The Catholic Church has written to Sonia Gandhi alleging that certain communities have “hijacked” the education sector in Kerala in what is seen as a direct attack on the Muslim League, a Congress partner that is in charge of the education department. The education sector in Kerala has traditionally been dominated by Christians, who run […]
The Reserve Bank of India is unlikely to cut its key interest rates anytime this year if rains remain deficient, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note. Economists Indranil Sen Gupta and Abhishek Gupta also said retail inflation could decline to 6% by January if monsoon rains remain largely along expected lines. “We […]
To hear his well-wishers-turned-worriers, one would think it’s the end of Narendra Modi’s five year term, and he’s achieved nothing in it. Well-wishers tear at his conspicous “silence” on issues that make headlines every day, the absence of big bucks reforms in his government’s first budget, and his “fear” of making a clean break with […]
Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana are the three states where there has been a dramatic improvement in child sex ratio in ten years, according to the census 2011 report. However, Punjab and Haryana are also the places where the child sex ratio is the most skewed in favor of male children compared to girls. Child sex […]
A total of 50 Indian soldiers have lost their lives to natural and climatic conditions in Siachen, one of the world’s most inhospitable borders. 24 of the 50 were killed in various landslides and avalanches (snow slides), while the remaining 26 died due to “environmental and climatic conditions,” the ministry of defence said. The highest […]
Qatar Airways said its flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester, an Airbus A330-300, was forced to land at Manchester Airport after its crew got a bomb threat. “The crew had received a threat about a possible device on board and Qatar Airways immediately took all the necessary precautions to alert British authorities,” it said. “The […]
Environmental campaign agency Greenpeace said Nitish Kumar, former chief minister of Bihar, has praised its micro-grid solar project in Jehanabad district. “Elated to see homes, shops and streets lit up at night, Kumar praised Greenpeace and the unique energy model, upholding it as a crucial step towards rural electrification of Bihar,” the agency said in […]
Central India, an area that covers Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, is seeing a long-term pattern of climate change involving rainfall intensity, the government of India said. “Heavy rain events (>10 cm/day) over central India are increasing at about 1%/year while weak and moderate events are decreasing at about the […]
In a significant judgment, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha has ruled that truth can be a valid defence in contempt of court cases, and dismissed a case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against journalist Arun Shourie. In his petition filed in 1990, Swamy had requested contempt of […]
Real Estate builder Emaar MGF has been penalized by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission for “deceptive practice” for “mischievously and cleverly” not giving a fixed delivery date before taking 11 lakhs from the customer for plot in Mohali. The Commission found that Emaar MGF had induced its customer to pay more than Rs 11 […]
How can the evils of India’s caste system (varna sampradaya) be addressed? Many may say education, reservation etc.. But Member of Parliament Hansraj Ahir has come up with a unique solution – give state support for inter-caste marriages. In a query sent to the Social Justice ministry, Ahir asked if the government could and had […]
Idea Cellular has announced a new contest to find upcoming movie directors. The contest, called ‘Raju Ban Gaya Director’, is open to everyone in India. Applicants need to create an original concept movie of 1 to 3 minutes on the mobile phone and upload it on www.ideapopcornstreet.com. The Jury, comprising of experienced film makers, will […]
Infosys co-founder Senapathy “Kris” Gopalakrishnan has donated $1.8 million (about Rs 11 crore) to the US-based Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to establish a research partnership between CMU and the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. The partnership will strategically leverage the research strengths of both institutions while […]
Barclays has projected a consumer inflation rate of 7.0-7.5% for India in the current financial year, below the 10% level seen last year, despite the threat of a weak monsoon pushing up food prices. This would allow the Reserve Bank of India more leverage in reducing rates, it said. “The IMD (met dept) expects rains […]
The National Alliance of People’s Movements has opposed any move by the government to dilute the strict provisions of the Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Act of 2013. The Act, which was championed by Jairam Ramesh during his tenure as the environment minister, puts tough conditions on the forcible acquisition of citizens’ land by the […]
Close to half of India’s girls are married before the age of 18, and one in five is married even before she turns 15, a report by Dasra, a philanthropic foundation, said. According to the report, India accounts for 40% of the world’s 60 million child marriages, which is the highest share globally. Pakzan Dastoor, […]
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a financial conglomerate, has said that it saw banks cutting interest rates in the upcoming slack season starting September. It said, with the RBI keeping its rates on hold as part of its monetary policy review yesterday, chances of a ‘long hold’ of Reserve Bank’s interest rates are now high. […]
Among the sectors crying out for reform under the new Narendra Modi government is agriculture and food production. Crisil, arguably India’s biggest credit rating and economy research house, has called for the new government to abolish the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act or APMC to curb high food price inflation. The APMC Act prohibits farmers […]
India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will drill for oil in the Russian Arctic region in association with Rosneft, the biggest oil company in Russia. The companies will co-operate in subsurface surveys, exploration and appraisal activities and hydrocarbons production in Russia’s offshore Arctic, ONGC said in a statement. India has been hungry for hydrocarbons […]
Uttar Pradesh sees the highest number of complaints of discrimination against students belonging to the scheduled castes and other backward classes, according to government data. Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for about 17% of India’s total population, accounted for 57% of the total complaints regarding discrimination against students belonging to scheduled castes and other backward classes. […]
