The minister said the reasons for withdrawal of landline connections includes preference for mobile phones, move to private operator, disconnections due to non-payment of dues and surrendering of second telephone taken for get internet connection due to availability of broadband. The total number of landlines in the country as on March 2008 is 39 million, which was 4 crore in March 2007. At present, BSNL has 31 million landline users while MTNL has 3.68 million users.
India needs to surpass from being a purely back office and software programming nation to a product nation, the newly appointed Minister of State for IT and Telecommunications Jyotiraditya Scindia said.
IOA president Suresh Kalmadi has invited Rahul Gandhi along with other young Parliamentarians to participate in the Indian leg of the Olympic torch relay at the behest of the organisers. Besdies Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada and Sachin Pilot would also be invited. Kalmadi has also assured the relay, which had seen worldwide protests, would go without any hiccup in India.
India's retail business, the second largest employer after agriculture, is estimated to touch $590 billion in two years, Parliament was informed on Monday.
Priyanka Gandhi addressed 209 rallies and roadshows, the maximum by any top leader during the UP election campaign, followed closely by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who spoke at 203 poll events.
Hit by demand slowdown in the major markets of the US and Europe, India's exports grew by a meagre 3.4 per cent to $168.7 billion in 2008-09 over $163 billion in a year ago period. The government is taking steps to arrest the downslide in exports, minister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Sunday after taking charge.
The AIIMS has not issued any bulletin on Jaitley's health since August 10.
The notices were submitted by the Congress over the Rafale deal.
There was an environment of "indifference" towards the use of technology in governance before 2014 due to which the poor and the middle class suffered the most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday. He asserted the current government has ensured last-mile delivery of services with the help of technology, including drones. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating India's biggest drone festival in Delhi, he said, "At a time when we are celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, it is my dream that everyone in India should have a smartphone in his or her hand, every farm should have a drone and every house should have prosperity." The enthusiasm being seen in India about drone technology is amazing and indicates possibilities of an emerging sector of employment generation, the prime minister said.
Sanjay Singh Masani said the state needs Congress's chief Kamal Nath not Chouhan as the CM.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing that 1,396 Indians were brought back home in six flights in the last few days as part of the evacuation mission.
Marking her political debut ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived at Lucknow airport Monday afternoon to a rousing reception by party leaders and workers. A 30-kilometre long roadshow is planned in Lucknow as a grand welcome for the top three Congress leaders, through some of the most congested areas of the city.
Illegal routing of international calls is assessed to have caused a loss of about Rs 145 crore to the government during the last three financial years, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Jyotiraditya Scindia said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Illegal routing of international calls is done in the guise of local calls by private players, resulting in evasion of connectivity and Access Deficit Charges.
It said image repetition found was 'not related to multiple entries'.
A number of Congress leaders across the country have gone against the party's stand in Parliament on abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir by supporting the Centre's move and a bill to bifurcate the state. The Congress has strongly opposed the move and the bill to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.
Jyotiraditya's initial absence from the campaigning gave credence to the belief that members of the royal clan were insulated from within and did not come out openly against each other.
MP: 25 MLAs, Scindia resign to express solidarity with Sonia
Mother and son refuse to go away despite indications blowing in the wind that their leadership is ringing the death knell of the party, observes Ramesh Menon.
At a meeting of the business advisory committee of Lok Sabha, which has floor leaders of all parties besides the government representatives and is chaired by the Speaker, most political parties favoured curtailment of the session, which started on September 14 and was scheduled to conclude on October 1.
Tata Sons has emerged as the top bidder for the takeover of debt-laden State-run airline Air India but the bid is yet to be approved by a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, sources said.
Ahead of the Union Cabinet expansion on Wednesday, several Union Ministers, including Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar resigned from their posts.
Will he leave the party? Will he float a new one? Or join an existing one? As speculation is rife over Jyotiraditya Scindia's next move, the Madhya Pradesh Congress unit appears to be divided on the rift between him and Chief Minister Kamal Nath, reports Sandeep Kumar.
Here are some of the political leaders' who await their fate.
The fate of tainted cricketers Ajit Chandila and Hiken Shah will be decided by the BCCI's (Board of Control for Cricket in India) Disciplinary Committee, headed by president Shashank Manohar, in Mumbai, on Monday
Loans for Indian airlines have dried up as banks have become cautious to lend to the sector.
The BJP hit back, saying Gehlot has failed to run the government and is frustrated and making unreasonable allegations.
Nath's resignation brought an end to the 18-day-long political drama which also played out in Haryana, Bengaluru and the national capital.
Priyanka wants to have 33 per cent representation of women in the organisation given the fact that they are not be related to party leaders.
The RSS wants three nominees inducted: Tejaswi Surya, the young BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a Rajya Sabha member, and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The governor also directed that the trust vote be held by division of votes and the process be recorded on video by the Vidhan Sabha through independent persons.
Scindia alleged that the Congress had betrayed the people of the state with false promises to come to power.
"The state government has taken an important decision that government jobs will be given to youths of Madhya Pradesh. We are making necessary legal provisions for this. Resources of Madhya Pradesh are meant for children of the state," Chouhan said in a video statement.
From Union Home Minister Amit Shah to India's double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar to actor Ranveer Singh, emotional tributes poured in for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who announced his retirement on Saturday
The six suspended MPs were also present at the protest.
To a question on whether deciding against contesting in the constituency would send a wrong signal, she said, "No I don't think so... I had said from the start that I will do what my party says...my party decided this and I am happy to follow the instructions."
Addressing the Congress Working Committee meeting, she said thousands of young men and women, especially students have realised the "grave harm" that implementation of the new citizenship law will cause.
The Shiv Sena accused Jyotiraditya Scindia of working hard to see that Pilot quits the Congress.
A day after the Congress brainstormed over its electoral reverses, senior leader M Veerappa Moily on Monday said Sonia Gandhi should take "full control" of the party with a free hand to change non-performing leaders, and asserted that a "mere culture of tweets and social media propaganda" would not take the organisation forward.
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