India

New Delhi, April 18: With an eye on both China and Pakistan, the government on Tuesday approved a slew of measures to fast-track acquisition of weapons as well as boost infrastructure development along the borders for faster mobility of troops and equipment. The new steps significantly include seeking the Planning Commission's sanction for 14 strategic railway lines, mostly along the western and

New Delhi, April 18: Fed up with the Centre's “indecision” on allowing an increase in fuel prices in the face of the rising international crude prices, the oil marketing companies on Tuesday virtually threatened to increase petrol prices by Rs. 8.04 a litre, asking the government to either cut excise duty on petrol and give them Rs. 49 crore a day in compensation. In a joint representation, the

Mumbai, April 17: In a huge relief to the Maharashtra government, the judicial commission of inquiry looking into the Adarsh housing scam has held that the land on which the controversial building stands belongs to the State and not the Army. The two-member panel, which had submitted its interim report to the government last Friday, has also held that the building was not reserved for war heroes

New Delhi, April 17: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday appeared heading for a victory in the elections to all the three newly-formed municipal corporations of Delhi. Of the 80 results declared by State Election Commission so far, the BJP has bagged a total of 49 of 272 wards in all the three corporations while the Congress has won 19 seats. Eight Independents have also won, the Bahujan Samaj

Mumbai, April 17: After a gap of three years, Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao on Tuesday slashed short term lending rate by 0.50 per cent to 8 per cent, a move that will reduce the cost of home, auto and corporate loans. The reduction in the repo rate at which RBI lends to banks, has been prompted by deceleration in growth and softening of inflation. The cut is aimed at spurring growth to 9 per

Patna, April 17: The Patna High Court has acquitted all the 23 persons accused of perpetrating the massacre of 21 Dalits at Bathani Tola in Bhojpur in 1996. The accused were convicted by the sessions court in Ara district and sentenced in May 2010. While three persons were awarded capital punishment, the remaining twenty were handed life imprisonment. A Division Bench of judges Navneeti Prasad

New Delhi, April 17: A woman who was forced into marriage as a minor and suffered years of abuse before obtaining a divorce and qualifying for the Madhya Pradesh state civil service has petitioned Supreme Court that a law to discourage child marriage is being used unfairly to deny her a job. Responding to Ratnarashi Pandey's plea, the Supre8me Court on Monday issued notice to the MP government on

New Delhi, April 17: The Opposition-ruled States used the annual Chief Ministers' meeting on internal security on Monday to focus attention again on their objections to the Centre's proposal to set up a National Counter-Terrorism Centre, saying it violated the principle of federalism. This was even though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his opening remarks, told them that a separate meeting

New Delhi, April 16: A stiff opposition from non-Congress Chief Ministers and a Congress ally over NCTC and other issues of Centre allegedly encroaching upon the states' policing powers today cast its shadow at the conference on internal security here. Notwithstanding efforts by Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram in trying to reach out to the states that they were together in tackling terrorism

Hyderabad, April 16: A student of the Osmania university here was stabbed for supporting a beef festival organised by several student groups opposing "food fascism" in hostels, police said on Monday. The beef festival saw clashes, which saw five students being injured, and even led to vehicles being burnt. The situation in the university was tense as violence continued in the campus past midnight