Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of January, 2018

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of January, 2018

Press Trust of India

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Assembly elections in nine states, loss of hundreds of lives in Kerala caused by flood and rains, and a number of major bank frauds made the headlines in the year 2018.

The Supreme Court delivered some pathbreaking judgements this year including decriminalising homosexuality, lifting Sabarimala temple's ban on women devotee, and invalidating Aadhaar for bank services as well as to avail new mobile connections.

While sexual harrasment allegations against some of the most prominent names from media, art, and film world gave a renewed push to India's #MeToo movement this year, the country also came together to mourn the deaths of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bollywood celebrities including Sridevi, Shashi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, and Mrinal Sen among others.

Following is the diary of domestic events in the month of January: Jan 1: New Delhi/Islamabad: India awaits consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav and other Indian nationals in Pakistan's custody, the external affairs ministry said today, as it exchanged with Islamabad the list of civilian prisoners and fishermen lodged in each other's jails. Jan 2: New Delhi: Rajinder Khanna, former chief of the country's external intelligence agency RAW, was today appointed as Deputy National Security Adviser, according to an official order.

Jan 3: New Delhi: The Railways has said Aadhaar is not compulsory for booking tickets for rail journey, but it is encouraged by the transport behemoth by promoting it on a voluntary basis by incentivising it.

Jan 4: Guwahati/Kolkata: The Assam Police today registered an FIR against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on complaints over her allegation that the Centre was conspiring to drive Bengalis out of Assam with the state's National Register of Citizens (NRC) that is being updated.

Jan 5: New Delhi: The Congress today held the BJP responsible for the impasse in the Rajya Sabha due to which the triple talaq bill could not be taken up, and accused the ruling party of trying to use Parliament as a "rubber stamp".

Jan 6: Ranchi: A special CBI court today sentenced RJD chief Lalu Prasad to three-and-a-half years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on him in a fodder scam case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury 21 years ago.

Jan 7: New Delhi: The electoral bonds mechanism is a substantial improvement in transparency over the present system and the government is open to suggestions to further cleanse political funding, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.

Jan 8: New Delhi: The Supreme Court today agreed to reconsider its 2013 verdict criminalising gay sex and referred to a larger bench the plea challenging the colonial penal provision, observing societal morality "changes from age to age." Jan 9: New Delhi: Reversing its order, the Supreme Court today held that playing of national anthem in cinema halls before screening of films is no longer mandatory and left it to a government panel to frame guidelines on this sensitive matter.

Jan 10: New Delhi: In big bang reforms ahead of BJP government's last full Budget, foreign airlines were today allowed to buy up to 49 per cent stake in Air India while easing FDI rules for several sectors including single brand retail and construction.

Jan 11: New Delhi: The Income Tax Department seizes gold jewellery, bullion and cash valued at more than Rs 20 crore as part of its anti-black money drive against illegal private vaults operating in the national capital.

Jan 12: New Delhi: Warning that democracy is at stake, four senior judges of the Supreme Court mount a virtual revolt against the country's chief justice, raising questions on "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders, sending shockwaves across the judiciary and polity.

Jan 13: New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today conducted searches at ten premises linked to Karti Chidambaram, including the residence of his father and Congress leader P Chidambaram in Delhi, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Aircel-Maxis case.

Jan 14: New Delhi: The government is planning to raise 15 new battalions in the country's two important border guarding forces -- the BSF and the ITBP -- to fortify defence along the strategic frontiers with Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. Jan 15: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu today held "wide-ranging and intensive" talks to bolster cooperation in key areas such as defence and counter-terrorism.

Jan 16: New Delhi: There will be no subsidy for Haj from this year and the funds saved will be used for providing education to minorities, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said today, while projecting the move as an effort by the government to "empower minorities" without appeasement.

Jan 17: Chennai: Amid hype over their political entry, the Tamil film industry's top two actors, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, today shared the dais at a function here with the former saying only time will tell whether he will forge an alliance with the latter, who seconded the view.

Jan 18: Balasore (Odisha): India successfully test-fires its nuclear capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5 - the most advanced missile in the Agni series with a strike range of over 5000 km -- from a test range off Odisha coast.

Jan 19: New Delhi: In a blow to Delhi's ruling Aam Admi Party, the Election Commission recommends to the President the disqualification of 20 of its MLAs for holding office of profit, setting the stage for their ouster from thes Assembly.

