Above Photo: Antara Raman. What the media can never openly admit is that the largest peaceful democratic protest the world has seen in years – certainly the greatest organised at the height of the pandemic – has won a mighty victory. A victory that carries forward a legacy. Farmers of all kinds, men and women – including from Adivasi and Dalit communities – played a crucial role in this country’s struggle for freedom. And in the 75th year of our Independence, the farmers at Delhi’s gates reiterated the spirit of that great struggle. Prime Minister Modi has announced he is backing […]
Indias
81 posts
Global Social Movements Issue Solidarity As Protest Completes A Year On 26th November 2021, as the historic protest led by India’s farmers completes a year, La Via Campesina joins others social movements (list in the annex below) in expressing our solidarity and support. As movements united in our global struggles for food sovereignty, we draw inspiration from this year long struggle led by India’s farmers that has demonstrated what resilience and unity of the working class can achieve even in the face of adversities. Read the full text below. In a big win for India’s protesting farmers, who were leading a […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/0e/1080766532_0:54:3072:1782_1200x675_80_0_0_eba1edf034b6b7dff20ee01b772f87e8.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202010181080805756–watch-heavy-rainfall-in-indias-hyderabad-floods-streets-leaves-cars-floating-houses-underwater/ Over 50 people have died in the last three days and property worth millions of rupees has been damaged due to heavy rains and flash floods in India’s Telangana State, where there has been no respite from the continuous downpours. The Indian city of Hyderabad witnessed torrential rain overnight on Saturday, which led to flooding in several parts of the state; many houses were inundated. Shocking scenes of the devastation from different areas including Chandrayangutta, Nampally, Abids, Kothi, Basheerbagh, Khairatabad, Goshamahal and Vijayanagar have been doing the rounds on social media on Sunday. […]
The death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput has been judged suspicious, prompting one of the biggest investigations in the Hindi film industry. The 34-year-old Bollywood star was found dead in his Mumbai flat on 14 June. The actor’s death led to a massive uproar, with the case being probed by three major agencies. A money laundering probe in Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case has led India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) to filmmaker Dinesh Vijan, who directed the 2017 film Raabta, starring the late actor. The ED conducted raids at four locations of director-producer Dinesh Vijan, including his home and office, on […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/0c/1080748284_0:139:2047:1291_1200x675_80_0_0_fd6a46eab28828614fcff2ae2a1460ad.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Radhika Parashar. Sputnik International https://sputniknews.com/india/202010121080746313-test-launch-of-indias-subsonic-nirbhay-cruise-missile-aborted-in-eight-minutes-heres-why/ India has been fast-tracking development and deployment of modern weapons amid the ongoing border tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. A total of 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a brutal face-off with Chinese soldiers in mid-June. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test fired the “Nirbhay” missile at 10:30 AM (IST) into the Bay of Bengal on Monday from a test facility in the Indian state of Odisha. However, just eight minutes later, the trial was aborted. This is the fourth time since 2013 […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/09/1080718832_0:140:3391:2047_1200x675_80_0_0_27af31f4de1fd733e9a4cf385c0d7ddc.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202010091080716159-indias-anti-terror-squad-arrests-aerospace-firm-employee-for-passing-secret-info-to-pakistan/ India’s defence and anti-terrorist services have been devising strategies and passing out instructions to make personnel of all ranks aware about the nuances of Pakistan’s espionage network. In the past, the Indian authorities have uncovered several espionage cases where Pakistani agents have honey-trapped personnel on social media. An employee of India’s state-funded Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been arrested for supplying secret information to Pakistan’s spy agency the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Maharashtra State Police revealed on Friday. The man has been accused of supplying crucial information about fighter aircraft and their manufacturing unit to […]
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic India’s apex bank, the Reserve Bank of India, has infused liquidity worth $125 billion into the economy to stabilise financial markets. Central banks the world over have pumped $9 trillion into the global economy amid the pandemic. India’s apex bank RBI on Friday said the country’s economic growth, measured as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is likely to contract by 9.5 percent in the current financial year (April 2020-March 2021). The growth projections were made by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das while announcing the key lending rates, which remained unchanged […]
The Indian economy nose-dived between April and June this year, with gross domestic product growth contracting 23.9 percent in the quarter that saw a strict lockdown due to the pandemic. In January – March this year, the country witnessed GDP growth of 3.1 percent. Maintaining that the South Asian economic situation is worse than ever, the World Bank on Thursday said India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to contract by 9.6% in the current financial year (April 2020 – March 2021) due to the national lockdown and pandemic shock. In its latest report – South Asia Economic Focus – released […]
Indian business and industry leaders are seeing signs of recovery after the coronavirus crisis wiped out nearly a quarter of the country’s economy in the last quarter. “The more I converse with CEOs of various organisations, the more I get convinced that there is an improvement in the macro-economic situation, especially over the last month or so,” Axis Bank’s chief executive and managing director, Amitabh Chaudhry, told the Economic Times. Read more While the banker believes the recovery is imminent, he says the process could be slow or “L-shaped,” which is usually accompanied by persistent unemployment and stagnant economic growth. Chaudhry […]
