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A 2013 RTI reply reveals that around 7,500-9,000 phones and 300-500 email accounts were intercepted every month under the then UPA government. The information was revealed by the MHA in response to an RTI query filed by Prosenjit Mondal. The reply also discloses the list of 10 central and state agencies that are authorised for lawful interception.

Siddaramaiah on Saturday proved yet again that he is the undisputed leader of the Karnataka Congress and shares a “bonhomie” with the party high command to ensure that no less than four of the eight new ministers are from his “faction” of the party.

Actor Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has decided to join hands with like-minded political parties to contest the Lok Sabha polls due next year. The party's executive and general councils, which met on Saturday, authorised Kamal Haasan to decide on the parties that could be part of the alliance.

Dressed in dhoti and a shirt, with a cotton bag dangling from his shoulders and holy ash smeared across his forehead, 40-year-old Dhanapalan (*name changed) comes across as a religious man. But the look is deceptive for he plies a trade in the grey market. Dhanapalan is an agent in Chennai's Burma Bazaar where his job is to strike deals with mobile snatchers.

Two months into raids prompted by American and Canadian concerns about a large number of cyber frauds in the two countries originating in NCR, police on Friday uncovered their biggest such sham operation in Noida yet. The raid, followed a tip-off from FBI, led to the arrest of 126 people from a commercial building in Noida.

The US government began a Christmastime shutdown early Saturday, after Congress adjourned without passing a federal spending bill or addressing President Donald Trump's demand for money to build a border wall. The shutdown was the latest evidence of dysfunction in Washington and does not bode well for next year when Democrats will have a stronger hand.

India's 23 richest people saw $21 billion vanish in 2018. Lakshmi Mittal, who controls the world's largest steelmaker, led the way, losing $5.6 billion, followed by Dilip Shanghvi, the founder of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, whose wealth declined $4.6 billion.

Six terrorists were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Tral area of Pulwama district. A foreign militant belonging to the Zakir Musa outfit, Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, was among the killed terrorists in the gunfight. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site and the operation is over.

The ICC has asked the BCCI to cough up US $23 million (roughly Rs 160 crore) before Dec 31 to compensate for tax deductions incurred in hosting the 2016 World T20. The ICC has threatened that should India fail to comply, the governing body will look at “other options” to host 2021 Champions Trophy and 2023 50-over World Cup, scheduled to be played in India.

State-run banks have collected over Rs 10,000 crore from those who did not maintain minimum balance in their savings accounts and from charges levied on ATM withdrawals beyond the free transactions in the last nearly three and a half years, data submitted in Parliament showed.

Studies on sea level rise in India have also projected a sharp increase in the population at risk from flooding due to more frequent severe weather events while warning about risk to river systems flowing into the Bay of Bengal.

​BJP and JD(U) would contest in 17 seats apiece while Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP would be given 5 seats. If Paswan desires to go to the Rajya Sabha, one of five seats allotted to the LJP in Bihar will be curtailed​.

The Odisha and the Jharkhand governments joined the list of states doling out sops for farmers after the Congress scripted wins in three states riding on the promise of farm loan waiver. While Odisha announced the Rs 10,000-crore scheme for the overall development of farmers in the state, Jharkhand declared the Rs 2,250-crore scheme to help 22.76 farmers.

The veteran actor found himself at the centre of a major controversy over his remarks in reference to the killing of a policeman in Bulandshahr earlier this month. Naseeruddin Shah said the death of a cow was being given importance over killing of a policeman.

The govt's move to authorise 10 central agencies to intercept information from computers has set off a political storm with the BJP and the Congress engaged in a fierce war of words. After a stormy faceoff in Rajya Sabha, the Congress continued its attack on the govt over the issue with party president Rahul Gandhi calling PM Modi an "insecure dictator."