In his maiden policy speech, US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster said Donald Trumps America First initiative and Prime Minister Narendra Modis Make In India project were not incompatible. Rather, investing in each others markets will be mutually beneficial - it will increase our economic interactions and volume of trade, lead to collaboration on emerging technologies, and create jobs in both countries,Juster said. Juster was speaking at an event organised by Carnegie India in New Delhi on Thursday. He laid out the Trump administrations India and South Asia policy. While much of the focus ... Read More

In wake of growing criticism over safety of online data the Maharashtra government has decided to introduce a technology that allows storage and distribution of information in digital format but not its copying. The government has claimed that the technology known as blockchain is the safest way to store data without it being hacked. Principal Secretary of Information Technology department S.V.R. Srinivas said that the new technology platform will help the government in data security in departments like revenue, police, land records, students scholarship database, farm loan waiver scheme dat ... Read More

Pakistan has raised objections over a satellite launch scheduled for today at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)-operated Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal warned New Delhi against using satellites for military purposes as it could destabilize balance of power in the region. All space technologies, including earth observation satellites, are inherently dual use and can be employed for both civilian and military purposes and therefore it is essential that such pursuits are not directed towards a build-up of destabilizing ... Read More

For two decades, Prem Kumar Dhumal, 73, the two-time former chief minister, remained the most saleable face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh. On Monday, as the party registered a win, Dhumals saleability was dented in an ironical twist of fate. He lost to his one-time protg, Rajinder Singh Rana of the Congress, from Sujanpur assembly segment of Hamirpur district. ... Read More

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on its own is unlikely to gain a majority in the Rajya Sabha until the 2019 general elections but might cross the halfway mark in the Upper House with the help of friendly parties by next June.The BJPs victories in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are expected to push the NDA and its partners past the majority mark in the Upper House, where the government has often struggled to push bills through because of the Opposition. The NDA currently holds 76 seats in the 245-member Upper House, where the halfway mark is 123. ... Read More

The BJP on Monday deputed observers for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh to oversee the selection of chief ministers in the two states it won in contrasting styles.Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and party general secretary Saroj Pandey have been sent to Gujarat, while defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and minister of steel Narendra Singh Tomar will be in Himachal Pradesh to attend the meeting of legislature parties in the two states.In Gujarat the party might continue with incumbent Vijay Rupani while in Himachal it will have to decide on a new CM as the projected candidate for the post, Ku ... Read More