ISRO tastes first success of 2019

Under a starry night and a waning gibbous moon, ISRO’s PSLV C-44 broke the silence over a brimming Pulicat lake as it lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, to successfully place into orbit a military satellite, Microsat-R.

‘India spurs global growth in public funding for neglected disease R&D’

Indian public funding for research and development (R&D) in neglected diseases increased significantly in 2017, growing by ₹135 crore or 38%, contributing to the strongest global growth since 2009, according to a new report.

TRAI firm on rolling out new DTH tariffs from Feb. 1

Even though only 40% customers have registered their channel choices under the new tariff guidelines that kick in from February 1, the Telecom Regulatory Authority Chairman R.S. Sharma on Thursday expressed confidence that service providers will be able get options from all their subscribers within a week.

Trump’s plan to fund border wall, reopen govt falls short in U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate on Thursday cast sufficient votes to block a bill backed by President Donald Trump that would have ended a record-long partial federal government shutdown by funding the wall he wants to build on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Report on al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent’s growing influence alarmist: official

A top intelligence official on Thursday dismissed as ‘alarmist’ a U.S.-based think tank’s report that contends that the al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) was exploiting the growing incidents of violence against Muslims in India and attacks in the name of “cow vigilantism” to recruit cadres.

I-T dept. shocker: Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence under attachment since 2007

The State government on Thursday expressed surprise over an out-of-the-blue claim by the Income Tax (I-T) department that four of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s immovable properties — her Poes Garden residence Veda Nilayam, a commercial space at Parsn Manere on Anna Salai, another property on St. Mary’s Road here and a residence in Hyderabad’s Sri Nagar Colony — were under attachment since 2007.

Staff fret as banks ask them to buy shares

Several public sector banks that are coming up with Employees Share Purchase Schemes (ESPS) are asking their staff to buy a particular amount of shares to ensure that the process sails through smoothly.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas attendance dips

The government has termed the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), that ended on Wednesday “the large and grandest of the PBDs held so far.”

Mumbai college principal accused of asking students to carry alcohol

Students of the Malad Kandivali Education Society (MKES) Law College have alleged that their principal asked them to carry alcohol during their field trip to Delhi and North India to “deal with the cold weather”. While the principal has denied the allegations, the Students Law Council (SLC) has written to Mumbai University (MU) officials seeking an inquiry.

Root and branch reform: Swedish scientist makes fuel from tree waste

Might tree roots, twigs and branches one day be used to power cars? That’s what a Swedish researcher is hoping after developing a pulp byproduct that — on a modest scale — does just that.