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Assessing the Mission Mode (MM) projects of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged time and cost overrun in completion of projects, irregular closure of projects declaring them successful despite non-achievement of one or more key objectives and parameters, and taking up …

With unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones emerging as a powerful tool in the agricultural sector, a progressive farmer in Kerala’s Wayanad has trained himself in the technology for use in his plantation as well as to train officials of various government agencies. P. Chandrasekharan, an engineer turned farmer at …

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a pension revision for retirees from the armed forces and their families under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, which has been delayed since July 2019. Arrears will be paid from July 01, 2019, to June 30, 2022, which is approximately ₹23,638 crore …

India ranks poorly on multiple health financing indicators. Its public health expenditure as a percentage of its GDP (1.28%) and share of general government expenditure dedicated to health (4.8%) remain akin to the poorest countries. Per capita health spending growth has not kept pace with rising incomes. Private spending still …

The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to provide free foodgrains to all 81 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year. The beneficiary families which used to pay ₹1 for coarse cereals, ₹2 for wheat and ₹3 for rice per kilogram will now get 35 …

The J&K Lieutenant Governor’s administration, in the third week of December, notified fresh land rules under J&KLand Grant Rules-2022 and replaced the J&K Land Grants Rules-1960, which dealt with the special rules to grant government land on lease in erstwhile State of J&K. Under the previous rules, prime locations such …

More than 140 experts and dignitaries have signed an open letter published by the Outer Space Institute (OSI) calling for both national and multilateral efforts to restrict uncontrolled re-entries — the phenomenon of rocket parts falling back to earth in unguided fashion once their missions are complete. Among others, the …

Tamil author M. Rajendran, Telugu writer Madhuranthakam Narendra and Sanskrit poet Janardan Prasad Pandey ‘Mani’ are among the 23 authors who won the Sahitya Akademi awards for 2022 announced on Thursday. Anuradha Roy has been selected for her English novel All the lives we never lived. The Bhasha Samman will be …

India, along with Russia and China, abstained from a UN Security Council resolution criticising Myanmar’s military regime, and instead called for “quiet, patient” and “constructive” diplomacy with the junta. The vote, which marked the first Security Council resolution on the situation in Myanmar in decades, and in particular, since the …

The world has been witnessing a flurry of meetings and conferences on the issue of countering terrorism worldwide. The list resembles an alphabetic soup, viz., meetings of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, the No Money for Terror Conference, and an Interpol Conference in which terrorism figured prominently. The recurring …

Gulf countries account for more than half of the Indian prisoners including undertrials and convicts lodged in foreign jails. According to data available with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), as many as 8,441 Indians including women are lodged in foreign jails in 69 countries in connection with various offences …

There is nothing extraordinary about this. But the house is located on a site that was possibly a part of the historic fort built by the Marathas. “No one at the school tells us about the importance of the fort or the town,” says the girl, who seems to have …

The Humayun Mahal in Chepauk Palace complex, which is under renovation, will house the Independence Day museum. The restoration of the heritage building, which was ravaged by a fire in 2012, is set to be completed in a month. After four years of struggle and overcoming the challenges posed by …

India and China held the 17th round of Corps Commander-level talks on December 20, at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side, during which they agreed to continue dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a “mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest,” …

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday cleared the way for the inclusion of the Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran hill tribes to the Scheduled Tribes list of Tamil Nadu and the inclusion of the Betta-Kuruba community as a synonym for the already categorised Kadu Kuruba tribe in the ST list of Karnataka, clearing …

Former IAS officer M. Rajendran’s historical novel Kala Pani (Black Water), which depicts the defeat and exile of 72 people, including VengaiPeriyaUdayannaDevar, the ruler of Sivaganga, and Duraisamy, son of ChinnaMarudu, after the Kalayarkoil war, has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for 2022. “I would rather treat the award as a recognition …

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena has directed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to implement a 2016 order of the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA). The order calls for recovering ₹97.14 crore plus interest from the ruling AamAadmi Party (AAP) for “political advertisements” published or telecast as government …

In a boost to the country’s maritime capabilities, INS Mormugao has officially joined the Indian Navy’s fleet, marking a significant milestone for indigenous military expedition. The warship ‘Yard 12705’, named after the Goan port city of Mormugao, is the second of the four Visakhapatnam-class destroyers being built under the Indian …

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the imposition of anti-dumping duty (ADD) on viscose staple fibre being imported from Indonesia. In a notification dated December 19, the DGTR recommended a levy of $0.512/kg as ADD. The DGTR said based on its recommendation, the Centre withdrew ADD on …

Sri Lanka is waiting for financing assurances from its bilateral creditors, including India and China, to tap support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Central Bank Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe. In September, the IMF reached a staff level agreement with Sri Lanka for a $2.9 billion package to …