AT 51, Devendra Fadnavis is younger than the number of years Sharad Pawar has spent in electoral politics. Last week, the BJP leader achieved the near impossible in Maharashtra by outsmarting the grand old man of state politics and stealing power from right under his nose. Pawar, as reported by this paper, didn’t mince his … Read more
WITH PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin listening, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday said the “must abandon Cold War mentality” and “confrontation block” — and “oppose unilateral sanctions and abuse of sanctions”. Xi’s references to the Cold War and blocs at the annual summit of the five-nation group appeared to target … Read more
THREE MONTHS back, Kimcham Taiju says, she made the “bravest decision” of her life: she signed up her husband for a drug de-addiction programme. For 25 long years, Taiju’s husband, like many in his village, was addicted to ‘kaani’ — as opium is colloquially referred to in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district. But one Sunday evening … Read more
AS MANY as 45.6 lakh beneficiaries of Center’s and Punjab’s Ayushman Bharat – Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana (AB-MMSBY) are sans any health insurance cover in the state for the past six months, thanks to premature termination of contract with the insurance company during the regime of previous government. The “immediate termination” order by Punjab … Read more
A day after the government unveiled its Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment of soldiers, sailors and airmen as Agniveers in the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, the Union Home Ministry announced that these personnel, upon completion of four years of service Under the scheme, will get priority in recruitment for the Central … Read more
On June 12, 2001, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was first tested from a land-based launcher in Chandipur. In the 21 years since, BrahMos has been upgraded several times, with versions tested on land, air and sea platforms. A look at the 21-year journey of the versatile asset, which recently bagged an export order from … Read more
Amid mounting uncertainties over the civil nuclear partnership with Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war, there are indications of fresh progress on the much-delayed deal with French power utility EDF for the supply of six EPR (European Pressurized Water Reactors) nuclear reactors. The Department of Atomic Energy is actively examining a binding techno-commercial … Read more
EXPANDING RT-PCR based testing to diseases other than Covid-19, vaccine formats that obviate the need for cold chains, portable and cutting-edge wearables, and AI-based diagnostic solutions that can be activated on a cellphone. Rewiring and tweaking existing medical technologies and diagnostic methods — primarily in the pandemic in the wake of the Covid-19 — was … Read more
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala were among the eight election candidates to Rajya Sabha Friday from Karnataka and Rajasthan, while counting of votes in Maharashtra and Haryana was delayed with rival parties trading charges. Although the BJP faced an embarrassment in Rajasthan with one of its … Read more
ONE PERSON died of a bullet injury in Jharkhand’s Ranchiwhere the police fired in the air to disperse a crowd pelting stones, as protest representatives erupted in several towns and cities across the country on Friday against derogatory references to the Prophet made by former BJPs Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal. The protests also … Read more