PM insists that the only way to avoid a crash out of the EU is her withdrawal deal Britain won’t revoke Article 50 the triggering of which started the two-year Brexit process, Prime Minister Theresa May insisted on Wednesday, as Opposition parties rounded on the government over the full and …

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a plea seeking deletion of a chapter from school textbooks that refers to the leader of Khalistani movement, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, as a ‘terrorist.’ Advocate Amritpal Singh Khalsa filed the petition in 2017 stating that there was no material, no …

The Supreme Court on Wednesday brought in place a witness protection regime in the country noting that one of the main reasons for witnesses turning hostile is that they are not given security by the State. A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and S. Abdul Nazeer said Witness Protection Scheme, …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had suggested that efforts must first be made to clean the Ganga and then the question of ensuring environmental flows could be addressed, Nitin Gadkari, Union Water Resources Minister, said at the India Water Impact Summit here on Wednesday. This is a significant statement, as prioritising …

India’s first six-tonne-class ‘big bird’ in space, advanced communication satellite GSAT-11, was put into orbit in the early hours of Wednesday from the European spaceport in Guiana in South America. Its mission is to enable high-speed satellite-based Internet services to users in rural and remote areas and to businesses down …

Bench asks Centre and West Bengal, A.P., Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Karnataka to submit a status report The Supreme Court has said that posts in the Central Information Commission (CIC) and in State Information Commissions (SICs) are lying vacant and no effective steps have been taken to fill …

They were allegedly bought between April 2007 and March 2013; ED records statement of travel agency owner A frequent flyer to India, British national Christian Michel had allegedly spent more than Rs. 12 crore on international and domestic air travel tickets bought in his name and that of his various …

The Reserve Bank of India has left the key interest rate, or the repo rate, unchanged at 6.5% in its fifth bimonthly monetary policy review for the year on Wednesday. It also maintained its stance of ‘calibrated tightening’, despite lowering inflation projections. All six members of the monetary policy committee …

In a bid to minimise the damage caused to forests and wildlife due to infrastructure projects, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday directed all implementing agencies of proposed projects to hold a joint meeting and check whether a single, consolidated and elevated road can be constructed instead of multiple ones. …

The government is in the last stages of finalising a proposal to amend the Aadhaar Act to give all citizens an option to withdraw their Aadhaar number, including biometrics and the data. This follows the Supreme Court judgment in September that upheld the validity of Aadhaar, however, with certain riders. …

Charter of demands presented to all parties in Rajasthan for action by next govt. Tribal groups in Rajasthan have demanded that the next elected government in the State reveal the status of each of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with reference to tribal communities and declare their status targets. …

Study says 26% of global premature death and disease burden by air pollution occurs in India India, with 18% of the world’s population, has a disproportionately high 26% of the global premature deaths and disease burden due to air pollution. Moreover, one in eight deaths in India was attributable to …

Centre expects receipts to exceed the budgeted target this year, says chairman Demonetisation was beneficial in terms of increasing the tax base as well as increasing direct tax collections, Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Sushil Chandra said on Tuesday. The government expects to exceed the budgeted target for direct …

Russia has begun allowing some ships to enter Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov, Kiev said on Tuesday, in what could signal an easing of tensions in the flashpoint area. Ukraine has accused Moscow of blocking merchant vessels from entering and leaving the ports. In late November, the situation …

No levy merits putting the nation’s unity in danger, says PM The French government on Tuesday backed down on planned fuel tax hikes in a bid to draw the heat out of fierce protests that have escalated into the deepest crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. The concessions, coming after an …

‘U.K. doesn’t need support of other members to end process’ In a boost for those campaigning for Britain to remain in the European Union (EU) or hold a second referendum, a top EU legal adviser confirmed that Britain could withdraw its notice to leave the EU unilaterally, without getting the …

Facing a public outcry, J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik on Tuesday said “the word Public Sector Undertaking (PSU)” for the J&K Bank had no legal connotation. Former State Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, however, said the Governor’s statement reflected “utter ignorance”. “J&K Bank is registered as a Government company under the …

Winter is likely to be warmer than average, with fewer ‘cold wave’ days between December and February, according to a forecast by the India Meteorological Department. The forecast suggests that ‘above normal’ seasonal minimum temperatures (>0.5° C) are most likely over most of the subdivisions of the country. However Jammu …

To ensure effective trial of pending criminal cases involving former and sitting lawmakers in Bihar and Kerala, the Supreme Court Tuesday directed setting up of special designated courts in each district of these two States to try such cases. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, appointed as amicus curiae to assist the …

Cooperation in Mangdechhu power project a sign of strong ties: Vijay Gokhale India is expected to commission a major hydropower project in Bhutan in the coming weeks, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Tuesday. Delivering a speech on India-Bhutan relations, the top diplomat said cooperation in the hydropower sector was …