Jan 20: New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) The tragic fire accident in Delhi's Bawana area tonight also assumed political hues, as several leaders from the BJP, visited the site, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the family of the deceased. Jan 21: New Delhi, Jan 21 (PTI) Six months into the rollout and after dozens of changes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he is open to more changes in the GST to plug loopholes and make it a more efficient tax. Jan 22: Lucknow, Jan 22 (PTI) Ahead of the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmaavat' on January 25, leaders of the Shree Rajput Karni Sena met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today and demanded a ban on the film in the state. Jan 23: Mumbai, Jan 23 (PTI) The Shiv Sena said today it will have no truck with ally BJP in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, but was silent about its continuance in the governments at the Centre and in the state, drawing ridicule from the Congress which dubbed the announcement as "laughable". Jan 24: New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Singaporean Premier Lee Hsien Loong were among the nine ASEAN leaders who arrived here today, a day ahead of the India-ASEAN summit. Jan 25: New Delhi, Jan 25 (PTI) Former India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and multiple world champion cueist Pankaj Advani were today conferred with the country's third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan. Jan 26: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held bilateral talks with his Malaysian counterpart Nazib Razak, focusing on ways to enhance counter-terror cooperation and boost ties in areas of defence, trade and investment. Jan 27: Kasganj (UP): At least three shops, two private buses and a car were torched on the second day of violence in Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj city today, police said, after a young boy was killed in clashes following stone-pelting on a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate the Republic Day.

Jan 28: New Delhi: Seasoned diplomat Vijay Keshav Gokhale, who played a key role in resolving the Doklam standoff with China, will take charge as the next foreign secretary tomorrow, succeeding S Jaishankar.

Jan 29: New Delhi: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation has increased indirect taxpayer base by more than 50 per cent with 34 lakh businesses coming into the tax net, the Economic Survey said today.

Jan 30: New Delhi: After months of snipping at the BJP, a disgruntled Yashwant Sinha today launched a political platform, joined by a number of politicians led by BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha.

 Jan 31: Lucknow: The prime accused in the murder of Chandan Gupta in Kasganj was arrested today as the strife-torn western Uttar Pradesh town, hit by communal clashes last week, moved towards normalcy despite tension in some pockets, officials said.

(Source PTI)

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of February, 2018

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of February, 2018

Press Trust of India

Feb 1: New Delhi: The government today announced the "world's largest" health insurance scheme for India's 50 crore poor in its last full budget before general elections, focusing heavily on uplifting agriculture and rural sectors while paying little attention to the middle class.

Feb 2: New Delhi: Former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and 33 others have been chargesheeted by the CBI in a case of alleged corruption in Manesar land deals worth over Rs 1,500 crore, in which around 200 farmers were cheated, an agency spokesperson said here today.

Feb 3: Guwahati: Highlighting "path breaking" economic reforms undertaken by his government, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi todaysaid India's growth story will further pick up speed when there is an all-round development of the Northeast. Feb 4: New Delhi: Chief of US Air Force General David L Goldfein has said Indian and US air forces will significantly ramp up operational cooperation to complement the strategic interests of the two countries in the Indo-Pacific region where China has been expanding its military influence.

Feb 5: New Delhi: The CBI has booked diamond merchant Nirav Modi, his brother, wife and a business partner for allegedly cheating the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over Rs 280.70 crore in 2017, officials said.

Feb 6: New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today sentenced seven Uttarakhand policemen to life imprisonment for killing a MBA student in a fake encounter in 2009 in Dehradun, holding that extra judicial killing has no place in a system governed by the rule of law. Feb 7: New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) The government today approved enhancing the number of beneficiaries under the Ujjwala Yojana for receiving deposit-free new cooking gas connection to 8 crore with an additional allocation of Rs 4,800 crore.

Feb 8: New Delhi: Maldives' beleaguered President Abdulla Yameen wants to send his foreign minister as special envoy but the Indian side did not find the dates "suitable", the Maldivian ambassador says, even as officials here maintained that no "real action" was taken by that country on India's concerns over democracy there. Feb 9: New Delhi: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today called upon all political parties to unite on the issue of grant of special status for Andhra Pradesh and other demands, including the speedy completion of the Polavaram project. Feb 10: Sunjwan (Jammu): Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists today struck at an Army camp on the outskirts of Jammu city, killing two junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and injuring six others, including a Major and a daughter of an Army personnel. Feb 11: Sunjuwan (Jammu): A day after the pre-dawn audacious terror strike at the military camp here, the Army today said it has found the bodies of three of its personnel and a civilian, taking the toll to six, and gunned down three suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists. Feb 12: Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India today came out with a revised framework for expeditious resolution of bad loans, harmonising the existing guidelines with the norms specified in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Feb 13: New Delhi: In a major decision, the defence ministry today approved capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 15,935 crore which included purchase of 7.40 lakh assault rifles, 5,719 sniper rifles and light machine guns to bolster the strength of the armed forces. Feb 14: New Delhi: State-owned Punjab National Bank today said it has detected a USD 1.77 billion (about Rs 11,400 crore) scam where billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from a branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders.