India’s Uttar Pradesh state, headed by ascetic chief Yogi Adityanath, has come under widespread criticism for its handling of an alleged gang rape and murderous assault on a young girl. The state’s police have also come under fire for cremating the body of the woman, who died 15 days after the gruesome incident, in the dead of night. The state government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) on Tuesday filed a plea in India’s apex court, seeking a “fair and impartial investigation” into the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old woman and the conduct of police in the incident. In a petition, the Uttar […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/05/1080667801_0:65:2950:1724_1200x675_80_0_0_a176a2becc376202828ac7f5b7c7afad.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Advitya Bahl. Sputnik International https://sputniknews.com/india/202010051080667093-indias-premier-probe-agency-raids-congress-leaders-residences-in-alleged-corruption-case/ India’s main opposition parties, including Congress, have long accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government of misusing investigation agencies to target political rivals. India’s premier probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday conducted raids at the premises of Karnataka’s Congress chief, DK Shivakumar, in connection with a corruption case. According to a senior agency official, parliamentarian DK Suresh’s house is also being searched. Suresh is the brother of Karnataka’s top Congress leader Shivakumar. “A total of 14 premises across the country linked to DK Shivakumar, his family […]
India has recorded 100,000 fatalities from Covid-19 after battling the lethal outbreak for seven months, becoming the third nation to cross the six-digit figure after the United States and Brazil, according to official tallies. The country’s total death toll sat at 100,842 on Saturday morning, on top of nearly 6.5 million infections, according to the Indian Health Ministry. Passing the 100,000-mark seven months to the day after India reported its first batch of cases, the country now has the highest rate of daily new infections in the world, most recently reporting 79,476 cases in the space of a single day. Also […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107694/06/1076940604_0:898:2620:2372_1200x675_80_0_0_17160ff60eda8f56dcc14d3f1e1e8235.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Nair N.B.. Sputnik International https://sputniknews.com/india/202010021080637882-indias-hindu-nationalists-flood-twitter-hailing-assassin-of-iconic-leader-mahatma-gandhi/ India observes the birthday of the iconic leader of the national freedom movement Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, fondly known as Mahatma Gandhi, on 2 October. On Friday, President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among those who paid floral tributes at Gandhi’s memorial on the banks of the Yamuna River in the capital. On the day India paid tribute to its iconic leader Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birthday, Hindu nationalists flooded the social media platform, hailing his assassin Nathuram Godse. #NathuramGodseZindabad, or hail Nathuram Godse has been trending on […]
Bollywood Actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead hanging in his Mumbai flat on 14 June. The young actor’s death has caused a massive public uproar, triggering many questions. Three federal investigative agencies – Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) – are probing the case. As India’s top probe agency CBI has not yet come to any conclusion about the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, it is still investigating all aspects, agency officials said on Monday. A spokesperson of the probe agency on Monday stated the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $266 billion stimulus package on 12 May to help the economy and industries tide over the disruption caused by the COVID -19 pandemic. The country’s top bank, RBI, also pumped in liquidity worth $125 billion to maintain stability in the domestic financial markets. India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the country’s economy will continue to face “challenges of different nature” with no clear-cut end date for the pandemic and no sure-shot vaccine against the coronavirus in sight. In an interview with The Indian Express, Sitharaman said uncertainty is laying in the mind of big […]
Despite retaining India’s credit rating at the lowest investment grade, ratings agency S&P Global warned that the Asian economy will face mounting deficit and debt levels in fiscal 2021 in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis. In its forecast released earlier this week, S&P said it expects India’s debt-to-GDP ratio (the debt levels compared to gross domestic product) to surge over 17 percent from the previous year before it reaches 90.6 percent in the fiscal year to March 2021. The outlook is similar to the estimates of two other major ratings firms, with Fitch pegging general government debt to jump to […]
The number of COVID-19 cases in India is consistently rising, despite the enforcement of one of the strictest and most prolonged lockdowns on the planet. India has now topped Brazil with at least 4,562,414 cases. The US remains in the lead, however, with the highest number of infections: 6,589,020. India has seen a record surge in cases in the past several days, with a daily caseload expected to top 100,000. Community health experts have expressed concern over the surging cases and seek effective measures to slow the spread of the deadly disease. Sputnik talked to Professor K. Srinath Reddy, president of […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0a/1080417607_50:0:1320:714_1200x675_80_0_0_af5713e5d0f3efb8bade01cfe39bf1b6.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202009101080417099-heres-to-the-mighty-jungle-king-watch-what-indias-famous-bengal-tiger-gets-for-lunch/ With all of India’s lions confined to the forests of Gir in Gujarat state, jungles are ruled over by tigers. In all their glory, India’s Bengal Tigers are world famous for their majestic and larger than life personas. Tourists from around the globe flock to Indian jungles to catch a glimpse of these tigers in their natural habitat. Susanta Nanda, an officer from the Indian Forest Services (IFS), posted a thrilling video on Twitter showing a rare sight of a Bengal Tiger, dragging a hunted calf for lunch. In the caption, Nanda revealed that […]
Following reports of “missing locals” allegedly being abducted by the Chinese military from Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian Army on Sunday sent an emergency message to China’s People’s Liberation Army to seek information about them, confirmed India’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju. China on Monday said that they have no details to release regarding the Indian Army’s inquiry about five locals missing from India’s northern Arunachal Pradesh and refused to recognise the state as Indian territory. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated that Beijing has never recognised Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory, calling it China’s South Tibet region. “China has […]
