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Forced to act after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad’s assault on an Air India staff member, the civil aviation ministry on Friday announced new guidelines for the unruly behaviour of passengers on flights, news agency ANI reported. Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey while addressing a press conference announced that the ministry has put instances of unruly behaviour into 3 categories and falling in these brackets can lead to flight bans for passengers. According to the news agency Reuters, the step has been taken as India is looking at creating a national no-fly list of unruly passengers. The list will be maintained by the country’s civil aviation regulator, Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said. Here is what can get you no-fly list on flights: –  Disruptive Behaviour:  Level 1 will be disruptive behaviour like physical gestures etc. The punishment in this category is a suspension for 3 months. –  Physical Abuse:  level 2 offences will include p...

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Kerala registering the lowest growth rate of population in the last one decade, the state is all set to achieve "zero population growth" in the coming years. While the national rate of growth of population in the last 10 years is 17.6 per cent, the growth rate of state population during the period is 4.9 per cent, the lowest rate among Indian states, according to the latest Economic Review by the state Planning Board. "The population growth trend shows that Kerala is moving towards zero population growth or towards negative growth," the Review for the year 2014, placed in the just concluded assembly session, said. Quoting the final data published by the Directorate of Census, it said the state's population as on March 2011 was 3,34,06,061, which was 3,18,41,374 in 2001. Of the total state population, 1,60,27,412 (48 per cent) are males and 1,73,78,649 (52 per cent) are females, it said. The report reveals that six southern districts - I...

PTI Saina Nehwal, who became World no. 1 after Carolina Marin lost her India Open semifinal on Saturday, plays a forehand smash at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi on Friday. While the official rankings will be out on Thursday, reigning champion Carolina Marin's India Open semifinal loss on Saturday made Saina Nehwal the first Indian woman to reach the top spot. Saina Nehwal on Saturday scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman shuttler to attain the number one spot in world rankings, reaffirming her status as the country’s most consistent performer in the international circuit. The 25-year-old zoomed to the top after her closest challenger for the position, Spain’s Carolina Marin, lost in the India Open Super Series semifinal here. Though the official rankings will be out only on Thursday next week, Saina has been assured of her ascent to the top owing to the reigning world champion’s 19-21 23-21 20-22 loss to third seed Thai Ratchanok Intanon. ...

Study also stresses on positive impact of sanitation on nutrition status of children The Global Food Policy Report has urged the governments of middle-income countries to focus on nutrition and health (photo: J P Davidson/Flickr) Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico may be rising economic powerhouses, but these fast-expanding, middle-income countries are still home to nearly half of the world’s hungry people, numbering 363 million, says a new report. In such a scenario, attention must be paid to those living in the “economic middle” to effectively combat hunger and malnutrition on a global scale, according to a report published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a global agricultural research centre. The  2014–2015 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR ) urges the governments of middle-income countries to focus on nutrition and health, close the gender gap in agriculture and improve rural infrastructure to ensure food security for all. “It...

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry has operationalised an ambitious electronic national database of judicial orders and appeals to de-congest and streamline huge litigation in the Income Tax Department and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The much-talked about repository called the National Judicial Reference System (NJRS) was envisaged about three years back for the I-T Department which is one of the largest litigant among government departments. According to data, tax demand of more than Rs 3.5 lakh crore is under dispute and litigation before various courts and appellate authorities under the direct taxes category. "The CBDT has launched the limited edition (beta version) of NJRS recently after it was conceptualised few years back to revolutionise and ease litigation in the I-T Department for the benefit of both the government and taxpayers. The full and public operationalisation of the portal is expected to be done by Union Fi...

Left over from a previous phase of conflict, India’s landmines are no longer useful,instead producing severe hardship on border communities India, since its independence, has been a passionate advocate of disarmament measures in the United Nations system. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, “India has a long-standing commitment to the goal of general and complete disarmament based on the principles of universality, non-discrimination and verification...” In 1996, India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly Resolution urging states to vigorously pursue an international agreement banning anti-personnel mines. However, in 1997 when the Mine Ban Treaty came into existence, India chose to remain outside it. This key contemporary disarmament measure has saved thousands of lives. Eighty per cent of governments in the world have joined this treaty, and the UN Secretary General has acknowledged it as a ‘near universal’ convention. But India is still waiting and watching from...

