In fact, the relationship with China saw several lows in 2016 vowing to China's economic corridor through Pakistan, India's invitations to Uighur, Falun Gong and Tibetan activists, the expulsion of Chinese journalists from Mumbai, the Chinese block on Nuclear Suppliers Group membership for India

The Reserve Bank of India's biannual Financial Stability Report has again flagged the fact that risks to the banking sector remain worryingly "high".

Bihar has claimed to have formed the world's largest human chain to reaffirm commitment towards liquor ban. The chain was billed as a social message against addiction, and specifically in favour of prohibition. Over three crore people participated in the chain, stretching 11,400 km in all the 38 districts of the State.

Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests.India secured amendments to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Singapore, effectively closing one route of laundering domestic black money by 'round-tripping' it from countries like Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore.

The basket of vaccines in India's Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) was static for many years - until the entry of the Pentavalent [which protects against 5 infections - diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae Type B (Hib) in one shot], and Japanese Encephalitis vaccines in the last decade.

The Central government's recent decision to compulsorily retire two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and one Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer for 'non-performance' is bold and laudable.

The Central government's recent decision to compulsorily retire two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and one Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer for 'non-performance' is bold and laudable.

The Rohingya muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state are persecuted at home, rejected or barely tolerated in Bangladesh and elsewhere, and are sacrificed at the altar of strategic calculations by powerful neighbours. Moreover, the refugee crisis in Europe has overshadowed their plight.

Extreme weather and changing geography threatened food security and livelihood in Africa and Asia this year. Digitising agriculture has become a necessity to battle climate change and protect the ...

The Centre's claim of 94 million metric tonnes (MT) (2015-16) of wheat production, good sowing acreage and success of agriculture insurance scheme is not in sync with reality as government's own data do not match agriculture ministry's claims.

Beku Beku shashvata neero (We want a permanent source of water)! For the past five months, Kolar, a district in Karnataka, has been reverberating with this slogan. Every day, hundreds of farmers and traders gather at College Circle in Kolar town to protest an acute shortage of water, which resulted in a 50 per cent crop loss this year in the district.

The Arctic Report Card is out and it isn't quite encouraging. Researchers say that the Arctic continues to warm up at an "astonishing" rate. The report, which was prepared considering a range of environmental observations throughout the Arctic

A movement cannot have an impact until people realise the need for it. But once the immediate objective is achieved, people may forget why they had embarked on it. So a movement must never cease, says our writer (left)

The recent terrorist attack in Berlin and the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey add to the worries of the already struggling European policymakers.

Japan has dragged India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against certain measures taken by New Delhi on imports of iron and steel products.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will procure one C-17 Globemaster III to add to the existing fleet of 10.It is a heavy lift transport aircraft

A free-ranging barking deer made its way to Delhi's Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP), becoming the second recent unlikely guest from the wild after a leopard.

Both PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) are the satellite-launch vehicles (rockets) developed by ISRO.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a complete ban on burning of waste in open places and announced a fine of Rs. 25,000 on each incident of bulk waste burning on lands, including at landfill sites.

Outbreaks of infectious diseases threaten lives, our health and the economy. In a world where people make multiple contacts at work, home or in leisure activities, outbreaks arise and spread rapidly.

It is the name of a newly discovered whale call.The sound, which ranges from a low moan to a screechy metallic tone, has puzzled researchers ever since it was first recorded in 2014.

The made public a draft Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations 2016 that specifies that all fortified food, manufactured, packed, labelled, handled, distributed and sold, "whether for profit or under a Government-funded programme", ought to adhere to a minimum set of standards.

Performers from India, U.S., Dubai, U.K., Russia, Hong Kong created a record with a spectacular 'Mahabrinda Natyam' show, a dizzying array of 6,117 performers.

The plan to replicate one of the country's most successful rhino rehabilitation programme at the Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh is stuck for want of a sedating drug

A focus on establishing "soft borders" between India and Pakistan, rather than a final settlement of boundaries in Kashmir, can lead to New Delhi's rapid integration into an expanded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said a Chinese academician.

Itihaas, the Hindi journal of the Indian Council of Historical Research, claims that the iconic 'Dancing Girl' of Mohenjodaro is Goddess Parvati, furthering the proof that people of the Indus Valley Civilisation worshipped Shiva.

On December 9, the Manipur government issued a gazette notification creating 7 new districts by bifurcating 7 of the state's existing 9 districts. This took the number of districts in the state to 16.

