Asian Lite News Archive

Category: INDIAN NEWS

  • Modi to visit J&K

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     Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir Friday is seen as a tough political call as it comes in the wake of a raging row over a demand for revoking Article 370 of the constitution that gives special status to the state. On his maiden visit to the state after assuming office, the…

  • AIIMS refutes doctor’s claim on autopsy

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    The AIIMS administration Wednesday categorically denied doctor Sudhir Gupta’s allgeation that he was pressurised to amend the post-mortem report of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. “The AIIMS administration has come to know through the media report about the allegations made by Sudhir Gupta about he being pressurised to amend the post-mortem report…

  • SRK conferred France’s highest honour

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    French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius Tuesday conferred his country’s highest award – Knight of the Legion of Honour – on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cultural diversity across the world. The function was held at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel here. “There are different moments in life that…

  • Uproar in India over NSA surveillance

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    India Tuesday strongly reacted to revelations that the BJP was among the foreign political parties which the US’ National Security Agency (NSA) was authorised to spy upon, terming it totally unacceptable and “extremely disconcerting” even as both the ruling and opposition parties demanded the matter be taken up with Washington. Answering queries from media persons…

  • GALLERY- Ahlan Ramdan

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  • SPECIAL REPORT – National Doctor’s Day

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    Anjali Madan was moved by the affection of cancer stricken children to their doctors and nurses Little hand-made greeting cards, decorated candles and bookmarks are lined up on a table as a group of children painstakingly give final touches to gifts that they have made over the past few weeks. This is not a scene at a…

  • SPECIAL REPORT: Ramadan in India

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    Mohammed Shafeeq from Hyderabad says Ramadan is a a month of fasting, feasting and shopping by India’s Muslims  India’s 140 million Muslims, who constitute the world’s third-largest Muslim population, observe Ramadan with devotion and fervour. The holy month Ramadan, which began in India Monday, is a month of fasting, compassion and charity as Muslims try to move…

  • East Africa gains from India

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    Francis Kokutse says India’s trade with East Africa rises 13-fold Trade between India and the East African Community (EAC) has risen 13-fold, from $490.8 million in 2002 to $6.6 billion in 2012, a study by India’s Exim Bank showed. The bank, which studied India’s trade and investment potentials in the region, said, “India’s trade and…

  • India needs more modern cities

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    Amit Kapoor in his column Active Voice says India requires 35 new cities by 2031 to support the mushrooming population base  Urbanization has been an integral part of India’s growth story. The country today has an urban population of 377.10 million (31.2 percent of the total) and is continually expanding its base. Factors such as the…

  • Singapore urban model for India

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    India keen on Singapore’s help in urban development India and Singapore discussed ways to boost economic cooperation, with New Delhi keen to gain from Singapore’s expertise in urban development projects for the proposed ‘smart cities’ along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam Tuesday met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with…

  • ENGLISH IS NO CRIMINAL

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    Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra The current brouhaha that is being witnessed in India over downgrading English is one fraught with danger. English is not a language in India. It is a caste. It is also a free pass to the best of jobs. And anyone tells you differently they are hypocrites. This hypocrisy raises…

  • Bapu meets Pope’s envoys

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    Morari Bapu was warmly welcomed by Cardinal Tauran at the PCID headquarters in the Vatican. Following the meeting with other senior priests and scholars at the PCID, Bapu was invited to visit the renowned St Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world. Following the start of Morari Bapu’s historic Ram Katha in Rome, Bapu…

  • In search of a missing rhino horn

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    Karishma Saurabh Kalita looks into the journey of a rhino horn, from the Orient to the Middle East As authorities continue to grapple with the deeply entrenched racket of poaching of the famous one-horned rhinoceros in Assam, the demand for its horn in markets abroad refuse to die down. The state symbol of the northeast Indian…

  • India to begin evacuations from Iraq

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    Nearly 600 Indians will be evacuated from Iraq this week, the external affairs ministry said Monday. “Departure of more than 600 Indian nationals will be facilitated during course of this week,” ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said. Asked if they would contact the insurgent group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, also known…

  • Asian parents urged to engage with children  

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    Senior politicians, academics, religious leaders from the Muslim community have appealed to the Asian families to engage with their children to stem the radicalisation of the younger generation. Afzal Khan, former Manchester mayor and  Labour’s newly elected MEP from North West, said some of the Asian parents are not even devoting enough quality time to…

  • Chennai building collapse toll at 16

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     The toll in the collapse of an 11-storey building in Chennai has gone up to 16, while 22 people have been injured, said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Monday. In a statement issued here, Jayalalithaa announced an increase in solatium to the families of the dead belonging to Tamil Nadu by Rs.500,000 to Rs.700,000.…

  • Develop satellite for SAARC nations: Modi

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    Stressing that space technology is for the common man and not just for the elite, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday urged Indian space scientists to develop a satellite for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations. Speaking here after witnessing the successful launch of five foreign satellites by an Indian rocket – Polar…

