Asian Lite News Archive

Category: INDIAN NEWS

  • US warning reports baseless: Pakistan

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    Pakistan ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani denounced Indian media reports which alleged a warning, concerning President Obama’s visit to India, was issued by the US to the former. “The Indian media has a tendency to invent and exaggerate things,” said Ambassador Jilani, Dawn reported . “As a matter of fact, US Secretary of…

  • Kejriwal invites Bedi for debate

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      Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party  invited the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi to a public debate. But, the BJP turned it down. The Bharatiya Janata Party called it a popularity stunt of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Kejriwal, in a message on Twitter, congratulated Bedi for her…

  • Twitter buys Indian startup ZipDial

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    Microblogging site Twitter has acquired Indian startup ZipDial, a mobile value added services company based out of Bangalore, a statement by Twitter said here. The statement added this is Twitter’s first ever acquisition in India. However, the deal size has not been mentioned. ZipDial has built a mobile platform that lets people follow and engage…

  • India to grow at 6.5% in 2016: IMF

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    By Arun Kumar   Broadly keeping its growth forecast for India unchanged, International Monetary Fund (IMF)  projected that rising from 5.8 percent in 2014, the Asian economy will grow at 6.3 percent in 2015 and 6.5 percent in 2016. Slower growth in China will impact growth in much of emerging Asia except India where weaker external…

  • UN Security Council lacks legitimacy: India

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    By Arul Louis  In a strong criticism of the make-up and functioning of the Security Council, India said that as a “non-representative” body it lacked the legitimacy to advise nations on political inclusion. Ambassador Bhagwant S. Bishnoi, India’s Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, told the Council, “The imperative of political inclusion should not become…

  • Modi confident in Sirisena on reconciliation

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    New Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will promote reconciliation in his island nation with a vision for inclusiveness, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. Describing Sri Lanka as “a truly close neighbour and friend”, Modi offered New Delhi’s continued support and partnership to Colombo and the Sri Lankan people in “realising their aspirations”. The prime minister…

  • NRI Frank Islam receives Martin Luther award

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    An eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam has been presented with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Award in recognition of his contribution to the legacy of the great leader through his efforts in international service and civil engagement. The award, which carries the name of Martin Luther King Jr., an apostle of peace,…

  • India-US ties looks promising with Obama visit

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    By Ranjana Narayan  India-US ties are set to move to the transformative level during President Barack Obama’s India visit later this week, building also on the personal rapport developed between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with both sides keen to have promising outcomes from the talks on a range of issues, including defence, energy,…

  • Pakistan extends Lakhvi’s detention

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      Pakistan government extended detention of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi by 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), a media report said. Lakhvi has been behind bars since Feb 19, 2009, after an FIR was registered with the Federal Investigation Agency against him for allegedly training terrorists and facilitating the 2008 Mumbai terror attack…

  • Tharoor to be questioned: Police

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    Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi  said Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will be questioned tuesday in connection with the murder of his wife Sunanda Pushkar. “Tharoor will be reaching Delhi by today (Monday) evening. He might be questioned tomorrow (Tuesday) or day after,” Bassi told media in the capital. He also said the Special Investigation Team…

  • Chinese daily accuse India of Cold War mindset

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    India needs to “give up its Cold War mindset” so that ties with China can become promising, said a Chinese daily that noted democracy has become a burden for India’s development. India is “a proud nation, competitive and unwilling to lag behind”. It is eager to challenge China in every aspect, from aerospace, military force,…

  • Will Obama land with family in New Delhi?

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    As US President Barack Obama prepares to land in India, mum’s the word with official lips tightly sealed. Very little or no information is being breathed out about the high-level visit, while frenzied preparations continue. When is he arriving? For how many days? Besides Delhi, what are the other places he is likely to visit?…

  • India, Lanka pledge to build better ties

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      Nine days after President Maithripala Sirisena took office, Sri Lanka and India pledged to deepen their relations, with New Delhi agreeing to work “closely and extensively” with Colombo. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj conveyed India’s views to her new Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera, who arrived here overnight on his first foreign trip after…

  • Ajay Maken takes on Dikshit

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    By Gaurav Sharma  Their mutual animosity was not unknown. Now, after becoming the Congress face for the assembly polls here, former union minister Ajay Maken has hit out at former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. Faced with two formidable foes in the BJP and the AAP, Maken now admits that Dikshit’s 15 long years as…

  • Obama visit set to cement India-US ties

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    By Arun Kumar  Beyond the symbolism of President Barack Obama being the first US president to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day, his second visit to India in four years promises to galvanise India-US ties. There is also a great deal of speculation about who gains more from the visit – Prime Minister…

  • Yasin Malik arrested in protests over refugees

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      Separatist leader Muhammad Yasin Malik was arrested here  amid protests against the proposal to grant citizenship rights to refugees from West Pakistan settled in the Jammu region. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman led a protest march in uptown Maisuma locality of Srinagar after the Friday prayers. “Police detained Yasin Malik and…

