Asian Lite News Archive

Category: INDIAN NEWS

  • Modi urged to secure fishermen’s release

    —

    in , ,

    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and secure the release of Indian fishermen and their fishing boats from Sri Lankan custoday. In a letter to Modi Tuesday, text of which was released to the media here Wednesday, Jayalalithaa said: “I once again request your immediate intervention to secure…

  • Ethnic students get fewer uni seats

    —

    in , , , ,

    Britain’s ethnic minority students are less likely than their white British peers to receive offers from UK universities, research suggests. A study, by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), analysed university applications made in 2008 by 50,000 would-be students, BBC reported. Degree applications from 12 minority groups analysed were “significantly” less likely to…

  • Indian scientists develop seedless mangoes

    —

    in , ,

      First came seedless grapes. Now, Indian scientists have developed what could be the ultimate delicacy – a seedless mango which is finely textured and juicy, with a rich, sweet and distinctive flavour when mature. “We have developed a seedless mango variety from hybrids of mango varieties Ratna and Alphonso,” V.B. Patel,chairman of the horticulture…

  • Indian soldier killed in Pak firing

    —

    in ,

    An Indian soldier was killed Tuesday when Pakistani troops fired at Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the military said. Military spokesman Col Manish Mehta said here that the Pakistan Army used automatics and small-calibre weapons in Pallanwalla area of Akhnoor sector. “The firing was intended to facilitate the infiltration…

  • WAIT TILL DAD GETS HOME 

    —

    in , , , , ,

    DAILY DOSE By Bikram Vohra When we were kids and we misbehaved my Mum would say, wait till your father gets home. It was like the biggest threat going, the sharpest knife in the toolbox and we would then sit in delicious dread waiting for the Man to come home and set us right.It counted.…

  • India’s Mars Orbiter nearing Red planet

    —

    in , ,

    India’s Mars Orbiter spacecraft that left the Earth last November is nearing the Red planet with all its payloads in good condition, ISRO said Tuesday. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India’s Mars Orbiter or Mangalyaan has travelled over 540 million km on its journey to the Red planet. The Indian space agency…

  • Jaya oppose India-Lanka sea boundary

    —

    in , , ,

    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa urged the central government to pursue the idea of sustainable fishing by Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen and disagreed with a proposal to instal buoys to demarcate the international maritime boundary. “During the talks between the fishing communities of two countries, there has been a clear recognition that fishing…

  • Energy security top priority: Modi

    —

    in , , ,

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday reiterated that energy security, increasingly based on clean and reliable sources, was the critical driver of India’s rapid and sustained long-term development. On a visit to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) here during his maiden trip to Maharashtra after taking over as prime minister, Modi envisaged an essential role…

  • Troubles in Congress party

    —

    in ,

    Troubles mounted for Congress Monday as two senior ministers – Narayan Rane in poll-bound Maharashtra and Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam – resigned from their posts signalling their desire to replace the incumbent chief ministers. The resignations came even as the party is battling problems in poll-bound states of Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir and…

  • Delhi seeks World Heritage City tag

    —

    in , , , ,

    Shilpa Raina looks into Delhi’s campaign to become World Heritage City  As Delhi gears up to welcome a team from Unesco in September to evaluate the national capital’s bid for the World Heritage City tag, an NGO spearheading the move says this idea should have been proposed earlier and reveals how “frustrating” it can be…

  • CRICKET: Lessons to learn from India

    —

    in , , ,

    Veturi Srivatsa says Indians taught Englishmen how to play in their backyard  India’s handsome victory at Lord’s would have come as a big relief to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, leading a young side with almost the entire top-order batting playing in England for the first time. What must have pleased Dhoni’s team is that they…

  • India stands for Palestinian cause

    —

    in , ,

    The government Monday said its policy on Palestine remains unchanged and rejected calls for a parliament resolution on the violence in Gaza where more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military attacks since the past fortnight. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in her reply to a debate on the Gaza violence, said the…