For the Arctic, like the globe as a whole, 2016 has been exceptionally warm. For much of the year, Arctic temperatures have been much higher than normal, and sea ice concentrations have been at record low levels.

The rise of obesity around the globe has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to urge countries to impose a tax on sugary drinks, which are blamed for the spread of the epidemic.

Ten years after the historic Forest Rights Act (FRA) was passed by the Indian lawmakers, only three per cent of villages or communities could secure their rights over forest resources which include land and the produce from the forests and water

Soil holds majority of Earth's carbon and warming of the planet is triggering its release into the atmosphere, a new study published in journal Nature points out. More carbon dioxide in the air would accelerate planetary warming.

In mid-November, while Americans were preoccupied with election returns, China sent some of its clearest signals yet that it will continue to pursue an international leadership role on issues including climate. At an international

The preliminary report from the Finkel Review of electricity market security will be presented to COAG today. Leaked versions indicate that the report notes the urgent need for long-term policy certainty on climate change and that some

For the trendy and the wealthy, including celebrities such as Rihanna, Madonna or Matthew McConaughey, rarest coconut water extracted from the aromatic varieties of the nut, is the "it" drink and even a source of income.

Coal-fired stations are a health hazard to their local communities and beyond due to the pollutants they emit. The resulting illnesses are a significant cost to health budgets. Climate change caused by burning fossil fuels brings its own health burdens.

Participants from more than 196 countries attended the recently concluded 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Marrakech, Morocco. COP 22 was projected as "Action COP" and there were expectations that significant progress will take

The Delhi High Court has set aside Centre's decision to ban 344 fixed dose combination drugs (FDCs), bringing relief to pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer, Glenmark, Procter & Gamble, Cipla, among others. The high court's ruling came after hearing 453 petitions that were filed by pharmaceutical companies challenging the ban.

Based on the Supreme Court's order on November 10 to frame and submit graded response action plan for various categories of National Air Quality, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) submitted its recommendations on December 2).

Every household has a savings account that can be accessed through mobile phones via SMS. Most local financial transactions happen through mobile banking, debit cards and internet banking. Payment for agricultural produce at the local market or milk at the co-operative society is made through online transactions.

On the occasion of the World Toilet Day, we present some stark truths about sanitation challenges in India, including the progress report of the government and expert's observations

On the occasion of 9th European Antibiotic Awareness Day on November 10, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) released some alarming data on antibiotic resistance. The data presented from across the European Union (EU) says that the last line of antibiotics-carbapenems

A Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) report says that food animals may be the most important route transmitting resistant bacteria to human beings.

The Ministries of Consumer Affairs and Law have approved changes in the Consumer Protection Act to provide for a jail term of up to 5 years, apart from a penalty of Rs 50 lakh for false and misleading ads.

The rainforests of Didy in eastern Madagascar usually ring with the calls of the indri, the island's largest lemur. There is a different noise now: the chopping of trees, digging of gravel

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States is bad news for the global environment. He has made it clear that he will not implement the steps required to meet the pledges to reduce emissions as part of the agreement reached in Paris at the end of 2015.

Navy has formally inducted four types of indigenously developed sonars that will boost its underwater surveillance capability. The systems have been designed and developed by NPOL, a Kochi based laboratory of DRDO.

Given the trust deficit between the two after the Supreme Court, in October 2015, struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment

One of the most fundamental questions in modern astrophysics is how galaxies first formed. The Milky Way, the galaxy we live in, is an amalgamation of about 100 billion stars, gas, dust and enigmatic dark matter - all held together by gravity. The Milky Way itself is but one of many hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable universe, with a wide range of sizes, masses, shapes and colours.

Can massive amounts of human excrement be transformed and used to tackle waste management challenges? India is currently addressing this issue by channeling it into into composting systems through the use of Biodigester toilets (also known as bio-toilets).

Organised for the first time in the history of UN Climate Change Conferences (Conference of the Parties, or "COPs"), the Action Day for Water at the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech (COP22) created through the Global Climate Action Agenda calls for more attention to water as a way of providing solutions to help implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

On the third day of Conference of Parties (COP-22) on Wednesday, being held at Marrakech in Morocco, the India Pavilion witnessed three side-events that focused on the initiatives in afforestation and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in India, ecosystem and climate change and sustainable transportation.

