A S Kashyap Union Minister for Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Friday assured that the metrological departments’ prediction of a below average monsoon should not be a cause for panic, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed all departments to be prepared for any situation arising out of low rainfall.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minsiter J Jayalalithaa on Friday filed her nomination papers to contest in the upcoming by-elections from the R K Nagar constituency in Chennai.
The by-election is scheduled to be held on June 27.
Jayalalithaa was disqualified as an MLA following her conviction in DA case in September.
Last month, Karnataka High Court acquitted her of all charges and cleared the way for her to become chief minister of the state again.
Jayalalithaa took oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on May 23, along with 28 other ministers. (ANI)
A leading child protection charity has demanded that Facebook and other social networks be held to account after a “disturbing and dreadful” video of a baby surfaced and was circulated on social media.
Claire Lilley, who leads Child Safety Online for the NSPCC, urged the government to create a new organisation “armed with the legal powers to ensure internet companies are transparent and accountable,” reported the BBC.
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Friday said nine variants of Maggi Noodles found unsafe have to be withdrawn from the market, and said that there will be no compromise on food safety.
“Nine variants of Maggi Noodles found unsafe have to be withdrawn from the market. After reports from various state governments, we have concluded that Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) standards haven’t been met by Maggi. No compromise on food safety will be done; all levels of food security will be adhered to,” Nadda told ANI here.
Stating that India’s environmental movement is at a crossroad, noted environmentalist and political activist Sunita Narain, who is associated with the Centre for Science and Environment ( CSE), has said that there is a need for a new way of environmentalism, one that can move beyond the problems of today and yesterday, and can embrace ideas without dogma, but with idealism and purpose.
The 16th Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend and the S-CROSS IIFA Awards kicked off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 5 with the brightest stars from Indian cinema.
The sun-inspired trophy held aloft as the stars declared the IIFA as the “most glittering and sought after tribute to great cinema.”
In attendance at the event are some of the most prolific personalities of the Indian Film Industry, the corporate world, dignitaries from India and the region, world media and Indian Cinema fans from across the globe.
A “key witness,” named by Russia, has reportedly claimed that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force mistakenly as “it was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
News.com.au quoted the Russian investigative committee as saying that Evgeni Agapov, an aviation armaments mechanic, willingly crossed the Russian border and expressed a desire to cooperate with the probe.
Warwickshire’s Director of Cricket Dougie Brown believes that England batsman Ian Bell will soon regain his form after he struggled in the recently concluded two-match Test series against New Zealand.
Bell could only manage to score 43 runs in four innings and was subsequently dropped from England’s one-day squad for a series against Brendon McCullum’s team.
Now, with this new blood test, you can know how many viruses have invaded your body over the course of your life.
Columbia University researchers have developed a DNA-based blood test that can determine a person’s viral history, which can lead to early detection of conditions, such as hepatitis C, and eventually help explain what triggers certain autoimmune diseases and cancers, the Washington Post reported.
International rating agency Moody’s today downgraded state-run IDBI Bank’s baseline credit assessment (BCA) to B1 from Ba3, driven by asset quality woes.
The agency has also downgraded the bank’s subordinated medium-term notes (MTN) programme and the junior subordinated MTN programme to (P)B1 and (P)B2 from (P)Ba3 and (P)B1, respectively.
“We consider that IDBI Bank’s standalone credit profile continues to be negatively impacted by its asset quality issues. Its impaired loan ratio rose to 14.7% at end-March 2015 as against 12.16% a year earlier,” it said.
Bestselling author Amish Tripathi’s new offering Scion of Ikshvaku is the first of a five-six book Ramchandra series and explores the life of Lord Ram. Scion of Ikshvaku traces the story of Lord Ram, the son of Dashrath and the founder of what is known as Ram Rajya. A fictional interpretation based on the many versions of the Ramayana, the series is a fast-paced adventure melded with historical theories.
After taking digs at Zomato and Ola, Housing.com head Rahul Yadav has now taken pot shots at Vishal Sikka by posting a picture of the Infosys CEO sleeping at an airport lounge on social networking site, Facebook.
Along with the picture, Yadav wrote: “Infosys CEO Sikka.” When I asked something he replied ‘I just want to sleep’ without listening to the question (grin) :D”.
The post has been shared 87 times and liked by over 1,600 people.
The 26-year old CEO is now popular for taking digs at people, most often heads of technology-led businesses.
Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today cautioned banks to desist from blatant evergreening of loans or restructuring of debts as it was not good for the health of financial sector.
Evergreening refers to the practice of giving a fresh loan to repay an old one.
“If you (banks) think that there could be improvement in economy then by all means go ahead and restructure (certain loan portfolio) the debt but for God sake don’t do evergreening,” he said at a function organised by Assocham.