  • India has 274 accredited universities

    —

    in , ,

    There are 274 universities and 7,070 colleges in India which have been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), HRD Minister Smriti Irani said Monday. Citing information provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the human resource development minister said there are 676 universities and 37,204 colleges in the country. “Accreditation is the…

  • Asian exports and decoupling

    —

    in , , ,

    Vatsal Srivastava in his weekly column Currency Corner looks in to the state of Asian exports. Will ‘decoupling’ theory work this time around? During the financial crisis of 2008, there was a prevailing view among asset managers that a sell-off in developed market (DM) equities would not lead to a downturn in emerging market (EM) equities, especially in…

  • Kejriwal for dissolving Delhi assembly

    —

    in , ,

    AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal Monday told Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung that the delay in dissolving the Delhi assembly was encouraging the poaching of legislators. After meeting Jung, Kejriwal tweeted: “We told him that delay in dissolving (the) assembly was encouraging horse trading.” In response to persistent BJP claims that it was in a position to…

  • Encephalitis toll in Bengal crosses 50

    —

    in , ,

    With six more people dying of encephalitis here since Saturday night, the vector-borne disease has claimed altogether 51 lives in northern West Bengal over the past 18 days, health officials said Sunday. Six patients admitted to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) died between Saturday night and Sunday evening, the facility’s assistant Superintendent…

  • BAPIO chief joins march to save NHS

    —

    in , , , ,

    Prof.  Rajan Madhok, Chairman of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), is joining a campaign to save the crisis-hit National health Services (NHS). Prof. Rajan, one of the senior most Indian-origin doctors in the country, is a  former director of public health and medical director in the NHS.  BAPIO is the largest organisation of the…

  • Modi keeps media at bay

    —

    in ,

    It has been almost two months since Narendra Modi took charge as India’s prime minister, but the new government is yet to spell out its media and information policy – except by default. All that journalists are able to surmise – in the absence of any official articulation – is that the Modi government wants…

  • Andhra to develop new capital

    —

    in , ,

    The Andhra Pradesh government Sunday constituted an advisory committee to examine the various aspects of building a state capital and suggest a plan of action for its development. To be headed by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P. Narayana, the committee comprises nine members, majority of them industrialists. The state government Sunday issued orders…

  • BJP ready for polls in Delhi

    —

    in , ,

    Prodded by the RSS, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared Sunday that it was ready for fresh assembly elections in Delhi. The BJP’s new state president Satish Upadhyay made the announcement after a half hour meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh here. He said if the polls were announced, “the BJP is fully prepared to…

  • PICS: Pranab on tour

    —

    in , ,

    Indian President Mr  Pranab Mukherjee on tour in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He attended ceremonies at leading education institutions besides visiting the Padmanabha Swami Temple, at Trivandrum, in Kerala and Mariamman Temple in Thanjavur

  • INTERVIEW: M.S. Swaminathan

    —

    in , , ,

    Anando Bhakto talks to eminent agriculturalist M.S. Swaminathan and he says special Agricultural Zones can aid food security in India He’s been credited with mentoring the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s that saw India grow from a food deficit nation to a food surplus nation. Now, in the face of an “unpredictable” monsoon,…

  • India to revive ancient Nalanda

    —

    in , , ,

    Imran Khan says Applications have come from the US, Russia, England, Spain, Germany, Japan, Myanmar, Austria and Sri Lanka for Nalanda University which is set to open Sept 1 Part of a premier state-owned hotel will temporarily serve as a hostel for students of the revived Nalanda University, an international centre of learning coming up in…

  • FRIGHTFUL STUFF

    —

    in , , , , , ,

    DAILY DOSE By Bikram Vohra So I am catching up with my email having left it all unplugged these past four days and there is the usual dross and spam and I notice that my old friend Joanna who wants to meet me terribly has been joined by Esmerelda and Ibo, both of whom share…

  • India & Palestine issue

    —

    in , , , ,

    `India’s West Asia policy unlikely to see major change’ There could be a nuanced change in India’s West Asia policy under NDA rule but there will be no substantive change, former diplomats and analysts have said, as the Modi government prepares to debate, after initial reservation, the spurt in violence in Gaza in Parliament Monday…

