GS-II

They top the list of 1,084 applicants Nearly half the applications pending for Indian citizenship are from Pakistanis, according to a Home Ministry database. Out of the 1,084 applicants who applied for Indian citizenship before 2011, as many as 526 are from Pakistan. There were 103 applications pending from Afghanistan, …

Visit to help both sides learn from each other on VVIP security A delegation of a Chinese group that takes care of the security of the top seven members of the nation’s leadership will visit New Delhi in November, as security ties between India and China begin to expand. The …

PIL plea says it will help check abuse against women The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a PIL petition to extend the Vishakha guidelines against sexual harassment in workplace to ashrams, madrasas and Catholic institutions. The Vishakha guidelines introduced by the apex court in 1997 were evolved into a …

The two PMs visit factory making industrial robots Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, held informal talks at a picturesque resort near Mount Fuji and visited a factory making industrial robots on Sunday as they spent eight hours together on the first day of the two-day …

Amid Sirisena-Wickremesinghe stand-off, New Delhi assures Colombo of continued development aid India on Sunday reminded Sri Lanka of constitutional process, in an official statement following the ongoing political crisis that erupted after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. India’s response came as both the leaders began an outreach …

U.S. President Donald Trump will not travel to India as the chief guest for the Republic Day Parade, and the White House has conveyed its regrets to the Narendra Modi government, The Hindu has learnt. The government is now exploring several other options for the event. According to multiple government …

‘His comments on Sabarimala verdict contempt of court’ The Opposition parties on Sunday termed BJP president Amit Shah’s comments on the Supreme Court judgment allowing entry of women to the Sabarimala shrine as unconstitutional and contempt of court and hoped that the court would take suo motu cognisance of them …

Cites serious constitutional crisis, requests President to reconvene Parliament The Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament, Karu Jayasuriya, on Sunday urged President Maithripala Sirisena to protect the rights and privileges of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe until his majority in the House was challenged by another member. Further, citing possible “serious …

Last week, Britain’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted about a case of a gang of men (commonly referred to as a “grooming gang”), who had sexually assaulted and abused young girls, and had been found guilty by a court in northern England of over 120 offences. “These sick Asian paedophiles …

An assumed saviour for Croat ethnic identity versus a saviour for all of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) who happens to be a Croat — this is the new political fault-line in the racially tense country. For a country with a tripartite presidency to represent each of the three major ethnic …

Sri Lanka’s first ever Northern Provincial Council completed its five-year term last week. About 25 years after the erstwhile North-Eastern Council lapsed, people living in the Tamil-majority areas had propelled their preferred political representatives to power in September 2013, sensing new hope post-war. Just as the Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) …

Bangladesh has rediscovered Kamal Hossain, a jurist of international fame, as the face of the political Opposition in the country. From a rally in the northeastern city of Sylhet on October 24, Mr. Hossain, 81, announced a campaign for what he said was the revival of democracy. The rally was …

Veritas , Latin for “truth”, is the motto of America’s oldest and arguably most famous university, Harvard. The motto, presumably signifying a place that seeks truth in matters scientific and philosophical, has special meaning for Harvard these days with a Federal court in Boston hearing a case on discrimination in …

Afghans risked their lives to vote in legislative elections in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, after the Taliban-claimed killing of a powerful police chief delayed the ballot by a week. Turbaned men and burqa-clad women stood in long, segregated queues outside polling centres in the deeply conservative Kandahar’s provincial capital, which …

Initial findings showed that Cesar Sayoc, who was arrested on Friday in Florida in connection with the 13 package bombs, was a Donald Trump supporter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized a white van in which Mr. Sayoc appeared to be living and large sections of which were covered …

Govt. prefers to watch developments including Parliament vote, weighs options Even as the European Union and the United States expressed concern over the manner in which Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena withdrew support to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and swore in former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place, and China …

The Centre on Friday submitted to the Supreme Court details of the decision-making process for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets in a fly-away condition from France’s Dassault Aviation. The details of the decision-making process were filed with the Secretary General of the Supreme Court in a sealed cover …

MP and son of Mr. Rajapaksa, Namal Rajapaksa termed the current arrangement “a caretaker government” that would hold charge until “early” national elections. Claiming that their side had a comfortable majority, he said, “We want to first stabilise the economic and political situation”. Asked why the parliament was prorogued if …

Kohima, the only theatre of the Second World War in the Indian subcontinent, is gearing up for the centenary of an ethnic club moulded by events during the First World War in faraway France. But the Nagaland capital is divided over who has the right to celebrate the special day …

The Ayodhya title suit appeals are scheduled for hearing on October 29 before a completely new Supreme Court Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. The appeals are listed for Monday under the head “directions matter” before a new composition of judges, who, besides the CJI, are his …