Two years after the Centre's flagship village electrification scheme Saubhagya concluded with the government claiming 99.9 per cent success, several states have added close to 1.1 million rural households that remain to be connected to the electricity grid. This new list includes earlier unwilling households that have now agreed to have a metered connection and also those built or discovered in the states' surveys since 2019. Assam and Uttar Pradesh are the states that have the majority of such new additions.
Singapore-based fashion technology startup Zilingo on Friday said it has sacked Indian-origin co-founder and CEO Ankiti Bose following an independent forensic audit into complaints of serious financial irregularities. On March 31, Bose was placed under suspension following complaints of alleged discrepancies in the company accounts. "Following an investigation led by an independent forensics firm that was commissioned to look into complaints of serious financial irregularities, the company has decided to terminate Ankiti Bose's employment with cause, and reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action," Zilingo said in a statement.
Rishi Sunak has revealed that his former boss, Boris Johnson, has not returned any of his messages and calls since he resigned from his cabinet as chancellor, implying tension between the duo as the British Indian former minister battles it out in a tough race to be elected the next leader of the UK's governing Conservative Party.
The Delhi high court has directed Twitter to take down certain defamatory tweets posted by academician Dr Audrey Truschke against historian Vikram Sampath over allegations of plagiarism.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp has pulled out of providing financial services to the Adani group and its Carmichael coal mine in Australia, saying the venture is incompatible with its environmental, social and governance rules.
"We have great support from India. We have great support from Prime Minister Modi. I would think that the Indian (American) people would be voting for Trump," the President told reporters at a White House news conference.
The government, it would seem, is reserving its firepower to spend on big-ticket items that will be announced in the Budget, reports Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
'Given the possibility that our unstable northern and western borders may become 'live' at short notice, any major systemic change which impacts combat effectiveness should be brought about in a cautious and progressive manner.'
The PFI is alleged to have been continuously involved in anti-government propaganda and spreading the narrative that Muslims were being persecuted in India.
Saharanpur recorded a turnout of 71.13 per cent, Bijnor 65.91, Moradabad 67.26, Sambhal 62.87, Rampur 64.26, Amroha 71.98, Budaun 59.24, Bareilly 61.67 and Shahjahanpur 59.34 per cent, a statement issued by the election office said in Lucknow on Tuesday.
This is not an election Budget in the sense that I might target the voter in the coming elections. But if you look beyond this round of state elections, and tilt the periscope to graze at the more distant horizon, see how the Narendra Modi government wishes things looking by the summer of 2024, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese calendar, began on Sunday, January 22.
India believes no country would emerge victorious in the Russia-Ukraine war as all will suffer losses and there will be a "more serious" impact on developing and poor countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after holding talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as both leaders reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
His likable boy-next-door face and casual approach to public speaking have a unique appeal for the younger generation, but it stops there, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana on Friday said the appointment of 11 Supreme Court and 224 high court judges, besides recommending the names of more women for judgeship during his tenure as the head of the judiciary, was a reflection of "the coherence and determination" of judges to strengthen the judiciary to further the goal of justice.
'While we may speculate about personality politics, the reality is that there are more important issues that drive the India-US relationship.'
'Unemployment barely figures in the Budget except as a derived demand from the industry and infrastructure.' 'There is no effort at direct attack on unemployment.'
Rishi Sunak, the former UK chancellor of the exchequer, on Friday formally launched his leadership bid to succeed Boris Johnson as the new Conservative Party leader and future British prime minister.
Today, a friendship forged by common ideals behind prison walls has become a transactional understanding, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Last week's heavy snowfall seems to have affected electioneering in Kashmir. South Kashmir's Anantnag and the prestigious Srinagar constituencies go to polls on April 24 and April 30 in the five phased Lok Sabha polls in the state.
'The uneducated think of their rights as a gift. This is deeply troubling.' 'If they were educated they could claim what is rightfully theirs.'
Ahead of the upcoming Union Budget, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) has asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to either rejig the FAME II scheme or reintroduce FAME I, saying the programme meant to promote EVs in its second avatar has been able to achieve less than 10 per cent of its target. The Rs 10,000-crore FAME-II scheme which is to be implemented over a period of three years, came into effect from April 1, 2019. It is the expanded version of FAME India I (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) which was launched on April 1, 2015, with a total outlay of Rs 895 crore.
Women, if addressed properly, have the potential to become a decisive factor in elections.
Justice Amit Bansal passed the interim order against academicians Audrey Truschke, Ananya Chakrabarti, Rohit Chopra and Ashok Swain as well as freelance journalist Abhishek Baxi on a defamation lawsuit filed by Sampath.
Several candidates have a low level of literacy, but know just enough about social media to know it is important to have a presence there.
According to senior officials, nine additional commissioners have been allocated departments and office spaces at different floors of the Civic Centre, while three deputy commissioners were also appointed.
Pakistan was "drowning" in debt and it was the new government's job to "sail this ship ashore," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday.
The BJP deputed Shah as observer to Uttar Pradesh, where Yogi Adityanath powered the party to an impressive victory and where there are no hurdles in the way of the priest-politician's second stint in power.
The government may tweak customs duties in the Budget next week on several goods, including furniture raw materials, copper scrap, certain chemicals, telecom equipment and rubber products, to promote domestic manufacturing and exports, sources said. They said that while import duties could be tweaked on over 20 products such as cut and polished diamonds, rubber goods, leather garments, telecom equipment and carpet, the customs duties could be removed on select raw materials (like wood in rough, swan wood and hard board) used for furniture manufacturing and copper concentrate.
US presidential aspirants Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on Friday tried to woo minority Latino and African American voters as they sparred over issues like race and their records on immigration during a Democratic debate.
'Who you know today will determine who you know tomorrow.' 'Becoming an expert in your domain will incentivise others to have you in their networks.' 'And the more diverse your network, the better it is.' An enlightening excerpt from Ambi Parmeswaran's All The World's A Stage: A Personal Branding Story.
Available in a range of standards, including gold and silver, the special collectors' coin is designed by Heena Glover and features an image of a lotus, India's national flower, alongside one of Gandhi's most famous quotes -- "My life is my message".
Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 7 per cent, followed by Ultratech Cement, L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI, M&M and Bajaj Finance. On the other hand, Nestle India, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and HUL ended in the red.
Representing India at the 'High-Level Segment for Heads of States and Government' at the UN COP26 underway at Glasgow, UK, Prime Minister Modi said that India is working very hard on tackling climate change related issues.
Controversial Punjabi singer Sidhu Mussewala, who joined the Congress sometime ago will contest from Mansa and actor Sonu Sood's sister Malvika Sood from Moga.
'Votes-for-notes no longer only means cash and goodies for fence-sitting voters,' points out Sunil Sethi.
The US spent $1.5 million a day since 2001 fighting the opium war in Afghanistan. After hundreds of airstrikes failed to curtail the Taliban's $200-million-a-year opium trade, the US military quietly ended the campaign when the Trump administration officials engaged in direct peace talks with the Taliban, notes Atanu Biswas.
Messi's donation will be split between Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another medical centre in his home country. Former Barcelona player and manager Guardiola made his contribution to a campaign launched by the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation and Medical College of Barcelona.
Hillary Clinton has ended her Democratic presidential primary campaign on a winning note as she defeated her party rival Senator Bernie Sanders in the US capital, setting the stage for a fierce showdown with Republican opponent Donald Trump in November.
For the Congress to be taken seriously, it has to convince those around it that it could actually double its Lok Sabha seat share from the existing 52, and vote-share by a third more from the stagnating 20 per cent in 2014 and 2019, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
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