July 30 (Reuters) - China warned on Thursday that a "forced decoupling" of its economy with India, following a Himalayan border clash last month that killed 20 Indian soldiers, would hurt both countries. The Chinese ambassador said China was not a strategic threat to India and that the "general structure that we can't live without each other remains unchanged". The statement came after New Delhi's recent moves to ban or sideline Chinese business intere

New Delhi, July 30 (PTI): While teaching students up to class 5 in the mother tongue or regional language will promote multilingualism, students may face difficulties coping up in upper classes where medium of instruction is English, according to many school principals. As per the new National Education Policy (NEP), the medium of instruction until at least class 5, but preferably till class 8 and beyond, will be the home language, mother tongue, local language and regional language

New Delhi, July 30(ANI): Preparing for a long haul in the eastern Ladakh sector in extreme winters, the Indian Army has an edge over the Chinese as it has deployed 35,000 troops there who have already done tenures in high altitude and cold conditions. The Indian troops deployed there are mentally prepared for tackling the weather and terrain. In contrast, the Chinese troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control are not used to these conditions as they have been brought from m

New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the partnership between India and Mauritius is destined to soar higher in future. He was inaugurating the Supreme Court building of Mauritius with his counterpart Pravind K. Jugnauth via video confefrence. The virtual inauguration took place in presence of senior members of judiciary from Mauritius and other dignitaries from both the countries. "Our partnership is destined to soar even higher in the

Lucknow, July 30 (IANS) Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh has said that the 'bhoomi pujan' of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is a culmination of his dreams. Singh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh when the Babri mosque was demolished on December 6, 1992. His government was dismissed after the demolition and he was later convicted for contempt of court. He even had to spend a day in jail and was fined Rs 2,000. Talking to a news channel, he said, "The

Ayodhya, July 30 (IANS) Acharya Pradeep Das, the assistant to the chief priest of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, said that he has tested positive for coronavirus. Besides, 16 policemen on duty at Ayodhya, where the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony for the Ram temple is scheduled to be held on August 5, have also tested positive for Covid-19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the ceremony along with about 200 guests. Last Saturday, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) The University Grants Commission (UGC) has told the Supreme Court that it is not possible to alter its July 6 guidelines mandating universities across India to conduct their final year examination by September end. The UGC informed the court that the expert committee, headed by Prof R.C. Kuhad, submitted a report recommending that terminal semester examinations should be conducted by universities/institutions by the end of September. This report was deli

Patna, July 30 (IANS) The flood havoc in Bihar is continuously worsening as people in 12 districts are bearing the brunt of floods due to overflow in almost all major rivers and tributaries in the state. Over 38 lakh people of the state are affected by the floods, while 11 people have died so far in various incidents. Meanwhile, the government is claiming relief and rescue work is on. The report of the Department of Water Resources states that Kosi has a trend of increasing the w

New Delhi, July 30 (IANSlife) While COVID-19 numbers increase exponentially, a survey reveals that there is a wide gap between perception and reality. As many as 70 percent people believe that India has successfully battled against Covid-19, revealed the survey in which over than 8 lakh people from across 300 districts in India participated. Only 18.18 percent people said that a major cause of spread of coronavirus is relaxation in lockdown norms by the government, while 60 perce

PATNA, JULY 30 (IANS): The flood havoc in Bihar is continuously worsening as people in 12 districts are bearing the brunt of floods due to overflow in almost all major rivers and tributaries in the state. Over 38 lakh people of the state are affected by the floods, while 11 people have died so far in various incidents. Meanwhile, the government is claiming relief and rescue work is on. The report of the Department of Water Resources states that Kosi has a trend of increasing the

New Delhi, July 30 (PTI) The Union Cabinet approved the National Education Policy 2020 on Wednesday. Below are some of the key features of the new policy: * This is the first education policy of the 21st century and replaces the thirty-four-year-old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986. * The new policy aims for universalisation of education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 per cent Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030 and aims to raise GER in hi

New Delhi, July 30 (ANI): India witnessed a single-day spike of 52,123 COVID-19 cases as the total cases in the country reached 15,83,792, the Union ministry of health and family welfare said on Thursday. The total cases include 5,28,242 active cases and 10,20,582 cured/discharged cases, the health ministry added. A total of 775 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours taking the death toll to 34,968. Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state as it reported 9,211 new

NEW DELHI, July 30 (Reuters) - A government audit of India's flagship payments processor last year found more than 40 security vulnerabilities including several it called "critical" and "high" risk, according to an internal government document seen by Reuters. The audit, which took place over four months to February 2019, highlighted a lack of encryption of personal data at the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) which forms the backbone of the coun

BALLIA, July 29 (IANS): The Bakwa village in Bansdih in Ballia district broke into a jig the moment five Rafale fighter jets landed at the IAF airbase in Ambala on Wednesday, as Wing Commander Manish Singh, who belongs to this village, piloted one of the aircraft from France. Manish's father, Madan Singh, is a retired army jawan. "I have distributed sweets in the entire village because my son is a part of a history-making initiative. People are also bursting crackers and li

NEW DELHI, JULY 29 (IANS): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), here on Wednesday, issued guidelines for the 'Unlock 3.0', which will come into effect from August 1. According to the guidelines, restrictions on movement of individuals during night have been scrapped, and yoga institutes and gymnasiums have been allowed to open from August 5. International air travel has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission. Further opening-up will take place in

NEW DELHI, JULY 29 (IANS): Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the state High Court's July 24 order staying proceedings on disqualification petitions against 19 rebel MLAs, including dropped Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. "It is submitted that the impugned order interdicts the petitioner/Speaker from acting under the Tenth Schedule at the stage of notice itself and restrains him from even proceeding to call for replies/comment

New Delhi, July 29 (PTI): The arrival of five Rafale jets will make the Indian Air Force much stronger to deter any threat facing India and those wanting to threaten the country's territorial integrity should be worried about its new capability, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday. The remarks are largely seen as a veiled message to China with whom India is locked in a bitter border row in eastern Ladakh. China has significantly enhanced deployment of its fighter je

MUMBAI, JULY 29 (IANS): Maharashtra on Wednesday crossed the 2 million Covid-19 tests threshold mark, the highest in the country for any state, officials said, here. As per the official data, the state has conducted 20,21,437 tests -- 10,21,063 in government laboratories and 10,00,374 in private labs. Of these, only 407,877 (20.18 per cent) turned positive. The state accounts for the highest 391,440 Covid-19 cases, including 144,694 active cases, 14,165 fatalities and 232,277 rec

New Delhi, July 29 (IANS):  Five of the 36 medium multi-role Rafale fighter jets built by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault landed safely at the IAF airbase in Ambala on Wednesday afternoon. Significantly, the frontline IAF airbase is likely to be used in case of conflict at the northern or the western borders. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in a tweet, "The Birds have landed safely in Ambala." "The touchdown of Rafale combat aircraft in India marks t

MUMBAI, JULY 29 (IANS): In a heartening development for health authorities, a sero-survey conducted in Mumbai has indicated that slum dwellers and women are at the forefront in the march to herd immunity against coronavirus, officials said here on Wednesday. The 'Serological Surveillance for SARS-CoV2 Infection' survey was done by BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, along with NITI Aayog and TISS for 12-14 days in the first half of July covering 6,936 people. Conducted in