Chandigarh, October 19 (IANS): On the eve of introduction of a state Bill in Punjab Assembly to negate 'anti-farmer' central farm laws, cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday slammed his own party's government in the state for its crop procurement model and "lack" of storage and marketing ability. Coming out of political hibernation after quite some time, he also flayed the central government by accusing it of handing over agriculture sector t

MUMBAI, October 19 (Reuters): At least half of India's 1.3 billion people are likely to have been infected with the new coronavirus by next February, helping slow the spread of the disease, a member of a federal government committee tasked with providing projections said on Monday. India has so far reported 7.55 million cases of the coronavirus and is second only to the United States in terms of total infections. But COVID-19 infections are decreasing in India after

Panaji, October 19 (IANS): A slew of resignations by Aam Aadmi Party's Goa top brass, amid charges that the party has slipped on its core principles, has brought Arvind Kejriwal-led party to yet another political crossroads in the coastal state. Unable to make a significant dent in the Assembly polls in 2017, despite a high- profile election campaign, the resignations of the party's Goa Convener Elvis Gomes, General Secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar and South Goa District Convene

New Delhi, October 19 (IANS): India detained a Chinese soldier in the Demchok sector in the disputed border in Eastern Ladakh. As per established protocols, he will be returned back to Chinese officials at the Chushul - Moldo meeting point after completion of formalities. The soldier, a corporal, is being questioned to establish whether he was on an espionage mission. "A PLA soldier identified as Corporal Wang Ya Long was apprehended in the Demchok sector of Eastern Ladakh o

New Delhi, October 19 (IANS): In a novel modus operandi, a gang used a hired ambulances with a fake patient to dodge the police on the route from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to New Delhi. The Delhi police has now arrested four persons and recovered 181 kgs of cannabis, worth around Rs 1.8 crore in the international market. The Delhi north district police initiated the investigation after it received an anonymous complaint against a bad character active in the Gulabi Bagh area. I

Hyderabad, October 19 (IANS): The famous bridge across the swollen Musi river, Puranapul, was shut for traffic after cracks were noticed on one of the pillars. Police said traffic coming from Hussaini Alam and Bahadurpura side and from Karwan and Ziaguda on the other side was diverted. The traffic police barricaded the bridge on both sides late Sunday after one of the pillars was found damaged. Some of the commuters also complained of vibrations. The Puranapul is a key li

New Delhi, October 19 (IANS): With a spike of 55,722 coronavirus cases and 579 deaths in 24 hours, India's tally on Monday crossed the 75-lakh mark with a total of 75,50,273 cases. Out of these, 7,72,055 are currently active; 66,63,608 have been discharged, while 1,14,610 lost the battle against the pandemic. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India's active cases have fallen below eight lakh after six weeks and continue to slide further down. The

Hyderabad, October 18 (IANS): Torrential rains and flash floods in Hyderabad have affected over 37,000 families, a top civic official said on Sunday. The heavy rains and floods on October 13-14 and again on October 17 inundated many areas, affecting 37,400 families. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner Lokesh Kumar said due to heavy rains on October 13, various localities were inundated and about 35,309 families were affected. Another 2,100 families were

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 18 (IANS): Indian and Chinese military commanders will meet for the eighth time next week to deliberate on resolving the border dispute in eastern Ladakh, after all earlier rounds of talks ended up in deadlock with no sign of de-escalation at the Line of Actual Control even as the winter is setting in. The last meeting of the military commanders from both sides to resolve the six month standoff was held at Chushul on October 12 but too ended without any resolution

New Delhi, October 18 (IANS): Union Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday announced that 60-70 pollution-causing power plants would be identified and closed in the next two years as he discussed steps taken by the Narendra Modi government to tackle the pollution menace. Launching a social media connection with people, he made the announcement in a question and answer session on Facebook Live. The minister said that power plants of Badarpur a

Lucknow, October 18 (IANS): Even as preparations for by-elections for seven Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh are on, political analysts have pointed out that these elections before the Assembly electoral battle in 2022 would be a "crucial political test" for the ruling BJP which held six of the seven seats. All eyes are on the bypolls which would be held amid the coronavirus crisis in the northern state, construction of the grand Ram temple at Ayodhya, and the recent Hathra

Srinagar, October 18 (IANS): The people in Jammu and Kashmir seek a decent and a quality life like anyone else in the world and do not want violence, says the Indian Army's commander in Kashmir Lt General B.S. Raju. "What people here want is just a quality and decent life like anyone else in the world wants. This is the common man's aspiration in the Valley," Lt Gen Raju, who commands the Srinagar-headquartered 15 Corps, told IANS. However, there is a small comp

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 18 (IANS): Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday admitted that India is in the community transmission stage. However, it is limited only to certain districts and states. The statement has come in the backdrop of West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's admission on Monday that the community transmission of Covid-19 has started in the state. Vardhan's statement was a response to a query made during his weekly webinar, 'Sunday Samvaa

New Delhi, October 18 (IANS): With a spike of 61,871 cases and 1,033 fresh deaths in last 24 hours, India's tally reached 74,94,551, the Union Health Ministry data said on Sunday. The daily spike is lower than Saturday's 62,211 coronavirus cases. According to the Ministry the recovery rate stands at 88.03 per cent while the fatality rate is 1.52 per cent. India's daily spike has now dropped below that of the US while its daily toll which stopped breaching the 1,000-ma

Mysuru, October 17 (IANS): C.N. Manjunath, noted cardiologist, Covid warrior and Director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research here, on Saturday appealed to the Karnataka government to take steps to declare deceased Covid frontline workers as martyrs. Delivering his inaugural speech after launching the 10-day Dasara festivities here, he said the state government has taken the first step to recognise the health staff who are working hard to fight the drea

Srinagar, October 17 (IANS): The Jammu & Kashmir administration on Saturday amended the J&K Panchayati Raj Rules 1996 to pave the way for establishment of elected District Development Councils in J&K. An official statement said that the J&K Panchayati Raj Rules 1996, have been amended to provide for the establishment of elected district development councils in the Union territory. "The move to have elected third tier of Panchayati Raj institutions marks the i

Bengaluru, October 17 (IANS): The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday filed an additional chargesheet against 28 accused persons, including five police officers, in connection with the multi-crore IMA scam. The police officers named in the chargesheet include IGP Hemanth Nimbalkar and DCP Ajay Hilori. The investigation pertains to the I-Monetary Advisory, popularly known as IMA ponzi scam, in which thousands of gullible depositors were duped of their hard-earned money after

New Delhi, October 17 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Centenary Convocation of the University of Mysore, the very first university of Karnataka, on Monday via video conferencing. He is scheduled to address at at 11:15 am on MOnday morning. The Governor of Karnataka, along with other dignitaries of the University, would be present on the occasion. Members of the Syndicate and Academic Council, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, Statutory Officers, District Officers, Former

Mysuru, October 17 (IANS): C.N. Manjunath, noted cardiologist, Covid warrior and Director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research here, on Saturday appealed to the Karnataka government to take steps to declare deceased Covid frontline workers as martyrs. Delivering his inaugural speech after launching the 10-day Dasara festivities here, he said the state government has taken the first step to recognise the health staff who are working hard to fight the drea

New Delhi, October 17 (IANS): Startups and industries will soon have access to equipment and science and technology infrastructure in different institutions, universities and colleges spread all over the country to carry out experiments and tests they require for their research and development, technology and product development. The Department of Science and Technology is restructuring its FIST (Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational i