India

New Delhi, December 7: Shoddy implementation of the government's new quota system for subsidized cooking gas has resulted in chaos. There's utter confusion about how many subsidized cylinders a consumer is entitled to in the remaining six months of 2012-13 since the new scheme was announced on September 13, 2012. That day's government release was unambiguous. It said: "The number of subsidized LPG

Lucknow, December 6: The 20th anniversary of Babri Mosque demolition passed off peacefully on a sombre note in the twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad and the surrounding areas amidst tight security arrangements. While shops and business establishments owned by Muslims remained partially closed and main markets wore a deserted look it being a weekly off day in Faizabad, black flags were seen at

Kochi, December 6: In a relief to former Chief Minister and veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan, the Kerala High Court today quashed the FIR against him in a land allotment issue, holding that framing a case against him on "false and frivolous" charges was unworthy of any merit. The court said some features presented in the case were "too disturbing", that in fact "gives enough room to

Belgaum, December 6: BJP is prepared to forfeit power even if it means taking disciplinary action against party legislators who would attend former party strongman B S Yeddyurappa's rally on December 9, former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda today said. Yeddyurappa will formally launch his Karnataka Janata Party at the rally in Haveri. "The party is not prepared to compromise on taking action

New Delhi, December 6: The Babri Masjid demolition rocked the Lok Sabha on Thursday with some members demanding action on the report of Liberhan Commission which probed its demolition 20 years ago. As the Lok Sabha convened, Shafiqur Rahman Barq (BSP) waved black flag in the House and rued that those guilty of demolition were still not brought to justice. Reacting angrily, Speaker Meira Kumar told

Ahmedabad, December 6: In a major blow to Congress ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls, senior party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Narhari Amin switched sides and joined the BJP with his supporters in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Mr Amin, who has sizeable support in the politically powerful Patel community, was welcomed into the party by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who described the

New York, December 6: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi have been named among the top 20 most powerful persons in the world by Forbes magazine in its annual power rankings which placed US President Barack Obama as number one for a second year in a row. India's richest businessman Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and and Arcelor Mittal CEO Lakshmi Mittal

London, December 6: Younger and younger girls are being dragged into prostitution because of the global economic crisis, a conference on women's rights was told on Wednesday. About 21 million people - or three out of 1,000 people globally - are in forced labour, meaning they have been coerced or deceived into jobs which they cannot leave, figures released by the International Labour Organisation

New Delhi, December 5: The ruling UPA government comfortably defeated the opposition-sponsored motion against FDI in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Out of 471 members present and voting 218 voted against FDI and 253 in favour. The outcome was decisively influenced by SP and BSP members who staged a walk out before the vote. Government has neglected the interest of farmers and small traders by deciding on

New Delhi, December 5: The government is considering a proposal to make bribery in private sector a criminal offence through amendments in the Indian Penal Code. "The IPC does not provide penal provision for bribery in private sector. However, as India is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Corruption, which, inter alia, provides that act of bribery in private sector be criminalised, the