India

New Delhi, Jul 20: Ram Nath Kovind was on Thursday elected as the 14th President of India becoming the first BJP leader and one with RSS background to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Backed by 40 political parties, Kovind, 71, defeated the joint opposition candidate Meira Kumar in a straight fight by polling 65.65% votes with a vote value of 7,02,044. Kumar got the balance 34.35% votes with a value

New Delhi, Jul 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat' has generated a revenue of about Rs 10 crore for the All India Radio (AIR) in the last two fiscals, the Lok Sabha was informed today. In 2016-17, the renenue was to the tune of Rs 5.19 crore, while it was Rs 4.78 crore in 2015-16, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in a written

Chennai, Jul 19: As the distressed farmers continue to protest for loan waiver and drought-relief package, Tamil Nadu MLAs have given themselves 100 percent salary hike. The elected representatives have raised their salaries by Rs 55,000. The MLAs will now be eligible to get Rs 1.05 lakh per month as salary. The pension amount has also been hiked to Rs 20,000 from the present Rs 12,000 slab. MLA

Patna, Jul 19: RJD president Lalu Prasad came out in support of BSP leader Mayawati who resigned from the Rajya Sabha, and offered to send her to the upper house from Bihar. "Today would be remembered as a black day in the history when a highly respected Dalit leader was not allowed to raise the voice of poor in the Rajya Sabha," Lalu said reacting to Mayawati's resignation. The BSP chief today

Washington, Jul 19: The US has expressed concern over Indo-China border stand-off in the Sikkim Sector and urged both countries to work together to try to come up with some sort of arrangement for peace. "I know that the US is concerned about the ongoing situation there," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference. She was responding to questions on

Bengaluru, Jul 18: Soon after the state government shunted out senior prison officials, six photographs of five rooms claimed to have been given to jailed AIADMK (Amma) leader V K Sasikala on the first floor of the women’s barrack in the Bengaluru Central Prisons at Parappana Agrahara, were leaked to the media on Monday. According to prison sources, all the five rooms, with curtains for hiding the

New Delhi, Jul 18: An angry BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday said she will quit from the Rajya Sabha after the Chair asked her to restrict her impromptu speech on anti-Dalit violence in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. “I will resign from Rajya Sabha today,” a visibly anguished Mayawati shot back when Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien asked her to wrap up her speech as she had exceeded the three minutes

New Delhi, Jul 18: Textiles Minister Smriti Irani was today given the additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry after M Venkaiah Naidu resigned from the Cabinet to contest the vice-presidential poll. The portfolio of urban development, which too was with Naidu, was given to Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, the PMO said. The BJP had yesterday

New Delhi, Jul 19: An Army jawan killed a Major in a fit of rage after the latter pulled him up for using a cellphone on duty at a forward post near the Line of Control in J&K on Monday. Naik Kathi Resan (19 Madras) and Major Shikar Thapa of 71 Armoured Regiment — both were deployed at a Rashtriya Rifles unit in Uri sector — had a heated argument at 9.45pm after Thapa spotted his junior using the

Chennai, Jul 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought the support of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami for the NDA's vice-presidential candidate M Venkaiah Naidu. The prime minister spoke to Palaniswami, who leads the Amma faction of the ruling AIADMK, over the phone and thanked him for supporting the NDA's presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind, an official release issued here late last