The five-year period from 2011 to 2015 has been the warmest five-year period on record globally. The average temperature in 2015 had already risen by more than one degree (with 2016 on track to be even warmer) since the pre-industrial period. While there's a growing fear that 2015's record-breaking temperatures will be normal by 2030, this year has already seen record-breaking heat for nine consecutive months.

The success of Paris Climate deal depends largely on the political willingness of one of the largest emitters in the world. "For all the challenges we face, the growing threat of climate change could define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other," asserted the US President Barack Obama during his address at the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015.

The strike rate of successful wildlife conservation initiatives remains poor. In fact, more species are included in the near extinction and other endangered categories each year (see graph 'The slide down'). That's why the latest Red List report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has come as a breather for four key species.

The strike rate of successful wildlife conservation initiatives remains poor. In fact, more species are included in the near extinction and other endangered categories each year (see graph 'The slide down'). That's why the latest Red List report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has come as a breather for four key species.

India is pushing for palm cultivation in the northeastern states of Assam, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh to increase production of oil, a commodity that costs the country millions in imports annually.

The invocation of Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, provides a stark reminder of the sheer depravity of some of our antiquated, colonial-era laws. Latest being the arrest of Student Union president of JNU and a former DU lecturer.

Air pollution is responsible for 10,000 to 30,000 deaths in Delhi every year. It is also the fifth leading cause of death in India, a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had stated in 2015. Air pollution in the national capital is a result of a complex mix of anthropogenic (vehicle emissions, industry emissions, waste burning and crop burning) and natural sources like road dust.

The 21st century is the "urban century", as more than 2 billion additional people arrive in cities all over the world. A report terms this rapid urbanisation unprecedented in human history and points out that by 2050, more and more people will live in urban areas.

The satellite images of NASA's fire mapper showed that incidences of paddy burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have increased after Diwali. The images clearly revealed that after October 30, 2016, crop burning in the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh became more aggressive, leading to severe smog in the national capital.

We also often hear people saying it is impossible to attribute any single weather event to climate change, as former prime minister Tony Abbott and the then environment minister Greg Hunt said after the bushfires in New South Wales in 2013.

Banners declaring no "Chinese firecrackers" are a common sight in many temporary kiosks, which have mushroomed in the Diwali season. The Delhi government has also sprung up to action in cracking down on crackers of Chinese origin.

An analysis of air quality data on the night of Diwali on Wednesday has shown a dramatic build-up of pollution following the bursting of crackers, hitting dangerous levels of exposure. The analysis was conducted by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) which took into account official ambient monitoring data and conducted its own exposure monitoring of PM2.5.

India has made key investments in women's education but it has not removed barriers to women's participation in workforce. Hence, it is not seeing returns on their investments in terms of development of one half of country's human capital. The country has much to gain from the participation of educated but untapped talent pool in the workforce.

Building resistance against insecticides is an evolutionary problem affecting progress in the fields of health and agriculture, among others. But scientists at the University of Exeter and University of California have suggested a strategy to use evolution of mosquitoes to our advantage, for fighting malaria.

A new form of ultranationalism and jingoism seems to have gripped our country post Pathankot and Uri attacks. A clamour is being made for ending all relations with Pakistan- in economic as well as artistic sphere. Movies featuring Pakistani actors are being boycotted and their

Severely curtailing BCCI's financial powers, the Supreme Court said that the cricketing body cannot enter into contracts above a monetary ceiling that will now be fixed by the Lodha panel.

Unanimity in fighting terror but not on naming and shaming Pakistan-based jihadi groups: The summit took place weeks after a terror attack on an army camp in Uri killed 19 Indian soldiers. India blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed for the strike and launched a campaign to diplomatically isolate Islamabad.

Countries came to an agreement in Kigali to phase out a family of potent greenhouse gases by the late 2040s and move to prevent a potential 0.5 degree Celsius rise in global temperature by the end of the century.

A song writer and a singer par excellence, Bob Dylan was a trend setter of his time. His songs are timeless and verge toward philosophy and politics. Though not ready to be labelled under a particular school of thought or "ism", his songs are thought provoking and a stern reflection on events of the period

The European Union's ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement has brought it beyond the required threshold - ratification by more than 55 Parties to the Convention accounting for at least 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This will ensure that the Agreement will enter into force on November, 2016.

Forest land, as much as thrice the size of Bengaluru, has been encroached upon in Karnataka as of October 2016. According to data from the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEF), a total of 187,000 hectares of forests were encroached in this southern state. It's a staggering 129 per cent rise from August 2014.

