NEW DELHI: Prominent agriculture scientist Ashok Kumar Singh who developed over 25 rice varieties and former vice-chancellor of the Bihar-based Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Gopal Ji Trivedi, are among nine persons associated with farm and allied sector selected for this year’s Padma Shri award. Trivedi helped farmers cultivate makhana (fox nuts) in a big…
DEHRADUN: Close on the heels of a proposal to restrict the entry of non-Hindus at 105 ghats in the Kumbh area at Haridwar, Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), which administers the Char Dham shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath and 47 other temples, is considering a similar move at the shrines under it. The proposal is expected…
NEW DELHI: Congress Monday raised questions about the intent of Modi govt to hold a caste enumeration in Census 2027 as it had announced earlier, pointing out that the question about the caste of the head of a household in the “houselisting” phase does not offer “OBC” as an option. Govt last week published the…
NEW DELHI: Highway construction agencies, including NHAI, are in a bind over the recent trend of road contractors quoting low bids of up to 48% less than the estimated project cost, largely due to aggressive bidding, which usually has a direct bearing on the quality of work.In a recent case, the road transport ministry cancelled…
KOLKATA: At least seven people were killed and 21 others reported missing after a massive fire tore through a warehouse complex in eastern Kolkata early Monday, trapping workers who had been sleeping inside units packed with flammable materials. The complex housed a decorators’ unit and a factory supplying a popular momo chain.Police initially confirmed three…
LONDON: An Indian-born British civil servant has found himself unwittingly under fire on social media over the controversial Chagos deal.Dr Francis Vijay Narasimhan Rangarajan was born in Delhi and educated at Cambridge University where he obtained a master’s in maths and PhD in astrophysics.Since March 2024 he has been chief executive of the Electoral Commission….
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were among the global leaders who extended greetings to the Indian govt and people on Republic Day. While Trump underlined the significance of ties between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, Xi said in a message to President Droupadi Murmu that India and…
NEW DELHI: India and the European Union have concluded negotiations for a free trade agreement that will cover goods, services and other aspects of engagement with the deal set to be announced by leaders from the two sides on Tuesday, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said. “It will be a balanced, forward-looking deal for better economic…
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday laid the foundation stone for development works in the national capital’s slum areas under the Jhuggi Basti Sampark Abhiyan Toli scheme. The inauguration took place at the Chief Minister’s Public Service Centre on the occasion of India’s 77th Republic Day.During the inauguration, she noted that this was the first…
LONDON: The decline of rainforests and glacier-fed rivers could lead to global competition for food and water as early as the 2030s, UK intelligence chiefs have warned, adding that the decline of Himalayan rivers will “almost certainly escalate tensions” between China, India and Pakistan, potentially leading to nuclear war.The British govt report warns that ecosystem…
