Aadhaar card: Kerala decides not to submit affidavit
Kerala government has decided not to submit  an affidavit supporting the implementation of Aadhaar card in the Supreme Court. Earlier, the government's decision to submit an affidavit in support of the card had come in for severe criticism. Following this the government decided to change its stand. Investigation of state government's IT Department revealed that the affidavit was created without holding discussions with related departments and the Cabinet. Minister...

PF deposits to fetch 8.75% interest for 2013-14
Over 5 crore subscribers of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will get a higher interest rate on their provident fund (PF) deposits. Labour minister Oscar Fernandes on Monday said the EPFO has decided to provide 8.75 per cent interest to its subscribers for the year 2013-14. "We have decided to recommend to the government 8.75 per cent rate of interest for 2013-14 to its subscribers," Mr Fernandes said. In 2012-13, provident fund subscribers got an...

Hrithik Roshan spends 40th birthday with sons
Hrithik Roshan turned 40 on Friday, resolute to put behind him the turmoil his personal life has seen over the past year. Unlike what is normally expected from Bollywood stars, Hrithik did not plan a party at a city five- star. Instead, far from the prying media, the superstar took off on a speedboat ride from Gateway of India with sons Hrehaan and Hridhaan besides few from the family and friends. The actor has lately been in the headlines for news happy and sad. His new film...

Oil Ministry considering raising subsidised LPG cap to 12 says Veerappa Moily
Under pressure from his party, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily today said the government is considering increasing the quota of subsidised LPG cylinders to 12 per household even as hints were dropped of a one-time hike in diesel and LPG rates. Under pressure from his party, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily today said the government is considering increasing the quota of subsidised LPG cylinders to 12 per household even as hints were dropped of a one-time hike in diesel and LPG...

Devyani Khobragade row: India says US could have avoided 'mini-crisis', more to be done
India on Saturday blamed the United States for a "mini crisis" over the arrest and strip search of an Indian envoy, and said more work was needed to repair ties a day after the withdrawal of diplomats seemed to draw a line under the row. Devyani Khobragade, 39, who was India's deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested in December on charges of visa fraud and lying to US authorities about what she paid her housekeeper. Khobragade's arrest and...

AAP denies reports about holding talks with RMP in Kerala
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday denied reports about a possible alliance with the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) in Kerala. Denying the news, AAP spokesperson Manoj Padmanabhan said: “At present there is no such discussion on between both the parties.” But Manoj refused to shut the doors on an alliance completely and added that “in future the party may take up the issue for review.” It was RMP leader K. A. Rama who spoke about a possible alliance...

Kerala on the verge of title triumph
Kerala are on the verge of winning yet another overall championship title in the National School Athletics meet, which will end here on Sunday. Kerala has so far bagged 32 gold medals. P U Chitra of Mundoor School, Palakkad, bagged her fourth gold by winning the senior girls' cross-country. Chitra had won the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m events. V V Jisha won the senior girls' 400m hurdles to claim her third gold in the meet. Jessy Joseph (800m - seniors), Jisma...

Kerala's foreign remittance exceeds Rs. 75,000 crore: Chandy
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thrusday lauded the contribution of Non-resident Keralites (NRK) towards the state's development and said foreign remittances have exceeded Rs. 75,000 crore. Speaking at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas at New Delhi, Chandy said NRK's not only fetch money but also share their ideas and inspire the state to think in a world class...

KPCC president likely to be chosen today
The new KPCC president will be declared soon, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has said. Addressing the media here after meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, he said he had expressed his readiness to step down as KPCC president as he was already the home minister. He said he along with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy  had requested the high command to declare the name of the KPCC president before the January 17 AICC conference. Discussions to select the new KPCC...

Congress will not win any seat: Pinarayi
CPM State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday that in the coming Lok Sabha election, the Congress would not win even a single seat. 2004 election result would be repeated in Kerala. The government has been following the policy of putting the common man to great inconvenience. For a few votes they would make alliance with any Tom, Dick and Harry. Pinarayi was inaugurating Pension Protection Convention. 

Crisis in CMP, party moving to a split
The Communist Marxist Party seems to be heading for a split after a section of the party decided to make K R Aravindakshan interim General Secretary. The decision, which was taken because of ill health of M V Raghavan, General Secretary, has however not gone well with other sections of the party. The politburo meeting, which was convened in the absence of M V Raghavan and  CP John,  also decided to suspend  C A Ajeer, a loyalist of M V Raghavan. Other...

