Asian Lite News Archive

Category: INDIAN NEWS

  • UN gets India’s help

    —

    in , , ,

    India pledges over $9 mn for UN development activities…reports Arul Louis  Although India says it “has its own plate full of developmental challenges”, it pledged contributions of over $9.2 million for UN development activities in 2015. Announcing the pledges earmarked for 13 programmes , Prakash Gupta of India’s UN Mission, said: “As a developing country, while…

  • Sushma pushes Make in India in the UAE

    —

    in , , ,

    India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought investment from foreign and Indian entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), highlighting her government’s “clear policies to facilitate business environment, transparency and speed” to “make India an investment and manufacturing destination”. “Our focus is growth with good governance and transparency with an eye on manufacturing, infrastructure and trade,”…

  • AOL volunteers begin relief at Sinjar in Iraq

    —

    in , , ,

    The International Association for Human Values, a sister concern of The Art of Living, steps up relief work in Sinjar in Iraq The International Association for Human Values, a sister concern of The Art of Living along with few NGO’s in Iraq have collected 110 tonnes of food supplies to be delivered to Yazidi refugees…

  • Britain’s iconic arts to tour India

    —

    in , ,

    The rich diversity of British art and creativity, beyond what audiences may be familiar with, is represented in an ongoing exhibition in Mumbai that showcases vibrant accounts of contemporary culture across various media – mostly by those who are not professional artists. Folk Archive, a significant piece of contemporary artworks by international artists – Jeremy Deller…

  • Modi kicks off three nation tour

    —

    in ,

      Kicking off his three-nation tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi  landed in Myanmar, which India sees as a “natural bridge” to southeast Asia, and held talks with Myanmarese President U Thein Sein with focus on connectivity, cultural contacts, and commercial ties. The 45-minute talks, the first meet between the two leaders, were held shortly after…

  • Phoolan Devi’s killer appeals sentence

    —

    in ,

      Sher Singh Rana, sentenced to life imprisonment for killing bandit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi in 2001, has moved the Delhi High Court challenging his punishment. A division bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Mukta Gupta transfered the matter to another bench after Justice Gupta recused herself from hearing the case, saying she was once the…

  • British help for Kerala city minimise climate impact

    —

    in , ,

      An Indo-UK technical assistance workshop for Future Proofing Aluva municipality, near here, will be held here Nov 12-13, it was announced . The project builds upon a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Aluva Municipality and WS Atkins International (ATKINS) supported by the British High Commission and witnessed by Prince of Wales Charles during his…

  • Sena still hopes for a date with BJP

    —

    in , ,

      A day after it decided to sit in the opposition in the Maharashtra assembly, the Shiv Sena still harboured hopes of an amicable settlement with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here  – and a share in power in the state. Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said Tuesday that talks with the BJP have been suspended,…

  • Modi’s eastern tour to begin

    —

    in ,

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an extremely busy 10-day tour ahead that will see him meeting more than 40 leaders, including around 20 bilateral meetings with the leaders of China, Germany, Britain and South Korea and others as he travels to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji from Tuesday. Modi, who travels to the Myanmar capital Nay…

  • Parrikar sets priorities

    —

    in , ,

    Newly-inducted Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said indigenisation of defence manufacturing and higher transparency are his top priorities. Defence Secretary R.K. Mathur, army chief Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, navy chief Admiral R.K. Dhowan, and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha were present to welcome Parrikar. “I will take forward the work that (Arun) Jaitley ji…

  • New status for Bangladeshi migrants in India

    —

    in , , ,

    The Supreme Court  issued notice to the central and state governments on a petition seeking declaration that all the refugees that came to India from Bangladesh be described as displaced persons and not illegal migrants. A bench of Chief Justice H.L.Dattu and Justice A.K.Sikri issued notice on the plea by the Joint Action Committee for…

  • Modi to seek G20 cooperation against black money

    —

    in ,

      Prime Minister Narendra Modi  said he will highlight the “key issue” of the importance of international cooperation against black money during the G20 summit in Brisbane. In his departure statement before his visit to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji, Modi said ASEAN was at the core of India’s Look East Asia policy and at the…

