New Delhi, Jul 18: Textiles Minister Smriti Irani was today given the additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry after M Venkaiah Naidu resigned from the Cabinet to contest the vice-presidential poll.
The portfolio of urban development, which too was with Naidu, was given to Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, the PMO said.
The BJP had yesterday decided to field Naidu as NDA's candidate for the post of vice president.
Idukki, Jun 8: Devikulam MLA S Rajendran from CPM along with supporters staged a protest by blocking the Munnar-Udumalpet interstate highway here on Monday, demanding that action to be taken to prevent wild elephants entering into human settlements and destroying properties.
The protest started at 9.30 am and demand was made that senior forest officials should give them assurance of putting an end to the problem.
A police team led by Munnar Deputy Superintendent of Police (SP) Ramesh Kumar was camping in the area.
Wild elephants from the nearby forest are frequently trespassing into Munnar and last night two elephants destroyed a vegetable shop in the town.
If it was a lone elephant that the locals nicknamed as Padayappa that used to enter the human settlement, now along with him a baby elephant is also coming to the town at night.
The locals have named the second elephant Ganeshan. Though there were instances of them destroying crops and eating from vegetable shops, till now the duo has not attacked humans.
New Delhi, Jun 15: After Two Indian officials working with Indian High Commission in Pakistan wet missing on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan's Charge d'affaires to India in the national capital and told them not to interrogate or harass Indian officials.
"Two Indian High Commission officials are missing since morning while on official work. The matter has been taken up with the Pakistani authorities," Akhilesh Singh, First Secretary and spokesperson, Indian High Commission, Pakistan, said.
According to sources quoted by PTI news agency, the MEA told the Pakistan's Charge d'affaires to India that the responsibility of safety and security of Indian personnel in Islamabad "lays squarely with Pakistani authorities."
"Pakistan was asked to ensure return of two Indian officials along with official car to Indian High Commission in Islamabad immediately," sources added.
The incident comes after two Pakistani officials at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi were accused of espionage and deported.
The two officials have been missing since Monday morning. Officials said the issue has been taken up with the Pakistan government.
Earlier, a vehicle of India's Charge d'affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was chased by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) member.
In March, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan sent a strong protest note to the foreign ministry in Islamabad protesting against the continuing harassment of its officers and staff by Pakistani agencies.
New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.
Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.
"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.
Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.
India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.
Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.
Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.
The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.
"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.
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We better prepare another list of those who got killed by saffron terrorists and send it to President of India.
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