Pinarayi’s is party stand: Yechury
 The central leadership of CPM has rejected the stand taken by Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan on Gadgil/Kasturirangan report. Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said on Thursday that in the issue, CPM State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had voiced the party’s stand.     “If the party cadres have expressed different opinions, the party leadership has got the grit to solve that issue,” said Yechury, who suggested a thorough debate on Gadgil committee...

Android to surpass one billion users across all devices in 2014: Gartner
Worldwide combined shipments of devices — PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones— are projected to reach 2.5 billion units in 2014, a 7.6% increase from 2013, according research firm Gartner. Among the operating system (OS) market, Android is on pace to surpass one billion users across all devices in 2014. By 2017, over 75% of Android's volumes will come from emerging markets. "The device market continues to evolve, with buyers deciding which combination of...

I can romance anybody, says Priyanka
Actress Priyanka Chopra says she can romance anybody in her films, so why just talk about megastar Shah Rukh Khan. Priyanka has delivered two hit films 'Don' and 'Don 2' with SRK. When asked if she and Shah Rukh would make better co-hosts as far as romance and comedy on the stage is concerned, Priyanka said, "I can romance anybody, why just him... That is my job." Priyanka arrived late for the Filmfare awards press conference, which was scheduled to...

Audi launches RS 7 Sportback at Rs 1.3 crore
Luxury car-maker Audi on Tuesday expanded its product range in the country by introducing the RS 7 Sportback, priced at Rs 1.28 crore, ex-showroom Mumbai. "After the overwhelming response to our Audi RS 5, which further boosted our leadership in the luxury sports car segment, we are confident the new Audi RS 7 Sportback with its aesthetic design and impressive sportiness would establish new benchmarks in the performance sports car segment," Audi India head Joe King...

Uncapped players given three options for base price at IPL auction
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has written to all its state association asking them to submit the names of their uncapped players to be included in the forthcoming Indian Premier League auction, which will take place on February 12-13. These uncapped players will get to fix their own base price, at which bidding will start for them at the auction, from three options. The minimum base price for an uncapped player has been fixed at Rs 10 lakh, while the other two options...

Hrithik Roshan angry with rumours around 'Krrish 3', warns Bollywood insiders
Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan today (January 7) issued an angry statement, in Mumbai, clarifying rumours of the Box Office result of his superhero franchise 'Krrish 3, which released on November 3. With reports suggesting that Aamir Khan's 'Dhoom: 3' has collected above Rs 250 crore in India, Hrithik Roshan announced the collections of 'Krrish 3'. "'Krrish 3' has done a business of about 244cr India and around 55cr overseas. I wonder who...

Goa building collapse: Death toll rises to 15, search on for builder
With the recovery of two more bodies, the death toll in the building collapse at Goa's Cancona town rose to 15 on Sunday even as fire personnel feared that around 20 people could still be lying under the rubble. A search was, meanwhile, on for the missing builder and contractor of the under-construction five-storey residential building that caved in Cancona town, about 70 kms from here, yesterday. "The death toll in the building collapse has risen to 15," Goa acting...

Portuguese football legend Eusebio dies of heart attack
Portuguese great Eusebio, top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, died on Sunday from a heart attack at the age of 71 with the small Iberian nation mourning him as an "eternal symbol" of their football pride. The death of the charismatic striker, who was idolised throughout the Portuguese-speaking world and considered one of the game's greatest players was confirmed by former club Benfica and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). "Portugal is mourning. Eusebio, the...

Gowri Amma says LDF invited her to be CM
JSS leader K R Gowri Amma on Sunday said that the Left Democratic Front had invited her to be the chief minister after the previous assembly elections. They invited me to be chief minister after the elections. But I asked them to first clarify why did they ouster me, Gowri Amma said while inaugurating the Thiruvananthapuram district conference of JSS. No matter if a person is chief minister, minister or party secretary, the motto should be to work for the people, she said. She...

