India

New Delhi, September 24: Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said that mobile phone subscribers will not have to pay roaming charges from next year. “From next year… Our secretary has told you that it will be free from next year,” Mr. Sibal said here in response to a query on the timing of removing roaming charges as proposed in the National Telecom Policy 2012. The Minister was speaking to the

Mumbai, September 24: Consumers may get some relief as oil marketing companies (OMCs) plan to revise petrol prices downward due to falling international crude oil prices and a strengthening rupee. The Indian basket of crude oil fell to $106.74 on September 20 from $116 five days earlier, according to data published by the oil ministry. The rupee, which hit a four-month-high of 53.47 on September

Madhubani, September 24: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar faced the wrath of the people at a rally, when a group of para teachers (contractual teachers) staged a protest by showing their slippers to Mr Kumar. The agitating teachers were demanding parity in salaries and allowances with regular teachers. The incident happened in Madhubani during the Chief Minister's ongoing Adhikar yatra (Rights

New Delhi, September 24: After the big-bang reforms, law minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday indicated government's keenness to push bills on food security and land acquisition, insisting that even Mamata Banerjee will not be able to oppose them. He maintained that "the bills drive a deft political balance between populism and reforms". "The draft (food security) bill is being given the final

New Delhi, September 24: The government is readying a package to boost real estate activity by easing lending and provisioning norms for banks as part of a strategy to prop up the sector that provides significant employment in the country after developers expressed their inability to cut prices to increase demand. The steps follow an interaction that finance minister P Chidambaram had with public

Bhopal, September 23: Even as the BJP has strongly opposed the Centre's decision to hike diesel prices and allow FDI in retail, senior party leader and former Union minister Arun Shourie has justified the move saying it was the need of the hour. "Increasing diesel prices was the need of the hour," Shourie, who had come here to participate in a seminar, told reporters here last evening. A lot of

New Delhi, September 23: India is expected to soon seek consultations with the US under the aegis of World Trade Organisation (WTO) on visa fee hike for professionals, which discriminates against Indian software companies that send employees to America on short-term contracts. Although the commerce ministry had internally started the process in April, collecting all the relevant information and

New Delhi, September 23: Nearly 20 people were killed in Sikkim, three in Arunachal Pradesh and more than 7 lakh people affected in Assam after days of incessant rainfall triggered landslides and flash floods in the region on Sunday. In Assam, 13 districts are said to be affected, the worst-hit being Tinsukhia. The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark and the Kaziranga and Dibru-Saikhowa

New Delhi, September 22: Amid intense speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today met President Pranab Mukherjee during which the two discussed the political situation in the country. The meeting lasted for 45 minutes during which the two leaders discussed the "current political situation", Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson Venu Rajamony said here. The meeting comes a day

Itanagar, September 22: Flood situation in four districts of Arunachal Pradesh remained grim with major rivers and their tributaries flowing above the danger mark. Water has entered all low lying areas of Lohit, Dibang Valley, Changlang and East Siang districts, but the death toll remained one, officials said. In Lohit, the worst-affected district, an SOS has been sent to the state government for