A year after her death, police say Pushkar did not commit suicide
Almost a year after Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death, the Delhi police announced that she had been murdered and had not committed suicide as first thought. A case has been registered against unknown persons.

Falling rural wages signal farm distress
Annual rural wage growth in India registered its lowest rate in a decade in November 2014, at 3.8%, according to data accessed from the Labour Bureau on Tuesday. The Labour Bureau data showed the average all-India daily wage rate across 23 agricultural and non-agricultural occupations at Rs 266.26 for November 2014, as against Rs 256.52 a year earlier. The deceleration is lower than annual consumer price inflation of 4.09% and signals farm distress. On the back of this, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has indicated the bank will initiate policy interest rate cuts sooner than later. Rural wages are a major determinant of food prices.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas kicks off today
The 13th annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is set to commence on Wednesday in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. NRIs from 58 countries are expected to take part in the three-day event, flagship of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the main event on Thursday, when Pravasi Bharatiya Samman – the highest honour for overseas Indians and persons of Indian origin – will be conferred.

Cricket selectors announce squad to defend World Cup
Indian cricket selectors announced the country’s squad for the 2015 World Cup on Tuesday. Under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for whom this soon will be the third World Cup played, a young team has been chosen to defend the title. Of the 15 players named, Dhoni is the oldest while Axar Patel is the youngest, and the average age of the team is just under 27. While some omissions were narrowly defensible – such as with Murali Vijay and Yuvraj Singh – one inclusion was controversial: Stuart Binny, whose lacklustre bowling and batting in the last year has stoked claims that he was chosen because his father, Roger Binny, is one of the selectors.

Biggest intraday crash at Sensex since 2009
The Sensex fell by 854 points on Tuesday, thanks to falling oil prices – which for the first time this decade went below $50 a barrel – and fears of an exit of the European Union by Greece. As a result, Rs 2.9 lakh crore of investor wealth was wiped out. The Sensex last saw a crash of this magnitude in July 6, 2009, when it fell by 869 points. The National Stock Exchange also fell, by 3% to close at 8,127.35.