New Delhi: Demonetisation, attack on Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot, imposition of liquor ban in Bihar, fire in Puttingal temple in Kerala, the terrorist attack in Uri and Manipur activist Irom Sharmila ending her 16-year long hunger strike made headlines in the year 2016.
Assembly elections in TamilNadu, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry brought landslide victories for the AIADMK, BJP, TMC and Congress respectively.
The demise of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, months-long Kashmir turmoil, Supreme Court’s order to play the National Anthem in cinemas before films and the sacking of Cyrus Mistry as the Chairman of the Tata Sons were other issues that made news.
The landmark Goods and Services Tax Bill was passed in theparliament, and the Government of India accepted the 7th Pay Commission recommendations to increase salaries of employees.
Following is the diary of domestic events:
Jan 2: New Delhi: Veteran Communist Party of India leader A B Bardhan, who steered the party during the turbulent period of coalition politics at national level in 1990s, died here tonight after prolonged illness.
Jan 2: Pathankot (Punjab): Heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists today attempted to storm the Air Force base here, triggering a day-long gunbattle in which three securitymen and four infiltrators were killed, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise stopover in Lahore.
Jan 3: New Delhi: Two Jaish-e-Mohammed militants were suspected to have sneaked into the national capital and were planning high-profile attacks, including taking hostages, following which security was today stepped up in the city, aday after the Pathankot Air Base strike by the same Pakistan-based outfit.
Jan 4: New Delhi: Juveniles of 16 years of age and abovecan now be tried as adults if they commit heinous offences like rape and murder as President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to an Act in this regard.
Jan 4: Imphal/Guwahati: At least nine persons were killed and over 100 injured as a strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake epicentred in Manipur today struck the northeastern and eastern regions, damaging buildings and sparking panic that sent people scampering out of their homes.
Jan 5: Pathankot: Bringing the curtains down on Day 4, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said all six terrorists at the Pathankot air base have been killed but admitted to “some gaps” in security that led to the terror attack in which some “Pakistan-made material” have been used.
Jan 7: New Delhi: Putting the ball squarely in Pakistan’s court, India today linked the Foreign Secretary-level talks to Islamabad’s “prompt and decisive” action in the Pathankotterror attack for which it has provided “actionable intelligence”.
Jan 7: New Delhi/Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who crafted an impossible coalition with BJP in the Muslim-majority state, died today and just hours later his party PDP chose his daughter Mehbooba Mufti as his successor.
Jan 8: New Delhi/Chennai: The four-year-old ban on holding of controversial bull taming sport Jallikattu was lifted today in poll-bound Tamil Nadu with certain restrictions, angeringanimal rights activists who said it is cruel and abusive and vowed to move the Supreme Court against it.
Jan 9: Pathankot: Accompanied by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Pathankot air base and voices satisfaction over the counter offensive mounted by the security forces to eliminate the perpetrators.
Jan 9: Srinagar/New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir is placed under Governor’s rule with the process of new government formation following the death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed taking some time.
Jan 11: Srinagar: As suspense mounts over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah rules out the party’s unilateral support to PDP from outside in any new dispensation with Congress backing.
Jan 13: New Delhi: Syria said it received “positive response” from India to its requests on intelligence sharing and economic aid especially in terms of food grains and medicines as worn-torn country battles terrorism on one side and sanctions imposed by the West on the other.
Jan 13: New Delhi: India says it has received no confirmation of detention of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar despite widespread reports of his having been apprehended inconnection with the Pathankot attack of which he is suspected to be the mastermind.
Jan 15: New Delhi: The sensational case of the death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, reaches a new stage with the US-based FBI endorsing the AIIMS report of poisoning as the cause and also saying that a “dangerous chemical” was present in her body that may have killed her.
Jan 17: Srinagar: Meeting nine days after Jammu and Kashmir was brought under Governor’s rule, the PDP’s core group meets and indicates it was veering to the idea of forming a coalition government with BJP, but its president Mehbooba Mufti says she is in no hurry to take over as chief minister.
Jan 18: Gurgaon: Two men, suspected to have links with terror group al-Qaeda have been arrested from Haryana’s Mewat district in a joint operation by Delhi Police and Intelligence Bureau, Mewat Police says.
Jan 19: New Delhi: The head of the AIIMS medical board, which gave its opinion last week on the cause of Sunanda Pushkar’s death, says that Delhi Police caused “unnecessary delay” in sending Sunanda’s viscera sample to the FBI lab on account of which its contents degraded.
Jan 19: Hyderabad/Pune: Protests over the alleged suicide by a Dalit research scholar escalates in Hyderabad and Delhi and also spreads to other cities including Pune, Chennai and Gandhinagar with the incident being described as an “institutional murder”.
Jan 20: New Delhi: No difference can be made between good and bad terrorists and all forms of terrorism and manner of support to them need to be completely eradicated, says President Pranab Mukherjee.
Jan 20: New Delhi/Islamabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemns the terror attack at a university near Peshawar, a gesture appreciated by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif who says terrorism is a “common enemy” and a cooperative approach is essential to eliminate it.
Jan 20: New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demands an explanation from the PMO for the raid at Delhi Secretariat on the ground that it reports to the Prime Minister, on a day a city court directed CBI to return to the AAP government documents seized in the raid.
Jan 22: New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi says said some of the writers, including Nayantara Sahgal, have agreed to take back the awards they had returned citing ‘growing intolerance’ in the country.
Jan 22: Jaipur: Filmmaker Karan Johar’s controversial remarks on intolerance kicks up a storm with the Congress hitting out against the Modi government accusing it of stifling freedom of expression and BJP dismissing the criticism saying India is the most tolerant country.
Jan 23: New Delhi: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose died in an air crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945, a Union Cabinet note 50 years later says amidst the raging controversy over the INA chief’s mysterious disappearance.
Jan 23: New Delhi: NIA and central security agencies arrest 14 people who were allegedly planning to carry out attacks ahead of Republic Day, as the crackdown continues for the second day on a suspected terror group owing allegiance to banned ISIS.
Jan 24: Chandigarh: Against the backdrop of major terror strikes in France and India recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Francois Hollande share concern over the menace, with the Indian leader pitching for a collective fight to defeat the global challenge.
Jan 25: New Delhi: Superstar Rajinikanth, founder of the Reliance empire late Dhirubhai Ambani, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and media baron Ramoji Rao have been chosen for Padma Vibhushan, country’s second highest civilian award, this year.
Jan 27: Mumbai: A music launch event in Mumbai where Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali was due to attend was cancelled following opposition from Shiv Sena which had earlier forced the cancellation of his concerts here and in Pune.
Jan 28: New Delhi: A controversial anti-terror bill, passed by Gujarat assembly but twice rejected by the previous UPA government, is returned by President Pranab Mukherjee seeking additional information from the Government after whichthe legislation was withdrawn.
Jan 28: New Delhi: Protests by students from varsities across Delhi and a hunger strike by their JNU counterparts over alleged delay in justice to Hyderabad Central University scholar Rohith Vemula continues even as the Delhi Police detains 40 of them from outside the HRD Ministry.
Jan 29: New Delhi: India and Pakistan extend their agreement relating to rail communication by mutual consent through diplomatic channels for next three years.
Jan 30: New Delhi: A six-year-old student of a prominent private school in South Delhi is found dead in a water tank under the school’s amphitheatre triggering demands for cancellation of its licence even as Delhi government orders a magisterial probe into the case.
Jan 30: Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: Kerala Excise Minister K Babu, who had quit in the wake of vigilance court directing filing of FIR against him in the Bar bribery case, withdraws his resignation soon after he got the full backing of the ruling Congress-led UDF.
Jan 31: Kakinada/Vijayawada/Hyderabad: At least 15policemen are injured when a stir by Kapu community members seeking reservation under Backward Class category turns violent as the agitators went on rampage, set four coaches ofRatnachal Express on fire at Tuni station and blocks the national highway-16 in East Godavari district.
Feb 1: Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrests former MP Samir Bhujbal, nephew of NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, in a money laundering case in Mumbai after the agency conducts multiple searches in connection with its probe against Bhujbals and others.
Feb 1: Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrests former MP Samir Bhujbal, nephew of NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, in a money laundering case in Mumbai after the agency conducts multiple searches in connection with its probe against Bhujbals and others.
Feb 2: New Delhi/Karachi: Actor Anupam Kher is denied visa by the Pakistan government to attend the Karachi literary festival, prompting him to suggest that the decision may have been influenced by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Feb 3: Bengaluru/New Delhi: A Tanzanian woman student is allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of “mistaken identity” after a woman was mowed down by a car here, prompting the authorities of the East African country to raise the matter with the Indian government.
Feb 3: New Delhi: Veteran Congress leader Balram Jakhar, a former Lok Sabha Speaker and Agriculture Minister at the
Centre, dies here after battling ailments for over the last six months.
Feb 5: New Delhi: A controversy erupts over Jet Airways suspending five cabin crew members after singer Sonu Nigam was allowed to use the public address system on a chartered flight to belt out Bollywood numbers with the action being slammed by him as “Real Intolerance”.
Feb 5: Dibrugarh: Seeking to create more jobs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls for value-addition of natural resources and creation of ancillary units that will help reduce imports as well as generate employment.
Feb 6: Nowshera (LoC): Terror outfit ISIS does not have “very large footprint” in Jammu and Kashmir but care needs to be taken to ensure it does not make inroads, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen D S Hooda says and advocates an “Intelligence Operation” to prevent spreading of its ideology.
Feb 6: New Delhi: Eminent cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, who chronicled contemporary Indian politics with wit and humour, dies here after battling brain cancer for over two years.
Feb 7: New Delhi: The 39 Indians taken hostage by ISISmore than one-and-a-half-years ago from Mosul in Iraq arealive, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tells their families, based on her recent meetings with Arab and Palestinian leaders who indicate to this effect.
Feb 8: New Delhi: Notwithstanding allegations of sexual harassment by a former colleague, TERI Chief R K Pachauri is appointed Executive Vice Chairman of the green body after new Director General Ajay Mathur takes over the charge from him.
Feb 9: Mumbai: Terror outfits LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen are given “financial” and “military” support by the ISI, Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley says as he makes fresh revelations including about an aborted plan to target Indian defence scientists and famous Siddhivinayak temple here.
Feb 10: New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee yet again asks Governors to act within the framework of the Constitution and that “they must not only be fair but also be seen to be fair”.
Feb 10: New Delhi: Against the backdrop of a row over actions of Arunachal Pradesh Governor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Governors should work as catalytic agents in the states, speeding up and improving processes “without themselves becoming a part of them”.
Feb 11: New Delhi: Delhi Police registers a case of sedition in connection with an event at JNU against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru following complaints by BJP MP Maheish Girri and RSS’s student front ABVP.
