12  Aug : The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday decided to handover the Shopian rape and murder case to the CBI if the state high court which is monitoring the police investigation permitted it as the issue of alleged tampering of DNA reports rocked the assembly.
The decision was announced in the assembly by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather who said this was done as doubts were raised over the “fairness” of the police investigation.

“However, there is a problem. Since the special investigation team was formed under the directions of …

12 Aug : National broadcaster Doordarshan kicked off its year-long Golden Jubilee celebrations with a music maestro A R Rehman concert as Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni promised that DD would broadcast the 2010 Commonwealth Games on High Definition format.

“Doordarshan made its humble beginning in a makeshift studio in September 1959. In those days, there were limited black and white television sets. Colour TV came in India in 1982 and now I promise that 2010 Commonwealth Games would be broadcast by DD on High Definition format,” Soni said …

By : Dr Subodh Mahanti  : “There is no leader and there are no led. A leader, if one chooses to identity one, has to be a cultivator rather than a manufacturer. He has to provide the soil and the overall climate and the environment in which the seed can grow. One wants permissive individuals who do not have a compelling need to reassure themselves that they are leaders”- Vikram Sarabhai
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai’s name will remain inseparable from India’s space programme. It is well known that it was Dr. Sarabhai …

11 Aug : A high-level team has found environmental violations by the Mayawati govt in the upcoming Ambedkar memorial in Noida and action is being considered in the matter, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said.
“We are deciding what action can be taken in the matter as our team has found violation of environmental norms by the Uttar Pradesh government which has been denying the allegations,” Ramesh said at the sidelines of a function at New Delhi on Tuesday.
He further said the view of a Supreme Court panel will also be taken …

11 Aug :  Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Monday wanted those planning to go for Haj to apply for passports as Saudi Arabia government had this time made it compulsory that only persons with valid travel documents would be allowed.
Earlier, Haj pilgrims used to go to Saudi Arabia with a special pilgrims permit, but this time, passport has been made compulsory along with a vaccination certificate against viral fever, Tharoor told reporters after a meeting of passport officers of southern and western regions.
Out of the 1.10 …