NEWS

New Delhi: With China set to begin preliminary sea trials of its second aircraft carrier within a month or so, India will lose its navel superiority over China. The country steams ahead with its plans to also construct mammoth nuclear-powered ones, signalling its hard-nosed intent to project military power on the high seas in the years ahead.
China’s scorching pace in constructing aircraft carriers confronts India, which has been operating such sea-going airbases or “flat-tops” for over five decades now, with a real prospect of losing its long-standing edge over its larger neighbour in this arena.
India is currently making do with just one aircraft carrier in the shape of the 44,400-tonne INS Vikramaditya, the refurbished Admiral Gorshkov inducted from Russia for $2.33 billion in November 2013.

New Delhi: The grand homecoming of Chennai Super King lasted only one game due to protest over Cauvery issue. All home matches of Chennai Super King have been moved out after protests over the issue.   The city waited for more than two years for the Indian Premier League to return. The matches will now be played in Pune, the home ground of the erstwhile franchise Rising Pune Supergiant, for which M S Dhoni played for the past two years.

DMK leader M K Stalin and PMK founder S Ramadoss were the first to demand that the IPL matches be moved out till the Cauvery crisis was resolved. Actor-politician Rajinikanth added fuel to the protest when he asked IPL spectators to wear black badges. On Tuesday, groups clashed with policemen and cricket fans on the streets. Some managed to get into the stadium and unfurl banners; one of them hurled a shoe into the ground. Police arrested 780 protesters.

New Delhi: A forum of 10 Air India unions has said that it will take up the issue with the PMO and the civil aviation ministry, among others alleging that the probable bidders are using "arm twisting tactics" to force the government to sell the national carrier for cheap price.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the forum also reiterated its opposition to the privatisation of the loss-making airline, saying that "it (Air India) is our national pride and it served the nation many a times in need."
The statement comes following one after another potential bidder opting out of the Air India sale process after the government coming out with the terms of offer in the information memorandum. "The so-claimed probable buyers are using arm twisting tactics so as to put pressure on the government to succumb to change the terms and conditions best suited to them and the Air India is sold for a song," the Joint Forum of Air India Unions/Guilds/Association said in the statement.

New Delhi: One of the most ambitious plans of the Prime Minister NarendraModi to conduct LokSabha and Assembly elections simultaneously, the Law Commission of India will deliberate on April 17 upon proposed simultaneous polls to Parliament and state assemblies even as an internal paper of the panel has favoured the proposal.

A top source said the law panel has taken note of a paper from NITI Ayog and has prepared an internal document of its own on the subject and will discuss whether clubbing assembly and parliamentary polls are feasible and from when.
Once a consensus evolves within the commission, the law panel will consult all stakeholders, including the Election Commission, and submit its final recommendation to the government, the source said. The Modi government is in favour of holding simultaneous elections. The PM has said on several occasions that the country needs to limit its expenditure and not conduct elections every year in different parts of the country.