Mumbai, Aug 7 (IANS) With US President Donald Trump imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods – raising the total duty to 50 per cent – and Prime Minister Narendra Modi responding by asserting that he was “ready to pay a personal price” for protecting the interests of India’s farmers, fishermen, and livestock holders, the Shiv Sena-UBT on Thursday questioned the nature of the PM’s so-called friendship with the US leader. Speaking to IANS, Shiv Sena-UBT spokesperson Anand Dubey …

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The cost of home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis declined 14 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, in July this year compared to the same month of the previous year, amid benign commodity prices, according to Crisil’s monthly indicator of food plate cost.The decline in vegetarian thali cost year-on-year was led by a sharp drop in the prices of vegetables — primarily tomato, onion, and potato (TOP) — on a high base: − Tomato prices fell 36 per cent on-y…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Hailing the policy decisions taken on school fee fixation, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Thursday the government would foil all profit-making designs of unscrupulous institutions which indulge in unfair fee hikes.Talking to reporters after interacting with parents on Assembly premises, CM Gupta said, “For the first time, a Delhi government since 1973 is standing firmly with parents and there is no behind-the-scenes manipulation on the fee issue.”She said he…

Bengaluru, Aug 7 (IANS) Commenting on US President Donald Trump’s move to impose 50 per cent tariff on India, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated on Thursday that despite the BJP mocking him, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, was proven right again and again.Taking to social media platform X, CM Siddaramaiah stated, “I fully agree with LoP Rahul Gandhi. Be it GST, demonetisation, Chinese aggression, or COVID failures, farm laws, Rafale, PM CARES, and elec…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s fresh allegation of a fraud by the Election Commission in Bihar invited a sharp response on Thursday from BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya who accused him of crying foul without evidence and dismissed the Opposition agitation as “political optics”. BJP leader Malviya said that the protests were not in consonance with the fact that Opposition parties had failed to find even a single infirmity in the Bihar draft voter list that needs filing of a…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The data, traffic and other details accumulated by Elon Musk’s Starlink will be stored in India, and the domestic user traffic is not to be mirrored to any system/server located abroad, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has granted a Unified License (UL) to Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited after agreeing to the stipulated terms and conditions of the UL, including security conditions.The satellite company is…

Kolkata, Aug 7 (IANS) As the Supreme Court hears the case on whether West Bengal government employees should receive dearness allowance (DA) at par with their central government counterparts, a fresh controversy has surfaced over the existence of two separate DA rates for employees of the same state government.The first category includes those West Bengal government employees who are posted in other states on behalf of the state government. This category receives dearness allowance at par with t…

Thrissur (Kerala), Aug 7 (IANS) Nestled in the lush green expanse of Nedumpura in Kerala’s Thrissur district lies a remarkable garden where centuries-old knowledge meets modern conservation.The Hortus Malabaricus Botanical Garden and Research Institute is not just a haven for biodiversity; it is a living tribute to a historic botanical treatise that once changed the way the world understood plants.Opened in January this year after a decade-long work for its development, it’s spread over 27 a…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday strongly advocated for a reciprocal tariff regime in response to US President Donald Trump’s recent threat of imposing steep import duties on Indian goods, suggesting that New Delhi should consider a 50 per cent tariff on American imports if diplomatic negotiations with Washington fail to yield results.Trump was singling out India, even though countries like China and Turkey continue to import oil from Russia.India officially describ…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Telangana Congress leaders led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy continued to camp in New Delhi for the third day on Thursday, demanding Presidential assent for the two Bills passed by the state legislature for 42 per cent reservation for the Backward Classes. The Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers, MPs and MLAs, who staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar, have sought an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu.However, they have not rece…