US deputy secretary of defence Ashton Carter met defence secretary R.K. Mathur at the ministry of defence (MoD) in the capital on Tuesday at a meeting in which both sides are believed to have discussed Indo-US defence co-operation, defence sources said. India is making acquisitions worth billions of dollars from the United States.

With fears of an impending economic slowdown, President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday pitched for stronger efforts to enable the country to secure growth at a faster pace. The President expressed confidence that the country would be able to stop present “deceleration” in its economy and revert to a high growth rate.

Additional security forces, both BSF and Army, have been rushed to the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border in Kashmir following specific ground level reports and wireless intercepts of subversive elements revealing a sharp increase in the number militants holed up in the area waiting to cross over.

Political equations in Uttar Pradesh appears to be changing following the Muzaffarnagar communal violence.
According to reports, only two parties — the BJP and the ruling Samajwadi Party — stand to gain.

The Opposition mounted a blistering attack on the Akhilesh Yadav government on the opening day of the UP Assembly on Monday and did not allow the House proceedings to be held.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came under sharp attack from Opposition parties and allies over his visit to the riot-hit areas of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is undeterred by the lack of public support to its recent 84 kosi parikrama and is now planning a panch kosi parikrama in Ayodhya from September 22.

The Congress on Monday asked Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to tell how many ex-servicemen in his state have been rehabilitated. Mr Modi had addressed a massive rally in Rewari on Sunday.

Bihar chief minister and JD(U) stalwart Nitish Kumar on Monday dismissed the BJP’s hopes of gaining more seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on a likely wave around Narendra Modi as the prime ministeria

The Congress is not in a hurry to declare its prime ministerial candidate despite the BJP projecting Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for the top post.