'The largest listenership for Vividh Bharati outside the country is in Spain.' 'The labourers who go there for the tomato-picking season feel cut off from their country and listen to Vividh Bharati to overcome their loneliness.'
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
The rear coach of the Ahmedabad-Barauni Express was engulfed in heavy smoke after a fire on Monday evening between Khandwa and Itarsi section of the Bhopal division in Madhya Pradesh, though no one was hurt as the bogie was empty, an official said.
The protesters torched tyres and old furniture in the middle of the road in Kwakeithel and Uripok, demanding the release of the leader. The situation remained tense on Sunday morning.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost his temper and made a gesture by raising his hand at a police officer during a protest rally in Belagavi. The incident occurred when a group of people, allegedly BJP workers, attempted to disrupt his speech by displaying a black flag and shouting slogans. Siddaramaiah, visibly upset, summoned the police officer to the stage and instructed him to remove the disruptive individuals. The incident sparked a heated exchange between the CM and BJP leaders, with both sides accusing each other of disrupting rallies and resorting to violence.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday demanded that Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa reveal the source of his claim that 50 bombs had reached the state, questioning if he had direct links with Pakistan. Bajwa, who had made the statement in a TV interview, said he cooperated with police but refused to divulge his sources. The police visited Bajwa's residence and questioned him about his statement. Mann also sought a clarification from the Congress party, saying the government will take strict action if Bajwa's statement was meant only to "create panic."
'The Central Public Information Officer is not required to furnish information which requires drawing of inteference and/or making of assumption, or to interpret information, or to solve the problem raised by the applicant, or to furnish replies to hypothetical questions. 'The Information sought does not come under the definition of information as defined in Section 2(f) of RTI Act, 2005. The CPIO has no specific information to provide (sic),' it said.
At least 12 passengers were killed on Wednesday evening when they jumped from their train in panic due to a 'fire incident', only to be run over by another train on the adjacent tracks in North Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, officials said.
Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday barred former CEO of IndusInd Bank, Sumant Kathpalia, and four other senior officials from accessing the securities markets in connection with an alleged insider trading in the bank's shares. In addition to the market ban, Sebi has impounded Rs 19.78 crore collectively from the five individuals, according to an interim order passed by the regulator.
The CIC, the top appellate body in RTI matters, went through the law, orders of the Supreme Court, the Law Commission of India report, submissions of the Central Public Information Officer in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to conclude that the status, nature and functional characteristics of the BCCI fulfil required conditions of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
While data can empower communities, it reinforces identities, making local politics more caste-centric, with decisions increasingly contested on the grounds of representation.
Such dynamics could lead to shifting alliances and, in the worst case, local governance getting paralysed as each group demands proportional power-sharing, explain Amitabh Kundu and Mehebub Rahaman.
Only in the event of the RSS managing to force Modi into accepting a consensual candidate, will the party not continue to 'being' the 'next Congress', observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Shakti Dubey has topped the civil services examination 2024, with Harshita Goyal and Dongre Archit Parag getting the second and third ranks, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced on Tuesday. The top five successful candidates comprise three women and two men. The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- by the UPSC to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others. A total of 1,009 candidates -- 725 men and 284 women -- have been recommended by the UPSC for appointment to various services.
Seven of the 13 people who died in a train accident in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district were from Nepal. The accident occurred when passengers on the Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express got off the train after an alarm chain-pulling incident and were run over by the Karnataka Express on the adjacent tracks. A fire rumour spread in the train, prompting passengers to jump off. The incident highlighted the dangers of chain-pulling and the need for better safety measures on Indian Railways.
'The precision strikes were well planned and excellently executed. The world will be studying this operation.'
Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, the chief minister also announced a one-man judicial probe, headed by Justice Michael D'Cunha, a retired high court judge of Karnataka, into the tragic incident.
The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday questioned the issue of using "spyware against terrorists" and stated that any report touching upon the country's "security and sovereignty" won't be made public. The court indicated it might address individual concerns regarding privacy breaches, but the report of the technical committee would not be a document for public discussion. The court will examine the extent to which the report can be shared publicly. The court's statement came during a hearing on a petition related to the alleged use of Pegasus spyware for surveillance. The court also emphasized that "having spyware is not wrong, against whom you are using is the question" and that the security of the nation cannot be compromised. The hearing has been adjourned to July 30.
