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Barely two-and-a-half months after the Delhi Assembly elections, which brought the Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal to power, Central rule was imposed in the State.

‘Island was not ceded to Sri Lanka’ In a decision which is likely to further strain the ties between the UPA and the DMK, the Centre has informed the Supreme Court that Kachatheevu could not be retrieved from Sri Lanka as demanded by the party president, M. Karunanidhi.

A historic bill to carve out Telangana State out of Andhra Pradesh was on Tuesday passed by the Lok Sabha amid din and strong protests by members from Seemandhra region, including ministers.

Envoys from Iran and six world powers noted the positive negotiating atmosphere but kept expectations low as they started talks on Tuesday in Vienna on a comprehensive deal to end the stand-off over Tehran’s nuclear programme. “We had a promising start this morning and we hope to continue this trend in the next three days,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. Building on an interim deal that was reached in November in Geneva, Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany are aiming to agree on further limits to Iran’s nuclear programme to rule out that it could build a nuclear weapon, in return for the permanent lifting of all sanctions against Tehran. However, officials stressed this week’s round had the modest goal of agreeing on the timing and political level for the diplomatic process ahead.

The Coal Ministry, acting on the advice of the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), has issued letters of cancellation for 16 blocks. While ten blocks stand immediately de-allocated, orders pertaining to six other coal blocks have been put on hold due to court proceeding, a senior Coal Ministry official said here on Tuesday.

Italy on Tuesday recalled its Ambassador to India for consultations, asserting it will decide to deal with the situation of “ambiguous and unreliable” behaviour by Indian authorities.

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted relief to the three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case — Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan — by commuting their death sentence into life term on the grounds of inordinate delay in disposal of their mercy petitions by the President.

Passengers flying into India will have to declare Indian currency exceeding Rs. 10,000 being brought by them, according to new customs rules which will be implemented from next month. Besides, they will also be asked to declare number of baggage, including hand baggage, while entering into India, said the new rules notified by the Finance Ministry. According to new rules under Customs Baggage Declaration (Amendment) Regulations, 2014, an Indian citizen would need to fill up the immigration form only when he or she goes out of the country. There will be no immigration form for Indian citizens returning from abroad.

Also known as Lakshmi disease, it is caused by a fungus and was believed to be an indication of a bumper crop in the year. False smut infestation in rice has been reported from many places in the State in an alarming proportion. In Cauvery delta zone, the disease has been reported to an extent of 10-20 per cent during kharif and rabi seasons. Another name Also known as Lakshmi disease, it is caused by a fungus and was believed to be an indication of a bumper crop in the year. Due to the infection, individual grains of the panicle get transformed into greenish spore balls of velvety appearance. Spore balls are small at first growing gradually to reach one cm or more in diameter. They are slightly flattened, smooth, yellow and are covered by a membrane. The membrane bursts as the result of further growth and the colour of the ball turns orange and later yellowish-green or black. Under congenial conditions like high moisture or rainfall accompanied by cloudy days during the period b...

Bharatiya Mahila Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for financing girls pursuing Chartered Accountancy and women ICAI members for setting up offices at one per cent concession in the rate of interest.

Lack of announcement on drought-relief in the budget has come as a huge disappointment to the people of Pudukottai. The entire district has been reeling under severe drought and farmers’ associations have been urging the State government to declare the district as drought-hit and launch relief measures expeditiously. Due to the continuous crop failure, fodder too has become scarce, forcing farmers to resort to distress sale of cattle. The report on the district’s drought condition sent to the State government had evoked great expectations in the farming community and they were pinning their hopes on the budget to come to their rescue. Farmers, however, are hopeful of government coming out with some announcement on draft relief at least during the rest of the session. M.Madavan, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, said that farmers’ hopes had been belied. “We are totally disappointed,” he said, referring to the poor or nil disbursement of ...

Even for a country with a long and unedifying history of parliamentary pandemonium, nothing can be as shameful and disgraceful as the use of pepper spray by a member on his peers to disrupt proceedings. Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, one of six Congress lawmakers expelled for disorderly behaviour earlier, wielded this weapon in the Lok Sabha in a desperate bid to stall the introduction of the Telangana Bill. The Speaker herself was affected by the lachrymatory substance, and quite a few members required medical attention. Mr. Rajagopal’s claim that he used pepper spray in self-defence is absurd. Another member has been accused of brandishing a knife, but he has denied it, claiming what he was holding was a microphone, probably one wrenched from its fixture. Parliamentary security was perhaps prepared for what many saw as the final battle for Telangana as the time came to introduce the contentious Bill that will pave the way for the reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh. One MP had...

Four ‘Amma’ canteens in the city have been awarded ISO 9001:2008 Certification by the International Organization for Standardization. Apart from the Amma canteens, three other public places, including Corporation Eco Park, in the Corporation area too have been certified. Addressing media persons here on Friday, Mayor V.V. Rajan Chellappa said the Amma canteens at K. Pudur, Sandhaipettai, Tirupparankundram and Melavasal had got ISO certification. The Corporation would take efforts to ensure that the seven other ‘Amma’ canteens functioning in the city too continued to serve quality food to the public. “The certifications say a lot about how well we have been maintaining the canteens, and it is an honour for the entire district,” he said. There are eleven Amma canteens in the city, including the one declared open at Government Rajaji Hospital this week. Mr.Chellappa said three public places in the city too had been certified by the international or...

U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell is likely to meet West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee later this month. The party website said on Friday that Ms. Powell “has sought a meeting with Ms. Banerjee. A letter from her office reached Nabanna, the State Secretariat. The West Bengal government has sought a formal clearance from the Union Ministry of External Affairs.” The meeting is likely to take place on either February 21 or 22. The Ambassador met BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday. Ms. Powell had earlier met Ms. Banerjee on September 23, 2012, at Writers’ Buildings, four months after the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, met her at the same venue. Though the meeting with the Ambassador was termed “routine,” it came just days after the Trinamool Congress withdrew support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government against foreign direct investment in retai...

India is most likely to vote against Sri Lanka when its human rights record comes up for evaluation before the United Nations Human Rights Council in March, according to a senior official who did not want to be named. Sri Lanka had an opportunity to highlight elections to the Tamil-majority Northern Province as one concrete attempt at political reconciliation. But Colombo seems to have “squandered it by locking horns” with the newly elected provincial government. The provincial elections apart, Sri Lanka does not appear to have done enough to make countries like India that voted against it last year to change their minds.