4th BIMSTEC Summit Declaration in Kathmandu vows for Bay of Bengal unity

India’s PM, Bangladesh PM, the Chief Advisor of Bhutan, President of Myanmar, PM of Nepal, President Sri Lanka, and the Prime Minister of Thailand, met in Kathmandu on 30-31 August 2018 for the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit and reaffirmed their commitment to the principles and purposes of BIMSTEC as enshrined in the 1997 Bangkok Declaration. Recalling the […]

LIC to acquire controlling stake of IDBI Bank as Cabinet gives nod

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved in reducing Government of India shareholding in IDBI Bank Limited to below 50% by dilution. It has also approved acquisition of controlling stake by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) as promoter in the bank through preferential allotment / open offer of equity, and […]

15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting held in Singapore

India’s Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu attended the 6th East Asia Summit- Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) and 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM) in Singapore on Saturday, Sept.1. Singapore is currently holding the Chair of ASEAN. The 6th East-Asia Economic Ministers’  Meeting was chaired by Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, and was […]

Polluted air may pose great threat to your kidneys, says study

Polluted air may pose great threat to your kidneys, says study

There is good evidence that polluted air increases the risk of respiratory problems such as asthma — as well as organ inflammation, worsening of diabetes and other life-threatening conditions. But new research suggests air pollution can also fuel something else: chronic kidney disease, or CKD, which occurs when a person’s kidneys become damaged or cannot […]

Fish oil won’t help diabetics fight heart attack or strokes: Study

Fish oil won’t help diabetics fight heart attack or strokes: Study

Fish oil supplements do not prevent heart attacks or strokes in patients with diabetes, according to late breaking results from the ASCEND trial presented on Friday in a Hot Line Session at ESC Congress 2018. In observational studies, higher consumption of fish is associated with lower risks of coronary artery disease and stroke. However, previous […]

Never mix energy drinks with alcohol, warns study

A key ingredient of energy drinks could be exacerbating some of the negative effects of binge drinking, said a new study sending a warning to many people who mix energy drinks with alcohol to counteract the sedative nature of alcohol, tricking users into feeling more awake and less drunk than they really are. Researchers from the […]

Schools, offices closed tomorrow on Vajpayee’s demise

More than 12 states and the central government have announced a holiday tomorrow, Friday, August 17, 2018 following the death of former Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee. The states include Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, UP, MP, Bihar, Assam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, among others. Vajpayee breathed his […]

PM Narendra Modi’s Independence Day Speech 2018 – Highlights

PM Narendra Modi’s Independence Day Speech 2018 – Highlights

India’s Prime Minster Narendra Modi today, August 15, 2018, addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 72nd Independence Day. Following are the highlights from his speech: Today, the country is full of self-confidence. The country is scaling new heights by working extremely hard with a resolve to scale new heights. […]

Bala Venkatesh Varma appointed next ambassador to Russia

Bala Venkatesh Varma appointed next ambassador to Russia

D. Bala Venkatesh Varma, currently Indian ambassador to Spain has been appointed the next Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation. Mr Varma from the 1988 batch of IFS is expected to move to Moscow soon. “He is expected to take up his assignment shortly,” said a press release of the External affairs Ministry. Mr. […]

India PM Narendra Modi unfurls Tricolour at Red Fort; Google joins with Doodle

India PM Narendra Modi unfurls Tricolour at Red Fort; Google joins with Doodle

Today, Wednesday, 15 August 2018, India celebrates her 72nd Independence Day. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the Tricolour at the Red Fort, Google and Youtube joined the celebration with livestreaming with many media outlets offering live updates. Doordarshan, India’s National Broadcaster, started LIVE STREAM of the 72nd Independence Day Celebrations from the ramparts of […]

KCET 2018 extends 3rd round counselling dates; Awaiting Comedk to finish?

KCET 2018 extends 3rd round counselling dates; Awaiting Comedk to finish?

The ongoing battle for engineering course aspirants is on high tide with Karnataka CET 2018 counselling rounds extending the last date for option entry while Comedk, collecting more than double the fee is fast filling the quota. Ironic but the Karnataka government-backed engineering entrance test bodies have been paying little sympathy to the woes of […]

Saliva diagnostics? Saliva to replace blood test as a real diagnostic tool?

Amid new diagnostic methods and treatment options, early detection is an emerging paradigm which seeks to decrease patient morbidity and mortality. And here comes saliva diagnostics with huge potential, possibly replacing the painful pricking on fingers or on wrists. Saliva diagnostics is emerging as the latest and easiest way to detect disease at a phase […]

Mystery of the 2000-year-old Basel papyrus mirror writing deciphered

Since the 16th century, Basel has been home to a mysterious papyrus. With mirror writing on both sides, it has puzzled generations of researchers. A research team from the University of Basel has now discovered that it is an unknown medical document from late antiquity. The text was likely written by the famous Roman physician […]

35-year solar power contract enables lower prices

35-year solar power contract enables lower prices

The world’s first 35-year day or night solar contract (ACWA Power’s with DEWA in Dubai) also had a record-low price for solar with storage – of just 7.3 cents per kWh. Energy developers always look to find ways to structure deals to reduce their costs. A key task in developing utility-scale renewable energy projects is […]

China archeo-tools suggest Man left Africa earlier than previously thought

Ancient tools and bones discovered in Shangchen in the southern Chinese Loess Plateau by archaeologists suggest early humans left Africa and arrived in Asia earlier than previously thought. The artefacts show that our earliest human ancestors colonised East Asia over two million years ago. They were found by a Chinese team that was led by […]

Growing a dinosaur’s dinner, the way it was 150 million years ago

Growing a dinosaur’s dinner, the way it was 150 million years ago

Scientists have measured the nutritional value of herbivore dinosaurs’ diet by growing their food in atmospheric conditions similar to those found roughly 150 million years ago. Previously, many scientists believed that plants grown in an atmosphere with high carbon dioxide levels had low nutritional value. But a new experimental approach led by Dr Fiona Gill […]

Deaths from heart-related disease rising in India, study finds

Deaths from heart-related disease rising in India, study finds

Death due to heart-related disease is on the rise in India, causing more than one-fourth of all deaths in the country in 2015 and affecting significantly rural populations and young adults the most, suggests a study. This work is the first nationally representative study to measure cardiovascular mortality in India, led by Dr. Prabhat Jha, […]

84 endangered Amur leopards found in China, Russia

84 endangered Amur leopards found in China, Russia

In a good and bad news to tiger conservationists, scientists estimate that 84 highly endangered Amur leopards are roaming in the wild across its current range along the southernmost border of Primorskii Province in Russia and Jilin Province of China. This new estimate of the Amur leopard population was recently reported in the scientific journal, Conservation […]

JEE, NEET go GMAT way, to hold entrance test twice a year

JEE, NEET go GMAT way, to hold entrance test twice a year

The Joint Entrance Examination (Mains) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be conducted twice a year instead of just once, and the best score will be taken into account for admissions. Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar announced it on Saturday that the National Testing Agency (NTA) would conduct of […]