Feb 15: New Delhi: Central investigation agencies today turned up the heat on embattled jewellery designer Nirav Modi in a huge bank fraud case, by seizing diamond and gold jewellery worth Rs 5,100 crore in nationwide searches and initiating the process for revoking his passport, officials said.

Feb 16: New Delhi: Observing no state can claim "exclusive ownership" of inter-state river water, the Supreme Court today hiked Karnataka's share of Cauvery water by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu's quantum by an equal amount in its verdict to resolve the decades-old dispute.

Feb 17: Mumbai/New Delhi: Raids by the ED in connection with its money laundering probe against diamond czar Nirav Modi and others in the alleged Rs 11,400-crore bank fraud continues for the third day with the agency saying it seized Rs 25 crore worth diamonds and jewellery, taking the total seizure value to Rs 5,674 crore.

Feb 18: Shillong: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Jonathone N Sangma was killed tonight after militants attacked his convoy in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district, officials said.

Feb 19: New Delhi: Days after the Nirav Modi-PNB scam, the banking sector took another big hit with Rotomac pen promoter Vikram Kothari allegedly swindling Rs 3,695 crore from banks, prompting central probe agencies to register cases, question him and carry out searches at his Kanpur premises today.

Feb 20: New Delhi: The Income Tax Department today raided 20 premises linked to Gitanjali Gems promoter Mehul Choksi and suspected shell firms in connection with an alleged tax evasion case against them, official sources said.

Feb 21: New Delhi: Scripting history, flying officer Avani Chaturvedi has become the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft, an IAF official said.

Feb 22: Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced a Rs 20,000-crore defence industrial corridor in Bundelkhand for development of one of the most backward regions of Uttar Pradesh and said the Yogi government has pulled the state out of prevailing negativity.

Feb 23: Balasore (Odisha): India today successfully test-fired the nuclear-capable 'Dhanush' ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 kms from a naval ship off Odisha coast, defence officials said.

Feb 24: Mumbai/New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today attached 21 properties, including a penthouse and a farmhouse, of Nirav Modi and his group worth over Rs 523 crore in fresh action against the beleaguered jeweller in the alleged Rs 11,400 crore fraud in the PNB.

Feb 25: Mumbai: Bollywood star Sridevi, who charmed the audience with stellar performances in several films such as 'Mr India', 'Chaalbaaz' and 'Lamhe' during her career spanning over four decades, passed away in Dubai last night.

Feb 26: Dubai/Mumbai: Bollywood actor Sridevi died of accidental drowning in her hotel bathtub after losing consciousness, the Dubai government said today, giving a dramatic twist to her sudden death that has stunned legions of fans and industry colleagues.

Feb 27: New Delhi: Seventy-five per cent polling was recorded in Nagaland and 67 per cent in Meghalaya in the assembly polls held today in the two northeastern states, Election Commission (EC) officials said.

Feb 28: New Delhi: The simmering row between the Delhi government and its bureaucrats today refused to die as Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia shot off a terse letter to Lt Governor Anil Baijal, equating the IAS officers' association with a "khaap panchyat", and attacked him for "backing" its "fatwa" to boycott official meetings with AAP ministers.

(Source PTI)

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of March, 2018

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of March, 2018

Press Trust of India

Mar 1: New Delhi: Indian companies can now participate in construction and installation works in the "non-critical" category for the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh, Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom said today.

Mar 2: Raipur/Hyderabad: At least 10 Maoists, including six women, were killed today when Telangana Police's Greyhounds swooped on a Naxal camp in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district in an early morning operation in which a personnel of the elite force also lost his life, officials said.

Mar 3: Agartala/Kohima/Shillong: Riding the crest of a Modi wave, the BJP today demolished the communist citadel of Tripura, winning a two-third majority with ally IPFT and ending 25 years of uninterrupted rule of the CPI(M)-led Left Front.

Mar 4: New Delhi: A nearly Rs 40,000 crore deal to procure S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems from Russia is yet to be concluded mainly due to differences over price which India would look to sort out during Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's upcoming visit to Moscow, official sources said.

Mar 5: Kohima: The BJP today said it would form the government in Nagaland with its pre-poll alliance partner NDPP and ruled out extending support to its 15-year-old ally Naga People's Front (NPF), which emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly polls.

Mar 6: New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) Karti Chidambaram, the arrested son of Congress leader P Chidambaram, was today sent to three more days of CBI custody by a trial court in the INX Media bribery case and also failed to get Supreme Court's interim protection from arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a related money laundering case.