Forest land, as much as thrice the size of Bengaluru, has been encroached upon in Karnataka as of October 2016. According to data from the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEF), a total of 187,000 hectares of forests were encroached in this southern state. It's a staggering 129 per cent rise from August 2014.

The polio virus is very good at finding children and paralysing them. We must be better than the virus and find the children,” Sona Bari, the spokesperson for polio eradication at the World Health Organization (WHO), had once said. Polio, a potentially fatal infectious disease, has no cure but safe and effective vaccines are available.

India, the largest among the democratic developing nations, has valiantly ratified the Paris Climate Agreement. With this, India has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 33 to 35 per cent before 2030 and to increase forest and tree cover to 33 per cent as a carbon sink.

Sitting in a surgical oncologist's cabin, Shyam Babu (name changed) curses the day he gave in to his old habit of chewing tobacco and consuming alcohol. Just six years ago, the 63-year-old Delhi-based textile businessman had successfully defeated mouth cancer. He now suffers a relapse of the disease.

A global report focuses on sustainable agricultural growth, increased wages and creation of off-farm jobs to bring about rapid rural development.The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) report says economic growth alone is not enough to eliminate rural poverty, particularly in the Asia and Pacific region.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union, has come up with the e-agriculture strategy to help countries use information and communication technology to drive rural development.

India has a long tradition of tolerance and plurality. When there is an existential threat to it, the people and the institutions have to work hard to preserve it.

While fundamental rights are crucial to the survival of a vibrant democracy, there's an equally important aspect to an organized society that we often ignore. For a polity to survive, citizens should have a high sense of duty.

Over the past 20 years, China-India relations have improved in both breadth and depth. There has been a warming of political ties. Over the last 2 years, high level visits have been frequent signaling the growing importance of both countries in each other's success.

Come April 2017, all the vehicles, including electric rickshaws and cars manufactured in India, will have to furnish details about the emission levels including noise levels as the Ministry of Road Transport made an amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Act.

The world is determined to end hunger by 2030 by sustainable food production and consumption. Currently, climate change threatens our very existence in the form of increased extreme weather events all over the world. When this is the scenario, how can we safeguard agriculture from the onslaught of frequent droughts and floods?

The current mass bleaching of corals across the world appears to be the most severe ever. It threatens the very existence of coral reefs.

India is on the threshold of major reforms and is poised to become the third-largest economy of the world by 2030. In the words of our Hon'ble Prime Minister, India offers the 3 'Ds' for business to thrive- democracy, demography and demand. Add to that a tech-savvy and educated population, skilled labour, robust legal and IPR regime

New Delhi and Moscow purportedly have finally agreed to a work-share agreement for the co-production of a new warplane.

A baby robot designed to invoke an emotional connection has been unveiled in Japan, as the country stands at the forefront of world’s aging population.

BRICS and G20 as multilateral organizations have many similarities like rotational nature of host countries and ministerial exchanges. The cooperation in these multilateral frameworks also extends to various stakeholders like youth and other civil society members. Both organizations have their origins in global economic crisis within last decade. The interactions at G2G level especially at ministerial level are to be increased for greater coordination and cooperation among BRICS member countries. BRICS member countries should start ministerial/official dialogues of various sectors like tourism, industries, infrastructure such as highways, railways, civil aviation, and mines for increasing economic cooperation.

Lead researcher Jesse Everett from Australian National University (ANU) said controlling the movement of light was critical to developing future quantum computers.

In far-away French Guiana at Kourou in South America housed in the middle of lush green rain forests is the expansive 700 sq km European space port.

The Moon is bombarded by so much space rock that its surface gets a complete facelift every 81,000 years, according to a study released based on NASA data.

Benaulim (Goa): Exhorting the BRICS Business Council to work with member countries for strengthening mutual trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said events like the first BRICS Trade Fair help to generate greater business awareness and commercial exchanges.

"The launch has been postponed by one day due to heavy cross winds," a senior ISRO official said late Tuesday.

Benaulim (Goa): Asserting that results of the reforms undertaken by his government were visible, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the country has transformed into "one of the most open economies" in the world with a strong growth rate.

British trio of physicists David Thouless, F Duncan M Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz have won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. They will share the 8 million Swedish kronor prize. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has selected them for their individual researches on theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter.

