Author: Alankrati Verma

On Thursday, 7 April, Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged that Indians from different states should interact in Hindi rather than English. Shah, who the chairman of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee presided over the 37th meeting of the Committee, said that Hindi now accounts for 70% of the Union Cabinet’s agenda and when individuals from different states engage with one another, ‘it should be in India’s language,’ According to a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs quoting Mr. Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ascertained that Hindi will be the official language for operating the government, which will…

According to a report released on Wednesday by private intelligence firm Recorded Future, Chinese state-sponsored hackers have targeted Indian electricity distribution centres near Ladakh in recent months, posing a new potential flashpoint following a months-long military conflict between the two countries in the region.  The report says that the hackers targeted at least seven “load dispatch” facilities in northern India, which are responsible for performing real-time grid control and electricity dispersal in the areas where they are located, near the disputed India-China border in Ladakh.  Another hacking group, RedEcho, previously targeted one of the load dispatch centres, which Recorded Future…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday on the occasion of the 42nd foundation day of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that in a time when the entire world is divided into two rival factions, India maintains its interests while being recognized as a nation that can strongly talk about humanity.  On the 42nd anniversary of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s establishment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there are two types of politics in the country (BJP). In the virtual speech, he stated, “One stands for ‘Parivar bhakti’ (family dynasty) and the other stands for ‘Rashtra bhakti’ (patriotism).”  PM Modi pointed…

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 5th BIMSTEC Summit. The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is a multinational regional organisation. The member countries are located along the Bay of Bengal’s littoral and neighbouring territories, forming a contiguous regional union. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand are among the countries involved. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka where he met with his Nepali and Bhutanese counterparts on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Ministerial Conference on Tuesday to discuss cooperation in connectivity, energy, and…

After Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated on Sunday that employees of the Chandigarh administration will now be subject to the Central Civil Services Rules, with that a new struggle between the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has erupted. While Shah has stated that the move will benefit employees “significantly,” some BJP leaders have admitted off the record that putting Chandigarh employees under the Central Civil Services Rules is part of a larger strategy to contain the AAP, which is seen as a viable alternative in national politics following its big victory in Punjab. Punjab…

On Sunday, the boards of PVR Ltd and Inox Leisure Ltd, India’s two largest multiplex chains, authorised an all-stock merger, creating India’s largest cinema exhibition firm with over 1,500 screens. PVR told stock exchanges on Sunday that while current multiplex screens will keep their trademarks, future cinemas opened after the merger will be branded as PVR Inox. PVR Inox Ltd. will be the name of the merging company. Inox promoters would control 16.66 per cent of the combined business after the merger, while PVR founders would own 10.62 per cent. The transaction’s sole financial counsel was EY, a consulting firm. Ajay…

On Monday, March 28, the Supreme Court will hear a plea seeking to identify minorities at the state level and provide minority status to Hindus in states and union territories where their numbers have fallen below those of other communities. The Narendra Modi government has told the Supreme Court that states with a small number of Hindus or other communities can proclaim them a minority community within their own borders, allowing them to establish and operate their own institutions. What exactly is the problem? According to the petition filed by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, Hindus have become a minority in Lakshadweep…

After nearly two years, India has restarted international flight operations from Sunday.  Due to the influx of the Covid-19 Pandemic in the country, the Central Government had banned flight operations back in March 2020.  The airline industry, which was hit hard by the pandemic, is slowly returning to routine, and the resumption of regular international flights is expected to provide the business with a boost.  After the resumption of regular international operations, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital, which is also the country’s largest airport, expects a considerable increase in international aircraft departures in the first week…

Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister for the second time on Friday, leading a team that includes 32 new faces and Brajesh Pathak as the new deputy chief minister, who established a great campaign at Dinesh Sharma’s expense.  Despite his defeat, BJP has retained Keshav Prasad Maurya as Yogi’s deputy but notable names such as Ashutosh ‘Gopal’ Tandon, Mahendra Singh, Shrikant Sharma and Siddarth Nath Singh have been eliminated from the cabinet.   Former Gujarat-cadre IAS officer and PM Modi’s trusted bureaucrat AK Sharma has been named as cabinet minister, and Kanpur police commissioner and 1994-batch IPS…

Nearly two weeks after the declaration of election poll results, BJP’s ‘Hero’ Adityanath is all set to take his oath as Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister for the second term. The ceremony will take place on Friday at a grand event in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Thousands of people are expected to attend the celebration, which will see the BJP become the first party in over three decades to return to power for a second consecutive term. Apart from all chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, other important officials in the ruling party have been invited. The swearing-in ceremony is…