What is the trigger? In July, while the monsoon session of the legislature was on, a group of Maratha protesters launched a sit-in against the BJP government for not fulfilling the promises made to the community, including 16% reservation. The issue, however, spilled outside the Assembly, when Chief Minister Devendra …

Thirteen districts of north Karnataka recently raised a fresh cry for a separate State, pointing out that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s budgetary allocations favoured only the southern districts. The crisis has blown over and Mr. Kumaraswamy has clarified that he has big plans for the development of the region. Historical …

For 2018, the monsoon is past the crucial half-way mark. As of August 9, the seasonal rain, which decides the fate/extent of the kharif crop acreage, has run up a deficit of 10%. But it is not so much the deficit figure as the spatial and temporal spread (across space …

225 inmates found in six shelters The West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) has learnt that a number of people suffering from mental illness have been placed in vagrants’ homes run by the State government, and has recommended that they be provided medical intervention. In its recommendation, the WBHRC directed …

Cabinet panel to take a decision soon The Home Ministry has moved the Union Cabinet to increase the number of seats in the Sikkim Assembly from 32 to 40. The State goes to the polls in 2019. A senior Ministry official said the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, headed by …

Technique also points to smaller distribution of the ornate narrow-mouthed frog, which may require a protection programme Barcodes are not used in supermarkets alone. Each species can be recognised by its unique genetic ‘barcode’ and using this method, a team of scientists has identified three frog species not recorded in …

7,500 letters written by the Nobel Laureate have been published chronologically with synopses From being a transient spy with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to a diligent researcher of Rabindranath Tagore, it was a big leap of faith for Gaurchandra Saha in 1968. Fifty years later, Mr. Saha’s rigorous work has …

Going by government data, assistance fell from Rs. 5,928.6 crore for 2013-14 to Rs. 3,483.6 crore for 2017-18; but Maldives has been an outlier, despite the dip in ties India’s financial assistance to SAARC neighbours declined considerably in the past five years, a reply by the government in Parliament this …

From villages in Haryana, unprocessed, fresh produce goes to Delhi homes daily For Rajesh Kumar, Rajpal Yadav and other milkmen at Asadpur in Rewari district of Haryana, the day begins an hour before dawn. They set out to collect fresh buffalo milk from the homesteads run by women like Narangi …

Toll touches 31; over 60,000 displaced Despite a respite from rain and falling water levels in major dams, Kerala remained on alert on Saturday, with over 60,000 persons displaced in four districts. The Met Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in most places in Idukki, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Wayanad, …