‘India-China working to prevent incidents’
New Delhi: India and China are trying to develop effective mechanisms to prevent the “embarrassing” face-offs between their troops along the “disputed” points of the line of Actual Control, Defence Minister AK Antony said here on Friday. Terming the 21-day stand-off between the two sides in Depsang valley in Daulat Beg Oldi area as an “unusual” incident, the Defence Minister said the two countries will meet soon in Beijing to discuss issues and try to find a solution for such “unpleasant incidents”.
New proforma for Padma awards
New Delhi: To make the process of conferring Padma awards more transparent, the Home Ministry has issued a revised proforma for people who wish to apply for the prestigious civilian honours. Apart from the basic information about the applicant, the new proforma seeks information on his or her field of activity like art, sports, social work, among others, and a citation in the form of a write-up indicating distinctions or achievements obtained in the field of activity concerned.
5 members from TN take oath to RS
New Delhi: Senior leaders V Maitreyan of AIADMK and D Raja of CPI were among the five newly-elected MPs from Tamil Nadu who took oath as members of Rajya Sabha. While Maitreyan and Raja were re-elected, T Rathinavel, KR Arjunan and K lakshmanan (all AIADMK) have been elected for the first time to the Upper House in the recent biennial elections. The oath-taking ceremony was held in the chamber of Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Friday in his presence.
more pay for forces fighting maoists
New Delhi: Paramilitary personnel fighting Maoists may soon get enhanced allowances on a par with those serving in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern region. The Home Ministry has submitted a proposal to the Finance Ministry in this regard and if it is cleared, more than 80,000 paramilitary personnel fighting the Maoists menace in nine States will be financially benefited.