  • Majority of Indian men abuse wives: UN report

    —

    in , , ,

    Sixty percent of Indian men admit acting violently against their wife or partner at some point in their lives while 52 percent of women admit having faced some form of violence during their lifetime, says a UN report. The report, prepared jointly by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Washington-based International Center for…

  • Modi-Sharif meeting looks bleak

    —

    in , , ,

    With a fortnight left for the SAARC summit in Kathmandu, chances of a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif looked bleak. External affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, in answer to a query, said here Monday: “You have heard our leaders talk of paving the path towards a process. If…

  • Sena to sit in opposition in Maharashtra

    —

    in , ,

    In a sudden move, the Shiv Sena  announced its decision to sit in the opposition in Maharashtra assembly and not join the minority BJP government headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “We have sent a letter signed by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray to this effect to the legislature secretariat. In the letter we have…

  • Hungry Horse Sparks Menu Debate

    —

    in , , , ,

    Nutritionist slams leading pub chain for its unethical menu A burger containing 1966 calories, 98 per cent of a woman’s Guideline Daily Amount, has been launched by pub-restaurant chain Hungry Horse, prompting a nutritionist to question the ethics of the family-friendly organisation. The Double Donut Burger, launched as part of a brand-new Hungry Horse menu…

  • India in cruise control

    —

    in , , ,

    A superb all-round performance helped India cruise to a six-wicket win in the third One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka and clinch the five-match series 3-0 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here. Set a target of 243 runs, India coasted to victory in 44.1 overs, winning with 35 balls to spare. Opener Shikhar Dhawan…

  • Burger King lands in India

    —

    in , , ,

      Miami-based fast food chain Burger King said that it will enter the Indian market by opening its first outlet in the national capital’s south Delhi up-market Select Citywalk mall in Saket on Sunday. According to the company, which is a part of quick service restaurant (QSR) major Burger King Worldwide, it plans to operate…

  • Jailtley’s ever growing clout

    —

    in , ,

    Arvind Padmanabhan writes about Modi’s right hand man and his growing clout That the defence portfolio will be taken away from Arun Jaitley was a given. The lawyer-politician, who will turn 62 next month, had himself said in as many words that it was an additional charge he was holding, which would be assigned to someone else…

  • Parrikar new defence minister

    —

    in , ,

      Prime Minister Narendra Modi effected a reshuffle of some ministries and allocated portfolios to 21 new ministers, giving defence to Manohar Parrikar, railways to Suresh Prabhu, information and broadcasting to Arun Jaitley and moving Harsh Vardhan from health to science and technology. A Rashrapati Bhavan communique said that Prabhu will be the new railways…

  • India, Bangladesh to discuss terrorism

    —

    in , ,

      Arms and drug smuggling, terrorism, circulation of fake currency notes and border crimes are among the issues to be discussed when border guards of India and Bangladesh meeting Nov 17, an official said here . “The BSF (Border Security Force) officials would ask the BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) officials to dismantle the camps of…

  • Modi shows he is boss

    —

    in , , ,

     Amulya Ganguli writes about the total control of Modi  But for the drama of the Shiv Sena’s boycott of the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi’s expanded council of ministers, the occasion – the first expansion of his five-month-old government – passed off as a routine event. However, the fact that the Sena’s nominee, Anil Desai,…

  • Jaitley takes charge as I&B minister

    —

    in ,

    Newly appointed Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Arun Jaitley Monday assumed charge of the office. Jaitley, who also holds the finance portfolio, was given the charge of the information and broadcasting ministry in a cabinet reshuffle that took place Sunday. He took over from Prakash Javadekar, who now remains the minister of state (independent charge)…

  • Shooting star of Modi cabinet

    —

    in ,

      He was the shooting star who won a silver medal for India at the 2004 Athens Olympics in double trap event. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore later took retirement from the army and joined politics. Rathore entered the 16th Lok Sabha by defeating senior Congress leader C.P. Joshi from Jaipur Rural constituency. This was the first…

  • Modi expands cabinet

    —

    in ,

    Twenty-one new faces were inducted in the Narendra Modi government’s first cabinet expansion. Four new cabinet ministers and 17 ministers of state, three with independent charge, took oath at the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan here Sunday afternoon. Those who were sworn-in as cabinet ministers were former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, Shiv Sena’s Suresh…

