Tuesday, March 19TRUSTED FEARLESS INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL NEWS PORTAL

Tag: Breaking news

Politics

How BJP’s strengths and weakness match up with Congress’s | India News – Times of India

With the crucial Lok Sabha polls just weeks away, here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the ruling BJP as it chases a third straight stint in power; and the opposition Congress, which is hoping to overcome the Modi wave this time around. Bharatiya Janata PartySTRENGTHSModi undiminished: Despite being PM for 10 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity remains sky high, and he still commands the highest approval ratings among the world leaders.The PM continues to be the biggest 'vote ka saudagar' for the BJP and NDA block. As BJP's campaigner-in-chief, PM Modi has been able to motivate and energize party workers and voters with new slogans and ideas in every election.Message and messenger: PM Modi has successfully managed to change Lok Sabha el...
Politics

‘India surpasses WHO guidelines with 1:900 doctor-to-population ratio’ | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India is undertaking a journey that looks at illness to wellness from a completely new prism, said Bhubaneswar Kalita, chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, underlining "investing in health and hygiene is not just a moral imperative, it is an economic necessity".As we delve into the significance of health and hygiene, let us acknowledge India's remarkable evolution in this realm, Kalita said at ASSOCHAM's second Awareness Summit on Illness to Wellness.The WHO recommends a doctor to population ratio of 1:1000, Kalita said, adding we have achieved a ratio of 1:900 which is an improvement over the guidelines."Beyond being just buzzwords, health and hygiene are the pillars upon which prosperous societies are built. The journey has been arduou...
Politics

Pashupati Paras resigns from Union cabinet after NDA-Chirag Paswan seal deal for Bihar | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party president and Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Tuesday resigned from the NDA-led cabinet a day after BJP sealed pact on seat sharing in BiharDissatisfied with getting no seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha Election, Pashupati Kumar Paras said, "Yesterday, the NDA alliance announced the list of 40 candidates for Bihar Lok Sabha...Our party had five MPs & I worked with utmost sincerity.Injustice has been done with us & our party. Therefore, I resign from the post of Union Minister."The development comes after NDA allotted five Lok Sabha seats to Paras's estranges nephew Chirag Paswan. The national democratic Alliance finalised its seat-sharing formula for Lok Sabha elections, announcing the BJP will contest 17 constituencies, JD(U) 16 an...
Politics

SC Raps Patanljali Ayurved, Asks Baba Ramdev To Appear In Court Over Misleading Advertisements

The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balakrishna and Baba Ramdev for not filing a show cause notice as to why contempt of court proceeding should not be initiated against them. The court also asked Baba Ramdev to be personally present in court for not filing reply to show cause notice in contempt proceedings against him over misleading advertisements of Patanjali Ayurved. Earlier, in Februrary, the Supreme Court issued a show cause notice to Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved and its Managing Director Acharya Balakrishna for causing contempt over running misleading advertisements despite an undertaking to the top court. The court took a prima facie view and said that the company has violated the November 2023 order ...
Politics

Centre plans campaign, measures to curb dropout rates among transgender students | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: With the National Human Rights Commission asserting the need to address the issue of dropouts among transgender students, the ministry of education is planning to put in place a comprehensive campaign aimed at identifying the root causes of dropout rates and implementing measures to mitigate them.It is learnt from sources that at the NHRC core group meeting, the ministry also sought suggestions from transgender community members that can be included in the ‘Gender Inclusion Fund’ guidelines being prepared by the govt in keeping with the National Education Policy 2020. According to sources, the participants at the meet also put forth the view that it is important to give adequate coverage of transgender issues in the B.Ed. curriculum to sensitise future educators.NHRC chairper...
Politics

Google celebrates Nowruz 2024 with vibrant Doodle | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Google on Tuesday celebrated 'Nowruz', the Persian new year, with a special Doodle. Nowruz means "new day" in Persian and marks the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, symbolizing renewal. The vibrant doodle has been designed by an Iranian guest artist Pendar Yousefi.The Doodle showcased elements of Persian culture like floral designs and the Haft-sin table, set with seven items starting with "sin" in Farsi, each representing a concept for the year ahead. According to Google, the annual festival has been around for over 3,000 years. Nowruz originated in ancient Iran to welcome the blooming season. The tradition spread along the Silk Roads to various countries and ethnic groups. During Nowruz, families gather to display items symbolizing rejuvenation, such as wheat for...
Politics

Who’s shunted West Bengal top cop Rajeev Kumar, considered ‘close’ to CM Mamata? | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) on Monday ordered the immediate removal of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and six state chief secretaries as part of measures to ensure a level playing field ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.The EC shunted out West Bengal's top cop amid apprehension of poll violence and other law and order challenges, which had lately been witnessed in the state. The move comes on the heels of the poll body's announcement of Lok Sabha election dates.This is the third time that Kumar, perceived to be close to the dispensation led by Mamata Banerjee, has been dropped from election-related duties.During the 2019 Lok Sabha poll in West Bengal, Rajeev Kumar was removed from the post of additional director general, CID and attached to the home ministry. However, he was reinst...
Politics