Justin Theroux recently revealed that according to he would probably be doing if he stopped acting that he would probably be writing because he wasn’t him he is not a very bright man, while participating in The Hollywood Reporter’s latest roundtable involving a range of eclectic actors-including Timothy Hutton, Clive Owen, Jon Voight, Bob Odenkirk and David Oyelowo.
The 43-year-old said, when asked about what good at other things, E! Online reported.
A team of scientists has discovered an ancient 22-foot long shark fossil during a dig in the Duck Creek Formation of Texas.
The sharks are thought to have roamed in gangs millions of years ago, the Daily Star reported.
Oklahoma scientist Janessa Doucette-Frederickson said that this is one of the biggest sharks that ever lived, one of the two or three biggest to swim in the ocean ever.
She added that at 20 feet, there isn’t much it couldn’t eat.
The ancient shark is a near relative to the sand tiger and goblin species.
The study is published in PLOS One Journal. (ANI)
Caitlyn Jenner isn’t going to be headlining the new campaign of Mac cosmetics, Ellie Goulding has actually been announced the brand ambassador.
The 28-year-old captioned her Instagram post, “Oi oi SO excited to finally share what I’ve been working on with MACcosmetics!!! MACEllieGoulding drops in Dec/Jan!” accompanied with a follow up another close up shot of beauty goods from the upcoming collaboration, E! Online reported.
The announcement comes on the heels of speculation that Jenner would serve as the brand’s latest celebrity ambassador.
Country’s largest lender State Bank of India today said it will be selling its distressed assets through an online auction on June 12.
This is the second e-auction which the bank will be conducting in this year after its maiden attempt in March.
SBI, in a public notice today, said it will be conducting a mega e-auction of distressed residential and commercial properties on June 12.
At the auction, the bank will try to sell offices, shops, apartments and factory buildings located in about 40 cities.
People with an ‘O’ blood type have more grey matter in their brain, which helps to protect against diseases such as Alzheimer’s, than those with ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘AB’ blood types, scientists have found.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield in UK found that blood types play a role in the development of the nervous system and may cause a higher risk of developing cognitive decline.
The district administration here has issued a notification for compulsory identification cards of drivers ferrying school kids under its initiative ‘Mission Bharosa’, ensuring safety of the students.
District Magistrate Roshan Jacob said the administration is issuing Id-cards to the drivers of school-owned and private vehicles ferrying school students for their safety under ‘Mission Bharosa’, the details of which will be available on its website.
The information related to the drivers will be uploaded on the The website – missionbharosa.org, an official release said.
India’s participation in the World Youth Archery Championships has been thrown into jeopardy after 20 members of a 31-strong team, including Korean coach Chae Wom Lim, were denied visa by the US embassy in New Delhi.
The Indian contingent, comprising Under-20 boys and girls, junior archers were scheduled to leave for the US on Saturday for the June 8-14 event in Yankton, South Dakota.
Logging second straight weekly fall, the benchmark BSE Sensex today frittered away midsession gains and closed 45 points down as cautious investors preferred to reduce their position at improved levels in blue-chip stocks.
In volatile movements, Sensex after falling to day’s low of 26,718.44 points in early trade, staged a strong comeback to regain the 27,000-mark on value-buying in badly hit blue-chip stocks as the much awaited monsoon finally arrived in Kerala.
Ace Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap rallied to shock World No. 1 Chen Long, continuing his giant-killing spree to enter the men’s singles semifinals of the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament in Jakarta on Friday.
Kashyap, ranked 12th in the world, came from behind to beat the top seed Chinese 14-21 21-17 21-14 in a contest that lasted an hour and three minutes.
The Commonwealth gold-medallist was consistent with his smashes and impeccable with his net play against his more fancied opponent.
Students at IIT Kharagpur can learn their favourite subjects even if they aren’t admitted into that particular department as the institute now offers a unique system of minor courses and microspecialisations.
Institute officials said the new initiative would be particularly helpful for students who did not get admission into the department of their choice. Siddhartha Mukhopadhyay, dean of alumni and international relations, IIT-Kgp, said each microspecialisation course is carefully designed to help students get a meticulous grasp and delve deeper into the area.
Aimed at easing the existing labour rules, the government is in the process of converting 44 laws into four codes covering industrial relations, wages, social security and safety issues.
“We got to ease our labour laws. We have got about 44 labour laws. And to expect a small business enterprise to take care of all these is a tall order. So, we are converting those 44 labour laws into 4 codes.
Phased replacement of fossil fuel-based vehicles with those based on latest technologies will lead to a net saving of Rs 14,000 crore, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Anant Geete today said.
The Minister flagged off a rally of electric and hybrid vehicles to spread awareness among the public about the benefits of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME India) scheme on the occasion of the World Environment Day.