  • Sunanda’s death an enigma

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    Even in her death, Sunanda Pushkar remains larger than life. A year after the 52-year-old Pushkar, the beautiful and glamorous wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, was found dead in her room in a luxury hotel here, a host of questions regarding her death remain and her name and photograph continue to be splashed in…

  • Leela Samson quits as censor board chief

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    Leela Samson has resigned as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), citing interference, coercion and corruption of panel members. “It is absolutely true that I have resigned. (I resigned) Last night by SMS and today by email and hard copy letter,” Samson said via an SMS . CBFC is a statutory body under…

  • BJP questions Akhilesh on bodies in Ganga

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    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioned Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s silence on the recovery of as many as 110 bodies in the Ganga and Betwa rivers in the last few days. Saying that the chief minister should have spoken on the issue and initiated a high-level probe into the matter, BJP state spokesperson…

  • Intellectual property on India-US agenda

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      Intellectual property rights and a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) would be key issues on the agenda in the ongoing India-US dialogue on the economic front, according to a State Department official. Secretary of State John Kerry had “a very good visit” to India recently for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vibrant Gujarat economic summit, and…

  • India prepared to tackle any terror threat: Parrikar

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    India’s security forces were “well prepared” to tackle any possible terror strike, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said Thursday, in the wake of intelligence inputs that attacks may be carried out on soft targets including schools in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit. Answering queries from media persons at the Army Day…

  • Media is prosecution, judge, jury: Tharoor

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    Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has hit out at a section of the media for hounding him over the murder of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, saying some anchors were behaving like “prosecution, judge and jury”. “I been advised not to take any legal action against the media by my lawyers,” Tharoor told CNN-IBN in an interview.…

  • Kiran Bedi joins BJP

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    Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Kiran Bedi  joined the BJP and will be fielded in the Feb 7 Delhi assembly elections. Flanked by Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah and union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Bedi became a member of the party by dialling the toll-free number started for the BJP’s mass membership drive.…

  • RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points

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    With the inflation rate coming down to below eight percent by January 2015 as targeted and likely to be below six percent by January 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points, said bank Governor Raghuram G. Rajan. The much awaited reduction in key interest rates by…

  • Modi greet troops on Army Day

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      Prime Minister Narendra Modi  greeted the officers and the troops of the Indian Army on the 67th Army Day, and said they “ensured protection of our territorial integrity” and “fought the scourge of terrorism”. Extending his greetings to officers, soldiers, veterans, civilians, ex-Servicemen and their families, President Mukherjee said: “Our army has consistently displayed…

  • Quraishi to join King’s College London

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    The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and King’s College London today announced that the next FICCI-India Institute Visiting Fellow would be Dr. S Y Quraishi, the former Chief Election Commissioner of India. The Fellowship was set up as part of a collaboration between FICCI, India’s apex business chamber, and the King’s…

  • India celebrates Pongal

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    The harvest festival of Pongal was celebrated by people of Tamil Nadu in the traditional manner – by getting up early, donning new clothes and visiting temples. The Pongal festival is celebrated to thank the sun, rain and farm animals. The aroma of ghee-fried cashews, almonds and cardamom wafted through from homes as the traditional…

  • India on high alert ahead of Obama visit

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      Militants will try to sneak into India and attack schools in Jammu and Kashmir on the eve of US President Barack Obama’s visit to the country, a top army official said here Thursday. “Around 200 militants are waiting in 36 launch pads across the Pir Panjal mountain range to infiltrate into the Indian side,”…

  • US court dismisses case against Modi

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      A US court has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failure to control the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying as a sitting head of government he was entitled to immunity. In dismissing the case filed by human rights group American Justice Centre (AJC) in New York, US District Judge Analisa Torres  upheld…

  • Dr Sanjay Gupta’s documentary wins award

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    The CNN documentary, “WEED: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports”, presented by its chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta has received the duPont-Columbia University Award for 2015, according to a university release. The documentary took a critical look at research on medical marijuana and its impact on the lives of its users. “With compelling personal cases, over two…

  • Another Delhi church vandalized

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    A church here was vandalized before dawn, the fourth such incident in the capital in seven weeks, police said. The incident, which took place around 4.20 a.m., was captured by a CCTV camera installed inside the premises of Our Lady Of Graces Church at Vikaspuri in west Delhi. “The CCTV footage shows that two people…

  • Obama names two NRI’s to key posts

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    By Arun Kumar  President Barack Obama has nominated two Indian-Americans to key posts of chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) and member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri, son of a native American mother and an Indian immigrant father, is currently the acting chairman of…

  • Kamala Harris to run for US senate

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    By Arun Kumar   California’s Indian-American Attorney General Kamala Harris, a “good friend” of President Barack Obama, has thrown her hat into the ring for the 2016 race to replace fellow Democrat veteran Barbara Boxer in the US Senate. “I will be a fighter for the next generation on the critical issues facing our country,” pledged…