As power lines and roads slice up forest cover, it becomes clear that a knowledge economy must tackle development with a wider perspective than that of mere short-term gains In just two meetings in August 2014 and January 2015, the National Board for Wildlife considered projects involving over 2,300 hectares of land in and around wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. In four meetings between September and December 2014, the Forest Advisory Committee considered diversion of over 3,300 hectares of forests for 28 projects. All the proposals were for linear projects and most of them are likely to be cleared. Linear infrastructure projects — roads, trains and power lines that make long intrusions into forests and stretch ribbonlike over thousands of kilometres — are the new threat to our forests, in addition to submergence by dams or clearing for mining and agriculture. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has been gradually diluting the norms for such projec...

The re-election of Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu after his Likud Party  secured the first place  with 30 out of the 120 seats in the 2015 Israeli legislative elections came as a bit of a surprise. Exit polls pointing to a better showing by the centrist-moderate coalition, the Zionist Union including the Labour Party, turned out to be wrong as the Likud emerged with far more votes than what was expected. While the Likud lacks a majority of its own, it now gets the right to form the government in coalition with other parties, and it is clear that Mr. Netanyahu will be Prime Minister for a fourth term. The Likud victory, belying expectations, can be attributed to the polarising campaign led by Mr. Netanyahu who took a hyper-racist position denouncing Israeli Arabs and rejecting, in the run-up to the polls, the statehood demand by Palestinians. The triumph of the right wing also reflects the sharp change in attitudes in Israeli society that has become militantly oppos...

The Central government headed by the BJP does not possess the kind of levers needed to deal with the ground realities in Kashmir. It needs to do more than merely making strong statements from time to time in the belief that this would check the profligacy of the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and his cabinet on matters of security Events in Jammu and Kashmir seemingly appear more surreal than real, making it difficult to separate the truth from perceptions. The 2014 elections in Jammu and Kashmir had raised expectations of a significant shift in a progressive direction as far as the State was concerned. The national parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had between them secured over 45 per cent of the vote, an increase of more than 14 per cent when compared to the 2008 elections. Thus, the perception was that this would herald closer cooperation between Srinagar and New Delhi. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be happening — at least not yet. Skew...

The Finance Minister, in his budget speech, while acknowledging the limitations under the existing law, had conveyed the considered decision of the Government to enact a comprehensive new law on black money to specifically deal with black money stashed away abroad. He also promised to introduce the new Bill in the current Session of the Parliament.

(Reuters) - The Rajya Sabha passed a bill on Friday to auction mines that supply minerals like iron ore and bauxite for the first time, in a thumbs up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bid to kickstart an industry that has languished for years. The passage of the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation bill by the Rajya Sabha was crucial for Modi because the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lacks a majority in the second chamber. The bill will now be taken up by the Lok Sabha, where BJP enjoys an overwhelming majority. A bill to auction coal mines is also likely to be passed later on Friday by both houses. The mining sector in Asia's third largest economy has been mired in controversy over the illegal allocation of resources, causing a near standstill in granting permits to open new mines for firms including South Korean steel giant POSCO. India was once the world's third-largest exporter of iron ore but is importing heavily now due to court action on il...

Ordinance to reform the mining sector will do more harm than good SOON AFTER President Pranab Mukherjee signed the ordinance to amend the archaic Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957, Union minister for steel and mines, Narendra Singh Tomar, announced it is a revolutionary step towards reviving the country’s mining sector. His ministry highlighted that the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment

He is the first Indian PM to visit the island nation in 34 years Prime Minister Narendra Modi clicks a picture during dedication of the India - Seychelles cooperation project 'Coastal Surveillance Radar System' in Mahe, Seychelles, on Wednesday.— PHOTO: PTI Terming Seychelles a “trusted friend and a strong strategic partner,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday wrapped up the first leg of his three-nation tour of the Indian Ocean countries with both nations underlining the need for comprehensive cooperation in the region. “Our security partnership is strong. It has enabled us to fulfil our shared responsibility to advance maritime security in the region,” Mr. Modi said. He is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Seychelles in 34 years. Highlighting India’s push for regional integration, Mr. Modi observed: “We also hope that Seychelles will soon be a full partner in the maritime security cooperation between India, Maldives and Sri Lanka.” During his meet...