Asian Lite News Archive

Category: INDIAN NEWS

  • SRK joins DDLJ’s 1,000 weeks fest

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    It turned out to be a joyous reunion when the cast members of “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”, the Bollywood romantic film which is set to clock a successful run of 1,000 weeks Dec 12, turned up on the set of hit show “Comedy Nights With Kapil”. Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Anupam Kher, Farida Jalal, Mandira…

  • Court allows Sahara to sell properties

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    SC permits Sahara to sell four properties to raise money to release chief Subrata Roy The Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted Sahara group to sell its four properties located in Gurgaon, Jodhpur, Vashi and Pune to raise Rs.5,000 crore it has to deposit in cash with market regulator SEBI as a part payment of investors’…

  • London schools to attend Kochi Biennale

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    The Kochi-Muziris Biennale in Kerala has become a major topic for this year’s prestigious Chevening Clore Leadership Programme for professionals in the art world. Kochi will host the works of nearly 95 artists from about 30 countries at the second edition of the 108-day Biennale which will begin Dec 12. Students from the art school…

  • Bhopal Tragedy: Three Decades of Trauma

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    M.R. Narayan Swamy comments on Bhopal Gas leak“Can you go to Bhopal immediately? Something big seems to have happened. Many people have died. You can help out our local bureau and return after two or three days.” This was U.R. Kalkur, a marvel of a journalist who was the deputy general manager of UNI. He spoke…

  • Air India begins daily flights from Birmingham

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    India’s national carrier played Santa as it announced its decision to commence daily flights from Birmingham from December 21, Sunday. Air India will use modern Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft in the sector. The new service will be a boon to passengers living in the Midlands and North. The Birmingham Airport is linked with Birmingham International on…

  • Story of a girl with SEVEN mothers-in-law

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    Zee TV has unveiled Satrangi Sasural, a show centers around Aarushi who marries Vihaan Narmada Vatsal, a man raised by not one, but seven very strong and independent mothers! Starting December 4, every Monday to Friday at 10 PM on Zee TV, join Aarushi on her journey of deftly managing the expectations of her seven mothers-in-law, who only have Vihaan’s best interests at…

  • A.R. Antulay 1929-2014

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    Congress veteran Abdul Rahman Antulay, Maharashtra’s first Muslim chief minister and a former central minister, died here Tuesday following prolonged illness, his nephew said. He was 85. Antulay passed away at the Breach Candy Hospital where he was admitted a few days ago. He is survived by his wife Nargis, son Naved and daughters Neelam,…

  • India tests n-capable Agni-IV missile

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    “The test firing was successful. The missile crossed over more than 3,500 km,” Ravi Gupta, director (Public Interface) at DRDO, said. It was the first user trial of the long-range, nuclear-capable, surface-to-surface Agni-IV. The operation was carried out by the Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC). The two-stage, 17 tonne and 20-metre tall Agni-IV missile…

  • Maldives concerned about poultry imports from Kerala

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    The Maldivian government  warned against importing poultry from the Indian state of Kerala due to an outbreak of the avian influenza virus in the region. The Maldives health ministry, in a statement, warned against importing live birds, flesh and eggs from Kerala, Xinhua reported. “Over 15,000 ducks have died in Kerala from the H5N1 virus,”…

  • Voting picks up in J&K

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      The turnout picked up in the second phase of Jammu and Kashmir polls as more and more men and women queued up at polling stations to cast their votes. People waited in long, disciplined queues to cast their franchise. Many of them said they were voting for change. Men and women lined up in…

  • SPECIAL REPORT: 30 years of Bhopal tragedy

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    At least 3,000 people were killed on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984, after poisonous gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal. The incident has inspired quite a few filmmakers and as the disaster is marching towards its 30th anniversary, we list the movies made on one of the world’s worst industrial…

  • Modi effect shadow Kashmir ballot

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    By Sheikh Qayoom  After over 70 percent polling in the first round, 18 constituencies in the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley will vote Tuesday in the second leg of the five-phase polls in Jammu and Kashmir. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shadow hanging heavily on voters, primarily in the Jammu region, it will be…

  • ‘achche din’ for Goa Tourism

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    By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar   ‘Achche din’ (good days) are here for Goa’s travel and tourism industry, stakeholders claim, rubbing their hands in glee at the inclusion of Goa’s Dabolim international airport as one the nine nationwide authorized to issue visa-on-arrival (VoA) to foreign tourists. Francisco Braganca, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG),…

  • Singapore & Japan to build Andhra capital

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    Companies from Japan are ready to join hands in building the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, the designing of which will be done by Singapore, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said . Claiming his five-day visit to Japan was a success, Naidu told reporters here that several Japanese companies expressed their willingness to be partners…

  • Northeast is Natural Economic Zone: Modi

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      A new resurgent, stronger and more prosperous India and Nagaland needs to be built, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, adding that the region is a Natural Economic Zone (NEZ) and it is his priority to tap it. “There are SEZs in some parts. Here it is NEZ – Natural Economic Zone. My priority is…

  • India pins hopes on tourism

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    India’s new Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma is targetting to double the foreign tourist arrivals by 2015. An interview with Mr Sharma by Prashant Sood and Shilpa Raina  The Narendra Modi government intends to double the number of foreign tourists by next year from the present 7.2 million, union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said and assured that total…

  • Rajni rocks Bangalore

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    Superstar Rajinikanth, mega star Chiranjeevi, Mammootty will attend an event to honour Dr.Rajkumar in Bangalore. Earlier, Rajni and other stars join Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to unveil a memorial of Dr Rajkumar at Kanteerava Studio.