Feb 11: Mumbai: Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley tells a special court that college girl Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2004 in Gujarat was an operative of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Feb 11: New Delhi: Siachen braveheart Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad dies due to multiple organ failure, after waging a grim battle for life for nine days.
Feb 12: New Delhi: Former DU lecturer SAR Geelani has been booked for sedition in connection with an event here, in which a group shouted slogans hailing Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru with police today saying an “early arrest” isexpected in the case.
Feb 12: New Delhi: JNU students’ Union President KanhaiyaKumar is arrested in a sedition case over an event at the varsity’s campus against hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, sparking massive outrage among students and criticism from non-BJP parties which dubbed it as an “emergency-like” situation.
Feb 12: New Delhi: Facing flak, TERI’s executive vice chairman R K Pachauri proceeds on leave from two other bodies, TERI and its governing council, which also appointed former Competition Commission chief Ashok Chawla as the new chairman in an apparent damage control measure.
Feb 12: New Delhi: JNU students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar is arrested in a sedition case over an event at the varsity’s campus against hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, sparking massive outrage among students and criticism from non-BJP parties which dubbed it as an “emergency-like” situation.
Feb 13: New Delhi: Reacting strongly, India summons USAmbassador Richard Verma to convey its “displeasure anddisappointment” over Obama administration’s decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
Feb 14: New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh unleashes a political storm with a claim that an event at JNU to protest the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru had received “support” from LeT founder Hafiz Saeed amid an escalating showdown over the crisis at the varsity.
Feb: 15: New Delhi: Violence breaks out in the Patiala House court complex when groups of lawyers thrash journalists and students and teachers of JNU while the political slugfest over the arrest of the university’s student leader snowballed with BJP chief Amit Shah targeting Rahul and Sonia Gandhi on the issue.
Feb 16: New Delhi: Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB)chief M K Meena, who had been at the loggerheads with theArvind Kejriwal government, is transferred along with 14 senior Delhi Police officials in a major reshuffle.
Feb 17: Kolkata: A day after pro-Afzal Guru slogans are raised in Jadavpur University (JU), posters calling for ‘freedom’ for Kashmir, Manipur and Nagaland are found in the campus even as two rival groups of students bring out rallies in the varsity premises.
Feb 18: Chandigarh: Violence breaks out during Jat agitation for quota in Rohtak leaving at least 15 persons injured even as Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar convenes an all-party meet tomorrow to find a way out of the impasse.
Feb 18: Surajkund (Har): The national flag is set to fly atop a 207-ft tall flag mast on the campuses of all 46 Central Universities “prominently and proudly” to signify a “strong India”, a resolution adopted at a meeting of their Vice Chancellors with HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
Feb 19: Itanagar: Dissident Congress leader Kalikho Pul is sworn in as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh after more than two months of political crisis, shortly after the Supreme Court paves the way for government-formation and President’s rule is lifted from the state.
Feb 19: Rohtak (Haryana): Army is called in nine districts of Haryana and curfew imposed in two districts along with shoot-at-sight orders after one person dies and 25 injured during the Jat stir for quota which turned violent with mobs resorting to widespread arson.
Feb 20: Raipur: Three unidentified men allegedly hurl acid like chemical on tribal activist and Aam Adami Party (AAP) leader Soni Sori in Chhattisgarh’s Maoist-hit Dantewada district.
Feb 22: Chandigarh: Haryana government announces full compensation for damage caused to private properties as well as ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the 19 killed in the Jat agitation for reservation.
Feb 22: New Delhi: Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, named by India as the mastermind of the Pathankot attack, has been under “protective custody” since January 14, says Pakistan Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz.
Feb 24: Hisar (Har): Twenty eight people have been killed during the Jat quota agitation in Haryana, Director General of Police Yashapl Singhal says, while maintaining that the situation is fast returning to normalcy and no untoward incident has been reported from anywhere.
Feb 27: New Delhi: JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar tells a Supreme Court-appointed lawyers’ probe panel that he was beaten up, pushed to the ground and injured by men in lawyers’ robes before the police, when he was brought to the Patiala House court premises on February 17.
Feb 28: Hyderabad: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury are among nine persons who have been booked on sedition charges in connection with the JNU row, police says.
Feb 28: Aligarh (UP): Controversial film ‘Aligarh’, based on the life of an AMU professor who was sacked on charges of homosexuality, is not screened here for the second consecutive day with the film’s director Hansal Mehta terming it as an “extra-constitutional ban”.
Mar 1: New Delhi: Clearing the air on taxing provident fund withdrawals, the government says PPF withdrawals will continue to be fully exempt from tax and only interest accruing after April 1 on 60 per cent of the contributions made to Employee PF will be taxed.
Mar 2: New Delhi: In a sharp attack on P Chidambaram, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says the second affidavit filed in the Supreme Court by the UPA government in the Ishrat Jahan case was “fraudulent”.
Mar 2: New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi launches a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over the “fair and lovely” scheme on black money and the raging trouble in JNU and Hyderabad University.
Mar 3: New Delhi: JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar walks out of Tihar jail to a rapturous welcome, three weeks after his arrest on sedition charges that unleashed widespread outrage with a combined opposition mounting a spirited attack on government accusing it of crushing dissent.
Mar 4: New Delhi: Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, who had a chequered political career in which he constantly shifted allegiance in the last two decades, dies following a massive heart attack.
Mar 5: Jaipur: Pakistan says dialogue is not a favour by one country to another but a necessity to normalise relations, remarks made in the backdrop of delay in FS-level talks with India which has made it clear that action on Pathankot terror strike takes the priority.
Mar 6: Lucknow: The one-man judicial commission of inquiry that went into the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots concludes intelligence failure and laxity on the part of police leads to the violence that left 62 people dead but is silent on the role of the Akhilesh Yadav government in the conflagration.
Mar 21: New Delhi: Delhi University lecturer S A R Gilani, who was arrested in a case of sedition last month, is released from Tihar jail.
Mar 21: New Delhi: Upbeat at over 13 lakh military veterans getting their new monetary entitlements under ‘One Rank-One Pension’ scheme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar says most of the rest will get their new pension by Holi.
Mar 22: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asks his Council of Ministers to reach out to people to create awareness among them about the schemes and initiatives launched by his government in the last two years through ‘Sampark and Samvaad’ (contact and communication).
Mar 22: New Delhi: India downplays Nepal signing a landmark transit treaty with China along with nine other agreements, asserting that no country can replicate the “special and privileged” relationship the Himalayan nation has with it.
Mar 23: Bengaluru: India survives a mighty scare before pulling off an incredible 1-run victory over Bangladesh in a nerve-wracking low-scoring thriller to keep their semi- final hopes alive in the ICC World T20.
Mar 24: New Delhi: Two Indian nationals who were detained by authorities in China for violating visa regulations have been released, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says.
Mar 24: Srinagar: Decks are cleared for PDP President Mehbooba Mufti to take over as the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir after she is unanimously elected as the legislature party leader and nominated as the party’s CM candidate.
Mar 25: New Delhi: Two hundred and forty two Indians including 28 Jet Airways crew members, who were stranded after the deadly terror strikes in Brussels on Tuesday, return home, much to the relief of anxious family members.
Mar 26: New Delhi: The Centre justifies imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand, contending that there was “no better example” for invoking Article 356 as the Harish Rawat government was “unconstitutional” and “immoral” since March 18 when it “lost” majority in the Assembly.
Mar 27: Quepem (Goa): Amid concern in the defence establishment over poor serviceability of the country’s mainline fighter aircraft Su30 MKI, Russia says it has offered India comprehensive maintenance and after-sales support for equipment sold by it, including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
Mar 28: New Delhi: The government permits 100 per cent FDI in the market place format of e-commerce retailing with a view to attract more foreign investments.
Mar 28: Pathankot: A five-member Pakistani probe team, including an ISI official, visits the strategic IAF base that was for most part visually barricaded as scores of Congress and AAP workers hold protests outside carrying black flags and shouting slogans against their probe into the January two terror attack.
Mar 29: Chandigarh: A Bill to provide reservation to Jats and five other communities in government jobs and educational institutions has been unanimously passed by the Haryana Assembly, ahead of the April 3 deadline set by the community which launched a violent quota agitation last month.
Mar 30: Raipur: Seven CRPF men die in a deadly landmine blast carried out by Naxals that also left a massive four-feet deep crater on the road in the worst Maoist violence-affected Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.
Mar 31: Kolkata: At least 21 people are killed and 88 injured and some others feared trapped as a portion of an under-construction flyover collapses on a congested road intersection here, crushing people and vehicles as the state government orders a high-level probe into the incident.
Apr 1: Kolkata: A day after the collapse of a flyover portion in the city, police detain 10 officials of the construction company IVRCL for questioning while two state
government engineers were suspended even as the toll rose to 24 with the recovery of three more bodies from the debris.
Apr 3: New Delhi: The music launch of Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali-starrer “Ghar Wapsi” face fresh hurdles, with the right wing ‘Hindu Sena’ threatening to disrupt the event, following which a police complaint has been filed.
Apr 4: New Delhi: The monitoring and investigation into the cases of 500 Indians being named in the leaked ‘Panama Papers’ will be conducted under the stringent provisions of the new law to combat the menace of black money generated by Indians in foreign shores.
Apr 6: New Delhi: Kamla Advani, wife of veteran BJP leader L K Advani, who remained out of politics but was often seen with him in public during his long political journey, dies here following cardiac arrest.
Apr 6: Jammu: Separatist-turned-politician Sajjad Gani Lone resigns from the newly formed PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir, just a day after he is sworn-in.
Apr 7: New Delhi: Countering the Pakistan High Commissioner’s assertion that the visit by Pakistani JIT was not on reciprocity, India says before the team’s visit here, both sides had agreed that it would be on the basis of reciprocity.
Apr 8: Chandigarh/New Delhi: NIA secures non-bailable arrest warrants against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masoo Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and two others for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strike on the strategic Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.
Apr 9: New Delhi: A shoe is hurled at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a press conference by a man who claims to be from a breakaway group of AAP, triggering angry reaction from AAP which sought to link BJP to the incident.
Apr 10: Kollam: In one of the worst tragedies to hit Kerala, at least 106 people die and 383 get injured in a devastating fire that engulfed the 100-year-old Puttingal Devi Temple complex during an unauthorised display of fireworks.
Apr 10: Jammu: After a lull of nearly seven months, the ceasefire on the Line of Control has been violated with Pakistan army resorting to mortar shelling and firing in
Poonch sector, a development that comes amid a fresh chill in relations between the two countries.
Apr 10: New Delhi/Surat: A powerful earthquake clocking 6.8 on the Richter scale, epicentred in Hindukush mountain range in Afghanistan, jolts several parts of north India, including the Delhi NCR region, forcing people out of their homes and creating panic.
