India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed surface-to-surface short-range tactical ballistic missile 'Prahaar' from the Odisha coast Thursday amid heavy rains.

'Prahar', developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is capable of filling the gap between the multi-barrel rocket system 'Pinaka' and medium-range ballistic missile 'Prithvi'. It can also engage multiple targets in different directions, official sources said.

The test launch was successful as the missile travelled a range of 200 km before zeroing in on the target, achieving all mission objectives, the sources said.

In a big push to modernise India's emergency response infrastructure, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Department of Space are collaborating together to set up an advance Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER).

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the same was signed between ISRO and MHA on Wednesday which will enable setting up of a state-of-the-art Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER) in Ministry of Home Affairs.

The MoU was signed by Joint Secretary (Disaster Management) Sanjeev Kumar Jindal on behalf of MHA and Dr P.V.N Rao, Deputy Director, NRSC, ISRO.

As per the memorandum, the ISRO will render its technical expertise for setting up of proposed ICR-ER whereas the project will be executed under the overall supervision of MHA. It is expected that proposed control room will be established in a time frame of

The National Sports Awards 2018 were officialy announced on Thursday. The full list of National Sports Awards winners was released by Press Information Bureau (PIB) on their official website.

As expected, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu will receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award- India's highest sports honour.

Kohli will become the third Indian cricketer after legendary Sachin Tendulkar (1997) and the talismanic former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007) once the sports ministry officially accepts the committee's recommendation.

India and Morocco signed the revised Air Services Agreement between the two countries enabling greater connectivity through a modernized agreement. The delegation of the two countries have met three times in the past years wherein they have worked towards liberalization of markets between the two countries and updating of the existing Air Services Agreement. The two sides cleared the legal and technical difficulties and agreed to a modern new text for the Air Services Agreement. Thereafter, both sides took approval for the agreed text of the Air Services Agreement from the respective governments and after approval, this document has been formally signed during the visit of Shri Mohammed Sajid, Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicraft and Social Economy who signed for the Moroccan side and the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu signed for the Indian side.

This milestone is enabler for greater air connectivity between India and Morocco and will enable the airlines of each side to enter into code share with airlines of other party, as well as provide greater freedom in mounting direct flights. These developments in the Civil Aviation sector will enable the people of each country to travel to the other country leading to better economic and cultural ties

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu left for Belgrade Friday afternoon for the first phase of his 7- day tour to three central European countries, Serbia, Malta and Romania.

He is accompanied by Minister of State for (Finance) Mr. Shiv Pratap Shukla, 3 MPs from Rajya Sabha and one from Lok Sabha along with a business delegation headed by C.I.I.

The vice president will reach Serbia this evening, where he will address the Indian diaspora. Official welcome ceremony will be held on Saturday. He will hold a meeting with the President of Serbia. Various MoUs will also be signed between the two countries. Later, he will address a special session of National Assembly of Serbia.

The Vice - President will leave for Malta on 16th of September for the second phase of his visit. He is scheduled to interact with the heads of states of all the three countries and witness the signing of MoUs.

The Vice President's visit is expected to strengthen India’s bilateral relations with these three countries. The visit will help the countries to exchange expertise and share knowledge in the fields of economy, environment, trade and culture.

The government has appointed Managing Directors and Chief Executives of 10 public sector banks (PSBs) including the Indian Bank and the Syndicate Bank, said an official on Wednesday.

According to the Department of Personnel and Training, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the 10 appointments following proposals from the Department of Financial Services, under the Union Ministry of Finance.

Among those appointed are Padmaja Chundru, Deputy Managing Director, State Bank of India, as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in the

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday night signed the ordinance banning the practice of instant triple talaq, a senior Law Ministry functionary said.

File image of President Ram Nath Kovind. PTIFile image of President Ram Nath Kovind. PTI
The ordinance was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday morning.

The government has said the measure was necessary as the practice of talaq-e-biddat was continuing unabated despite the Supreme Court last year striking it down.

Under the ordinance, giving instant triple talaq is illegal and void, and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband.

Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Wednesday approved a new scheme which would pay cash relief to insured persons during the period of unemployment, the Labour Ministry said.

The scheme, Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna, is a relief payable in cash directly to Bank Account iof insured person in case of unemployment and while they search for new engagement, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said.

The scheme would benefit insured persons (IP) covered under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948. It has been formed considering the change in employment pattern and the current scenario of employment in India which has transformed from a long term employment to fixed short term engagement in the form of contract and temporary, the ministry said.

The proposal scheme was approved Wednesday in the ESIC board meeting chaired by the labour minister.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the opening of the process for receiving claims and objections from 40 lakh persons left out of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam from September 25.

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A Special Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton F. Nariman said the process would “tentatively” continue for a period of 60 days.

The claimants can rely on any one or more of the 10 additional documents, of a total of 15, detailed in the list of the draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) submitted by the Centre. The court decided to leave out five among the 15 listed documents.

The Bench ordered NRC Co-ordinator Prateek Hajela to file a report with his views on the reliability of the five documents left out for the time being.

The court posted the hearing for October 23 to examine Mr. Hajela’s report and pass further orders.

Justice Ranjan Gogoi on the Special Bench hearing the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) case observed on Wednesday that by allowing the claimants to file extra papers, the apex court was giving them a ‘second chance’ to prove their Indian legacy.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval to the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) Benefit Package, which will come into effect from October this year.

The benefit package will cost the central government Rs.1224.97 crore for two years (2018-2020) and will be implemented through the existing institutional mechanisms of the National Mission for Health, according to an official release.

Comprised of two components, the package aims at enrolling eligible ASHAs and ASHA facilitators in social security schemes, namely the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, while increasing recurring incentives from Rs. 1000 per month to Rs.2000 per month for the ASHAs under the National Health Mission.

The annual premiums for the social schemes will be paid by the central government, while the ASHA's shall