Mar 7: Amaravati/New Delhi, March 7 (PTI) The TDP tonight decided to pull out of the NDA government at the Centre and asked two of its ministers in the Modi government to tender their resignation tomorrow, but kept the door for ties with the BJP ajar.

Mar 8: New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) The Supreme Court today restored the marriage of Hadiya, a Hindu woman who had converted to Islam and entered into wedlock with a Muslim man, setting aside a Kerala High Court order, and ruling that no court can interfere in the marriage of two consulting adults.

Mar 9: New Delhi: In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court today recognised that a terminally-ill patient or a person in persistent vegetative state can execute an "advance medical directive" or a "living will" to refuse medical treatment, saying the right to live with dignity also includes "smoothening" the process of dying. By Abhishek Anshu & Manohar Lal Mar 10: New Delhi: India and France today inked 14 pacts, including in key areas of defence, nuclear energy and protection of classified information besides resolving to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that the synergy between the two sides was from "land to sky".

Mar 11: Lucknow/Patna: Low to moderate polling was today recorded in the Lok Sabha by-elections in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur and Phulpur and Bihar's Araria, being viewed as yet another test for the BJP ahead of the general elections next year.

Mar 12: Varanasi (UP): With Lok Sabha elections just in a year's time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a slew of schemes for poor and emphasised on harnessing solar energy for cooking.

Mar 13: New Delhi: The Army has said it was reeling under severe fund crunch and struggling to even make emergency procurements when there was a real possibility of a two-front war and both China as well as Pakistan were carrying out modernisation of their defence forces in "full swing".

Mar 14: New Delhi: An all-women sailing team of the Indian Navy today left Cape Town for its return journey to India, nearly six months after embarking on a historic voyage to circumnavigate the globe.

Mar 15: New Delhi: The YSR Congress today gave a notice for moving a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led NDA government following the Centre's refusal to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh and found unlikely support from its arch-rival Telugu Desam Party.

Mar 16: Mumbai: Actor Irrfan Khan today revealed that he has been diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour, a rare form of cancer that can target various parts of the body, and is out of the country for treatment.

Mar 17: New Delhi: The Congress today decided that it would forge workable alliances with like-minded parties as part of efforts to get battle-ready for 2019 general election, with its chief Rahul Gandhi asserting that the country was "fatigued" and only his party could show the way forward.

Mar 18: New Delhi: Blowing the bugle for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress today launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and resolved to promote ordinary party workers, as it sought to woo the youth and farmers at its 84th plenary session.

Mar 19: Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet today decided to recommend to the Centre grant of religious minority status for the numerically strong Lingayat and Veerashaiva Lingayat community, a move that has stoked a huge row just months ahead of Assembly polls in the state.

Mar 20: New Delhi/Chandigarh: The 39 Indians abducted in Iraq in 2014 were killed by Islamic State terrorists and buried in a mass grave, the government told Parliament today, setting off a row with the opposition, which accused it of being insensitive for not informing the victims' families first.

Mar 21: New Delhi: The Centre today gave its nod for the launch of Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission, which will provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family per year and benefit more than 10 crore families belonging to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society.

Mar 22: New Delhi: The AAP government today presented a Rs 53,000-crore budget that focused on the environment, health and education sectors.

Mar 23: New Delhi: BJP won 12 of the remaining 25 seats at stake in crucial Rajya Sabha biennial polls in seven states today amid high drama in Uttar Pradesh where it clinched an extra ninth seat overcoming the newfound bonhomie between former arch rivals SP and BSP.

Mar 24: Srinagar: The son of Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, the newly elected chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, has reportedly joined the Hizbul Mujahideen, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said today.

Mar 25: New Delhi: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) today refuted reports about a fresh data leak of Aadhaar holders, and asserted that there has been "absolutely no breach" of its database.

Mar 26: New Delhi: The LJP, a BJP ally, today filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against its order relaxing stringent provisions of a law dealing with cases of atrocities against Dalits, even as a top Union minister also favoured a similar stand from the government.

Mar 27: New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind today conferred Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra posthumously to Major David Manlun and Major Satish Dahiya, who lost their lives while fighting with militants in Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir.

Mar 28: New Delhi: The government today unveiled plans to sell up to 76 per cent stake in Air India and transfer the management control to private players, starting the ambitious strategic disinvestment process for the debt-laden national carrier.

Mar 29: Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today attached assets worth over Rs 2,300 crore, including two dozen hotels and resorts, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rose Valley ponzi scam case.

Mar 30: New Delhi: Students and Congress youth leaders today held protests in several parts of the national capital against CBSE board papers being leaked, accusing the board of negligence and demanding immediate action against the guilty.