Apr 12: Srinagar: Two youth, including a budding cricketer, die in Handwara, about 85 kms from Srinagar, when Army opens fire to disperse a stone-pelting mob which was protesting against alleged molestation of a girl by some of its personnel.
Apr 13: Srinagar/New Delhi: Tension prevails in Kashmir as one more youth dies in fresh clashes between protesters and security forces amid curfew-like restrictions imposed in view of the disquiet following the death of three civilians in firing by Army.
Apr 13: New Delhi: An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hits Myanmar, tremors of which shake the northeast, several parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and even Delhi and NCR.
Apr 15: Srinagar: Kashmir remains volatile as one more youth was killed in army firing and 47 others, including over 40 security personnel, were injured in clashes that rocked many parts of the valley, spreading beyond Kupwara, the epicentre of the four-day unrest.
Apr 15: New Delhi: Beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya, whose Kingfisher Airlines has defaulted on loans of over Rs 9,400 crores and who has taken refuge in Britain, suffers a major blow when his diplomatic passport is suspended by government which has threatened to revoke it.
Apr 16: Srinagar: Several parts of Kashmir are rocked by clashes, leaving two youth injured, even as Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti sought to douse the flames by visiting and assuring justice to families of those killed since Tuesday in firing by security forces amid her assertion that such incidents are “unacceptable”.
Apr 17: Mehsana: Curfew is clamped in Mehsana town in Gujarat and mobile internet service banned as a massive rally of the Patel community demanding reservation and immediate release of their jailed leaders turned violent with two buildings being set ablaze and some police vehicles damaged.
Apr 18: New Delhi: The 108-carat unique Kohinoor diamond estimated to cost over USD 200 million was neither stolen nor “forcibly” taken by British rulers but given to East India Company by erstwhile rulers of Punjab 167 years back, Government tells Supreme Court which wanted legal remedies to be kept open to get it back.
Apr 19: Attari (Amritsar): The heart and stomach of Indian prisoner Kirpal Singh, who dies under mysterious circumstances in a Pakistani jail, are missing when his body arrived here and handed over to Indian authorities.
Apr 28: New Delhi: Hailing the successful launch of navigation satellite IRNSS-1G, Prime Minister Narendra Modi names the new system as ‘NAVIC’ (boatman) as he dedicated it to the people of the country and said SAARC countries can also take advantage of its services.
Apr 29: New Delhi: The Central Information Commission directs the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to search and provide information on degrees earned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had criticised the functioning of transparency panel.
Apr 29: New Delhi: Following controversy over a book, part of DU’s history curriculum, which refers to Bhagat Singh as a “revolutionary terrorist”, the university decides to stop the sale and distribution of its Hindi translation.
Apr 30: New Delhi: Three fresh sunstroke casualties are reported in Odisha as heat wave continued to sweep several parts of the country with Rajasthan’s Phalodi scorching at 46 degrees Celsius.
May 1: Dehradun: Ousted chief minister Harish Rawat virtually admits his presence in the controversial sting CD, but says it was not a crime to meet a journalist or an MLA and dismissed the conversation shown in the video as “meaningless”.
May 3: Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram: Three people have been taken into custody by police for questioning in connection with the rape and brutal murder of a 30-year-old dalit woman in Ernakulam district that sparked protest marches by students and rights activists across Kerala.
May 3: New Delhi: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, facing a case of loan default of over Rs 9,400 crore, is all set to be expelled from the Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari turning down his resignation on procedural grounds and Ethics Committee rejecting it.
May 5: New Delhi: A medium intensity earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale hits Uttarakhand late tonight. May 7: Srinagar: Security forces gun down three suspected militants of Hizbul Mujahideen in an encounter in Pulwama district of Kashmir, after which some locals resort to violent protests leading to suspension of train service between Srinagar and Banihal for the day.
May 8: Jaipur/New Delhi: Students of class VIII in Rajasthan’s schools will no longer study the contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru to the freedom struggle or post-independence India after references to the first prime minister was dropped from a text book, leaving the Congress fuming and threatening agitation.
May 9: New Delhi: India denies any involvement in the internal political developments in Nepal which it describes as purely political including Kathmandu’s decision to recall its ambassador.
May 9: New Delhi: The decision to bury the bodies of four JeM terrorists, slain during the Pathankot IAF base assault, is taken after Islamabad dismisses NIA’s claims about their identity as “unverifiable”.
May 18: Mumbai/New Delhi: Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor targets the Congress over the practice of naming all the major assets of the country after the Nehru-Gandhi family during its rule, triggering an outcry from the party.
May 19: New Delhi: The BJP makes history in Assam by getting its first government in the north east, decimating Congress which was dethroned in Kerala too even as two women Chief Ministers Jayalalithaa and Mamata Banerjee romped home for a second consecutive term in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
May 20: New Delhi: Government approves promulgation of an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of uniform medical entrance examination, NEET, for one academic year
May 20: New Delhi: Terror outfit Indian Mujahideen’s (IM) oldest operative and key fund raiser is arrested by National Investigation Agency from Indira Gandhi International Airport here.
May 21: Srinagar: Five militants are killed in an encounter with security forces in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district that also left two soldiers injured.
May 21: New Delhi: A 23-year-old Congolese national isallegedly beaten to death by a group of men following a brawlover hiring an auto-rickshaw in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area.
May 22: New Delhi: BJP leader and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi is appointed as Lt Governor of Puducherry, a post which was under the additional charge of Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Island for nearly two years.
May 23: New Delhi: Bread samples of virtually all top brands in Delhi contained cancer-causing chemicals, a study says prompting the Union Health Ministry to order a probe.
May 23: Bengaluru: India successfully launches its maiden ‘swadeshi’ space shuttle with the winged Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV-TD) fulfilling its mission objectives in the first crucial test to make space travel easier and cheaper in the future.
May 24: New Delhi: The government withdraws the tender for purchase of 98 torpedos for Scorpene submarines which a subsidiary of chopper scam tainted Italian defence conglomerate Finmeccanica had won during the UPA regime.
May 24: Guwahati: Steering BJP to power for the first time in the north east, Sarbananda Sonowal is sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Assam heading a 11-member ministry that also included representatives of allies AGP and Bodo Peoples Front (BPF).
May 25: New Delhi: NIA makes it clear that its charge sheet in the Samjhauta train blast was final and the agency had found no links of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba terror group to the 2007 incident in which 68 people, including Indians and Pakistanis were killed.
May 25: New Delhi: ED summons some Indian contacts of British national Christian Mitchel, an alleged middleman, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal.
May 25: Thiruvananthapuram: CPI(M) strongman Pinarayi Vijayan is sworn in as Chief Minister of Kerala heading a 19-member ministry of the party-led Left Democratic Front(LDF) that had 13 new faces including two women.
May 26: New Delhi: The Supreme Court allows Salvatore Girone, one of the two Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012, to go home while an international tribunal decides on a jurisdictional issue between India and Italy.
May 26: New Delhi: Firing a fresh salvo at Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy levels six allegations against him including of sending confidential and sensitive financial information around the world and asks the Prime Minister to sack him immediately.
May 27: New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj takes up the issue of an attack on a 23-year-old Nigerian student in Hyderabad with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who promised stringent action against the guilty.
May 27: New Delhi: India successfully test fires the over 290-km range BrahMos land-attack supersonic cruise missile.
May 28: Srinagar: In one of the biggest catches in recent months, a top Hizbul Mujahideen militant Tariq Pandit, a close aide of the terror group’s poster boy Burhan Wani, is arrested after he surrendered to police in Pulwama.
May 29: New Delhi: Amid outrage over a string of attacks on Africans in the national capital, five people are arrested for their alleged involvement in the incidents, with Home Minister Rajnath Singh directing the police to take strict action against the attackers and step up patrolling in the areas inhabited by the community.
May 30: New Delhi: War is not a solution to problems between India and Pakistan and only “foolish” people would consider such an option, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit says, two days after Pakistani nuclear scientist A Q
Khan says his country has the capability to hit New Delhi in five minutes.
May 31: Pulgaon(Mah)/New Delhi: At least 16 defence personnel, including two Army officers, are killed in a massive fire that broke out at one of Asia’s biggest ammunition depot in Maharashtra’s Pulgaon that houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country.
Jun 1: New Delhi: Licence of NGO run by noted lawyer Indira Jaising, ‘Lawyers’ Collective’ is suspended by the Modi government for six months for alleged violation of FCRA by using the funds for rallies, dharna with political “hue and colour”, a charge denied by the association which termed it as an act of “vindictiveness”.
Jun 2: Ahmedabad: Over 14 years after the ghastly Gulberg massacre that killed 69 people including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, 24 people are convicted by a special court here which acquitted 36 others and dropped conspiracy charges against all the accused in one of the worst riots post-Godhra violence in Gujarat.
Jun 2: New Delhi: India lambasts Pakistan for “needlessly internationalising” the Kashmir issue, asserting it was not the main cause of tension between the two countries and that externally sponsored terrorism was the central issue.
Jun 3: Mathura: The temple town of Mathura is on edge after massive violence claimed 24 lives, including an SP and SHO, as police clashed with about 3,000 members of a little-known sect whose leaders have fled while 368 people have been arrested.
Jun 5: Mathura/Amroha: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh dares the Uttar Pradesh government to recommend a CBI probe into the Mathura incident as the death toll from clashes between encroachers and police at Jawahar Bagh rose to 29 with two more persons succumbing to injuries.
Jun 5: Chandigarh: Three months after their violentagitation left 30 people dead, Jat leaders in Haryana renewtheir quota stir, drawing lukewarm response amid tight security by the BJP government which had drawn severe flak over its handling of the protest last time.
Jun 6: Marwahi/Mumbai: Still smarting from debacles in assembly polls in four states, Congress receives a setback with two CWC members, Ajit Jogi and Gurudas Kamat quitting the party.
Jun 6: New Delhi: Rejecting Modi government’s charge of judicial overreach, Chief Justice of India T S Thakur says that judiciary intervenes only when the executive fails in its constitutional duties.
Jun 8: Jammu: Four Army personnel have been killed and eight others injured when the vehicle they were travelling in overturned in Samba district here, police says.
Jun 8: Mumbai: Major Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan,
Aamir Khan and Mahesh Bhatt lend their support to Anurag Kashyap, who has locked horns with censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani over his alleged demands for major cuts in “Udta Punjab”.
Jun 9: New Delhi: Amid a raging row over ‘Udta Punjab’, Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley says movie certification norms have to be liberal and “some very radical changes” will be announced over the next few days.
Jun 10: New Delhi: At least two people, including a civilian, die and another two get injured following leakage of toxic fumes from the sewage plant on board Russian-made aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, which was undergoing repairs at Karwar in Karnataka.
Jun 10: New Delhi: Congress says India has suffered a “setback” as it has failed to gain entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group in the backdrop of China playing a spoiler.
Jun 11: New Delhi: Eminent journalist Inder Malhotra, who helmed a string of top publications and was an accomplished political commentator, passes away at the age of 86.
