India

New Delhi, July 9: The incumbent Vice-President, Mohammed Hamid Ansari, is likely to get a second term as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has decided to field him in the vice-presidential poll. Though it was known in the Congress circles that Mr. Ansari was the front-runner, the first official indication of the candidature of the former diplomat and scholar came when Prime Minister Manmohan

New Delhi, July 9: The day is not far when you pay your vegetable vendor, hair dresser and neighbourhood grocer with your credit card. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has prepared a road map to provide card swipe machines to more than one crore retail businesses in the next three years to promote electronic transactions for ushering in a less-cash society in the country. The central bank has come

New Delhi, July 8: Seeking to spread awareness among public about fake notes, the Reserve Bank has launched a website explaining ways to detect counterfeit notes. With a tagline 'Pehchano Paise Ki Boli, Kyunki Paisa Bolta Hai', the website -- www.paisaboltahai.rbi.org.in -- gives visual presentation with pointers on currency notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 rupee denominations. Consumers

Tokyo, July 8: External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Sunday met his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar here and pressed Islamabad to act on disclosures made by 26/11 handler Abu Jundal that links Pakistani state agencies with the Mumbai terror attack. The meeting between Krishna and Khar took place on the sidelines of the international conference on Afghanistan in the Japanese capital

New York, July 8: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has long been lauded for his pivotal role in liberalising the Indian economy, has been dubbed as an "underachiever" by Time magazine. The magazine says he appears "unwilling to stick his neck out" on reforms that will put the country back on growth path. Dr Singh, 79, is featured on the cover of Time magazine's Asia edition, which will be out

New Delhi, July 8: Here's one area where India is at variance with the global trend. While worldwide more women are calling the shots in parliaments and shaping laws, in India the growth in the number of women legislators has virtually been flat. Here are the numbers. Globally, there has been a 75% increase in the number of women parliamentarians in the seven-year period between 1995 and 2012. But

New Delhi, July 8: If Hollywood films have shaped your idea of the United States, wipe out all that and get ready to face a culture shock and differences in academic and social environment there. This was the message by American officials to a group of students headed to the US for higher studies at a seminar organised by United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF). Addressing the seminar

London, July 7: A rich archive containing thousands of items related to Mahatma Gandhi will soon return to India after the Union Ministry of Culture signed a contract with auctioneers Sotheby's to purchase it before it was put up for auction on July 10. The price paid by the ministry has not been revealed, but it is likely to be between Rs. 4 crore toRs. 6 crore, since Sotheby's expected the

Assam, July 7: Assam has experienced the worst floods in several years as 27 of its 28 districts are inundated. Lakhs of people have been displaced and even animals at the Kaziranga National Park aren't spared. At the Kaziranga National Park it has become a struggle of survival. The rhinoceros and other animals that the park is famous for are struggling in the face of incessant rain and flooding

New Delhi, July 7: India is going all out to publicize safe abortion practices. For the first time, the Union health ministry has asked states to conduct a massive campaign popularizing safe abortion, besides informing women that the confidentiality clause will keep their identity secret. The ministry has also identified 20,000 model health facilities across the country that will now be open for