Hoping against hope, chief minister Vijay Bahuguna on Monday refused to declare as dead the 5,748 persons missing after the June 16 calamity in Uttarakhand, saying the mission to find them will not be given up.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s “burqa (veil) of secularism” remark targeting the Congress on Monday drew a stinging response from the ruling party which said it was much better than “naked communalism.”

India’s cotton exports are estimated to have plummeted by 36 per cent to 9.14 million bales in the first 11 months ended June of the current marketing year, a latest US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report said.

Pakistan plans to form a “working group” this month to hold peace talks with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other Islamist militant groups, in an effort to end continuous violence in the country, according to a media report.

A MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed on Monday while landing at Uttarlai airbase in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, killing the pilot.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Monday asked Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to stop playing politics over the UPA government’s food security programme.

Criticising the Centre for “turning a deaf ear” to repeated suggestions on controlling petrol prices, Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M. Karunanidhi on Monday demanded that government “put a full stop” to it by taking constructive steps immediately.

RBI on Monday imposed fines totalling Rs 49.5 crore on 22 private and public sector banks including SBI, PNB and Yes Bank for violating KYC/anti-money laundering norms.

The BSE benchmark sensex on Monday regained the 20,000 level after six weeks at mid-session today on emergence of value buying by funds amid firming Asian trend.

Inflation rose to 4.86 per cent in June, driven mainly by rising prices of food articles, especially vegetables including onion.