Mar 31: Kibithu: India has deployed more troops and significantly increased patrolling in the mountainous terrains of Dibang, Dau-Delai and Lohit valleys along the borders with China in the Tibetan region in Arunachal sector following the Doklam face-off, the most tense military confrontations between the two countries in decades.

(Source PTI)

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of April, 2018

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of April, 2018

Press Trust of India

Apr 1: Srinagar: In a major offensive, security forces today gunned down 12 militants, including those responsible for the brutal killing of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz, in three counter-insurgency operations that also claimed the lives of three Army jawans and four civilians in Anantnag and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Apr 2: New Delhi/Gwalior/Alwar: At least nine persons were killed and hundreds injured today in violence across several states as protesters blocked trains, clashed with police and set fire to private and public properties, including police posts, during a nationwide bandh called by Dalit groups, officials said.

Apr 3: Ghaziabad: As many as 5,000 people have been booked for creating ruckus and damaging public and government properties here during protests against "dilution" of the provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the SSP said.

Apr 4: New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha today witnessed an unprecedented 11 adjournments amid a clash between the government and the opposition over how an anti-graft bill should be passed and continued disruptions that prompted the Chair to lament the "murder of democracy".

Apr 5: Jodhpur: A court convicts superstar Salman Khan and sentenced him to five years in prison for killing two blackbucks, capping a 20-year case that began with a late night safari outside Jodhpur on the sidelines of a film shoot.

Apr 6: New Delhi: The washed out second leg of Parliament's Budget Session ended today as both Houses were adjourned sine die, capping a month of relentless disruptions and stated to be the least productive since 2000 with nearly 250 working hours being wasted.

Apr 7: Jodhpur/Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan today walked out of the Jodhpur jail, where he spent two nights, after a sessions court here granted him bail in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case in which he was given a five-year prison sentence.

Apr 8: Kibithu (Arunachal Pradesh): In a fresh incident of friction, the Chinese military last month strongly protested against the Indian Army's "transgression" into the strategically sensitive Asaphila area along the disputed border in Arunachal Pradesh, but the Indian side roundly rejected the complaint, official sources said. Apr 9: Unnao (UP): The father of an 18-year-old woman, who had alleged rape by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his brothers, died in custody here today, prompting her to put the blame on the lawmaker.

Apr 10: Lucknow: The police today arrested Atul Singh, brother of a BJP MLA, in connection with the gangrape of an 18-year-old woman and the custodial death of her father in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, as an SIT was formed to probe the incident.

Apr 11: New Delhi: Asserting the superior authority of the Chief Justice of India, the Supreme Court today held that the CJI is an "institution in himself" and occupies a "unique position" having the "exclusive prerogative" to allocate cases and set up benches.

Apr 12: Thiruvedanthai: Eyeing the mega IAF contract for 110 fighter jets, Boeing today announced a partnership with PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) for manufacturing the F/A-18 Super Hornet in India.

Apr 13: Lucknow/Srinagar: Amid a nationwide outrage, the CBI today arrested the BJP MLA accused of raping a minor in UP's Unnao, while two ministers from the party in J&K who attended a rally supporting the accused in the Kathua rape and murder case had to resign, soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted no criminal will be spared.

Apr 14: New Delhi: Protests and tensions in parts of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, and a political slugfest marked the Ambedkar Jayanti today, a day top leaders, including President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi paid tributes to the Dalit icon on his 127th birth anniversary.

Apr 15: New Delhi: India lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over blocking of access of visiting Sikh pilgrims to Indian diplomats in that country and even "compelling" the Indian envoy to return while on way to a prominent gurudwara there.

Apr 16: Hyderabad: A special anti-terror court today acquitted Hindutva preacher Swami Aseemanand and four others in the 11-year-old Mecca Masjid blast case and shortly afterwards the judge resigned, in a stunning move dubbed as "intriguing" by a political party.

Apr 17: New Delhi: India today filed a fresh set of pleadings in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) relating to the case of its national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April last year on charges of espionage and terrorism.

Apr 18: New Delhi: The BJP today appointed a new party president in Madhya Pradesh and will also replace its Rajasthan chief in a sign of major organisational revamp in the two poll-bound states where it has suffered a string of by-poll defeats to the Congress.

Apr 19: New Delhi: The Supreme Court today rejected multiple pleas for an independent probe into the death of special CBI judge B H Loya, holding he died of "natural causes" in a verdict that sparked a bitter slugfest between the BJP and the Congress.

