Which were the most visited ASI sites by foreign tourists in 2024-2025 in India?
Noble laureate economist Amartya Sen, the chancellor of Nalanda University in Bihar's Nalanda district, has questioned the interpretation of the upcoming university as another central university rather than an international institution.
The state government had appointed Kalam as the first visitor of the proposed university under the University of Nalanda Act, 2007. The Bihar assembly unanimously approved the University of Nalanda Bill, 2007, in March 2007 for the setting up of an international university. The bill stated that the international university would strive to create a world free of war, terror and violence.
Nearly 200 villages around the proposed Nalanda International University in Bihar will be developed soon. It will change the socio-economic conditions of thousands of families, eagerly waiting for development since the last several decades.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during rallies in Bihar, accusing him of prioritizing votes over genuine governance and alleging that the BJP is controlling the state government through remote control.
'This election was won because of Nitish Kumar's face and his policies.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his team, including a powerful former bureaucrat in New Delhi, have failed in their efforts to persuade former president A P J Abdul Kalam to continue as visitor of the upcoming Nalanda International University in the state.
The state government has begun the process to acquire land for the university.
According to The Independent, an ambitious plan to establish an international university with the same overarching vision as Nalanda -- and located alongside its physical ruins -- has been spearheaded by a team of international experts and leaders, among them the Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen.
The ancient Nalanda University re-started its academic session on Monday in a low-key manner at its newly-established campus at Rajgir.
Lightning claims more lives in India annually than any other extreme weather event. Between April and July this year alone, 1,621 people died due to lightning strikes.
Lending support for India's ambitious Nalanda University project, six countries on Thursday began the process of signing inter-government agreements to pledge their commitment for this academic institution.
The idea of the University was first mooted in the late 1990s, but it was Kalam's initiative in early 2006 that gave shape to the project at the ancient site of Buddhist learning.
For an institution looking to revive past glory, the Nalanda University's initial days have been far from glorious.
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has withdrawn his candidature for a second term as Nalanda University Chancellor, saying the Narendra Modi government does not want him to continue in the chair.
Kumar has said that his government would introduce a bill in connection to set up the university in the state assembly soon.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told rediff.com in Patna on Tuesday that the Dalai Lama promised to back and fully support the setting up of the university in Nalanda.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj formally inaugurated Nalanda University in Bihar on Friday. Inaugurating the university, Swaraj called it a historic occasion for her as well as the country.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be visiting the NalandaUniversity on September 19 when it will be formally inaugurated.
Former President A P J Abdul Kalam and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday faced angry farmers in Nalanda, who pelted stones while demanding compensation from the state government for land acquisition for a proposed international university.
Universities must be the bastions of free speech and expression. It must be the arena where diverse and conflicting schools of thought contend. There should be no room for intolerance, prejudice and hatred within the spaces of this institution. Further, it must act as flag-bearer for the coexistence of multiple views, thoughts and philosophies, says Pranab Mukherjee.
The first meeting of the Nalanda Mentor Group headed by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen to oversee the opening of the university will be held in Singapore on July 13 and 14, N K Singh, deputy chairman, Bihar State Planning, said.
They welcomed the guests before the start of the dinner from the reception dais, with its backdrop showcasing the ruins of the Nalanda University in Bihar besides India's G20 presidency theme -- 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - One Earth, One Family, One Future'.
Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar will take oath as chief minister of Bihar on February 22, ending weeks of political uncertainty in the state.
Nationhood is constituted by people who share a "common sense of their history" and a "common vision of their future", National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said as he released an 11-volume book series that charts different phases of the history of ancient India and its accomplishments.
'And Joshimath has already shown the dangers ahead.' 'We have to acknowledge that our mountains are still young babies.' 'You don't put an extra load on the back of a growing child!'
Billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday did an hour-long session of yoga exercises in the open air as he led corporate India to join the International Day of Yoga celebrations. Several public and private sector companies held yoga sessions at their offices to promote the adoption of exercise in daily routines to stay fit and healthy. Adani, chairman of logistics-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group, and his wife Priti, who heads the Adani Foundation, "participated with more than 1,000 members of the Adani Parivaar team to celebrate health, mindfulness and meditation," the group said in a statement. The session was held at a football ground at Adani Shantigram in Ahmedabad. Several other business leaders tweeted pictures of their yoga sessions.
Gauba took chargeafter incumbent Rajiv Mehrishi retired from service.
It was clear in Brunei at the 8th East Asia Summit that China doesn't want the South China Sea issue to even dominate the discussion, reports Sheela Bhatt, who is part of the prime minister's media contingent to the summit
The book, according to Kumar, is likely to be completed by July-August 2016.
Terming his just-concluded state visit to Bhutan as very successful and his "most memorable", President Pranab Mukherjee hoped that bilateral relations between the two countries would continue to grow from strength to strength.
"Please do not call my son a terrorist," says JNUSU President Kanhaiya's mother.
India wants more business and closer engagement with ASEAN even as China's influence spreads in the region. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with the prime minister on his visit to Brunei, reports from Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of the tiny oil-rich country.
Stressing that both the government and the opposition have 'important roles to play', the President said, "While giving expression to their political ideas both must move forward in tandem to ensure that development of the country and welfare of its people are promoted consistently."
While addressing the 14th ASEAN-India summit, the PM noted that growing radicalism and spread of extreme violence are the other security threats.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 71st Republic Day.
Rights activist Kailash Satyarthi is the eight Indian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Rediff.com takes a look at other Indians or Indian-origin people, who have been awarded the honour.
Before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi had criticised Manmohan Singh's policy towards China and promised a more strong-willed policy. Those claims are now under a cloud.
India and China on Wednesday signed in all nine agreements, including the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement and one on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, after restricted and delegation-level talks that lasted over two hours as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang met for the second time this year for talks which the Indian leader described as "fruitful and productive".
"We often thought of terrorism as a peripheral problem for this region. The barbaric terrorist strikes in Paris, Ankara, Beirut, Mali and on the Russian aircraft is a stark reminder that its shadow stretches across our societies and our world, both in recruitment and choice of targets," Modi said in his remarks at the East Asia Summit.
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