The first thing they tell you on the Foreign Office media training course is that there is no such thing as off the record. This is definitely true, especially in India. But at least Indian journalists do us the courtesy, when they write about something which was meant to be off the record, of telling their readers that it was off the record. It's important that your readers understand what they are and are not supposed to know.The second thing they tell you is to always put the media bus in the middle of the prime minister's convoy, because if the media get left behind they get mad and they write even worse stories about you than usual. I hope you won't get mad with us today. If there is anything wrong with the food or drink, please complain to Marcus.And the third thing they tell you on the Foreign Office media course is to always be friendly to journalists, because they have a tough life and most people dislike journalists almost as much as they dislike diplomats. So, I am delighted

'Diplomats and the media have a lot in common'

Business Standard

West Bengal and Bihar are impacted the most by arsenic contamination of groundwater, the Centre has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The tribunal is hearing the issue of rice being susceptible to arsenic contamination because it absorbs more of the toxic semi-metallic element from water and soil. Earlier, it sought a reply from the Centre on it.
In an order dated December 16, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel noted that the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare had filed its reply after seeking inputs from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
"States of West Bengal and Bihar are reported to be most affected by arsenic contamination of groundwater irrigation by contaminated groundwater is the major route for arsenic entry into agricultural soil which ultimately leads to its entry into the food chain," the Centre said in its reply.
There can be a "significant build-up" of the toxic element in r

groundwater, water

Shubman Gill has played 5 Test matches in Australia between 2020 and 2024, accumulating 319 runs in 9 innings, with one not out. His highest score stands at 91 which he scored at the Gabba.

Shubman Gill

The NGS facility is expected to bolster ongoing projects and enable new research avenues, including the study of genetic adaptation to climate change, pathogen-host interactions, and the development

Bhupinder Yadav, Bhupinder

A 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, who has been living in Germany since 2006, is the prime suspect in the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, which killed five people

Germany police

U Mumba will rely on their star raider, Ajit Chouhan, to lead the team in their upcoming match.

Pro Kabaddi League 2024

GST Council addresses disaster levy, clarifies tax exemptions, and revises ITC norms, while deferring insurance premium GST cut and key rate rationalisation decisions

GST council meeting

After two weeks of buying, FPIs turned net sellers in Indian equities this week, with a net withdrawal of Rs 976 crore amid a strengthening US dollar and steady rise in US 10-year bond yields, impacting investor sentiment.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) began the week on a positive note, investing Rs 3,126 crore in equities during the first two trading sessions (December 16-20).
However, the trend reversed in the latter half of the week, with FPIs offloading equities worth over Rs 4,102 crore in the subsequent three sessions. This resulted in an overall net outflow of Rs 976 crore during the week, data from National Securities Depository Limited showed.
Despite this short-term reversal, the broader December trend remains positive. FPIs have infused Rs 21,789 crore into Indian equities so far this month, reflecting continued confidence in India's economic growth potential and its resilient markets.
FPIs adopted a cautious approach due to the US Fed meeting and uncertainty about 

Foreign portfolio investor exodus: Financial sector bears the brunt, FPI

Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary said another meeting of the GoM is scheduled for January before the proposal is reintroduced to the GST Council

Amid controversy over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Ambedkar, Kejriwal launches Dr Ambedkar Samman Scholarship, pledging support for Dalit students pursuing studies abroad

Kejriwal, Arvind Kejriwal

The accumulated losses of state public sector enterprises (PSEs) rose from Rs 3,953.70 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 4,778.70 crore in 2022-23, while the profit earned by 13 SPSEs stood at Rs 20.21 crore as on September 30, 2023, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on finances tabled in the Assembly on Saturday.
The net worth of nine out of these 14 PSEs has been completely eroded by losses and their worth was (-) Rs 1,932 crore against an equity investment of Rs 2,085.59 crore, while three PSEs have outstanding government loans amounting Rs 3,132 crore, the report said.
Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board topped the list of loss making enterprises with accumulated losses of Rs 1,809.61 crore, followed by Himachal Pradesh Road Corporation at Rs 1707.12 crore, HP Power Corporation at Rs 552 crore, Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation at Rs 395.91 crore, HP Financial Corporation at Rs 180.97 crore, State Forest Corporation at Rs 113.04 crore, HPM

