OnDecember 23, the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI)arrested private lender ICICI Bank’s former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD &CEO)Chanda Kochhar along with her husband, Deepak Kochhar. This was in a case pertaining tofraudulentdisbursal of loansamounting to ₹1,875 crore between 2009-11to the Videocon group of companies, during her tenure at …

The border town of Belagavi has been a part of Karnataka since boundaries were demarcated along linguistic lines under theStatesReorganisationAct, 1956. But theinter-State border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra erupts every now and then.The decades-old dispute flared up again in 2022when Karnataka Chief Minister BasavarajBommaisaid the Karnataka government was considering …

India’s current account balance recorded a deficit of $36.4 billion (or a nine-year high of 4.4% of GDP) in the quarter ended September, rising from $18.2 billion (2.2%) in the previous quarter. Deficit for the year-earlier period came in at $9.7 billion (1.3%), according to data released by the Reserve …

The State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has been the worst performing in responsiveness under the Right to Information Act, furnishing only 14% of the information sought. Maharashtra was the second worst, sharing 23% of the information asked for, according to a report card on the performance of Information Commissions …

Colombo’s seafront is lit up. Fairy lights, reindeer, and Christmas trees dot the stretch that leads to the Presidential Secretariat, the colonial-era building that served as the Parliament until the early 1980s. On the steps before its 14 giant pillars, a choir sings popular carols — an initiative of the …

Bank and cyber frauds in India are on the rise. According to data by the Reserve Bank of India, frauds have cost the country an estimated ₹100 crore a day over the last seven years. The frauds reported in 2021-22 were 23.69% higher than in the previous year (9,103 cases …

The conviction of former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen by a criminal court in the Maldives just a year ahead of general elections could affect his plans to lead the PPM-PNC opposition alliance. He faces 11 years in prison and a $5 million fine after being found guilty of corruption and …

The State government has given administrative sanction for ₹52.83 crore towards the modernisation of the Tamil Nadu Forest Force for 2022-25. In the revised Budget Estimates (2021-22), the government had announced that special attention will be given to the forest force by providing it with modern equipment and technology, including …

Four Air Force aircraft — Sukhoi and Tejas combat jets and one AN-32 transport aircraft — on Thursday flew at a height of about 5 metres on the 4.1-km emergency landing runway (ELR) on the National Highway 16 at Pichukalagudipadu village in Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh. However, the aircraft …

Four Air Force aircraft — Sukhoi and Tejas combat jets and one AN-32 transport aircraft — on Thursday flew at a height of about 5 metres on the 4.1-km emergency landing runway (ELR) on the National Highway 16 at Pichukalagudipadu village in Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh. However, the aircraft …

Wary of a rise in number of COVID-19 cases, the government has made negative RT-PCR reports a mandatory requirement for air travellers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. In its latest guidelines for international travellers, the Health and Family Welfare Ministry has said a pre-departure test conducted …

The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday announced the development of a prototype of a multi-constituency remote electronic voting machine (RVM) to enable remote voting by migrant voters. The machines can handle multiple constituencies from one remote booth. The EC invited all recognised political parties — eight national and 57 State …

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, in its latest report about cancer management, prevention and diagnosis, recommended that the government institute a ban on the sale of single sticks of cigarettes. It also recommended that the government increase taxes on all tobacco products and utilise the acquired …

Last week, the Union Government tabled the Jan Vishwas Bill, 2022, (Bill) in the Parliament with the objective of “decriminalising” 183 offences across 42 legislations and enhancing the ease of living and doing business in India. It is a welcome move and can be viewed as an attempt to reverse …

Various export promotion councils (EPCs) on Wednesday lauded the trade agreements signed by India with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia, saying the pacts will help India boost exports by granting preferential access to those markets for Indian products. Engineering Exports Promotion Council said India had benefited from preferential …

Despite the Centre’s high-octane push for manufacturing through the ‘Make in India’ initiative, foreign investors continue to chase bets in the services sector, India Ratings and Research said on Wednesday. It also said a bulk of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing was not greenfield or fresh investments. “Despite …

TRIPLE-TEST RULE FOR OBC QUOTA IN POLLS As the clamour for a caste census grows across India, with several States looking to introduce reservation for the Backward Classes in urban local body polls, the judiciary, over the course of 2022, has established time and again that caste population surveys conducted …

Inviting the world to make use of the ‘India Stack’ (India’s set of open APIs and digital public goods) and announcing that India would soon also similarly open up its telecom stack,launched the ‘Stay Safe Online’ campaign and the Digital Innovation Alliance (DIA) programme. These were lauded by G-20 Sherpa …

Fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will fly at a height of 100 metres from the ground before landing at a designated strip along National Highway-16 in Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday as part of an emergency landing trial run. It is expected that at least …

Early in December, two Members of Parliament of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Ravi Kishan and Nishikant Dubey, introduced in the Lok Sabha a private members’ Bill aimed at population control in India. Stating that population rise is the most significant reason for India’s slow rate of development, the Bill argues …