The Wall Street Journal had reported in August that a senior executive of Facebook in India had intervened in the platform’s internal content review process to stop a ban on a legislator from the national ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who had made religiously intolerant posts. Facebook, however, has denied the allegation. Reiterating that the international media had uncovered a brazen attack on India’s democracy and social harmony by Facebook and WhatsApp, Rahul Gandhi of India’s main opposition party Congress has sought a probe into these attempts. Gandhi, a parliamentarian and former head of the Congress party, who has been taking […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): India’s apex court last week forbid Muharram processions in the country amid a rising number of coronavirus cases there, saying it could lead to “chaos” and “targeting of a particular community for spreading COVID-19”. Defying the Supreme Court of India, hundreds of Muslims converged on the streets to join the annual Muharram processions in the Indian city of Hyderabad in Telangana state despite the raging coronavirus pandemic. The mourners gathered wearing black clothes in accordance with custom, and conducted the processions while performing ceremonial chest-beating. The participants were seen not maintaining social distancing and without face masks in the […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/14/1079935068_0:137:1920:1217_1200x675_80_0_0_58f74e0bda12e2fee0cf0f2022e63805.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Pratibha Sharma. Sputnik International https://sputniknews.com/india/202008281080304510-now-shots-wont-hurt-indias-top-tech-institute-develops-painless-vaccination-device/ New Delhi (Sputnik): This type of technology has been used in the United States and several other countries. This method involves micro-needles that are too thin to induce a painful reaction, like ordinary needles which touch the nerves in the skin. The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has developed micro-needles and micro-pumps that enable medications to be administered in a painless way. Do invasive medications make you anxious because of the pain? You may not have to worry anymore – microneedles and micropump developed by IIT Kharagpur will enable your medications to […]
Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s family has alleged the role of the actor’s ex-girlfriend Rhea Chakrabory in his death and filed a case in Patna, Bihar, against her. Chakraborty has been accused of driving Rajput to suicide and taking his money by the family. India’s top probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Friday summoned Rhea Chakraborty, ex-girlfriend of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput who committed suicide on 14 June, for questioning in the actor’s unnatural death. Chakraborty was earlier questioned by the country’s economic intelligence agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB), an enforcement and […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/1d/1080007342_0:0:1254:705_1200x675_80_0_0_ac3ea6add4aed773b011555c95239bca.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202008281080299012-french-defence-minister-to-join-indias-rajnath-singh-for-rafales-formal-induction-on-10-september/ India received the delivery of five Dassault-made Rafale fighter jets on 29 July. Amid a border standoff with China, India had urged France to expedite the delivery. India and France signed a $8.7 billion government-to-government deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets in 2016. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be joined by French Defence Minister Florence Parly on 10 September for the formal induction of Rafale fighter jets into the 17th Squadron at Ambala Air Station along the western border. The 17th Squadron, also known as the “Golden Arrows”, is the first Indian Air Force squadron […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107944/47/1079444785_6:0:1206:675_1200x675_80_0_0_f142f365911c11fcc48adc59385d86b0.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/world/202008271080289515-malicious-propaganda-pakistan-rejects-indias-claim-pulwama-attack-executed-at-islamabads-behest/ New Delhi (Sputnik): On 25 August, India’s top investigative agency filed its first charge sheet in the deadly February 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing case, naming 19 people for carrying out the attack at “Pakistan’s behest”. Pakistan has rejected a charge sheet filed by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Pulwama suicide bombing case, calling it a “fabricated report” to push anti-Pakistan rhetoric. “Pakistan categorically rejects the so-called ‘charge sheet’ by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), which mischievously attempts to implicate Pakistan in the Pulwama attack … last year”, Pakistan said in a statement. […]
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay held a convocation ceremony in a virtual environment by creating unique 3D avatars for more than 2,000 of its students due to gathering restrictions imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic. IIT Bombay, one of the top technical universities in India, sent off its virtual graduates on Sunday. The students’ avatars received their diplomas and medals after walking across a 3D environment designed to look like a stage. Princeton University’s Duncan Haldane, joint winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize, was an invited chief guest at the ceremony, and was also represented by a computer model. Judging by […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Twenty-three prominent members of India’s main opposition Congress, who wanted sweeping changes, were snubbed by the core decision-making body of the party on Monday. In a resolution, the party rallied behind Sonia Gandhi, Interim President of Congress and her son Rahul Gandhi. A day after India’s Congress party warned 23 of its prominent members over demanding reforms and a change in the party leadership, a few of the dissenters claimed they had actually acted in the “best interest of the party”. These key Congressmen conveyed their demands in a letter sent to party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi. […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): India’s Congress party, which has been associated with the national freedom movement, is now in dire straits over leadership issues. Since 2014, when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party swept general elections, the Congress has been reduced to an abysmal tally in the Parliament and also lost power in several major states. Nearly 23 senior Congress members and lawmakers have written to the party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi, urging her to consider the complete overhaul of the party leadership. In the letter, the members of the party stated that the “uncertainty” over the leadership demoralises the cadre and has […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/15/1080238623_0:110:1281:830_1200x675_80_0_0_a5aacb095432072ef74f7cc091594957.