India

New Delhi, July 22: Drought conditions loom over south Karnataka and central Maharashtra adding to concern at the severely deficient southwest monsoon in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat. These States have been advised to go for early rabi (winter) plantation to make up for the shortfall in kharif sowing. Much will depend on the progress of the monsoon in the last week of July. With an average 40

Bangalore, July 21: Claiming that the Lokpal bill it introduced in Parliament was the "best", Government today said there is no justification for Team Anna's indefinite fast from July 25 unless there is a "political" motive. "Unless he (Anna Hazare) has political motive, he has absolutely no justification going for any more agitation," Corporate Affairs Minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters

Mumbai, July 21: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which pulled out of the UPA government in protest against the way the party was treated by the Congress, on Saturday said it will remain an ally of the ruling coalition. Talking to reporters at the Mumbai airport after his arrival from Delhi with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel said, “NCP is part of the UPA and will remain so.” NCP, a

Mumbai, July 21: Arrested 26/11 key handler Abu Jundal was brought to Mumbai in the wee hours today after a Delhi court handed over his custody to Mumbai ATS, which wanted him in connection with a series of terror attacks in Maharashtra. "Jundal was flown to Mumbai and taken to a safe place amid tight security," a police official told PTI. Jundal will be later today produced before the Chief

New Delhi, July 21: Bharat Bhushan's purported note on Kingfisher filed on July 9 — a day before he was summarily removed as director general of civil aviation — could have meant serious trouble for the beleaguered airline. Accessed by TOI on Friday, the note reads: "The (airline's) financial condition continues to be precarious... In the course of its audit several engineering issues are emerging

Ahmedabad, July 21: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will be on a five-day tour of Japan from Sunday to expand business ties with that country and will also meet auto major Maruti Suzuki's top brass, official sources said. Modi, who will be accompanied by a business delegation will visit Hamamatsu to meet Maruti Suzuki Corporation managing director Shinzo Nakanishi. His visit comes in the wake

New Delhi, July 21: NCP chief Sharad Pawar is threatening to downgrade his relationship with the Congress by quitting the government and extending support from the outside. Sources in the government however say that friction between the allies in Mumbai could well be the reason behind the tension in Delhi. While Mr Pawar and Praful Patel were making their anger known in New Delhi, Maharashtra's

New Delhi, July 20: The Election Commission today rejected Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav's vote in the Presidential poll and directed the Returning Officer (RO) not to count it as the secrecy of the ballot had been violated. "The issue of second ballot paper to Mulayam Singh Yadav was not warranted under rule 15 of the Presidential and Vice- Presidential Elections Rules, 1974

Dehra Dun, July 20: Yoga guru Ramdev's aide Balkrishna was today arrested by the CBI after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him by a special court here in an alleged fake documents case. Ramdev is scheduled to start an agitation against corruption and blackmoney issue from August 9 at Ram Lila ground in the national capital. CBI sources said Balkrishna was arrested by the agency after the

New Delhi, July 20: Reaching out to sulking NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday hailed him as a “very valued colleague” and said his knowledge, wisdom and experience are a “great asset” to his government. Dr. Singh spoke to Mr. Pawar on Thursday night after he, along with party colleague Praful Patel, skipped the Cabinet meeting, apparently unhappy over denial of number