India's external affairs minister, Pranab Mukherjee is likely to lead the Group of Ministers (GoM) which will decide on third generation (3G) mobile spectrum auctions. According to official sources, the names of the GoM will be decided on Monday (February 2) and Mukerjee will be inducted as the ...

New Delhi is likely to share the evidence of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks with UN chief Ban Ki-moon during his India visit. The UN General Secretary will come on a visit to India on February 5. During his India stint, Ban Ki-moon will attend a conference on climate change called Delhi Sustainable ...

The government of India has planned to constitute a National Heritage Sites Commission that will review the heritage policy of the country. The proposed quasi-judicial body will monitor and issue directions on monuments and archaeological sites which are not under the Ancient Monument and Sites ...

The prices of gasoline, diesel and cooking gas were reduced further by the government of India. The price of petrol was reduced by Rs 5 per litre, diesel by Rs 2 and cooking gas by Rs 25 per cylinder. A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) took the decision of price cuts. As ...

The National Security Guard (NSG) received a package of Rs 200 million from prime minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday (January 27). The money has been sanctioned for the welfare of the elite security force of the country. According to a statement released from Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the ...

Republic Day of India, which is celebrated on 26th January every year, marks the day on which the 'Constitution of India' was adopted. In the year 1950, on this very day, the country made its transition, from a 'British Dominion' to a 'Republic'. Today, as we look back into the past, we see that ...

The government of India on Friday (January 23) imposed ban on the import of Chinese toys. The recent move has been executed to protect the domestic manufacturers against cheap competition from the neighbouring country. According to media reports, the ban was imposed following government's concern ...

President Pratibha Patil has vested the addition charge of the finance ministry on External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee due to PM Manmohan Singh's absence. The PM of India will under go heart bypass surgery today (January 24) at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).  Pranab ...

The prime minister of Australia Kevin Rudd is expected to make a three-day trip to India this month. The Aussie premier is likely to come to India on January 28 for his first visit to sub-continent after holding the office of PM. Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith including other senior ...

India announced to offer Rs 1.7 crore to Sri Lanka as humanitarian assistance. This is the second humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka from India. The fund will be utilised to help the civilians of the embattled island nation. Currently India's foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon is in Sri Lanka ...

Under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Mission (JNNURM) programme, the Union Government has declared a package to improve the urban public transport system in the country. This scheme will be a big incentive for the automobile industries sector, which is going to do business of Rs. 4,000 ...

The Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari is likely to visit gas-rich Myanmar by next month. Vice-president's visit will focus on consolidating India's energy interests in Myanmar and cooperation in infrastructure development. India and Myanmar have recently signed an agreement on the development of ...

M.N. Prasad has been appointed as the new secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The 1972 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Bihar cadre replaced Pulok Chaterji as the secretary in PMO. Prior to his appointment in PMO, Prasad served as the secretary in the Ministry ...

Radha Vinod Raju, Special Director General of Police in Jammu and Kashmir, was today (15th January) appointed as Director General of the newly established National Investigation Agency. A 1975-batch IPS officer, 59-year-old Raju, who heads the vigilance department in the militancy-hit state, ...

The government of India offered Qatar a 10 percent stake in Petronet LNG Ltd on Wednesday (January 14). The offer was made by Petroleum Minister Murli Deora to visiting Qatari deputy premier and energy minister, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah. The Arab Kingdom agreed to increase LNG supply to India. ...

The government of India on Tuesday (January 13) allowed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to exercise its powers of 'mini-ratna' status by appointing three non-officials directors. The AAI which was conferred with the mini ratna status last month got HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, industrialist ...

The government of India launched one more royal tourist train called Royal Rajasthan on Sunday (January 11). Tourism Minister Ambika Soni flagged off the new royal tourist train from the Safdarjung railway station at New Delhi. Royal Rajasthan is a joint venture by the Rajasthan Tourism ...

The Petroleum Ministry of India announced to bring further cuts in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. While announcing the decision, the petroleum minister Murli Deora said that the prices of petrol may be reduced by Rs.5 per litre, diesel prices by Rs.3 per litre and  cooking gas ...

Close on the heels of Islamabad’s admission that Mumbai attacker Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab is a Pakistani citizen, Union home minister P Chidambaram’s plans to travel to the US with the Mumbai attack dossier have been cancelled.
 
The cancellation of the trip, planned as part of ...

The government of India infused Rs 200 billion to meet the liquidity requirements of non-financial banking companies (NBFCs).The home minister P Chidanbaram made the announcement after attending a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. While interacting with the media, ...

The Supreme Court of India urged the central and Orissa government to provide adequate security to the Christians residing in the state. The minority community has been suffering immensely since the killing of a Hindu leader in August. The apex court also notified the Orissa government to ...

The government on Friday (2nd January) decided to promulgate an Ordinance enabling the private sector to avail of the paramilitary force’s services to guard against terror attacks on industrial establishments. The Cabinet gave the go-ahead to bring in the Ordinance.
 
The private ...

In less than a month since the UPA government announced a Rs 32,000 crore booster dose for the slowing economy, it came out with a more comprehensive and detailed stimulus package valued at over Rs 20,000 crore.
 
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission announced the ...

At the fag end of its tenure, the UPA government has decided to make judges happy. Using its extraordinary powers, the cabinet is all set to give judges a threefold hike in salaries.
 
The hike is likely to be announced next week, since the government does not want to delay the matter any ...

The parliamentary standing committee on social justice and empowerment has slammed the UPA government for the fact that no funds have been allocated for post-matriculation scholarships to scheduled tribe (ST) students from Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and Daman and Diu, since 2004-05, when the UPA ...

The department of telecom has decided to offer second generation (2G) radio frequencies to new 3G spectrum winners on a first-come-first-served basis, in the auctions next month.
 
The announcement was made at a 3G Investors’ Conference on Tuesday (23rd December). The conference was ...

The UPA government on Monday (December 22) introduced the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 in Rajya Sabha amidst heavy protest from the Left. The insurance bill proposes to raise foreign equity in Indian insurance companies from 26 percent to 49 percent. Apart from it, the bill also seeks to ...

The Centre has asserted in the Supreme Court that there is no bar on Congress president Sonia Gandhi holding high constitutional posts, though she obtained citizenship by her long stay in the country and not by birth.
 
The Centre said in its response to a petition filed by the Rashtriya ...

Parliament on Wednesday (17th December) passed the ambitious Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Bill, 2008 that seeks to provide welfare measures for million of workers in the unorganised sector. The Bill has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha while the Lok Sabha passed it on Wednesday ...

With a view to check human trafficking, the Government plans to introduce biometric passport system that will include finger-printing, by 2010, said external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee. He was replying to supplementary questions during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
 
Stating that ...