The Cabinet today approved revival of closed urea plant in Sindri, Jharkhand, and setting up of a new fertiliser plant in Namrup in Assam at a total investment of Rs 10,500 crore.

The 1.3 million tonnes plant at Sindri will be revived at an investment of Rs 6,000 crore, while Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer's plant in Assam entails an investment of Rs 4,500 crore, Union Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The Namrup plant will have an annual capacity of 8.64 lakh tonnes of urea. The Cabinet also approved financial restructuring of Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation by waiving the entire cumulative interest Rs 774.61 crore as on March 31, the fertiliser ministry said in a statement.

"Namrup plant will be a joint venture between Brahmaputra Valley having 11 per cent share, Government of Assam having 11 per cent share and Oil India having 26 per cent share and the remaining 52 per cent will be globally bid," Fertiliser Minister Kumar said. Sindri unit was the first PSU in independent India. The government has taken a decision to revive Sindri through the bidding route.

Jeremy Clarkson has said being dropped from Top Gear "was my own silly fault".

The broadcaster was speaking to BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans in his first interview since losing his job over a "fracas" with a producer.He said leaving the show had "left a huge hole" in his life "that needs to be filled".

Clarkson admitted he had taken phone calls from broadcasters who wanted to poach the Top Gear team but said, "I'd be a fool to jump into something.I have been at the BBC for 27 years. When you emerge after 27 years, you find the world is changed."

Read the complete story here

Swaraj Abhiyan, a group formed by ousted AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, today formed its national team of 29 members and announced "Jai Kisan Abhiyan Swaraj Yatra" to kickstart its movement for farmers.

Yadav, leader of Swaraj Abhiyan -- formed after his expulsion from the AAP -- said the group has prepared its constitution which talks of RTI, autonomy to state bodies, advisory council, freedom of expression, associate membership for other organisation and the Lokpal. He, however, denied forming a party on immediate basis.

"Right from the first day, we are saying that we are a political organisation. But to form a political party, we need to gather strength and energy," Yadav said.

"Even if a political party is floated, volunteers have options to work for social issues through Swaraj Abhiyan movement. It will always remain a non-electoral organisation," Bhushan said.

A majority of the members of the national working committee include former AAP members, who were either expelled or quit. Yadav, who was earlier handling Haryana, while in the AAP, continues to hold the charge of the state in the newly formed outfit.

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin has said he has no objection over the two important phases of his life, the match fixing episode and his marriage, being shown in his upcoming biopic, Azhar.

Directed by Tony D'Souza, the film traces the journey of the former skipper's career and his personal life, which have witnessed many ups and down. Actor Emraan Hashmi will essay the titular role. The film producer Ekta Kapoor said will show three key aspect's of the cricketer's life -- Khuda (God), marriage and the match-fixing controversy.

"The three important phases of my life will be seen in the film. They will be showing all the phases correctly. If I had an objection I wouldn't have said yes. I have read the script and they have taken my inputs as well, so I don't have any objection," Azharuddin said in Mumbai at the teaser launch of the film today.

"In a biopic, personal life is as important as professional. We will have three aspects of his life - Khuda, shaadi and the match-fixing case," Kapoor said.

Azharuddin, who was one of India's most successful captains, kicked up a major controversy after his name cropped up in a high-profile match-fixing case. The ICC and BCCI banned Azharuddin for life, following a CBI inquiry into the case.

On the match-fixing episode, Azharuddin said, "It is very hard for me to say about it right now. Once you see the film you will get the right perspective."

Trains are being diverted in the Kota division as Gujjars block railway tracks.

The Kota-Patna train, Nizamuddin-Udaipur, Ajmer-Rajendra Nagar Express are diverted as Gujjars protest for quota, reports NDTV.  Two Rajdhani trains from Delhi to Mumbai are also diverted.

Cabinet approves amendments to FDI policy on investments by NRIs, PIOs and OCIs for greater forex remittances.

They Hyderabad police have arrested a suspect seen on CCTV robbing a woman of her valuables inside an ATM.


On Wednesday, a woman was robbed of her gold jewellery, cellphone and ATM card by the as yet unidentified person after he terrorised her by firing inside an ATM in Yosufguda area on Wednesday morning in Hyderabad.


The incident occurred at around 7.45 am when Lalitha, 25, a private firm employee staying at a hostel in Madhura Nagar, went to the ATM to withdraw money, they said.


