It was a quiet birthday for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who turned 78 on Sunday. President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari sent flowers and wished the prime minister on the occasion. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati called up Dr Singh and greeted him. Among those who wished the prime minister on the occasion are Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.
The government has cleared well known journalist Mrinal Pande's name for the post of Prasar Bharati chairperson, a month after the previous chairman Arun Bhatnagar's resignation was accepted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
Leaders cutting across the political spectrum mourned the death of veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu on Sunday, describing him as a towering personality and a powerful regional voice who had played crucial roles in the national political scene.
The Rajya Sabha is likely to work till 8 pm from Tuesday to discuss and dispose of the innumerable pending bills and other legislative business.
The activists barged into the building housing Headlines Today channel and its sister channel Aaj Tak on Friday evening in Videocon Towers in the national capital. They damaged furniture in the office lobby, police said.
The Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday decided to enhance security for President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, who are protected by the Special Protection Group.
Mohammad ElBaradei, director general of International Atomic Energy Agency, was on Wednesday honoured with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for his 'impassioned opposition to use of nuclear energy for military purposes.'
The nation on Wednesday paid rich tribute to Dr B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, on his 119th birth anniversary. President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were present at a function held in Delhi.Several functions are being organised in different parts of the country to mark the occasion.Dr Ambedkar spent his life fighting untouchability and the Indian caste system.
At the delegation-level talks between the two sides, which followed a brief one-to-one meeting between Ansari and Gen Aye, the Myanmarese side acknowledged India's security concerns but conveyed that the insurgents would not be permitted to use its territory to target India, they said.
President Pratibha Patil today embarked on her maiden visit to Russia seeking to consolidate the relations between the "close friends and partners" in the changed global geo-political situation.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, music director A R Rahman and noted lyricist Gulzar on Sunday watched the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire at the Rashtrapati Bhavan auditorium in New Delhi. Oscar awardee Resul Pookuty and Vikas Swarup, on whose novel Q and A the movie is based, also attended the screening. According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson, the two-hour-long special screening was exclusively organised for the President.
Come February 22, the Rajya Sabha will have new rules and procedures for the Question Hour. With the introduction of change of business rules, it is ensured that union ministers are made more accountable to answer their questions in the Upper House.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who arrived along with his deputy Manish Sisodia, paid tributes to the Mahatma on his birth anniversary.
The nation on Saturday remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 68th death anniversary with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the country in paying homage to the Father of the Nation.
'Nobody in AMU supports Jinnah's two-nation theory.' 'It is shameful we are debating Jinnah and not education or employment.'
The Infosys Prize comprises a special gold medallion, a citation expounding the laureate's work and Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) as prize money.
The Election Commission said July 18 is the last date to file nomination paper.
On his first official visit to India, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday met leaders across the political spectrum and discussed issues of bilateral interest. Prachanda called on President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari.
Giant effigies of 10-headed demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhakaran went up in flames marking the triumph of good over evil as fervour marked Dussehra festivities across the country on Thursday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to downplay the comments of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on austerity on Twitter saying "it was a joke".
The United Progressive Alliance government's austerity drive is expected to be extended to all Members of Parliament following an all party meeting, according to sources.Vice President Hamid Ansari will call an all-party meeting to decide on the issue once Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar returns from Rome. The chairman of the Rajya Sahba and the Lok Sabha speaker are expected to hold a discussion on the austerity drive.
President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday paid homage to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 17th death anniversary. Amid a continuous drizzle, the departed leader's widow and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, along with her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka Vadra, reached his memorial 'Vir Bhumi' to pay their tributes. A prayer meeting was organised in the premises of the memorial.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the core values of diversity, tolerance and plurality of Indian civilisation must be kept in mind and cannot be wasted, in remarks that come against the backdrop of the Dadri lynching over rumours of beef eating.
Vice President Hamid Ansari's wife Salma Ansari has said that uttering 'talaq' thrice does not amount to divorce and asked Muslim women to read the Quran thoroughly instead of relying on clerics.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and top leaders of the Congress paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 97th birth anniversary but no one from the National Democratic Alliance government was present at the event.
President Prathibha Patil will inaugurate a two-day conference of Governors on September 16. The main issues that will be discussed are internal security and terrorism.
The nation on Friday remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 30th death anniversary with President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and other leaders paying tributes to her.
Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, governor of Riyadh and third in line to the throne, has over the last five days in Delhi, Agra and Mumbai reaffirmed the message that terrorism in the name of Islam is not Islamic and that the entire region must be united against jihad.
Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was on Thursday conferred the coveted Indira Gandhi peace prize by President Pranab Mukherjee who said India will continue to support the African nation in its pursuit of stability and economic growth.
Reacting strongly to reports that China has in its recent map shown Arunachal Pradesh as its territory, India on Saturday said "cartographic depictions" do not change reality on the ground and asserted that Arunachal was an integral part of the country.
During his four-day-long stay in India, Biden will hold meetings with top Indian leadership, including President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The jury members included Ashish Dhawan, senior managing director, ChrysCapital, Keki Dadiseth, managing director, Omnicom, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director, Biocon, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman and managing director, Aditya Birla Group and S Ramadorai, chief executive, TCS.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and several other leaders greeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who turned 75 on Wednesday.
There was considerable disquiet in the Congress after Mukherjee accepted the invitation of the RSS to address its workers at its headquarters in Nagpur.
Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric who was a surprise winner in the recent elections, took oath on Sunday as Iran's seventh president at a ceremony attended by a galaxy of world leaders, including Vice President Hamid Ansari, with which he has pledged to expand ties.
Despite desertion by 40 MPs, the NDA's vote count went down by only six.
Vinod Rai, a 1972 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, took oath on Monday as the country's new Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Rai, who replaced V N Kaul, was administered the oath of office by President Pratibha Patil at a brief function at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony.
Our boys got the Olympic medals -- two bronzes and one gold -- not because of the IOA but in spite of them. The boxers and the wrestlers coped with official apathy, non-release of funds meant for their preparations to go to Beijing Olympics; for the boxers, only some 35 per cent was released of the Rs 1 cr granted. Bindra had his father to thank for because he was gifted a world-class firing range on his own farm to practice in
VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi on Tuesday kicked up another controversy with her remarks that those who are opposed to Yoga should go to Pakistan.
Speaking about whether the Congress was prepared for a snap poll, Gandhi said, "the party is always prepared".
