Unhealthy lifestyle and social habits such as smoking, consumption of alcohol and processed food and excessive use of cell phones can cause damage to sperm DNA, experts at AIIMS, Delhi said. They said that many people are also not aware that infertility, recurrent abortions in women and birth defects in children may happen because of poor sperm quality in men. The fathers role in conception and embryo development cannot be ignored, Dr Rima Dada, Professor at the Department of Anatomy, AIIMS, sai

The government has likely mopped up over Rs 27,000 crore in taxes from senior citizens on the interest they earned on term deposits last fiscal, researchers at the countrys largest lender SBI said. According to the report by SBI researchers, the total amount of deposits has risen by 143 per cent in the last five years to Rs 34 lakh crore at the end of FY24 from Rs 14 lakh crore. High-interest rates also seem to have led to higher interest among the senior citizens to invest in fixed deposits, as

New Delhi, April 15 (Reuters): Nearly 1 billion Indians will be eligible to vote in the worlds biggest election starting this month. Opinion polls predict an easy win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which would give him a record-equalling third straight term. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, INFLATION Indias economy is expected to have grown by about 8% in the last fiscal year ended March 31, the fastest among major countries. In the past decade under Modi, the Indian

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday issued notice to the ED and the CBI on AAP leader Manish Sisodias plea seeking interim bail in excise cases for campaigning in general elections. Special Judge for the CBI and ED, Kaveri Baweja, directed the central probe agencies to file their replies by April 20, when the court is likely to take up the application for hearing. The CBI as well as the ED have alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Delhi excise policy, undue favours were

Noida, Apr 4 (PTI) As many as 7,575 trees have been felled on a nearly 16-km-long section of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway and over 1.76 lakh are to be planted in compensation for it, according to the National Highways Authority of India. Of the felled trees on the Ganeshpur-Dehradun section of the project, 4,983 were in Uttarakhand, while 2,592 were in Uttar Pradesh, the NHAI said in response to a query filed under provisions of the Right To Information (RTI) Act. In the RTI query, Noida-based

Kolkata, Apr 3 (PTI) The blue-ash cotton saree with bright red border carefully draped by actor-politician Saayoni Ghosh appeared in particular contrast to the signature blue-bordered white saree of her leader-cum-mentor Mamata Banerjee who she sought to defend on one of West Bengals most pressing issues of the upcoming general elections: Sandeshkhali. Even as the 31-year-old youth leader of the Trinamool Congress pinched herself at her apartment in the tony neighbourhood of Jodhpur Park in sout

New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down hard on yoga guru Ramdev and managing director of Patanjali Ayurved Acharya Balkrishna for their absolute defiance in not filing proper affidavits of compliance in the misleading advertisement case and breaking every barrier. It also disapproved of the Patanjali MDs statement that the Drugs and Cosmetics (Magic Remedies) Act is archaic. Not just the Supreme Court, every order passed by the courts across this country has to be respecte

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday slammed the BJP government over the Income Tax departments notices to her party, describing the move as a biased action to weaken the voice of 140 crore Indians. She asserted that people will never allow the anti-democratic plans of the BJP to succeed. The Income Tax department has sent multiple notices to the Congress, raising a total demand of Rs 3,567 crore. On Sunday, the party said it has received fresh income tax notice

New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) The Election Commission has issued a notification banning the conduct, publication or publicising of exit polls between 7.00 am of April 19 and 6.30 pm of June 1 when votes will be cast for the Lok Sabha and four state assembly polls. The notification issued on Thursday also made it clear that under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, displaying any election matter including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey, in any electronic media,

New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) The ED is working as BJPs political weapon and it wants to get details of AAPs Lok Sabha election strategy by accessing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals phone, senior AAP leader Atishi alleged on Friday. Kejriwal, who is the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested by the central probe agency on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case and is in its custody till April 1. The insistence of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to

New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) Punjab Minister Harjot Singh Bains and Somnath Bharti were among the scores of AAP members detained by police on Tuesday as they gathered at the Patel Chowk here to protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Raising slogans of Inquilab Zindabad and Kejriwal Zindabad, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers and leaders reached the areas metro station in groups, with the party calling for a march to Prime Minister Narendra Modis residence on Lok Kalyan Marg f

New Delhi [India], March 23 (ANI): Coming down heavily on the BJP-led Central government, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday compared the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to political scenarios in Russia and China. Today, no one is safe in this country. Anyone can get arrested. The pattern going on in India is similar to that in Russia and China. People have elected Arvind Kejriwal as their Chief Minister, so, only they will decide his fate, Raut said. The Shiv Sena (UBT) l

New Delhi, Mar 22 (PTI) Senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday claimed that a pharmacy firm paid Rs 25 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds after its director was arrested in the excise policy case. Addressing a press conference here, Bharadwaj also said that there was a threat to the life of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case on Thursday night. It is being rep

New Delhi [India], March 21 (ANI): The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved a fresh plea in the Delhi High Court seeking no coercive action against him in connection with the Excise policy case. The Division bench led by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait will hear the matter this morning. The Enforcement Directorate has issued 9 summons to him in the Excise case till now. On Wednesday, during the hearing in the related matter before the Delhi High Court, his lawyers stated that they have appre

