Asian Lite News Archive

Category: INDIAN NEWS

  • Modi shows involvement in labour initiatives

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    By Prashant Sood  Prime Minister Narendra Modi  sought to expand the political capital of his government by reaching out to vast sections of people, including the poor and the industrialists, in a speech that laid stress on dignity of labour, ending “inspector raj” and skilling of youth. Modi, who launched the Deendayal Upadhyaya Shramev Jayate…

  • LOYALTY AND THE RAW CARROT

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    DAILY DOSE BY Bikram Vohra                                  LOYALTY AND THE RAW CARROT So common these laments. I treated him like a son and taught him everything and he just walked out on me for a fistful of dollars. He was raw as…

  • Fair, Slim and Tall…

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    Sabina Ahmed looks into the matrimonial adverts which specify that the girl should be “fair, slim and tall                                                   Fair, Slim and Tall… It seems in this day and age, considering that…

  • Rajnath talks tough with China

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    No one can give a warning to India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said , a day after China objected to India building road along the border. “No one can give a warning to India. India is a powerful nation now,” the home minister said on the sidelines of the 30th Raising Day ceremony of the…

  • Canada to help India build smart cities

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    Canada will help India in building smart cities and achieving its target of housing for all by offering wooden multi-storey housing technology, officials said here Wednesday. In a meeting with Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu here, Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast said his country’s “expertise in wood-based housing…

  • Hema Malini @ 66

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    By Subhash K.Jha   After several hectic travel schedules, veteran actress and politician Hema Malini, who turned 66 , is happy to spend a “quiet” birthday in Mumbai with her elder daughter Esha and son-in-law Bharat Takhtani. She says she looks back at her journey with “affection”. “I was supposed to be in my constituency Mathura.…

  • India moves towards own navigation satellite system

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    By Venkatachari Jagannathan   India moved closer towards having its own satellite navigation system as it successfully launched a satellite with its rocket in a copy book style. With the successful launch of third of the seven satellites planned under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) early Thursday, India moved nearer to a select group…

  • Will Modi reform defence or bite the bullet?

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    By C. Uday Bhaskar  Former Indian Navy chief, Admiral D.K. Joshi, who had resigned in February this year after a number of accidents on naval platforms, has dwelt on the background to his unprecedented decision in an extended media interview and in the process shed much needed light on the deeply embedded institutional flaws that…

  • NRI named to lead US civil rights division

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    Indian-American lawyer Vanita Gupta has been chosen to lead US justice department’s civil rights division charged with enforcing laws that prevent discrimination and inequitable practices in housing, education and employment. Named Acting Assistant Attorney General Wednesday, the first South Asian American lawyer to get the job, is expected to be nominated by President Barack Obama for…

  • Modi unveils key labour reforms

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi  unveiled some key labour reforms that relies on trust and promotes ease of doing business and said these efforts will go a long way in changing India’s work culture. The prime minister also dedicated the Shram Suvidha portal, a Labour Inspection Scheme, as also portability of social security through a Universal…

  • India Bans Cosmetics Tested on Animals

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    Groundbreaking Move Will Save Countless Lives and Send Worldwide Message That Cruel Cosmetics Aren’t Welcome in India After intensive efforts by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and others, the Indian Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has made an announcement that will save millions of animals from…

  • Sajid cements ties with India

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    Gandhi Statue at Parliament Square within months   India’s Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s statue would be ready in London’s Parliament Square in the next few months, UK’s Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said at a press conference in New Delhi. “In the coming months we are going to have a statue of Gandhiji alongside…

  • India to set up more medical colleges

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    Government to make it easier to set up medical colleges The criteria for approving medical colleges both in government and private sectors would be liberalised, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Wednesday. Addressing the first meeting of the newly constituted parliamentary consultative committee on health, he said: “I realise the need for more medical colleges.…