Sanju’s family owe everything to Dravid
The Samson family here owes the phenomenal growth of their cricketer son Sanju to former India captain Rahul Dravid. The Samsons are basking in glory after Sanju smashed a quickfire century in Sharjah on Saturday to help India beat Pakistan in the final and win the Under-19 Asia Cup. "It was Dravid sir who gave our son all the motivation to perform in the field and we owe a great deal to him," said Sanju's father Samson Viswanath, formerly a constable with Delhi...

Cong to decide upon new KPCC chief post Jan 9
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday said that the Congress will take a decision regarding then next KPCC chief post January 9th. KPCC Chief Chennithala said that he will meet the high command on Thursday along with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Currently, Ramesh Chennithala is heading the party. Sources suggested that the present Kerala speaker G Karthikeyan is likely to be elected to the post.

ISRO's GSLV-D5 successfully lifts-off from Srihariokota
4.42 pm: GSLV-D5 successfully inserts GSAT-14 communication satellite into the orbit 4.25 pm: Cryogenic stage burn out. 4.25 pm: Performance of the cryogenic engine normal at range 150 km. 4.22 pm: Payload faring successfully separates. 4.21 pm: Second stage of GSLV D5 ignited at an altitude of 99 km. 4.20 pm: First stage performance normal 4:18 pm: GSLV-D5 lifts-off from Sriharikota 4:06 pm: Automatic Launch Sequence (ALC) program started 3:59 pm:...

Money cannot buy me: Aamir Khan
One of Bollywood's favourite Khans, Aamir, claims to earn the "least compared to others," and says he "cannot compromise" with his emotions as "money cannot buy me". "Till today, I have not worked for money and that is one of my biggest strengths," Aamir, who is currently on a roller-coaster thanks to the success of his latest release "Dhoom 3." In the 25 years he has spent in cinema, he has experimented with various roles and...

Court to hear Tejpal’s bail plea Saturday
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Panaji on Saturday extended the judicial custody of Tehelka founder editor Tarun Tejpal by another ten days in the alleged sexual assault case. Goa police had sought an extension of Tejpal's judicial custody by another 14 days. The 12-day period of Tejpal's custody ended on Saturday and he was produced before the JMFC judge Kshama Joshi. Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013 and is being presently kept in Sada Sub-Jail,...

Oommen Committee recommendations bad for forests
If the recommendations of the expert committee, headed by Oommen V Oommen, that was set up to study the Kasturirangan report is accepted, Kerala would stand to lose a lot of existing forest cover. It is believed that if the report is accepted, thousands of acres of forest cover in areas such as Nelliampathy and Wayanad would be destroyed. In addition, important cases regarding EFL that are being considered by the High Court could become invalid. About 37000 acres of forest land are...

No increase in subsidised LPG cylinders: Moily
Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily said there was no proposal before the government to increase the number of subsidised LPG cylinders from the present nine a year to 12. "We don't have such a proposal before us", Moily, who arrived here in connection with the formal commissioning of the Petronet LNG terminal at nearby Puthyvype by Prime Minister Manmohan, told reporters here. "Nine subsidised cylinders a year covers 90 per cent of the consumers. Only 10 per...

Kerala urges PM to relax ESA rule
  Kerala on Saturday conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh its apprehensions over the K Kasturirangan committee report on Western Ghats conservation and asked the Centre to correct flaws in identification of ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) through remote sensing method. This was the highlight of a 12-point memorandum submitted to Singh by the UDF Government after a special cabinet meeting held here in honour of him. The state wanted ecologically sensitive areas to...

Zol, Samson hit tons as India claim U-19 Asia Cup title
India skipper Vijay Zol (100) and Sanju Samson (100) scored contrasting centuries as India colts posted a comprehensive 40-run win over arch-rivals Pakistan to clinch the Under-19 Asia Cup title, here today. While Zol’s knock came off 120 balls laced with seven fours and two sixes, Samson took just 87 deliveries for his ton that included eight boundaries and four sixes, to help India reach 314 for eight in their allotted 50 overs. In reply, Pakistan could reach 274 for nine,...

Air Conditioning The Mother Earth: Raveendran Narayanan
Jose Pinto Stephen   Raveendran Narayanan is on a serious mission. He wants to change the climate system of our Mother Earth. He is spending much of his time for this mission. He is originally from Kerala, India and residing in USA for the last several years. He claims as he used to work in Middle East for many years and had to leave that place due to some harsh experiences he had from his former employers there. He had his education in India and at a young age he moved to...