India ‘takes note’ as China, Bhutan ink border talks MoU

China and Bhutan signed an MoU Thursday for what they called a “Three-step roadmap” for expediting the boundary negotiations and which according to Thimphu will provide fresh impetus to talks and can bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion acceptable to both sides.
15 October 2021

BSF Jurisdiction: Now extended further inside int’l border

The Indian Border Security Force’s jurisdiction of operation has been extended from 15km to 50km inside the international border and its officers have been given the power to arrest and seize in the three border states of West Bengal, Assam and Punjab in a bid to crack down on smuggling including that of narcotics.
14 October 2021

India extends BSF jurisdiction to 50km inside international border

Indian Border Security Force’s jurisdiction of operation has been extended from 15km to 50km inside the international border and its officers have been given the power to arrest and seize in the three border states of West Bengal, Assam and Punjab in a bid to crack down on smuggling including that of narcotics.
14 October 2021

India resumes vaccine exports

India has resumed a small amount of exports of Covid-19 vaccines and will increase exports significantly in the next few months as domestic stocks build up and most of its own large population is inoculated, officials said yesterday.
13 October 2021

Laser show at Burj Khalifa themed puja pandal stopped to ‘avoid overcrowding’

A laser show at Kolkata’s much-hyped Durga Puja pandal, modeled after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, has courted controversy over its laser lighting.
13 October 2021

Violence escalates in Indian Kashmir

Government forces killed five suspected rebels in India-administered Kashmir, police said yesterday, a day after militants shot dead five soldiers.
12 October 2021

Modi cautions against ‘selective interpretation’ of human rights

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today cautioned against “selective interpretation” of human rights and looking at the issue through political prism to diminish the country’s image.
12 October 2021

100 RTI applicants killed in India in last 15 years

At least 95-100 Right to Information (RTI) applicants have been killed while 190 were attacked in India in the last 15-16 years, according to a report by Transparency International India (TII).
12 October 2021

5 Indian army personnel killed in Kashmir encounter with militants

An officer and four soldiers of the Indian army were killed in an encounter with terrorists during an anti-militancy operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district today, officials said.
11 October 2021

Kolkata’s ‘Bhaager Maa’ pandal depicts migrant mother on India-Bangladesh border

“Bhaager Maa”, meaning “mother divided”, is the theme that South Kolkata’s Barisha Club chose for this year’s Durga Puja pandal, according to a report of Hindustan Times.
11 October 2021

Killing of farmers at protest site in India

The son of an Indian minister has been arrested on preliminary charges of murder, police said yesterday, a week after the death of eight people during a farmers’ protest sparked national outrage. 
10 October 2021

India dismisses possibility of coal supply crunch, power disruption

India today dismissed any possibility of a major countrywide disruption in electricity supply due to “shortage” of coal, terming it as “entirely misplaced fears” and stressing that “ample coal is available in the country to meet the demand of power plants”.
10 October 2021

India restrict syringe export for 3 months

With India aiming to vaccinate its entire adult population of 94 crores by end of 2021, the government today announced the imposition of Quantitative Restrictions (QR) on the export of three categories of syringes, used in administering Covid-19 vaccines, for three months to ensure their availability in the domestic market.
9 October 2021

Air India sold to Tata Sons for 18,000cr rupees

India’s leading salt-to-software manufacturing conglomerate Tata Sons (Tatas) won the bid to acquire 100 percent shares in debt-laden state-run Air India for 18,000 crore rupees, a senior government official said today.
8 October 2021

India to reopen for tourists from Oct 15

India will reopen for tourists from October 15 after being closed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government said yesterday.
7 October 2021

India to grant tourist visas to those coming via chartered flights from Oct 15

India today said it would start granting fresh tourist visas to foreigners coming by chartered flights from October 15 and foreign tourists coming by non-chartered flights from November 15.
7 October 2021

Mamata sworn in as member of West Bengal legislative assembly

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as a member of the state legislative assembly today, a week after she won the by-poll in the Bhabanipur constituency in south Kolkata by a record margin.
7 October 2021

Indian minister planning law to replace car horns with instrumental music

India’s Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari plans to make it mandatory for ambulances across the country have instrumental sounds instead of wailing sirens.
7 October 2021

Covid impact worsens India’s educational divide

India’s school closures and its children’s lack of smartphone and internet facilities amidst the Covid-19 pandemic have worsened an educational divide, the UN cultural agency said, flagging risks to young people’s futures.
6 October 2021

This day in history

1737 - A cyclone causes 40 foot waves that are believed to have killed 300,000 in Kolkata, India.
6 October 2021