English, in any other tongue | India News – Times of India

It’s the world’s most widely spoken language, but that doesn’t make it any easier for nonnative speakers learning English. Tenses can make you tense. Some grammatical friends are ‘false friends’... and that’s just two of the many mysteries of English. Little wonder the secret to speaking and writing ‘perfect’ English is unknown, even to most native speakers.So, how does most of the world learn English? Do learning difficulties vary from country to country? What’s happening in India? And is the English vs mother tongue debate false?The Indian ExperienceThe first English grammar book was published in 1586.Less than 300 years later, the English Education Act of 1835 formally established English as the medium of instruction for schools teaching the modern, western curriculum in India. But cl...
Politics

Another Indian student dies in US, taking number of deaths to 9 in 2024 | India News – Times of India

A 20-year-old second-year engineering student of Boston University in US, hailing from Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, was found dead in a car that was abandoned in a forest area. Paruchuri Abhijit had been missing since March 11. After his friends reported his disappearance to police, cops tracked Abhijit's body based on his mobile phone signals.Initial reports said he was murdered by unidentified assailants.However, the Indian consulate in New York, said on X on Monday that initial investigations "ruled out foul play".Abhijit, the only son of Paruchuri Chakradhar and Srilakshmi, was a bright student, family members said. His remains reached his native Burripalem village in Guntur late Friday. The consulate said it had rendered required assistance in documentation and transportation...
Politics

Kejriwal once again skips ED questioning, now in DJB case | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal skipped yet another ED summons on Monday, this time for recording his statement in connection with alleged irregularities in Delhi Jal Board and a related money laundering case where his AAP is accused of receiving bribes from a contractor through bureaucrats.AAP called the summons motivated and illegal, and blamed the Centre for misusing ED to prevent Kejriwal from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.Kejriwal, who has skipped eight summonses in the excise policy case, has been called again on Thursday in that case. The agency is running against a deadline committed before Supreme Court last year to conclude its investigation and begin trial.In the DJB case, ED had claimed that bribes were received by AAP functionaries and used by the party for el...
Politics

After 3-week trial, 18 months’ jail for priest who molested Swede | India News – Times of India

BHUBANESWAR: Trial into the alleged molestation of a Swedish national in Bhubaneswar, ended in just three weeks with a court sentencing Kundan Mahapatra to 18 months imprisonment on Monday. This is the fastest ever trial in Odisha where an accused was brought to justice within 28 days of occurrence of the crime, said commissionerate police. On Feb 19, Mahapatra (24), a priest at Lingaraj temple, had molested a 28-year-old Swedish tourist outside the temple.She had hired him as her guide, police said. The next day he was arrested. Police submitted chargesheet against him in court of judicial magistrate first class-1 within 72 hours. The trial began four days later.“We accorded top priority to the sensitive case and completed the investigation quickly. Prosecution lawyer substantiated the...
Politics

1 more convict seeks review of Supreme Court’s Bilkis order | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: One more convict in the Bilkis Bano case has moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of its Jan 8 verdict cancelling remission of his sentence, contending that it cannot be challenged based on the nature of the crime and “society’s cry for justice”.The review plea filed by Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana said the top court erred while passing the impugned order and overruling judgment dated May 13, 2022, passed by another bench of the SC.The Gujarat govt and two of the 11 convicts have already filed a petition seeking a review of the Jan 8 verdict in which remission orders of all of them were cancelled and they asked to surrender.As per the plea, the impugned order of Jan 8 was in contravention of the doctrine of Comity of Courts. The doctrine of Comity of Courts refers to courts r...
Politics

Supreme Court junks industry bodies’ 11th-hour plea to stop electoral bonds code disclosure | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday disapproved an eleventh-hour application by top industry bodies Assocham, FICCI and CII attempting to gatecrash proceedings to oppose pleas seeking disclosure of invisible unique alphanumeric numbers embossed on electoral bonds and bluntly denied them a hearing saying “big clients” can't be permitted to breach case- listing discipline.For the industry bodies, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told a 5-judge bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that if his clients were not heard today, the application would be infructuous as members of the associations apprehended that disclosure of EB alphanumeric numbers, which establish who donated how much to which political party, would lead to their houn...
Politics