  • Just Sport on Jadeja-Anderson spat

    —

    in , , , ,

    Veturi Srivatsa  in his weekly column analysing the Jadeja-Anderson spat. It is a test case for new chief Srinivasan  It is incongruous to find players from India and England standing eyeball-to-eyeball within a month of the expressed bonhomie of their board along with Cricket Australia in joining hands to rule World cricket. It is difficult to believe…

  • Hindutva hawks and Modi India

    —

    in , , ,

    Amulya Ganguli analysing the stance of Hindutva brigade during the Modi rule in Delhi. Modi is an “ideal swayamsevak” and the saffron zealots will, therefore, expect him to fulfil their dream of establishing a Hindu rashtra (nation) The latest reported observations of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) supremo, Ashok Singhal, echo what the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue,…

  • ‘Knowledge, innovation key for progress’

    —

    in , ,

    Knowledge and innovation are the underpinnings of progress and prosperity in the 21st century, President Pranab Mukherjee said . “In this age of globalisation, we can derive competitive advantage only from an eco-system that is conducive to new learning, research and innovation,” he said after inaugurating the golden jubilee celebrations of the National Institute of Technology…

  • GALLERY: Manish Arora Collection

    —

    in , , ,

    Designer Manish Arora’s show at the India Couture Week  in New Delhi contain several wow designs. Here is a collection of pics

  • Roy remarks on Gandhi draw flak

    —

    in , ,

    Booker wwinner Arundhathi Roy’s remarks on Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi  triggered a new row in India . During a speech in India, Roy accused Gandhi of discrimination and called for institutions bearing his name to be renamed, The Guardian reported. She was addressing students at Kerala University in  Thiruvananthapuram, Roy, 52, described the generally accepted…

  • Modi gets High Court notice

    —

    in ,

      The Allahabad High Court has issued a notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a petition was filed accusing him of electoral malpractices in the Lok Sabha election. In the petition filed before the bench of Justice V.K. Shukla, Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who lost the Lok Sabha polls against Modi in Varanasi, has alleged…

  • Amarnath Yatra resumes

    —

    in , ,

    The Amarnath Yatra resumed at 10 a.m. Saturday from both Baltal and Pahalgam routes after its temporary suspension, an official said. A senior police official said in Srinagar Saturday: “After its temporary suspension yesterday (Friday), the Amarnath Yatra was today resumed from both Baltal and Pahalgam routes.” The Yatra was halted Friday following clashes in Baltal…

  • From police with Love…

    —

    in , , , ,

    A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer has helped to raise £1,570 for a family who were the victims of two terrifying aggravated burglaries in the space of a year. Sucha Singh, 44, is paralyzed from the neck down and was forced to watch in horror as three masked men forced their way into the house…

  • HOW TO STEM SPORTS DEPRESSION?

    —

    in , , , , , ,

    DAILY DOSE By Bikram Vohra All this hype about sports has a downside. For the past three months it has been running our lives, isolating the men and some of the women, the whole texture of normal family life disrupted, even socializing predicated to the timing. IPL. Wimbledon. The World Cup. Suddenly, it is all…

  • Netaji’s kin approach Modi for probe

    —

    in ,

    Family members of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose have approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an SIT to probe the “disappearance mystery” of the nationalist leader. Subhash Chandra Bose was declared killed in an air crash over Taipei, Chinese Taipei (formerly Formosa) Aug 18, 1945. But, many people doubted his death and though numerous commissions were…

  • Modi welcome to visit Pakistan: Envoy

    —

    in , , ,

     Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be welcome whenever he chooses to visit Pakistan, said that country’s envoy here Friday. Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit said a visit to Pakistan by Modi “would be welcome whenever he comes”. But Basit noted that such high-level visits “don’t happen without adequate preparation”. “It is too early to…

  • Kejriwal slams Delhi budget

    —

    in , ,

    Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday criticised the Delhi budget and said the BJP has taken a “u-turn” on almost all the election promises. “BJP (had) promised 30 percent reduction in tariff. It didn’t do it. Why this u-turn? BJP has made a u-turn on almost all poll promises,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.…

