India, US willing to resolve pharma trade issue: Sharma

India and the US are in talks to create an “institutional mechanism” to address issues related to trade and investments in healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said Monday. Talking to reporters after meeting Commissioner for US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Margaret Hamburg here, Sharma said both sides recognise importance […]

Americans prefer smart phones over sex: Study

Smartphones sexier that sex? A new survey says so. Just 20 percent of Americans say they can’t live without sex – a figure much less than those who think they would die without their smart phone, revealed a poll conducted by Harris Interactive – one of the world’s leading market research firms. A small fraction […]

Indigenous jet trainer may operate by year-end: Antony

India’s indigenous jet trainer aircraft ‘Sitara’ is likely to be operational by the end of this year, Defence Minister A.K. Antony informed parliament Monday. “Jet Trainer, Sitara, is likely to be operational by the year-end. Production of the aircraft will begin soon thereafter,” Antony told the Lok Sabha in response to a question. He added […]

Congress only posturing on Telangana bill: BJP

The BJP Monday accused the Congress of “posturing” on the Telangana bill, saying the ruling party has no intention to pass it. “Congress is only posturing on the Telangana bill. They are not serious about passing it,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravishankar Prasad said. “Congress is unable to control its own members. They are […]

Agro-forestry hit by lack of policy incentives: President

Development of agro-forestry in India has been hampered by lack of policy incentives, President Pranab Mukherjee said Monday, noting that there was need of innovative models that encourage investment in the sector. Inaugurating the world congress on agro-forestry here, the president said agro-forestry meets almost half of the total demand of 201 million tonnes of […]

Smoking may increase breast cancer risk

Young women who smoke have a significantly higher risk of developing most common type of breast cancer, a study shows. The majority of recent studies evaluating the relationship between smoking and breast cancer risk among young women have found that smoking is linked with an increased risk. The present study, published in the online journal […]

IAEA hails ‘good’ progress in Iran over nuclear deal

A senior official of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Monday hailed “good” progress in talks with Iran over its nuclear energy programme. “Since November everything has gone as planned,” said IAEA Deputy Director General for Safeguards Tero Tapio Varjoranta, adding the progress in cooperation with Tehran was “good”. Varjoranta made the remarks a day […]

Terror violence declined in Omar regime’s tenure: Governor

A decline in terrorist violence, increasing role of state police in law and order duties, new administrative units and overall development across Jammu and Kashmir have been seen in five years of the Omar Abdullah government, Governor N.N. Vohra said Monday. Addressing a joint session of the state legislature, he said the government, which recently […]

Gogoi lashes out at Modi

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Monday said his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi was an “irresponsible leader” and worker of RSS whose “ideology of hatred” led to Mahatma Gandhi’s death. “Modi is a dedicated worker of the RSS whose ideology of hatred led to the killing of Mahatma Gandhi. I am a dedicated volunteer of Gandhiji,” […]

India completes three years without polio

India has completed three years without polio, a landmark achievement which would pave the way for a polio-free certification from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the health ministry Monday said. The ministry said 40,000 reporting units, including health facilities, annually report 60,000 cases of paralysis to the polio surveillance network – National Polio Surveillance Project. […]