SUNDAY FEATURE

New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday last filed nomination for the post of president of the Indian National Congress, ending speculation over when he will take complete charge of the Congress Party. The new Congress president will take over from Sonia Gandhi who has been the party’s longest-serving chief. She was appointed president in 1998.

As many as 89 sets of nominations were filed for the Congress president elections.With no other person filing nomination, the 47-year-old leader of the party is set to win the election unopposed. 

Article XII of the party's constitution says, "All members of the Pradesh Congress Committees shall be delegates to the Indian National Congress." In case there’s only one candidate, he or she is declared President of the next Congress Plenary Session.

New Delhi: The word of the year according to Dictionary.com for 2017 was “complicit” after its usage was popularized by Ivanka Trump who is incidentally on a visit to India right now.

She thought that complicit meant “choosing to be involved in an any act,” particularly one that involves other people. But however the word has a negative connotation and means that you went along with someone as they did something bad.

Here are a collection of weird words that can mean something in mainstream usage but has high chances of being misunderstood in popular culture.

New Delhi: You might not need an extensive sensor network or a host of volunteers to detect earthquakes in the future -- in fact, the lines supplying your internet access might do the trick. 

Researchers at the Stanford University have developed technology that detects earthquakes using fiber optic lines. In case of seismic activity, laser interrogators detect disturbances in the fibers and send information about the magnitude and direction of earthquake tremors. 

The system can not only detect different types of seismic waves (and thus determine the seriousness of the threat), but spot very minor or localized quakes that might otherwise go unnoticed.

New Delhi: India is slowly but surely breaking its gender barrier as Indian women are breaking stereotypes and flipping the gender scales wherever they go. They are making their presence felt in almost every field be it in politics, bureaucracy, business entrepreneurs or sports and even from working as the Public transport drivers, jockeys, bike riders etc– they’re challenging patriarchy and proving that they too can join spaces previously dominated by men as they are not less than men in any aspect.

Women in the police force of India are no exception either. A woman police officer’s job is doubly difficult. Not only do they have to fight the usual crime – but also the patriarchal mindset of their colleagues and a glass ceiling that is supposed to be almost unbreakable. 

They also fight a mindset that is so deep in India – that women cannot be good law enforcers.But it is actually the opposite.

New Delhi: The decision by the GST Council on Friday to cut back on the GST rates for restaurants from 18% to 5% is one that will be welcomed by consumers. Earlier the rates varied from air-conditioned eateries and those with liquor licences at 18 to non-air-conditioned restaurants at 12%.
This rate cut, which will come into effect from Nov 15, will be applicable for all stand alone restaurants and restaurants in hotels with less than Rs 7500 as room tariff. However, in the case of restaurants with rates above Rs 7500, it will still be taxed at 18%.