  • Action against Swiss account holders: Jaitley

    —

    in ,

    Tax proceedings have begun against Swiss bank account holders, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha Friday. Responding to a query from BJP member Anurag Thakur during a discussion on the union budget, Jaitley said: “Tax proceedings have begun…”. He said that “SIT (Special Investigating Team) is going into it” and details are being…

  • FAMILY WARS – Indian Style

    —

    in , , , , , ,

    Daily Dose BY BIKRAM VOHRA Have you noticed how we spend most of our children’s early years teaching them to walk and talk and then the rest of it telling them to shut up and sit down. In thousands of home these wars are fought every day. Why? Why what? Why should I sit down.…

  • Priyanka Chopra to promote Indian handlooms

    —

    in , , , , ,

    Actress Priyanka Chopra will soon be promoting the Indian sari on international platforms, officials said Thursday. A proposal to this effect was being given final touches and the National Film Award winner has given her consent, union Textile Secretary Zohra Chatterjee said during her visit to Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.…

  • Kejriwal back in news

    —

    in , ,

    AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal sought an appointment with Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung Thursday, a day after the BJP indicated that it could form a government in Delhi. Kejriwal tweeted: “I have sought an appointment from LG for all AAP MLAs to meet him today. Waiting for his response.” Satish Upadhyay, the new president of…

  • Modi government excites US

    —

    in , ,

     Highlighting the critical role that a strong India will play in shaping the Asian landscape, the US hopes to have a “strong and collaborative partnership” with the new Modi government. “Successive administrations have made the strategic bet that a rising India is in the US interest,” US point person for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal…

  • Modi to meet South American leaders

    —

    in , ,

      Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet a group of South American leaders to foster cooperation between the two regions. This is perhaps the first time that an Indian prime minister is getting an opportunity to meet and speak to a group of South American leaders together. South America is emerging as a contributor to…

  • Bangladesh finally free Suchitra’s home

    —

    in , , , ,

    Bengali film legend Suchitra Sen’s ancestral home in Bangladesh’s Pabna district was Wednesday finally freed from the clutches of the Imam Ghazali Institute after more than a three-decade tussle. District administration officials led by land officer and executive magistrate Shamim Ara Rini took possession of the one-storeyed house in the town’s Gopalpur neighbourhood Wednesday afternoon,…

  • Flooded streets of Mumbai

    —

    in , , ,

  • HAL to maintain Bahrain’s Hawk fleet

    —

    in , ,

    Bahrain has asked the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to maintain the advanced jet trainer Hawk fleet of its air force. “Bahrain’s transport minister Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, who also looks after his country’s defence, urged our chairman R.K. Tyagi to provide technical support to the British-made jet trainer at a meeting in London,” the…

  • Spas in Goa on moral radar

    —

    in ,

    After bikinis, mini-skirts and pubs, spas and salons in coastal Goa now find themselves under the scanner of the politico-moral police who are out to take the fun out of the state that is one of India’s top tourist draws for its many attractions. Accused by government agencies, right-wing politicians and sections of the media…

  • India’s exports rise by 10.22 %

    —

    in , ,

    India’s exports rose by 10.22 percent to $26.48 billion in June, while imports increased by 8.33 percent to $38.24 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $11.76 billion, the government data showed Wednesday. Exports have posted a healthy double digit growth for the second consecutive month. The country’s merchandise exports jumped by 12.4 percent to $27.99…

  • Modi wants closer ties with Russia

    —

    in ,

    India is keen to further deepen and broad-base its strategic partnership with Russia, including in defence, nuclear energy, trade and investment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin in Brazil. Modi, who met Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at Fortaleza Tuesday, expressed appreciation for Russia�s friendship and unstinting bilateral and…

  • PICS: Monsoon & Mumbaikars

    —

    in , ,

    Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, is lying below the sea level. A little rain can wreck the normal routine of millions of Mumbaikars. Heavy rains  lashed Mumbai, Konkan and other areas of Maharashtra, prompting the civic agency in the financial capital to advise people to stay at home and schools to shut as a…