"The armed man had covered his face with a kerchief. When the woman entered the ATM centre, he suddenly came from behind and demanded her to give the valuables. When she refused, he fired on the wall and after terrorising her took away her gold chain and earrings (weighing around 20 grams)," S R Nagar Police Station Inspector G V Ramana Goud told PTI.


The accused also snatched her ATM card before fleeing. He also attempted to withdraw money from the ATM, but failed to do so due to some technical problem, he said.


The police nabbed the man on the basis of the CCTV footage. The suspect is believed to be a repeat offender and apparently used a country-made weapon for firing. 

Greenpeace is determined to keep operating in India even after the central government froze its bank accounts, leaving it with no funds to pay wages to hundreds of staff, its country head said on Thursday, reported Reuters.


The home ministry blocked foreign funding to the local branch of the environmentalist group in April as part of a wider crackdown against international and domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) found to have misreported foreign aid.


Greenpeace took legal action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government after bureaucrats found holes in its balance sheet and suspended transactions for six months.


"The government has made it impossible for us to operate but our employees are willing to work without pay for one month because they see that the larger commitment has always been to fight against injustice," said Greenpeace India head Samit Aich.

The US has ended its massive relief and rescue operations in the quake-hit Nepal as the country gears up for the long-term recovery and reconstruction process.


The government of Nepal announced their transition from relief operations to the recovery phase of disaster response on Tuesday, according to the US embassy in Kathmandu.


"The joint relief missions conducted by the US and Nepalese militaries brought life-saving aid to those who needed it most and reinforced the United States' close partnership with Nepal and its people," said Peter Bodde, US ambassador to Nepal.


"There has been a decreasing demand for unique JTF 505 capabilities in further recovery efforts here in Nepal," said Lt Gen John Wissler, commander of JTF 505.


"We will continue to work closely with our Nepalese partners and USAID to ensure we meet the needs that may emerge during the coordinated transition and retrograde of our military capabilities as long as we remain in Nepal," he added.


The US has provided USD 47 million in humanitarian assistance and about 114 tons of emergency relief supplies for earthquake relief efforts. Approximately 900 US military and civilian personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps contributed to the Nepal relief efforts under the auspices of JTF 505.


At least 8,622 people were killed and 756,000 houses and other buildings damaged after powerful earthquakes jolted Nepal on April 25 and May 12.

Union Cabinet meeting begins at 7RCR. External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj arrives. 

The BJP today slammed the Karnataka government for its "dirty tricks" in the case relating to the mysterious death of an upright IAS officer following reports that he had called his woman batchmate only once and not 44 times on the day he was found dead in his apartment.


"No government has the right to damage the reputation of a person, especially of someone who is dead... The government should not become a dirty tricks department. It is uncalled for," BJP's state senior leader Suresh Kumar said.


He questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's earlier statement that D K Ravi made 44 calls to his woman IAS batchmate. "I read in newspapers that Ravi did not make 44 calls as was reported earlier - there was only one call. Now who will compensate for the damage caused on Ravi and to the serving bureaucrat," he said.


Kumar said the Siddaramaiah government handed over the case to CBI on Congress High Command's directions, not on demands made by people and Ravi's parents.


CBI had started a preliminary inquiry last month into the "unnatural" death of Ravi, an IAS officer of 2009 batch whose body was found hanging at his residence in Bengaluru on March 16. In its preliminary report, the central agency has found that Ravi had apparently telephoned a woman IAS batchmate only once on the day of his alleged suicide as against claims that he had called her 44 times.

Maharashtra government's decision to make changes in the Factories Act, 1948, that will allow women to work in night shifts in factories, has evoked a mixed response from different sections of society.


The decision was taken yesterday at a meeting of the state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. While some people have welcomed the decision, others want the government to be cautious so that the decision does not backfire.


"This is a very bold decision that the government has taken and it can backfire with unwarranted consequences. The government must reconsider it before implementing," a senior Labour Commissionerate officer said on condition of anonymity.


"Undoubtedly, women have always been vulnerable to crime and this is why even British did not do so," he said.


"But, if the government ensures that employers get CCTVs installed in working premises and drop facilities are provided, then it would be more a dignified way of empowerment of women," he added.


A senior manager working at an ordnance factory in Ambernath welcomed the decision, saying, "It shows we are moving ahead with fast changing scenario across the world and the amendment in the Act will certainly enrich opportunities for working women."

Activist and former bureaucrat-turned-lawyer Abha Singh welcomed the move, but also cautioned the government. "There may be a spurt in sexual harassment cases at workplace, hence committee to serve Vishakha guidelines must be strengthened with full vigil and there should be proper security and environment within the premises," she said.


