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There is a widespread misconception that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been depleting India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves to defend the rupee. The RBI cannot simply fritter away India’s forex reserves, held mostly in dollars, by charging its “nostro” account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, …

A major democratic revolution has taken place almost unnoticed, leaving the urban Anglicised élite on the margins of the Indian political landscape.” And, in a meet with Mr. Dalrymple, the late Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh remarked after his elevation to the national cabinet in 1996, “…for the first time, …

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing a Next-Gen Launch Vehicle (NGLV), which will one day replace operational systems like the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). PSLV, often dubbed the ‘trusted workhorse’, “will have to retire” one day, which opened at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Valiyamala. In NGLV, …

The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a split verdict on whether Muslim students should shed their hijabs at their school gates. Justice Hemant Gupta upheld Karnataka’s prohibitive government order of February 5, saying “apparent symbols of religious belief cannot be worn to secular schools maintained from State funds”. Justice Gupta …

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved development of Container Terminal at Tuna-Tekra, Deendayal Port on Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) basis under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode. The estimated cost of Rs 4,243.64 crore will be on the part of the Concessionaire and …

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved a new Scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) for the remaining four years of the 15th Finance Commission from 2022-23 to 2025-26. The new Scheme, PM-DevINE, is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% Central …

Our history books offer little to read about ancient Tamil kingdoms such as the Cholas which are much in discussion now. When monumental eras like the Cholas are missing from the pages of history, the best option to know more about the ancient civilisation is to read from the available …

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered States and their police forces to stop prosecuting free speech on social media under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act which was declared unconstitutional by the court in a judgment seven years ago. The court found it both “distressing” and “terrible” that the …

India and China on Tuesday held consultations on bilateral relations in Beijing, days ahead of the Chinese leadership convening for a once-in-five-years Communist Party Congress that will set policies for the coming decade. India’s Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat held talks with Liu Jinsong, Director-General of the Department of …

In September, a study published in the journal Science said earth may have already passed through five dangerous tipping points due to the 1.1°C of global heating caused by humanity to date. Calls for developing and transferring technologies to support action on climate change have become louder worldwide. Technology has …

Once again the collegium of the Supreme Court of India is in the news, and once again for the wrong reasons. This time, it is because of the difficulty that its five judges have in getting together for one meeting. The Chief Justice of India, Justice U.U. Lalit, assumed office …

A group of explorers recently stumbled upon a waterfall that was hitherto unheard of, hidden in the forests of MuluguVenkatapur in Warangal district of Telangana. So far, the presence of the waterfalls has been known only to the tribal people living there, who call it Kothikuntala due to the presence …

In a first in the country, the Tamil Nadu government notified the Kaduvur slender loris sanctuary, covering 11,806 hectares in Karur and Dindigul districts. Slender lorises, which are small nocturnal mammals, are arboreal as they spend most of their life on trees. The species acts as a biological predator of …

Retail inflation accelerated to a five-month high of 7.41% in September, from 7% in August, as food inflation surged sharply to 8.41% last month — the steepest level in 22 months. September’s retail inflation was the highest since April, when price rise quickened to an almost eight-year high of 7.79%, …

With an objective to boost the mineral exploration activities in the country, Central Government established ‘National Mineral Exploration Trust’ (NMET) which since its inception has been funding various Notified Exploration Agencies to carry out exploration projects across the country. Accordingly, NMET has issued General Instructions dated 24th February, 2021 to NEAs …

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology, MoS PMO, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh said today that Indian StartUps will soon launch Space satellites as well as satellite constellations and try their rockets. The Minister also informed that five PSLVs are being domestically produced …

India’s geospatial economy is expected to cross Rs 63,000 crore by 2025 at a growth rate of 12.8% and to provide employment to more than 10 lakh people mainly through Geospatial Start-Ups. This was stated here today by Union Minister for Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr …

Israel said on Tuesday it has reached a U.S.-brokered agreement with Lebanon to settle their long-disputed maritime border, hailing a “historic achievement” that potentially unlocks significant offshore gas production for both countries. Negotiations between the neighbouring countries, which are still technically at war, had suffered repeated setbacks since their launch …

Farmers’ organisations have questioned the delay in announcing the minimum support price (MSP) for crops in the ongoing Rabi season even as sowing has started in several States. Farmers point out that announcing the MSP is important so that they can select the crops that have to be sown during …

Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit nominated Justice D.Y. Chandrachud as his successor in a brief meeting held at the Supreme Court judges’ lounge in the presence of all judges of the court on Tuesday. Chief Justice Lalit’s recommendation to the government would start the process for appointment of Justice …