India

New Delhi, Aug 07: The BJP will observe a "social justice fortnight" from August 15-30 and "social justice week" from August 1-9 from next year to mark the parliamentary nod to a bill seeking to empower an OBC commission and likely passage of a bill to strengthen a law against Dalit atrocities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement at a BJP parliamentary party meeting, during which he

Mumbai, Aug 7: Bombay High Court on Tuesday rejected 1993 serial blasts convict Abu Salem's plea, where he sought a 45-day parole to get married. On April 21, Navi Mumbai Commissioner rejected Salem's parole application, which he applied for his marriage. Salem had sought parole for 45 days to get married for the second time. The gangster is serving a life sentence in jail after being convicted in

New Delhi, Aug 7: In a bid to promote sports in the country, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore said on Monday that a games period will be made mandatory in schools after reducing the syllabus by 50% by next year. “We have come to a stage where sports is not a part of education; it is education. The ministry of education is ensuring that by 2019, the syllabus in schools is reduced by 50% and

New Delhi, Aug 6: Twenty-one public sector banks and three major private sector lenders collected ₹ 5,000 crore from customers as minimum balance penalty in financial year 2017-18, according to banking data. State Bank of India, which suffered a staggering net loss of ₹ 6,547 crore during 2017-18, led the pack in penalising its customers for not maintaining minimum balance. It accounted for nearly

New Delhi, Aug 6: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor stirred a controversy on Monday when he sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "dislike" towards the Muslim community. "The Prime Minister dislikes one particular community and discriminates against them in spite of his party's slogan Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas", said Tharoor while observing that Prime Minister was averse to dawn a

Lucknow, Aug 6: Declaring that there was a complete "jungle raj" in BJP-ruled states, BSP chief Mayawati on Monday said there should be no cover-up of the incidents of alleged sexual exploitation reported from shelter homes in Bihar's Muzaffarpur town and Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district. At least 24 girls were rescued from a shelter home in Deoria on Sunday after allegations of sexual exploitation

New Delhi, Aug 6: A bill seeking to empower district magistrates to pass orders for the adoption of children to reduce the time taken for issuing such directions was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Currently, there is an inordinate delay in issuing adoption orders by the courts due to "heavy work load". Against this backdrop, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment

New Delhi, Aug 6: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of two priests--Jaise K. George and Father Sony Varghese-- in connection with Kerala's Malankara Orthodox Church case. The Apex Court division bench, headed by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and also comprised of Justice Ashok Bhushan, asked both the accused priests to surrender before the police by August 13. The court

Deoria, Aug 6: Twenty-four girls were rescued from a shelter home here after allegation of their sexual exploitation came to light, police said today. Girija Tripathi and her husband Mohan Tripathi, who operated the shelter home, and its superintendent Kanchanlata were arrested, they said. This case comes close on the heels of alleged sexual abuse of young girls at a state-funded shelter home in

Bengaluru, Aug 6 : Janata Dal Secular (JDS) has no problem with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati being fielded as the opposition's prime ministerial candidates for 2019 general elections, said Former prime minister and Janata Dal Secular president, HD Deve Gowda. "Don't try to create any type of unnecessary confusion. I have already told that