  • INS Arihant, other critical assets in Vizag safe

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    India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant and other “critical assets” in the Bay of Bengal are safe from the devastation wrought by cyclonic storm Hudhud in the southern port city of Visakhapatnam, an official said Wednesday. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesman Ravi Gupta told India Strategic (www.indiastrategic.in) today that “adequate precautions had…

  • Modi assures Afghan president of India’s support

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi y assured Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani of New Delhi’s support in Kabul’s efforts to build a strong and prosperous nation and said India will stand as a friend and partner in the endeavour. Modi spoke  with Ghani over phone and congratulated him on his election as president of Afghanistan, a statement…

  • IndiGo places single largest Airbus order

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    Private airline IndiGo announced signing a deal for 250 Airbus A-320neo aircraft – making it Airbus’ single largest order by number of aircraft. The Memorandum of Understanding for Airbus’ leading single aisle aircraft family was signed by its co-founders Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, group managing director of InterGlobe. IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said that…

  • US Telugus contribute for Hudhud relief

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    Telugu Association of North America (TANA), the largest Telugu organization outside India, has announced that it will be making an initial contribution of $100,000 for relief efforts for the victims of cyclone Hudhud. Expressing shock at the unprecedented disaster caused by cyclone Hudhud in the northern districts of Andhra Pradesh, TANA President Mohan Nannapaneni said…

  • Hooda sips tea and talks Modi

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    It may not have been a deliberate move to link it with Narendra Modi’s ascent from a tea-vendor to being the prime minister, but Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Wednesday started his day from a roadside tea-stall in Haryana’s Rohtak town and within minutes was taking on Modi. “I have not seen a prime…

  • India prepares for navigation satellite launch

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    The 67-hour countdown for the Thursday launch of India’s third navigation satellite is progressing smoothly though a thunder storm Wednesday delayed some operations, a senior space agency official said. “Today (Wednesday) morning we moved the mobile service tower (MST) backwards. The operation was delayed by around two hours owing to thunderstorm in the morning. There…

  • SC allows reports on CBI director

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    The Supreme Court  allowed the prosecution in the 2G case to file two reports — on the role of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Ranjit Sinha in the probe and naming the person who leaked the contents of the visitor book at his residence. The apex court bench of Justice H.L. Dattu permitted Special…

  • Brisk polling in Maharashtra

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     Brisk polling was under way across Maharashtra, with people queuing at many polling stations since early . Voting started for the 288 Maharashtra assembly constituencies and the lone Lok Sabha by-elections for Beed parliamentary seat at 7 a.m. Wednesday amidst tight security. Among the early voters were former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and his…

  • India willing for serious dialogue

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     India  said it was willing for a “serious dialogue” with Pakistan on all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, within the framework of the Simla agreement and Lahore declaration and Islamabad’s tactic of seeking to internationalise the Kashmir issue will not succeed. External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin also said that Pakistan must take immediate steps to…

  • Special Report: India’s ties with Morocco

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    Tarun Basu recently toured Morocco at the invitation of the Moroccan government. He is saying India should engage more with Morocco Two vignettes stand out from a recent trip to Morocco — one, a smartly-dressed woman police officer flags down an errant male driver at a busy Rabat intersection and ticks him off for a traffic violation;…

  • HOW RICH IS THE WRECKAGE?

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    Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra The two elements needed to indict any motorist in India is to have him own a foreign made luxury car and live in a posh area. If he then finds himself in an accident he is nailed to the cross with glee and malice flowing like lava from the those…

  • Indian States Beckons Investments

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    States as magnets for investment – Column: Active Voice by  Amit Kapoor and Sankalp Sharma0 The theory that developing countries should attract investments is based on the fact that investments, especially FDIs have immense ability to raise the standard of living of the people. FD’s continued to be the most significant foreign inflows to developing countries in 2014. If…

  • £ 100 million interim relief for Andhra

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi  announced £100 million  as an interim relief for cyclone-hit Andhra Pradesh. He made the announcement after visiting parts of the worst-affected port city and a review meeting with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and top officials. Modi, who made an aerial survey of the affected areas of both north coastal Andhra and…

