Chandigarh: Targetting a record procurement of over 140 lakh tonnes this season, the Punjab government has set aside Rs.18,998 crore for wheat procurement this season. A Punjab government spokesman said here Thursday said that as a part of the first instalment, the state government has received Rs.13,529 crore from Reserve [...]

New Delhi: The Indian government Thursday decided to decontrol the Rs.80,000 crore (around $15.5 billion) sugar industry in line with the suggestions of a panel headed by C. Rangarajan, the chairman of the prime minister’s economic advisory council. “There will be no levy on sugar for two years. There will [...]

Mumbai:  US astronaut Sunita Williams here today said she was looking forward to India’s participation in various space programmes in a big way. “I am really looking forward to India’s participation in space programmes in a big way. A space programme requires a lot of creativity and imagination. Follow your [...]

Chandigarh: Senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who had ordered a scrutiny of land deals of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra last year, was today shunted by the Haryana government to an inconsequential post. Khemka, presently managing director of the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation (HSDC), will now [...]

Thiruvananthapuram, April 4 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will embark on a visit to the UAE April 10, his first overseas trip after assuming office in May 2011 and attend a diaspora meet, among others, officials said Thursday. The chief minister will return to India from the United Arab [...]

Thiruvananthapuram, April 4 (IANS) The Kerala unit of the Congress party Thursday sought from the central government a Rs.100 crore assistance package for Kerala emigres who may lose their jobs in Saudi Arabia under its new work policy. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala said the state party [...]

Gadchiroli (Maharashtra): At least seven Maoists were gunned down in a fierce gun battle with security forces in Nargunda-Bhatpar tribal area of Gadchiroli district Thursday morning, a police official said. The gun battle, which started early Thursday, was still continuing, police said. They recovered seven bodies of Maoists killed in [...]

New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today denied he was in the race to be the prime minister, and came out strongly in favour of an inclusive India. Rubbishing unending speculation that he might pitch for the prime ministerial job, Gandhi said here: “It’s an irrelevant question. It’s all [...]

Shimla: Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar was today sworn in the chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court at a simple ceremony in Raj Bhavan here. “I am happy to be here,” he told reporters after taking the oath of office. He said he was grateful for the opportunity to [...]

Washington: Drawing from a trove of 2.5 million secret files, a group of international journalists has exposed hidden dealings of politicians, con artists and the mega-rich in more than 170 countries, including India. Described as perhaps the largest cross-border journalism collaboration in history, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) [...]