Observing that this move will cater to the rise in women workforce, she said, "Proper pick up and drop facilities should be provided to women by the employer."


However, former labour minister Nawab Malik, said, "This is not a new decision. Such a move was already in practice as a decision to this effect was taken by the previous government. This government is trying to cover up its failure from all sides by pushing up this so-called amendment. This is a publicity stunt, nothing more than that."

The Mumbai police have registered a case against Hari Krishna Exports for rejecting the job application of a man on the grounds that he was a Muslim.

Police Inspector Suryakant Jagdale says, "As per the law, there is punishment of 3 years. After investigation it will be revealed who is actually related to offence.

Alright, another vintage picture of a politician who now holds one of the most prestigious offices in the country. C'mon, this is an easy one.


And if you're still wondering who that Congress leader with Rajiv Gandhi is, the answer is Ajay Maken. The former PM was assassinated exactly three days after the picture was taken. See our 12:04 pm post. 

A massive fire broke out at a vegetable market in Keshopur, west Delhi, at 11 am today. Five fire tenders have brought the fire under control, with no casualties being reported so far. TV images showed thick smoke bellowing out of the market as the fire raged on for several hours. Fire officials say a short circuit may have been responsible.

The picture was tweeted by @gaganChamp

Alleging that officers were running "transfer-posting industry" in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today said AAP government was being opposed for trying to stop it, a day after bureaucrats expressed anguish over the treatment meted out to them. In a sharp counter-attack, Sisodia alleged that bureaucrats who were running "transfer-posting industry" in the past governments are talking about "motivating" IAS officers after retirement and added that only officials who "misuse" their position are demoralised.


"It is very interesting. In Delhi, 'transfer-posting' is a big industry and we have stopped it in last three months.


"All the transfers we have done are on the basis of eligibility and have been carried out with full honesty. This is why people are opposing us. Crores (of rupees) were made through 'transfer-posting industry' in Delhi," Sisodia told reporters.


Sisodia's statement came a day after over 100 serving and retired IAS officials of the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa- Mizoram-Union Territories) cadre expressed "anguish" over the way senior officials are being treated in the ongoing tussle between the AAP government and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung over appointment of officials. The Deputy Chief Minister also took a dig at retired IAS officials on social media website.

Look who's just got back from Mars!

Hrithik Roshan @iHrithik tweets: White and gold ? Or blue and black? Ask around." 


Click on the picture for a larger image.

While a decision on granting a passport to Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani is pending with the government, sources at the Ministry of Home Affairs today said that a passport is the right of every citizen.


The MHA said the decision on issuing a passport will be taken considering various issues, including national security. As and when the matter is referred to the MHA it will be processed on merit.


MoS Home Kiran Rijiju said that the Home Ministry has not yet received anything regarding Geelani's application for passport. "When we will receive it, we will take a decision taking into account various issue like national security," he told reporters.


Rijiju was replying to a question on the issue of granting passport to the hardline Hurriyat faction leader who has applied for the travel document to visit his ailing daughter in Saudi Arabia.


Jammu and Kashmir's ruling coalition partners PDP and BJP were sharply divided today over the Geelani passport issue with the regonal party saying it would approach the Centre for granting the travel document on "humanitarian" grounds.


Official sources said Geelani and his family members want to travel to Jeddah to visit his ailing daughter and had applied for passports online.


Geelani was issued passport in 2007, 2008 and 2011 with a validity of one year in each time. 

The Goa Congress has threatened to "throw cow dung on the face of ministers" who claim that tourists arrive in the state due to availability of drugs.

"If any minister says that tourists come because of drugs, we will throw cow dung on his face to purify him," Goa Congress unit chief Luizinho Faleiro said. "We should tell tourists that don't come to Goa for drugs. They can come to enjoy the vacation. We will provide them all the support," he said.


The scourge and menace of drugs is hitting Goa, he said. Faleiro's statement comes a week after the Congress unit launched a campaign against drugs in the coastal state.


"Drugs are not only in the coastal belt, but they have percolated to the hinterland," he said pointing out the recent incident wherein two youths had died at Curtorim village after consuming narcotics during a birthday party.


"Nigerians have become drug lord in Goa and they are being supervised by government. In the coast of Arambol, drugs are sold in open by Nigerians," the former Chief Minister alleged.