Jun 12: New Delhi: A day after the Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore of Vijay Mallya and one of his companies, the liquor baron says there is “no rationale nor any legal basis” behind such action and alleged that government agencies are pursuing a “heavily biased investigation” against him.
Jun 13: New Delhi: In a jolt to Delhi’s ruling AAP government, President Pranab Mukherjee has refused to give assent to a legislation that protects 21 party MLAs, who have been appointed Parliamentary Secretaries, and face the prospect of disqualification.
Jun 14: Srinagar: Five soldiers get injured in an ongoing encounter near the Line of Control (LoC) with a group of terrorists who were intercepted by the Army when they were trying to infiltrate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Jun 15: New Delhi: With his alleged role in 1984 anti-sikh riots haunting him, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath gave up charge of Punjab assigned to him three days ago, in a clear bid to control damage in the coming Assembly polls as rivals have been raking up the issue.
Jun 15: New Delhi: The ED has filed a second charge sheet in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal naming British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel James, his two Indian associates and an Indian company for the first time in connection with its money laundering probe.
Jun 16: New Delhi: Iran is “encouraging” terrorism against Israel, “including” in Delhi and its concerns in this regard have been conveyed to the Indian government, Israeli Ambassador Daniel Carmon says.
Jun 17: New Delhi: CBI claims one of the accused arrested in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar spoke about raising an army of 15,000 armed men to fight anti-Hindu forces.
Jun 18: Mumbai/New Delhi: Buffetted by political attacks coupled with unending speculation over his continuance, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan says no to a second term in the post, a surprise decision the industry and opposition parties termed as nation’s loss.
Jun 19: New Delhi: Twelve Indian sailors, who were in jail in Italy since June 2014 on allegations of possessing drugs, have been freed, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says.
Jun 19: New Delhi: As India makes a determined bid to get NSG membership, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says that China was not opposing its entry even as Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar makes an unannounced visit to Beijing on June 16-17 to secure its support.
Jun 22: New Delhi: After forcing RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan out, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy opens a new front, targeting Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and demanded his sacking, ruffling feathers in the government and the party.
Jun 25: New Delhi: In a boost to India’s air strike capability, frontline fighter aircraft Su-30 MKI flies with an integrated BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that has a range of over 290 kms, making IAF the only air force in the world in possession of such a system.
Jun 25: Srinagar: In the deadliest attack on security forces in recent years, eight CRPF personnel are killed and 21 others critically wounded when terrorists rained bullets on a bus carrying them at Pampore, near here, in what appeared to be a Fidayeen attack carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Jun 26: New Delhi: With a complaint being lodged against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, 52 MLAs of the ruling AAP create high drama here as they marched to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence to “surrender” him but they were detained more than a kilometre away.
Jun 28: New Delhi: N S Vishwanathan is appointed Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, replacing H R Khan who will retire next week.
Jun 28: Mumbai: Virtually questioning NIA’s clean chit to 2008 Malegaon blast case accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a special NIA court observes there are reasonable grounds to believe that the charges against her are prima facie true and rejected her bail plea.
Jun 29: New Delhi: A week after India fails to get entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) due to China-led opposition, the US today said one country can break consensus in the atomic trading bloc and insisted that such member should be held accountable.
Jun 29: Mumbai/New Delhi: Actor Salman Khan does not turn up before Maharashtra State Commission for Women to offer explanation for his rape analogy to describe the gruelling shoot for his upcoming film “Sultan”, prompting the panel to issue summons for his personal appearance on July 7.
Jun 30: Balasore (Odisha): India successfully test fires twice the new surface-to-air missile, developed jointly with Israel, with a strike range upto 70 km, from a defence base off Odisha coast.
Jul: 1: Dehradun: At least 12 people are killed and 17 trapped under tonnes of debris with little chances of survival, as Monsoon rains trigger landslides in parts of Uttarakhand.
Jul 3: Kolkata/Agartala: A high alert has been sounded on the Indo-Bangla border in the five states of West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assama and Mizoram in the wake of the terror attack in Dhaka with the Border Security Force(BSF) stepping up its vigil.
Jul 4: New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar is among five persons arrested by CBI in a graft case, sparking a vicious attack by a livid AAP on the Centre, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking revenge for Delhi poll loss.
Jul 5: New Delhi: High profile Smriti Irani is shifted from the key HRD ministry to less significant Textiles portfolio and replaced by the newly elevated Cabinet minister Prakash Javadekar after an expansion of the Union Council of Ministers and reshuffle in which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley shed the additional I and B portfolio.
Jul 5: New Delhi: Hungary comes out in support of India’s bid to become member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), saying its participation at the atomic trading club will further strengthen nuclear non-proliferation and make global nuclear commerce more secure.
Jul 5: New Delhi: ED issues summons to Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P Chidamabram, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Aircel-Maxis deal of the 2G scam.
Jul 7: Haridwar/New Delhi: In its bid to fast-track execution of the ambitious Namami Gange programme, the NDA government launches 231 projects, including installation of sewage treatment plants and ghat constructions, at over 100 locations in seven states with an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore.
Jul 7: Mumbai/New Delhi: As the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik faces heat, the Maharashtra government orders a probe into his speeches that were reported to have inspired some of the Dhaka attackers while the Centre says “appropriate action” will be taken against him.
Jul 8: New Delhi: Controversial Islamic preacher ZakirNaik faces probes by the Centre that covered foreign funding of his NGO Islamic Research Foundation(IRF) and the CDs of his speeches that were reported to have inspired some of the Dhaka attackers.
Jul 8: New Delhi: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan fails to appear before National Commission for Women, defying the summons sent by the women’s panel over his rape remark.
Jul 9: New Delhi: Kashmir is rattled by widespread mob violence and clashes which left 11 people dead and 126, including 96 security forces personnel, injured even as curfew was clamped across the Valley and mobile internet services suspended to contain the fallout of gunning down of militant commander Burhan Wani.
Jul 10: Srinagar: Kashmir continues to be on the boil with six more people, including a cop, getting killed in violence raising the death toll to 21, even as curfew-like restrictions were in force and Mobile internet services remained suspended.
Jul 10: Jammu: Amarnath yatra remains suspended for second consecutive day today from Jammu in the wake of the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander in an encounter with security forces in Kashmir Valley.
Jul 11: New Delhi/Islamabad: A diplomatic spat erupts between India and Pakistan today over the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani with New Delhi dismissing Islamabad’s strong attack, saying it reflected its “continued attachment” to terrorism.
Jul 11: New Delhi: More than 200 passengers of a London-Mumbai Air India flight who were stranded at Baku in Azerbaijan after their aircraft is diverted night for “operational reasons” returns to Mumbai in a special aircraft sent for them.
Jul 12: New Delhi: Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla, who had crossed 75 years, resigns from the Union Cabinet along with Minister of State for Heavy Industries G M Siddeshwara.
Jul 13: New Delhi: In a major setback to BJP and the Centre, the Supreme Court orders restoration of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, saying the “clock should be turned back”, as it quashed all decisions of the Governor that precipitated its fall in January, holding them “violative” of the Constitution.
Jul 14: New Delhi: Hitting out at Pakistan over its strong comments on Kashmir situation in the wake of killing of militant Burhan Wani, India accuses it of not only infiltrating terrorists but also fanning discontent within the Valley by providing support to terrorist outfits.
Jul 15: Thiruvanathpuram/New Delhi: The first batch of 156 people, including nine women and three children, evacuated from war-torn South Sudan arrived in India on board an Air Force plane.
Jul 17: Itanagar: Pema Khandu is sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh heading a Congress government, a day after the party pulled off a dramatic success winning back all its rebels by choosing a new leader, marking the culmination of fast-paced political developments.
Jul 18: New Delhi: Dealing a blow to BJP in Punjab, Navjot Sing Sidhu resigns from Rajya Sabha just three months after his nomination by the Modi government with the Aam Aadmi Party giving indications that he may be made the party’s face in the assembly elections next year.
Jul 19: Rajkot: Dalit protests in Gujarat spread to several parts of the state including Ahmedabad unleashing violence in which a head constable was killed in a stone pelting and state transport buses attacked while three more members of the community allegedly attempted suicide.
Jul 20: New Delhi: BJP expels its Uttar Pradesh unit vice president Dayashankar Singh from the party as it sought to buffer it against the fallout of his derogatory remarks against BSP chief Mayawati.
Jul 20: New Delhi: India says it is engaging with China to iron out differences after Beijing created “procedural hurdles” for its entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) but made it clear that government will never ink Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Jul 21: New Delhi: Against the backdrop of 21 AAP MLAs facing the prospect of disqualification for holding the post of parliamentary secretaries in the Delhi government, the Centre says that the expression ‘office of profit’ has not been defined in “any law”.
Jul 22: New Delhi: Under attack, AAP MP Bhagwant Mann expresses unconditional apology for filming Parliament complex as he was summoned by Lok Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who remained unimpressed and decided to consult political parties for “appropriate action” into the “grave misconduct”.
Jul 23: New Delhi: Judith D’Souza, an Indian aid worker who was abducted in Kabul last month by suspected militants, returned after being rescued.
Jul 23: Chennai: Apprehensions grew over the fate of the missing IAF transport aircraft with 29 people on board as search teams were yet to find any trace of the AN 32 plane while efforts were intensified today over the Bay of Bengal where inclement weather appeared to be a hurdle.
Jul 23: New Delhi: Legendary painter S H Raza who popularised globally Indian concepts and iconography and built a towering legacy of modern art passed away here after prolonged illness, leaving a huge void in the artistic world.
Jul 24: Srinagar: With a constable and a civilian succumbing to injuries today, the death toll in the ongoing unrest in Kashmir climbed to 47, while curfew remained in force in five districts of the Valley and some parts of the summer capital as a precautionary measure.
Jul 25: New Delhi: Amid growing strain in Indo-Pak ties, India asks its diplomats and other officials posted in its High Commission in Islamabad to withdraw their children from schools there from the current academic session, virtually downgrading it as a “non-school-going station”.
Jul 26: New Delhi: An FIR is registered against Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal for allegedly mentioning in a notice to police the name of a 14-year-old Dalit girl, who died three days back after being raped repeatedly and forced to drink acid.
Jul 26: New Delhi: Eminent diplomat Arundhati Ghose, who was India’s ambassador to the UN and played a decisive role in India’s negotiations on Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), passes away last night at the age of 76.
Jul 28: Srinagar: In a bid to control the damage over continuing protests, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti says the security forces were not aware of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani’s presence during the raid at his hideout in which he was killed.
Jul 29: New Delhi: Three men allegedly involved in the abduction of Keralite priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil and carrying out an attack on a care home for the elderly killing an Indian and 15 others in Yemen’s port city of Aden, are arrested in the strife-torn country.