  • India puts five satellites into orbit

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      An Indian rocket Monday successfully sent into orbit five satellites, an event that Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as “global endorsement of India’s space capability”. “I believe technology is fundamentally connected to common man. It can transform his life,” said Modi, who witnessed the successful launch. “I feel specially privileged to witness this event…

  • HEAVY STUFF FOR A MONDAY MORNING

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    Daily Dose by Bikram Vohra “Leave the ones going away from the wicket,’ said this famous cricketer, “And just block the ones that are coming on the stumps.” Every now and again he would repeat the advisory. Don’t knock it till you have tried it. Not just good advice for cricket but also for life.…

  • Women rap Goa CM’s remarks

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    The IITian publicly suggested that entrepreneurs starting an industrial unit suffered an ordeal worse than that experienced by a raped woman Goa’s leading women’s rights group has termed Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar “arrogant and insensitive towards women” after he publicly suggested that entrepreneurs starting an industrial unit suffered an ordeal worse than that experienced by…

  • Toll in GAIL pipeline blast mounts to 19

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    The death toll in the disaster in a GAIL pipeline in Andhra Pradesh rose to 19 with two people succumbing to their injuries since Saturday night, officials said. A 20-year-old youth Sunday breathed his last at a hospital in Kakinada. Another person succumbed to his injuries Saturday night. The explosion and fire in the pipeline…

  • BIG INTERVIEW: Anurag Kashyap

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    Radhika Bhirani talks to Anurag Kashyap who wants to bring freshness to Indian TV  Innumerable melodramatic family dramas and romantic sagas are currently dominating the small screen and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is hoping to break the clutter with his finite series “Yudh”. He says if the medium allows “good” tales, he’s ready to make more…

  • Indo-Pak trade talks to resume

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    Commerce ministers of India and Pakistan will meet in Bhutan in July to discuss the revival of talks on trade liberalisation, media reported. According to officials, the ministers would meet July 24, Dawn online reported. This will be the first meeting of Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman with Pakistan’s Comm�erce Minister…

  • Indian rocket launch on track

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    The countdown for the launch of an Indian rocket Monday morning that will carry five foreign satellites is progressing smoothly, the Indian space agency ISRO said Sunday. According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the countdown for the launch of rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C23) Monday 9.52 a.m is progressing smoothly. The 49-hour countdown…

  • Cameron greets Muslims

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    Despite his busy schedule, British Prime Minister David Cameron find out time to greet Muslims all over the world to greet during Ramadan. “Muslims are our biggest donors – they give more to charity than any other faith group,” said Cameron. The full text message – “I want to send my very best wishes to…

  • Ansari recalls India, China Bhai, Bhai

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    Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari says world needs genuine multilateralism Calling for a new paradigm of global action, India Saturday asked countries across the globe to work together to develop a framework for genuine multilateralism and seek common and fair solutions for challenges that transcend national borders. “Our destinies are intertwined. Our quest is, should be,…

  • 50 trapped in building collapse in Chennai

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    Two people were killed and 50 others trapped when a 11-storey under-construction building collapsed here Saturday evening, officials said. According to officials, 11 people trapped under the debris were rescued of which one person died. The other 10 have been admitted in a nearby hospital of which the condition of one is said to be…

  • All national assets ready to evacuate: India

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    With the situation worsening in violence-hit Iraq, India Saturday said it has flown in officials to three Iraqi cities to help evacuate Indians wanting to return home and asserted that “all national assets are in readiness if required” to be deployed to help the 39 Indians in captivity in militant-held Mosul. As Sunni militants led…

  • Rahul lacks temperament: Digvijaya

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    In an indictment of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s governing abilities, party general secretary Digvijaya Singh said the Gandhi scion does not have a temperament suited to the ruling benches. In an interview to a Goa cable news channel Friday and telecast Saturday, Digvijaya Singh also said Rahul should have taken up the responsibility of…

  • Modi to visit Kashmir July 4

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     Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a one-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir July 4, his first to the state after assuming office, official sources said. The prime minister will arrive in Jammu and then proceed to nearby Katra town to inaugurate the Katra-Udhampur train that would cover a 25-km distance between the two places,…

  • CBI quizzes Narayanan in VVIP chopper deal

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    The CBI Friday questioned West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan as a “witness” in connection with its ongoing probe into the procurement of AgustaWestland VVIP choppers for 556.262 million euros (Rs.3,726.96 crore). Narayanan, 80, was quizzed in the Kolkata at the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He was asked to appear before the…

  • US keen on Modi’s India

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    Recognising that India is one of its most important strategic partnerships, the Obama administration is keen to push boldly on expanding the envelope of cooperation with the new Narendra Modi government, analysts suggest. “I think Prime Minister Modi has gotten off to a splendid start on both the domestic and foreign policy fronts,” Ashley J.…

  • Gas pipeline blast in Andhra

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    Eleven people are feared killed after a huge blast took place at a gas pipeline near Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s gas connection station in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh early Friday morning, officials said. “The accident took place in Nagaram village in Mamidikuduru mandal of the coastal district,” police said. According to eyewitnesses,…

  • Amit Shah to become BJP president?