The CIA has released a list of books found in Osama Bin Laden's Pakistan compound. His reading list includes two novels by Noam Chomsky, the 9/11 truther novel The New Pearl Harbor and an online article questioning if the illuminati were behind the attacks.  Read more

The Hindustan Times headlines the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

In a blatant case of religious discrimination, a Mumbai-based diamond export company rejected a job application only because the person was a Muslim.


Zeshan Ali Khan (pictured) an MBA grad, had emailed his resume to Hari Krishna Exports in Mumbai. He said he had applied for the job with a couple of friends and almost half of them were immediately placed. His application however, was rejected within 20 minutes.


Zeeshan said the company emailed him saying, "Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates."


Zeshan said, he initially thought the response was a joke and but when he realised the company was serious, he took to Facebook to post his outrage. It was only after the post gained traction, that Zeeshan received a "regret" e-mail yesterday, by a senior executive of the company.


The mail read: "We would like to clarify that the company does not discriminate against candidates based on gender, caste, religion, etc. Any hurt caused in the matter is deeply regretted," said Mahendra S. Deshmukh, Associate VP & Head-HR of the company.


"Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about inclusive growth, but companies are dealing like this. If I was not qualified enough, I should have been told accordingly," said Zeeshan who is an MBA in international business.


The incident has become politicised with Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi jumping in saying, "If any such incident of denying a person job on religion has happened, it is wrong. Religion cannot be a criterion for rejection from job. Only merit and demerit is the criterion."


The company also said that the e-mail was sent erroneously by a new employee who was still training and that it does not discriminate against candidates based on religion.


The National Commission for Minorities has called for an inquiry into the case.

The government has belied the hope that many harboured of change, efficiency and dismantling old practices as the defence ministry continues to pursue the same well-trodden and wasteful path. Rahul Bedi paints a worrying picture as he examines the defence ministry's performance under Narendra Modi's prime ministership. Read

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has denied ordering recall of any batch of Maggi noodles.


The Central food safety regulator said that it is waiting to examine the initial report from the state enforcement agencies in Uttar Pradesh which found the product containing added monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead in excess of the permissible limit.


"We have not yet ordered any recall. We are waiting to see the report from UP and may order countrywide sampling after that," a senior official in the FSSAI said.


The Nestle spokesperson also confirmed that the company has not received any communication from the regulator seeking countrywide recall. Read more

A senior Congress leader tweeted this picture of him with Rajiv Gandhi at a rally. "... Three days before he left us. His aura was mesmerizing! A big loss to the Nation."


Who is the person standing behind Rajiv Gandhi?

If you've just joined us, this is a must see picture. In a first, a Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force successfully landed on the Yamuna Expressway near Mathura as part of trials to use national highways for emergency landing.

A scientific paper written by Alan Turing, the brilliant computer scientist who cracked the Enigma code during the Second World War and bolstered Britain's war efforts, was recently declassified by the British government and uploaded to the arXiv pre-print server.


The paper's entitled 'The Applications of Probability to Cryptography'. It has Turing bringing to bear a style of reasoning that is absent in today's statistics-heavy technical literature.


It is both didactic and meticulous, and provides great insight into how Turing explored the cryptographic problems he was confronted with. Read

A document recovered from Osama Bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan's Abbottabad -- where he was killed by the US Forces in 2011 -- proves he was aware, perhaps even proud, of the terror operations in India.


The document, one of over 100 papers declassified for the first time by US intelligence agencies, referred to the 26/11 attack in Mumbai as a "heroic Fidai operations" and the German Bakery blast as a "beautiful huge bombing."


The 15-page document, "Terror Franchise: THE UNSTOPPABLE ASSASSIN: TECHS Vital role for its success", also described the attacks as success stories to be emulated by other Al-Qaeda affiliate groups globally.


"Following the London bombing and before it, there were several blessed operation against American and European targets in Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, India and elsewhere," the document read.


Giving examples of the operations, it said, "and lately the heroic Fidai operations in Bombay -- India's economical capital... Following that, was the beautiful huge bombing-also in India- of the western German bakery mainly visited by Jews and western nationals in general...


"The 26/11 attack had killed over 150 people and injured more than 300. The German Bakery blast in Pune, in 2010, had killed 17 people and injured over 60.


Lashkar e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based terror group had been behind both attacks. The Mumbai attack was carried out by 10 Pakistani nationals, including Ajmal Kasab, who was captured and later hanged.


The Pune attack was backed by Lashkar and allegedly carried out by Indian Mujahideen.


US intelligence officials described the documents as a treasure trove of information.The papers directed Al-Qaeda and its affiliates to kill Americans and their allies - Britain, Germany and India - and shed light on Bin Laden's mindset, his concerns about security and his preoccupation with staging more large-scale attacks on the United States.