Apr 20: New Delhi/Chandigarh: Nine new Cabinet ministers are set to take oath tomorrow in Punjab, after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi approved their names at a meeting with state Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Apr 21: New Delhi: The Union Cabinet today approved an ordinance to provide stringent punishment, including death penalty, for those convicted of rape of girls below 12 years, amid a nation-wide outrage over cases of sexual assault and murder of minors in Kathua and Surat and the rape of a girl in Unnao.

Apr 22: New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind today promulgated the criminal law amendment ordinance, paving the way for providing stringent punishment, including death penalty, for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12.

Apr 23: New Delhi: The AFSPA has been removed completely from Meghalaya and its area of operation in Arunachal Pradesh has been restricted to eight police stations bordering Assam and three districts neighbouring Myanmar, officials said today.

Apr 24: Gadchiroli: In a massive blow to Maoists, 37 hardcore Naxals were killed since Sunday in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, police said today.

Apr 25: Jodhpur: A Jodhpur court on Wednesday sentenced self-styled godman Asaram to life in prison after finding him guilty of raping a teenage girl in his ashram five years ago, the second case of a powerful spiritual leader being convicted of a sexual offence in less than a year.

Apr 26: New Delhi: The government today turned down a Supreme Court collegium proposal to elevate Justice K M Joseph to the top court, saying his promotion may not be "appropriate" and needs to be reconsidered, a decision that evoked sharp reactions from legal fraternity and opposition parties.

Apr 27: New Delhi: The Supreme Court today stayed till May 7 the trial in the Kathua gangrape and murder case, after being seized with petitions seeking shifting of the trial to Chandigarh and handing over the investigation to the CBI. Apr 28: New Delhi: In a major milestone, indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has successfully fired an air-to-air beyond visual (BVR) range missile, demonstrating its overall capability as an effective combat jet, and inched closer to receive final operational clearance.

Apr 29: Jammu: Ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle tomorrow, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh tonight tendered his resignation to pave the way for state Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta to take over the post in the PDP-BJP government led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Apr 30: Jammu: The much-awaited cabinet reshuffle in the Mehbooba Mufti government in Jammu and Kashmir took place today with seven new faces sworn in, including Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta who will be the next deputy chief minister in the PDP-BJP dispensation.

(Source PTI)

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of May, 2018

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month of May, 2018

Press Trust of India

May 1: New Delhi: Armies of India and China today held a Border Personnel Meeting during which both sides resolved to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control, besides agreeing to work on additional confidence building measures.

May 2: New Delhi: Delhi, Kanpur and Varanasi are among the 14 most-polluted cities in the world, a new WHO report released today said even as environment and health experts sounded an alarm about the severity of the problem, saying it is a grim reminder that air pollution is a national health crisis and India needs to do more to tackle it.

May 3: Lucknow/Jaipur: A storm barrelled through a swathe of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, killing at least 106 people in a trail of destruction that brought down mud houses, uprooted trees and flattened crops, officials said today.

May 4: New Delhi: The Supreme Court today reserved its order on the plea of two of the four condemned convicts seeking a review of its 2017 verdict upholding the death penalty awarded to them in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.

May 5: New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi today demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the BJP giving tickets to those allegedly involved in corruption, including its chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa.

May 6: Srinagar: Five Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, including a top commander and a university professor, were killed in an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir today, even as five civilians died during clashes between protesters and law enforcing agencies near the encounter site, police said.

May 7: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reviewed the progress of preparations for the launch of the ambitious health assurance scheme under the Ayushman Bharat programme.

May 8: New Delhi: The Centre's representative for Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, today briefed Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba about the prevailing volatile situation in the state, officials said.

May 9: New Delhi: Aligarh Muslim University Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor today met Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss issues concerning the premier academic institution, engulfed in controversy over a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah on its premises, an official said.

May 10: Bengaluru: The vitriol-filled campaign for the Karnataka Assembly elections ended today with top leaders of the BJP and Congress, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, making a last-gasp effort to sway the voters in a likely cliffhanger.

May 11: Chennai: The Income Tax department today filed four charge sheets against former Union finance minister P Chidambaram's wife Nalini, son Karti, daughter-in-law Srinidhi and a firm under the Black Money Act for allegedly not disclosing their foreign assets.

May 12: New Delhi: A 70 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the high-stakes Karnataka Assembly polls today, the Election Commission (EC) said.

May 13: New Delhi: Dust storms and thunderstorms wreaked havoc in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and the national capital, killing at least 41 people and leaving behind a trail of destruction.

May 14: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight removed Smriti Irani as the Information and Broadcasting Minister and gave the portfolio to Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in a minor but significant reshuffle of his cabinet, in which Rail Minister Piyush Goyal was given the additional charge of the Finance Ministry.