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Pratibha Sharma. Sputnik International https://sputniknews.com/india/202008211080237893-nine-people-who-were-trapped-in-hydroelectric-plant-fire-in-indias-telangana-dead/ New Delhi (Sputnik): India has witnessed several industrial accidents in the past few months. The underground power house where the fire broke out is regarded as the country’s second largest hydroelectric station and is located near the Srisailam Dam, built over the Krishna River. All nine people who were reported to be trapped in a massive fire that broke out at a hydroelectric plant in India’s Telangana are dead, officials revealed on Friday. Nine bodies have been recovered from the site located at the Srisailam Dam, and three of them have been […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): When Pakistan was debt-trapped in 2018, Saudi Arabia was the first one to extend help to Islamabad with a $6.2 billion package, which included $3 billion in loans and oil supply on deferred payments worth $3.2 billion. Nevertheless, some of the issues, including Kashmir, have strained the once strong relations. The bilateral ties between Riyadh and Islamabad have received a fresh blow after Pakistan foreign affairs minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi slammed Saudi Arabia for not organising a meeting to discuss Kashmir at the 57-members strong Council of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Following Qureshi’s threat of calling a […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): The proliferation of e-pharma stores has met with protests in India for taking away many consumers from traditional pharmacies and raised fears of fuelling a grey market by selling fake, expired, and unapproved drugs before being banned by a court order. Companies are now awaiting draft rules for regulating e-pharmacies. Business moguls Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), diversifying into the e-pharmacy business, have set the stage for the segment to become the next fast-growing market with cut-throat competition in the arena. Soon after India’s largest online marketplace Amazon launched “Amazon Pharmacy”, […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Last month, Bollywood Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s father KK Singh lodged a complaint with Bihar police and named his son’s ex-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and several others as being responsible for his son’s death. He also pointed to several mysterious transactions worth $2 million made from his son’s account. The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ordered a top probe agency investigation into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. While pronouncing the order, Justice Roy stated that the “first information report registered in Bihar was correct. The Maharashtra government must comply and assist in the case while […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107914/61/1079146143_0:62:1920:1142_1200x675_80_0_0_8abb6fe5b77454eb6f5a9be045060718.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Nair N.B.. Sputnik International https://sputniknews.com/india/202008181080202700-indias-apex-court-turns-down-plea-to-transfer-modis-controversial-pm-cares-fund-to-disaster-fund/ New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set up a fund to deal with “any kind of emergency or distress situation,” like the COVID-19 pandemic. The charitable trust has been under the scanner from the beginning, as it was not subject to public audit, but donations to it are eligible for tax rebate. India’s apex court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking the transfer of funds from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial PM CARES Fund, an acronym for Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, to the official […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian parliamentary panel on information technology headed by main opposition party Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor earlier indicated, the panel would ask social network platform Facebook to clarify its position on allegedly bending hate speech rules in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition parties clashed on Parliamentary Panel on Information Technology Chairman Shashi Tharoor’s statement that the panel would wish to hear from the tech company about reports of bending its “hate speech rules” in India. BJP lawmaker and member of the Parliamentary Panel on Information Technology Nishikant Dubey […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107639/72/1076397293_0:163:1200:838_1200x675_80_0_0_a3900832f5857abeba71dc7adc5270a7.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202008151080180132-indias-captain-cool-ms-dhoni-announces-retirement-from-international-cricket/ New Delhi (Sputnik): Former captain of the Indian cricket team and one of the most loved Indian cricketers, Mahendra Singh Dhoni quit Test Cricket in 2014. Since then speculation has been rife as to when the former skipper could end his international career. Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni – who led the Indian team to World Cup Victory in 2011 – announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday. Announcing his retirement on Instagram, Dhoni said, “Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. From 1929 consider me as Retired.” The 39-year-old batsman cum […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): In April this year, Facebook picked up a 9.9 percent stake in the telecom arm of India’s Reliance Industries Ltd – Jio Platforms for $5.7 billion. Google has also announced plans to invest $4.4 billion for a 7.7 percent stake in Jio. Saudi Arabian multinational petroleum and natural gas company Saudi Aramco has said it is still working on a deal to buy a stake worth $15 billion in the refining and chemicals business of India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). “We are still in discussion with Reliance. The work is still on. We will update our shareholders […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched construction of a grand temple dedicated to revered Hindu God Ram at the venue the Hindus believe was the birthplace of the idol. The temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh will be complete in three years. Several Indian-American organisations put together celebrations and protests over the groundbreaking ceremony for the iconic Ram Temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 August. A huge digital billboard depicting the upcoming temple and images of Lord Ram were put up in New York’s Times Square. A large group of people […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/03/1080046969_65:0:1265:675_1200x675_80_0_0_a4370b36d47e74da9b023f42a2654887.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/viral/202008031080046287-watch-elephant-jump-out-of-truck-on-highway-in-indias-tamil-nadu-to-get-back-home/ Elephants are considered to be the most playful and joyful mammals on earth. Just like dogs, elephants are loyal to their owners. They are said to be even emotional when separated from a particular place or person. A video of an elephant in India trying to flee a truck is going viral on social media. The clip posted by the Twitter handle, Iindu Makkal Katchi, a Hindu nationalist party in India’s Tamil Nadu, shows a truck carrying an elephant stop in the middle of the road. And, the elephant senses the opportunity to escape. […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the iconic Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday (5 August). A grand temple of Lord Ram, believed to be at his place of birth, has been at the top of the agenda of several national Hindu organisations and the federal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The rituals preceding the foundation-laying ceremony for the Ram Temple began in