The Kerala Government has decided to constitute two new districts and to integrate the taluks and the community development blocks as units of administration, said the Governor, Mr. V. Viswanathan in his address to the Assembly to-day [January 3, Trivandrum]. The decisions were aimed at improving administrative efficiency and giving …

The Food Stuff Commissioner for India has issued the following note [in Calcutta]: The Government of India have been in communication with His Majesty’s Government with a view to arranging for the sale to India of Australian wheat, considerable quantities of which are expected to be shortly on passage to …

In facilitating the entry of two women, albeit in stealth and under the cover of darkness, the Kerala government has displayed some resolve in breaking the illegal blockade imposed by some devotees on permitting females in the 10-50 age group into the Sabarimala temple. This is the first time women …

China joined a select group of countries with successful missions to the moon, when its spacecraft, Chang’e-4, successfully made a landing at ‘10.26 on January 3’, according to the China National Space Administration. It landed at a spot on the moon’s far side, the Von Kármán crater, which is untouched …

The Congress has formed the government in Madhya Pradesh with the help of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. In the new Assembly, there are only two Muslim MLAs, both from the Congress. From 1952 to 2018, on average, only 1% and 2.3% of Muslims were elected and …

In an essay published in the Washington University Law Review (1979), Martin R. Gardner posed a significant question whether an “illicit legislative motivation” could be “a sufficient condition for unconstitutionality”. He explored this “muddled area” in the context of religious motivation under the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution and …

The New Year is always looked forward to with hope, whatever the conditions might have been the previous year; 2018 has been a mixed bag, both globally and domestically.Globally, the growth rate in 2018 was high, particularly in the United States. But strong signs of a trade war emerged, dimming …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma has been visibly declining since mid-2017. The point that is open for debate is whether or not he can reverse the slide by playing the several cards he is adept at playing. Paradoxically, the onset of the fade-out of Mr. Modi’s charisma coincided with the …

A 14-year-old boy in the U.S. who was allegedly driving an SUV that caused a fatal car accident has been arrested on a murder charge.The Texas Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the SUV was filled with teens who were throwing eggs at other cars on Tuesday afternoon when another driver …

Inspired by the magic carpet featured in the folk tale of ‘Aladdin’, researchers have designed a two-dimensional, shape-changing sheet that moves autonomously in a reactant-filled fluid. The ‘magic carpet’ in tales from One Thousand and One Nights captures the imagination not only because it can fly, but because it can …

Ultima Thule, an icy celestial body, is aptly shaped like a giant snowman, NASA scientists have announced.The first detailed images beamed back from the U.S. agency’s New Horizons mission allowed scientists to confidently determine the body was formed when two spheres, or “lobes,” slowly gravitated towards each other until they …

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to raise Rs. 10,000 crore through Bharatmala Taxable Bonds in the current fiscal, Parliament was informed on Thursday. Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said as per the internal and extra budgetary resources approved for 2018-19 by the government, Rs. 62,000 crore is to …

Extending its gains for the third straight session, gold prices on Thursday surged by Rs. 335 to Rs. 32,835 per 10 grams at the bullion market in the national capital, amid a weaker rupee against dollar, according to the All India Sarafa Association.Silver, too, followed gold, gaining Rs. 350 to …

The printing of Rs. 2,000 banknotes, introduced post-demonetisation in November 2016, has been reduced to “minimum” by the Reserve Bank, a top finance ministry official said on Thursday.Soon after the sudden decision to ban old Rs. 500/1000 currency notes by the government, the Reserve Bank of India had come out …

Global headwinds continued to hit Indian equities for the second consecutive session on Thursday as the benchmark Sensex and Nifty lost more than 1% each with investors reeling under concerns of an economic slowdown.The 30-share Sensex lost 377.81 points or 1.05% to close at 35,513.71. The broader Nifty ended the …