We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
'It is this fear that is behind all that has happened to Rahul Gandhi.'
Amidst strong opposition by some non-BJP ruled states, the Centre on Tuesday made it clear that the disclosure of information in the National Population Register (NPR) exercise is not mandatory but voluntary.
With the war in Ukraine entering its 12th day on Monday and tensions between Kyiv and Moscow showing no signs of easing, the students said there is panic in Belarus and their families in India too are concerned about their wellbeing.
After the Kerala government declared the coronavirus outbreak as a 'state calamity', as the three positive cases were detected from Thrissur, Alapuzha and Kasaragod, tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran admitted that the sector had suffered a hit. The sector had aggressively launched promotional advertisements in the domestic and international markets after the floods to revive the sector. However, all the efforts took a beating, with mass cancellations of hotel bookings after the outbreak of the infection in the state was reported.
Verification of 733 persons under the four categories of bedridden, mentally challenged, physically handicapped and those suffering from cancer has been completed, Kasaragod collector said.
The Kerala government has told the Supreme Court that it is "vigorously vaccinating" people against Covid-19 and is expected to inoculate at least 60 per cent of its population within two or three months.
Prohibitory orders have been clamped in Mangaluru following back-to-back murders of two people belonging to different communities in the last couple of days.
The four astronauts are -- Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan, and Shubhanshu Shukla -- Modi said at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thumba near the Kerala state capital.
The seizure, as per officials, is estimated to be worth over Rs 10 crore in the international market (about Rs 5K-7K per blot) and all the six who have been taken into custody, beginning late last month, are students and youngsters who wanted to make 'easy money' by remaining anonymous within the deep layers of secret internet-based apps and messenger service like WICKR.
The situation in the state was 'extremely grave', said Vijayan, who spoke to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Home minister, Rajnath Singh, this morning seeking more central assistance for relief operations.
The young IAS officer had returned to the state on March 19 from his honeymoon abroad and had been asked to remain under observation. However, he left for his brother's place in Bengaluru without informing anyone.
Temperatures in 17 locations breached 48 degrees Celsius on Monday, with the relentless heat affecting health and livelihoods across large parts of northwestern and central India.
Day 1 of the relaxations saw scores of people hitting the roads in their four wheeelers and two wheelers in various parts of the state, including coronavirus hotspots, and there was confusion galore over the easing of nroms.
India has flattened its Covid-19 graph and 146 districts have reported no new case of the viral disease in the last seven days, 18 in 14 days, six in 21 days and 21 districts in the last 28 days, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.
Former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna, noted industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and famous playback singer Suman Kalyanpur were given Padma awards by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.
Officials at the UAE embassy in New Delhi on Friday said the UAE had not officially announced any financial aid for Kerala flood relief. However, Vijayan claimed there was no lack of clarity on UAE aid for the flood-ravaged state.
Here is all you need to know about the virus, its symptoms and how you can prevent it.
'Why is it that no other institutions are attacked? Why are only educational institutions run by Christians attacked?'
Buffalo meat was on Wednesday back on the menu of the Kerala House in New Delhi and was lapped up by the lunch-time crowd as the items that were briefly discontinued following a row that saw police carry out a raid at the canteen were sold out within "45 minutes".
The first two special flights that will operate from Thursday to evacuate Indians stranded in the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic
Camping in Thrissur, where the woman medical student who came from China tested positive for the coronavirus, Health Minister K K Shailaja activated the health department and said the patient is currently treated at an isolation ward of the Government Medical College hospital in Thrissur.
A total of 71 people tested positive for rat fever in various hospitals in the state while 123 people approached hospitals with suspected symptoms of the disease.
With over 8.69 lakh people still in 2,287 relief camps, it is a subdued 'Onam', the harvest festival, in the state.
The triple lock involves a combination of technology and human surveillance and restricting movement of people in three stages.
Giving in to demands of the BJP, the Congress-led state government has now decided to hand over the probe to CBI
Incessant downpour battered several states, including Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka, on Friday, with landslips and floods throwing normal life out of gear.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that action against corrupt people in the country has resulted in a new polarisation in national politics, with certain political groups openly trying to get organised into a unit to save those facing graft charges.
The work we have done in the south and the northeast over the last 10 years under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, we have started getting results of the same, he said.
Shah had launched the high profile 15-day yatra against the alleged 'red and jihadi terrorism' in Kerala.
This is a brief background of the new Cabinet Ministers.
The saffron party will use Lord Ayyappa the same way it made use of Lord Ram in the north to take away the Nair vote and make electoral inroads in the state.
'The moment a new election comes, new guarantees are announced.' 'The BJP is adept at diverting people's attention.'
Kerala journalist Sidhique Kappan walked out of jail on bail Thursday, over two years after he was arrested for allegedly trying to instigate violence after the death of a woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras.
He was admitted with symptoms of pneumonia but later tested positive for coronavirus, a hospital statement said. He was also suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure and had undergone a bypass surgery earlier, the statement said.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
The maximum death toll has been reported from Idukki district, where 43 people have lost their lives so far, as per official estimates. 28 deaths were reported in Malappuram and 27 in Thrissur.
Within minutes of assuming charge as Minister of State for Railways on Friday, E Ahamed announced a special train from Delhi to Kerala, his home state, saying people there have been complaining of poor rail connectivity and non availability of seats.
A 23-year old woman, daughter of a senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader in Thiruvananthapuram, has accused her parents of forcefully having taken away her new-born child from her soon after its birth a year ago and approached the police seeking to get the baby back.
As Kerala gets into the festive mood, police are maintaining tight vigil with the army receiving information that there may be a terror attack in southern parts of the country.