Jul 30: New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari voices concern over the reduced duration of Parliament sessions and slammed frequent disruptions of proceedings, saying it was akin to holding the House to “ransom” for an interest of a group or an individual.
Jul 30: New Delhi: In a humanitarian crisis, over 10,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia face severe food shortage due to financial hardship after losing their jobs and the government has ordered its mission in the Gulf nation to provide food to them besides other assistance.
Jul 31: New Delhi: AAP’s Narela MLA Sharad Chauhan is arrested in connection with the suicide of a woman worker of the party, which accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “vendetta politics” and questioned if “he is fit to run the country”.
Aug 1: Ahmedabad/New Delhi: In a surprise move ahead of Assembly polls, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, who is in the midst of several challenges, decides to step down, saying it was time for new leadership to take over as she is soon going to turn 75.
Aug 1: Chennai/New Delhi: AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa, who reportedly slapped DMK MP Trichy Siva at Delhi airport on Saturday, is expelled from the party by its supreme Jayalalithaa on a day when she claimed she was slapped by a “leader” and faced threat to her life in Tamil Nadu.
Aug 2: New Delhi: With thousands of Indians reeling under severe financial crisis in Saudi Arabia after losing their jobs, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh leaves for the Gulf nation to assess the situation and finalise modalities to bring back those who want to return to India.
Aug 3: New Delhi: In the biggest tax reform since Independence, the national sales tax or GST Bill is approved by the Rajya Sabha to replace a raft of different state and local taxes with a single unified value added tax system to turn the country into world’s biggest single market.
Aug 3: New Delhi: The government sanctions induction of additional BrahMos supersonic missiles, with steep dive capability and 290 km range, to be deployed in the Eastern sector to ramp up its capabilities along the border with China.
Aug 4: New Delhi: Bollywood film ‘Peepli Live’ co-director Mahmood Farooqui, held guilty for raping a US researcher, is sent to seven years in jail by a Delhi court which says he took advantage of the situation when she was alone in his house.
Aug 4: New Delhi: Delhi continues to remain a union territory under the Constitution with the Lieutenant Governor (LG) as its administrative head, Delhi High Court rules, dealing a body blow to the Arvind Kejriwal government, which has been on warpath with the Centre over powers.
Aug 5: Srinagar: Three persons are killed and over 150 injured in fresh clashes which rocks Kashmir at several places after Friday prayers, raising the death toll during the current unrest to 53.
Aug 5: Kokrajhar (Assam): Terror strikes Assam when a group of heavily armed militants dressed in army fatigues and suspected of belonging to a Bodo separatist outfit opens indiscriminate fire and lobbed grenades at a crowded weekly market killing 14 people.
Aug 6: New Delhi: In his first public denouncement of cow vigilantes, some of whom flogged dalits in his home state Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he feels enraged at such “anti-social elements” who indulge in crimes by the night and masquerade as cow protectors by the day.
Aug 7: Hyderabad/Gajwel(Telangana): Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes down heavily on the perpetrators of violence on dalits, telling them, “if you have to attack, attack me” but stop attacking “my Dalit bretheren”.
Aug 9: New Delhi: Cracking the whip on cow vigilantism, the Centre asks all states not to tolerate anyone taking law into their hands in the name of protecting cow and take prompt action against such offenders.
Aug 9: New Delhi: In an unexpected development, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis have decided to end their astonishing partnership that took the tennis world by storm last year when they won nine titles including the year-end WTA championship.
Aug 9: New Delhi: Amid growing strain in ties, India summons Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit and hands him a “strong demarche” over Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism by pushing in trained terrorists to carry out attacks, particularly in Kashmir.
Aug 10: New Delhi: Afghanistan has sought more military supplies from India including attack helicopters as it stepped up its offensive last week against terror groups killing 300 Islamic State terrorists, the top US and NATO commander in the war-ravaged country says.
Aug 11: New Delhi: CBI charges former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair and senior Space Department officials in the Antrix-Devas deal case for causing a loss of Rs 578 crore to the exchequer by abusing their official position to favour a private company.
Aug 11: New Delhi: The first batch of 26 Indian workers, who had lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia, arrive after the country issued them exit visas.
Aug 12: Srinagar: A magistrate, an SSP and three other police officers are among 47 people injured as stone-pelting incidents spill over from Kashmir to Jammu region where violence took place in Doda district.
Aug 12: New Delhi: The productivity of the Lok Sabha was higher than the Rajya Sabha in the Monsoon session which ended today but it’s performance was less than what it had achieved in the Budget session.
Aug 13: Jammu: Suspected militants hurl a grenade in a market in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 11 people injured, one of them critical.
Aug 14: New Delhi/Islamabad: Despite reports from Pakistan that he would be accorded a “warm welcome” if he participates in the SAARC ministerial conference in Islamabad later this month, sources say that it was not yet clear whether Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would be attending.
Aug 15: Una (Guj): Thousands of Dalits take a pledge not to remove cow carcasses and to launch a rail roko stir if five acres of land for each family is not granted by Gujarat government within a month even as tension breaks out after an attack in which eight of them were injured.
Aug 15: Srinagar: One youth dies and another gets critically injured in fresh clashes between protestors and security forces in Kashmir, taking the death toll to 58, evenas curfew remains in force in some parts of Kashmir while aCRPF officer dies and nine other security personnel get injured as militants attack them.
Aug 17: New Delhi: India’s efforts to have “closer and broader” cooperation in South Asia often faced roadblocks due to “unique challenge” from Pakistan which tends to use terrorism as an instrument of policy of diplomacy, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar says.
Aug 17: New Delhi: Terming India’s relationship with China a “mixed picture”, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar says bilateral ties faced “some challenges” in the recent past, including when it blocked New Delhi’s NSG membership bid and UN sanctions against Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar.
Aug 18: New Delhi: Devas Multimedia had pocketed the deal with Antrix within a month of its inception on the basis of an allegedly false claim that it has IPR of a new technology for delivering multimedia content which saw its share price skyrocket 12,5000 times, according to CBI.
Aug 19: Srinagar: Stone-pelting incidents are reported from over a dozen places in Kashmir but there are no casualties in the violence that took place even as curfew is extended to several areas to thwart a proposed march of the separatists.
Aug 19: New Delhi: Nepal conveys to India the steps being taken by Prime Minister Prachanda to promote political stability by resolving all contentious issues, besides initiatives to speed up post-earthquake reconstruction.
Aug 20: New Delhi: Ending months of speculation, Urjit Patel, a Deputy Governor at the RBI, is named as the next chief of India’s central bank to succeed outspoken Raghuram Rajan, whose tenure was marked with tough measures to control inflation and headline-making statements.
Aug 21: Jammu/New Delhi/Bengaluru: Congress comes came under fire from top ministers in the Modi government for “sympathising with supporters of terrorists”, a day after Karnataka Home Minister gave a “clean chit” to Amnesty International over an event where anti-India slogans were allegedly raised.
Aug 22: New Delhi: The Centre rushes 10 NDRF teams to flood-hit areas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in order to launch massive relief and rescue operations to help those marooned in these states.
Aug 23: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Akashvani Maitree, a radio channel launched earlier in the day, will serve as one more bridge of friendship between the people of India and Bangladesh.
Aug 24: New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate summons Nalini Chidambaram, wife of former Finance Minister P Chidamabram, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Saradha chit fund scam case.
Aug 24: Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stresses on the need for initiating a political dialogue with stakeholders in the state saying it is “very important” even as he demanded an immediate ban on use of pellet guns against protesters.
Aug 25: Barabanki/New Delhi: Rejecting the judicial commission’s report on Rohith Vemula’s suicide as “fake and fictitious”, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman P L Punia says the deceased Hyderabad Univeristy research scholar was a Dalit.
Aug 25: Srinagar: Pellet guns, which has caused large-scale injuries in the 47-day unrest in Kashmir, are likely to be replaced soon with Union Home Minister Rajnath
Singh saying an alternative to this crowd control device for security forces will be given in the coming few days.
Aug 27: Srinagar: At least 25 people get injured in fresh clashes between protesters and security forces in Kashmir even as the death toll in the ongoing unrest in the Valley reaches 68 amid curfew in many parts of the region.
Aug 27: New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley makesout a strong case for BRICS nations developing their own arbitration mechanism to cut reliance on redressal centres in developed nations to ensure arbitration awards are not “loaded against emerging economies”.
Aug 28: New Delhi: With three more deaths reported the toll in Bihar rises to 156 as there is no let up in the flood situation in the state while in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh the Ganga continues to flow above the danger level.
Aug 29: Nagrota (Jammu): The central leadership will have to take “one or more steps” than Pakistan to “apply balm on the wounds” of Kashmiris, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti says and hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will use his mandate to save the lives and future of children of Kashmir.
Aug 30: New Delhi: India and the US agree to move forward on building six nuclear reactors and discuss ways to enhance cooperation in the field of atomic power and space.
Aug 31: New Delhi: In a sudden move, Delhi’s Social Welfare Minister Sandeep Kumar is sacked by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after receiving an ‘objectionable’ CD in which he was purportedly shown in a compromising position with a woman.
Sep 1: New Delhi: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi conveys to India that he wants to take anti-terror cooperation between the two countries to a “whole new level” and pitches for “strong collective action” against radicalisation.
Sep 2: New Delhi: Condemning atrocities against dalits, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accuses “self-appointed champions” of the community of giving political colour to the social problem to create tensions even as he asks politicians, including his own partymen, to shun irresponsible statements.
Sep 2: New Delhi: “Development” and building of “confidence” are the key to address the problem of Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says while hoping that the youth of the Valley won’t get “misled”.
Sep 2: New Delhi: Public transport services are disrupted and banking and insurance operations deranged as more than a million employees across the country strike work against “anti-labour” policies, bringing life to a standstill in parts of some states like Kerala.
Sep 3: New Delhi: Capping a day of dramatic developments, sacked Delhi Minister Sandeep Kumar is arrested hours on rape and other charges hours after he surrenders before police following a complaint by a woman, who purportedly figured in an “objectionable” CD with him.
Sep 4: Srinagar: Adopting a tough stance, separatists rebuff attempts by five opposition MPs to talk to them even as an all-party parliamentary delegation explores ways to end the 56-day-old unrest by holding discussions with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and some other mainstream leaders.
Sep 4: Srinagar: More than 200 people are injured in clashes between stone pelters and security forces in Kashmir, on a day an all-party parliamentary delegation is here to assess the ground situation in the valley where normal life remains paralysed for 58th consecutive day.
Sep 6: Jammu: In another ceasefire violation in less than a week, Pakistani Army pounds Indian positions with 120 mm mortar bombs and firing along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sep 6: Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti hits out at the separatists for “spoiling” the youth of the Kashmir Valley and terms as an “insult” to ‘Kashmiriyat’ their action of shutting the door on members of the all-party delegation of MPs that explores ways to restore peace in the troubled state.
