John Kirby says PM Modi’s visit will stress that there is no partner “more consequential” than India in addressing global challenges.

The accused was identified as Swami Poornananda, who runs Swami Gnanananda Ashram.

Warner said that China posed a challenge to both India and the US in a variety of ways and Delhi and Washington DC needed to find more common ground.

Two people were nabbed last week for allegedly procuring a duplicate MBBS degree in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, police on Tuesday said, adding that the arrests helped unearth a fake-certificate racket in the city.

The Punjab assembly has passed the Punjab University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, making the chief minister the chancellor of 12 state-run universities, replacing the governor. Punjab is the fourth state to take this decision after West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Aam Aadmi Party has a majority in the state assembly. The bill will lead to amendments in the acts governing 12 universities. The move comes amid run-ins between the chief minister and governor Banwarilal Purohit over a series of issues escalating into letter wars.

A seven-day ceremony to install the idol of Ram Lalla in the sanctum -sanctorum of Ayodhya’s Ram temple is likely to coincide with the Hindu festival of Makar Sankranti and begin on January 14 or 15.

The Punjab assembly has passed a bill to remove the Supreme Court-mandated process for appointing the Director General of Police (DGP) and replace it with a seven-member committee to shortlist eligible officers. The bill has been put forward by the Bhagwant Mann-led government, despite the fact that the validity of the original provision is still pending final adjudication. The 2006 Prakash Singh Case aimed to provide police reforms, including fixed tenures for DGPs and separate law and order from investigation. The bill will need to be approved by the governor before becoming law.

In a letter to Bose, Banerjee said: “I am stunned to know that you... commemorated what you peculiarly described as the ‘State Foundation of West Bengal’.”

The number of assembly seats reserved for scheduled castes should be increased to nine from eight, said EC