‘The agencies seem to have gone by names of IL&FS’ shareholders, overlooking the cash flow situation’ The role of credit rating agencies has come under the scanner in the wake of the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) imbroglio. IL&FS and its subsidiaries were rated AAA for their commercial …

Changes policy stance to ‘calibrated tightening’ to indicate that rates can only rise or stay stable hereon in this cycle Contrary to market expectation, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to hold the key policy rate at 6.5% in the fourth bimonthly policy …

Blackwater founder is pushing for privatisation of the U.S. war in Afghanistan A new crop of senior American officials in Afghanistan has raced to contain a dual crisis on the battlefield and in a potentially explosive election dispute. But it is a different U.S. figure — the mercenary executive Erik …

Analysts say China will be forced to dig in for a prolonged multi-front battle with the U.S. U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence’s accusations in a stinging speech on Thursday, warning of a tougher approach towards Beijing may have been familiar to China’s leaders. But until now such remarks were delivered in …

‘Separate ministry for Himalayan States’ A separate ministry should be created at the Centre to resolve the common issues of the Himalayan States as the problems of this region are different from those faced in the plains, Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Dev Vrat said on Friday.PTI Source :  https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/hp-governor-advocates-separate-ministry-for-himalayan-states/article25140172.ece

A conglomerate of major civil society and students’ organisations in Mizoram has said that the Bru families who declined the rehabilitation package within the deadline of September 30 should not be allowed to return from refugee camps in Tripura. Only 45 of the 5,407 Bru families comprising 32,867 individuals returned …

‘Report on likely implementation is false’ The Home Ministry said on Friday that no decision has been taken to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Tripura, after a similar exercise was carried out in Assam to identify illegal immigrants. In a statement, the Home Ministry said a delegation …

“Rape in war has been a crime for centuries. But it was a crime in the shadows. The two laureates have both shone a light on it,” Dan Smith, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told Reuters. Dr. Mukwege, a past winner of the United Nations Human …

GJM team claims Centre’s nod The Centre has agreed for a tripartite meeting to discuss various political issues concerning the Gurkhas, including the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland, Kalimpong legislator Sarita Rai said on Friday. The Home Ministry spokesperson did not comment. Large-scale violence was reported in Darjeeling …

Confirms Canine Distemper Virus killed Gir animals The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has confirmed that the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) was responsible for lion deaths in the Gir forest of Gujarat and recommended that the remaining lions be vaccinated to prevent further outbreaks. This goes against recommendations by …