The dreaded El Niño weather phenomenon is set to appear during the second half of the southwest monsoon, which may cause less-than-expected rains in August and September. El Niño had earlier hit the Indian monsoon in 2009, when the country faced a severe drought. This time, its impact is not clear as of now, but if there are excessive breaks in the monsoon, crops of paddy, oilseeds and pulses could...

-The Times of India RANCHI: Decentralisation is the need of the hour but what are the limitations in its implementation and how the media can be roped in this whole process to create an awareness among the common masses were some of the areas where speakers delved in the two-day programme. The workshop called "Media capacity building workshop" was organized by the Centre and UN joint programme on convergence concluded here on...

-The Times of India Opposition parties on Tuesday sought to put the government on the mat over the Coalgate scam front-paged by TOI with Parliament adjourned till noon and Left demanding a joint parliamentary probe on the reported Rs 1.8 lakh crore benefit to private companies. Opposition members stalled question hour in both Houses demanding a discussion on the CAG report. As soon as Rajya Sabha met for the day, Rajiv Pratap...

-The Times of India The legislation to protect children below 18 years from sexual abuse became a reality on Tuesday with Lok Sabha passing the bill earlier cleared by Rajya Sabha. Parliament's nod came with the decision to keep the age of consent at 18 years despite opposition from child rights activists. The bill provides for special courts for speedy trial of cases and stringent punishment up to life term for the...

-PTI Government today said it planned to provide direct subsidy to beneficiaries of kerosene oil and a pilot project in this regard in Alwar district of Rajasthan was yielding good results. "Direct subsidy on kerosene is planned in future ... We have to move towards it. It will be done using UID cards... We are benefiting from the pilot project," minister of state for petroleum and natural gas RPN Singh said in...