J&K Autonomy Working Group DoA?
The Hindu reported that the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Autonomy Working group promised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 5 months ago may be dead on arrival (DoA) because of a lack of suitable leadership to lead the group and procedural issues.<More>

SC Creamy Layer Definition
Introduced first in 1992 by the Supreme Court (SC), the creamy layer concept was defined as those who were children of the elite of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and has now been extended to cover those who are in the Scheduled Castes and Tribes too.<More>

SC Verdicts Cuts Up Political Plans
In far-reaching verdicts, the Supreme Court (SC) asked the Government for “compelling reasons” for including particular castes that are entitled for reservations and “quantifiable” data to retain those castes in the list has created churn in the caste-politics.<More>

MCS Tracks Turtle Migration to TN
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has successfully tracked tagged endangered green turtles (Chelonian mydas) through satellites from Southern Sri Lanka to the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, a protected area off  Tamil Nadu (TN).<More>

High Infant Mortality in Bihar: UNICEF Survey
A survey conducted by UNICEF estimates that about 400 infants below the age of 1 with 2/3rds of those children within a month die every day in Bihar due to causes that could be easily prevented through simple intervention programs.<More>

China Rejects Media Reports on Brahmaputra Dam
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao refuted media reports saying that China has “no plans” to divert billions of cubic feet of water from the Brahmaputra (Yalung Zangbo) to the Yellow River to feed rain-starved areas of the North.<More>

Additional Gates Foundation Commitments
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation signed an agreement with India committing an extra USD 23 million over the next 3 years in addition to USD 58 million focusing on HIV Prevention Response and intervention to key populations.<More>

ISRO Floats Manned Space Mission Proposal
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair apparently made a “registration of intent” to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about sending an Indian astronaut into space on a home-made capsule using an Indian launch vehicle.<More>

2 Experimental Satellites from China
China successfully launched 2 space environment exploration satellites with a life-span of 2 years and manufactured by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and China’s DFH Satellite Co Ltd on its Long March-4B carrier rockets.<More>

Chinese Delegation Clarifies NK Stance
After meeting with North Korean (NK) leader Kim Jong-Il, a Chinese delegation confirmed that he did not plan on a second nuclear test, did not apologize for the test, and is willing to return to negotiations if certain financial concessions were made.<More>

Manmohan in Damage Control Mode
Trying not to get dragged into the controversy over the quality of evidence on the 7/11 Mumbai blasts, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that India had “credible evidence” and the joint mechanism with Pakistan was a “trial and experiment.”<More>

ISI Subversion of Army
A few days after two soldiers were arrested on charges of spying, Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee revealed that he is “deeply concerned that there were spies in the army” but the establishments has started initiatives “to unravel the spy rings.”<More>

Army Plans Bunker & Fence Mending Along LoC
After foiling a spurt of infiltration bids along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir in the last few days, the Army has set itself a winter deadline to fix bunkers and anti-infiltration fence damaged by the October 2005 earthquake.<More>

Mizo Insurgent Group Surrenders
After fighting a bush war for 9 years with the Assam Rifles, about 800 activists of the Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (BLFM) surrendered to in Tripura along with their fire arms and grenades in exchange for a grant Rs. 40,000 to each surrendered insurgent.<More>

Improved Climate Forecasting for Agri Productivity
The Ministry of Earth Sciences is proposing a new 5-year plan which will provide easily available improved weather forecasting for farmers in the hope that this will improve agricultural productivity and therefore positively impact economic growth.<More>

Navy plans joint exercises with U.S., Russia
In continuation of its policy to practice naval skills and operate in the backyards of friendly nations, the Indian Navy revealed plans to hold exercises with the United States and Russia in quick succession next year in the Pacific Ocean.<More>

Modernization Drive of IAF
While retirement of MIG variants will outpace induction of new aircraft, the Indian Air Force (IAF) expects to invest Rs. 20,000 crore (USD 4.3 billion) over the next 10 years to modernize its fleet with better detection and combat systems and more endurance.<More>

Pre-cursor to Lanka Talks in Geneva
As an Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) team left for Geneva , important information surrounding the Southern Consensus arrived between dominant political parties stressing on political settlement to the ethnic strife is emanating.<More>

Impact of China’s Dam on NE & SE Asia
Reacting to recent media reports that China is planning to construct a dam across the Brahmaputra and divert 200 billion cubic meters of water into the Yellow River, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi notified Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on its impact.<More>

Lankan Leaders Agree on MoU
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse and Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe seemed to have agreed on the 6-point cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on crucial issues facing the island nation.<More>

Afghan Violence Continues
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said that its soldiers returned fire and killed 15 insurgents in the southern Zabul province of Afghanistan but conceded that 2 of their vehicles were damaged in the conflict but suffered no casualties.<More>

Malaysia Grants ‘Visa on Arrival’
Malaysia announce a “visa on arrival” for Indians visiting Malaysia for tourism purposes entering the nation from “six different points of entry” to “spur intra-regional travel and bolster tourism” in a “Hassle-free environment.” <More>

Pak Disputes Baglihar Dam Report
Pakistan disputed a report in the Indian media citing independent Swiss experts arbitrating the Baglihar Dam issue conclusion that upheld Indian position as “misleading” and accused that the “honour code of confidentiality” has been broken.<More>

India Upbeat about Hu’s Visit
Defense Secretary Shekhar Dutt sounded upbeat ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to India saying that defense relationship between the two nations “normal” while the communist parties wanted China to initiate confidence-building measures.<More>

India, Japan to Boost Ties
With 2007 being considered for designation as Japan-Indian Friendship Year, India and Japan are planning to boost their bilateral relations to realize its “full potential” by enhancing “strategic orientation” of their “global partnership.”<More>

Russia Accuses US for NK Tests
Russia virtually accused the US of pushing North Korea (NK) into a corner and provoked their tests and called for more flexibility from the Bush Administration for the resumption of the 6-party talks.<More>

Sudan Expels UN Envoy over Blog
Looking for an excuse to rid the UN of its soil to pursue its unholy war on innocent ethnic Africans, Sudan expelled UN envoy for authoring a blog that reported a serious Sudanese army reversal in fighting insurgents in Northern Darfur.<More>

China Surprises on NK
In a sign of successful visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the US and China presented a united face by demanding that North Korea (NK) return unconditionally to the 6-party talks.<More>