New Delhi: Detailing economic growth during the UPA regime, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday the slowdown in 2012 was "temporary" and a longer term view would show that India has notched up an average "8 per cent growth" in the past nine years. The prime minister, presenting the ruling United Progressive Alliance-II's report card, said the economic situation was "turning around" and economic growth rate in 2013-14 could...
02:44 AM, May 23, 2013
Chandigarh: The Punjab government has initiated a probe into the distribution of text books containing allegedly vulgar and irrelevant content in government schools, a minister said on Wednesday. Bathinda District Education Officer Surjit Singh Khuram was put under suspension for laxity in this connection. Punjab Education Minister SS Maluka inspected the books supplied to the schools in the state which have sparked a controversy due to the alleged vulgar content....
02:35 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Amidst allegations of corruption in allocation of telecom spectrum and coal mines, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday promised to punish wrongdoers and said future allotment of scarce natural resources will happen only through auction. UPA II government has faced plethora of corruption charges in allocation of 2G spectrum when A Raja was the Telecom Minister and in allocation of coal blocks when Singh himself held the charge...
01:23 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The UPA government listed ushering the process of digitisation of the cable sector as one of its leading achievements in its report card that was presented to the people on Wednesday. The government said it had implemented digitisation in the Phase I cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata along with 38 cities which come under the second phase. It said that by choosing digital cable, the country would...
01:04 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The record loading of 1010 million tonnes freight and slight improvement of punctuality and safety have been listed as major achievements of the Railway Ministry during the year by the UPA government. Besides ongoing rail expansion, execution of Dedicated Freight Corridor work and introduction of bio-toilets have also found mention in the UPA's Report to the People for the year 2012-13. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released the UPA...
12:45 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Free press and active civil society put pressure on the government for early and decisive action in addressing weaknesses in governance and sometimes it leads to "hasty judgement", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday night. "We are the world's largest democracy with a very free Press and an increasingly active civil society movement. These are our strengths," Singh said. "But they do put pressure for early and...
11:24 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed the UPA's report card as a "non-report card" that hid all the scams and revealed only what was convenient to the ruling dispensation. The Opposition party also lashed out at the UPA for "blaming it for its own failures". "The UPA's report card is a non report card. It hides all the scams and reveals only the convenient. More importantly, Congress is...
11:17 PM, May 22, 2013
Kozhikode: Kerala Cricket Association on Wednesday decided to extend the contract with Kerala Ranji Trophy cricket coach Sujith Somasunder for another one year. Somasunder's contract had been extended considering his coaching performances last year in which the Kerala Ranji Trophy cricket team had done well, T C Mathew, Secretary KCA, said here. He said that as part of KCA's 'Mission 2020' project, Association was taking all steps for improving infrastructure...
11:17 PM, May 22, 2013
Pune: The new identity for Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt from Wednesday is prisoner number 16656 at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune where he was shifted from Mumbai's Arthur Road Prison following his surrender before a TADA court. Dutt, whose conviction in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case was upheld by the Supreme Court in March 2013, was brought to Yerwada Jail at the crack of dawn on Wednesday. He is lodged...
11:01 PM, May 22, 2013
London: The UK government on Wednesday swung into action after a man was beheaded in an alleged Islamist terror attack outside Royal Military Barracks in Woolwich in southeast London. Unconfirmed reports said that victim was a soldier. According to the police, the two attackers had been shot. MP Nick Raynsford said the two were undergoing treatment at a hospital. CNN reported that the assailants used a meat cleaver to attack...
10:52 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was the cynosure of all eyes at the UPA anniversary function in 2012, was conspicuous by his absence on Wednesday. Instead, the pride of place was taken by Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Mishra and Brajesh Pathak who did not attend the presentation of the 'Report to the People' but came in time for dinner. No leader or MP from Samajwadi...
10:32 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: Seeking to dispel the perception of gloom amidst scams and controversies, the UPA on Wednesday painted a rosy picture of its government's performance during the last nine years. In the 'Report to the People', released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the fourth anniversary of the UPA-II, the government maintained that allegations of impropriety were being investigated and that the guilty would be...
09:23 PM, May 22, 2013
Ahmedabad: The CBI has sought the help of Gujarat Police to trace a top police officer, who is an accused in the fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan and three others. "We received correspondence from the CBI to help them trace Additional Director General of Police, CID (Crime and Railways) PP Pandey and accordingly local police and CID were ordered to help the central probe agency in locating him," Director...
07:42 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered prosecution of Bollywood actor Shyan Munshi and ballistic expert Prem Sagar Manocha for turning hostile in the 1999 Jessica Lal murder case, an offence which entails maximum punishment of seven years' imprisonment. Munshi, the complainant and the key witness in the case, had disowned the complaint during the trial, saying he did not know Hindi. Munshi had disowned the statement, presented...
05:32 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: He could have had a perfect start in his career had he not witnessed one of the most shocking murders that the country ever witnessed. Model turned actor Shayan Munshi was the only one who had seen the perpetrators who killed model Jessica Lal on April 1999. But instead of helping the police in nabbing the killers, he succumbed to pressure and drew major flak for his conduct...
05:21 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has decided that a case of perjury will commence against two witnesses, Shayan Munshi and Prem Sagar Manocha in the Jessica Lal murder trial. The rest of the 17 witnesses have been acquitted by the court. The 19 witnesses had turned hostile during the trial of the Jessica Lal murder case. A bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and GP Mittal pronounced its decision...
02:50 PM, May 22, 2013
Kolkata: Debjani Mukherjee, one of the main accused in the West Bengal chit fund scam, was on Wednesday once again admitted to the state-run SSKM hospital in Kolkata. Debjani, a close associate of Saradha Group chairman Sudipta Sen, was earlier on Tuesday admitted to SSKM hospital in Kolkata. Doctors say she is stable but is being kept under observation and will likely be released later on Wednesday. Earlier, she was...
02:36 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: India's cable makers face a severe shortage of copper and potential manufacturing delays after the closure of the country's two biggest copper smelters, which has pushed up prices and led to a spike in imports. India's biggest smelter, owned by Sterlite Industries, was shut on March 30 after local residents complained of emissions that led to breathing difficulties, forcing top copper users to rely on rival Hindalco Industries...
02:10 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: Even as the UPA hopes to put controversies and scams behind it on the completion of its 4 years in power, the government may be looking at another row, this one over the selection of the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma is set to take charge as the new CAG and his appointment is already being questioned with the Opposition calling...
01:59 PM, May 22, 2013
Los Angeles: Actress Jennifer Aniston reportedly cried after reading about her former husband Brad Pitt's current partner Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy. Aniston was upset after she learnt that Jolie had both her breasts removed after finding out that she had an 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer. "She was moved beyond belief reading Angelina's story. It really took her by surprise how brave she is. To go through such...
01:58 PM, May 22, 2013
