New Delhi: There is a fresh controversy surrounding defence land allotted to President Pratibha Patil in Pune. An RTI application filed by former defence officers has shown that her post-retirement bungalow is being built on defence land far in excess of what is sanctioned under the rules. The President's office has, however, denied that any rules were flouted. Families of jawans have been living in cramped private quarters because there...
11:16 PM, Apr 12, 2012
Paolo Bosusco has finally been released by Naxals after a month in captivity. The government agreed to release 27 prisoners. ...
09:51 PM, Apr 12, 2012
New Delhi: President Pratibha Singh on Thursday signed the reference on 2G seeking clarity on the verdict of the Supreme Court. This came after the apex court refused to review its decision on the cancellation of the 2G licences. The government had on Tuesday agreed to issue a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court on the apex court's order cancelling 122 2G telecom licences. Here are the six questions that...
06:11 PM, Apr 12, 2012
An RTI disclosure has revealed that President Pratibha Patil has been allotted defence land, the size of which is six times more than she's eligible for, in Pune to construct a bungalow. President's office, however, said that the government's defence establishment owns the land. This is not the first time the President has found herself in a controversy. Presenting a list of the past controversies the President was involved in:...
04:16 PM, Apr 12, 2012
New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil has signed the reference on 2G seeking clarity on the Supreme Court's verdict. This comes after the Supreme Court refused to review its decision on cancellation of the 2G licenses. The government wants to know if the 2G licences allotted during the NDA regime will be scrapped too. The government had on Tuesday agreed to issue a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court on the...
01:33 PM, Apr 12, 2012
New Delhi: An RTI disclosure has revealed that President Pratibha Patil has been allotted defence land, the size of which is six times more than she's eligible for, in Pune to construct a bungalow. The President has been allotted 2,61,00 sq ft of defence land in the Khadki cantonment area. Former defence personnel have protested this alleging that there is insufficient land for defence personnel and their families. An RTI...
10:09 AM, Apr 12, 2012
New Delhi: Late cartoonist Mario Miranda, actors Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi, top mathematician MS Raghunathan, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal and industry leader B Muthuraman were among those conferred the Padma awards by President Pratibha Patil IN New Delhi on Wednesday. Miranda's son Rahul received the Padma Vibhushan from Patil at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan which was attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA...
03:53 PM, Apr 04, 2012
Cyrus Broacha also talks about Arvind Kejriwal, Team Anna, Pratibha Patil and much more. ...
08:46 PM, Apr 01, 2012
New Delhi: The five-nation BRICS group of emerging economies, representing almost 43 per cent of the world's population, on Thursday welcomed the candidatures of developing countries for the World Bank presidency, demanding that the selection should be through an "open and merit-based process". "We welcome the candidatures from developing world for the position of the president of the World Bank. We reiterate that the heads of IMF and World Bank...
02:49 AM, Mar 30, 2012
New Delhi: India is all set to play host to world leaders that include Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, South African President Jacob Zuma and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao, at the fourth BRICS summit on Thursday. Trade and political issues are expected to be the primary talking points at the summit. It was an idea initiated by Russia in 2006, BRICS now accounts to $ 230 billion...
06:21 AM, Mar 29, 2012
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is back in India for the fourth BRICS summit that begins on Wednesday. New Delhi is all set to play host to world leaders that include Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, South African President Jacob Zuma and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao. President Pratibha Patil is scheduled to host a dinner for all heads of state later on Wednesday evening. Bilateral talks...
06:18 AM, Mar 28, 2012
President Pratibha Patil tries her hand at ping pong. ...
02:06 PM, Mar 26, 2012
Jalgaon: President Pratibha Patil plays table tennis during a visit to MJ College in Jalgaon. President Patil attended a function organised by College of Engineering and Technology of Shram Sadhana Bombay Trust, the President noted that India has about 3,500 engineering colleges with over 4.5 lakh students graduating every year, but the capacity is falling short of the requirement. Observing that the role of technology and innovation has become more...
01:57 PM, Mar 26, 2012
New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil's foreign travel has cost the public exchequer a whopping Rs 205 crore on her foreign visits, surpassing the record of all her predecessors. Since assuming office as the country's first woman President in July 2007, Patil has undertaken 12 foreign trips covering 22 countries across four continents. She has four more months to go for her five-year tenure and she is slated to make a...
07:16 PM, Mar 25, 2012
Mumbai: Stressing the need for the state's welfare measures to reach the poor for creating an inclusive society, President Pratibha Patil on Monday said that these measures will not reach the needy if those implementing them do not display an attitude of service. Speaking at the inauguration of the centenary celebrations of Maharashtra's first chief minister Yashwantrao B Chavan at the iconic Gateway of India here, she also said India...
02:12 AM, Mar 13, 2012
New Delhi: The President addressed the Parliament on March 12, 2012. Below are some items from the agenda of the Central government as outlined in the speech. Legislation A Bill to eliminate manual scavenging and insanitary latrines shall be introduced in Parliament. New legislation is being considered for persons with disabilities, in order to replace the existing Act. A Bill to provide for a uniform regulatory environment to protect consumer...
07:31 PM, Mar 12, 2012
New Delhi: The much talked about Lokpal Bill is expected to be brought again for consideration in the Rajya Sabha during the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament. The bill is on the live register of the Rajya Sabha and it will be taken up only in the second phase of the Budget session, according to sources. The Budget session began on March 12 with President Pratibha Patil...
06:17 PM, Mar 12, 2012
New Delhi: The Government on Monday said it had launched the monsoon mission programme to help improve forecast of the annual rainfall season, an initiative that would benefit millions of farmers. "The Monsoon Mission programme launched by my Government will enable us to significantly improve monsoon prediction for the benefit of our farmers," President Pratibha Patil said in her address to the joint sitting of Parliament. Patil said over 40...
01:38 PM, Mar 12, 2012
New Delhi: With air traffic growing, the Government on Monday said it would set up a Civil Aviation Authority to make air travel safe and secure and take steps to modernise more airports and air traffic management services. It would also set up an independent air accident probe panel and initiate measures to protect the interests of air travellers. These promises were made by the Government in President Pratibha Patil's...
01:18 PM, Mar 12, 2012
New Delhi: The Government is aiming to make India self-sufficient in urea fertiliser output in the next five years through the revival of eight closed plants, President Pratibha Patil said on Monday. The country's urea production is stagnant at around 21-22 million tonne and about 7-8 million tonne is being imported to meet the domestic demand. "My Government has decided to revive eight urea units of Fertiliser Corporation of India...
01:11 PM, Mar 12, 2012