  • Where hills and neighbours miss Vajpayee

    —

    in , ,

    By Vishal Gulati   Residents of this picturesque village are missing a gentleman politician who built a cottage here hoping to spend time amid apple and walnut trees before illness gripped him: Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The tastefully built house in typical hill architecture is located on the banks of the Beas river, on the Manali-Naggar road.…

  • N-capable Agni-II missile test fired

    —

    in , ,

      India test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-II strategic ballistic missile from a military base in Odisha, a defence official said. The test was conducted from Wheeler’s Island in Bhadrak district, around 200 km from here, by army personnel as part of routine user-trials, M.V.K.V. Prasad, director of the Integrated Test Range,said. “The test was successful,” he…

  • Modi meets new central ministers

    —

    in ,

      Prime Minister Narendra Modi  held a breakfast meeting with those who were to be inducted into the union council of ministers. Some of the people who attended the meeting at the Prime Minister’s Residence at 7 Race Course Road included former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi,…

  • Shiv Sena sulks and recall nominee

    —

    in , ,

    In a last-minute turnaround, Shiv Sena abstained from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet expansion, asking its nominee Anil Y. Desai to return to Mumbai. Desai’s name was suggested for a berth in the union ministry and he rushed to New Delhi for the swearing-in ceremony Sunday afternoon. Senior Sena MP Anandrao Adsul said in Mumbai…

  • Congratulations Mr Singh

    —

    in , ,

    Congress president Sonia Gandhi congratulated former prime minister Manmohan Singh on being awarded one of Japan’s top national awards. The Japanese embassy announced that the former prime minister will be conferred t he Grand Cordon of the Paulownia Flowers – one of Japan’s top national awards – for his “significant contribution” towards boosting bilateral ties.…

  • Modi cabinet expansion Sunday

    —

    in ,

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reshuffle and expand his cabinet to inject fresh talent, give wider representation to states and ease pressure on some ministers. The event is scheduled to take place at the Durbar hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan in the afternoon. This will be the first cabinet reshuffle since Modi took power…

  • Nikki Haley off to India to attract investment

    —

    in , , , ,

    South Carolina’s Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley will lead a 10-day trade mission to India in November, hoping to attract more foreign investment and sell the state as a tourist destination The Nov 12-22 trip is intended to make a “first impression” that sells South Carolina as a tourism destination and a place to do business,…

  • Laxmikant Parsekar becomes Goa CM

    —

    in , ,

      Goa Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar Saturday took oath as chief minister to succeed Manohar Parrikar who is becoming a union minister. Parsekar took the oath of office and secrecy soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) succeeded in persuading Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza to accept his leadership. And so, while Parsekar’s name was…

  • Anand has a point to prove

    —

    in , , ,

    By Veturi Srivatsa  Most people will know what Sachin Tendulkar is doing these days, not what Viswanathan Anand is doing to wrest the World Chess Championship from Norwegian Magnus Carlsen. Anand’s supporters feel he was not considered for Bharat Ratna because he is not a cricketer whereas Tendulkar is the darling of the elite as…

  • INTERVIEW: Aparna Sen

    —

    in , , , , ,

    By Sahana Ghosh  Her very first outing as an actress was under the guidance of master storyteller Satyajit Ray and now as one of India’s finest and critically-acclaimed filmmakers, Aparna Sen believes in absorbing and retaining Ray’s principles, but eventually doing “your own thing”. Be it “36, Chowringhee Lane”, her outstanding directorial debut, or “Mr.…

  • Modi nominates more for Clean India campaign

    —

    in ,

      Prime Minister Narendra Modi  nominated nine more people, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, crickters Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif, and singer Kailash Kher, to take forward the message to clean India. He did so as he arrived at the Assi ghat here on the second day of his visit to his Varanasi…

  • Republican Congress may favour India

    —

    in , ,

    After the Republican victory in the US mid-term, Congress is likely to be more interested in doing more with India on security, energy, and foreign policy, according to an American expert on South Asia. But it’s also likely to be still concerned about trade barriers and temporary worker visas, wrote Alyssa Ayres, a former State…

