The BJP has termed the remark unconstitutional.
The Prime Minister's Office on Sunday said that an avoidable controversy has been created through a "deliberate and mischievious misinterpretation" of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on minorities.
"This is very unfortunate, appalling for a prime minister to say so," BJP chief Rajnath Singh said.
The government said on Tuesday it plans allocate Rs 3 lakh crore (Rs 3 trillion) for the education sector under the 11th Plan, which would be a four-fold increase from the previous Five-Year Plan.
Emphasising the importance of sustaining food and energy security, the G20 leaders called for the "cessation of military destruction or other attacks on relevant infrastructure".
The move will help address apprehensions as well as potential disputes on various computational and transitional issues such as the loss of input credits and pricing that were bound to arise on account of the change.
The stock of the country's largest passenger vehicle maker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), has been hitting successive all-time highs over the past three trading sessions. The rally in the scrip has helped it notch over a 21 per cent gain since the start of February, outperforming the National Stock Exchange Nifty Auto Index. The gains for the leader of small passenger cars have been more recent, as the company still trails the Nifty Auto over one- and two-year periods.
A cultural preference for sons in India may be expressed as 'son preference' or 'daughter aversion', arising from patrilocality, patrilineality, the cost of dowry, and old-age support from sons.
For Rohit, it has always been about fierce loyalty, having captained Mumbai in 11 editions and leading them to five trophies.
India has voiced deep concern over the deteriorating security situation and large-scale loss of civilian life in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, urging the parties to work towards creating conditions necessary for peace and restarting direct negotiations through de-escalation and ending violence.
Worried over slowdown of agriculture sector due to "technology fatigue," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday assured the Chief Ministers that the Centre was willing to support their plans for enhancing productivity in the segment.
The business council aims to give impetus to trade.
The 15-member body strongly condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches.
India-born Gururaj Deshpande, chairman of Tejas Networks, A123 and Akshaya Patra, has been appointed co-chairman of United States President Barack Obama's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He will support Obama's innovation strategy by helping develop policies that foster entrepreneurship, create jobs and drive economic growth.
The external affairs minister also recalled how Pandit Nehru was hesitant in taking assistance from the United States following the 1962 war with China as he was unsure how it would be seen.
The Centre, for the first time, has initiated a draft proposal for setting up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-like institute of national importance for animal health, education and research in Delhi to be called the All India Institute of Veterinary Sciences (AIIVS).
The Centre has already given packages to exporters, now states should come forward to compensate the affected export sectors, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said at the 54th meeting of the National Development Council in New Delhi on Wednesday. Besides giving some incentives to exporters, he said states should also initiate measures to improve functioning of the public distribution scheme. The Centre has to spend Rs 3.56 to given Re 1 benefit under PDS.
Referring to the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and the likely slowdown of the global economy, Singh said, "this may impact both our exports as well as capital flows". Singh said with increased globalisation, the country's economy accounts for almost 40 per cent of the GDP and, hence, India cannot remain unaffected by global developments.
The central government is likely to extend the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme beyond 2009 only to Indian information technology-enabled services/business process outsourcing (ITeS/BPO) firms. A proposal to this effect has been included in the 11th Five-Year Plan document, which will be put up for the approval of the National Development Council, headed by the prime minister, on December 19.
The government also approved the State Bank of India's Rs 10,000 crore equity issue.
Aiming to improve the living standards in the country, the 11th Plan draft document has set ambitious targets of per capita income growth of 7.6 per cent each year and an overall average economic growth of nine per cent. The Plan aims at an average growth rate of 9 per cent, accelerating it from 8 per cent in the first year of the Plan (2007) to 10 per cent by the end of the Plan period (2011-12).
India and the US on Friday said they have started talks to put in place a strategic framework for human space flight by year-end as they plan to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024.
"The responsibilities of member states must be assumed by member states and let's not make the UN the scapegoat of the failures or of the negative actions that are committed by member states," he said.
Environmental activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk accused the BJP of reneging on its promise of including Ladakh under the sixth schedule.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has drawn the attention of chief ministers towards the Centre's pet project of food security special programmes of wheat, rice and pulses.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
Star pacer Mohammed Shami has developed an ankle condition, which currently requires medical attention, as the Indian team management will hope that he regains fitness in time for the first Test against South Africa starting from December 26 at Centurion.
The ruling Mizo National Front led by Zoramthanga is looking for a second straight term in the 2023 assembly polls.
A number of academicians as well as political scientists Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar, who were part of the textbook development committee of the NCERT, had asked the council to drop their names from textbooks over 'several substantive revisions of the original texts'.
The government on Thursday said it would open up to 20 IIITs across the country in partnership with the industry, for which a sum of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) has been approved. Planning Commission member secretary Rajeeva Ratna Shah said the National Development Council (NDC) has approved setting up of the new IIITs, which will be co-funded by industry associations and other business houses.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday expressed optimism that the country would be able to sustain four per cent growth rate in the farm sector achieved during the past three years.
After Bangladesh, Sri Lanka were forced to cancel their opening training session in the national capital on Saturday due to "severe" air pollution.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ravikant Chopra, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) PC Vaish, GM, Cricket Operations, Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) members Yashpal Sharma and Sunil Valson also took the charge on Monday after taking back their resignations.
ICC said that Pakistan is yet to provide written assurance regarding their participation in the upcoming ODI World Cup in India.
Realtors split on possibility of price fall, gold may replace cash in secondary deals.
With the Congress in power in the state and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) snapping at its heels, the BRS is now fighting an existential battle.
The paper on Mahatma Gandhi will now be taught in semester VII, they said, adding this would mean students opting for a three-year graduation course instead of a four-year programme will not study Gandhi.
Recognising the need for massive funds for the Plan, Dr Singh said that subsidies, open or hidden, would be contained for more resources.
Environmentalist R K Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by his former women colleagues in the recent past, has stepped down as a member of the governing council of the TERI.
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