The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'If it is not reversed, it will set a dangerous precedent.'
The Supreme Court of India has directed all high courts, state governments, and union territories to ensure the availability of separate toilet facilities for men, women, persons with disabilities (PwDs), and transgender persons in all court premises and tribunals across the country. The court stressed the importance of public health and the right to privacy, stating that adequate public toilets protect women and transgender persons. The court also expressed concern about the condition of public toilets near toll plazas on national highways and emphasized the need for proper sanitation facilities in court premises for judges, advocates, litigants, and staff members. This decision highlights the importance of access to basic amenities in ensuring a fair and dignified justice system.
'You have to separate the concept of India as a nation State which is very young and the Upanishadic wisdom which is timeless.'
The Pakistan army's Bahawalpur Corps has always had a special significance for India as it keeps an eye on the Jaish e Mohammed, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday directed that a resolution by the special college council members of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital to suspend 57 medics/students will not be effected, until and unless a decision is arrived at by the West Bengal government in this regard.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has asked the army to take steps to trace a 56-year-old man who has been missing since November 25 from Kangpokpi district. Laishram Kamalbabu Singh went missing from the 57th Mountain Division campus of the army, and an FIR has been lodged with the Sekmai Police Station over his disappearance. The chief minister asked the authorities at the Leimakhong army camp to take responsibility for finding out the man. Singh also alleged a lack of transparency and sincerity among a section of security personnel in Manipur.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
The dichotomy between richer and poorer states is largely in consonance with the diversity in state level disease burden in the country.
'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.'
Agitating junior doctors in West Bengal have written to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting their intervention in the RG Kar hospital impasse.
Outgoing Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has expressed concerns about long-pending cases questioning electoral processes, arguing they fuel distrust and should be scheduled with consideration for election periods. He also advocated for enhanced transparency in political promises, with clear disclosures on financial viability and impact on state finances. Kumar further stressed the need for a totaliser system to maintain polling station-wise voting confidentiality and urged the empowerment of NRIs to vote remotely. He highlighted the potential of biometric authentication and technology to address issues like impersonation and multiple voting.
A Delhi court sentenced former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of two Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The court cited Kumar's age and illness as mitigating factors in its decision to impose a lesser sentence than the death penalty. Kumar was convicted for being part of a mob that set fire to the victims' home and killed them. This is the second life imprisonment sentence for Kumar in connection with the 1984 riots. He is also facing other charges related to the riots.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors' association has written to the finance ministry, highlighting concern over fund utilisation and fund accumulation by quick commerce companies and deep discounting of goods on their platforms. According to a recent letter seen by Business Standard, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) noted that its analysis indicated that approximately 80 per cent of these funds were directed toward customer acquisition strategies instead of creating cutting-edge innovations or sustainable growth models for the retail sector.
The avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5:30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying the workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army.
The grilling of Brigadier-General Dyer by Akshay Kumar's Sir C Sankaran Nair, as shown in Kesari 2, is purely an imaginary sequence, proves Utkarsh Mishra.
Protesters in Imphal, Manipur stormed the residences of two ministers and three MLAs, demanding justice for the murder of three people in Jiribam district. The mob attacks prompted authorities to impose curfew in Imphal West district. The protests followed the discovery of three bodies, suspected to be of six missing people from Jiribam district, near the Manipur-Assam border.
In India, 11.9 lakh excess deaths occurred in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, 17 per cent higher compared to 2019, an international study has found.
The Centre has deputed multi-disciplinary teams to states witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, including Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir, to support them in effectively tackling the pandemic.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday sought keen oversight and personal indulgence of health ministers, principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries of states and union territories to lead the second nationwide mock drill on the COVID-19 vaccination scheduled to be held on January 8.
Of these 212 million Indians, 133 million have untreated diabetes. Undiagnosed diabetes has been linked with complications such as diabetic retinopathy which can cause vision loss and blindness.