A portion of the statements, many of which are in Arabic, were declassified and translated into English by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence."The release, which followed a rigorous interagency review, aligns with the President's (Barack Obama) call for increased transparency," an official statement said.

Amar Singh, once the go-to man for those carrying some of the most famous surnames in the country, is wrapping up, as it were, his 18-year-long political career in the heart of New Delhi.

Literally so.

Amar Singh is moving from his coveted 27 Lodhi Estate bungalow, 13 years after he first moved in. Read

Should Ashoka be appropriated as a Kushwaha? The Bharatiya Janata Party evidently thinks so. While our third century BC emperor was the ruler of most of India and its western borderlands (with an empire that stretched from Afghanistan to Andhra), ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, the BJP has relentlessly presented him as someone whose caste identity is worth glorifying above everything else. Read

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan says her three-year-old daughter Aaradhya has now got used to the paparazzi and has adapted well. Initially, the Bachchan family had kept Aaradhya away from media glare but the shutterbugs still managed to click her on a number of occasions.


When asked how Aaradhya reacts to the limelight, Aishwarya said, "Every time we walk out of the airport, house, there are people around, camera is around. I guess, I think she was born to believe it is like this, this is normal to her. The mother in me will be protective."


"Media wants bytes, photos.. so I am going to be protective about her. It is a natural instinct. From her end there is no major chatter," she said.


Abhishek and Aishwarya got married in 2007 and welcomed their first child on November 16, 2011. Now that Aishwarya is making a comeback to films with "Jazbaa", she said motherhood has not changed her choice of doing movies.

Newly released documents recovered from Osama bin Laden's safehouse in Abbottabad show the al-Qaeda leader received multiple payments from an individual he identified as "the Indian brother in Medinah'.


The documents, released Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the United States, provide the most detailed public glimpse so far of the inner workings of al-Qaeda. Read more

Justice, finally.

A 33-year-old American woman has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for pushing an Indian man to death in front of a subway train in an attack apparently motivated by religious animus.


Erika Menendez had pleaded guilty in March before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak for shoving Sunando Sen, 46 to his death as the subway train entered the station on the night of December 27, 2012.


Menendez however insisted that she could not remember why she had pushed Sen onto the path of an approaching train.


A report in the New York Post said Lasak expressed his outrage over Sen's death before sentencing her. "For whatever reason, when you gave your statement to police after you were arrested, you said, 'I hate Muslims and the Hindus.' Do you remember that?" the judge asked. Menendez replied she did not."You picked out Sen, who was on that platform and you stood behind him and you followed him," the judge said.


"This was a particularly brutal homicide. I can only imagine his final thoughts. That's a horrible, horrible way to die," Lasak said adding that Menendez's act terrorised the whole city.


"Millions of people take the trains every day in New York City to go to work or to go to school or other destinations, and they want to feel safe," Lasak said. "And this put a chilling effect on all the ridership."


Sen, an immigrant from India, had lived in Queens for years and had opened his own printing and copying business near Columbia University. He was unmarried and his parents were dead, according to roommates who lived with him in a small apartment.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi paid tributes to former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, on his death anniversary today, tweeting, "Paying tributes to former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary."


Earlier in the day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, along with her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, paid tributes to her late husband and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 24th death anniversary.


Senior Congress leaders Ajay Maken and PC Chacko also paid their homage to Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi became the victim of a suicide bomber in Tamil Nadu's Siriperambudur in 1991 where he had gone for a poll campaign.

A "big shape' and a "blow' greeted marine biologists on a boat off the Sindhudurg coast two weeks ago. In search of dolphins for a study on behalf of the Indian governmentand United Nations Development Programme, the team spotted Bryde's whales just 600 metres off the coast. And it was not the first time.

IAF's Mirage 2000 successfully lands on Yamuna Expressway near Mathura as part of trials to use national highways for emergency landing.

US President Barack Obama has named an Indian-American professor from Yale University as a member of the prestigious National Council on Humanities. 

IAS officer DK Ravi, whose mysterious death on March 16 rocked Karnataka, had possibly committed suicide by hanging himself after incurring huge losses in the real estate business, the Central Bureau of Investigation has concluded in its preliminary report. 

The United States is willing to take in Rohingya refugees as part of international efforts to cope with Southeast Asia's stranded boat people, the State Department has said. 

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands in the Pacific today, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued and no major damage was expected.