Former Army chief General Joginder Jaswant Singh was on Thursday appointed the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. The appointment, made by President Pratibha Patil, will come into effect from the date Singh assumes charge of his office, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said. Singh retired as Army chief last year.
Sulking Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Monday skipped the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the honour of outgoing President Pratibha Patil.
President Pratibha Patil on Monday conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards to 14 eminent overseas Indians, including Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and a Canada-based institution, for their outstanding contributions in enhancing India's image globally.
The President's approval was required for the measure since the Lok Sabha made some amendments to The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011 before its passage.
A post-retirement residence for President Pratibha Patil has been finalised in Pune by the government, after she had to give up an accommodation following a controversy.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence awarded to murder convict M N Das, whose mercy petition was rejected by then President Pratibha Patil. A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi allowed the plea of Das who had approached the apex court for commutation of his death sentence on the ground that the President had taken eleven years to decide his mercy plea.
A Bharatiya Janata Party delegation, led by party chief Nitin Gadkari, on Wednesday met President Pratibha Patil todemand the removal of Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, alleging that she had grabbed agricultural land worth Rs 600 crore in Rajasthan.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who is ailing for sometime, is on continuous oxygen and not eating anything.
With his government's image taking a beating due to sleaze and corruption allegations, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has carried out a reshuffle of his ministerial team, dropping six ministers including Education Minister Bharosilal Jatav facing illegal mining charge.
President Pratibha Patil on Sunday said Indian democracy "cannot be allowed to falter" at a time when democracies of the world are operating in complex situations including fractured mandates and explosion of the media. "The big challenge is for democracy to proceed towards being a vibrant but healthy democracy. It is therefore necessary to walk ahead carefully, with determination," she said.
"It's a normal diplomatic practice that a visiting dignitaries occasionally takes members of his/her family on visiting trips. Hospitality for such visiting dignitaries in such cases is usually provided by the host government. It is not abnormal," official spokesperson in MEA Syed Akbaruddin told reporters.
As per Arjun Modhwadia's memorandum listing out land allotment at a meagre rate to industrialists in Gandhinagar without an auction, DLF was given 1,01,200 sq mt of land in the capital at Rs 5000 per sq mt, when the prescribed stamp duty rate was Rs 19,000 per sq mt and the market price was Rs 30,000 per sq mt. This allotment, Modhwadia contended, cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 253 crore
Rubbishing the alleged reports of President Pratibha Patil 'grabbing' land much in excess of her entitlement to build her post retirement home in Pune, the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday night issued a detailed statement terming the media reports as factually incorrect and malicious.
The government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court with a Presidential Reference for its opinion on issues arising out of its 2G spectrum judgement including whether auctioning of natural resources across all sectors is mandatory under all circumstances.
President Pratibha Patil cancelled the appointment of P J Thomas on Monday as Central Vigilance Commissioner, 11 days after the Supreme Court quashed his selection by a high-power committee headed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Late cartoonist Mario Miranda, actors Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi, top mathematician M S Raghunathan, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal and industry leader B Muthuraman were among those conferred the Padma awards by President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi on Wednesday.
A thick security blanket involving hundreds of policemen besides snipers and commandos would be put in place for the visit of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in Ajmer on April 8.
Expressing commitment to resolving all outstanding issues with Pakistan through dialogue, India on Monday said it looks forward to building upon progress made so far while being mindful of the need for Pakistan to take credible action against terror groups and infrastructure.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against the backdrop of Election Commission's complaint against him to President Pratibha Patil in which the panel accused him of "improper and unlawful" defiance of its orders.
In the thick of controversy over his remarks on minorities' sub-quota, Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday refused to comment on Election Commission's move seeking "immediate and decisive" intervention of President Pratibha Patil.
In an unprecedented action, the Election Commission on Saturday night sought the "immediate and decisive" intervention of President Pratibha Patil after it charged Law Minister Salman Khurshid with "improper and unlawful" defiance of its orders under which he was censured for promising sub-quota for minorities.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on Sunday with President Pratibha Patil honouring 15 individuals for their achievements and enhancing India's image globally. Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore spoke to these awardees on what this recognition meant to them.
With the stand-off between her party and the Nationalist Congress Party continuing, Congress President Sonia Gandhi was heard asking NCP leader Praful Patel to "do something" to end the crisis.
Glowing tributes were today paid to Captain Lakshmi Sehgal with President Pratibha Patil describing her as a great patriot and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying the country had lost an icon of selfless service in her death.
President Pratibha Patil on Monday cautioned Members of Parliament not to voice their dissensions in Parliament at the cost of serious debate and legislations. She maintained that they should keep abreast of new developments in technology and information explosion while making laws.
Fifty-seven-year-old Kamat, a five-time MP from Mumbai, who held the portfolio of Minister of State for Home and Communications, wrote to the Prime Minister soon after Tuesday's reshuffle, saying that he wanted to be relieved of his ministerial responsibility.
In a first of its kind verdict, the Supreme Court has declared as "illegal" rejection of mercy petition of death row convict M N Das by the then President Pratibha Patil and commuted the sentence to life imprisonment on ground of 12 year delay in deciding his plea.
Brother of suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist Mohammad Qateel Siddiqui, who was murdered at the Yerawada jail in Pune recently, has sought the intervention of President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia for a high-level probe into the incident.
62-year-old Sampath will take over as CEC after incumbent S Y Quraishi demits office on June 10.
The nation on Sunday remembered the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 48th death anniversary, with President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President Hamid Ansari paying homage to him.
The nation on Saturday remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 94th birth anniversary with President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari among prominent personalities who paid rich tributes to the leader.
Sixteen mercy petitions have been disposed of during the last three-and-a-half years, which is more than any such period earlier, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
President Pratibha Patil yet again came out with a strong defence of her foreign tours, saying she was forced to go public on the issue despite government clarifications.
Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt has petitioned President Pratibha Patil to appoint a new Commission of Inquiry to probe the role of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others in 2002 riots.
Governors of West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh created a flutter in Governors' Conference on Saturday by speaking out their mind on the present law and order, economic and fiscal situation in the country.
Stung by controversies, President Pratibha Patil on Friday announced her decision to forego the accommodation allotted to her as post-retirement home in Pune.
Noted Gandhian writer and Padmashree awardee Giriraj Kishore, who was distressed over the auction of memorabilia associated with Mahatma Gandhi, on Wednesday wrote to President Pratibha Patil wanting to return the award.
The negotiations will be held in Mumbai on Tueday at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations Conference which will be inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil.
Yesteryear actor Waheeda Rahman, singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, music composer Khayyam, former diplomat Brajesh Mishra and pioneer of the test tube baby in India Indira Hinduja were among a host of distinguished people conferred with the coveted Padma awards in New Delhi on Thursday evening.
The home ministry will examine on merit the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, sentenced to death for assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, and it will be submitted to President Pratibha Patil for a final decision.
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