And it's that time of the year again. The time for accolades, the time for awards. But these are the awards you would rather not be the recipient. We are of course giving these awards to celebrate the most awesome or awful achievements a person could attain, and of course, these are being given out in absentia.
Members in the Rajya Sabha had sought the government's intervention in resolving the protests by JNU students by advising the university authorities to reconsider its decision to severely penalise some of them.
Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday rejected allegations that her ministry was trying to push books written by Hindutva ideologues, saying it will abide by "constitutional modalities" before taking any step.
Every single assault targeting the Maha Bodhi targets India, says Tarun Vijay
Under intense attack, HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday made a forceful statement in Lok Sabha, saying Kanhaiya Kumar and some other students had been found indulging in anti-national activities by the Jawaharlal Nehru University authorities themselves.
The protests, which started in the morning, is part of the agitation against the hostel manual and several other issues like restrictions by the administration on entry to the Parthasarathy Rocks, attempts to lock students' union office, according to the students.
'The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill' makes employment of children below 14 years as cognisable offence for employers and provides for penalty for parents.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that meaning of Sanskrit 'shlokas' is a universal truth and merely because it is written in Sanskrit, it does not make it communal.
Why do Innovation Revolutions happen outside India, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
'We are in close touch with Indian officials at all levels. We are also closely coordinating with our allies, friends, and Quad partners about how we can collectively support India in its hour of need,' a senior Biden administration official told reporters
In an address to the air warriors on the occasion of the 89th Air Force Day, the Chief of Air Staff also said that the IAF must demonstrate to the nation that external forces will not be allowed to violate its territory.
Not just in the fight against COVID-19, but also in politics, economics and society, observes Ajit Balakrishnan.
In a letter to states and union territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has suggested setting up of a state steering committee chaired by the chief secretary, a state task force led by additional Chief Secretary or principal secretary (health), and a district task force to be headed by the district magistrate.
Younger cheetahs that are habituated to management vehicles and human presence are preferred candidates for relocation to India, international experts involved in Project Cheetah have told the government based on lessons learnt from the initial experience in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park.
Ministers who were in the news for all the wrong reasons
On August 1, the mothers of Baramulla will heave a sigh of relief as their children can now stop going to Srinagar and other places for higher secondary studies. Behind the local Kendriya Vidyalaya starting classes for Std XI and XII students is a tale of quick, decisive action by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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The Modi government's response to infiltration at the India-Pakistan border, Kumar Vishwas told Google staff, was weak, adding that there had been 19 infiltration attempts and ceasefire violations by Pakistan since the new government took charge.
Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have topped an index that ranks states on food safety parameters for the 2020-21 year, according to an FSSAI report unveiled by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday. The index ranks states on five parameters of food safety: human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing facility, training and capacity building besides consumer empowerment. Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have topped in the list of large states on the index.
Rescuers on Monday fished out bodies of five Hyderabad-based engineering students, who were washed away in the swirling waters of Beas River along with 20 classmates whose fate is not known as Chief minister Virbhadra Singh ordered a magisterial inquiry and suspension of Resident Engineer of Larji hydropower project.
The loss in Bihar has forced a change in NDA's market positioning, says Shekhar Gupta.
'Pakistan was very mature in the way it dealt with the incident.' 'India too owned up to the accident.' 'The whole incident was resolved quite amicably.' 'Both countries should be proud of how they have handled this situation.'
... Are far-reaching social changes coming with it, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
'He selects certain portfolios that he has personal interest in, and he does not give them to a senior leader. The responsibility is given to a junior minister who then directly reports to Modi or to the small team of bureaucrats working with Modi.' 'I noticed this first in Gujarat where Modi worked mainly with two ministers, Saurabh Patel and Amit Shah,' says Aakar Patel.
As uncertainty mounted for students following the row over the four-year undergraduate programme of the Delhi University, the government on Monday made it clear that it will not intervene and wanted the University Grants Commission and the varsity to resolve the matter between themselves.
The number of forms to be filled to operate drones in the country have been reduced to six in draft 'Drone Rules, 2021' in comparison to 25 forms mentioned in the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, it said.
Ajit Balakrishnan offers a thinking man's guide to the angst of the professions.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a formal notification stating that these universities cannot establish off-campus study centres or offer distance education programmes beyond the territory of the state in which they are located.
There is clearly something deeply rotten in the systems of institutional governance in the bastions of higher education in India, says TCA Anant.
A rise in the number of daily COVID-19 cases and mortality has been observed in Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand, indicating the pandemic is moving eastwards, the Union health ministry said.
In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, mere tinkering with existing government procedures will not enhance India's economic competitiveness, says Pranjal Sharma.
Hours after 21 ministers took the oath of office and became a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministry, speculation began on which minister would be handed which portfolio. However, all speculation ended after the list was announced.
The Bharatiya Shiksha Niti Aayog will study the present education system and suggest corrective steps to make it Bharat-centric. G Sreedathan reports
Should we really pay attention to them, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
The students can appear both the times in NEET and the best of the two scores would be taken in account for admission, the minister said. NEET is conducted for admissions to medical institutions across the country.
Empowered in the Modi government, junior ministers have enough on their plate.
The MHRD plans to track various performance parameters of government school teachers and students through tablets and smartphones, reports Sahil Makkar.
Arvind Subramanian will hold classes for a week on applied economics at IIT Delhi
With the lockdown in force, live online teaching has become the order of the day, report Peerzada Abrar and Sai Ishwar.
...Is this a virus more dangerous than Covid-19, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Though the Cabinet reshuffle on July 5 has a clear stamp of the Prime Minister's Office, the changes have also increased the coherence between the Bharatiya Janata Party, the government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
