India has received 20 per cent less rainfall since the start of the monsoon period on June 1, with the rain-bearing system making no significant progress between June 12 and 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Five Indian Air Force aircraft have been pressed into service for relief operations in quake-hit Sikkim where at least two persons died in the tremors.
Tshering Rinzing Bhutia, 38, a student from Sikkim was among the seven killed in the Monday shooting at Oikos University, a religious college in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Many low-lying areas in West Bengal's sub-Himalayan region were reeling from a flood-like situation while major rivers in Bihar were flowing above the danger level at several places as unabated heavy rain lashed the country's eastern parts on Sunday.
Lepcha sprayed 10 bullets on his five colleagues and also attacked them with an axe after they reportedly tried to sodomise him.
The marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ended on Saturday with the seventh phase of elections witnessing an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent, amid clashes between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Sandeshkhali and some other parts of West Bengal.
The National People's Party, which rules Meghalaya, is another national party which received no donations through electoral bonds.
United Sikkim Football Club (USFC) played a 1-1 draw against Kolkata's Mohammedan Sporting in Gangtok to qualify for next edition's I-League.
Future Gaming of lottery king Santiago Martin was the biggest purchaser of electoral bonds at Rs 1,368 crore, of which nearly 37 percent went to the DMK.
The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.
While asking the Centre to set up the delimitation panel, the top court, however, said it cannot direct Parliament to amend or make laws for giving proper representation to other communities that form part of the STs as that would amount to "venturing into the legislative domain".
Yuzvendra Chahal might be despondent after the selectors snubbed him for the T20I series against Australia, but the leg-spinner channelised his angst positively with a six-wicket burst against Uttarakhand.
With rescue teams finding it difficult to reach far-flung quake-hit areas in Sikkim, hundreds of survivors are trekking out of their villages, crawling sometimes to negotiate dangerous stretches. Hundreds of villagers from inaccessible higher areas of Lachung, Lachen and Chungthan have gathered in Tung after an arduous trek down and are being taken to safe places. Army sources said hundreds of villagers reached Tung, 10 km from Chungthang, one of the worst-hit areas.
The BJP, which rules the Centre, is in power in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and is all set to get Madhya Pradesh back and snatch Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the Congress after today's vote count.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday batted for expansion of organic farming across the country.
Helicopter sorties with relief to earthquake-affected areas which resumed on Sunday after a two-day gap were again suspended due to incessant rain on Monday.
The ministry of home affairs has identified around 1,700 km of fencing that needs to be done, BRO's additional director general (East) PKH Singh said.
THar Shikhar Tiranga is a campaign that involves hoisting the national flag on the highest peak in every state in India.
With a major earthquake measuring 6.8 on the richter scale rocking mountainous state of Sikkim, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday spoke to its chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and offered help in all possible ways, including availability of defence forces.
The move took place late last month and involved hardware being moved simultaneously by road and rail from across the entire region.
People scampered out of their homes on Thursday as a mild tremor hit the Sikkim capital only four days after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake had caused large-scale deaths and devastations in the state, northeast region and some other parts of the country.
Ren Guoqiang, a spokesperson of the Chinese defence ministry, in a statement said, "Chinese armed forces have also shown a high level of restraint with an eye to the general bilateral relations and the regional peace and stability."
The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of "one nation, one election" has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls.
The politburo of the Communist Party of India - Marxist on Tuesday denied reports about joining an electoral coalition, along with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, for the assembly elections in Sikkim."The CPI-M- will have no alliance with the Congress or the BJP in Sikkim, as reported in the media," according to a terse statement issued by the party.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
The magnet for these projects is the Teesta, a turbulent river that drops from an elevation of 5, 280 metres to about 230 metres over a distance of 175 km, making it ideal for a cascade of hydro power projects.
Admissions to Sikkim Manipal University's distance education programme to close on April 27.
The military aircraft landed at the airport, located around 60 km from the India-China border, on Wednesday.
'The Weather Channel argues that India faces the gravest challenge: Climate change-induced health vulnerability.' 'This is an issue often neglected, alerts Claude Arpi: "Prolonged summers, unpredictable rains, floods, droughts, and rising sea levels are the harsh realities of climate change in the country. These factors increase the frequency and severity of illnesses, pushing people into poverty, and forcing migration".'
Narendra Modi will take oath as the prime minister for a third consecutive term on Sunday evening as President Droupadi Murmu has invited him to form the government.
Jaishankar said diplomacy is a work of patience and India continues to discuss the issues with the Chinese side.
Rahul Gandhi may also contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Rae Bareli, a seat which was previously held by Sonia Gandhi.
At least twenty one bodies, including those of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Border Roads Organisation personnel, have so far been found while eight persons are still missing due to flash flood and landslides in remote areas of North Sikkim, official sources said on Sunday.
Among the fatalities recorded on Friday, the maximum 17 were from Uttar Pradesh, 14 from Bihar, five from Odisha and four from Jharkhand, where officials said more than 1,300 people are hospitalised with heatstroke conditions.
Defending champions Salgaocar notched their second successive win, blanking United Sikkim 3-0 to brighten their semi-final chances in the 34th Federation Cup on Saturday.
As the military standoff between India and China drags on along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the talks between the two sides are going on well and indicated hope for a resolution of the lingering row.
He will meet the chief minister and discuss the developemental works in the state.
Rescue efforts covering 62 villages and 20 medical centers have been set wherein over 370 people have been treated and eight relief centers have been established where over 2700 people have been provided shelter, Singh said.
"It is not a sign of mounting tension....it is a sign that your government is determined to protect the borders of India and takes its responsibilities seriously," Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said in Thiruvananthpuram while reacting to media reports on the matter.
