Won’t fight elections ever again: Sharmila

Imphal, March 11: “None of the above” or NOTA in common Indian electoral parlance, could today assume a new meaning for Irom Sharmila, Manipur’s most notable rights crusader. The woman who had the world stand by her at her feeblest, when she sat fasting and force-fed through a Ryles tube in a makeshift hospital jail for nearly 16 years, today lost the state elections from Thoubal, 30km south of Imphal.

Modi, only Modi, is reason for victories: Amit Shah

Shah said PM Modi’s pro-poor schemes and pro-performance agenda led to BJP’s victory in UP and Uttarakhand A beaming Amit Shah called the BJP’s big victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand ‘the victories of Narendra Modi’s leadership.’ NEW DELHI: A beaming Amit Shah called the BJP’s big victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand “the victories of Narendra Modi ‘s leadership.”

Modi, only Modi, is reason for victories: Amit Shah

Shah said PM Modi’s pro-poor schemes and pro-performance agenda led to BJP’s victory in UP and Uttarakhand A beaming Amit Shah called the BJP’s big victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand ‘the victories of Narendra Modi’s leadership.’ NEW DELHI: A beaming Amit Shah called the BJP’s big victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand “the victories of Narendra Modi ‘s leadership.”

Golf Capsules

Adam Hadwin started the back nine with five straight birdies and posted a 7-under 64 to build a one-shot lead going into the weekend of the Valspar Championship. It was another low round for Hadwin – not a 59 like the score the Canadian shot in the California desert this year, but enough to surge past Jim Herman and into the lead on a warm and occasionally blustery Friday afternoon at Innisbrook.

Twitter records over 7.5 mn International Women’s Day tweets

New Delhi, March 9 – Micro-blogging website Twitter on Thursday announced that it handled more than 7.5 million tweets about International Womens Day from all around the world. Twitter also organised a special #SheLeadsIndia event for the first time in India to shed light on women who are defining gender equality in the modern times, the company said in a statement.

Twitter records over 7.5 mn International Women’s Day tweets

New Delhi, March 9 – Micro-blogging website Twitter on Thursday announced that it handled more than 7.5 million tweets about International Womens Day from all around the world. Twitter also organised a special #SheLeadsIndia event for the first time in India to shed light on women who are defining gender equality in the modern times, the company said in a statement.

Jayalalithaa got best medical care: Tamil Nadu government

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday made public records of Apollo Hospitals here and AIIMS in New Delhi to show that Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa got the best medical treatment till she died. “Certain insinuations have been made that administration of wrong drugs over a period of time prior to hospitalisation had led to health complications for the late Chief Minister,” J. Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Department said in a statement here.

India overestimates Dalai Lama’s political value: Chinese media

The Chinese media has accused India of using the Dalai Lama card to deal with China’s growing economic and political influence in South Asia and warned New Delhi of “severe consequences” if it hosted the Tibetan spiritual leader in a “disputed” area in Arunachal Pradesh. “Despite objections by China, India will host the Dalai Lama in a disputed region on the China-India border in coming weeks,” state-run Global Times said in an op-ed.

Indian, Malian ministers hold first ever joint commission meeting

New Delhi , Mar. 4 : Minister of State for External Affairs, M.J. Akbar visited Mali from March 2 to 3. During his visit, the minister co-chaired the first ever Joint Commission Meeting between India and Mali along with the Foreign Minister of Mali Abdoulaye Diop. The discussions reviewed the bilateral engagement between the countries in various sectors like agriculture, energy etc and laid out areas of future co-operation, particularly in security and technology, according to a statement.

Union Minister Kushwaha condemns PM Modi’s road show in Varanasi

New Delhi , Mar. 4 : Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s road show in Varanasi, Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha on Saturday asserted that the former did not do the right thing by taking out a road show. “Bharatiya Janata Party is already leading in Uttar Pradesh and I feel that Prime Minister shouldn’t have done a road show in Varanasi, it’s just an assembly election then why to make it so big,” Kushwaha told ANI.

LIVE! Trump administration would be good for India: US industry body

The Trump administration would be good for India as Washington sees New Delhi as a stabilising factor in the region, a top US industry body has said. “I think US needs India for its presence in the region itself,” Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Business Council, a representative body of top American businesses having a footprint in India, told PTI .

