India has the “right” to be in the UN Security Council and the days of “begging” for it are gone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, as he pitched for a permanent seat in the powerful world body.

Also Read: Modi slams UPA govt, says Coal blocks given away like you give handkerchiefs

Addressing a congregation of NRIs here before winding up his four-day tour of France, Modi last night said India had made lot of sacrifices for world peace since World War I and even after the UN was founded.

It has been the largest contributor to the peacekeeping forces across the world, he said.

“Still, India continues to yearn for a (permanent) seat in the UN Security Council. I urge the world, it is time to respect the peacekeeping efforts. It is the right of the sentiments of Mahatma Gandhi and Gautam Buddha. Those days are gone when India had to beg. Now our nation wants its right,” he told the gathering of about 3,000 Indians amid chants of “Modi, Modi”.

“There is hardly any other country which has such moral authority as the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha. I hope that when the United Nations celebrates its 70th anniversary (this year), it will especially think about this,” the Prime Minister said.

India has been pitching for a permanent seat in the expanded membership of the UNSC, arguing that the existing body does not truly reflect the contemporary world realities.

To buttress his point, Modi referred to his visit earlier in the day to a war memorial in Lille region of France set up as a tribute to about 10,000 Indians who got martyred while fighting alongside France in World War I.

Modi said he wanted to send out a message to the world to realise that Indians have been ready to sacrifice their lives for peace since as long as one century.

“I want the world to know that 14 lakh Indians put their lives at risk by participating in the World War I…Who were they fighting for? Not for India or expansion of India …Thousands of years of India’s history is testimony to the fact that it has never indulged in aggression,” Modi said.

“Indian soldiers fought shoulder-to-shoulder with France…They fought for somebody else,” he added.

“Sometimes, history is forgotten. Those who forget history will lose their right to write one,” he said, adding that, “India is known for its sacrifices…One can fight for oneself, but to die for others is different.”

India along with Brazil, Germany and Japan have formed the G4 grouping to press for speedy UNSC reforms and their inclusion in the powerful organ of the world body.

The government is working to bring traditional medicines such as Ayurveda, unani, siddha and homeopathy (AYUSH) into the mainstream and doctors practising these streams are being engaged to address the shortage of medical practitioners in rural areas.

NEW DELHI: The government is working to bring traditional medicines such as Ayurveda, unani, siddha and homeopathy (AYUSH) into the mainstream and doctors practicing these streams are being engaged to address the shortage of medical practitioners in rural areas.

“Main streaming of AYUSH is one of the core strategies in National Rural Health Mission which seeks to provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare to the rural population. Under National Health Mission (NHM)/ National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), engagement of Ayurveda Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) doctors/ paramedics is being supported, provided they are co-located with existing District Hospitals (DHs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs)…,” AYUSH Minister of State Shri Shripad Yesso Naik told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

He also said the government is trying to train AYUSH doctors to address the shortage of skilled health care personnel in the rural areas.

It happens to be Guwahati’s Rewati Chetri, one of the finalists of the fbb Femina Miss India 2015 pageant, who was crowned WeChat Miss Popular during the sub-contest crowning.

Not only was she Sunny Leone’s choice, but also that of millions of WeChat users.Sunny , the lead actress of the upcoming film Ek Paheli -Leela, voted for Rewati and waited with bated breath when the result of the sub-contest was announced during a gala evening in the city. To ensure that fans stay updated on all the action around the contestants, the pageant had launched the official account on WeChat and that’s where Rewati emerged the winner.

Rewati a girl of Gorkhali origin who hails from Assam deserved to be on the three finalist of Miss Feminia Miss India. It is the view of millions who watched and followed Miss India all along. Many people are the opinion that India does not seem to still recognize people from the North East as equal citizens in spite of them excelling themselves in their respective fields. Sunny Leone the most sought out actress of Bollywood today had Rewati as her choice itself speaks of Rewati’s beauty, brains and smartness.

Feminia Miss India this year was already in criticism for not having proper representation of all states in India

BEIJING – China is considering building a railway to Nepal with a possible tunnel through Mount Everest, state media said Thursday, as Beijing courts a country India regards as firmly within its sphere of influence.

