It will be for the first time in nearly nine years India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Singh, considered close to RJD president Lalu Prasad and his family, was charged with raising slogans against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on February 13, during a heated exchange in the House.
'We are not secessionists, we want to coexist with our countrymen but not on the terms that will strip us off our dignity and a right to peaceful existence.'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday fowarded to President Pratibha Patil the resignation letters of the following ministers in the Union council of ministers with the recommendation that they may be accepted.
He further commented on the current state of public discourse, saying a "mob rule" is being created wherein politicians capitalise on certain incidents and assure people of the death penalty for culprits even though only the judiciary has the power to pass legal verdicts.
'We are in a dilemma if the central government supports this ethnic violence and Biren Singh.'
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
After ensuring Jharkhand chief ministership for party chief Shibu Soren, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has now upped the ante for ensuring two ministerial berths at the Centre for its party MPs. Soren is learnt to have apprised the United Progressive Alliance leadership about the party's choice for JMM general secretary and Rajmahal MP Hemlal Murmu and the party's chief whip and Giridih MP Teklal Mahato for the berths in the Union council of ministers.
Minister of State for Railways, Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, on Friday resigned from his post in protest against the Union Cabinet's decision to go ahead with the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a post on X that his 18-year-long stint in public service has come to an end.
The 'top leadership' of the National Testing Agency is under the scanner over alleged irregularities in competitive exams National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and National Eligibility Test, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday even as he denied any paper leak in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-University Grants Commission NET, which was postponed a day ago.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
In an interaction with a group of Indian journalists, the three-time prime minister and president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N described Jaishankar's visit as a "good opening" and said both sides should now engage and move forward.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Panacea Biotec have initiated the first-ever phase three clinical trial for developing a dengue vaccine in India, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
Government sources said Modi will also chair meetings to review the aftermath of the Cyclone Remal, especially in the north east region hit by natural disasters.
A strategist and a quintessential political leader with grassroots connect, Rajnath Singh is credited with expanding the Bharatiya Janata Party's organisational network in the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s and the subsequent decades.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
In a setback to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena combine in Maharashtra, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi-backed candidates clinched two of the five legislative council seats which were up for grabs in biennial elections from teachers and graduates segments, and appeared poised to bag a third seat also.
The government on Monday announced the implementation of a 5 per cent uniform IGST rate on all aircraft and aircraft engine parts to boost the industry. The decision, which comes into force with immediate effect, marks a significant milestone for the domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) industry, aimed at making India a global aviation hub, an official release said. Earlier, IGST rates on all aircraft and engine parts were ranging from 5 per cent to 28 per cent.
According to the government, the additional chief secretary of the state housing department is designated to sign an agreement with the Union government for the land lease transfer.
Times have changed, situations have changed, but the basic nature of superpower geo-politics remains the same and so also India's diplomacy -- call it non-alignment, strategic autonomy or neutrality; it all depends on the time scale, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
Ahead of the Union Cabinet expansion on Wednesday, several Union Ministers, including Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar resigned from their posts.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha assured the newly elected legislative assembly on Monday that the Omar Abdullah government will make all efforts for the restoration of full statehood and constitutional guarantees available to the state.
Badal, who served as the finance minister in the previous Congress government, said, "Seven years ago, I merged the People's Party of Punjab with your party. I did so with immense hope and an expectation of being integrated into an organisation with a rich history that would allow me to serve both the people of Punjab and its interests to the best of my ability."
Among the other names tipped to make it to the Cabinet are Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Baijayant Panda.
Sanjay Jha's importance lies in his connections to senior BJP and RSS leaders to maintain a smooth relationship within the NDA government in Bihar and at the Centre and to contest the 2025 Bihar assembly elections together under Nitish Kumar's leadership.
After withdrawing support to the United Progressive Alliance government over the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, DMK's five representatives resigned from the Union Council of Ministers which were accepted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late on Wednesday night.
The row over the appointment of Bharatiya Janata Party leader and seven-term member Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem speaker is likely to cast a shadow over the session.
The United Nations considers requests from countries to change their names as and when the world body receives them, a top United Nations official has said, amid a row over President Droupadi Murmu's G20 dinner invites referring to her as 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India'.
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Sunday turned down the Bharatiya Janata Party's offer to accommodate Praful Patel as a minister of state with independent charge in the new National Democratic Alliance government and said it was assured that 'remedial measures' would be taken.
Why did the political system in the country react to these two decisions of the Modi government in a diametrically opposite manner? asks A K Bhattacharya.
'While on the one hand, terrorism continues to be a serious threat to global peace and security, on the other hand, areas such as cyber, maritime and space, are emerging as new theatres of conflict'
Austerity measures announced by the government to rein in the fiscal deficit will not apply on air travel by ministers and senior officers going abroad on official visit.
The Congress on Wednesday gave a notice on moving a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi-led central government in the Lok Sabha over the Manipur issue.
The two parties had fallen out with each other in October last year when the RJD unilaterally decided to contest by-elections for two assembly seats, evoking strong protest from the Congress which vowed to go it alone in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the assembly elections which will be held a year later.
Lawyers have pointed out that the new laws increase police powers by extending the maximum limit of police custody from 15 days to 60 days or 90 days.
It would be the highest level visit to India by any Pakistani leader in recent years and a possible opportunity to break the ice between the two nations.
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