people are rapidly developing terminal diseases. Shruchi Vadaliya, living in Gujarat’s Surat city, was diagnosed with the disease a few months ago following which she started a campaign to save the environment. She observed that air pollution is the reason why she developed cancer and that ..

Centre rejected TN Govt’s decision to release Rajiv case convicts: HC told

THE Centre on Tuesday informed the Madras High Court it has two years ago rejected a Tamil Nadu Government’s proposal of March, 2016 for release of all seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case as it would set a “dangerous precedent”. Noting that the CBI, which probed the case, had also opposed the proposal, the Centre in its April 18, 2018 letter to the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary had said in pursuance of section 435 of CrPC it do not concur to the proposal for grant of further ..

Banking services hit; normal life affected due to nationwide Trade Unions’ strike

BANKING and transport services were disrupted and normal life impacted in some parts of the country on Wednesday as tens of thousands of workers affiliated to Left and Congress-backed trade unions led a strike to protest the Union Government’s economic policies. While ATMs at certain places ran dry and banking services such as cash withdrawal were impacted at some branches of public sector banks, train services were stopped by striking workers in Kolkata. Buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws stayed off ..

Govt taking steps to simplify taxation, says Nirmala

FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Government is taking various steps to simplify taxation system and eliminate harassment of honest taxpayers. Addressing an event organised by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the Finance Minister said the Government is open to suggestions for the betterment of GST filing system. Based on suggestions received from various stakeholders, the Government is taking steps towards simplification of taxation system, she added. In a bid to curb ..

Tihar to witness first ever hanging of quartet in Nirbhaya rape case

THE horrific December 16, 2012, Nirbhaya rape-murder case transformed much in India. From laws on rape to relief and rehabilitation measures for rape survivors and the very mindset of the people, everything went for a sea change. But as the case reaches its inevitable end with the issuance of warrants for the hanging of the four convicts on January 22, the execution chamber of Tihar Jail will also see a major change...

Win for India’s daughters; noose for Nirbhaya’s rapists

FOUR convicts in the sensational 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case will be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail, a Delhi court said on Tuesday, seven years after the heinous crime. The order was pronounced by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora who issued the death warrants against the four death row convicts -- Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31)...

Decks cleared for privatisation of Air India

A GROUP of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday approved the Expression of Interest (EoI) as well as the share purchase agreement for Air India’s privatisation, a senior Government official said. The EoI and the share purchase agreement would be issued in January itself for the bidders, he said...

Ganga delta may see water level rise of up to 1.4 metres by 2100: Study

THE Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta covering parts of eastern India and Bangladesh, and home to 200 million inhabitants, may experience a water level rise of up to 140 centimetres by the end of this century, a new study says...

Govt aims to install 1.3 cr LED streetlights by March

This ambitious goal will not only save energy but also reduce 6.2 million tonnes of CO2 per year THE Centre plans to replace around 1.34 crore conventional streetlights with LED bulbs across the country by March 2020 under the LED Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), an official statement said. A Power Minister statement on Sunday said that, under the SLNP programme, over 1.03 crore ‘smart’ LED streetlights have been installed till date, enabling an estimated energy savings of 6.97 billion kWh ..

SC asks Wadia, Tata to resolve differences in defamation case

THE Supreme Court Monday asked Bombay Dyeing chairman Nusli Wadia and Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, to sit together and resolve their differences in a defamation case. Wadia filed a criminal defamation case against Ratan Tata and other directors of Tata Sons in 2016 after he was voted out of the boards of some Tata Group companies. “You both are mature people. You both are leaders of industry. Why don’t you both settle the matter...

NCLAT dismisses RoC plea in Tata-Mistry case, refuses to modify its judgement

THE National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Monday dismissed the Registrar of Companies’ petition seeking modification of the judgement in the Tata-Mistry case and said its ruling had not cast any aspersions on the RoC. “There is no ground to amend judgement dated December 18, 2019,” a two-member NCLAT bench said. On December 18, the tribunal ruled reinstating Cyrus Mistry as the Executive Chairman of Tata Group and also termed conversion of Tata Sons from a public company to a private one by the ..

TN awaits better deal from 15th Finance Commission, says Governor Purohit

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Monday said in his address to Legislature that the State was eagerly awaiting the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission and hoped for a fair and equitable distribution of resources, rewarding efficiency and performance. Purohit said the state this year has so far received Rs 7,096 crore as goods and services tax (GST) compensation, as well as Central Government grants of Rs 17,957.31 crore...

Delhi Police begins probe in JNU violence; MHA seeks report

THE Delhi Police Crime Branch has begun a probe into Sunday’s violence in JNU after the Union Home Ministry on Monday asked for a detailed report from Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. Delhi Police Crime Branch has formed nine teams to ascertain the perpetrators behind the attack. A day after violence broke out on JNU campus, around 700 police personnel were deployed outside its gates on Monday, police said...

PM meets top honchos on reviving economy ahead of Budget

AHEAD of the Union Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met India’s top 10 business leaders which included bosses of India’s largest conglomerates like Reliance Industries, Vedanta, Tata Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani and Bharti Enterprises, as they brainstormed on reviving the economy and business sentiments, creating jobs and pushing growth...

Delhi Assembly polls on Feb 8; results on Feb 11

ASSEMBLY elections in Delhi will be held on February 8 in what promises to be a high stake triangular contest with the AAP hoping to retain power on the plank of development and the BJP and the Congress determined to put up a spirited challenge. Announcing the 1-day poll for the 70-member Assembly, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora told a news conference on Monday that counting of votes will be taken up on February 11. The notification for the polls will be issued on January 14 while the last ..

Sensex nosedives 788 pts amid US-Iran standoff

THE BSE Sensex crashed nearly 788 points, its worst session in about six months, as escalating US-Iran tensions sent crude oil prices soaring and also made investors shun equities and rush to safe haven assets. At the closing bell, the 30-share Sensex was at 40,676.63, down 1.90 per cent or 787.98 points -- the biggest single-day drop since July 8. After opening the session on a subdued note, the BSE gauge broadened losses and hit an intra-day low of 40,613.96. Similarly, the 50-scrip NSE Nifty closed ..

Women chauffeurs drive change, one ride at a time

DETERMINED to be the drivers of their lives, a growing number of women are traversing a tough road to empowerment by becoming professional chauffeurs -- of cars, two-wheelers and even buses. Driven by financial need and sometimes to just look for fresh career opportunities, the women are cutting through gender barriers to ensure they steer the course of their lives, and also stay the course. And sometimes they script stories of remarkable resilience and liberation...

UP becomes 1st State to shortlist migrants for citizenship

UTTAR Pradesh is all set to become the first State in the country to start the exercise of shortlisting migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, eligible for citizenship under the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The exercise will also identify those who are living illegally in the State. According to additional Chief Secretary (home) Avanish Awasthi, all 75 district magistrates have been asked to track down migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have settled here for ..

Third case filed against Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan and Bharti Singh

ANOTHER case was registered in Punjab on Saturday against actor Raveena Tandon, director-choreographer Farah Khan and comedian Bharti Singh for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of a community in a TV show, police said. The celebrities were booked under Indian Penal Code Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) on the complaint of All India Christian Welfare Front chairman Charan Masih, ..