Rajiv Kumar, the 25th chief election commissioner of India, has demitted office after a nearly three-year tenure marked by both electoral successes and allegations of bias from opposition parties. Kumar oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, among other major elections. During his tenure, he implemented reforms across various aspects of the Election Commission's functioning, including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration. However, he faced criticism from opposition parties and activists on several issues, including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data, and being "lenient" on the ruling BJP. While the Commission responded to the allegations, Kumar often defended himself and the poll authority through poetry. In his farewell address, Kumar expressed concerns about the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes and the impact of freebie promises on the fiscal health of the state. He also criticized the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels, calling it "nonsense". Kumar's tenure was marked by numerous controversies, with opposition parties and activists alleging bias and irregularities. While the Election Commission defended its actions, the allegations cast a shadow over his time in office.
On Wednesday, the Maharashtra government had said that it would not be able to launch the 18-45 age group vaccination drive from May 1 due to the shortage of vaccines.
A petition has been filed in the National Green Tribunal's Bhopal bench, seeking an assurance from the Madhya Pradesh government that the Union Carbide waste disposal in Pithampur won't harm people in nearby areas. The petition, filed by a Jabalpur-based social organisation, has urged the NGT to direct the state's chief secretary to declare on oath about the safety of people in Pithampur in Dhar district where the waste has been transported for disposal. The petition also seeks direction to the MP government to publish a specific report regarding the disposal of this waste to allay public concerns.
Cyclonic storm Fengal has commenced making landfall close to Puducherry and it may approximately take 4 hours for it to cross the coast completely, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said. The process of the cyclone's landfall commenced at about 5.30 pm on November 30. The IMD said the forward sector of spiral bands associated with the cyclone has entered into the land and is likely to move west-southwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram close to Puducherry as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph during next 3 to 4 hours.
A one-day complete lockdown to tackle the rapidly rising COVID-19 cases was enforced across Tamil Nadu on Sunday while police, local and health authorities stepped up measures to check violations.
After gay sex, there are now moves to decriminalise suicide attempts under a bill introduced in Parliament.
The body of a woman post-graduate trainee who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of the hospital, was found on Friday morning. The civic volunteer was arrested on Saturday.
We the people are left in the wind, waiting on the whims of an unengaged president and an oligarch with a nearly bottomless wallet, observes Sree Sreenivasan.
The work to remove 377 metric tonnes of hazardous waste from the now-defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal has begun. The waste will be transported to an incineration site in Pithampur near Indore, around 250 km from Bhopal. The move comes after the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered the authorities to clear the site, 40 years after the deadly gas leak that killed thousands and left hundreds of thousands with health problems.
Under the title of "legal enforcement", states and Union Territories were directed to appoint officers solely responsible for discharging the functions of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers at the district level.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday said the State has an obligation to recognise unions entered into by queer couples and grant them benefit under the law.
With 184 new cases having symptoms of fever and rashes on the body, the number of suspected measles cases in the city rose to 1,263, and 647 of these cases included children in the age group of 1 to 4 years, the BMC said in a release on Wednesday.
The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 417, making it the worst in the country. On Friday, the AQI level was 396.
Non-coffee drinkers who sat for six or more hours a day were at almost 60 per cent higher risk of dying compared to coffee drinkers sitting for less than six hours, according to a research published in the journal BioMed Central (BMC) Public Health.
'Justice may or may not happen, but who are those people who did this to her?' 'If the hospital authorities had helped us that day, or the police, then the real culprits would have been caught.' 'Getting justice for my daughter is my goal now and I want the CM to remember that.'
As many as 190 people have died and over 200 injured in the massive landslides that hit Wayanad district two days ago, with the numbers expected to increase even more as rescuers unearth debris, the district administration said on Thursday.
States and Union Territories would aggregate the demand of private hospitals for COVID-19 vaccines based on which the Centre will facilitate supply to these governments for timely and equitable distribution to smaller and remoter private healthcare facilities, according to the revised guidelines issued.
A series of explosions rocked Lebanon and Beirut on Wednesday with the health ministry confirming nine deaths while news agencies put the toll at higher. The fresh round of blast came just a day after a deadly attack involving exploding pagers claimed the lives of at least 12 people.