The Centre may overshoot the Rs 56,260 crore target for dividend receipts from central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) set for FY25 and is likely to end up getting around Rs 65,000 crore this financial year, according to a senior government officia

Increasing incidents of data breaches, growing public awareness for privacy, and a series of fines have raised the agency's profile

Netflix

Playing Secret Santa is a fantastic way to bring happiness to the office. The important thing is to keep the gifts lively and fun regardless of whether you go for a useful or something unusual gift

Christmas gifts

As per reports, Italian stationery maker FILA is likely to sell a 4.57 per cent stake in the company, after the one-year lock-in for shareholders ended

Stock Market, Market, Crash, Funds, up, Stock, Gain, Lost, decline, statistic, Crisis, Capital, BSE, NSE

Billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate on Thursday unveiled a new version of its 'Hum Karke Dikhate Hai' campaign as it looks to bounce back from the damning indictment by the US authorities in an alleged bribery case.
"Building on the success of its previous edition, this multi-media, multi-platform campaign moves beyond the conventional corporate strategy of emphasizing statistics and figures to focus on inspiring human-interest stories. These narratives showcase the profound, positive impact of Adani's infrastructure projects on the lives of millions of Indians," the group said in a statement.
On November 20, 2024, the United States Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an indictment and a civil complaint, respectively, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, against chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and key executive Vneet Jaain.
The charges relate to allegations of securities fraud, wire .

Adani group

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Thursday slammed the Congress, alleging it has always hated BR Ambedkar and had even included a cartoon in an NCERT textbook showing Jawaharlal Nehru "whipping" Ambedkar.
He claimed that the "crocodile tears" of the Congress over Ambedkar are just pretence.
"Suddenly the Congress has got a lot of respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar. These crocodile tears of the Congress for Babasaheb are just a pretence, there is a huge difference between their words and actions. The Congress party's hatred and contempt for Babasaheb is well known, Pradhan wrote in a post on X.
The Union Education Minister said that during the rule of the Congress-led UPA-2 government, a shameful cartoon was included in the NCERT textbook for Class 11 in 2012 in which Pandit Nehru was shown "whipping" Babasaheb Ambedkar.
"After strong opposition from BJP, then Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal apologised and announced to withdraw it.
"Obviously, such a shameful act cannot

Dharmendra Pradhan, Dharmendra, Pradhan

The Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities Bill calls for the CBI to handle probes in cases spanning multiple states or UTs

The Centre, in collaboration with states, has proposed to classify unregulated lending as a cognizable and non-bailable offence, with penalties including imprisonment of up to 10 years. The finance ministry has invited feedback by February 13 from st

The latest Economic Survey said, India has to find the right balance between importing goods from China and importing capital (FDI) from China

How policymakers are split over attracting Chinese investment into India

The official further noted that this year's Budget consultations are particularly significant due to the political outcomes of recent state elections

Nirmala Sitharaman, Nirmala

Congress calls FIR against Rahul Gandhi over Parliament scuffle a 'badge of honour', alleging BJP's vendetta and diversionary tactics to counter his protest against Amit Shah's Ambedkar remarks

Rahul Gandhi, Rahul, congress leader

The Opposition Congress has doubled down on its demand for Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation, citing his comments on B R Ambedkar

Rahul Gandhi, Rahul, Congress leader, Priyanka Gandhi, Priyanka

James Bevan

James Bevan

James Bevan

'Diplomats and the media have a lot in common'

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West Bengal, Bihar most impacted by arsenic contamination: Centre tells NGT

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55th GST Council takes key decisions, defers rate cuts on insurance premium

FPIs pull out Rs 976 crore from Indian equities amid rising dollar

GST Council defers decision to reduce tax on health, life insurance

Kejriwal launches Dr Ambedkar scholarship amid row over Amit Shah's remarks

Losses of Himachal's 30 PSEs rose from Rs 3,953 cr to Rs 4,778 cr: CAG