  • Modi reaches cyclone-hit Vizag

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here  afternoon to visit cyclone-hit Visakhapatnam and other parts of north coastal Andhra. Soon after landing at Visakhapatnam Airport, he inspected the facility extensively damaged by cyclonic storm Hudhud Sunday. Officials briefed him about the damages. Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, central government ministers M.…

  • Drought makes people to migrate in Rajasthan

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    By Anil Sharma   Drought-like conditions are forcing villagers residing along the India-Pakistan border in the desert state of Rajasthan to migrate in search of greener pastures. If local NGOs are to be believed, over 100 villages situated in Barmer district are facing a severe water and fodder crisis. “Much of the population living in this…

  • Hotline diplomacy begins at border

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    Senior Pakistani and Indian military officials spoke to each other over the hotline Tuesday and discussed ways to reduce tension along their border, a media report said Tuesday. “Directors of Military Operations (DMO) of the Pakistani and Indian armies spoke to each other over hotline,” reported Dawn online citing a senior military official. The Pakistani…

  • BAPS Charities Observes Sewa Day

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    BAPS Charities in London organised a special party for 44 elderly residents and 12 carers from local care homes at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London. The event was part of BAPS Charities’ commitment to ‘Sewa Day’ – an initiative where “thousands of good-hearted people across the world come together to perform Sewa (an act of…

  • Bad and the ugly in Maharashtra polls

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    By Quaid Najmi  Criminals and moneybags account for a large chunk of the candidates fielded by the top five mainstream parties in the Oct 15 Maharashtra assembly elections, a survey by watchdog bodies has said. Of the 4,119 candidates, the Maharashtra Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (MEW-ADR) analysed affidavits of 2,336 nominees –…

  • An ode to communal harmony

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    The melodious sound of shahnais reverberated in the air while a troupe of fire dancers captivated the spectators as Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung Monday launched the “Phool Walon Ki Sair”, the annual procession of flower sellers, organized as a symbol of communal harmony since the Mughal era. The festival that promotes friendship between Hindus…

  • Bad Karma and Good Karma

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    Kill a pest and karma’s going to get you…writes Nury Vittachi  in his weekly column The Funny Side A tiny lizard has been clinging to the wall behind me for two hours. I want to change the TV channel but I feel I ought to at least ask him, right? Yeah, I know it’s irrational but…

  • HOW NOBLE IS THE NOBEL PRIZE?

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    Bikram Vohra comments on Kailash Satyarthi’s Nobel winning noble cause I have to admit I have never heard of Kailash Satyarthi. Not even indirectly. That the Nobel prize committee has heard of him and thought it fit to give him the award is a testament to my ignorance… definitely… and the general muted response in…

  • Modi to track officials online

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    Bureaucrats seem to be in for some tough times in the Modi regime with a new website helping not only the government but also the public keep a watch on their movements. The website attendance.gov.in, launched Sep 30, clocks the in and out times of bureaucrats. It informs which official attended office on any day,…

  • Glaciers that don’t melt

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    Even as the climate continues to grow warmer and melt glaciers around the world, the stable glaciers of the Himalaya’s Karakoram region, a picturesque chain of snowy peaks spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, has long been a mystery. Not any longer though. “It has been a source of controversy that these glaciers…

  • India’s foreign policy a hit on social media

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    The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fuelled a spike in social media and interest in his government and its policies, including foreign policy. With a robust foreign policy agenda and some well-publicised diplomatic engagements, the Twitter handle and Facebook page of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has seen a quantum jump of…

  • Shashi Tharoor sacked as Congress spokesperson

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      Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was Monday sacked from the post of Congress spokesperson, a statement from the party said here. “Congress President Sonia Gandhi has accepted recommendation of AICC (All India Congress Committee) disciplinary committee to remove Shashi Tharoor from the list of spokespersons of the AICC with immediate effect,” it said. Tharoor,…

