Month: April 2025

[ad_1] It was Saturday, April 19, 1975. At 1:28:55pm IST, India launched its first satellite, Aryabhata, from a remote Soviet cosmodrome. Built in just 30 months by a young team of Indian scientists, the satellite didn’t just mark the beginning of India’s space era — it became a symbol of scientific ambition in a developing nation.While Aryabhata fell silent just four days after launch due to a power failure, it achieved much more than expected. It demonstrated India’s ability to design and build a satellite from scratch, a satellite that would conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, solar physics, and aeronomy (see box). The mission was India’s first step in using satellites for scientific discovery, not just communications.Aryabhata’s project director, Udupi Ramachandra Rao, who passed away in 2017, used to talk about that chilly morning in Russia, when the satellite was […]

[ad_1] Amid rising US-China trade tensions, Beijing has extended an olive branch to India, expressing willingness to import more high-quality Indian products and assist Indian businesses in accessing China’s vast market. The move comes as India’s trade deficit with China reportedly hit a record $99.2 billion this week.In his first interview with Indian media since taking office, Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong told The Times of India that China is open to steps that could help narrow the trade gap. He also voiced hope that India would ensure a transparent and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies operating in the country.Meanwhile, in a tragic incident, an Indian student was shot dead in Canada's Hamilton.The National Testing Agency has declared the results for JEE (Main) 2025 Session 2, with 24 candidates securing a perfect 100 percentile score. However, the agency has withheld results […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: A massive fire that erupted at a tent house godown in the Parade area of Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday morning, with no casualties reported so far. Fire tenders were immediately dispatched to the scene, and additional support was called from nearby districts.Fire Officer RK Chaurasia said, "We received information about the fire in the godown. I immediately mobilised all fire tankers from the fire station. The Chief Fire Officer is also here with me."The severity of the situation prompted authorities to request assistance from surrounding areas. "I called for fire tankers from all the nearby districts, given the incident. All the defence tankers have also been called. The fire is huge and its temperature is so high that we have to use shields to put it out... I have also got blisters all over my body... […]

[ad_1] Representative AI image via Lexica The US economy may be heading into rough weather — and when America slows down, the world feels the tremors. With Trump tariffs putting global trade under pressure and India closely tied to both the US and China, a possible recession in the US can, at the very least, slow down growth rate in India too.Here's what economists and investors are saying:5 key questions answered1. How close is US to a recession?Five agencies and experts have following to say:AgencyKey ReasonsConference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) has declined at least 15 of the past 18 months; board says a “significant growth slowdown” is baked in, though a full recession is still not its base caseWeakness across manufacturing new orders, consumer expectations, and building permitsReuters economists’ poll of April 7 puts median probability of recession in […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Pitching strongly for early implementation of 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, Supreme Court Judge B V Nagarathna Friday hoped it would happen within her lifetime, a day which would mark the culmination of the goals of 'real equality' envisaged by framers of the Constitution."The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 provides for 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas. I hope this gets implemented in our lifetime and that day will mark the culmination of centuries of struggle of women for gender equality, a cherished goal of the framers of our Constitution," she said at the release of book 'Women Laws - From the Womb to the Tomb' authored by senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani.Justice Nagarathna, who would be the first woman CJI in Sep 2027, said women are the rightful […]

[ad_1] The White House on Friday launched a revamped version of its Covid-19 website, placing the controversial lab-leak theory at the centre of its narrative on the pandemic’s origins. The update marks a sharp shift in tone, accusing former president Joe Biden and his top medical advisor, Dr Anthony Fauci, of suppressing debate over the virus's origin and mishandling pandemic responses.The new page on Covid.gov, which previously served as a public resource for vaccines and testing, now features a prominent image of President Donald Trump and a banner declaring: “LAB LEAK, The True Origins of Covid-19.”"This website shows the true origins of Covid-19 and how Democrats and the media discredited alternative health treatments and the lab-leak theory," the White House said in a statement.The site outlines five key arguments to support the lab-leak claim, citing Wuhan’s proximity to China’s top […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Brics nations, including India, have launched "Brics Land Restoration Partnership" to address the issues of land degradation, desertification, and soil fertility loss in the group's 11 member countries, and reiterated their resolve to make the global agri-food system fair, inclusive, innovative, and sustainable.The move was supported by these countries at the 15th Brics Agriculture Ministers' meeting in Brasilia, Brazil on Thursday. It was the first agriculture ministers' meeting of the expanded Brics which now has 11 members.India was represented by Union agriculture and rural development minister minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the meet. Chouhan in his speech emphasised the need to place welfare of small and marginal farmers at centre of global agricultural strategies.Brics nations collectively account for 47% of the world's population and contribute 36% of global GDP. Besides five old members, Brazil, Russia, India, China […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: The deputy chief crown prosecutor who oversees extraditions from the UK has advised India to provide sovereign guarantee that any accused being sought to be extradited to New Delhi will not be kept in Tihar Jail, or subjected to torture and inhuman treatment in prison, reports Pradeep Thakur. The advice comes after two back-to-back rejections of extradition requests by UK courts, the last one on Apr 11 of Virkiran Awasty and his wife Ritika who are wanted in India in connection with an alleged Rs 750 crore bank fraud case. On Feb 27, the UK high court had rejected alleged arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition while also refusing India permission to appeal in UK Supreme Court against its verdict. “...The Bhandari ruling will likewise affect other cases we are conducting which involve detention in Tihar Jail, namely […]