Sep 7: New Delhi: Passengers travelling by Rajdhani, Shatadbi and Duronto trains will have to shell out between 10 and 50 per cent more under a dynamic surge pricing system to be introduced from September 9, aimed at raking in Rs 500 crore more during the current financial year.
Sep 8: Srinagar: Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who literally shut the doors of his residence on a group of MPs few days back, says he was not against dialogue but will not participate in any “meaningless exercise” which is not aimed at solving the Kashmir issue.
Sep 8 :New Delhi: India makes it clear that no decision to ratify the Paris climate change agreement has been taken so far as its domestic processes in this regard are still underway.
Sep 9 : New Delhi: India asserts its support to Bangladesh’s judicial process to address the war crimes committed during the independence movement of 1971.
Sep 10: Jaipur: A MiG-21 trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashes in Rajasthan’s Barmer district but both the pilots able to eject safely.
Sep 11: Jammu: Three militants and a policeman dies and six others, including an police officer, were injured in twin encounters between security forces and four terrorists in Poonch town of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sep 11: New Delhi: Two days after beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya tells a Delhi court that he felt “incapacitated” to travel to India despite his “best intentions” as his passport revokes, the ED starts working on issuing a third attachment order worth a few thousand crore of rupees more against him.
Sep 12: Bengaluru/Chennai: Widespread violence erupts in Bangaluru and some other parts of Karnataka while sporadic trouble is seen in Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery water sharing dispute arising out of Supreme Court’s verdict.
Sep 13: New Delhi: Chikungunya takes its toll in Delhi and a few other cities across the country, with at least five deaths due to the vector-borne disease reported in the last two days, including a fatality in the national capital where its number of cases climbs to over 1,000.
Sep 14: New Delhi: Five more deaths from chikungunya complications happens at a private hospital in Delhi, while AIIMS confirs one suspected case, taking to 11 the number of fatalities due to the vector-borne disease in the city that is grappling with a severe health crisis.
Sep 15: Lucknow: In a fresh twist to the deepening feud in Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family, his brother Shivpal submits his resignation as ruling Samajwadi Party’s state unit head and as a minister in the cabinet of newphew Akhilesh Yadav with whom he is at loggerheads.
Sep 15: New Delhi: Asserting that NSG membership is a priority, India says there should not be any differences between it and China on issues such as development and clean energy, a day after Beijing says it is yet to take a position on the accession of a non-NPT country into the nuclear club.
Sep 15: Srinagar: PDP, which is struggling to contain the over two-month-long unrest in Kashmir, suffers a jolt when its founding member Tariq Hameed Karra quits the ruling party and his Lok Sabha seat as well, protesting against “brutal policies” of BJP at the Centre and “complete surrender” of the state government before it.
Sep 16: New Delhi: The number of fatalities due to chikungunya complications rise to 13 in the national capital, even as the Centre sought a detailed report from the Delhi government on deaths due to it and dengue, including medical history of the deceased.
Lucknow: Patch up in the Yadav family appears to be on the cards with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announcing that his disgruntled uncle Shivpal Yadav will be given back his portfolios and Gayatri Prajapati will be reinducted as Cabinet minister, issues which had triggered an all-out war.
Sep 17: Lucknow: With the feud in Uttar Pradesh’s first family ends, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav restores all but one portfolios of Shivpal Yadav and promises to support him as SP’s state unit president, a post from which he was himself removed three days back triggering the power tussle with his uncle.
Sep 17: New Delhi: CBI registers a preliminary enquiry (PE) to probe allegations of commission being paid to middleman in the supply of three aircraft worth USD 208 million from Brazilian company Embraer to Defence Research and Development Organisation for airborne surveillance systems.
Sep 18: Uri(J&K): Heavily armed militants suspected to be from Pakistan-based JeM have stormed into an army base in Uriin Kashmir killing 17 jawans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserts that those responsible “will not go “unpunished.
Sep 19: Srinagar: After snapping services as a precautinary measure the post paid services have been restored in Jammu and Kashmir
Sep 20: Jammu: Amid heightening tension between India and Pakistan, Western Army Commander Lt Gen Surinder Singh visits border areas of Jammu region and asks troops to ensure high degree of alertness and operational preparedness.
Sep 21: New Delhi: Slamming Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for glorifying slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani at the UN, India says his remarks show Pakistan’s continued attachment to terrorism.
Sep 21: Srinagar: Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Geelani today criticised UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for not mentioning the Kashmir issue in his speech at the world body terming it as “very shocking”. “We had pinned hope that his Excellency will make a reference to Kashmir issue during his official speech. It is highly disheartening and unfortunate,” Geelani said in a statement.
Sep 21: New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal has been named in an FIR into alleged irregularities in Delhi Commission for Women, triggering a sharp attack by him on Prime Minister Narendra Modi even as the ACB probing the case said the chief minister will not be questioned.
Sep 22: New Delhi: Amid raging row over sharing of Cauvery water, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah meeting Union minister Uma Bharti and explained to her his state’s “difficulty” in releasing the quantum of water to Tamil Nadu as per Supreme Court order, which he termed as “unfair”.
Sep 23: New Delhi: Indian Air Force successfully fire recently acquired long range air-to-air MICA missile on a manoeuvring target from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft.
Sep 23: New Delhi: India ink a Euro 7.87 billion (approx Rs 59,000) deal with France for purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons and equipped with latest missiles that will give the IAF greater “potency” over arch rival Pakistan.
Sep 23: Srinagar: A youth killed and over 30 were injured in clashes between stone-pelting mobs and security forces in Kashmir where curfew was imposed in some parts of Srinagar district and restrictions were in place elsewhere in the valley in view of separatist call for protests.
Sep 24: Uri: Security forces arrests two men from PoK who have been working for Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM and acting as guides for infiltrating groups along the Line of Control(LoC) in Uri sector in Kashmir, the Army says.
Sep 25: Srinagar: Markets across Kashmir opens and heavy rush of customers throngs shops as curfew was lifted from all parts of Kashmir.
Sep 25: Pathankot: Punjab Police and Border Security Force (BSF) carries out a joint search operation and flag march in villages near Indo-Pak border, amid a heightened vigil in the wake of the Uri attack a week ago.
Sep 27: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November amidst heightened tension between India and Pakistan, India says.
Sep 27: New Delhi: Senior IFS officer Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha appointed as India’s High Commissioner to the UK succeeding Navtej Sarna.
Sep 28: Jammu: In yet another ceasefire violation after the Uri terror attack, Pakistani troops targets Indian positions with small firearms along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sep 28: New Delhi: Apart from India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan pull out of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November, indirectly blaming Pakistan for creating an environment which is not right for the successful holding of the meet, resulting in its collapse.
Sep 29: New Delhi: In a first, India carries out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC with the Army inflicting “significant casualties” on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Uri attack would not go unpunished.
Sep 30: New Delhi: In signs of fracture, the Centre and states disagrees on decisions reached at the first meeting of the GST Council on service tax assessment although reaches a consensus on area based exemption in the new tax regime.
Oct 1: Srinagar: Army removes the commander of Uri Brigade, which was the target of the deadly terror attack on September 18 that claimed the lives of 19 soldiers and left several others injured, defence sources says.
Oct 1: New Delhi: India’s largest-ever spectrum auction kicks off with major telecom operators placing bids worth Rs 53,531 crore across bands, even as the premium 700 Mhz and 900 Mhz frequencies did not find any buyer.
Oct 1: New Delhi/Bangalore: Karnataka government moves to the Supreme court seeking a review of its order directing the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu even as it faced strident calls from opposition parties not to release the water “at any cost”.
Oct 2: Srinagar: Terrorists carry out a ‘Fidayeen’ (suicide) attack on an army camp located on the outskirts of Baramulla town, less than a week after the Indian Special
Forces smashed seven terror launch pads during a surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC).
Oct 3: Jammu: Intensifying action, Pakistan troops violate ceasefire four times by resorting to heavy mortar shelling and firing on Indian Army posts and civilian areas along LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, leaving five civilians injured and several shops ablaze.
Oct 3: Lucknow: Turf war in the ruling Samwajwad Party surfaces again as it announced candidates for 9 Assembly seats, including son of murder accused politician Amar Mani Tripathi, leaving Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav visibly unhappy as he said he was “not aware”.
Oct 4: Chandigarh/Ludhiana: Three passengers injured as 10 coaches of the Jammu Tawi-Pune Jhelum Express derails near Satluj river in Jalandhar district, affecting the movement of over 100 trains.
Oct 4: New Delhi: Noted Bharatanatyam dancer C V Chandrasekhar, musician Hridaynath Mangeshkar and Ghazalsinger Bhupinder Singh among other artists presented with coveted Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and awards by
President Pranab Mukherjee.
Oct 5: New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh calls on visiting Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and discusses with him various issues, including regional peace and fight against terrorism.
Oct 5: New Delhi: Pakistan army has mobilises about 100 terrorists across the LoC to push them into India to carry out attacks in Jammu and Kashmir even as a Pakistani police official purportedly admits to death of 12 of their people in PoK during the surgical strikes by the Indian army.
Oct 6: New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj meets the families of 39 Indians taken hostage by ISIS in June 2014 from Mosul in Iraq and tells them that as per information with the government they were “alive”.
Oct 6: Agra/New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar rules out releasing the video footage of the army’s surgical strikes across the LoC and questions the “loyalty” of those who “doubt” the forces.
Oct 7: Jammu: Pakistani troops have violated ceasefire over 25 times along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir since the September 29 surgical strikes by Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to destroy terror launch pads.
Oct 8: Barmer: India never attacks anyone but will retaliate and “not count the bullets” if attacked, Home Minister Rajnath Singh says after assessing security on border with Pakistan in the wake of surgical strike.
Oct 8: Chandigarh: BJP MLA from Punjab Navjot Kaur Sidhu resigns from the primary membership of the party, days after her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu had also done so.
Oct 9: Baramulla/New Delhi: Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashker-e-Taiba(LeT) suffered the maximum damage in the cross-LoC surgical strikes on terror launch pads carried out by Indian army with assessment reports of radio intercepts indicating that around 20 of its militants were killed.
Oct 10: Mumbai: Escalating its opposition to Pakistani actors, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) threatenes to “beat up” film makers Karan Johar and Mahesh Bhatt if they work with or release films featuring artistes from the neighbouring country.
Oct 11: Srinagar: Security forces pound the government building in Pampore near here with mortars and blasted IEDs for the second day to target the militants believed to be holed up there but there seems to be no early end to the operation.
Oct 13: Srinagar: Situation across Kashmir peaceful with no untoward incident being reported from anywhere but normal life remained affected for the 97th day because of separatist-sponsored strikes.
Oct 13: New Delhi: NIA takes over the custody of five alleged members of the banned Jamiat-ul-Muajhideen Bangladesh (JMB) terror outfit in connection with 2014 Burdwan blast.