Ayodhya in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning. The “Gauri Ganesh Puja” or invocation of the elephant-headed god Lord Ganesh is customary when beginning any solemn function for Hindus. […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Last month, 30 kgs of gold, worth $2 million (INR 150 million) was seized from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE’s Consulate-General by customs officials at Thiruvananthapuram Airport in Kerala. India’s anti-terror probe body, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested six people in connection with a diplomatic gold smuggling case in Kerala, a senior official said on Sunday. The number of people arrested in the case now stands at 10. The NIA has also conducted a series of searches at six places connected with the case, including the home addresses of the people arrested. “Earlier […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): There are over 270 species of snakes in India, out of which about 60 are highly venomous. With the onset of the monsoon months, snakes begin to appear in public more and more in India. In a bid to ward off the danger of being bitten by serpents, Hindus worship snakes on “Nag Panchami”. This year the festival has fallen in the middle of a pandemic. Several Indian states have declared a total lockdown during the weekends to curb the unnecessary movement of people. So, on Saturday, netizens took to social media to wish each other safe, happy […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Newly-appointed UK Ambassador to India Sir Philip Barton, in his first media interaction after presenting his credentials, expressed a willingness to work with Beijing but also said that they are clear about the challenges posed by China to India and the world. China’s embassy in India responded to Barton’s remarks. Expressing utter dismay over the UK’s mention of China’s border conflict with India, Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong dismissed the remarks made by British High Commissioner to India Sir Philip Barton as “rife with mistakes and false allegations”. “The boundary question falls within the bilateral scope between […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/16/1079950432_0:102:1280:822_1200x675_80_0_0_8e1366c15508015465738338108fc27c.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202007221079950309-indias-first-nuclear-power-plant-built-domestically-achieves-criticality/ New Delhi (Sputnik): India has developed its own nuclear power generation technology, as it wasn’t a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty until 2009. It developed a three-stage nuclear programme based on a closed-fuel cycle, where the spent fuel of one stage is reprocessed to produce fuel for the next stage. India’s first domestically-built 700 MWe Atomic Power Project at Kakrapar in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat reached criticality on Wednesday morning. Criticality is the normal operating condition of a nuclear reactor, which is reached when nuclear fuel sustains a fission chain […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian aviation sector is going through turbulent times in the wake of the pandemic, which has pushed numerous airlines to the brink of financial collapse. Several airlines have urged the government to provide short-term relief, including help to pay salaries for staff. Stating that measures such as salary cuts and cost-cutting policies were not enough to face the economic headwinds, India’s biggest carrier IndiGo decided to reduce the workforce by at least 10 percent on Monday. The airline further laid out a plan to help employees “tide over the uncertainties”. This included keeping notice pay in lieu, […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international air travel has been severely restricted for months and this has also affected the business of drug cartels, said an officer of India’s nodal drug law enforcement and intelligence agency. India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Monday said it had seized 1.7 kg of “high-grade” heroin while it was being smuggled into the country through international courier services. It has an estimated worth of about $909,000. A video of it that was shared by the agency shows officials taking out the heroin, which was concealed in LED lights, cosmetics, and soaps. NCB […]
By Sajjad Shaukat for Veterans Today Every year, Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and Pakistan, including rest of the world celebrate July 19 as the Day of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan, as on this very day in 1947, the historical resolution was adopted by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference in Abi Guzar, Srinagar during an emergency convention at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan. It was presided over by Chaudhry Hamid Ullah Khan, and the resolution was presented by Khawaja Ghulam-ud-Din Wani and Abdul Rahim Wani, with 59 prominent leaders in […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): India’s main opposition party Congress had earlier alleged that the federal ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to lure away its legislators in Rajasthan and topple its government headed by Ashok Gehlot. Congress claimed it has audio recordings of the purported talks between BJP leaders and rebel Congress members. India’s federal ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday demanded a probe by the apex national investigative agency, Central Bureau of Investigation into the alleged tapping of phones of its leaders in Rajasthan. BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra asked Rajasthan chief Ashok Gehlot if phone tapping was carried out […]
Youths perform in front of a cellphone camera while making a TikTok video on the roof of their residence in Hyderabad, India, in February. India’s government has banned 59 Chinese-owned apps including TikTok. Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images Youths perform in front of a cellphone camera while making a TikTok video on the roof of their residence in Hyderabad, India, in February. India’s government has banned 59 Chinese-owned apps including TikTok. Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images When India imposed coronavirus restrictions in late March, Arman Rathod’s work dried up. The 29-year-old had […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo-itemprop.png Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202007141079882646-nepal-tries-to-allay-pm-olis-remarks-on-lord-rams-birthplace-after-criticism-from-indias-bjp/ New Delhi (Sputnik): Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s remarks that the birthplace of the hugely revered Hindu god Ram was in Nepal, and not in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh has provoked sharp reactions from India. Oli has responded by claiming that Nepal “has become a victim of cultural encroachment and its history has been manipulated.” After sharp reactions from India to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s claim that the birthplace of Lord Ram was in Nepal, Kathmandu has clarified that his remarks were “not linked to any political subject and have no intention […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): On 5 July, customs officials seized 30 kg of gold, valued at $2 million (INR 150 million), at Thiruvananthapuram Airport in India’s Kerala state from a diplomatic cargo that was addressed to a person in the UAE’s Consulate-General. A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in India has taken the two main accused in the Kerala diplomatic gold smuggling case into the agency’s custody for eight days. During the hearing, the anti-terror probe agency informed the special court that the two accused – Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair – had forged the seal and emblem of the UAE […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): India is one of the biggest buyers of Venezuelan oil in spite of US sanctions. Private Indian refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy are the only buyers from India. Soon after the US imposed sanctions, the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Gas had advised the two firms to make sanctions-proof transactions. In a fuel exchange deal, Reliance Industries will be loading the first cargo of Venezuelan crude in three months this week, as per the private firm’s sources quoted by Reuters. As per the news agency, a shipping document from state oil firm PDVSA states that the fuel […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps, citing them as a “threat to the integrity and sovereignty” of the country in the wake of the border clashes with China. While new Indian apps have been launched to fill the space to promote ‘self-reliant’ India, global players are also looking to enter the lucrative new market. Several popular Chinese apps, including Tik-Tok, UC Browser and ShareIt, left the Indian market soon after the government imposed the ban. Investors lined up to back made-in-India alternatives to these apps, which had garnered millions of downloads within a day of launch. Talking about […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Grasse, a medieval town in France, is known as “la capitale mondiale des parfums” meaning the “perfume capital of the world”. Known for its specialty in exquisite Jasmine perfumes, Grasse is known worldwide. India also has its own ancient fragrance-town that is one of world’s largest makers of natural scents. Located in Uttar Pradesh, the ancient town of Kannauj was once the capital of northern India under the rule of Emperor Harshvardhana from 606 to 647 CE. Today, hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the country’s main cities, the city is famous for its natural fragrances […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): India’s Gross Domestic Product growth to 3.1 percent in Q1 2020 compared with 4.7 percent in Q4 2019. At 3.1 percent, GDP growth is almost half the 5.8 percent seen in Q1 2019. India’s fiscal deficit in the first two months of the current financial year (April – May) stood at $61.67 billion. This is 58.6% of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year (April 2020 – March 2021). The data shows that the government has stepped up expenditure even as revenue is subdued, accounting for higher deficit. Fiscal data released by the government on Tuesday indicates that during […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): India’s north-eastern state of Assam has been hit by a second round of floods since last week, affecting nearly one million people. The state was earlier hit by floods in May, followed by heavy rainfall following Cyclone Amphan, affecting nearly 400,000 people. Nearly one million people have been hit by a second wave of floods in India’s north-eastern state of Assam. 23 of the 33 administrative divisions or districts of the state were worst affected. 20 people have died in the floods and 23 more have been killed in landslides in the state since 22 May. #Assam: […]
Footage shows a massive swarm of locusts invading the Indian city of Gurugram, located just southwest of New Delhi. The cloud of insects is a rare sight in the city that is a posh financial and technology hub. The locusts descended upon the streets of Gurugram on Saturday, flying in a large, cloud-like mass as well as resting on everything they pleased. The invasion had been anticipated, with the city’s authorities urging the residents to close doors and windows beforehand. Footage from the scene shows thousands of desert locusts swarming in the air so fast they are making the picture blurry. […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): The ancient chariot festival that takes place in the Indian holy town Puri attracts millions of devotees from India and abroad every year. However, due to the pandemic, India’s top court has only allowed the festival to take place with certain limitations this year. After the Supreme Court of India overturned its own order cancelling the ancient Indian chariot festival – Jagannath Rath Yatra – the grand procession began in the coastal state of Odisha on Tuesday. The court placed the holy city of Puri under curfew and has allowed only 500 people to participate in the festival, […]
Until recently, India’s crypto industry had much reason for optimism. In March, the country’s Supreme Court overturned a ban on banks working with exchanges, clearing a major hurdle. Then the coronavirus pandemic seemed to improve the business case for digital currency, with several exchanges reporting steep growth in users. Now, uncertainty is back. The government may be about to ban crypto altogether, according to media reports, and India’s central bank has been unhelpfully unclear about its guidelines for commercial banks. There are dozens of unanswered questions, and startups are back to asking, ”What’s next?” The uncertainty is hard for crypto businesses […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): A week ago, Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput ended his life in Mumbai. Though no suicide note has been found, his sudden demise is being linked to depression caused by his work. Bollywood actor Sushant Sing Rajput’s suicide shocked many people in India and seems to resulted in some soul searching among Bollywood royalty. His death has sparked heated nationwide discussions on Bollywood’s alleged unethical practices that favour star kids over newcomers in India’s hyper-competitive cinema space. Joining several artists who have recently raised their voices against unfair business practices in Bollywood, singer Sonu Nigam on Monday called out […]