The top court had on March 4 directed the party to vacate its office by June 15 after noting that the plot was allotted to the Delhi high court for expanding judicial infrastructure.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
Rescue efforts to locate eight people trapped in a collapsed tunnel in Telangana continue, with over 500 rescuers working on a war footing. Despite days of intensive search and rescue operations, no breakthrough has been achieved yet. Authorities have dismissed reports of bodies being found in the debris and are working to clear the debris and access the trapped workers. The tunnel collapse occurred on February 22, trapping eight personnel working on the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel project. Among the trapped are two engineers, two operators, and four laborers.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun questioning Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the deadly strikes. Rana, who was extradited from the US, is being held at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi. The interrogation is focused on his possible connection with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and his suspected links with the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
'It does two things that even our erstwhile colonial masters did not deem fit for their subjects: The Bill does away with any checks or balances on the exercise of interception and surveillance powers, including any penalty whatsoever for unauthorised interception, opening, scrutiny, or destruction of postal materials.'
The Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has registered a case against former PWD minister and senior AAP leader Satyendar Jain over alleged corruption in a Rs 571-crore CCTV project. According to the ACB, Jain allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 7 crore to waive the liquidated damages penalty of Rs 16 crore imposed on Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The project, which was executed when he was a PWD minister in the previous Arvind Kejriwal government, was related to the installation of 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras across all 70 assembly constituencies.
The government on Monday appointed Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra as the 26th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared Malhotra's name, who has been appointed as the RBI Governor for three years, starting Wednesday. Malhotra, a 1990 Batch Rajasthan Cadre IAS Officer, will replace Shaktikanta Das, whose tenure ends on Tuesday (December 10, 2024).
In apparent violation of a government circular, the Indian Air Force has said it is not accepting Right To Information fee drawn in favour of the "Accounts Officer".
Curfew was imposed in Manipur's Churachandpur on Monday as a precautionary measure following clashes between Hmar and Zomi communities. The decision came after a Hmar tribal leader was assaulted, leading to demands for the perpetrators to be identified. Prohibitory orders were also imposed in the district, banning unauthorized processions and assemblies, and restricting the carrying of weapons. The violence stemmed from an altercation involving the Hmar leader, who was accused of nearly hitting a two-wheeler rider. The incident sparked protests and clashes, with central security forces intervening to disperse mobs. The Hmar Village Volunteers have imposed a total shutdown in Pherzawl and Jiribam districts in response to the violence.
The executive enclave will house the new Prime Minister's Office, Cabinet Secretariat, India House and the National Security Council Secretariat.
Supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF) clashed with police in West Bengal on Monday during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, leading to several injuries and the torching of multiple police vehicles. The clash occurred after police stopped ISF supporters from attending an anti-Waqf Act rally in Kolkata. The protests escalated when the crowd attempted to break through police barricades. The situation was brought under control after a large police force was deployed. ISF leader Naushad Siddique condemned the Waqf Act and accused the BJP of trying to incite communal tension. Meanwhile, the ruling Trinamool Congress dismissed the ISF as a "party of no consequence." Communal violence related to the Waqf Act has also occurred in other parts of West Bengal.
Preliminary investigations suggest that financial disputes may have triggered the fatal confrontation.
Strangely, no consolidated figures on infrastructure investments made on ground are ever disseminated by any official arm of the Government of India.
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
The Prime Minister's Office is considering declassification of some files on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in a move expected to bring to light fresh information about his mysterious disappearance.
The proposed rules, aimed at replacing RTI rules of 2012, have been placed by the department of personnel and training on its website for comments from public.
The Supreme Court of India has sought the government's response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenges the appointment process of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), arguing it's unconstitutional. The PIL, filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, claims the current process, solely through executive appointment by the Prime Minister, undermines the CAG's independence and violates constitutional principles. The court, while acknowledging the importance of institutional trust, questioned the extent to which it should intervene in the appointment process and whether this would constitute rewriting constitutional provisions. The PIL suggests the CAG's appointment should be similar to other independent bodies, with a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Chief Justice of India. The case has implications for the independence and transparency of India's audit system.
There seems to a disparity in expenditure on advertisements for remembering national icons, with the government spending nearly triple the amount for glorifying Rajiv Gandhi in two months than what it did for Lal Bahadur Shastri in 10 years.
Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said it was surprising to know that on these national aspects, the Central Public Information Officers of all high offices simply passed it on to the others "without application of mind".
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
'It is ensured that no adversaries or people who oppose Tahawwur Rana's philosophy are housed in the same ward or jail.' 'Additionally, it is ensured that he does not have any prior contacts within that jail.' 'So, the lodgment of such a high-profile prisoner is done very carefully.'
Sources privy to the meeting told PTI that the top brass and other senior commanders of these forces were asked to keep a strict vigil against any illegal encroachment taking place in their respective areas of operations.
The estimated project cost of the executive enclave which will house a new prime minister's office (PMO) has gone up by over Rs 100 crore to Rs 1,316 crore as the CPWD floated a fresh tender cancelling its earlier one, according to the agency's bid document.
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