  • Life tough for HIV patients

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    By Rupesh Dutta  Thirty-four-year-old Ratan Singha, an AIDS patient, wanted to live. He borrowed heavily from family and friends and dipped into his meagre savings to fund his second-line therapy of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) drugs. But Singha, who had spent his life in pursuit of alcohol and injectible drugs, was compelled to buy the medicines…

  • Modi plans for SMART policing

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday called for SMART policing in India and urged the people to change their perception about police forces. “I have a concept of ‘SMART Police’ in my mind,” Modi told the 49th All India DGPs and IGPs conference here. “S stands for Strict and Sensitivity, M for Modern and Mobility, A…

  • Kashmir doesn’t need Modi’s sermons: Sayeed

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      Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed  asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to give sermons to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and said his party leaders do not require a certificate of integrity from him. Addressing election rallies of his party in Noorabad and Kupwara assembly constituencies in the Kashmir Valley,…

  • India wary of assertive China: IAF chief

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    With the strategic gravity shifting from west to east, especially to Asia and Asia Pacific, “India faces security challenges in the region due to an assertive China and an intrusive Pakistan”, the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, said . “The situation is not good for the environment, as peaceful rise of China remains…

  • Indian-origin British fighter pilot statue unveiled in Kent

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    A statue of Mahinder Singh Pujji, an Indian-origin fighter pilot who had served in Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War, was unveiled in Kent. Pujji had died at the age of 92 in the Gravesend town of Britain’s Kent county in 2010, as the longest surviving fighter pilot from a group…

  • Kerala’s rival fronts on back foot

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    By Sanu George The winter session of the Kerala assembly beginning here Monday will see the rival fronts – the ruling Congress and the CPI(M) -led opposition – entering the house on the back foot. This peculiar situation has risen because there are issues plaguing both and despite their best efforts, a solution to their…

  • US IT firms replicate India model

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    A leading Information Technology (IT) services company is using a programme developed in India to create jobs worldwide and train and place minority women in high-quality IT jobs in 10 cities across America. After its “impressive work” in India, Mexico and the US, Aliso Viejo, California-based UST Global, is planning to launch additional programmes in…

  • Pakistani state actors behind India attacks: Rajnath

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      Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said state actors from Pakistan are playing a role in destabilising India. Mentioning the gun battle that erupted Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Arnia sector, he said Pakistan’s claim that “non state actors are behind such incidents is not true”. He was addressing the 49th All India DGPs and…

  • India climb China in corporate governance rankings

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    India has emerged as the leader in global developing markets for having the clearest and most comprehensive policies on corporate governance, according to a latest study. Scoring more than China, India is at par with Malaysia and Australia ranking 4th across 25 markets globally and is at the 2nd spot in the Europe-Middle East-Asia (EMA)…

  • End dynastic politics: Modi

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the Jharkhand electorate to oust dynastic politics and said people in the country are fed up of it. He was speaking at an election rally in Jamshedpur ahead of the second phase of assembly polls Dec 2. “People in the country are fed up with dynasty politics. In Lok…

  • Pakistan must move beyond shaking hands : Rajnath

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      Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Friday that India wants to have good neighbourly relations with Pakistan, but cautioned that mere shaking of hands would not restore such relations between the two countries. Addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party election rally in Uri town on phone after inclement weather prevented his scheduled arrival to the…

  • Search on for abducted Indians: Sushma

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    Amid media reports that the 39 abducted Indian workers in Iraq have been killed by Islamic State militants, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj acknowledged the government “does not have concrete proof” of the men being alive or dead and is continuing to search for them based on “six indirect sources”. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha…

  • Modi’s Christmas gifts for northeast

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    By Sujit Chakraborty  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be spending four busy days on his maiden visit to the northeast where he will address the country’s top police chiefs, dedicate a train line from Meghalaya to Assam, commission a power project in Tripura and inaugurate a festival each in Nagaland and Manipur. Modi begins Nov…

  • More NRI’s on ballot down under

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      In a classic case of a flood following a drought, political parties have fielded a large number of Indian-Australian candidates for  state elections in Victoria, an indication of the growing profile of the Indian community Down Under. The ruling Liberal Party has taken a lead by nominating nine Indian-Australian candidates for the lower and…

  • India still looking for missing citizens in Iraq: Sushma

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     The government  said it has not given up hope on the Indians missing in Iraq, and added that the reports of them having been killed are not confirmed. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said one of the captives, Harjeet Bassi who managed to escape, had claimed that all others were taken to a forest and…

