Budget 2018-19

According to media report, evidence suggests market demand for H-1B visas is ebbing Indian IT companies have dramatically reduced their H-1B visa filings and foreign nationals are exhibiting reluctance to make the jump to a US company due to the Trump administration's hardline anti-immigration stance, a top Silicon Valley newspaper has said. San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board has said applicants for the H-1B visa programme are anticipating the hardest process in many years. "That's affected both the applicants and the companies that employ them," it said. "Indian consulting firms, which have been accused of flooding the system with applications, have dramatically reduced their filings. Foreign nationals are exhibiting new reluctance to make the jump to a US company," the paper said as the process for filing H-1B visa application for the 2019 fiscal beginning October 1, kicked off. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that all...

In the wake of nationwide bandh against dilution of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Protection Act, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has appealed all political parties and groups to maintain peace   Nine people were killed on Monday in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as dalit outfits turned violent in several parts of the country due to outrage over a Supreme Court ruling on atrocities against dalits. Jet Airways waives off the penalties for date or flight change on all confirmed tickets amid the violent protests across the nation. "We are closely monitoring the situation in the wake of Bharat bandh protests," a spokesperson of Home Ministry said. In an official statement, DIG, Law & Order, Uttar Pradesh said, "There'll be an inquiry on people spreading rumors on Social Media. Detained 448 people for legal action." The government on Monday filed a review petition on the Supreme Court judgment on the SC/ST Act. However, Suprem...

In a tweet, the company has confirmed that the upcoming mid-tier smartphone would be touted as the OnePlus 6. In a way, the company also confirmed that the phone would be launched soon   Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is set to unveil its next flagship smartphone soon. In a tweet, the company has confirmed that the upcoming mid-tier smartphone would be called the OnePlus 6. In a way, the company has also confirmed that the phone would be launched soon. In terms of features and specifications, nothing has been officially confirmed about the OnePlus 6, except that it would have a notch-based screen, something that was confirmed by OnePlus CEO and co-founder Carl Pei in an interview with online technology portal The Verge. The iPhone X-inspired notch-based screen, touted as one of the key change that the upcoming smartphone would embrace, faced severe backlash from the OnePlus community. However, Pei was quick in responding and he wrote a blog on official On...

The price reduction on Galaxy S8-series smartphones came soon after the company launched the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus, bundled with cashback and exchange offers in India South Korean electronics major Samsung has reduced the price of its flagship smartphone from last year – the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ with 64GB internal storage now cost Rs 49,990 and Rs 53,990, respectively, down from Rs 57,900 and Rs 64,900. The power-packed variant of the Galaxy S8+, which has 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory, has also got a price reduction and now costs Rs 64,900, down from Rs 70,900. The price reduction on Galaxy S8-series smartphones came soon after the company launched the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus, bundled with cashback and exchange offers in India. The Galaxy S9-series has been built on the blue print of the Galaxy S8-series smartphone. The changes in S9-series are mostly on the hardware side, especially the rear camera unit. G...

There might be more reasons for concern as the police have uncovered the modus operandi that could have been replicated for papers of more subjects during the board exams Following the CBSE paper leak, the board had announced that the test centres would from now on receive an encrypted copy of the question papers on e-mail which they would need to download and print themselves. As a result, CBSE exams in several centres in Delhi started late as they found it difficult to follow the new "leak-proof" system put in place. According to ToI report, that the new method comes with 'technical glitches' that would inevitably delay the exams. Delhi Police Crime Branch on Monday questioned the principal of the school, whose two teachers were arrested for their alleged role in CBSE paper leak. The police found that the teachers allegedly opened the papers 30 minutes before the exam, clicked photos and forwarded the same to the coaching institute owner. ...

There might be more reasons for concern as the police have uncovered the modus operandi that could have been replicated for papers of more subjects during the board exams The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a batch of petitions against the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) decision to re-conduct the mathematics exam for Class 10 students after the question papers the first time were leaked on March 28. A Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra agreed to hear the case for an urgent hearing on Wednesday. Earlier, the All India Parents Association seeked for a court-monitored probe into the CBSE paper leak through a PIL. The SC hearing will also consider the petitioners' plea for an investigation into the leaks and declaration of results on the basis of exams already conducted, according to news agency IANS. Parents of students from Mumbai who attempted the leaked papers were angry at the CBSE for their abrupt change of decisions on the issue, ...

The MIUI 9.5 is currently rolling out as an over-the-air (OTA) update, and the Redmi Note 5 users can download and install it through the software update option available in the phone's settings menu Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has started rolling out in India the MIUI 9.5 update for the  Redmi Note 5  smartphone. The new operating system update is still based on Google’s Android Nougat operating system, but with some major improvements and customisation. The MIUI 9.5 is currently rolling out as an over-the-air (OTA) update, and the Redmi Note 5 users can download and install it through the software update option available in the phone’s settings menu. The OTA version installs the update files without deleting the phone’s content and settings. However, for advance users who want to fresh install the MIUI 9.5 ROM, the full update file is also available and can be downloaded from the official MI forum. You can install it using the fastboot ROM flash...

At a joint press conference of the Army, police, and CRPF, the Jammu and Kashmir Police chief said that this was one of the biggest counter-offensives against terrorist groups in recent times Indian Army killed 13 terrorists in Kashmir in a single day on Sunday. In three counter-insurgency encounters that took place during the day in the Valley, security forces gunned down as many as 13 militants in the Anantnag and Shopian districts of Jammu & Kashmir. The major counter-terrorism offensive claimed the lives of three Army jawans and four civilians. The militants who were killed included those responsible for the brutal killing of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz. Meanwhile, authorities imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar on Monday to maintain law and order in the wake of gunfights in the Kashmir Valley the previous day. In some of the worst fighting between security forces and militants in recent years, the armed clashes took place in two places of the Shopian district a...

Before leaving for Iraq, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said the mortal remains of only 38 Indians would be brought back to India, since one case remained pending Bodies of Indians killed by ISIS in Mosul to arrive in India today: The mortal remains of 38 of the 39 Indians abducted and later killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq will reach the country by late Monday. Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh left for Mosul earlier to bring back the bodies of the deceased Indians. Singh informed that the mortal remains of only 38 Indians would be brought back to the country because one case remained pending. MoS Singh also said that the Centre would hand over the coffins of the deceased to their kin, with evidence -- so that their relatives had no doubts. Once the mortal remains of the 38 Indians arrive, Singh will travel to Amritsar in Punjab, and Patna in Bihar, to hand them over to the respective families of the victims. Punjab Chief M...

Dalit groups around the country called Bhart Bandh after the Supreme Court recently diluted the Prevention of Atrocities against SC-ST Act. The apex court will hear a review petition today \ Dalit organisations across the country have called a 'Bharat bandh' today to protest a recent Supreme Court ruling diluting the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. Early in the day, movement of trains in Odisha's Sambalpur was blocked by protesters on Monday, according to reports by news agency ANI. The Bharat bandh has already brought Punjab to a standstill, as CBSE has postponed the board exams scheduled for April 2, and transport services have been suspended. According to an Indian Express report, several army units have been kept on a standby, should the situation take an ugly turn. Internet services in the state were suspended on Sunday and will remain so through Monday. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, will later in the day...