By Sajjad Shaukat for Veterans Today In the past, the most developed countries had direct control on the less developed countries through colonialism. But, neo-imperialism is its most dangerous form, prevalent in the present world. In theory a less developed is free, but in practice, its government and economy are controlled by a developed country indirectly. In these terms, through its military and intelligence agency RAW, India has continued expansionist designs by following intervention as part of hegemonic policies vis-à-vis her neighbouring countries, including those ones with whom India does not share border. Besides supporting separatism in East Pakistan which resulted […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): Over the last few weeks, Indian farmers have been on the defence amid the worst locust attack in decades. The pests have inflicted massive damage on crops in several agricultural states. The locust swarms in India probably won’t survive the country’s wet season, and be restricted to the nation’s deserts, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) The FAO explains that currently, the pests are wreaking havoc on the standing crop in several Indian states, and are likely to re-enter India from Pakistan later this week. However, later on, the FAO expects them to retreat from […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): India, the second largest smartphone market in the world, is projected to witness a 13-15 percent sales decline as a side effect of slow production and ongoing tensions with China. To foreign tech players thriving in India, just when losses seemed near, the hope of profit came disguised as a rise in TV sales. Amid the lockdown, Chinese and South Korean tech players in India including Xiaomi, LG, and Samsung recorded substantial sales in the television category, a market analysis report by research firm Counterpoint said on Thursday. In the January to March quarter of 2020, Xiaomi managed […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): In a dramatic turn of events, the Indian and Chinese armies clashed at a disputed territory in eastern Ladakh on Monday night. Per Indian Army sources, 20 soldiers including a commanding officer were killed and an unspecified number of troops were injured or missing. There were also reports of casualties on the Chinese side. India’s main opposition party Congress has questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the violent clashes between the armies of India and China in the Ladakh region. Former Chief of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi in a tweet on Wednesday said, “Enough is […]
India’s military activity on China’s border is related to the domestic political situation while China’s military drills in the northwest are a response to the situation in the Himalayas, including attempts by extremist forces to rely on US support, according to analysts. Chinese and Indian senior military officials agreed to peacefully resolve the situation in the border zone following consultations on 13 June. The move comes after tensions escalated in May, resulting in several skirmishes and the deployment of additional forces to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that roughly acts as the border between the two countries. India’s Foreign Ministry […]
The world’s fifth biggest economy, India, will rebound in 2022 following a deep contraction due to the coronavirus pandemic, S&P Global Ratings said. According to the report, growth is expected to pick up 8.5 percent after the GDP’s five-percent contraction in the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2021. “India’s wide range of structural trends, including healthy demographics and competitive unit labour costs, work in its favour. Economic reforms, if executed well, would support this outcome,” the rating agency said. “With a recovery of this magnitude, India’s 10-year weighted average real GDP per capita growth will likely stay well above the […]
Rumors that India might be considering a new ban on crypto may be premature, exchange founders and startup CEOs working in the sector believe. Indian news site The Economic Times created a stir Friday by suggesting that lawmakers in India, where the Supreme Court only overturned a punitive banking ban from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) four months ago, were planning on slapping a new ban on crypto companies. The story, titled “With a law, India plans lasting ban on crypto,” cited one unnamed “senior government official” who told The Economic Times that, “A note [presumably on crypto] has been […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107878/55/1078785538_0:268:3072:1996_1200x675_80_0_0_ae26aaec0a6c0c2be7b77097f4a14e6f.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/world/202006101079573314-five-terrorists-killed-in-intense-encounter-in-indias-kashmir-14-neutralised-in-72-hours/ New Delhi (Sputnik): Over 100 terrorists have been gunned down in India’s Jammu and Kashmir by security forces in 2020 as they scaled up counter-terror operations in the valley, as per data maintained by the security forces. The data, however, suggests that most were local terrorists, while 10 were foreign, and six remained unidentified. Five terrorists have been killed in a fierce gunbattle between the security forces and terrorists in the Sugoo area of the Shopian district in India’s Jammu and Kashmir, police said. The encounter which began in the wee hours of Wednesday is […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107956/41/1079564173_0:281:3072:2009_1200x675_80_0_0_3cf9014d07316be6c5ef2745681fa761.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202006091079562323-indias-apex-court-orders-withdrawal-of-cases-against-thousands-of-migrants-for-violating-lockdown/ New Delhi (Sputnik): Months after the lockdown led to the mass exodus of migrant labourers from several states in India, the apex court took suo motu cognisance of their misery. The court pulled up the Indian government for “lapses and inadequacies” in the measures taken for the migrants’ welfare. The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday ordered the withdrawal of all police complaints against migrant workers who were booked for violating lockdown norms while attempting to go back to their hometowns from their work places. The court has also asked the federal government to […]
India 13:00 GMT 02.06.2020Get short URL New Delhi (Sputnik): India has recorded 198,705 positive COVID-19 cases, of which 3,926 are in Bihar. The northern Indian state has witnessed a massive influx of migrant workers returning to their homes from urban areas. In a random sampling, 26% of migrants returning to the state from outside had tested positive. The Bihar government in India is distributing free condoms to migrant labourers going home after completing a 14-day institutional quarantine and those in home quarantine to prevent unwanted pregnancies, an official said on Tuesday. While some were speculating links with the spread of the […]
Tech Mahindra, the IT subsidiary of Mahindra Group, is to work with local edutech firm Idealabs to develop blockchain talent within India. The two firms will begin offering curated professional certification courses on blockchain, including live online classes and sessions with experts from the industry in the effort to boost the skills of both tech professionals and students. The firms, which inked an agreement for the initiative on Monday, will also assist eligible candidates seeking employment opportunities, as reported by Telegana Today. The firms aim to provide hands-on experience and real-world implementation of distributed ledger technology, as well as to raise […]
By Sajjad Shaukat for Veterans Today In his book, ‘The Prince’, Machiavelli advises the rulers to have a lion-like image outwardly, and act upon the traits of goat inwardly. He also suggests them, the use of terror to obtain their goals and foreign adventures to divert the attention of public from internal crises. In his sense, a good ruler should be a good opportunist and hypocrite. It is regrettable that since Narendar Modi, the leader of the ruling party BJP, became Indian prime minister, he has been following the discarded tactics of Machiavelli in the modern era of renunciation of […]
