Manufacturing, Construction and Hospitality Sectors Leading India to its Worst Recession Ever?
According to data released by National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday, all key sectors except agriculture witnessed contractions. The construction sector saw a whopping drop of 50.3%, while the manufacturing industry witnessed a 39.3% fall. On the other hand, trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting contracted 47%. The for the first quarter of the ongoing financial year said that the country witnessed its . India’s GDP for the April-June quarter nosedived by 23.9%, as per provisional estimates released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). The GDP had expanded by 5.2% in the corresponding quarter of 2019-20. The GDP for the preceding January-March quarter of 2019-20 had witnessed a growth of 3.1%. Most indicators have shown that the initial improvement in June tapered off in July. Experts opine that the economic recovery is yet to hold ground. Electricity use and fuel consumption show how recovery in industrial output could be long drawn. The gross value added (GVA) at basic price at constant terms during the June quarter shrunk 22.8%. The GVA at Basic Price at Current Prices slipped 20.6% in the first quarter.........Read more
AR Rahman to mentor all-female music studio in Dubai; will perform at Expo 2020
Music maestro A R Rahman will mentor musicians and compose for a state-of-the-art, all-female music studio in Dubai, which will perform at Expo 2020 here. The Firdaus (Paradise) Women’s Orchestra will become a permanent facility at District 2020 here, according to an announcement on Sunday. Other than mentoring and composing, Rahman will be attached to the studio’s name. The orchestra, which will bring together 50 women musicians from the UAE, wider Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan, will draw inspiration from the country’s centuries-old rich musical traditions that use instruments such as the oud, rebaba and darbuka.........Read more
Mahesh Babu’s Spyder teaser to release in last week of July
The shoot of Mahesh Babu’s highly anticipated Telugu-Tamil bilingual spy thriller is almost over except for one song. While the makers are certain of wrapping up the entire shoot in a week’s time and be ready for release in September. The teaser will be out in July or the first week of August.........Read more
Xbox One Game Gifting Feature Coming Soon
Xbox One game gifting is coming soon, meaning you'll be able to buy digital games for your friends in the near future. Xbox's corporate VP at Microsoft, Mike Ybarra, replied to a fan question regarding the feature on Twitter, stating it is "not far" off.........Read more
Will This Move by PCB Bring International Cricket Back in Pakistan?
There is a high possibility that chairman of International Cricket Council Shashank Manohar makes a visit to Lahore next month. The news was confirmed by chief of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Shaharyar Khan who said that he has invited the ICC chairman though nothing is confirmed yet.........Read more
Dark matter less influential in galaxies in early universe
New observations indicate that massive, star-forming galaxies during the peak epoch of galaxy formation, 10 billion years ago, were dominated by baryonic or 'normal' matter. This is in stark contrast to present-day galaxies, where the effects of mysterious dark matter seem to be much greater. This surprising result was obtained using ESO's Very Large Telescope and suggests that dark matter was less influential in the early universe than it is today.........Read more
LTTE Leaders Swallowed Cyanide Pills - And Everything Changed For India
On 5 October the prisoners asked for some stationery, which was duly supplied by the soldiers of the 54 Artillery Brigade. Around noon came tiffin carriers with lunch for the prisoners. The Indian soldiers allowed in the food after cursory checks, as they had been doing the past three days. But that day they missed a crucial element in the lunch boxes. Buried in the food was something more potent than a Tamil curry: cyanide capsules.........Read more
Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao Removed Day After Income Tax Raids
Tamil Nadu's topmost official, Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, has been removed a day after Income Tax raids at his home and office in Chennai. He has been replaced by senior bureaucrat Girija Vaidhyanathan. Mr Rao's home in city's posh Anna Nagar locality, his office and several other locations were searched for nearly 24 hours. The homes of his son Vivek Rao and some relatives in Chennai and Chittoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh were also raided.........Read more
I had waited all summer in 2010 for the clashes between the security forces and the people to end so I could go to Kashmir for a little while, but when the protests finally subsided it was the middle of autumn. As Srinagar is a summer capital, it comes to life only from April to September each year.........Read more
Kawasaki Rideology Motorcycles To Have Onboard Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Kawasaki's upcoming motorcycles using this onboard AI technology will be branded........Read more
Apollo Global leads race for stake in Hyderabad airport
Apollo Global Management has emerged as the front runner to buy 30 per cent stake in the GMR Group's Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) for Rs 2,000 crore, amid heightened interest among global investors for infrastructure projects in the country.........Read more
Why Flavia Agnes ends up on the same side as the anti-women Muslim Personal Law Board: Javed Anand
Contrary to her argument, the so-called concessions in the Board’s affidavit to the apex court is a tactical move for survival and continued relevance.........Read more
SC notice to Centre, LG on powers of Delhi government
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the central government on the Arvind Kejriwal government's petition challenging a Delhi High Court verdict holding that the Lt Governor, being the administrator of the national capital, had the final say in all the decisions.........Read more
Blood, sweat, toil & tears - the amazing stories behind Indian startups
Tu travel agent banna chahta hai?" (Do you want to be a travel agent?) OlaCabs founder Bhavish Aggarwal's father told him angrily when he learnt that his son, a graduate from IIT Bombay, wanted to launch a cab service.........Read more