Oct 14: Mumbai: Indo-Pak tensions rocks Bollywood when a Cinema Owners’ body refused to screen movies starring Pakistani artistes in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa, dealing a blow to Karan Johar’s upcoming Diwali blockbuster “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” that features Fawad Khan.
Oct 14: New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee forwards to the Election Commission a fresh petition against 27 AAP MLAs for allegedly holding office of profit, a move that may see the party defending another set of its lawmakers in protracted legal battle.
Oct 15: Varanasi/Chandauli: Twenty-four people die and 50 get injured in a stampede on an overcrowded Rajghat bridge on the border of Varanasi and Chandauli when followers of a religious leader cross it to attend a congregation this afternoon.
Oct 15: Benaulim (Goa): Seeking to allay India’s concern over Russia’s growing military ties with Pakistan, a top official and close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin says there are no talks for sale of military equipment to
Pakistan and that the recently held army exercise was directed at countering terrorism and not aimed at India.
Oct 16: Mobor (Goa): Leaders of the BRICS-BIMSTEC countries are unanimous in condemning terrorism and support India’s calls for intensified joint efforts to combat the menace.
Oct 16: Mobor (Goa): A consensus on including UN-proscribed terror group JeM in the Goa Declaration of the BRICS Summit, which called for tackling terrorism, couldn’t be arrived at as other nations in the bloc are not affected by Pakistan-based terrorism, a top Indian diplomat says.
Oct 17: Benaulim (Goa): Seeking to scale up their economic engagement, India and Brazil finalise text of a bilateral investment deal and decide to expand overall ties even as the two countries seek united global action without “distinction” or “discrimination” to deal with terrorism.
Oct 17: New Delhi: Amid heightened Indo-Pak tension, Pakistan has decided not to send a representative to attend an international conference on voter education being organised by the Election Commission here.
Oct 18: New Delhi: Myanmar’s Foreign Minister and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi says terrorism in any form is “unacceptable”, but to lay down a principle that all surgical strikes are right would be like being on a “slippery slope”.
Oct 18: Ayodhya: The Centre has announced setting up a Ramayana museum and also sanctioned Rs 151 crore, but the land for it has not yet been identified by the Union government nor allotted by the state dispensation.
Oct 19: Srinagar: A new video of Hizbul Mujahideen has surfaced on social media, showing a group of armed militants greeting and hugging each other, in a reminder of the campaign undertaken by its erstwhile commander Burhan Wani before he was killed in an encounter three months back India, Myanamar to expand security, economic ties.
Oct 19: New Delhi: Resolving to expand security ties, India and Myanmar decided to boost cooperation in a vast range of areas including guarding the 1,640-km-long border even as the two traditionally close neighbours asserted that the States which encourage, support or finance terrorism must be hold accountable.
Oct 20: New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh ordered Delhi Police to set up a special team to trace a missing JNU student even as the agitating students decided to change their mode of protest after keeping the Vice Chancellor and some other top officials under siege for over 20 hours.
Oct 21: Jammu: Pakistan rangers again violated ceasefire along the International Border (IB) in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district by resorting to small arms fire.
Oct 22: New Delhi: The Centre forms a three-member committee to keep a close watch on the bird flu situation even as over 40 avian deaths have been reported in the national capital.
Oct 22: Ahmedabad: India triumphs in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup for a third straight time as they staged a remarkable fightback to overcome a tough Iran 38-29 in the title clash, maintaining their dominance in the sport.
Oct 23: Jammu: Pakistan Rangers violates ceasefire twice in R S Pura sector of international border (IB), using mortar shells and firing small arms.
Oct 24: Varanasi: With an aim of boosting development in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches seven schemes at the total cost of Rs 5000 crore amid his assertion that his government believes in timely completion of projects.
Oct 24: Jammu: A 6-year-old boy and a BSF jawan werekilled and 10 people, including 8 civilians, were injured in the heaviest cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops which targeted civilian areas and 25 posts of the Indian border guarding force along the International Border in Jammu throughout the night.
Oct 25: New Delhi: The ED has issues fresh summons to controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi for questioning in a money laundering case after he recently managed to go out of the country despite a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him by the agency.
Oct 26: New Delhi: Coming together against terrorism, India and Russia says the menace cannot be defeated with “double standards” and there is a need for “zero tolerance” and collective efforts to combat terrorism.
Oct 27: Jammu: In escalation of armed confrontation on the International Border, BSF says it had killed a Pakistani paramilitary jawan and wounded another while it lost one of its own personnel and 9 civilians were injured in Pakistan shelling and firing in Jammu region.
Oct 27: New Delhi/Islamabad: Amid growing strain in relations, India and Pakistan declares a staffer each at their High Commissions in New Delhi and Islamabad ‘persona non-grata’ and sought their recall in tit-for-tat action after Indian police busted an ISI-run spy ring involving an employee of the Pakistani mission.
Oct 27: New Delhi: Former top cop of Mumbai police Rakesh Maria, now Maharashtra’s Director General (Home Guards), and two other senior officials of the force questioned by CBI in connection with the Sheena Bora murder case in which the agency is about to wrap up investigation.
Oct 28: Mumbai: Stepping up his attack on the Tata Group in general and Ratan Tata in particular, ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry denies group’s claim that the board was not properly consulted on Tata Power’s purchase of Welpsun Power in June.
Oct 28: New Delhi: National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and presses for starting a dialogue with “all stakeholders who are willing to talk” to defuse the volatile situation in Kashmir.
Oct 29: Srinagar: Army says it has destroyed four Pakistani posts in a massive assault across the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Oct 30: Kinnaur/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Rs 5,500 crore has been paid for implementing the OROP scheme, an issue that has been hanging fire for the last 40 years, even as he lauded the valour and sacrifice of the armed forces amid tension on the border with Pakistan.
Oct 31: New Delhi: With Delhi recording PM2.5 levels at nearly 21 times higher than permissible limit on Diwali, the Centre summons governments of Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh over enforcing ban on stubble burning.
Nov 1: Jammu: In an escalation on the border, 8 people, including two children and four women, are killed and 22 injured as Pakistani troops targeted civilian areas, inviting strong retaliation by Indian forces who killed two Pakistani soldiers and destroyed their 14 posts.
Nov 2: New Delhi: The suicide by an army veteran over OROP snowballs into a huge political show with Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other opposition leaders attacking the Modi government on the issue while there is high drama after police detained and prevented them from entering a hospital.
Nov 2: New Delhi: India summons Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner here and conveys its “grave concern” as well as strong protest at the recent escalation in incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan on border which have resulted in several fatalities on Indian side.
Nov 3: New Delhi: India completely rejects as “baseless and unsubstantiated” allegations like espionage and supporting terror activities levelled by Pakistan against eight Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad which left New Delhiwith no option but to recall them immediately.
Nov 4: New Delhi: Turkey remains non-committal about backing India’s bid for NSG membership, saying New Delhi should first build consensus in its favour in the 48-nation bloc.
Nov 5: New Delhi: After NDTV India, the Government orders that an Assam-based news channel be taken off air for a day for allegedly violating programming guidelines multiple times and another TV channel be taken off air for a week for alleged objectionable content.
Nov 6: New Delhi: With an unprecedented smog choking the national capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal orders shutting down of schools till Wednesday, bans all construction works for five days and directs temporary closure of a power plant, while mulling the possibility of cloud-seeding to bring in artificial rains over the city.
Nov 7: New Delhi: Amid a major outcry, the government put on hold its directive to NDTV India to go off air for a day over Pathankot terror attack after the broadcaster sought a review of the decision.
Nov 7: Sambhal (UP): In yet another salvo at nephew andChief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, ruling Samajwadi Party’s state unit president Shivpal Yadav says he was dropped from the ministry as he had opposed those doing illegal works.
Nov 7: New Delhi: Under intense pressure in the wake of health alarm due to grave pollution situation, the Delhi government begins phasing out diesel vehicles over 15 years old numbering around two lakh, while a ban is imposed on the bursting firecrackers.
Nov 8: New Delhi/Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement about demonetising Rs 1000 and Rs 500 currency notes is hailed as a “bold step” by President Pranab Mukherjee and BJP, which call it a “surgical strike” on black money, but his rivals denounce it as a “heartless and ill-conceived” decision that would inconvenience people.
Nov 8: New Delhi: Booking of two women professors from Delhi University and JNU by Chhattisgarh Police in connection with the murder of a villager in Maoist-hit Bastar triggers strong criticism from rights groups and Left parties while the two academicians call the charges “patently absurd”.
Nov 9: New Delhi: Further dangling the stick, government warns that cash deposits above Rs 2.5 lakh threshold under the 50-day window could attract tax plus a 200 per cent penalty in case of income mismatch.
Nov 10: New Delhi: India takes strong exception to the World Bank’s “inexplicable” decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a Neutral Expert to go into Pakistan’s complaint against it over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
Nov 10: New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar wonders why India cannot say “we are a responsible nuclear power and I will not use it irresponsibly” instead of affirming a “no first use policy”, remarks he said were personal in nature.
Nov 11: New Delhi: Indian Railways extends the use of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes, which have been demonetised by the NDA government, for ticketing, onboard catering and refund of tickets by another 72 hours to November 14.
Nov 11: New Delhi: Rubbishing rumours of shortage of salt in the country, the Union government says there has been no increase in prices of the commodity which is being sold at Rs 14-15 per kg in retail markets.
Nov 12: New Delhi: Dubbing the demonetisation move as another “jumla” (gimmick) for political reasons, Congress demands that BJP make public all its expenses in upcoming polls in UP, Punjab and other states if it is serious about eliminating black money and corruption.
Nov 13: New Delhi: Welcoming India’s decision to withdraw high-value banknotes as part of its fight to root out black money, the European Union says ridding the financial system of “black component” and bringing transparency will strengthen
Indian economy and spur growth.
Nov 13: New Delhi: The just-signed historic civil nuclear deal with Japan has a “termination” clause which the government here insists is not binding on India but merely records the “views” of the Japanese side considering its “special sensitivities”.
Nov 14: New Delhi: CPI(M) adopts a cautious approach over arch rival TMC’s suggestion to join hands to oppose the Centre’s demonetisation move, says it would like to wait to know the government’s stand in Parliament first and then see “who stands where” in the House on the issue.
Nov 15: Mumbai: Rebutting allegations of Tata Sons of rise in expenses during his tenure as “misleading”, ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry hits back saying networth of the holding company has actually risen and pointed out high costs relating to office and corporate jets used by Ratan Tata and his PR set.
Nov 15: New Delhi: CBDT says a “revised” and bona fide declaration made under the one-time black money disclosure window that ended on September 30 will be allowed even if the undisclosed income under it is less than what was committed earlier.