New Delhi [India], March 20 (ANI): After the Delhi High Court sought a response from ED on a plea moved by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal against summons in the excise policy case, Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi on Wednesday said that the investigative agency has to answer in court whether these summons are legal or illegal and the court will decide on it. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is sending summons to CM Arvind Kejriwal over and over again. To challenge these summons and whether they are legal

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the stand of the Enforcement Directorate on a petition by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging the summons issued to him in an excise policy-linked money laundering case. The investigating agency claimed the petition of the AAP national convenor, which also challenges certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, was not maintainable. A bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait granted two weeks time to the ED

New Delhi [India], March 19 (ANI): The Special Court of Delhi, appointed by the Supreme Court for the trial of coal block allocation matters, discharged businessman Manoj Kumar Jayaswal and all other accused in a case of money laundering of more than 300 crore rupees on Tuesday. The special judge, Arun Bhardwaj, passed the order on Tuesday and decided to discharge all the accused in the case. He said that, as in this case there is no material to support the allegation of the offence of money lau

Kolkata, Mar 19 (PTI) The Matua communitys initial jubilation over the implementation of CAA has been dampened as its key organisation advised its members not to apply for citizenship under the new law for now as many of them do not have documents required to prove their previous residential address in Bangladesh. The All India Matua Mahasangha has asked its members to apply for Indian citizenship only after the formation of a new government at the Centre. Matuas, originally from East Pakistan,

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought personal appearance of Yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna before it in the contempt proceedings relating to advertising of the companys products and their medicinal efficacy. A bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah took strong exception to the failure of the company and Balkrishna in filing replies to the courts notices issued to them earlier to show why contempt proceedings be no

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a plea of the Tamil Nadu government against the refusal of Governor RN Ravi to appoint senior DMK leader K Ponmudi as a minister in the state cabinet. The governor has recently refused to re-induct the senior DMK leader and former Higher Education Minister into the state cabinet, saying it would be against constitutional morality. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday directed the SBI (State Bank of India) to make a complete disclosure of all details related to electoral bonds, including the unique bond numbers that would disclose the link between the buyer and the recipient political party, by Thursday. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said there is no manner of doubt that the SBI is required to disclose complete details of the bonds. It directed the SBI chairman to fi

New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI): The Assam government has decided to hike the dearness allowance by 4 per cent for its employees and pensioners on the occasion of Rongali Bihu in April, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday. The increase in DA will be effective from January 1, and the arrears of the first three months will be paid in instalments in May, June and July respectively, Sarma said at a press conference here. The DA hike will benefit around four lakh government employees and 3.5

NEW DELHI, March 13 (Reuters) India this week implemented the contentious 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), sparking sporadic protests and a war of words between Prime Minister Narendra Modis government and opposition groups weeks before national elections are held. Here is a look at the law, its implications and the concerns surrounding it. WHAT IS THE CAA? The CAA fast-tracks citizenship for persecuted Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to India before Dec. 31

Guwahati, Mar 12 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that he will be the first to resign if one person, who has not applied for National Register of Citizens (NRC), gets citizenship. His comment comes after protests erupted across Assam with opposition parties flaying the BJP government at the Centre for implementing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) on Monday, paving the way for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakist

US President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hurting Israel more than helping Israel in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza. The US leader expressed support for Israels right to pursue Hamas after the October 7 attack, but said of Netanyahu that he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken. Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mount

New Delhi, March 9 (PTI) A day after a Delhi Police sub-inspector was suspended for kicking people offering namaz in Inderlok, security personnel remain deployed to maintain law and order in the area, officials said. At least three companies of paramilitary along with the local police will continue to be deployed in Inderlok and its nearby areas in north Delhi on Saturday, they said. Official sources said the senior police officers also held meetings with the members of a peace committee to calm

CAIRO, March 8, 2024 (AP) Over 230 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation, most of whom live in Africa, according to a report issued on Friday by the United Nations childrens agency. In the last eight years, some 30 million people have undergone the procedure, in which external genitalia are partially or fully removed, UNICEF estimated in the report, which was released on International Womens Day. The percentage of women and girls who experience female genital mutilati

Kolkata, Mar 5 (PTI) The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered transfer of the probe into an attack on Enforcement Directorate officials at Sandeshkhali on January 5 from the West Bengal Police to the CBI. The court also directed that the custody of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal police on February 29 in connection with the attack, be handed over to the central agency. A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed that the directions be comp

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Centre over the State Bank of India moving the Supreme Court to seek more time to disclose electoral bond details, alleging that the Modi government is using the largest bank of the country as a shield to hide its dubious dealings. The State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. In its verdict last month, the top c

New Delhi, Mar 4 (PTI) MPs and MLAs taking bribes to vote or make a speech in the House are not immune from prosecution, the Supreme Court said on Monday in a landmark, unanimous verdict that overrules its 1998 judgment protecting such lawmakers. Observing that bribery is not protected by parliamentary privileges, a seven-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud held that a five-judge benchs interpretation in the 1998 verdict in the JMM bribery case was contrary to Articl