Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to questions regarding visas to minorities from neighbouring countries, in Lok Sabha today, said that Long Term Visa (LTV) is granted to the following categories of persons of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan coming to India on valid travel documents i.e. valid passport and valid visa, and seeking permanent settlement in India with a view to acquire Indian citizenship:- Members of minority communities in Bangladesh/ Afghanistan/ Pakistan, namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. Bangladesh/ Pakistan women married to Indian nationals and staying in India; or…
Author: Our Correspondent
As part of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions as per the Paris Accord on Climate Change, India has undertaken to install at least forty percent of its total electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. As on 29th February 2020, a cumulative renewable energy capacity of 132.15 GW had been installed in the country, with an additional capacity of 46.69 GW under various stages of implementation and 34.07 GW under various stages of bidding. As on same date, the country had cumulative installed capacity of 138.93 GW from non-fossil fuels sources. The cumulative renewable energy capacity and cumulative capacity…
After a serious injury, few challenges are more urgent than stopping life-threatening bleeding. Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, have developed a starch-based ‘hemostat’ material that concentrates the natural clotting factors in blood by physically absorbing excess fluid. The biodegradable microparticles that combine to form a gel on a wound offer significant improvements over existing alternatives. The early-stage development of the material has been published in the journal Materialia, and Dr. Deepa Ghosh and her colleagues who worked on it hope to develop a versatile, potentially…
In a fresh turn of events, Nirbhaya gang rape convict Mukesh claims that he wasn’t in Delhi on the fateful day. A Delhi court today reserved its order on plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, seeking quashing of his death penalty. Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana will pronounce the order later today. The plea claimed that Mukesh Singh was arrested from Rajasthan and brought to Delhi on December 17, 2012, and he was not present in the city on December 16, when the crime took place. The…
Kavita, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter will contest for State Legislative Council. Rao, who is also the president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Wednesday finalised Kavita as the party’s nominee for the MLC seat under Nizamabad Local Bodies category. Kavita will file her nomination later in the day. The bye-election the Upper House of the state legislature is scheduled on April 7. Kavita was elected to Lok Sabha from Nizamabad in 2014. She, however, was defeated in 2019 polls. She is the only daughter of Chandrashekhar Rao. Her only brother K. T. Rama Rao is a senior…
What came as a booster for Congress rebels is when Election officer A.P. Singh on Tuesday cleared the nomination papers of BJP Rajya Sabha nominees Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki after rejecting the written objections against them. The development came as a booster for the Congress rebels and weakened Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s position in the ongoing tussle for power in Madhya Pradesh. If Scindia’s papers were not found in order and he had fallen out of race, the Congress rebels could have been left rudderless. Kamal Nath now stares at an imminent defeat in the floor test, whenever…
The Centre in a preliminary affidavit in the Supreme Court establishing the necessity of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) said the preparation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a necessary exercise for any sovereign country for identification of citizens from non-citizens. Citing the importance of the NRC, the Centre in the affidavit said it may not be out of place to mention that as per the information available in open sources in many countries, there is a system of maintaining register of their citizens. “In fact, national identification cards are issued based upon the exercise of identification of citizens…
Congress member Karti Chidambaram complimented the Union government for its efforts to tackle coronavirus, and said that one should not “play politics” over the issue. His comments in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour came against the backdrop of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi repeatedly attacking the Modi government over its handling of the health scare and accusing it of not taking adequate measures. Chidambaram, the son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, said the government should be complimented for its efforts. He then spoke about complaints that people, being quarantined over coronavirus suspicion, have been kept in “substandard” facilities…
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said the resolution framework for Yes Bank is underway as planned and depositors can withdraw their money from the evening of March 18. The RBI governor, Shaktikanta Das, also assured to intervene with additional liquidity if there is a need. Defending the steps taken on Yes Bank and expressing confidence in getting the intended outcomes, Das said the identity of the bank will be retained as a private sector lender. Das also said that despite the crisis at Yes Bank and the rapidly evolving coronavirus pandemic on the economy and the banking…
The Centre Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 does not violate any fundamental right. The central government, in its 129-page affidavit in response to the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of CAA, termed the legislation legal and asserted that there was no question of it violating constitutional morality. It also said CAA does not confer any arbitrary and unguided powers on the executive as the citizenship to the persecuted minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh would be granted in a manner as specified under the law governing grant of citizenship. The affidavit has been…