Amid military drill, Rajnath & Austin discuss boosting ties | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India and the US discussed steps to further strengthen their strategic-military partnership in a telephonic conversation between their defence ministers on Monday, even as the two countries also kicked off their major ‘Tiger Triumph’ tri-service exercise with warships, aircraft, helicopters and troops in the Bay of Bengal.Defence minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin discussed a range of bilateral, regional security & defence cooperation issues, including their commitment for a free and open Indo-Pacific.“They reviewed the recent bilateral events such as the INDUS-X summit in Delhi in Feb and the ‘Tiger Triumph’ exercise,” an official said.“Austin appreciated the role being played by Indian Navy in conducting anti-piracy operations in Indian Ocean Reg...
Politics

Narco-terror financing: J&K SIA files chargesheet against two | India News – Times of India

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against two accused, who along with their associates operated a narco-terror financing module in the Union Territory, under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act at a special-designated UAPA court under NIA Act.In a statement, the agency identified the accused as Zaheed Ahmad Khoja and Zameer Ahmad Lone.Zaheed Khoja was arrested in Sept last year when he was intercepted while transporting a consignment of heroin weighing over 3.5kg worth around Rs 25 crore. Zaheer Lone, an active Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist and native of J&K, meanwhile, is now in Pakistan/Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.Zaheed, Zameer, and others — in connivance with ...
Politics

Omar says People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration intact, signals Lok Sabha seat rethink | India News – Times of India

SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Monday rejected suggestions that People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) in J&K had collapsed after he announced weeks ago that his NC would not have any LS seat-sharing with INDIA ally PDP.Omar asserted that PAGD was “intact and alive” and that key constituents NC, PDP and others would meet in a day or two to chart the plan for the three Lok Sabha seats in the Valley.“We run our own separate parties. Today, I’m talking to you personally but that does mean there is no PAGD? It is standing and they will meet in a day or two,” Omar said in Kulgam as he launched NC’s campaign for the Anantnag LS seat and accused the Centre of blocking J&K’s assembly polls.PAGD is an alliance of five Valley parties seeking re...
Politics

Bulgarian President thanks India for rescuing its citizens from hijacked ship MV Ruen | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, extended his gratitude to the Indian Navy on Monday for successfully rescuing its 7 crew members that were being held hostage by pirates aboard a hijacked Bulgarian ship.In a post on X, the President of Bulgaria conferred his sincere gratitude to the prime minister for the brave action of the Navy rescuing the hijacked Bulgarian ship."My sincere gratitude to PM Narendra Modi for the brave action of Navy rescuing the hijacked Bulgarian ship “Ruen” and its crew, including 7 Bulgarian citizens", the Bulgarian President wrote on X.This comes a day after the deputy prime minister Mariya Gabriel on Sunday said,"I express my gratitude to the Indian navy for the successful operation to rescue the hijacked vessel Ruen & its crew ...
Politics

Pashupati Paras Likely To Resign From Modi Cabinet After BJP Leaves Him Out Of NDA Seat-Sharing

Union Minister Pashupati Paras is likely to tender his resignation from the Modi Cabinet on Tuesday and has called for a press conference on Wednesday to outline his future course of action. With the seat-sharing of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar finalised, Paras now faces an uncertain future, with speculations about his next move. The NDA leaders, while announcing the seat-sharing arrangement for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, allocated 17 constituencies to the BJP, 16 to the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], and five to Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), thereby rejecting the claims of the LJP faction led by Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras. Additionally, two smaller parties were allotted one seat each. Additionally, Chirag Paswan's Lo...
Politics

K Kavitha allegedly conspired with Kejriwal, Sisodia, other AAP leaders for favours in Delhi Excise policy formulation, paid Rs 100cr, claims ED | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha allegedly conspired with the top leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia to get favours in the Delhi Excise policy formulation and implementation, and she was involved in paying Rs 100 crore to the AAP leaders in exchange for these favours, the Enforcement Directorate claimed on Monday.ED's claims come three days after it arrested Kavitha, MLC of Telangana Legislative Council, in the alleged case of Delhi Liquor Policy Scam.Kavitha, who was arrested by an ED team on March 15, is in ED's custodial interrogation for seven days till March 23. She was arrested after a search operation conducted at Kavitha's residence in Hyderabad on the same day.During the search proceedings, the ED officials said th...
Politics

Ropar police arrest person who demand Rs 2 crore ransom from former CM | India News – Times of India

PATIALA: Ropar police have arrested a person who allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore ransom from the former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi through a mobile call. Senior Superintendent of Police Ropar Gulneet Singh Khurana said that a video had gone viral on social media in which the former Chief Minister C S Channi have claimed that a person called him and demanded the ransom of Rs. 2 crore and then also sent a message in which he threatened to kill him if he could not pay the money. SSP Khurana said that on the basis of the video, a case No. 22 was registered on March 2 this year under sections 387 and 506 was registered at Police Station City Morinda.The police have identified the accused as Deepak Shrimant Kabale of Mumbai and also recovered a laptop and two mobile phones fro...