  • Diwali at Trafalgar Square

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    Diwali celebrated at Trafalgar Square in London with traditional flavour.  Indian High Commissioner Mr Ranjan Mathai along with an array of invited guests inaugurated the festival. London Mayor Boris Johnson conveyed his Diwali wishes through a video message. Programme kick-started with an invocation to Lord Ganesha by Ragasudha Vinjamuri-Rapatwar of Sanskruti Centre, followed by several groups…

  • Guns fall silent on India – Pak border

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    Guns on both sides of the India, Pakistan border remained silent overnight Monday, but thousands of displaced border residents were still camped in makeshift accommodations away from their homes. “The night remained peaceful on both the LoC (Line of Control) and the international border. There was no ceasefire violation from Pakistan side during the night,”…

  • ? Modi speaks to Andhra CM on cyclone

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      Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu by phone and enquired about the cyclone ‘Hudhud’, which hit the Andhra coast near Vizag . Naidu received the prime minister’s call at a news conference he had called to brief about the cyclone. He told Modi that the eye of…

  • US to fund strategic tech projects in India

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    With the India-US Defence Trade and Technology Initiative regaining momentum after the Indian elections, the US has set aside $20 million for strategic cooperative science and technology projects with India, according to a top US official. During the Indian elections there was a time-out on the initiative, but now progress has resumed, US Undersecretary for…

  • Heavy rainfall lashes Andhra & Odisha

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      Two people were killed  in Andhra Pradesh due to heavy rainfall with strong winds in coastal areas as cyclonic storm moved closer to Visakhapatnam coast. One person was killed in a wall collapse in Visakhapatnam while the other person died when a tree fell on him in Srikakulam district, officials said. “Very severe cyclonic…

  • Kailash Satyarthi calls on PM

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      The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Kailash Satyarthi  called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who congratulated him warmly on winning the award. Satyarthi expressed enthusiasm about the prime minister’s initiatives on Swachh Bharat (Clean India campaign) and Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (Parliamentarians model village scheme) and said he was keen to contribute to…

  • Half a million evacuated in Andhra

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    Nearly 500,000 people were being evacuated as cyclonic storm Hudhud is expected to hit Andhra Pradesh coast . Heavy rains accompanied by winds started lashing parts of the north coastal Andhra region Saturday evening under the impact of the ‘very severe’ cyclone in Bay of Bengal. Authorities have closed Ichapuram-Kakinada national highway for traffic. Kakinada-Uppada…

  • Modi chairs emergency meeting on Cyclone

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency high-level meeting to review the preparedness for Cyclone Hudhud as heavy rains accompanied by winds lashed parts of north coastal Andhra in the evening and 400,000 people were evacuated from the area. After reviewing the emerging situation, the prime minister asked Home Minister Rajnath Singh to remain in…

  • Firing resumes along LoC in J& K

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    The Pakistani Army  resorted to unprovoked firing at Indian positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district. A senior police officer said here: “The Pakistani Army violated the ceasefire in Shahpur Kerni sector of the LoC in Poonch district today (Saturday) afternoon. “The Pakistani Army is using automatic weapons to target…

  • Life a hell at border due to Pak shelling

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      Life for nearly 30,000 people living in relief camps has been turned upside down after they were forced to abandon their homes because of indiscriminate shelling from across the India-Pakistan boder on civilian habitations in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts. Local residents say the hostilities were nothing short of a war, save for the…

  • Modi asks MP’s to adopt a village

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi  launched the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana and said he would also adopt a village in Varanasi, the constituency from where he was elected to the Lok Sabha. “I too have to select a village for Varanasi, have received the guidelines. Will go there, discuss and decide,” Modi said as he launched…

  • Evacuations begins before ‘Hudhud’ makes landfall

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    With cyclonic storm Hudhud set to hit the Andhra coast Sunday, the authorities are preparing to evacuate more than 200,000 people in four coastal districts to safer places. The northern coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram and Visakhapatnam and adjoining coastal district of East Godavari are bracing for the ‘very severe’ cyclonic storm, which is likely…