The Home Minister, Mr. Y.B. Chavan, to-day [December 20, New Delhi] said in the Lok Sabha that subversive activities in some parts of the country had been causing concern to the Government, and that he was seriously considering the question of evolving some legislation to stop this “increasing trend.” Mr. …

A meeting convened by over 40 prominent citizens of Poona belonging to all castes was held this afternoon [in Poona on December 20] in Kirloskar Theatre to accord support to the principle in Mr. Patel’s Hindu’s Inter-castes Marriage Bill. It was… confined to those who were in favour of the …

Recently, a video of a Zomato delivery agent caught eating the food he was supposed to deliver went viral. This led to criticism, especially from middle- and upper-class consumers who questioned the accountability and monitoring mechanisms of food delivery apps and websites, which are important features of the platform or …

The return to India of Hamid Nihal Ansari, an engineer from Mumbai who spent six years in a Pakistani prison, is cause for cheer on the otherwise bleak landscape of India-Pakistan relations. The plight of the young man, who had crossed over into Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2012 on a …

The detention of a journalist in Manipur under the stringent National Security Act for a social media post is a clear instance of misuse of power and a blatant violation of his rights as a citizen. It indicates a dangerous trend among those wielding power to invoke laws aimed at …

The transgender community has once again been let down, as the Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2018 in a hurry amid ongoing protests over the Rafale deal. The Bill, ostensibly aimed at protecting transgender persons’ rights, has been drafted hastily, with no real understanding of …

Chhattisgarh has been the biggest boost to the Congress but U.P. and Bihar are the real tests The recently concluded Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are testimony to the fact that Rahul Gandhi has successfully assumed the leadership role of the Congress. Notwithstanding the memes on Twitter …

Parliament today serves less as a locus for debate and discussion and more as one for din and discord. But the pandemonium that appears to be the permanent state of affairs in both Houses scarcely seems to stop the government from passing laws, as we’ve seen this winter session. The …

Researchers have genetically modified a common indoor plant, pothos ivy, to remove pollutants inside the house, according to a new study. They put modified plant and normal pothos ivy in glass tubes and added either benzene or chloroform gas into each tube. They found that the concentration of either gas …

Bethlehem is buzzing, with more tourists expected this Christmas than have visited the Biblical city in years, causing the kind of problem that modern technology was almost born to deal with. Such are the crowds at the church built on the site where Jesus is believed to have been born …

Researchers at University of Cambridge programmed it to play a number of short musical phrases Scientists have been building and programming piano-playing robots for decades. But there’s something different about a new robotic hand that tickles the ivories with techniques usually reserved for humans. Rather than relying on a maze …

A study on 16 breeds through physical fitness and behavioural tests is underway How do you measure a chicken’s happiness? Is it in the way it runs for food? How much time it spends preening? To size up what might make chickens happy in their brief lives, researchers at the …

Street artist and social commentator Banksy has apparently popped up in Wales, leaving a new artwork on a garage in Port Talbot that refers the town’s air pollution. A video posted to his official Instagram account on Wednesday afternoon had close-ups of the piece. With the children’s song Little Snowflake …

The Centre has sought Parliament’s nod for an additional equity infusion of Rs. 2,345 crore for debt-laden Air India (AI) and a separate sum of Rs. 1,300 crore for a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which houses the national carrier’s debt and non-core assets. Special purpose vehicle The SPV, Air India …

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday has announced a cap for funds raised via external commercial borrowing (ECB) at 6.5% of the country’s GDP. Based on GDP figures for March 31, 2018, ‘the soft limit works out to $160 billion,’ the central bank said in a statement. Outstanding …

The government has decided to set up an expert committee to look into all the taxation issues being faced by start-ups and angel investors, the CBDT said on Thursday. It added that “no coercive action or measures to recover the demands of completed assessment under income tax would be taken” …

As its trade war with the U.S. intensifies, China has started looking at India as a major market to sell its products and machinery. However, Indian companies want China to share its technology and even partner with them in its growth story rather than treating India purely as a market …

Blockchain technology may pose challenge to exchanges, depositories: SEBI The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is planning to come up with a ‘sandbox’ policy to support development of financial technologies for the capital market, Chairman Ajay Tyagi said here on Thursday. Mr. Tyagi said he also felt that …

Drop in crude oil prices, U.S. Fed stance help currency to strengthen Softening crude oil prices helped the rupee to continue strengthening its momentum for the fourth straight session, appreciating 1% against the dollar. The rupee’s gain is also due to the dollar weakening against all major currencies, as there …

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena named a 30-member Cabinet on Thursday to end a crippling seven-week power struggle with his Prime Minister, but only after a final tussle over who should control the police. Mr. Sirisena reinstated Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister on Sunday after the Supreme Court threw out …