  • Culling of poultry birds begin in Kerala

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    The Kerala government has deployed 75 teams to cull poultry birds in villages hit by outbreak of H5N1 or bird flu virus, a minister said . After a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to assess the situation, Minister of State for Health V.S. Sivakumar told reporters that the culling process would be over…

  • J&K leaders indulging in emotional blackmail: Modi

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      Prime Minister Narendra Modi  said that the development of Jammu and Kashmir has been stagnant since the last 30 years and leaders here “indulge in corruption and emotional blackmail”. Addressing a rally for the BJP here ahead of the second phase of polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said there have been a dozen…

  • How Koirala broke the impasse

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      Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala played a crucial role in ending the impasse between India and Pakistan during the retreat at Dhulikhel near here  on the sidelines of the 18th Saarc Summit. There was immense pressure on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Shairf, from visiting leaders and the media…

  • Badaun sisters committed suicide: CBI

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      The CBI said that its probe had found that the two minor girls who were found hanging from tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun in May had committed suicide and were not gangraped and murdered. The sensational case had made headlines in India and outside and led to a political furore. “Based on around 40…

  • Parliament amends law for next CBI chief’s appointment

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      Parliament  approved amendments to the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act to provide for appointment of a CBI director in a situation where there is no leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, paving way for naming a new agency chief before incumbent Ranjit Sinha retires Dec 2. The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was…

  • A thaw at the end

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    By Anil Giri    In a final ice-breaking moment, that gave a huge boost to Saarc and floundering regional cooperation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook hands with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, laughed and even patted him on the arm at the closing ceremony of the organisation’s 18th summit here Thursday – to resounding applause…

  • End of my memoir: Naseeruddin

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      Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who has chronicled his journey in “And Then One Day – A Memoir”, says the book is a mirror reflection of his life and that he has no plans to come out with a second part of the publication. “My book talks about my entire journey from getting into theatre…

  • SAARC Summit concludes with one pact

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    By Anil Giri  The 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit concluded in Kathmandu Thursday with the adoption of a 36-point Kathmandu Declaration. During the Summit, a Saarc Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation was signed while leaders of the South Asian nations directed their respective ministers to hold a meeting within three months…

  • Opposition corners government on black money

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      The government  faced flak in the Lok Sabha for yet another day on the black money issue, with the opposition parties asking it to give a timeline by which the money stashed abroad would be brought back to India. The central government on its part said no such promise had been made in the…

  • India launches e-visa for 43 countries

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    India launched electronic visa (e-visa) facility for tourists from 43 countries, including US, Israel, Palestine and Japan to boost tourism sector and offer hassle-free travel to foreign visitors. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, along with union Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma launched the Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVOA) service enabled with electronic travel authorisation…

  • Eight killed in gunfight near Jammu border

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    Eight people, including three civilians, were killed when the security forces took on infiltrating militants in Jammu and Kashmir , police said. A fierce gun battle between the security forces and militants began near the international border in the morning and ended around 3 p.m. Four guerrillas and a soldier were also killed in the…

  • Dr Reddy honoured at London palace

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    Padma Bhushan Dr. K. Srinath Reddy honoured at Buckingham Palace in London….writes Ragasudha Vinjamuri Padma Bhushan Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India has been conferred an honorary Doctor of Science (Medicine) for his outstanding contributions to public health and cardiologyat a special ceremony held at Buckingham Palace today  by Princess Anne, who…

  • Kashmir’s meagre saffron production spikes prices

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    By Vishal Gulati   More than 70 percent of Kashmir’s saffron cash crop, one of the costliest spices of the world, has lost its purple bloom this season due to the hostile weather. Its prices have increased 60 to 80 percent. To optimise revenues, trade representatives say, cheaper saffron imported from Iran is mixed with the…

  • Sidhu does shadow boxing

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    By Jaideep Sarin   In the last couple of months, the “time-tested” ruling alliance of the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is feeling the strain, forcing senior leaders from both sides to step in and claim that all is well. Both sides have indulged in shadow-boxing in recent weeks with the centrepiece…

  • Diaspora doubts British sincerity on Gandhi statue

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     Ahead of the proposed installation of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the British parliament, a section of the Indian diaspora has expressed scepticism about the British government’s motive behind the move and instead favoured redressal of their concerns as a real tribute to the Father of the Nation. Created by sculptor Philip Jackson, based…

  • Nine soldiers indicted for Kashmir killings

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    Nine soldiers have been indicted for killing two youth in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district Nov 3 and will face court martial, the army said here. “Nine soldiers of the 53 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), including a junior commissioned officer, have been indicted for the firing incident in Chattergam area in which two youth were killed.…

  • Modi, Sharif shake hands

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     After a day when they apparently ignored each other in front of cameras, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif shook hands and met briefly during the retreat at the Saarc Summit . “Yes, they have met and shook hands at the retreat,” Nepal Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey said over phone from…

  • China urged to invest in India

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    Indian & Chinese businessmen sign MoUs worth over $2.4 billion to strengthen bilateral trade relations There is a need for the dynamic entrepreneurs of India and China to collaborate, cooperate and deepen the business engagement to conquer the world markets, said Mr. Amitabh Kant, Secretary (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India at…