Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha on Monday said the work on the second phase of implementing the Bharat Net project was on track. The Bharat Net project aims to bring broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country. “We have completed approximately 50% of the project… the work has …

The Supreme Court has upped the ante on the States, Union Territories and High Courts which have not provided it with details of criminal cases pending against sitting lawmakers, warning that their Chief Secretaries and Registrars General will be made personally liable for non-compliance. The Centre informed the court that …

The Gujarat High Court has expressed serious concern about the condition of lions in Gir, where 23 lions recently succumbed to a viral infection. The deaths prompted the State government to isolate 36 wild cats and vaccinate them to prevent the spread of canine distemper virus (CDV). On Monday, the …

To forge ties and make developed nations keep promises Ahead of the December climate talks in Katowice, Poland, India is having discussions with 40 countries, including China, to forge alliances and compel developed countries to make good on promises, made over the years, to provide enough finance and technology to …

Women in agriculture face multiple challenges due to lack of land entitlements, recognition Shahjahan Begum Mehboobani grows corn, onions, tomatoes and vegetables on her three-acre plot in Dharwad district of Karnataka. She’s also a responsible member of her local gram panchayat. But without a land patta in her name, it’s …

Mahesh Sharma says it will have no connection to NMML on Teen Murti Estate The Union Culture Ministry will construct a museum on Prime Ministers on the Teen Murti Estate here within a year, Minister Mahesh Sharma said on the occasion of the project’s ground breaking ceremony here on Monday. …

Subhankar Manna touched the messages on the walls of the pandal at Ballygunge Samaj Sevi — said to be in Braille — but could not make much sense out of them. The Durga Puja of this well-known south Kolkata club has been much touted this year for being inclusive. Therefore …

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, has topped the first-ever standalone ranking of Indian higher education institutions by QS, a think tank that is famous for bringing out world rankings of institutions. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, which tops Indian institutions in almost all rankings, stands second. The top 10 Indian …

Protests, both from the student community and the political parties, grew in Kashmir on Monday over the Aligarh Muslim University’s move to suspend at least three Kashmiri students and lodging of cases against them. Scores of students at Kashmir University in Srinagar held a demonstration on campus. “We have assembled …

India and France are in discussions for a bilateral tri-service military exercise to take forward the strategic cooperation while also exploring ways to operationalise the logistics agreement. These issues were discussed during the visit of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to Paris last week. “We have agreed on a bilateral tri-service …

Accusing the State government of utterly failing in providing employment to youth, actor and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan on Monday said employment generation would be accorded top priority once his party voted to power in the ensuing elections. “We promise jobs to the eligible, scrapping the contributory pension …

An air of uncertainty hovers over the pilgrimage as the Sabarimala temple opens for monthly poojas on Thursday, the first time since the Supreme Court lifted curbs on entry of women into the hill shrine. While the State government reiterates its constitutional obligation to implement the verdict, the Travancore Devaswom …

Judgment was delivered by the District Magistrate to-day [in Rangoon, on October 14] in the case in which four men, Bhumani, Mehta, Murti and Rao were found guilty of attempting to persuade coolies from going to their work of loading ships in the harbour unless they get two rupees a …

At about one O’clock on Friday afternoon [October 11] a sensational incident occurred in Park Street [in Calcutta]. A bullock cart containing a number of jars full of nitric acid was proceeding from Survey of India Office to the Howrah station when at the crossing of Russel Street and Park …

India and China need to link their development plans for the continent Chinese President Xi Jinping grabbed headlines last month after announcing a hefty $60 billion package for Africa. African leaders have been naturally ecstatic after Mr. Xi’s announcement in Beijing at the inaugural of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation …

India needs to strengthen and implement regulations on antibiotic misuse Even as antibiotics lose their efficacy against deadly infectious diseases worldwide, it seems to be business as usual for governments, private corporations and individuals who have the power to stall a post-antibiotic apocalypse. In a recent investigation, it was found …

M.J. Akbar should have resigned.Or else, asked to go The Minister of State for External Affairs, M.J. Akbar, should have done the only right thing in the circumstances — resign. This was the only course to limit the already significant damage to the high office he holds. His legacy in …

The outcomes of laws need to be analysed before enactment Legislation and policies in the country are often passed with inadequate scrutiny and assessment. Increasingly, the ‘rush towards law’ results in policies and legal frameworks that are mostly reactive and seek to offer quick-fix solutions to complex problems. As a …

With the ‘feminisation of agriculture’ picking up pace, the challenges women farmers face can no longer be ignored October 15 is observed, respectively, as International Day of Rural Women by the United Nations, and National Women’s Farmer’s Day (Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas) in India. In 2016, the Ministry of Agriculture …

If a community believes in, and establishes a religious practice as essential, it should be accepted The Supreme Court’s majority decision in the Sabarimala case has rewritten the constitutional dispensation on freedom of religion, equality and untouchability, in contrast to Justice Indu Malhotra’s no-less-admirable dissenting judgment. When it comes to …