India’s commercial banks can indeed provide banking services to traders and firms dealing in cryptocurrencies, the nation’s central bank clarified last week. “As on date, no such prohibition exists,” the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on May 22. The statement came in response to a query filed by BV Harish, co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Unocoin, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. As reported by The Economic Times on Tuesday, the RTI was filed on April 25, seeking clarification on whether banks were still prohibited from providing services to cryptocurrency traders and service providers despite a recent ruling by […]
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has said the unemployment rate in the country was 24 percent for the week ending May 17, remaining unchanged from the previous week’s figure. According to its report, however, the labor participation rate rose to 38.8 percent as industries started opening up gradually after the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. “Halfway into the month of May, it appears that the unemployment rate is around the same level as it was in April, mostly higher by a whisker,” CMIE said, adding that the small relaxations in the lockdown since April 20 have not had any positive impact […]
BitGo is now providing its custody services to India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, CoinDCX. Announced Thursday, BitGo began storing cryptocurrencies held by CoinDCX last week, with the aim of ensuring the assets are kept “safe and secure.” The custodial services extend to deposits at the exchange’s lending arm, DCXLend. Custodied funds are protected in the event of an exchange hack or theft by BitGo’s $100 million insurance coverage, the companies said. The policy is provided by a syndicate of insurers within the centuries-old insurance marketplace, Lloyd’s of London. CoinDCX will utilize the custodian’s omnibus, or mixed, and segregated hot […]
India 09:28 GMT 10.05.2020Get short URL https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107923/14/1079231407_0:50:3404:1964_1200x675_80_0_0_ec4c3e344a5d81b3d8f4b3c68593fec8.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202005101079261115-quake-jolts-indias-capital-amid-lockdown-twitterrati-erupts-with-funny-memes/ New Delhi (Sputnik): Just minutes after Delhi witnessed a heavy dust storm and a short spell of rain, bringing local residents a brief respite from scorching heat, the quake left people scared. The city is under a COVID-19 lockdown and people are shut up inside their homes all day. A 3.5-magnitude earthquake at a depth of 2.9 km, struck the Delhi region at around 1:45 p.m. (local time) on Sunday. There was, however, no immediate report of any deaths or damage to property. The quake was observed 21 […]
India 07:58 GMT 09.05.2020Get short URL https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107475/64/1074756423_0:120:1280:840_1200x675_80_0_0_08273ce3d48d34a758a48da95ba30f22.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/india/202005091079252302-creepy-cobra-found-crawling-on-atm-machine-in-indias-uttar-pradesh—video/ New Delhi (Sputnik): Imagine withdrawing money from an ATM and a snake slithering out instead of cash. The video of a snake trapped inside an ATM cabin in India is sending shivers down the spines of internet users. A cobra has snuck into a bank ATM in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was noticed crawling on the floor and the ATM machine while people who visited the ATM to withdraw cash stood outside recording a video. The scary video which shows the massive snake climbing […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): As many as 12 people lost their lives and 300 were hospitalised due to the leakage of hazardous styrene gas from a polymers factory in India’s Andhra Pradesh. A rescue operation and evacuation were carried out in areas in close proximity to the factory. India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday directed the Indian arm of the South Korean firm LG Polymers to deposit an initial amount of $6.6 million as damage compensation for the #VizagGasLeakage incident in Vizag city in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The order stated that the amount is being fixed, taking […]
India 14:59 GMT 06.05.2020Get short URL New Delhi (Sputnik): To combat COVID-19, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a countrywide lockdown from 25 March, however the government allowed the conditional opening of several sectors of the economy starting from 4 May. An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi startup has launched an anti-microbial and washable face mask “NSafe”, which is reusable up to 50 launderings while greatly cutting down the cost of use. The masks are available in packs of two and four at a cost of $4 (INR. 299) and $7.7 (INR 589) respectively. Given the acute shortage of face […]
By Sajjad Shaukat for Veterans Today With the advent of social media, it is much difficult for rulers and politicians to speak lies and to hide information. In this regard, despite twisting the facts, under the regime of the Prime Minister Minister Narendra Modi, India’s religious bigotry has continued unabated against the religious minorities, especially the Muslims. In this respect, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annual report released on April 28, this year, recommended that the State Department should designate India as Country of Particular Concern (CPC), for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, […]
India 11:45 GMT 06.05.2020Get short URL New Delhi (Sputnik): Opposition parties have been targeting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s “unplanned and sudden” lockdown, which was imposed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the lockdown has been extended for the third time, until 17 May , and parties demand clarity in the procedure for lifting it. Former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh on Wednesday questioned the Narendra Modi-led government on its strategies for the country after the lockdown is lifted. Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi holds a meeting with Congress Chief Ministers to review how States are tackling COVID19 & […]
The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index plummeted at a historic rate during April, posting a shocking 5.4 points in comparison with the previous month’s 49.3. A reading below 50 on the scale represents contraction. According to the IHS Markit report, last month’s reading was an “extreme decline” and “the most severe contraction in services output since records began in December 2005.” Commenting on the data, Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, said: “The Indian services economy posted its worst ever month-on-month drop in business activity during April. The extreme slide in the headline index, which fell by over 40 […]