Nov 16: New Delhi: Eight more cases relating to 1984anti-Sikh riots in Delhi will be probed by a Home Ministry appointed Special Investigation Team, taking the total number of such cases being re-investigated to 58.
Nov 16: Chandigarh: In continued defiance of the Supreme Court ruling, the Parkash Singh Badal government passes a resolution against handing over land for construction of the long-pending Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal.
Nov 17: New Delhi: Opposition paralyses Parliament, with Rajya Sabha disrupted over demand for the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his response in the demonetisation debate, which the government rejected outright.
Nov 19: New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi hailedthe sacrifice of Indira Gandhi in preserving a united, diverse and an egalitarian India but said in the quest for shortcuts to greatness certain leaders are willing to undermine the very foundations of its national character.
Nov 20: Pukhrayan (UP): At least 120 passengers were killed and more than 200 injured, nearly half of them grievously, in the worst train accident in recent years when 14 coaches of Indore-Patna Express derailed here in Kanpur rural area in the wee hours today due to suspected rail fracture.
Nov 21: New Delhi: Wedding card, copies of advance payments made for booking marriage hall and caterers will be required for withdrawing Rs 2.5 lakh from own accounts, as per stringent conditions imposed by RBI on either of the parents to meet wedding expenses.
Nov 23: New Delhi: The Centre removed Delhi Government’s Chief Secretary Kewal Kumar Sharma and named him as Secretary in the Department of Higher Education in Union HRD Ministry, a move which is likely to start a fresh tug of war between the Arvind Kejriwal government and Narendra Modi dispensation.
Nov 23: Jammu: Army launched a counter offensive againstPakistan along the LoC after three Indian soldiers werekilled, with body of one of them mutilated in a cross-LoC attack, even as Pakistani troops continued to shell Indian positions, injuring two six jawans.
Nov 24: New Delhi: India remained non-committal about holding talks with Pakistan Prime Minister’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz during the Heart of Asia Conference which he will attend in Amritsar next week.
Nov 24: New Delhi: Facing severe attack in the wake of difficulties thrown up by demonetisation, government extended till December 15 the facility of using old Rs 500 notes in public utilities and included more services like mobile recharge but stopped the over-the-counter exchange of defunct currencies and use of Rs 1,000 notes.
Nov 25: New Delhi: In sharp escalation of boardroom brawl at India’s largest conglomerate, Cyrus Mistry was ousted as Chairman of Tata Steel, the third Tata Group firm to do so, a move that Mistry-camp slammed as unprecedented erosion of core values.
Nov 26: New Delhi: Deposits in Jan Dhan accounts soared sharply by around Rs 27,200 crore in just 14 days after the announcement of ban on old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.
Nov 27: New Delhi: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the Congress and its ministers were “not vigilant enough” to keep a check on corruption, but maintained it would be “illogical” to blame his party for the menace simply because it was in power.
Nov 28: Mumbai: To encourage people to deposit valid currency notes in banks, RBI said bank customers would be able to withdraw deposits made in current legal tender notes beyond the current limits, a move aimed at increasing currency circulation in system.
Nov 29: Jammu: Jammu region was rocked by two terror attacks in which 7 army personnel, including two Major-rank officers, were killed and eight other security men, including a BSF DIG, were injured, before six heavily-armed terrorists were eliminated in the separate fierce encounter.
Nov 29: Lucknow/Maharajganj/New Delhi: BJP and its rivals traded barbs over demonetisation with party chief Amit Shah claiming only opposition leaders whose “looted” money had turned into rubbish were opposing the action and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee likening the Prime Minister to “Hitler” who violated the rights of people.
Nov 29: New Delhi: Amidst din and without debate, Lok Sabha passed within minutes a major bill that provides a window to legalise black money post-demonetisation and a tax on that amount, triggering a controversy with the Opposition calling it a “black day” and accusing it of being “undemocratic and dictatorial”.
Nov 30: New Delhi: To promote the use of digital payment systems to encourage transparency, financial inclusion and prepare a roadmap in this regard, the Modi government has formed a committee headed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
Nov 30: New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s official Twitter account was hacked and some expletives-laden tweets were posted.
Dec 1: New Delhi: India downplayed reports of US President-elect Donald Trump lavishing praise on Nawaz Sharifduring a telephonic conversation but said it will welcome US-Pakistan talks to resolve the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Dec 2: New Delhi: CBI Director Anil Sinha retired from the post handing over the baton to his second-in-command Rakesh Asthana, as the government did not name any full-time chief.
Dec 2: Kolkata/New Delhi: Presence of army personnel at toll plazas in West Bengal triggered a row with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee remaining at the state secretariat overnight in protest, asking was it an “army coup”, drawing a a stinging condemnation from the Centre which said the remark showed her “political frustration”.
Dec 3: New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked the Centre to “not tamper” with the idea and autonomy of Nalanda University, days after its chancellor George Yeo quit his post alleging the varsity’s autonomy was being affected as he was not kept in the loop about leadership change at the institution.
Dec 4: Amritsar: Russia’s special envoy on Afghanistan said all parties involved in the war-torn country’s reconstruction must work together and that the Heart of Asia was not the platform for India and Pakistan to score brownie points.
Dec 4: Amritsar: Pakistan claimed that its Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz was not allowed to visit the Golden Temple and speak to Pakistani media persons at the hotel where he was staying, even as India said it was done due to security considerations.
Dec 5: Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, a popular leader who pioneered pro-poor programmes and remained a pole for three decades, died here leaving a big void in the state politcs.
Dec 6: Srinagar: Separatist leaders, who have been spearheading the five-month-long unrest in Kashmir, in a surprise move invited tourists and pilgrims to visit the
Valley to enjoy the traditional hospitality of its people while promising them safety.
Dec 7: Kolkata: The West Bengal assembly passed a ruling
TMC-piloted resolution against demonetisation, but failed to enlist the support of the Congress and Left Front which are with it at the national level in opposing the exercise undertaken by the Modi government.
Dec 7: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered all assistance to Indonesia which was hit by a powerful earthquake, killing nearly 100 people and causing widespread destruction.
Dec 8: New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley rejected Aam Aadmi party’s (AAP) charges of giving contract for printing of new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes to a blacklisted company, saying his ministry has no dealing with the British company named in the “false” social media campaign.
Dec 9: New Delhi: In a significant development, India and influential East Asian nation Vietnam signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that it will further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
Dec 9: New Delhi: With its lawmaker Bhagwant Mann suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, AAP claimed the move appeared to be pre-planned with MPs belonging to BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress coming together to award the stringent punishment.
Dec 10: New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to face Parliament and answer the questions raised by MPs, saying people are tired of his “monologues”.
Dec 11: Kathua (J&K): Home Minister Rajnath Singh accused Pakistan of “conspiring” to divide India along religious lines and warned the neighbouring country that it would be “splintered” into 10 nations if it failed to quell terrorism.
Dec 12: Chennai/Amrawati: Very severe cyclonic storm ‘Vardah’, the most intense to have hit the Tamil Nadu capital in two decades, claimed four lives, flattened homes, snapped communication lines and threw into disarry rail, road and air traffic as it crossed the coast here, pounding Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram with heavy rain and squall.
Dec 12: New Delhi: India and Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, decided to expand their strategic ties in defence and maritime security spheres and resolved to work closely to combat the threat of terrorism, calling for “zero tolerance” towards it.
Dec 13: Mumbai: Cyrus P Mistry was removed as director of Tata Group’s crown jewel, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with 93.11 per cent of shareholders present at the extra-ordinary general meeting voting for his ouster.
Dec 13: New Delhi: Retail inflation fell to a two-year low of 3.63 per cent in November following the Centre’s demonetisation drive that led to lower consumer spending on various food items including vegetables.
Dec 14: New Delhi: Foggy weather continued to affect train operation with as many as 20 trains including Patna Rajdhani, Bhubaneswar Duronto and Amritsar Shatabdi cancelled and 70 are running behind schedule by several hours causing inconvenience to passengers.
Dec 15: New Delhi: In first major reshuffle in the party since he took over as BJP President for second time, Amit Shah appointed first time Lok Sabha MP Poonam Mahajan as the party’s youth-wing President, replacing Anurag Thakur who was at the helm for over six years.
Dec 16: New Delhi: Reservation for disabled is set to increase by 2 per cent in colleges while one per cent in government jobs, with the passage of the Disabilities Bill in both Houses of Parliament.
Dec 17: New Delhi: In a bid to clear the air on tax exemption to political parties, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says they can not accept donations in old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes since these bills were junked last month and clarified that there is no new exemption granted.
Dec 17: Chandigarh/Shimla: In a setback to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) dismisses the appeal filed by him against the order of the Income Tax department, which had sought fresh assessment of his tax returns related to the financial year of 2009-10 to 2011-12.
Dec 17: Belagavi (Karna): Dubbing demonetisation as “Modi-made disaster”, Rahul Gandhi claims Prime Minister Narendra Modi would write off Rs 8 lakh crore loans of the 50 rich families who funded his election campaign from the money people have deposited in banks after the note ban.
Dec 18: Imphal: Amid heightened tension and violence, curfew was imposed in Manipur’s capital Imphal and mobile internet services snapped till December 25 to prevent spread of rumours over an alleged attack on a church.
Dec 19: New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj discharged from AIIMS, 10 days after she underwent a kidneytransplant at the premier hospital.
Dec 19: New Delhi: CBI files charge sheet against suspended IAS officer Rajendra Kumar, the then Principal Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in connection with alleged graft case against him.
Dec 20: New Delhi: Government plans to set a threshold criteria for political parties to enjoy tax exemptions to check money laundering by outfits that do not contest elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says.
Dec 20: New Delhi: Board exams for Class X are set to become compulsory for all CBSE students from 2018, three language formula could be extended till Class X and foreign language might be treated as fourth and “elective”, according to decisions taken by the CBSE.
Dec 21: Chennai: In perhaps the first case of a top bureaucrat being raided, the house and office of Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary searched by Income Tax officials who claims to have recovered Rs 30 lakh cash in new notes and 5 kgs of gold besides getting “disclosure” about Rs 5 crore of unaccounted income.
Dec 21: New Delhi/Hyderabad: The Left parties demand a thorough probe into Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister had taken money from Sahara and Birla groups.
Dec 21: New Delhi: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission in medical colleges will be held in eight languages- Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu- for the academic year 2017-18.
Dec 22: New Delh: Saudi Arabia has deported a ring leader of a fake Indian currency note racket, Abdul Salam, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) upon his landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here today.
Dec 22: New Delhi: Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, whose nearly three-and-a-half-year tenure was marked by frequent run-ins with the AAP government, sprang a surprise by resigning from his post, triggering speculation whether he was asked to quit.
Dec 23: Kolkata: Days after a row erupted over the army drill at toll plazas in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee objects to the Centre’s move to deploy CRPF personnel for providing security to Income Tax officials during search operations in the state.
PTI