India

New Delhi, April 15: India and Pakistan on Saturday expressed desire to encourage greater trade through the new Integrated Check Post (ICP) built at Attari, Punjab. In a joint press statement, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Amin Fahim said the new infrastructure will enable a substantial increase in the movement of goods traffic across the border. “Both sides

New Delhi, April 15: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil considers preserving the secular, democratic, fabric of India among the difficult tasks facing the country today, the others being the challenges of achieving inclusive growth and curbing social problems such as corruption. Ms. Patil, whose term ends in July, on Thursday shared with The Hindu her experiences as President and her views on what

Chennai, April 14: Joining her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa today attacked the Centre for its "arbitrary" action in reducing Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation to states by linking it with VAT rate revision. Though the Centre had agreed to compensate states for the revenue loss for 2010-11 also, the eligible compensation was "arbitrarily

Lucknow, April 14: In her first public appearance after losing assembly elections in March this year, Bahujan (BSP) supremo and former chief Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister Mayawati was in a combative mood on Saturday when she warned the newly elected Samajwadi Party (SP) government of serious consequences if it tried to alter, damage or construct any new structure in Dalit memorials and parks

Washington, April 14: The 26/11 Mumbai attack was carried out by highly trained terrorists who were given training into paramilitary courses by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a US attorney has said. "...this (Mumbai attack) was, in fact, the handiwork of highly trained terrorists who had gone through the LeT paramilitary courses," US Attorney Neil H MacBride said in a submission to a US District court in

Mumbai, April 14: Tremors were today felt in Mumbai and parts of Western Maharashtra and Konkan and Kutch in Gujarat following an earthquake of magnitude 4.1 on the Richter Scale. No damage to life and property has been reported so far. The shocks were felt in Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri districts of Maharashtra, sources in the Met department said. The Koyna dam in Satara is safe

New Delhi, April 14 : With the Supreme Court bringing all recognized schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the government will have to boost spending on its flagship programme to meet the estimated Rs 2.3 lakh crore needed to fund the initiative over 2010-2014. RTE has been plagued with fund shortfalls with budgetary provision in the last two years being only half of what was estimated

New Delhi, April 14: Post Congress's poor show in UP, recrimination has been mixed with the hunt for a stable vote bank in a state where caste remains a key arbiter of power. While UP Congress leaders are waiting to see how the party reinvents its caste appeal, the competition and jostling among social groups like OBCs, dalits and upper castes has become the party's focal point. The lament of

New Delhi, April 13: Improving the economic ties between the two nations, India on Friday said it will allow FDI from Pakistan paving the way for industries from the neighbouring country to set up businesses in the growing Indian market. "India has taken in-principle decision as part of trade normalisation process to allow foreign direct investment from Pakistan...," commerce and industry minister

New Delhi, April 13: With the Supreme Court throwing its full weight behind the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, (better known as the Right to Education Act or RTE Act) on Thursday, the composition of students in schools as well as the economics of running schools will undergo dramatic changes. The apex court upheld the constitutional validity of the Act and directed