  • Parrikar resigns as CM

    —

    in , ,

      A day ahead of being sworn in as union minister, possibly in charge of the defence ministry, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar resigned from office. Parrikar faxed his resignation to Governor Mridula Sinha. His successor is expected to be appointed at 4 p.m. The name of Parrikar’s successor is still not clear though even…

  • FBI agents raid India baiter’s home

    —

    in , , ,

      FBI agents searched the home of India baiter pro-Pakistan American diplomat Robin Raphel in October as part of a counter-intelligence investigation, according to media reports. Raphel was a senior adviser on Pakistan for the office of the special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan at the time of the raid. In that job, she was…

  • Modi turns samaritan

    —

    in ,

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi  met 15 people from his parliamentary constituency and listened to their problems. One of them was a woman who had petitioned him for the treatment of her cancer-affected daughter who has lost both her kidneys. The prime minister met them at his Ravindrapuri office, which was set up to collect petitions…

  • Sachin’s autobiography breaks record

    —

    in , ,

    Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography “Playing It My Way”, released , has broken all records of an adult hardback on pre-order subscriptions across both fiction and non-fiction categories, a statement from the publishers said Friday. Tendulkar’s book has broken the mark set by Steve Jobs’ biography by Walter Isaacson, which had sold 130,000 copies. According to reports,…

  • Imran Khan calls Modi ‘faithful’

    —

    in , , ,

    Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, addressing a sit-in in Islamabad, appreciated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effort to bring back assets in foreign countries. “Whatever you say about him, he is a faithful man,” Imran Khan said Thursday. He lauded Modi for making public a list of 627 Indians with assets in foreign countries,…

  • Stage Set for Asian Wedding Awards

    —

    in , , , , ,

    The long Awaited Nominations List For the Asian Wedding Awards 2014   AWE ASIAN WEDDING AWARDS unveiled the finalists for the 2nd Annual Asian Wedding Awards 2014, to take place on the 8th December 2014 at Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel.  The Awards celebrate the tireless devotion, creativity and inspiration of 1000’s of the Asian wedding…

  • Army owns up to Kashmir youths killing

    —

    in ,

      The Indian Army took responsibility for the killing of two youths and injuries to two others in the Nov 3 firing at a car in Jammu and Kashmir, and said it will cooperate in any inquiry. Addressing a media conference at the 15 Corps headquarters in Badami Bagh cantonment here, the army’s Northern Command…

  • Gold prices on a free fall

    —

    in ,

      Riding on the back of an improving global economy, gold prices dropped to Rs.25,800 per 10 grams in the national capital . “In the global market, in US dollar terms gold price is at four-year low and in India in rupee terms it is at 15-month low,” Bachhraj Bamalwa, founder partner, Nemichand Bamalwa said. “The…

  • Sajid Javid our Obama?

    —

    in , , , ,

    When you do research into the reasons why Obama is where he is and although Javid panders to the indigenous by simply his innoxious demeanour to race and religion where he proclaims sometimes to be of no faith, sometimes of all faiths being the same…writes YZ Patel Much has been written about our non practising…

  • Palestine has India’s full commitment

    —

    in , , ,

    India  reiterated its “unfailing and long standing commitment” to the Palestinian cause and stressed that there “has been, and can be no change in this position”. Secretary (East) in the ministry of external affairs Anil Wadhwa, addressing the first session of the India-Arab League Senior Officials meeting, also said that India is “watching with great…

  • Rajnath for ‘hi-tech partnership’ with Israel

    —

    in ,

      The future emphasis of the India-Israel bilateral relationship should be on building a “hi-tech partnership befitting the two”, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said at a meeting with the Israeli prime minister. In an hour-long meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu , Rajnath Singh also said “terror was a threat not only to countries like India…

  • Abbott and Australia awaits Modi

    —

    in ,

      Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott sought Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support for Australia’s infrastructure initiatives ahead of his Nov 14-19 visit to Australia for the G20 Summit, an official statement said. In a telephonic call to Modi, Abbott discussed the agenda for the summit to be held in Brisbane and also invited him…

  • Modi adopts Jayapur village

    —

    in ,

      Prime Minister Narendra Modi  adopted a village in his Varanasi parliamentary constituency and exhorted its residents to combine their collective strength to educate the children and ensure hygiene. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Varanasi, was accorded a grand welcome at Jayapur village. Village women garlanded him and put a vermillion tika…