The signing of a multi-million-dollar deal between Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co and the Taliban in Kabul is being marketed by the latter as its first major economic win since the return of the Islamic Emirate in August 2021. The deal, estimated to be $540 million, gives Beijing …

The Office of the Registrar-General of India (RGI) is following the set of criteria set out by the Lokur Committee nearly 60 years ago to define any new community as a Scheduled Tribe, The Hindu has learnt. Approval of the Office of the RGI is mandatory for the inclusion of any community …

The U.K. and Japan, on Wednesday, signed a defence pact, which will permit the deployment of troops in each other’s countries and increase security cooperation. The move comes as Britain is undertaking a ‘tilt’ towards the Indo-Pacific in its foreign and security policy. “The Reciprocal Access Agreement is hugely significant …

India’s net direct tax collections stood at ₹12.31 lakh crore as on Tuesday, accounting for almost 87% of the target for 2022-23 and reflecting a 19.6% growth over the year-earlier period, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday, asserting that tax revenues continued to register ‘steady growth’. The growth rate for …

Cracks first appeared in a few houses in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath town in October 2021. Over a year later, by January 11, 2023, 723 houses in all of the nine wards in the town had developed major or minor cracks on the floors, ceilings and walls. In response, 145 families have …

Nelson Mandela had said that “there can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”. Two global reports released on January 10, 2023 — on child mortality and on stillbirths — prod us to reflect on whether India is doing enough …

The land subsidence in Joshimath has become emblematic of a geological disaster that has in fact manifested across India, in the neighbourhood of several large resource-extraction projects. There have been reports of subsidence from the Jharia, Bhurkunda, Kapasara, Raniganj and Talcher coal mines; from Delhi and Kolkata due to the …

The Kerala Tourism Department is likely to highlight Beypore ‘Uru’, the wooden dhows handcrafted by artisans and carpenters, and the water sports there in the detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the Centre for the Swadesh Darshan project. Beypore and Kumarakom are the only two tourism destinations from …

● Amid a debate on the process of appointment of judges, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday made strong comments on “public posturing” or “one-upmanship” by the judiciary. ● Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also spoke in a similar vein. ● Inaugurating the 83rd All India Presiding Officers conference, Mr. Dhankhar, who is the …

● The Union Cabinet approved an outlay of ₹2,600 crore to promote payments using RuPay cards and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), said Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav on Wednesday. Banks will be provided this incentive money to promote such digital payments, an official press release said. ● The fund will be paid …

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said the northeast monsoon is likely to withdraw from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Thursday. Nippy weather may set in, especially over the interior parts of the State, where the minimum temperature is likely to drop by two or three degrees Celsius. On Wednesday, …