The Qinghai-Tibet railway already links the rest of China with the Tibetan capital Lhasa and beyond, and an extension running as far as Nepal’s border is already underway, the China Daily newspaper said.

t quoted a Tibet official as saying construction as far as the border will be complete by 2020. It also quoted an expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering as saying the extension was made “at Nepal’s request.”

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited Kathmandu in December and, according to Nepalese reports, said the line could eventually be extended to the Nepalese capital and further, potentially providing a crucial link between China and the huge markets of India.

Such a plan could see a tunnel being built under Mount Everest, the China Daily said.

“The line will probably have to go through Qomolangma so that workers may have to dig some very long tunnels,” expert Wang Mengshu told the newspaper, referring to Everest by its Tibetan name.

He said that, due to the challenging Himalayan terrain with its “remarkable” changes in elevation, trains on any line to Kathmandu would probably have a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour.

The proposal underscores China’s influence in the impoverished Himalayan nation, where Beijing has for years been building roads and investing billions of dollars in hydropower and telecommunications.

Chinese tourism to Nepal, which is home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 metres, is also climbing.

Beijing’s increasing role has raised alarms in New Delhi that China, already closely allied to Pakistan, is forging closer economic ties with Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal in a deliberate strategy to encircle India.

In an apparent counter-move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged late last year that South Asia’s largest economy would fund a series of regional investments and free up its markets to its neighbours’ exporters.

But India has struggled to compete with China’s financial muscle.

Chinese plans to expand the rail network in Tibet have also come under criticism from rights groups including the International Campaign for Tibet, which has warned of the project’s “dangerous implications for regional security and the fragile ecosystem of the world’s highest and largest plateau.”

“The Chinese government’s claim that rail expansion on the plateau simply benefits tourism and lifts Tibetans out of poverty does not hold up to scrutiny and cannot be taken at face value,” ICT president Matteo Mecacci said in a statement last year.

London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has today confirmed it will partner with city regions across the UK to offer £3 million worth of advertising space across all terminals at the UK’s only hub airport.

With over 22 million annual business travellers connecting to more than 180 destinations, the campaign seeks to increase foreign direct investment in Britain’s regions and is a unique opportunity for the participating areas to showcase why they are open for business and great places to invest, work and live.

The six participating city regions will each receive six weeks of advertising across digital platforms throughout all of Heathrow’s terminals, prime poster locations and exhibition space in arrivals halls. The North East will be the first to feature when the campaign launches on the 18th May, followed by Northern Ireland, Leeds, Glasgow, Cardiff and Bristol.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:
“As the UK’s only hub airport, Heathrow is our front door for global investors. I hope that by encouraging them to visit and invest in our great cities, we can help to grow and rebalance the British economy.”

New Delhi: Tapping on the country’s renowned supply chain, online marketplace Flipkart on April 9 said it has tied-up with the ‘Dabbawalas’ of Mumbai to ensure last mile delivery to consumers. It is also experimenting with a crowd-sourced delivery model that will connect local sellers and buyers with the help of voluntary delivery personnel, reducing delivery time.

The move comes amidst growing competition among e-commerce firms such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon, who are ramping up their logistics and delivery network to build a sound last mile delivery channel to beat rivals in gaining a dedicated customer base. “Dabbawalas have been in the profession of transporting lunch boxes with absolute precision for more than 120 years.

They are a huge inspiration on how to conduct business without any paper or administrative back-up to keep the costs down,” the Bangalore-based firm said in a statement. The firm has partnered with one union of the dabbawalas.

As a partner to eKart, the unique community of Dabbawalas will initially collect Flipkart marketplace shipments from the delivery hubs and deliver it to customers, while picking their dabbas, it added. At present, the person who will be part of this pilot will be involved in the last mile delivery and will not communicate with seller or merchant.

“The first batch of Dabbawalas have undergone training at Flipkart’s delivery centres. At this stage, they will be using a paper-based tracking system with the idea being to gradually train them on the usage of apps and other wearable tech,” it added.

Flipkart’s crowd-sourcing model has delivery personnel on a specialised delivery programme, post extensive background verifications, and they are free to take up deliveries as per their convenience, the firm said. It will reduce the d