May 15: Bengaluru: The BJP emerged as the single largest party today but fell 9 seats short of a majority in Karnataka where the Congress dramatically backed third-placed rival JD(S) for chief ministership in a post-poll alliance to keep the saffron party out of power.

May 16: Bengaluru/New Delhi: Amid intense jockeying for power and allegations of horse-trading, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala today invited the BJP's B S Yeddyurappa to form the government in the state, prompting the Congress to move the Supreme Court accusing the governor of acting as a "stooge" of the saffron party.

May 17: Bengaluru: With his political future hanging by a slender thread, B S Yeddyrappa was today sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka for the third time amid protests by the JD(S)-Congress combine whose MLAs hunkered down in resorts and hotels following alleged attempts at poaching by the BJP.

May 18: New Delhi/Bengaluru: The new Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa was today ordered by the Supreme Court to face a floor test in the state Assembly tomorrow itself after it drastically reduced the 15-day deadline set by the governor for him to prove his majority.

May 19: Bengaluru: The three-day-old BJP government in Karnataka collapsed today as Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa quit minutes before he was to face a floor test to prove his contested majority in the hung assembly after which the JD(S)-Congress combine led by the regional party's chief H D Kumaraswamy was invited to take the reins of power.

May 20: Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, who is all set to take over as Karnataka Chief Minister, today dismissed reports about his party working out a power sharing formula of heading the government for 30 months each, with its coalition partner the Congress.

May 21: Balasore (Odisha): India today successfully test-fired the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a test range along the Odisha coast to validate some new features.

May 22: Tuticorin/Chennai: Nine people were killed in police firing after protests for the closure of Vedanta groups Sterlite Copper plant over pollution concerns turned violent in Tamil Nadus Tuticorin, with the police action drawing opposition criticism.

May 23: Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy was today sworn-in as Karnataka chief minister at a grand ceremony attended by a galaxy of top leaders and regional satraps in a rare public show of unity perceived as a possible harbinger of a broad-based anti-BJP alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.

May 24: Chennai/Tuticorin: The death toll from police firing at Tuticorin today went up to 13, even as cases were registered against opposition leaders, including DMKs M K Stalin and actor-politician Kamal Haasan for defying prohibitory orders, officials said.

May 25: Kozhikode: With the help of Indian Council of Medical Research and World Health Organisation, the Kerala government has procured about 50 doses of a monoclonal antibody from Australia to combat Nipah virus, state Health minister K K Shylaja said today. May 26: New Delhi: Girls outshone boys in the CBSE Class 12 results announced today with Noida girl Meghna Srivastava, topping the examination this year.

May 27: Baghpat (UP): Asserting that infrastructure is a key priority for his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today that Rs 3 lakh crore has been spent on laying a network of 28,000 km of highways.By Namita Tewari May 28: New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said there was no change in status quo at the face off site in Doklam and asserted that a major outcome of last month's informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was enhancing of mutual trust between the two countries.

May 29: New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) today announced re-poll in 73 polling stations in Uttar Pradesh's Kairana, 49 polling stations in Maharashtra's Bhandara-Gondia and one polling station in Nagaland, after VVPAT machines developed snags during yesterday's Lok Sabha bypolls.

May 30: New Delhi: Banking operations in the country were hit today as 10 lakh employees, primarily from PSU banks, went on 2-day strike to protest against a "meagre" 2 per cent salary hike offered by Indian Banks Association (IBA) -- the management body.

May 31: New Delhi/Lucknow/Mumbai/Patna: Dealing a blow to the ruling BJP, opposition parties today emerged victorious in 11 out of 14 Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls while limiting the saffron party and its allies to just three, and snatching the high-profile Kairana Parliamentary seat in Uttar Pradesh with a united force.

(Source PTI)

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month June, 2018

Digest year-ender for domestic stories for month June, 2018

Press Trust of India

June 1: New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has attached Rs 4,701 crore worth of assets of Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company Sterling Biotech Group in connection with a Rs 5,000 crore bank fraud money laundering case, the agency said today. June 2: Thane (Maha): Bollywood actor and filmmaker Arbaaz Khan has told police that he has been betting on cricket matches for the past five to six years, a police official claims.

June 3: Balasore (Odisha): India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Long Range Ballistic Missile Agni-5, which has a strike range of 5,000 km, from a test range off the Odisha coast.

June 4: Jammu: The border-guarding forces of India and Pakistan today decided to ensure peace by "holding fire" along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir, a day after two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were killed amidst a spate of ceasefire violations by Pakistan, a senior official said.

June 5: Shillong: Life was limping back to normalcy in Meghalaya's capital with no fresh clashes reported even as authorities reimposed curfew in the entire city this evening as a precautionary measure.

