The prime interest rate levels have hit 'record lows' and fiscal deficits 'have soared', is the sobering analysis of Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People's Bank of China, on the global economy.
Kalam, the first Asian to receive the honor that has been given annually since 1930 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was feted at the Columbia University, the venue for the award ceremony that was attended by students and faculty members of the university, including two Nobel Laureates, as well as top Indian diplomats and members of the Indian American community.
The independent task force set up last year included Richard Holbrooke, the Special US Representatives for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and General James Jones, National Security Advisor. But both of them stepped down from the task force before the first draft was written, and as such they are not associated with the report, it says.
Although Pakistan faces an 'existential' threat from terrorists within its borders, many of its leaders are still hung up on India as that country's principal enemy, the chief of United States Central Command has informed the US Congress.This observation was made by Army General David Petraeus, who was addressing the Senate Armed Services Committee to sell President Barack Obama's comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, which he unveiled last week.
T P Sreenivasan, India's former Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency and ex-Indian Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, has predicted that the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal will be honoured regardless of whatever dispensation comes to power following the general election in May. Sreenivasan noted that "two of the three coalitions vying for power in India are committed to amend it, though not to abandon it."
The committee has termed the Employee Provident Fund Organisation's data on number of pensioners subscribed to the Employee's Pension Scheme, 1995 as 'inflated and imaginary'. Top officials of the labour ministry and the provident fund organisation were unable to explain how calculations for pensionary liability were arrived at without knowing the number of pensioners in the country.
Have the supervisory agencies in the main financial centres learnt their lesson and adjusted their policies accordingly
With a clear eye on the coming Lok Sabha elections, the United Progressive Alliance government on Thursday showered a bonanza of projects and schemes that are impossible to be completed during its remaining life span of another 100 days, with many projects set to be achieved only by 2012 when the 11th Plan ends.
It is incumbent on mature and dispassionate analysts not to look at the CEC's report through political or ideological spectacles and import into it hidden purposes and meanings, says B S Raghavan
Satyam Computer on Friday said it has shortlisted three candidates for the post of CEO and CFO and was close to arranging funds to meet immediate requirements like salary payments, while dispelling doubts about the total employee strength of 53,000.
The Gulf region is set to gain another financial exchange after Financial Technologies, an Indian trading technology company, announced its plans on Wednesday, to set up an operation in Bahrain next year.
Human rights organisations have been alleging that the Guantanamo Bay military prison, set up by Bush Administration in 2002, was being used to detain and question terror suspects with harsh interrogation measures. The prison camp currently holds about 245 inmates. The executive orders in this regard were signed by Obama at a White House ceremony during his meeting with the retired military officials on Thursday.
An Asia Society task force -- working on advancing relations between India and United States -- on Friday urged the incoming Barack Obama administration to pursue deeper collaboration with New Delhi for mutual benefits on a host of global challenges raging from security and economic growth to climate change, education and tackling HIV/AIDS.
Interview with K Subrahmanyam. He used to chair the Joint Intelligence Committee and headed the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses for 15 years, is one of India's foremost strategic experts
It will impress upon Barack Obama and the US Congress of the need to make changes to American policy towards Pakistan. Its members plan to meet the Obama-Biden transition team shortly and with US Senators and Representatives at a January 27 conference in Washington, DC.
The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama has two options to deal with the fallout of the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai: (1) To support, and to garner international backing for, Pakistan's democratically elected leadership in order to enable it to act firmly against terrorist groups on its soil or (2) To designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism under United States law.
A high-level assessment of the security scenario in the light of Indo-Pak tensions was undertaken at a marathon meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Defence Ministry in New Delhi on Saturday night.
It [becoming a donor] is something that doesn't take much time at all and it is can potentially save lives all over the world. People need to become aware why they need to become donors. South Asians are very giving people and they want to give to the community. This is another way they can help within the community in life and death situations.
The gift from the Tata Trusts will allow Cornell to establish and expand partnerships with Indian scientists that build on its strength in applied agriculture research. The endowment will also be used to set up a scholarship fund to bring more Indian students, who may be discouraged by Cornell's price tag, to the university. The gift could eventually help support as many as 25 Indian undergraduate and graduate students at a time.
Legal educator N R Madhava Menon mentioned, "We require more democracy to solve our problems." The notorious backlog in the Indian system makes access to "timely justice hard." In more recent times, "Judicial activism is generating governance from the bench." Ultimately, in such a situation, there must be "accountability from the judiciary."
The implementation of Phase II of the report that recommended creation of the additional posts will ensure quicker promotions to army, navy and air force officers. The decision is also aimed at stemming the high rate of attrition among middle-rung officers from majors to colonels and their equivalents in the three services, which already face a shortage of about 13,000 officers, mostly in the middle-rung. The move will cost the exchequer Rs 8.44 crore annually.
