India news

India set to ease visa restrictions, report says

Tourists from up to 180 countries may get visa on arrival under reforms expected this week New Delhi: Tourists travelling to India from up to 180 countries will no longer have to queue up at their local consulates to obtain visas under reforms expected to be approved this week, local media report

AAP collects over Rs 7 crore in 50 days to fight Lok Sabha polls

NEW DELHI: Rickshaw pullers to non-resident Indians (NRIs) are among the swell of people who have donated more than Rs 7 crore to theAAP coffers in just 50 days to fight the coming Lok Sabha election even as the party membership surges to an impressive ten million. A large part of this has come f

Where The Black Waters Part

Vapi industrial corridor is a ‘shining’ example of Modi’s Vibrant Gujarat. Tell that to the stinking, cancer-ridden nearby villages. “You’ll be able to smell it,” is the constant refrain when we ask for directions to Vapi, an industrial town sitting on the southern end of the country’s Golden Cor

Communal forces will be dealt with iron hand: CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said communal forces in the State were trying to incite trouble for political gains ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, but the government would deal with such elements with an iron hand. Replying to a discussion on the motion of thanks to the governor’s addr

Raj Thackeray booked for instigating party workers to ransack toll booth

PUNE: Police in Maharashtra on Tuesday booked MNS chief Raj Thackeray for allegedly instigating his party workers to ransack toll plazas at Khed-Shivapur on the Pune-Bangalore highway and at Manjari on the Pune-Solapur highway. Thackeray was booked in the two cases. On Monday, MNS workers pelt

Rahul Gandhi accuses Narendra Modi of 'abetting' Gujarat riots

New Delhi:  Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today said that Narendra Modi's government in Gujarat "abetted" the riots of 2002. Mr Gandhi's charge injected a tense new element into a general election campaign that has so far focused mainly on the economy and corruption. Rights groups and poli

21 dead as boat with tourists capsizes in Andaman

PORT BLAIR/NEW DELHI: At least 21 people have been killed after a boat carrying tourists capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The deaths have been confirmed by P Jawahar, the deputy commissioner of Nicobar, who also said that 13 people have been rescued.

Declare all gold ornaments with you at IGI airport

NEW DELHI: Wearing gold ornaments to avoid paying custom duty will no longer work at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). The customs department has made it mandatory for all flyers arriving in Delhi from international destinations to fill a detailed declaration form. The new form was

Gujarat incident cannot be forgotten or pardoned, Nitish Kumar says

PATNA: Slamming Bollywood superstar Salman Khan for defending Narendra Modi, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said what had happened in Gujarat in 2002 cannot be "forgotten or pardoned". "You may talk anything but what happened in Gujarat cannot be forgotten or pardoned," Kumar told re

India to pull out pre-2005 currency notes from April

23 January 2014 | (IANS) The central bank said from April 1, 2014, public would be required to approach banks for exchanging these notes. Currency notes issued before 2005 will be completely withdrawn from circulation by the end of the current financial year ending March 31, the Reserve Bank o

Muslims reject Modi govt relief for shrines

AHMEDABAD: After refusing for 12 years to compensate for religious structures damaged during the 2002 riots, the Gujarat government came up with a scheme under which Rs 50,000 would be paid ex gratia in each case. To this proposal of Rs 50,000 for each shrine, the religious organization, Islamic

Violence at CM's dharna, police lathi-charge AAP supporters

Police today cane-charged Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters as they turned violent and broke barricades to enter the area where Chief Arvind Kejriwal is protesting against the Delhi Police. AAP supporters, who have assembled in large numbers, wanted to enter the portest site near the Rail Bhavan,

Five die as bus overturns near Bangalore

Five people, including a pregnant woman and a six-year-old boy, were killed on Monday when a Volvo bus in which they were travelling overturned after hitting a median on NH-4 near Hoskote in Bangalore Rural district.  The bus, belonging to Rajesh Travels, was on its way to Bangalore from Nellore,

BJP supporting drugs, prostitution: AAP

While most of the people are approaching Cornerstone to get rid off drug addiction. On the other side in NewDelhi The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday launched a counter-attack on the BJP, which had accused its Minister Somnath Bharti of "racism," saying the saffron party was "supporting drug addiction and

Don't be over confident: LK Advani warns BJP

The BJP should not be "over confident" of winning the coming Lok Sabha election, party veteran L.K. Advani said in New Delhi on Sunday, adding this was one reason why it lost the 2004 battle. Addressing the national council of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr Advani said there should be no slacknes

Dr. Zakir Naik ranked 6th amongst the Most Admired Persons in Pakistan‏

15 Jan 2014 | Correspondent | Bhatkallys News Mumbai: Dr. Zakir Naik has been listed No. 6 amongst the Most Admired Persons in Pakistan in a survey for ‘The Times’ of nearly 14,000 people in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, US, Australia, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, China, Egypt, Nigeria a

Four injured in Dharwad group clash

Tension prevailed for some time, following a clash between two groups and stone-throwing at Kamalapur area of the city on Tuesday afternoon. Four persons, including two policemen, were injured in the incident.  Police had to resort to mild caning to disperse the groups. The situation was brought

AAP hopes to rope in five lakh members in State

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has estimated that its membership in the State may touch five lakh by January 26.  But, party volunteers say that the State unit may not be devoid of members who may have joined just to make a fashion statement. Filtering out non-serious members may bring down its tot