The Union Cabinet has undertaken three key reforms in Union budget-advancement of the date of presentation by a month, dropping the classification of expenditure as Plan and Non-Plan and doing away with the Railway Budget. Though railway budget merger has garnered more spotlight, it is equally necessary to understand if the advanced budget presentation will help government functioning.

The Union Cabinet has undertaken three key reforms in Union budget-advancement of the date of presentation by a month, dropping the classification of expenditure as Plan and Non-Plan and doing away with the Railway Budget. Though railway budget merger has garnered more spotlight, it is equally necessary to understand if the advanced budget presentation will help government functioning.

Frequent elections, according to experts, hamper long-term policy making because every decision is seen as bait for votes. Hence, to end this vicious cycle of elections, PM Modi had recommended holding of simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections all over the country.

In news: A recent report by the NITI Aayog, authored by a committee chaired by its vice-chairperson, Arvind Panagariya, has proposed a sweeping overhaul of medical education in India.The committee's remit was to suggest an overhaul of the Indian Medical Council Act, which dates back to 1956.

The relationship between India and USA which has been on an upward curve for some time is further seeing an upward trend. The crucial LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement) recently signed by both the countries is a significant step towards strategic and defence ties.

The Union environment ministry in March 2016 had notified the E-Waste Management Rules 2016 replacing the 2011 version. With this, the Indian government has taken a key step to combat this most lethal form of pollution.The earlier rules issued five years ago were quite inadequate.

The government is planning to make 44 highway stretches totalling 27,000 km to be developed as "economic corridors" for seamless movement of cargo vehicles, cut delays, deepen economic activities and create jobs.

The reasons stated for the merger of railway budget with general budget are

Cyber security and defence against cyber warfare assume greater significance due to rapidly increasing risks, vulnerabilities, threats, cybercrimes and fraud. The incidence of cybercrimes in the country went up significantly in 2015 where number of cases booked under the cybercrime category rose by 20.5%.This reiterates the need of an effective cyber security policy to thwart cyber threats.

Burning of agricultural biomass residue, or Crop Residue Burning (CRB) has been identified as a major health hazard. In addition to causing exposure to extremely high levels of Particulate Matter concentration to people in the immediate vicinity, it is also a major regional source of pollution, contributing between 12 and 60 per cent of PM concentrations as per various source apportionment studies. In addition, it causes loss of vital components such as nitrogen,phosphorus, sulphur and potassium from the topsoil layer,making the land less fertile and unviable for agriculture in the long run.

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) meeting at Nairobi noted that air pollution has increased by 8 per cent and progress and policies on air quality fall short of what is needed to save millions of lives each year.

An internal commerce ministry estimate that signing the 16-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement will result in a revenue loss of as much as 1.6% of gross domestic product has alarmed officials.

The Standing Committee on Water Resources examined the subject "Review of ground water scenario, need for a comprehensive policy and measures to address problems in the country with particular reference to (i) dark blocks, and

The Parliament has passed the National Waterways Bill 2015. Under the bill, a total of 106 rivers and rivulets will be developed for transportation. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had approved the official amendment of the National Waterways Bill, 2015, last December.

1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents Union Budget for 2016-17 Highlights are: 2. Concealed Income Disclosure Scheme from June 1 to September 30 3. Higher allocation for agriculture, infrastructure and social sectors. 4. No change in Income Tax rates; Relief to small tax payers up to Rs 5 lakh; Surcharge hiked from 12 to 15 percent above the income of Rs 1 crore

The border-guarding forces of Bangladesh and India conducted their first-ever joint exercise in the riverine borders of the Sundarbans. In an attempt to bring in more synergy in coordinated border management, border-guarding forces of Bangladesh and India conducted their first-ever joint exercise in the riverine borders of the Sundarbans.

The Mars probe, the first of a two-phase exploration of the Red Planet by European and Russian scientists, is scheduled to be blasted into space on a Proton rocket from Baikonour cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday. — File Photo: AFP Space engineers are making final preparations for the launch of a robot spacecraft designed to sniff out signs of life on Mars.

Indian women are no longer “passive recipients” of the state’s welfare schemes, but active agents of change. Real development is only possible with their economic empowerment, the Supreme Court has observed in a judgment. They had become “dynamic promoters of social transformation that can alter the lives of both women and men.”

Pakistan has replaced Bangladesh to emerge as the largest buyer of Indian cotton in the October-December 2015 quarter on the back of a sharp decline in its domestic availability due to widespread crop damage from whiteflies Data compiled by the Textiles Commissioner's office ...