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    Amit Shah, a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, may be named the next BJP president by the end of this week, a party leader said Thursday. Shah, who has been credited with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, will be stepping into the shoes of…

  • Modi on 30 days as PM

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking his one month in office, said in a blog post Thursday that every decision taken by his government has been guided “solely by national interest” and his numerous meetings with ministers and officials have led to the regime coming up with “excellent roadmaps” for moving ahead. Modi, who was sworn…

  • Iran assures help in getting abducted Indians

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    Iran Thursday assured all possible help to India in seeking release of 39 workers, who were kidnapped by Sunni insurgents of the ISIS in Iraq’s Mosul last week. Following a series of meetings here with senior officials of the ministry of external affairs during which Iranian help was sought to end the hostage crisis, Iranian…

  • Modi accepts Hasina’s invitation

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s invitation to visit Dhaka, a statement from his office said Thursday. In a letter handed over to the Bangladesh prime minister by visiting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Modi also has extended an invitation to Sheikh Hasina to visit India at her earliest convenience.…

  • HOW TO WRECK A CAREER ? Indian Style

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    DAILY DOSE By Bikram Vohra This is the recording of a meeting between a corporate boss and two of his lieutenants held to discuss the probable promotion of a Manager to their level. The boss is very much in favour of upgrading the wunderkind but the two top executives are evidently not keen on getting…

  • US targets LeT fronts

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    The US has added various front organisations of the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT) to its list of foreign terror organisations, saying the action would help cut off their funding and prevent future attacks. LeT which “has claimed responsibility for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed at least 163 people,” was also “responsible for the…

  • SPECIAL COLUMN- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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    Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says there are three ways to overcome addictions- Love, fear and greed. Today (26th June is INTERNATIONAL DRUG ABUSE DAY) There is one real culprit for crime and corruption, that is, addiction to drugs and alcohol. Addiction starts with the repeated experience of the same sense object. The repeated association with a…

  • Efforts on to evacuate Indian nurses

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    Authorities in war-hit Tikrit are hopeful of the safe evacuation of the 46 Indian nurses stranded in a hospital there, an International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson said over phone from Erbil in Iraq Wednesday.Tikrit was seized by armed militants of the Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) who drove…

  • Lankan Navy denies attacking Indian fishermen

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    The Sri Lanka Navy Wednesday rejected claims that its personnel attack Indian fishermen when they stray into Sri Lankan waters. Navy spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya said the navy strictly follows international laws when dealing with maritime issues. He said as part of the duties entrusted to the navy, those violating Sri Lanka’s maritime laws were arrested…

  • Indian TV serials get ugly

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    Arpana in her column Bollywood Country says wife-beating is new TRP mantra for TV soaps It seems TV content is getting regressive by the day. After saas-bahu sagas, now TV shows like second season of “Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?…Ek Baar Phir” and “Doli Armaano Ki ” are capitalising on domestic violence to get eyeballs. “Iss…

  • INTERVIEW: Dr Shashi Tharoor

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    Ranjana Narayan talks to Dr Shashi Tharoor MP, former Deputy secretary general of UN and a former minister of India.  Dr Tharoor feels Modi’s style of governance would soon bring out the “strengths and limitations of one-man rule”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image as a decisive leader, of a “man on a white stallion”, may have…

  • Why Punjabis taking Iraq jobs?

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    Jaideep Sarin and Parminder Singh Bariana visit Hoshiarpur in Punjab and Yamunanagar in Haryana to find out the reason for youths taking risky jobs in civil-war hit Iraq. Joblessness, better money drives youth to Iraq  Joblessness, poor land holdings, vice-like grip of the drug mafia and, of course, the lure of better money is what drives…

  • SPECIAL REPORT: Civil nuclear power

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    Biswajit Choudhury reports from Obninsk in Russia on the  60th anniversary of civil nuclear power It might have had a mere 5 MW capacity but it was on June 26, 1954, that Soviet scientists connected the world’s first nuclear power plant here to an electricity grid. The Obninsk plant, which was visited by India’s first prime minister…

  • NRI’s lobbying for Congress invite for Modi

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    Indian-American groups have launched a campaign to win more lawmakers’ support for a move to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint session of US Congress when he visits US in September. The ball was set rolling last week with Ed Royce, Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee…

  • WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?

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    DAILY DOSE By Bikram Vohra This is a slightly sensitive subject. But we will truly become civilized when we get over the social hang up of keeping silent over two conditions. Bad breath and body odour. I have never understood why we have to tolerate it or not mention it. The other party is not…

  • Education, education, education!

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    Prantick Majumder focus on a group of women who are gaining educationto uplift their communities  How do you help your backward community living in remote, virtually inaccessible villages to progress if most of them are uneducated? Simple, finish your own studies, train as teachers and then use your knowledge to spread the cause in your home –…

  • The hottest meditative tool

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     Shudip Talukdar says Mindfulness emerges as hottest meditative tool  Mindfulness is fast emerging as the hottest meditative tool, which is known to contribute to our wellbeing and productivity. Mindfulness is all about being focussed on the present moment, which has the power to liberate one from the shackles of past failures or pointless day dreaming about the…