The water quality in the Yamuna has improved significantly due to a rise in inflow of floodwaters, and the river is at its “healthiest” this year, experts have said. The improvement in quality is largely due to the increased oxygen content in the water, which cleanses the river and helps …

Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has reminded the Sarbananda Sonowal government of the commitment to clarify its stand on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, “now that the updated draft of the National Register of Citizens has been published”. The complete NRC draft, published on Monday, excluded 40,07,707 people from …

The tenure of the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 has been extended till the last week of the winter session of Parliament, when it is expected to submit its report. The Bill proposes citizenship to six persecuted minorities — Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and …

The complete draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) has proved to be a great leveller, as it excluded people across the social spectrum — from daily-wagers and marginal farmers to soldiers and MLAs. Among the 40,07,707 people dropped from the list allegedly for lack of proper documents …

A delegation, led by Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation D.V. Sadananda Gowda, met Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harshvardhan in Delhi on Tuesday to urge him to take steps to retain the Research Centre and International Coconut Gene Bank for South Asia of the Central …

Coimbatore Corporation, which has been participating in the Central Government’s survey of ranking cities on cleanliness, is now gearing up to participate in its STAR ranking system, which starts from August 2018. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Government’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has introduced STAR ranking to …

Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has written to the Joint Parliamentary Committee studying on the controversial Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, stating his intention to withdraw it. The Joint Parliamentary Committee has also reportedly given its approval for the withdrawal of the Bill, following which the government will …

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb on Tuesday said his State does not face the problem of illegal immigrants. Mr. Deb, who was in Nagpur to meet Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, claimed 98% people of Tripura have Aadhaar cards. “The remaining people will also get their Aadhaar numbers soon. …

The Union Home Ministry has sent an advisory to State governments to enumerate, observe and collect biometric data of Rohingya migrants living in India, and told the Lok Sabha that the government had received reports of their involvement in illegal activities. The government also made it clear that Rohingya were …

Study claims increase in cases of chronic cough and asthma among children Multiple studies have documented the toll that poor air quality takes on our lungs and overall health. In Bengaluru, rising air pollution has resulted in an increase in the prevalence of chronic cough among children and teenagers under …

Telangana recorded its highest, to date, power demand of 10,429 mw on Tuesday with the consumption by the agriculture sector witnessing a sharp increase due to dry spell for over a week now. It eclipses the previous high load of 10,284 mw met on March 8 this year after the …

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday that any reservation extended in a hurry to the Maratha community will not stand up in court, while the BJP ally Shiv Sena stirred the quota pot further by asking the State government to extend reservation to Dhangars and Kolis as well. …

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed authorities not to initiate any ‘action’ against 40 lakh persons left out of the draft Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on July 30. The Bench ordered the government, in consultation with State NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela, to frame a ‘fair’ standard operating …