Nek Chand, who attained worldwide fame as the creator of the unique Rock Garden in Chandigarh, passed away due to a cardiac arrest at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. He was 90-years old.
Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com gives the lowdown on the 59 seats spread across seven states and one Union territory going to polls in the last and final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on May 19, 2019.
Covishield comprises over 90 pc of 12.76 cr COVID vaccines administered so far
The Union cabinet has given its nod for the revision of salary and allowances of lieutenant governors of Union Territories and it will be on a par with that of the secretary to the government of India, an official statement said.
Kargil observed it as a 'black day' and leaders in Leh seeing it as an opportunity for development.
Kerala has retained the top rank in Niti Aayog's SDG India Index 2020-21, while Bihar has been adjudged as the worst performer, according to a report released on Thursday. The Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) evaluates progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters. Kerala retained its rank as the top state with a score of 75. Both Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu took the second spot with a score of 74. Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were the worst performing states in this year's India index.
More than 31 per cent of the country's adult population has been administered both the doses, according to Union Health Ministry officials.
A total of 17 states and union territories that have not reported any new deaths in the last 24 hours are Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Ladakh, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tripura, Lakshadweep, Arunachal Pradesh and Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Officials said security personnel, including those from paramilitary forces, have been deployed to keep a strict vigil. Security at inter-state and inter-district borders has also been tightened, they said.
The NIA had registered three cases last year following information suggesting that terrorist outfits and their sympathisers abroad were operating as members of organised criminal gangs active in the northern states of India for targeted killings and violent criminal acts.
The prime minister was happy that the assurance given by the Serum Institute that it will make India self-sufficient in vaccines at the lowest possible price in the world was fulfilled.
Haryana Police lobbed tear gas shells at farmers from Punjab at Shambhu border between the two states as thousands of protesters stayed put there on Wednesday, the second day of their 'Delhi Chalo' march.
India's total number of active COVID-19 cases has reached 1,64,511, which comprises 1.48 per cent of the country's total infections, the Union health ministry said on Sunday highlighting six states that have shown a surge in new cases in a span of 24 hours.
The government announced the decision apprehending spread of rumours through social media by anti-social elements ahead or during the rally called to be held on Monday.
The Centre has asked states and union territories witnessing surge in new COVID-19 cases and high active caseload to continue with the strategy of 'test, track and treat' that had yielded rich dividends at the height of the pandemic and accelerate vaccination for priority population groups in districts reporting higher infections on mission mode.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea on the recent breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security in Punjab.
The agency had received Rs 946.51 crore to manage its affairs in the Budget Estimates for 2023-24, which was later increased to Rs 968.86 crore in the Revised Estimates.
Some UTs to start from April 1 and other transfers to be launched from January.
Why did Modi single out the Congress and its leaders for the most pugnacious verbal assault while sparing other regional adversaries? If he is trying to get some parties to break the Opposition ranks, it means that the BJP's present bravado is for effect. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times, begins a new column for Rediff.com.
Gujarat and Karnataka have been ranked as the best performers in developing startup ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs, according to the ranking of states and Union territories by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Among smaller states having population of less than one crore, Meghalaya has been adjudged as the best performer. The rankings are based on the initiatives taken to develop the startup ecosystem for promoting budding entrepreneurs.
The rate of doubling of COVID-19 cases has increased to 12.6 days
The bills that repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act will usher in a new era in the criminal justice system, Home Minister Amit Shah said
Four states - Karantaka, Kerala, Odisha and Rajasthan - were in the top performers' category.
It's just not a date. It's just not about selecting a candidate. It's not about helping some candidate win. It's about expressing emotion, after ten years, that could reach out in India and beyond it, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Deaths are significantly less in the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in comparison to the second wave, and the current surge is not witnessing increase in severe illness or death following high vaccination uptake, the government said on Thursday.
As the country battles the second wave of COVID-19, the government Thursday said the virus may emerge again and so preparations have to be made at the national level in collaboration with states, infrastructure needs to be ramped up while curbs and appropriate behaviour must be followed.
The convent school, of which Ruchika Girhotra was an alumna, on Wednesday said it was trying to ascertain whether she was expelled from the institution under pressure or was withdrawn by her family after the molestation incident.
The chief minister has also directed Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta to look into the possible action that could be initiated against one of the film's producers, K V Dhillon, who had reportedly promised in writing, back in 2019, that he would shelve the movie, originally titled 'Sukha Khalwan'.
It's all about women power. According to data compiled by the Election Commission, women have outnumbered men in casting their vote in five of the 13 states and union territories, which went to polls in the first four phases of the Lok Sabha elections. Additionally, an increase in aggregate voter turnout was also witnessed as compared to the last general elections.
The national capital battled weather conditions in the "red category" as the maximum temperature recorded at the Palam observatory was 46.1C,
Farmers leaders taking part in the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation on Monday rejected the Centre's proposal of procuring pulses, maize and cotton at MSP by government agencies for five years, saying it was not in farmers' interest and announced that they will march towards the national capital on Wednesday.
At least 10 states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh have identified more than 30 sites for setting up modern terminal markets in the private sector for trading in fruits, vegetables and other perishable farm produce.
Over 350,000 students from 27 states and Union territories took the exams.
A bench of the NGT, headed by its chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, directed that the order will also apply to all cities and towns in the country where the average of ambient air quality during November (as per available data of last year) falls under 'poor' or worse category.
This would be the prime minister's sixth round of consultation with the chief ministers, the last being on May 11.
From March 1, as many as 2,35,901 beneficiaries more than 45 years old with specific co-morbidities and 16,16,920 people aged more than 60 years have received anti-coronavirus vaccine dose, it stated.
Besides in-charges, the party has also named co-incharges for several states, a BJP statement said.
The states and UTs having a recovery rate higher than the national average include Ladakh (85.45 per cent), Delhi (79.98 per cent), Uttarakhand (78.77 per cent), Chhattisgarh (77.68 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (76.59 per cent), Haryana (75.25 per cent), Chandigarh (74.6 per cent), Rajasthan (74.22 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (73.03 per cent) and Gujarat (69.73 per cent).