GS-II

Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has asked the Madhya Pradesh government to submit a “detailed report” within 15 days on alleged irregularities inSwachh Survekshan 2019. On October 7, J.C. Upreti, Under Secretary to the Government of India, wrote to the Principal Secretary, State Urban Development and Environment Department, …

Team led by Ambassador Shringla explains Centre’s view With less than a week to go before a Congressional hearing on Human Rights in South Asia, India is exerting its diplomatic muscle on Capitol Hill to explain the government’s point of view on Kashmir to U.S. lawmakers. A team of five …

Once dominating the news for setting debates and settling sticky discourses for 70 years, the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council, the upper house of the Assembly, was abolished on Thursday as per Section 57 of the J&K Reorganisation Bill, 2019, which reduced the State to the Union Territories of J&K …

Trump sends Pence, Pompeo to negotiate with Erdogan Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its military offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected any negotiations, telling Parliament …

State company secures development rights for Tulagi Island The island of Tulagi served as a South Pacific headquarters for Britain and then Japan. During Second World War, its natural deepwater harbour across from Guadalcanal made it a military gem soldiers fought and died for. Now Tulagi, part of the Solomon …

It requires U.S. President to sanction those responsible for rights abuses in city; China slams the Bill The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Bill on Tuesday sought by pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong that aims to defend civil rights in the semi-autonomous territory, prompting an angry response from China. …

I&B ministry also nudging OTP platforms like Netflix, Hotstar to form regulatory body The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is likely to issue a “negative” list of don’ts for video streaming services or Over-The-Top platforms like Netflix and Hotstar by the end of this year. The Ministry is also nudging the …

He will land in Tokyo on October 21 after a four-day visit to the Philippines President Ram Nath Kovind will join Britain’s Prince Charles, Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan and leaders of several Asian countries in attending the enthronement ceremony of Japan’s new Emperor Naruhito on October 22. Mr. Kovind, who …

He says courts curtailed powers of information panels Chief Information Commissioner Sudhir Bhargava has accused government officials of violating the Right to Information Act with impunity, taking advantage of court orders that they cannot be penalised except in cases of mala fide intent. He was speaking at a public meeting …

Commercial pass withdrawn; protocol service restricted to ‘Meet and Greet’ The Ministry of Civil Aviation has rolled out new access control measures across all airports in the country. It has withdrawn commercial Airport Entry Pass (AEP) and restricted protocol or facilitation extended to a section of passengers to ‘Meet and …

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the nations should not be influenced by a third party Within days of the second India-China “informal summit”, Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi has said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had shared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi his vision for trilateral …

The Ayodhya mediation committee on Wednesday filed a report in the Supreme Court about a settlement reached in which the Sunni Waqf Board is said to have raised no objection to the acquisition of the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site by the government, parties engaged in the talks told The Hindu …

For the second day, Justice Arun Mishra stands his ground Justice Arun Mishra of the Supreme Court on Wednesday said “sponsored” articles and critical social media posts had steeled his resolve to not buckle under and recuse himself as lead judge of a Constitution Bench reviewing his own past judgment. …

Appeals had challenged the three-way partition of the disputed site The Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, on Wednesday reserved its judgment, after a marathon 40-day hearing, on the cross-appeals filed by the Hindu and Muslim sides challenging the three-way partition of the disputed 2.77 acres …

Supreme Court schedules case for hearing on October 25 The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to produce the orders passed by authorities on restrictions in Jammu & Kashmir as well as Section 144 proceedings. The direction from a three-judge Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana came …

Pompeo slams it as an intimidation bid U.S. President Donald Trump has denounced the impeachment inquiry threatening his presidency as a “coup,” as his administration pushed back against the investigation. Mr. Trump’s comments came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to prevent or delay five State Department officials from …

‘Zalmay Khalilzad’s visit is not to resume Afghan peace plan’ The Taliban announced on Wednesday they are sending a high-level delegation to Pakistan’s capital as part of a tour that has included Russia, China and Iran in a push to resurrect an Afghanistan peace deal with Washington that seemed imminent …

Meet aimed to discredit claims of Trump-Russia link: report Italy’s Prime Minister gave permission for a top U.S. official to meet Rome’s intelligence services as part of Trump-lead efforts to discredit claims he has ties with Russia, media reported on Wednesday. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte approved two meetings U.S. Attorney …

Prime Minister says U.K. will leave the grouping by October 31; promises that there won’t be checks at the Irish border The U.K. offered the European Union a proposed Brexit deal on Wednesday that it said represents a compromise for both sides, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the …

‘Maps have been there for 70 years’ Elaborating on his comments from over two weeks ago that one day India expects to have physical jurisdiction over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated India’s claim over the region. “The point I was making was a very simple one. …