Debate over Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad contest intensifies
Communist Party of India Annie Raja’s candidature from Wayanad has once again ignited the debate on whether Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should seek a re-election from the seat, where he faces a friendly party, or actually take the battle to the BJP.
India to have own space station by 2035, country will go to Moon again, says PM Modi
After the the names of the astronauts of the Gaganyaan mission were announced in Thiruvananthapuram on February 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will have its own space station by 2035.
Land reforms included on top of the agenda in Modi government’s third term: Nirmala Sitharaman
The Narendra Modi government’s third term in office will place reforms in all factors of production, including land, labour and capital on “top of the agenda” along with the “21st century factor” of digital infrastructure, in its pursuit to make India the world’s third-largest economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted on Tuesday.
In an interaction with industry leaders hosted by the FICCI, Ms. Sitharaman promised that systemic and area-specific reforms will continue if the present regime returns to power. “I will underline the fact that the reforms will touch on all the factors of production. Be it your land, be it your labour, be it your capital, but I will also add what may not fit into the traditional definition of what factors of production are… because the 21st century probably comes up with one more factor of production… the digital infrastructure,” she said.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker orders SIT probe into controversial remarks by Jarange-Patil
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday instructed the State government to establish a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a comprehensive inquiry into the contentious remarks made by pro-Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil against Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Months after peace pact with United National Liberation Front, Manipur sees rise in extortion cases
Three months after the Union government and the Manipur government signed a peace agreement with one of the factions of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the oldest valley-based armed insurgent group, officials said the terms of the pact — which include monitoring of the armed cadres — are not available to the central security agencies. A senior government official told The Hindu there has been a sharp rise in cases of extortion in the valley areas of the State “in the name of UNLF”.
Centre extends ban on Jamaat-e-Islami-J&K for five years
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the ban against Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)-Jammu Kashmir under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967 for another five years. JeI was first declared an “unlawful association” on February 28, 2019.
Construction of AIIMS in Madurai had not yet started, owing to the Central government’s reluctance in pressing for funds from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ma. Subramanian. “The Central government has assured us that the construction works will start by March this year and end by 2028,” he added.
Rajya Sabha polls | BJP gains in U.P., Himachal Pradesh amid cross-voting
Rajya Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh went down to the wire, with heavy cross-voting by Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress MLAs respectively, and the BJP walking away with two extra seats than its Assembly strength permitted. The BJP’s victory has already imperilled the Congress government in Himachal, with Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur scheduled to meet with Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Wednesday.
Biden urges Congress to avoid a government shutdown, send urgent aid to Ukraine and Israel
U.S. President Joe Biden implored the top four leaders of Congress on February 27 to act quickly to avoid a looming government shutdown early next month and to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel, as a legislative logjam in the GOP-led House showed no signs of abating.
Houthis say they can reassess Red Sea attacks if Israeli ‘aggression’ stops
Yemen’s Houthis said they could only reconsider their missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea once Israel ends its “aggression” in the Gaza Strip on February 27.
‘10,000 genome’ project completed, says government
The Department of Biotechnology announced the completion of the ‘10,000 genome’ project — an attempt to create a reference database of whole-genome sequences out of India.
While India first sequenced a complete human genome in 2006, creating a database that is representative of the diversity of India’s population, is seen as a key step to being able to learn about genetic variants that are unique to India’s population groups and use that to customise drugs and therapies. The United Kingdom, China, and the United States are among the countries that have programmes to sequence at least 1,00,000 of their genomes.
Elena Norman quits as Hockey India CEO after 13 years
After months of speculation, Hockey India’s long-serving CEO Elena Norman resigned on Tuesday, ending not just a 13-year-long association with the federation but also marking the end of an era in the administration of the sport. Elena was instrumental in making Hockey India among the best-run national sports federations in India, bringing in a professional work culture that was a far cry from the norm at that time. It resulted in a modern work culture in the teams, but her ruthless manner and demanding ways also led to a lot of grudges among many.
