India

NEW DELHI: Even as Delhi reports relatively strong medical certification of deaths, the national picture remains stark — only 22% of registered deaths in India were medically certified in 2023, exposing a serious gap in how the country tracks disease trends and plans health policy.The concern was flagged at a two-day National Symposium on Strengthening…

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman on his party’s “decisive victory” in the country’s parliamentary elections, and affirmed India’s continued support for a “democratic, progressive and inclusive” Bangladesh.“I convey my warm congratulations to Mr. Tarique Rahman on leading BNP to a decisive victory in the…

NEW DELHI: Former chief justice of India BR Gavai told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that the simultaneous elections bill does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.Becoming the sixth former CJI to appear before the joint committee of Parliament headed by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, Gavai said if the bill is enacted, it…

NEW DELHI: Opposition MPs Thursday staged a protest in the Parliament complex over the India-US interim trade deal, accusing Modi govt of surrendering Indian interests. They also lent support to trade unions’ nationwide bandh against the newly-notified labour codes.Mallikarjun Kharge, T R Baalu, Dharmendra Yadav, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Sudama Prasad, among a host…

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police’s special cell questioned some members of the publishing team at Penguin Random House India on Thursday in connection with the alleged leak of former Army chief General (retd) MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir.The interrogation, which came a day after investigators issued notice to the publishing firm, lasted two hours. There could be…

NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Thursday that the Centre’s fund is not a “free pool of cash that can be used at will”, asserting that every rupee of the taxpayer is accounted for and that there is no denial or stoppage of funds to any state or any scheme. Dismissing opposition charges…

NEW DELHI: The two-day Bharat Bodhan AI Conclave opened here Thursday, bringing policymakers, academics and industry leaders together to chart how AI can be deployed at scale across India’s education system. The conclave follows a closed-door AI roundtable chaired a day earlier by education minister Dharmendra Pradhan with founders of 10 Indian edtech startups.Pradhan said…

NEW DELHI: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Thursday strongly objected to the central govt’s recent notification mandating the recitation of all six verses of ‘Vande Mataram’ at official functions and in schools before the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana.The AIMPLB has termed the decision “unconstitutional and contrary to religious freedom” and demanded…

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir govt told the assembly Thursday that it has no proposal to establish a commission for women in the UT as National Commission for Women already has a special “J&K and Ladakh Cell”, a unit set up after the abrogation of Article 370.During a cut motion, Peoples Conference’s Sajad Lone said, “I…

NEW DELHI: Cabinet is likely to approve over half a dozen infrastructure projects on Friday worth over Rs 40,000 crore, including nearly Rs 19,000 crore road-cum-rail tunnel through Brahmaputra river in poll-bound Assam. This will be one of the biggest govt funded projects in the highway sector.South Block will host the last Cabinet meeting on…