China says Dalai Lama border visit would damage India ties

China is warning of “severe damage” to relations with India and increased regional instability if exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama proceeds with a visit to a disputed area along their still-unsettled border. Beijing has expressed its concerns to New Delhi on numerous occasions and urged India to “avoid offering a state for the Dalai Lama to carry out anti-China separatist activities,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing Friday.

SC seeks Kerala reply on plea for dog pounds in the state12 min ago

New Delhi, Mar 3 The Supreme Court today sought Kerala government’s response on a plea seeking setting up of dog pounds in the state to prevent stray canines from attacking people and livestock. A bench of justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy gave the state government four weeks to respond to the application which contends that by catching and sheltering stray dogs in such pounds, it would reduce the incidents of attacks by the canines.

SBI, associate banks merger: Share swap record date Mar 174 min ago

New Delhi, Mar 3 State Bank of India today fixed March 17 as the record date of share swap for the merger of its 5 associate banks with itself. The merger process of the associates banks – State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur , State Bank of Mysore , State Bank of Travancore , State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad – will take effect from April 1. The executive committee of the central board of SBI fixed March 17 as the record date for determining the eligible minority shareholder of SBBJ, SBM and SBT entitled to receive equity shares of face value of Re 1 each, of SBI at the agreed swap ratio, the bank said in a regulatory filing on stock exchanges.

Rail freight service to connect India with Iran, Turkey12 min ago

New Delhi, Mar 3 In an ambitious move, Indian Railways is exploring the possibility of a transcontinental rail freight service connecting India with Iran and Turkey. Considered to be a major boost for trade and economic development of the Asia Pacific region, a trans-container goods train from Dhaka to Istanbul covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey.

Man held for smuggling gold worth Rs 61 lakh4 min ago

New Delhi, Mar 3 A man was arrested today by Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here for allegedly trying to smuggle gold worth around Rs 61 lakh into the country. Detailed examination of his baggage and personal search resulted in recovery of 2.08 kg of gold from him, a press release issued by the Customs said.

HC asks Centre, AAP govt to frame policy on e-rickshaws3 min ago

New Delhi, Mar 3 The Delhi High Court today directed the Centre, the AAP government and the Delhi police to frame a comprehensive policy on plying of e-rickshaws in the national capital. “You have to frame a comprehensive policy as e-rickshaws are plying on roads here without proper registration,” Justice Manmohan said.

Pahlaj Nihalani on denying certificate to Ka Bodyscapes: I cana t give …

Pahlaj Nihalani on denying certificate to Ka Bodyscapes: I can’t give a reason on camera for rejecting every film New Delhi, Mar 3: A day after Central Board of Film Certification denied certification to Malayalam LGBT film Ka Bodyscapes for glorifying gay relationships, chief Pahlaj Nihalani refused to give any reason to media saying that he cannot give reasons on camera for some films that the CBFC denies certification to. In a quote given to ANI , Nihalani said, “Bohat saari films jo pass hone layak nahi hai to definitely pass nahi hogi , kisi ke reason camera pe nahi de sakte , they will definitely not be passed, some reasons can’t be given on camera).”

McDonalda s says a taking situation seriouslya after pregnant woman…

New Delhi, March 3: A day after a fried lizard was found in the french fries ordered at a Kolkata outlet of McDonald’s, the fast food restaurant chain has said that it is taking the situation seriously. In a statement on Friday, McDonald’s said, “We are taking situation seriously, launched thorough investigation immediately upon being aware of complaint.”

DU, AMU, BHU, JNU: What ails our universities?19 min ago

New Delhi, March 3: The violence in Delhi University is representative of the sentiments prevailing in universities across the nation. After the year 2015 was spent debating diminishing tolerance in Indian society as far as national narrative is concerned, the year 2016 saw the introduction of the nationalists vs the anti-nationals debate that started with allegedly anti-country sloganeering in the Jawahar Lal Nehru University campus.

7th Pay Commission: Delay in release of higher allowances irks…

New Delhi, Mar 3: About 47 lakh Central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners have been waiting for higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission since July last year. The delay in release of higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission has affected the daily life of central government employees and pensioners.

