Politics

Cabinet defers decision on gas price hike by 3 months

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): Petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said that the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs has decided to defer the gas price hike by 3 months. Talking to mediapersons in New Delhi, he said that the cabinet has decided that there is need for more consultation on gas price hike, said Pradhan.

Jun 25, 2014

Exploring all options for the safety of Indian nationals in Iraq: MEA

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Wednesday said that the Indian government is exploring all options for the safety of Indian nationals in Iraq and the Indians who are in captivity remain safe and unharmed. He added that 17 people who were evacuated from conflict zone yesterday have traveled out of Iraq.

Jun 25, 2014

Indian railways comes under question over derailment issue

Kolkata, June 25 (ANI): Trinamool Congress leader, Saugata Roy questioned the state of Indian railways and said that if the incident of derailment takes place with the premier Rajdhani express, then what can be expected out of the other railways. BJP leader, Sudhanshu Trivedi, expressed his empathy with the victims of the train mishap. Around 2.15 a.m, 12 coaches of Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express train derailed at Golden Gunj area near Chapra district in Bihar on Wednesday, which killed four and injured eight others. The accident occurred barely hours after rebels announced strike in Bihar, which raised speculations of an alleged Maoist role in the accident.

Jun 25, 2014

Gopal Subramaniam negates all allegations against him, says not interested though a prestigious offe

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): Former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramaniam on Wednesday negated all the allegations on him and said that he is not interested though it was a prestigious post of the Supreme Court judge. Subramaniam said that he never had any links with A Raja or Nira Radia except for certain issues. The Former Solicitor General also said that he believes that the government was not in a position to accept his name or may have reservation on the same. He also refused having any fear that the agencies will find anything against him.

Jun 25, 2014

ISIS Asks Argentina's Lionel Messi to Join Jihadist Call

Messi given calls to join jihad: An ISIS affiliated Twitter account rejoiced on Iran's defeat and hailed Messi.

Jun 25, 2014

Can World Cup euphoria help the French economy?

France's bars, restaurants and retail shops are riding the feel-good wave in the wake of the national squad's World Cup wins. Even politicians hope victory on the pitch will translate into happier voters at home. Duration: 02:43

Jun 25, 2014

Reactions pour in as Gopal Subramaniam withdraws candidature for appointment as SC judge

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): Former solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam on Wednesday withdrew his candidature for the post of Supreme Court judge. In a letter sent to the Chief Justice of India, Subramaniam requested the latter to withdraw his nomination for judge of the apex court. The government had apparently received a 'negative' report from the CBI about the lawyer who had represented the UPA Government in the 2G scam. It was also alleged that he has links with corporate lobbyist Nira Radia. Citing the CBI report, the government had asked the Supreme Court collegium to reconsider Subramaniam's nomination.

Jun 25, 2014

Divide within DU Academic council surfaces as some demand removal of FYUP while others favour it

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): Divide within the Delhi University Academic Council surfaced as some demanded removal of FYUP while others justify the same on various grounds. Professor Vijay Chaudhary said that the council has decided certain guidelines for the removal of FYUP for the honours course and carry on the three years foundation courses and that the UGC should let the B. Tech courses remain functional for four years as that would only clear the interest of the students. Chaudhary also said that these are the directives to the Vice Chancellor and he will have to listen to the same.

Jun 25, 2014

BSE closes points 55.16 down on June 25

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): Trading at the Bombay Stock Exchange today closed 55.16points down to stand at 25,313.74. At the National Stock Exchange the Nifty closed10.95 points down to stand at 7,569.25. Engineers India and National Aluminium Co. Ltd. were among the top gainers of Group A with an increase of 6.90% and 6.34% along with Ashok Leyland and Britannia Industries Ltd. with an increase of 5.98% and 5.92% respectively, while the top losers of Group A include Yes Bank and Petronet LNG with a decrease of 2.87% and 2.55% along with Idea Cellular and Suzlon Energy with a decrease of 2.52% and 2.45% at the close of the markets. The Auto sector is up 114.38 points at 15,260.32 while the banking sector is down 74.94points at 17,459.71 and the realty sector is up 18.10 points at 2,096.7. The Indian currency is down 0.11% at Rs 60.20 per dollar.

Jun 25, 2014

Reduced excise duty extended for 6 more months: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): Briefing on the excise duty, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government has decided that the reduced excise duty would be extended for six more months till 31st December. He said that the decision was taken because the budget has to come up next month and according to the previous date, the reduced excise duty had to last till 30th June only.

Jun 25, 2014

Train fare hike effective from today, passengers demand justifiable services

Ahmedabad/Bhopal/ Hyderebad/ Chandigarh, June 25 (ANI): Passengers gave mixed reaction as the 14.2 percent increase in rail passenger fare and 6.5 percent hike in freight rates is to be effective from Wednesday. While some oppose the hike, thinking that the hike should justify the railway services, others think that it was necessary considering the loss the raliway was running at. A passenger from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Rajesh Rana said that the hike should have been brought in stages and the sudden hike is unaffordable. Another passenger, Navinder Singh opposed the hike citing the deplorable state of services provided by the Indian railways including drinking water and cleanliness issues. India's railway network is one of the world's largest, but years of low investment and populist policies to subsidize fares at affordable levels have crimped growth in new lines. A passenger from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Rama Dubey said that the train fare hike along with price rise has turned a terror for the common people.

Jun 25, 2014

Railway Minister arrives in Patna to review Dibrugarh Express derailment site

Patna, June 25 (ANI): Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda arrived in Patna to take a stock of the accident site in Chhapra where the Delhi-Dibrugarh Express had derailed. The incident took place at 2:15 in the morning killing at least four people and injuring eight. Gowda has announced compensation of Rs two lakh for the deceased and Rs one lakh for those who were injured, although the Bihar government had questioned the compensation saying that the set amount should be Rs five lakh.

Jun 25, 2014

Dalit community stages protest demanding Nihal Chand's resignation

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): A huge crowd of Dalits staged a protest in front of Home Minister Rajnath Singh's residence on Wednesday, against Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Nihal Chand, who has been accused in a rape case. BJP on Friday ruled out resignation of Chand after allegations of rape surfaced against him. The Dalit protesters tried to burn the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but were stopped by the police, who arrested many of them. The protesters shouted slogans against the Modi-led NDA government, blocking the traffic, and demanded immediate resignation of Chand until the trial finishes and also demanded that the trial should be completed within the next three months. Dalit leader, Chatthar Singh said that Modi had promised good days but are keeping a rapist as a minister in his cabinet, who should be removed from his post immediately.

Jun 25, 2014

Maharashtra CM Assures to Regularise Illegal Flats in Campa Cola Compound

The worried owners of 96 illegal flats in Mumbai's Campa Cola Compound society in Worli area have been assured of regularising their homes. The assurance has reportedly been given by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday.

Jun 25, 2014

Teachers in favour of FYUP enters second day of hunger strike

New Delhi, June 25 (ANI): The teachers in favour of the Four-year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) entered the second day of their hunger strike on Wednesday following the continued tussle between the university and the University Grants Commission (UGC). Former DUTA President Aditya Narayan Mishra alleged that the HRD Ministry and the UGC are playing a game of coercion and trying to make the colleges into autonomous bodies. The University VC had resigned on Tuesday, the reports of which were negated by the Academic Council. The Council member Rajesh Jha said that the there should be rule of law and not the rule of mob. Meanwhile, students pursuing B. Tech course from the university under the FYUP also staged protest outside the UGC office demanding acceptance of the programme and not scrap the same.

Jun 25, 2014