  • Million plus take holy dip on Makar Sankranti

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      Around 10-12 lakh devotees have taken a holy dip in the Ganga on the occasion of Makar Sankranti in this West Bengal island considered auspicious by Hindus, a minister said. “Between 10 to 12 lakh pilgrims congregated at Gangasagar this time. This is a record number in the last few years. The holy dip…

  • Priyanka Vadra to visit Rae Bareli

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    Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, will  visit her mother’s constituency Rae Bareli for two days, party leaders said Wednesday. She will meet Congress leaders in the constituency. In some parts of Uttar Pradesh, there have been demands by party activists to replace Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi with his sister Priyanka…

  • 104 bodies found in Ganga

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    The Uttar Pradesh government  ordered a probe after over 100 bodies were found in a channel of the Ganga in Unnao district, an official said. Thirty bodies were recovered from the river’s channel till late Tuesday but by Wednesday morning the number swelled up to 104. Director General of Police (DGP) A.K. Gupta has sought…

  • Indian economy to grow by 7% in 2016: WB

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    By Arul Louis   Helped along by falling oil prices and by lower interest rates in developed countries, India’s economy is expected to grow by seven percent next year and these two factors can be a game-changer if the nation were to seize the opportunity to implement fiscal and structural reforms, World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik…

  • Pakistan backing proxy war in Kashmir

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    Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh said Pakistan was supporting a proxy war against India in Jammu and Kashmir and the security challenges were growing due to the “active border”. Addressing the annual press conference ahead of Army Day, Gen. Dalbir Singh said the border with China was peaceful and confidence-building measures have been effective.…

  • Rajan wins UK magazine’s award

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    Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has been named “Governor of the Year” by British magazine Central Banking. Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan The magazine gave the award to Rajan for 2015 for “his deep understanding of the root causes of economic problems of the country combined with an impressive leadership style.”…

  • CWC raps Modi government

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      The Congress Working Committee (CWC) strongly criticised the Narendra Modi government for taking the ordinance route and bypassing parliament on all crucial matters, said senior Congress leader Ambika Soni. Emerging from a four-hour-long CWC meeting, attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi as well as former prime minister Manmohan Singh among…

  • Sakshi Maharaj remains defiant

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      BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj, who stirred a controversy by asking Hindu women to produce at least four children, remained defiant Tuesday despite being issued a show-cause notice by his party. “I will talk to my party, not to you,” he told reporters here. The parliamentarian from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, who was served the…

  • Kerry skipped Paris march for India

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    By Arun Kumar   In damage control mode, US admitted that it should have sent a higher profile official to the Paris unity march, but said President Barack Obama could not go because of security considerations. Secretary of State John Kerry too could not make it to the anti-terrorism rally attended by over 40 world leaders…

  • India and Britain, making great things together

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    Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and David Cameron jointly welcome the launch of the GREAT Collaborations campaign between the UK & India. In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to the world to Make in India, the UK is launching a campaign to celebrate and inspire GREAT Collaborations between the UK and India. The campaign…

  • Delhi election battle Feb 7

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    A year after Arvind Kejriwal resigned as chief minister leading to President’s rule, Delhi will elect a new assembly Feb 7 and the results will be known Feb 10, it was announced . Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath said the last date for nomination of candidates will be Jan 21 and they could withdraw from the…

  • Tharoor may be questioned soon

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    Congress MP Shashi Tharoor may be questioned soon in connection with his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s murder, Delhi Police chief B.S. Bassi said . “I know Tharoor is in Delhi. Our SIT (Special Investigation Team) is working on the case, and if they require, they will call him (Tharoor) soon,” Bassi told the media. Tharoor reached…

  • Modi offers a Vibrant India

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    By Jaideep Sarin Sharing the stage with people who together control trillions of dollars and give direction to world economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi scaled his idea of Vibrant Gujarat to that of ‘Vibrant India’. He called upon countries and corporates to invest in India’s growth story and sold his ‘Make in India’ campaign to…

  • INTERVIEW: Sheila Dikshit

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    By Trina Joshi  BJP leaders admit the AAP is their main foe in Delhi, but three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit doesn’t feel that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is an alternative to the BJP or the Congress. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes all out campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi, Congress leader Dikshit…

  • AirAsia plane voice recorder spotted

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    Indonesian searchers have spotted the cockpit voice recorder, the second part of the black box of the crashed AirAsia flight, a top official said  hours after the flight data recorder was retrieved from the Java Sea. Based on pings from its emergency transmitter, the cockpit voice recorder has also been spotted by the search teams…

  • Sartaj Aziz accuse India for attacks

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    Pakistan prime minister’s key advisor Sartaj Aziz has said India is using the Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan. However, Indian involvement had decreased since the adoption of a joint Pakistan-Afghanistan policy to not let their respective territories be used against each other, Dawn online cited the prime minister’s advisor on National Security…

  • ? Kerry to discuss India-Pak tensions with Sharif

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        US Secretary of State John Kerry, who will arrive here on a two-day official visit Monday evening, will raise with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif the issue of prevailing tense situation between India and Pakistan, Geo News reported. During his strategic talks with the Pakistani leadership, Kerry will raise the issue of tense situation…