To check rampant use of ammonium nitrate by terror groups, the Union home ministry on Tuesday discussed in detail certain amendments in the Explosives Substances Act. The objective behind carrying out changes in the Act is to regulate use of the material often used in bombs by bringing ammonium nitrate under the purview of the existing law, a senior official said.
The Civil aviation ministry in a meeting chaired by Joint Secretary K N Srivastava, had decided on Wednesday to make the new runway (29-11) commercially operational from 6 on Thursday morning. The runway, 4,430-metres long and 75-metres wide, can handle wide-bodied aircraft like Airbus 380 or Antonov 226 and will also ensure that there is less air congestion.
Ackerman and many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill have for long questioned the rationale of giving the F-16s to Pakistan as a part of the war on terror. The congressmen now want a comprehensive statement from senior officials about the complete scope of the F-16 programme with Pakistan that include the number of planes, updates made to existing planes, proposed armaments, schedule of delivery and source of payment.
In the first sign of forward movement to resolve the impasse on Singur issue, the first round of talks between West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress will be held on September 5.Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi agreed to preside over the talks between a state government panel and a five-member delegation of TC, but he declined to be viewed as a third party mediator.West Bengal government welcomed Mamata's remarks as a positive sign.
Acceptance of the draft waiver in its current form could fuel a nuclear arms race in the Asian subcontinent, Edward J Markey, a critic of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal said, as the 45-member grouping yesterday held discussions over the matter as part of a two-day meet in Vienna.
The new credit-linked subsidy programme, called Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme, was approved at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The financial implication of the new scheme, to be implemented over a four-year period, is estimated at Rs 4,485 crore (Rs 44.85 billion), Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters.
The nonproliferation lobby in the United States, which is vehemently opposed to the India-US nuclear deal, has objected strongly to the new draft proposal submitted by the Bush administration to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna, before it convenes on August 21 to consider the India-specific exemption from NSG rules. The group has termed the proposal 'an abomination that should be flatly rejected by the NSG'.
India's premier technical institute, IIT-Bombay's golden jubilee celebrations -- to be held in New York from July 18 to 20 this year -- have stirred a hornet's nest. The reason is that Dow Chemicals is one of the main sponsors.
Economic offender Narendra Kumar Rastogi was on Friday extradited from the United States to India to face charges in a custom duty evasion case to the tune of Rs 54 crore for exporting scrap to various countries.
'This government has time and again proved that they are not worthy of our support. That is why we are talking about withdrawing support at this stage. We have supported it for the past four years. But the government has not proved that it is worthy of our support. So we will have no other option but withdraw support.'
Australia, in a bid to take a leading role in getting a global ban on nuclear weapons, may ask the non-Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty signatory nations like India and Pakistan to join its newly set up nuclear disarmament commission. "Australia, being the world's biggest uranium supplier with a track record of its engagement over a range of nuclear issues, is well-equipped to play some kind of leadership role here," said Gareth Evans, who will co-chair the commission.
Ruling out the sale of uranium to India until it signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Australia on Monday announced the setting up of a global body for nuclear disarmament, hoping to rope in 'like minded' countries.Rudd said he understood the Indian arguments, and said the United States administration had also put India's case to him, but the Labour party was firmly behind the NPT.India would not be able to circumvent the NPT by joining the commission.
From sussing out exclusive addresses to doing up the interiors - Casa Forma is a one-stop property services outfit for the uber rich
To begin with, inter linking of rivers is neither well thought out plan nor a development plan. It is essentially an extension of the big dam agenda that the Indian water resources establishment has been pursuing since the last 60 years. That agenda is not the best available option and has not been giving any additional benefits for over a decade.
Three Indian-origin businessmen who swindled banks in Britain and the United States of more than 300 million pounds by pretending to run a worldwide metal trading empire have been sentenced to nearly 25 years in jail. Virendra Rastogi (39), Anand Jain (43) and Gautam Majumdar (57), ex-directors of metal trading business RBG Resources, were convicted at London's Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to defraud on 23 April.
US, EU have flexibility to shield 65 sensitive textile products from immediate formula cuts.
Test cricket needs a radical overhaul to ensure its continued existence in the face of the Twenty20 revolution, India coach Gary Kirsten said.
The 'ageing tax' is a central plank of a consultation launched by the prime minister on Monday in the face of a growing crisis over who should meet the costs for the care of the elderly. Under proposal put forward by the government, the 'ageing tax' could run alongside the existing National Insurance levy. The Labour government would prepare a green paper early next year on ways to provide adequate non-medical care for the elderly, but legislation before 2010 is unlikely.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted the hearing on the Centre's plea, to go ahead with the Sethusamudram project, for April 29.The Centre had, on February 29, filed a fresh affidavit in the apex court seeking clearance to go ahead with the Sethusamudram project on the same alignment, saying issues of faith cannot be resolved through scientific evidence.The affidavit had sought the vacation of the apex court's interim orders directing not to damage the Ram Sethu.
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