Nepal needs more conducive framework for higher Indian FDI: Arun Jaitley6 min ago

New Delhi, Mar 3 : India is ready to provide more soft loans for new infrastructure projects to Nepal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said, while asking it to develop a conducive legal and regulatory framework to attract more FDI. Addressing the ‘Nepal Investment Summit 2017’ in Kathmandu yesterday, Jaitley said that with “early completion of power projects like Upper Karnali and Arun-III, Nepal would be able to export electricity to India”.

RPT-Freight and fridge sales: Indian economists seek GDP clues amid data doubts

NEW DELHI, March 1 Surprised again by India’s strong official growth statistics, economists are relying increasingly on high-frequency indicators like bank credit and rail freight to gauge the real health of Asia’s third-largest economy. For India’s cash-reliant economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision in November to outlaw old 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes came as a big shock.

Delhi warns of tax reform ‘teething problems’

Businesses operating in India should be ready for “teething problems” when the country introduces a landmark tax reform this year, Arun Jaitley, finance minister, said on Monday. The proposed goods and services tax – which is set to replace a labyrinthine tangle of local and state taxes with a single, unified levy – represents the most ambitious Indian tax reform since independence 70 years ago.

Rwanda: How the Rwanda-India Entrepreneurship Deal Is a Game Changer

Earlier this week, top Rwandan and Indian officials signed three bilateral agreements including a Memorandum of Understanding on establishing the Entrepreneurship Development Centre , in Rwanda. The MoU signed by Franois Kanimba, Minister for Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs and Amar Sinha, External Relations Secretary in India’s Ministry of External Affairs remains in effect for three years before it is renewed – by mutual consent.

India lobbies Trump admin to avert visa threat

US President Donald Trump is interviewed by Reuters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, February 23, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst India has stepped up its lobbying effort against moves in the US Congress to impose curbs on visas for skilled workers that threaten the South Asian nation’s tech sector, which employs more than 3.5 million people.

DoNER Ministry alongwith Tezpur University to encourage entrepreneurship in Northeast

New Delhi, Feb 23 : Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region , jointly with the Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University and North Eastern Finance Corporation Limited , is coming up with a Business Idea Challenge to encourage entrepreneurship in the North-East Region . The annual industry-academia interface event Sampark, which will see the DoNER Ministrys involvement for the first time, brings the spirit of entrepreneurship in the region.

SC to resume hearing on age criteria for NEET19 min ago

New Delhi [India], Feb. 23 : The Supreme Court, on Thursday, will resume the hearing on the age criteria for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test , for various undergraduate courses. Earlier, a fresh petition was filed in the Court, alleging that NEET 2 was tougher than the earlier one and CBSE came out with a common result, without “normalisation” or “rationalisation” of marks, obtained by the medical aspirants in these two tests.

SC to hear plea seeking probe into Kalikho Pul suicide case19 min ago

New Delhi [India], Feb 23 : The Supreme Court, on Thursday, will hear the petition filed by Dangwimsai Pul, the first wife of former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, seeking a direction for registration of an FIR and investigation into a suicide note, purportedly written by her husband, who allegedly committed suicide on August 9, last year. A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and comprising Justice Uday Umesh Lalit likely to hear Dangwimsai’s plea today.

India’s Modi leading in biggest state election as counting begins

Early counting on Saturday in India’s most populous state showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party leading in the country’s most important electoral test since the 2014 general election. If the Bharatiya Janata Party does wrest control of Uttar Pradesh it would be an endorsement of Modi’s stewardship of Asia’s third-largest economy after his high-risk decision last November to scrap high-value banknotes worth 86 percent of the cash in circulation.

Sonia Gandhi condoles former CJI Altamas Kabir’s death

New Delhi , Feb. 19 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday expressed condolence at the demise of former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir. Remembering him as an outstanding legal luminary, Sonia Gandhi said, “As a judge, Justice Kabir’s contribution to legal and justice system of India shall never be forgotten.

Handicrafts exports from northeast poised for quantum jump

New Delhi, Feb 19 – India’s north-eastern states, one of the richest in terms of eco-friendly crafts, exported handicrafts and handloom products to the tune of Rs 1,121.75 crore during the year 2015-16. The eight north-eastern states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura – are home to a large number of tribes and sub-tribes who bring into this region’s export basket, natural and handmade products from about 450 different communities.