M Madhavan Nambiar, the chief of the investigation commission set up by the Kerala government to probe the Sprinklr data transaction scam, is a close associate of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The government was forced to order an investigation after it became clear that the government had allowed the controversial US-based IT firm Sprinklr to ‘steal’ personal data of Covid patients of the state. The controversial firm, which has business transactions with some international pharma giants, is allegedly linked to his daughter’s IT firm. Earlier the state government had appointed Nambiar, a retired central government officer, as the director of…
Author: Lakshmi Sharan
In a curious turn of events, Jan Kalyan party chief Pawan Kalyan met BJP Working President J.P. Nadda on Monday at his residence in Delhi. Kalyan is believed to have requested the central government’s “intervention” in the ongoing row over Andhra Pradesh’s new capital Amaravati. Apart from Nadda, BJP General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh and the party’s young MP from Karnataka Tejasvi Surya were also present. This meeting comes just days after Kalyan spoke out against the prevailing confusion over Amaravati. On Friday, Kalyan had said, “Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-lead Union government should take the lead and conduct an all-party…
Communication with India’s moon lander Vikram has been lost as it was descending towards the Moon early on Saturday, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said. The link was lost as the lander was at an altitude of 2.1 km over the moon’s South Pole where it was due to land Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with about 70 students from across the country at the space centre here and cheered them to do well in life amid gloom over loss of contact with lunar lander Vikram while descending towards the moon on early Saturday. “Modi asked the boys and girls from…
The Delhi Assembly on Thursday tabled a resolution demanding an ordinance by the Centre to allot land for rebuilding the demolished Saint Ravidas temple in the national capital. During the discussion, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Centre for the demolition, the BJP legislators supported the resolution. Vishesh Ravi (AAP) tabled the resolution saying the House shares the sentiment of millions of Indians who were “deeply hurt because of the demolition of Saint Ravldas temple in Delhi”. Calling the temple ‘historically significant’, as Saint Ravidas had visited the site and lived…
The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati,(IIT-G) have developed two membranes that can separate oil and water. A IIT-G spokesman said the membranes — super-water repellent in air, and super oil-repellent in water — could separate complex mixtures of oil and water. The oil-water separation membranes could also be used in oil spill management. The research, by Uttam Manna, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT-G, and his team, comprising Avijit Das, Dibyangana Parbat and Arpita Shome, has recently been published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. The team also developed a prototype of oil-water separation device, to collect…
In a significant political move, senior Congress leader and two-time Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, here on Sunday, supported the Narendra Modi government’s move to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution. Addressing a ‘Mahaparivartan Rally’ in his hometown, Hooda said he would not compromise with anyone on the issue of patriotism. “When the government does something right, I support it”, he said. He also announced a 25-member panel, comprising 13 MLAs owing allegiance to him, to decide the future of the party in the state. “Since the issue (to continue with the Congress or not) pertains to the future…
Several Union Ministers including Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani and Jitendra Singh, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as well as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited AIIMS on Sunday to enquire about the health of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who is in a critical condition on life support systems. Jaitley, 66, has been put on extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is used for patients whose lungs and heart are incapable of operating on their own. He was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness. Others who visited the hospital…
Last week, the Hindu parties argued in the Supreme Court on the credibility of the excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that have shown a massive public structure mainly used for worship existed at the disputed site in Ayodhya. Initially the senior counsels representing the Ram Lalla Virajman, the deity, had contextualized the relevance of Hindu faith attached to the birthplace of Lord Ram at Ayodhya, and insisted that faith can be treated as credible evidence. During last week, the counsels cited an ASI report which they referred to as “scientific evidence”, to substantiate that a large number…
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that talks would be held with Pakistan only on Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). “If talks are held with Pakistan, it will now be on PoK,” he said in a public address after flagging off of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ here, some 20 kms from Chandigarh. The Yatra, being held in the run upto Haryana’s upcoming Assembly elections, will pass through the state’s 90 Assembly seats and conclude with a rally in Rohtak on September 8. BJP’s state election-in-charge and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Chief Minister Manohar…
A heavy downpour drenched Agra early on Sunday, flooding low-lying areas in the city. Weathermen have forecast continued showers for next two days. The usually dry Yamuna river is flowing full, as copious quantities of water have been released by upstream barrages. The Hathini Kund barrage released more than a lakh cusecs on Friday. The Okhla and the Gokul barrages have similarly discharged heavily last two days raising the water level in Agra to 486 feet. South of Agra, the river Chambal is also flooded, with regular release of water from barrages in Kota. On Saturday, more than 1.62 lakh…