Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday that judging by US President Donald Trump's initial statements, there is never going to be a dull moment during his presidency, and expressed hope that the Indo-US ties are in a "good shape". He also raised concerns about the potential impact of Trump's policies on trade and illegal migration on India. Tharoor said that there might be pressure on India to either remove tariffs on American goods or suffer high tariffs on Indian exports to America.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
The worst-hit districts include Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak, while the human casualty 'still stands at zero,' he told reporters in Bhubaneswar.
The latest glimpses from the warzone in Ukraine.
The Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of the fund -- Rs 1,60,391.06 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding and security of vital installations.
All State Disaster Management Acts have been formed as part of the central disaster management law; hence the state needs the Union government's permission to use the SDRF for helping the pandemic-hit people, a government official said on Thursday.
In 2025, Indian firms may face higher premiums for fire and engineering insurance covers as reinsurers are likely to revise rates due to rising claims from catastrophic events and higher loss ratios, according to people in the know.
This Women's Day Week, we pay tribute to the extraordinary courage, resilience, and leadership of three iconic Indian queens -- Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Rani Chennamma of Kittur, and Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Malwa.
The real intention of the 'Tariff Man' (as Trump calls himself) may not even be to put the 'Tariff King' (as he describes India) on the mat with a knockout punch but to arm-twist the Indian leadership to agree to some multi-billion dollar mega arms deal, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
From a few rain gauges in 1875 to rivalling the world's best weather agencies, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has weathered its way to becoming a global leader in forecasting.
Parliamentary standing committee on labour, led by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, has said in its report that it is unjustifiable for owners to pay workers' wages during natural calamities.
'The learning will be long term and if anything unlearn everything from this and start afresh.'
Insurance against natural calamities is not a separate product but is included with home, auto and business insurance.
The airport had temporarily suspended operations on Saturday due to strong winds and heavy rainfall caused by cyclones.
The GST Council on Saturday postponed a decision on cutting tax rate on life and health insurance premiums, officials said. The 55th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, decided that some more technicalities needed to be ironed out and tasked the GoM for further deliberations.
The Centre said that there was no legal provision to declare a disaster as a national calamity, amid demands for declaring the floods as a national disaster.
Power supply was yet to be restored in around 50,000 households in cyclone-hit areas in Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has said.
Experts have flagged issues regarding the levying of new cess/tax, especially those related to complications in administering the cess.
The Bombay High Court has imposed a Rs 25,000 fine on a Nashik prison jailor for illegally rejecting a prisoner's parole application. The court stated that the jailor's decision contravened the law and was based on a government circular that is inconsistent with existing prison rules. The court has ordered the jailor to reconsider the parole application and forward it to the appropriate authority for a decision.
'We used to get 400-500 applications for Canada on a yearly basis until last year, but this has gone down to just 70 this year.'
'We, the opposition parties, extend our sympathy and support to the governments and people of West Bengal and Odisha in meeting the impact of the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan,' the resolution said. It said a natural calamity like Cyclone Amphan has come as a double blow to the states amid the coronavirus pandemic, breaking the spirits of people.
Donald Trump's exaggerated opinion of his dealmaking capacity can get him into trouble, observes R Sriram.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the Kerala floods and the Centre's relief response.
Besides the police and fire force personnel, volunteers of various service and youth outfits, survivors of the landslides and kin of the victims also became part of the search operations.
The two leaders had a complex relationship yet formed a partnership and even after their parting of ways, the two admired each other in their efforts for India's freedom.
Convert the Haryana result into a blessing in disguise; make the calamity into an opportunity. Maharashtra was always the big ticket game in town; MVA must win it. The Congress should shift headquarters to Mumbai for the entire month. Show urgency and a hunger to win, asserts Sanjay Jha.
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
As Cyclone Dana barrels toward the coasts of Odisha, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating about 10 lakh people in several coastal districts to safety. In West Bengal, the cyclone is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
Taking note of large-scale deaths because of the heat wave in various parts of country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked a Group of Ministers to discuss and decide on its inclusion as natural calamity.
The funds will be released to West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Sikkim as assistance for the damage caused by cyclone, floods and landslides during the year.
Out of 24,230 IIT and NIT grads, about 8,000 students didn't find any takers during campus placement drives this year.
More than 45 lakh people in 30 out of the total 38 districts of the state have been affected by the calamity in two phases since last month, according to the Disaster Management Department.
As Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for a severe cyclonic storm, governments of both states started evacuating people and while deciding to close educational institutions in vulnerable areas.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Thursday expressed concern over massive loss of life and property in neighbouring Uttarakhand and demanded the central government to declare it as a national calamity.
Several people are still feared trapped in the debris after a series of landslides that occurred in Chooralmala and Mundakkai of Wayanad.
Modi also visited one of the relief camps, which is home to many of those displaced in the massive landslides, and interacted with some of the survivors, including two children who lost their loved ones in the disaster that has claimed over 200 lives.
In addition to hospitalisation charges, it will cover expenses like transfer to hospital in of an accident.
The survivors, one with broken limbs and the other with torn clothes and bruises, were crying out for help when Rahman reached the spot.
Malayalam television channels aired the visuals captured on the CCTVs in some shops in Chooralmala, one of the hamlets completely destroyed in the disaster.
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