The Sikkim government is considering a proposal by the Forest and Wildlife Department to market the medicinal herb Cordyceps Sinensis, popularly known as Himalayan Viagra. The herb, whose scientific name is Caterpillar Fungus, is found abundantly in the forests of the Himalayan state.
On the eve of Foreign Ministerial talks, India on Wednesday virtually rejected China's claim over a small part of Sikkim, saying the state's boundary issue has been settled. Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said the recent Chinese claim over the 'finger area' in Sikkim border would be discussed at the talks between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Beijing on Thursday. China recently laid claim over the 'finger area'.
China on Wednesday accused India of "trampling" on the Panchsheel principles and asked New Delhi to "correct its mistakes" as soon as possible by pulling back troops.
The reopening of the trade route through Nathu Pass will give boost to tourism and export-oriented activities, Pawan Chamling said.
The death toll in the bordering Himalayan state of Sikkim due to Sunday's mega earthquake and subsequent landslides is still mounting while over 300 have been hospitalised even as rescue and damage repair operations have been hampered by incessant rains that has been continuing for the last four days.
Sikkim Manipal University currently offers over 40 distance education programmess across 10 disciplines
India has maintained there is no scope for a third party mediation.
India and China are understood to have discussed the latest row over Sikkim on Thursday, during talks between their Foreign Ministers, dominated by the festering boundary issue, with the two sides agreeing to use existing mechanisms whenever necessary to maintain peace and tranquility along the border.External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a four-day official visit to China, met his counterpart Yang Jiechi and discussed issues of mutual concern.
The claim came a day after Indian government sources said the Chinese army personnel recently demanded removal of two bunkers on the border in Sikkim, which was rejected outright.
Singh said the Modi government has changed the approach adopted by previous governments that the border areas are buffer zones between the plains and the potential adversary.
Officials said that visitors from all over the country on way to the lake and Nathu La have been put up in shelters provided by the Army at their bases beyond 15 Mile.
The Baichung Bhutia co-owned United Sikkim Football club is languishing at the bottom of the I-League table. And faced with a depleting fan following in the small Himalayan state of Sikkim, fear is rife that things might not be hunky dorky.
Santiago Martin has funded Rs 1,368 crore to political parties between October 2020 to January 2024 through electoral bonds.
Mohun Bagan struggled to get going against minnows United Sikkim FC to settle for a goalless draw in an I-League fixture at home in Kolkata on Thursday.
I-League and Federation Cup champions Salgaocar began their campaign in the Durand Cup football tournament with a solitary goal win over Border Security Force in Delhi on Friday. United Sikkim beat Indian Air Force 3-0 in another quarter-final league match.
At least two persons were killed and four others injured in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district as a mortar shell, reportedly carried by the floodwaters of Teesta river, exploded, police said on Friday.
In a joint statement, they noted that while the incident highlights the prevailing "apathy, misgovernance and lack of accountability" in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, the state government's "apparent inclination" to shield perpetrators rather than protect victims is a "grave miscarriage of justice".
In underlining the role of border villages as custodians of India's frontiers, New Delhi is following China's example in Tibet.
Two army jawans were killed and military buildings damaged in the strong earthquake that rocked Sikkim on Sunday.
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An earthquake of 5.7 magnitude on the Richter Scale rocked Sikkim early Tuesday morning, the Met Department said.
Amid the Sikkim standoff, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday held talks with his Chinese Counterpart and State Councillor Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs meeting.
The Advance Light Helicopter Dhruv helicopter of the Army Aviation Corps had taken off from Sewak Road Base in Siliguri at 10.30 AM, army sources said.
At least seven people have been killed and 22 others injured in Tibet as the earthquake that hit Sikkim and other North Eastern states in India also rocked the Chinese autonomous province leaving trail of destruction.
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
2012 saw Sikkim leaving behind memories of the devastation caused by last year's earthquake as rehabilitation and distribution of ex-gratia continued in full swing during the year.
North Sikkim was cut off again due to a heavy landslide on the road linking worst-hit Mangan barely hours after it was cleared earlier on Tuesday. Official sources said the landslide occurred 2 km ahead of Dikchu barely hours after troops and relief teams had opened the road to Mangan, the epicentre of Sunday evening's 6.8 temblor that rocked Sikkim and the northeastern, eastern and northern state.
Earthquake on 6.9 on the richter scale rocked Sikkim on Sunday evening.
When asked why the operation was taking so long, an officer said, "Actually a portion of the mountain has caved in and several parts of the roads have been completely ravaged. Moreover, we are not able to carry out high intensity blasts because other portions of the mountain are in a brittle condition and might come down."
Tata Electronics on Saturday began the construction of its Rs 27,000-crore chip assembly plant in Assam, which is expected to become operational next year and create 27,000 jobs initially. The plant will produce 4.83 crore chips per day using indigenously-developed technologies. The plant's Bhumi Pujan (foundation stone laying) ceremony was held at the project site at Jagiroad in Morigaon district in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Patil may discuss with the state administration the issue of deployment of central paramilitary forces along the state's borders with China and Nepal.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
A Chinese foreign ministry official described both the issues as a 'burden leftover from the history of colonialism'.
A wrap of the I-League football matches played across the country on Saturday.
China on Friday inaugurated its second railway line in Tibet, built at a cost of $2.16 billion, close to Indian border in Sikkim, enhancing mobility of its military in the remote and strategic Himalayan region.
While Dr Manmohan Singh's government went over board and claimed credit for opening the trade route between India and China through Nathu La Pass, former Sikkim chief minister Nar Bahadhur Bhandari feels otherwise.
