Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 22 (PTI) Militancy will start crumbling gradually in Kashmir after two-three years of resistance and in a period of 8-10 years, it is likely to be brought to an ineffectual state, says former Army chief Gen (retd) N C Vij.

He has come out with a book "The Kashmir Conundrum: The Quest for Peace in a Troubled Land" in which he tries to give a complete picture - starting with a history of Jammu & Kashmir and its people to the abrogation of special status.

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday held talks with Fran ois Delattre, the Secretary-General of France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, focusing on bilateral issues as well as the situation in the Indo-Pacific.

Delattre is on an official visit to India from December 20 to 22.

The visit comes close on the heels of the trip to India by French Defence Minister Florence Parly.

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) A Delhi court granted bail to chartered accountant Rajiv Aggarwal on Tuesday in a money-laundering case related to an alleged loan fraud involving an amount of Rs 7979.3 crore.

Special Judge Sanjay Garg granted the relief to Aggarwal, saying he had already spent 95 days in custody.

Aggarwal was arrested on September 17 in relation to the case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate in 2019.

21 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Indian government has used the Israeli-made Pegasus software to spy on the indigenous Indian rights activist, Rona Wilson, who is currently in prison, the Guardian reported late last week.

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) Concerned over high prices of cooking oils, the government has reduced the basic customs duty on refined palm oil to 12.5 per cent from 17.5 per cent till March next year to boost domestic supplies and bring down rates in the domestic retail markets.

With reduction in the basic custom duty (BCD), the effective levy (including social welfare cess) on both refined palm oil and refined palmoline will come down to 13.75 per cent from 19.25 per cent, according to Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA).

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) Opposition leaders on Tuesday took out a protest march here demanding that action be taken against Union Minister Ajay Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying they will not rest till the minister is sent to jail.

Leaders of several opposition parties took out the march from Gandhi statue inside Parliament complex to Vijay Chowk demanding that the minister, whose son has been arrested in the Lakhimpur violence case, be immediately sacked.

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) The word lynching was practically unheard of before 2014 when the BJP came to power, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter on Tuesday and went on to taunt the prime minister with a "Thank you Modiji".

Asked about the lynching jibe at a media briefing later in the day, the former Congress president said, "Sarkar ki dalali mat karo (Don't do mediation for the BJP)."

New Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) Seven aircraft of the Indian Air Force have crashed in the last two years, the government said in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said this while replying to a question in the House.

"A total of seven aircraft of the Air Force have crashed in the last two years, including the Mirage 2000 which crashed recently in Madhya Pradesh," he said.

The minister said every aircraft accident in the IAF is investigated by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to ascertain the cause of the accident.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) The sea trials of the Indian Navy's indigenously built stealth destroyer, Mormugao, began in the Arabian Sea on Sunday.

The maiden sea voyage of the warship, built under the project P-15B, coincides with the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule.

Mormugao is the second indigenous stealth destroyer to be built under project P-15B and it is planned to be commissioned in mid-2022.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said those who have belief in Hindutva feel all Indians have the same DNA but those who are Hindus believe every persons has a unique DNA.

The Congress leader's remark has come after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said the DNA of all Indians is the same for 40,000 years.

"Hindus believe that every person's DNA is different and unique. Those who have belief in Hindutva believe that all Indians have the same DNA,"Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.