The Asian Development Bank has approved a US$ 1.5 billion (around Rs 11,185 crore) loan to India for COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to a joint session of the United States Congress, delivered on Thursday.
When African ambassadors said the attacks against Africans are 'xenophobic and racial in nature,' the MEA declared 'strong Indian institutions are adequate to deal with aberrations that represent an act of a few criminals.' 'This is a lie,' says Aakar Patel. 'India's institutions can't even protect Indians against mob attacks, how will they protect foreigners?'
The agency also reported that the victims in their 20s accounted for the age group most affected by the horrific Seoul Halloween stampede.
Irdai had introduced two Covid specific products in the market - Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak - that saw huge acceptance among the consumers as these products had lower premiums.
The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund was established in March last year with the primary objective to deal with any kind of emergency situation like the one currently posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and provide relief to those affected.
Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood, a known critic of Narendra Modi, on Saturday made a presentation touching upon various aspects of problems being faced by Muslims and the 2002 riots, in front of the Gujarat chief minister. Since the interface between the Muslim community and Modi is keenly watched in the run-up to the 2014 general elections, we present Dr Mahmood's presentation
Highlights from PM Modi's Mathura speech to mark one year in power.
'That is the one headline the world is reading about India this week, and it is a potentially damaging story...' 'I don't think a panic mentality has set in, but this story is one that investors and market watchers are absolutely seized with.'
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
Stepping up its efforts to evacuate Indian students stranded in war-hit Ukraine, the Centre on Monday decided that Union ministers Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and V K Singh will travel to its neighbouring countries to coordinate the evacuation mission and help students, government sources said.
The Income-Tax (I-T) Department nowadays provides pre-filled forms to make the filing of income-tax return (ITR) easier. Nonetheless, you must have a number of documents handy at the time of filing return so that you can cross-check the data in the pre-filled form. "Filing ITR doesn't require you to upload any document. But in case an assessing officer makes an inquiry, you will need to present documents and certificates as proof," says Deepak Jain, chief executive, TaxManager.in.
The Delhi high court on Friday advanced to December 10 the hearing on pleas to declare the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund a 'State' under the Constitution and a 'public authority' under the Right to Information Act to ensure transparency in its functioning.
To help the country emerge as a true welfare State, political parties must put the country's interests first before strategising to win elections and short-term goals, argues Ramesh Menon.
Avoid discontinuing your SIPs. Persist for at least 7-10 years.
The observation came when Upadhyay, a lawyer, said since population comes under the concurrent list of the Constitution state governments can also make laws to control it.
The Bombay high court on Monday said ex-gratia compensation for the kin of COVID-19 victims was a matter of right and they must not be deprived of it.
Facebook-owned messaging platform said Indian journalists and human right activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli sypware Pegasus.
Observing that the issue concerning the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) is 'not so simple' the high court asked the Centre to file a 'detailed and exhaustive' response in the matter.
The tax department will remain a source of endless nightmares for citizens and 'transparent taxation' will remain an empty slogan and a cruel joke, observes Debashis Basu.
'Decide on an asset allocation you are comfortable with and stick to it for the long term.'
Sri Lanka's Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday imposed emergency giving him sweeping powers ahead of the key election on July 20 to pick a new President as he urged the political parties to put aside differences and form an all-party government, with the Opposition dubbing his decision as an 'undemocratic draconian act'.
The Kerala high court on Thursday asked the state government as to what steps can be taken to ensure the safety of citizens on the roads in the wake of a bus accident in Palakkad claiming nine lives, including five school students.
'What is proposed is that we tax payers pay Rs 1,000 per month to selected JanDhan accounts of poor families.' 'I am sure there are at least 10 crore Indians for whom Rs 1,000 is no big deal.'
The Delhi high court on Friday asked the Centre to reply to pleas by Facebook and WhatsApp challenging the new IT rules for social media intermediaries requiring the messaging app to "trace" chats and make provisions to identify the first originator of information.
Poland's Ambassador to India Adam Burakowski on Monday said his country is allowing entry to people of all nationalities who are leaving war-hit Ukraine by road and food and shelter will be provided to them.
Priyanka Gandhi said that when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic struck the country and people struggled for hospital beds, oxygen, vaccines and medicines, they expected the government to make efforts to save lives using earlier preparations and available resources.
'If we do this, we will see that the true history of India will be established and the lies will end spontaneously'
His remarks at the Maharajganj rally come against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine from where India is trying evacuate thousands of its citizens. Modi, however, did not specifically mention the crisis.
The notification issued by the Union Environment Ministry also exempts projects pertaining to the expansion of terminal buildings at airports (without an increase in the existing area of the airport) from seeking green nod.
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday claimed that a few retired judges and some activists who are 'part of the anti-India gang' are trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of the opposition party.
The ministry of electronics and information technology has directed WhatsApp to withdraw its new privacy policy, according to sources. The IT ministry believes that the changes to WhatsApp privacy policy and the manner of introducing the said changes undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens, government sources said. The government has given seven days to WhatsApp to respond to the notice and if no satisfactory response is received, necessary steps in consonance with law will be taken, sources informed. In a communication to WhatsApp on May 18, the ministry has once again told the messaging platform to withdraw its privacy policy 2021, they said.
The ministry has taken a strong position on the matter, and made it clear that it is not just problematic but also "irresponsible" for the messaging platform to leverage its position to impose "unfair" terms and conditions on Indian users, when many depend on WhatsApp to communicate in everyday life, according to the sources.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and Twitter India on a plea seeking a mechanism for regulating content and advertisements spreading hatred through fake news and instigative messages via bogus accounts.
There is a perception getting built inside the government that big technology companies -- a common term used for firms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon and the like - are becoming very powerful and present multiple threats to entire nations and their citizens today. The digital ecosystem is replete with CSAM (child sexual abuse material), fake news, drug trade, radicalisation, trolling among other social vices. Given the network effect that these platforms have, it is important to ensure that these platforms are not misused.
With Centre, state and municipal governments passing the buck on issues as critical as sanitation, Aditi Phadnis looks at the revolving door politics that is often played with the running of local self government
Observing that the Indian Supreme Court plays the role of a 'counter-majoritarian institution', Justice Chandrachud said it is the duty of the top court to 'protect the rights of socio-economic minorities'.
Political parties use fake social media accounts for self-promotion and image building and to tarnish the image of opponents and contesting candidates, especially during the elections, the plea said.
Warning that top officials at various levels 'shall be held personally liable' for any lapses, the apex court said it is unfortunate that despite various directions issued by it there is a blatant violation going on.
