India

Lucknow, April 26: This one really stinks. UP, home to scams of all kinds, ranging from NRHM to land, now has a filthy new entrant: the Toilet Scam. The state was to build toilets in rural households under the Centre-sponsored Total Sanitation Campaign. The state panchayati raj department told the ministry of rural development that it got 1.71 crore toilets constructed under the scheme in the past

Washington, April 26: The US has has said there is no change in its visa policy with regard to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. ''Our position on the visa issue hasn't changed at all,'' State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters at her daily news conference yesterday. Nuland was responding to questions on the letter written by Congressman Joe Walsh to the Secretary of State

Bhubaneswar, April 26: Odisha MLA Jhina Hikaka was today released unharmed by Maoists at a village in Koraput, 33 days after he was abducted from the same district by the rebels. Clad in a green kurta and pajama, Hikaka was escorted by a group of tribals to Balipeta village in Maoist-affected Narayanpatna area, where he was believed to have been produced in a Maoist 'praja' (people's) court which

New Delhi, April 26: Now, girls are reaching puberty, two years earlier. The age of attaining sexual maturity among a girl, when she changes physically, hormonally and sexually has dipped, especially in urban India, to 10 years from 12-13 earlier, not just in India but globally. A study published in the Lancet on Wednesday says the age of 18 years clearly no longer signifies adulthood. According

Sriharikota, April 26: India's first indigenous all-weather Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1), whose images will facilitate agriculture and disaster management, was today launched successfully on board the PSLV-C19 from here. The 1,858 kg spacecraft, the country's first microwave remote sensing satellite, was injected into orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle about 19 minutes after a

New Delhi, April 26: Negotiations to secure the release of Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon are expected to begin on Thursday as the mediators appointed by the Chhattisgarh government and the Communist Party of India (Maoist) convene in Raipur. Mr. Menon was abducted by armed cadres of the CPI (Maoist) when he was addressing a farmers’ meeting in his district on April 21. The Maoists gave the

New Delhi, April 26: Global ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday revised the outlook on India's long term sovereign rating to 'negative' from 'stable' - a thumbs down that could adversely affect the way foreign investors view India. S&P's decision questions the India story by citing its sliding growth numbers. It also cites the high fiscal deficit, a growing debt burden and the government

Bhubaneswar, April 25: Maoists holding the ruling BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka for over a month on Wednesday decided to release the tribal leader on Thursday, a lawyer, who fights cases for the Maoists, said. “The Maoists have held their ‘praja (people’s) court’ which has pronounced its verdict for releasing the Laxmipur MLA,” said Koraput-based lawyer Nihar Ranjan Patnaik. “A senior leader of the Andhra

New Delhi, April 25: BJP Parliamentary Party today decided to rake up the Bofors pay-offs issue in Parliament in wake of fresh allegations that the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi may have soft-pedalled the probe to protect Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley spoke during the Parliamentary Party meeting about the allegations related to the

New Delhi, April 25: It's a shocking revelation in this day and age. Not just Indian men, but even adolescents - in the 15-19 age group - feel that wife beating is justified. Unicef's "Global Report Card on Adolescents 2012", says that 57% of adolescent boys in India think a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife. Over half of the Indian adolescent girls, or around 53% think that a