The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has issued exam notifications for admissions to National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy for 2016. Candidates can apply for the exams before Jan 29 at www.upsconline.nic.in. Application process: Click on the link ‘Notification – National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (I), 2016’ after logging into the website upsc.gov.in. Read the instructions carefully Candidates will be required to complete the online application form […]

He alone gets the credit for reviving consumer interest in Ayurveda. People, with justification, prefer natural stuff over synthetic. And this is the sweet spot Mr Ramdev has managed to touch.says Bhupesh Bhandari. I am reasonably sure that this will be an eventful year for those who follow the corporate sector. The biggest telecom battle of all times will be fought during the course of the year. Reliance Jio will […]

President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday asked people to make a fresh beginning in the New Year and inculcate compassion and tolerance for building a peaceful and harmonious society. On the eve of New Year, the President conveyed his greetings to the people and expressed hope that this would be an “occasion to make a fresh beginning and renew our resolve for individual as well as collective growth”. “Let us inculcate […]

The headquarters of Paytm, India’s largest mobile payment and commerce platform, is located in Noida, but the lifeblood of the company is far, far away. No, it’s not in China where internet giant Alibaba, Paytm’s single largest investor, is based. Alibaba has no doubt been the springboard to Paytm’s rapid growth — the number of users of its app has risen 5 times to 125 million in just 12 months […]

It was 6 months back that we reported about India’s first ever ‘Roti-bank’ which aimed to feed the poor and needy. Though back then the idea sounded too novel to spread quickly, we are happy to report that the idea is quickly gaining ground.Here we find the second such institution in the city of Aurangabad, famous for its Ajanta-Ellora caves, for the poor.Here People can ‘deposit’ rotis and the poor, aged, […]

Ira Singhal, the IAS topper 2015, shared a moving post recently highlighting how apathetic have we become to others need. Narrating an incident in a Facebook post dated December 25 Ira wrote, she along with three of her friends was on her way to Delhi from Mussorie when they witnessed a horrible accident in Muradnagar, UP. She saw a Maruti rammed into a tractor and rushed to victim’s help. They […]

Salzburg, Austria Scent of mulled wine and stalls with traditional Christmas knick-knacks, the Salzburg Christmas market is one of the most popular haunts. Said to go back as far as the 15th century, it’s located at the foot of the Hohensalzburg fortress. The Oberndorf Christmas Market, a village north of Salzburg, is where the world’s favourite Christmas carol, “Silent Night”, was written.   Cologne, Germany The German city offers eight […]

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed the ceiling prices for 530 essential medicines, including 47 for cancer and 22 for HIV, Lok Sabha was informed today.  Under its provisions, NPPA has fixed the ceiling prices in respect of 530 medicines under National List of Essential Medicines 2011 (NLEM), including 47 for cancer and 22 for HIV, based on market price data, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers […]

Use these strategies to make the most of opportunities offered by tax laws and reduce your tax liability.   USE INDEXATION TO NULLIFY TAX    High inflation has been a curse for inves- tors in the past few years, but for some, it has been a boon. Tax rules allow inves- tors to adjust the cost of an asset to infla- tion during the holding period.   INVEST THROUGH A […]

Indian agriculture has had a terrible year. Unseasonal rains hit north India in February and March. The monsoon rains were inadequate in several states. Then floods hit south India in November and December. Vast stretches of farmland lie devastated and the effects are showing up in the countryside where in states like Uttar Pradesh, as Scroll.in reported, the poor are eating rotis made of weeds. In the first week of […]