Government proposes complete ban on commercial surrogacy - Times of India
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for the introduction in parliament of the Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2016, that seeks to "prohibit commercial surrogacy" and allow "ethical surrogacy" to needy infertile couples.........Read more
6.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Myanmar, tremors felt in eastern India
An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 hit Myanmar on Wednesday evening, news agency Reuters reported. The quake struck 143 km (88 miles) west of the city of Meiktila, the agency said. Tremors were felt in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Assam.........Read more
A Huge Crack Is Spreading Across One Of Antarctica's Biggest Ice Shelves
For some time, scientists who focus on Antarctica have been watching the progression of a large crack in one of the world's great ice shelves - Larsen C, the most northern major ice shelf of the Antarctic peninsula, and the fourth largest Antarctic ice shelf overall.........Read more
Ready to give ‘all help’: India to Myanmar
Sushma Swaraj, who is in Nay Pyi Daw on the first high-level visit from India, said this was the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee.........Read more
Omar Abdullah-led J&K Opposition delegation calls on Modi
A delegation of Opposition parties led by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an immediate ban on pellet guns and his inter........Read more
Rio 2016: Yogeshwar Dutt's Exit Brings Curtains To India's Wrestling Campaign
Yogeshwar Dutt lost to Mongolia's Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran 3-0 in men's 65kg freestyle qualification round of Rio Olympics 2016. latest Olympics 2016 news........Read more
Air Pollution Death Rate in India to Outpace China: Researcher
He has also said coal can't be wished away because it is the cheapest form of energy in a country where millions of people still go without electricity.........Read more
Video: A new condom brand called 'Dipper' promotes safe sex among truck drivers
Different condom brands have been coming out with commercials and marketing campaigns to promote safe sex in India, but a campaign by Tata Motors and TCI foundation is trying to take a whole new approach to reach out to a specific audience.........Read more
Video: AIB's satirical take on the Indian freedom movement is spot on
As the nation gears up to celebrate Independence Day, few people remember or think about everything that went into the freedom struggle, even as the need to protect the freedom is emphasised time and again.........Read more
India numbers help LinkedIn cross 100-mn mark in APAC region
LinkedIn's rapid growth in India to 37 million users has allowed the company to cross the 100 million member milestone in Asia Pacific (APAC), doubling its user base in the region over the past two years. India is currently LinkedIn's second largest........Read more
GST’s IT backbone gets ready for timely launch
The portal itself will be a one stop for filing and processing of all taxes for almost 65 to 70 lakh tax-payers in the country and is being designed by Infosys.........Read more
Exclusive: The First Indian Air Force Women Who Went Into A War Zone
It's a story that has been forgotten in the fanfare of India's first women fighter pilots being commissioned into the Indian Air Force earlier this year.........Read more
Pro-Khalistan leader had predicted Indira’s assassination, reveal documents
Jagjit Singh Chauhan, described by UK officials as a “self-styled president of the Sikh Republic of Khalistan” was among a number of suspect individuals on which the then Margaret Thatcher-led government considered “further action”.........Read more
Narendra Modi govt puts hefty $1 bn burden on ONGC, Oil India
Government-owned explorers ONGC and Oil India face an additional royalty burden of more than $1 billion after the Narendra Modi government decided that they would have...........Read more
Irrfan questions our netas on the system
Gives a spin to promotions by interviewing Lalu, hopes to also seek an audience with Modi, Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi.........Read more
Finemaster Kumble: Board The Team Bus On Time Or Pay A Hefty Fine
THE INDIAN TEAM will now have to be wary of not alighting the team on time as newly elected head coach Anil Kumble has introduced a USD 50 fine for players who arrive late for the team bus.........Read more
MiG-27 Fighter Aircraft Crashes in Jodhpur, Pilots Escape Unhurt
An Indian Air Force MiG-27 aircraft crashed near Jodhpur, Rajasthan on Monday afternoon. The two pilots escaped safely. However, two houses at the crash site were damaged. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered in the case.........Read more
Raghuram Rajan Has Got it Wrong on Inflation and Interest Rates
An inability to think out of the box has cost India years in terms of industrial growth and jobs........Read more
The Indian government now wants to track your hookups
The country plans to set up regulations to ensure that matrimonial websites are not used by those who don’t intend to get married. Users of such sites will be required to verify their identities to ensure that the service is not being misused for........Read more
Power Cut During Union Power Minister's Press Conference in Delhi
Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal faced an embarrassing moment following a power cut during a press conference on Friday.........Read more
High Court asks JNU students to end their hunger strike
In oral observations, the Delhi High Court said it would hear Kanhaiya Kumar and the JNUSU's pleas only if they ended their hunger strike.........Read more
Next-gen Moto G smartphones to launch on 17 May in India; will be exclusive to Amazon – Tech2
The next-gen Moto G smartphones, the rumoured Moto G4 and Moto 4 Plus will be officially announced on May 17 in India. In addition, these devices will only be exclusive to Amazon in the country. Prior to this, Moto devices were exclusive to Flipkart.........Read more
Supreme Court raps 'ostrich-like attitude' of 3 states on drought situation - Firstpost
The SC rapped Haryana, Gujarat and Bihar on the drought issue and directed the Centre to convene a meeting with their chief secretaries to assess the situation........Read more
Instagram Unveils New Logo, New Design for App
The changes also apply to other Instagram apps: Hyperlapse, Layout, and Boomerang.........Read more