Plans for a drastic reduction or readjustment of American bases and all other military facilities in Japan were officially announced here [Tokyo] to-day [December 23] at the conclusion of a meeting of the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee. About 50 bases or facilities, big and small, are involved in the readjustment …

With just months to go for the general election, the government looks all set to open the credit taps of the economy. The Centre has sought Parliament’s approval to infuse an additional Rs. 41,000 crore into public sector banks that are starved of precious capital to remain afloat. Along with …

The omnibus acquittal of all the police personnel accused of eliminating Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a ‘fake encounter’ in Gujarat in 2005 represents a substantial failure of justice. It is true that it is not easy to obtain an order of conviction against police personnel accused of killing suspects in a …

Is it possible to talk about the virtues of the independent news media when we cannot talk about shrinking spaces? Being a journalist is a choice and not a compulsion. Fired by the spirit of public engagement, people opt to become journalists. People are in the public sphere because of …

What is an altruistic surrogacy arrangement? According to the new Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, approved by the Lok Sabha last week, it includes contracting a ‘close relative’ as a surrogate by a heterosexual married couple who have been childless for five years of their marriage. This line, in gist, separates altruism …

When the first group of modern humans walked into India, perhaps no more than a few hundred people in groups of twenty or twenty-five, trekking all the way from the Arabian peninsula over hundreds of years or perhaps even a thousand or more years, did they have a cosmology of …

We remember Gandhi’s concern with the liberation of Indians from colonial rule, as well as from the dark underside of our own personalities. We also remember that he failed to engage with the plight of Africans in a colonised South Africa, where he lived for 21 years. We know that …

The GST Council is likely to consider lowering GST on under-construction flats and houses to 5% in its meeting next month, an official said.Currently, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is levied at 12% on payments made for under-construction property or ready-to-move-in flats where completion certificate has not been issued …

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) has had good impact on the manufacturing industry in India. Starting out a bit rockily, GST implementation has impacted the manufacturing industry favourably by bringing in a unified and consistent tax structure. Businesses that were facing slowdowns in the early days its roll-out, are …

India needs to open up its dredging market to boost trade by its major ports, which currently cannot handle very large vessels in the absence of proper draft depth, government think tank NITI Aayog has said.More competition, mainly from global players, in dredging activities would help increase and maintain draft …

A steep fall in the price of Robusta coffee during the harvest season and low production owing to climate change are worrying coffee growers in south India, a major coffee cultivating region in the country .Spot price of raw Robusta coffee in Wayanad on Saturday was Rs. 3,618 a bag …

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday criticised U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces from Syria, saying that “an ally must be reliable”.Speaking in the Chad capital N’Djamena, Mr. Macron said “I deeply regret the decision” by Trump to pullout U.S. troops. r. Trump last week ordered a …

The volcano that triggered a deadly tsunami in Indonesia late on Saturday emerged from the sea around the legendary Krakatoa 90 years ago and has been on a high-level eruption watch-list for the past decade.Anak Krakatoa (the “Child of Krakatoa”) has been particularly active since June, occasionally sending massive plumes …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the institution of a national unity award on the lines of the Padma awards, an official statement said on Sunday. The annual award would be given to any Indian who has contributed to national unity in any manner, the statement said, adding that the …

India on Sunday successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile Agni-IV, with a strike range of 4,000 km. The flight was tested from Integrated Test Range at the Dr. Abdul Kalam Island near here. The indigenously developed Agni-IV is a two-stage missile.PTI Source Link : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/nuclear-capable-agni-iv-missile-successfully-test-fired/article25815942.ece

One of the earliest Buddhist settlements in Odisha, Lalitgiri, where excavations have yielded ancient seals and inscriptions, has been converted into a museum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the museum through video conference from Bhubaneswar on Monday.Located in Cuttack district, it will be the third site museum of the …

The effect of the BJP’s loss in three States in the Hindi heartland was visible at the GST Council meeting held on Saturday in New Delhi, with the famous accord of the Council across party lines disrupted by a heated exchange among members.As the meeting got under way, the Ministers …

A rise in literacy levels among women has failed to translate into an increase in the number of working women due to a combination of socio-economic factors such as the importance of education for improving marital prospects as well as higher prestige attached to households which keep women out of …

The first MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) service linking Mysuru with Bengaluru was launched on Sunday. The regular services will commence from December 26 from Bengaluru and from December 27 from Mysuru.This is an extension of the service, which was operating between Bengaluru and Ramangaram. The MEMU service is the …

The cold wave in the Capital continued on Sunday with the minimum temperature dropping to 3.7 degrees Celsius, four degrees below normal. Gurugram was even colder with the minimum dipping to 2 degrees Celsius.The cold weather has brought with it unfavourable meteorological conditions for the dispersal of pollutants with the …