Just two days after recording 811.6 mm of rainfall in a day, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya received a bountiful 972 mm of precipitation in 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Friday, the highest in June since 1995 and the third highest in 122 years, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
With the fresh fatalities, the total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood and landslides across the state has gone up to 42.
'Bodies of all seven individuals have been recovered from the avalanche site. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, all seven have been confirmed deceased,' the Army said in a statement.
The Centre on Wednesday announced a raft of post-retirement employment possibilities for 'Agniveer' like priority in recruitment to the central armed police forces (CAPF) and Assam rifles but that failed to assuage the concerns of the opposition Congress which warned the 'transformative' 'Agnipath' scheme will reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces.
'The Punjab police was taking the prime minister by road for 100 km for the first time, maybe in the last many years.' 'But the SPG keeps travelling with the prime minister every second-third day outside Delhi.' 'They are better aware of the drill; they understand the PM's security parameters better than the Punjab police.' 'They could have refused even if the clearance was given by the Punjab police.'
The government has sanctioned a dozen fresh SSB battalions, comprising over 13,000 personnel for the Nepal and Bhutan borders guarding force, to "fortify" defences along these fronts including the tri-junction area in Sikkim that adjoins Bhutan and Tibet, officials said.
For two decades after his release in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999, Azhar has since been the darling of Pakistan's external snooping agency Inter-Services Intelligence.
He also declared that 34,000 posts of paramilitary constables were upgraded as head constables.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said racism should be condemned "unequivocally" after a contestant from Guwahati on a dance reality show was subjected to racist rhetoric.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the Line of Actual Control with China, has posted its first officer to head the newly-created Guwahati-based eastern command that oversees deployment of border battalions in that region.
'India is yet to demonstrate that it cares for a giant who fought single-handedly against an archaic monarchy and helped India extend and secure its borders against China.'
Singh addresses a first-ever meeting of chief ministers of five Himalayan states.
Xi ordered the military to think about worst-case scenarios, scale up training and battle preparedness, promptly and effectively deal with all sorts of complex situations and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, without mentioning any specific issues that posed a threat to the country.
Sources in the security establishment said the force is also set to get sanctions from the Union Home ministry to raise at least nine fresh battalions soon. They said in order to bolster troop numbers along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, as many as 60 companies have been ordered to move towards the front in various areas like Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
'Whether Kashmir or anywhere else, whether in peace or in war, pay commissions or no pay commissions, hollowness and shortages notwithstanding, the Indian Army -- and Sekin Fif -- will always be there to keep India together.'
'R N Kao was a spymaster, an institution builder and a gentleman.'
Sixteen states -- Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal -- are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.
COVID-19 cases in the country jumped from 10 lakh to 20 lakh in 21 days, while it had taken 59 days for the cases to cross the 10 lakh-mark.
India has surpassed the United States to become the fastest COVID-19 vaccinating country in the world with an average daily rate of 30,93,861 vaccine doses, the Union health ministry said.
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.
Addressing a public reception in Sikkim's Pelling, Singh accused Pakistan of trying to "destabilise" India by fomenting trouble in Kashmir. "But I want to tell all of you that our government will find a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue," he said, without elaborating.
Gen Rawat carried out an aerial recce of certain areas and was briefed about key aspects of the security matrix in the region by senior military commanders.
The 36 women commandos took on rigorous training which lasted 15 months.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
Laxmi Sorte and Kaustav Ghosh are on a 101-day road trip across India to support and encourage local businesses affected by the pandemic.
Having the ITBP and the Army at the same operational location will resolve these issues as well, the sources said.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7.
Gurung is worth his weight in gold to the BJP which is trying hard to make inroads in West Bengal
The Centre has decided to drop action against two journalists of a national daily for filing a "wrong" report about Chinese firing at Indian border guards in Sikkim.
Almost all states and Union Territories have extended the curbs which they first started imposing in mid-April as the second COVID wave hit the country.
Over ten Gorkha Janmukti supporters were arrested when they burnt a motorcycle and a car at Rambi on the National Highway near, as a three-day bandh demanding Gorkhaland began in the Darjeeling hills in West Bengal on Monday.
The headquarters of Sikkim's North district on Monday remained cut off from rest of the state as rescue teams struggled to access remote areas as the toll in floods rose to nine in Assam and four in Arunachal Pradesh.
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
India brought in more troops after the destruction of two of its bunkers and "aggressive tactics" adopted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army
A magnificent display of India's cultural diversity through colourful parades across the length and breadth of the country marked the 71st Republic Day celebrations on Sunday which passed off peacefully, barring in Upper Assam, which was rocked by four explosions within a span of 10 minutes.
'With more and more young people relocating outside their home states for work, an all-India MLDA of 21 would be a good way to ensure that more Indians can go with the flow,' recommends Kanika Datta.
With COVID cases declining, Delhi will see further relaxation in lockdown, including reopening of markets and malls and resumption of metro services, from June 7 while Maharashtra will implement a five-level plan to ease curbs based on weekly positivity rate and occupancy of oxygen beds in districts.
Two persons, including the main accused Sumit, who is also a Dalit, have been sent to seven days in police remand.
This is the sixth consecutive day when COVID-19 cases increased by more than 30,000.
The Centre has put the blame on state governments while state governments complain that money is not released for the proposals given by them to the Empowered Committee that has been tasked with recommending proposals to be funded under this framework.
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