June 6: Mumbai: RBI today hiked the key rate for the first time in over four years -- by 0.25 per cent -- to curb inflationary pressures from high oil prices, a move which will translate into higher EMIs for home, auto and other loans.

June 7: Mumbai: State-run Air India, which has failed to pay salaries to its over 11,000 employees on time for the third month in a row, has sought proposals for short-term loans worth Rs 1,000 crore to meet "urgent" working capital requirements.

June 8: Pune: A letter found in the house of a person arrested for alleged maoist "links" talks about the ultras' mulling "Rajiv Gandhi-type incident" and suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be targeted during his "road shows", according to the police.

June 9: Bengaluru: BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa today claimed that several disgruntled leaders from the ruling Congress and JD(S) are eager to join his party.

June 10: Qingdao (China): In a clear message of India's continued opposition to China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said mega connectivity projects must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries, asserting that New Delhi would support initiatives which ensure inclusivity.

June 11: New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues stayed put at the Lt Governor's office till midnight over their three demands, including a direction to IAS officers to end their "strike" and action against officers who have struck work for "four months".

June 12: New Delhi: RBI Governor Urjit Patel today made a strong case for more powers to effectively regulate public sector banks (PSBs) as lawmakers asked him tough questions over increasing bad loans and frauds.

June 13: Indore: Madhya Pradesh police today said circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that spiritual guru Bhaiyuji Maharaj committed suicide possibly due to domestic discord, even as some quarters demanded a CBI probe into his death.

June 14: Srinagar: Veteran journalist and 'Rising Kashmir' editor Shujaat Bukhari and his two personal security officers (PSOs) were shot dead by terrorists outside the newspaper's office in the heart of Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital today, police officials said.

June 15: New Delhi: The tug of war between the Lieutenant Governor and the AAP government showed no signs of easing as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues today continued their sit-in at the L-G office for the fifth day, amid intensified protests by the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP which blamed each other for the impasse. June 16: Amritsar: There was no exchange of sweets between the Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers at Attari-Wagah border on the occasion of Eid today, an official said.

June 17: New Delhi: The Centre today called off its month-long suspension of operations against terror groups during the holy month of Ramzan in Jammu and Kashmir and directed the security forces to take "all necessary action" at the earliest to prevent terrorists from launching attacks and indulging in violence.

June 18: New Delhi: Endorsing the idea of trilateral cooperation between India, China and Pakistan under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Beijing's envoy Luo Zhaohui today said it could "in the future" help resolve bilateral issues between New Delhi and Islamabad and help maintain peace.

June 19: Srinagar: Governor N N Vohra today forwarded his report to President Ram Nath Kovind for imposition of Governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir after the BJP pulled out of the coalition government and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tendered her resignation.

June 20: New Delhi/Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir was brought under Governor's rule today and the state Assembly put under suspended animation, a day after the PDP-BJP government collapsed with the BJP ending the three-year-old alliance with the regional party.

June 21: Dehradun: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today performed yoga with over 50,000 enthusiasts at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) campus here and said the ancient Indian discipline has emerged as a "powerful unifying" force in a strife-torn world.

June 22: Kolkata/Beijing: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelled her first China visit today at the last minute as political meetings at the "appropriate level" were not confirmed by the Chinese government.

June 23: New Delhi: India today summoned Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner here and lodged a strong protest over the denial of access to its envoy in Islamabad and consular officials to visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib and meet visiting Indian pilgrims.

June 24: Srinagar: More than 250 militants are active in Kashmir and about the same number are waiting at "launch pads" across the Line of Control to infiltrate into the valley, the Army said today.

June 25: New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today held talks with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussed ways to consolidate the relationship between the two countries across several sectors.

June 26: New Delhi: No one, not even ministers, will be allowed to come too close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi unless cleared by the Special Protection Group (SPG), the Union Home Ministry said today in its new security guidelines to states.

June 27: Srinagar/Jammu: Amid tight security, the first batch of nearly 3,000 Amarnath pilgrims, who started from Jammu today, reached the twin base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam in Kashmir this evening.

June 28: New Delhi: The release of purported video clips of the Army's 2016 surgical strikes created a political furore today with the Congress accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of politicising sacrifices of soldiers to garner votes, evoking a sharp reaction from the ruling party.

June 29: New Delhi: Union Minister Arun Jaitley today warned that Indians having illegal deposits in Swiss banks would face harsh penal proceedings under the black money law after Switzerland starts real time sharing of details of accounts from January onwards.

June 30: New Delhi: Days after a global anti-money laundering body placed Pakistan on its "grey list" for failing to curb terror financing, India today hoped that Islamabad will take credible measures to address international concerns on terrorism emanating from that country.

(Source PTI)