Officers now know that they need to deliver conclusions. There are no 'ifs' and 'buts'. Chidambaram has laid down clear timelines for targets.
With the delimitation exercise changing the face of Lok Sabha constituencies, many members of the Lower House may have to work hard to adapt to new political contours. But Mani Shankar Aiyar, the union panchayat minister, can rest in peace. He is the only Member of Parliament who could resurrect his constituency (Mayiladuturai in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district) after it was declared abolished by the delimitation commission.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has had many leaders who are wrestlers, teachers and Lodhs. Dara Singh, once nominated to the Rajya Sabha, is a wrestler; Dr Murli Manohar Joshi is a teacher; Uma Bharati used to be the party's best-known Lodh, a powerful middle-class caste in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. But the party had only one leader who represented all three: Kalyan Singh.
The proposal aimed to provide pension for life to widows and persons with severe and multiple disabilities belonging to families below the poverty line, irrespective of age. Expenditure Secretary Sushma Nath argued that if there was no age cap, it would become "open ended" and "send the wrong message" to society. The Cabinet conceded Nath had a point and adopted the revised plan, which includes an age limit.
Employment generation in the midst of a global meltdown will be the central idea of the Interim Budget that the United Progressive Alliance will present on February 16, just ahead of the general elections.
Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka is no ordinary general. He is the army commander in the Sri Lankan army and the man leading the military offensive in north Sri Lanka, which has virtually decimated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the world's most-dreaded guerrilla force today.
In a note, titled 'IIFCL financing for PPP projects,' sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ahluwalia wrote, 'It was pointed out in the meeting that the term of the current CMD (chairman and managing director) of IIFCL ends on March 10. The FS (finance secretary) had indicated that the term can be extended. Action on this front should be expedited to avoid loss of momentum.'
The government has suggested that the new Satyam Computer Services board should also look within the company to appoint a CEO and CFO.
Serious Fraud Investigation Office joins multi-agency probe.
A new star is rising in the Tamil Nadu poitical horizon -- actor Vijaykanth.
The much-awaited second State Reorganisation Commission might not see the light of day during the United Progressive Alliance regime. A significant section of the Congress leadership is not keen on setting up the panel to avoid fuelling the agitation for carving out a separate state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.
Even as the flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme continues to face problems at the implementation level, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, ignoring suggestions by Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other economists, has refused to bring any major change in the scheme.
When Omar Abdullah took his first plunge into Kashmir politics in 1998, the odds were stacked heavily against him. Separatists were at their peak and the National Conference, founded by his grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, almost 50 years ago, was seen as a stooge of New Delhi.
Top sources in the external affairs ministry suggested the visit would be to a courtesy call to Hasina, an old friend of India who is set to assume power after a landslide victory in the recent elections. However, two major issues -- terrorism and cross-border trade and investment -- may also be discussed as the UPA government has just four months in office before facing the next Lok Sabha elections.
With an increasingly prevalent view in India that the Mumbai attacks had the sanction and endorsement of the Pakistani Army and the shadowy Inter Services Intelligence, it is General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani -- the man at the helm of things -- who is under a scanner.
'Sweetheart' and 'darling' have been Sheila Dikshit's favourite words for decades -- they go well with her trademark warm, grandmotherly smile. And now, the capital has reciprocated. Dikshit has become the 'darling of Delhi'.On December 8, she became the only chief minister of Delhi to enter into a third successive term. In the 123-year history of the Congress, she is the third chief minister to have this record.
"Some powers of the state police have to be taken over by the proposed central agency to function. This will require changes in state laws and also some central laws. If we go for a constitutional amendment, the Bill can take care of all related changes," said a top UPA minister.
The next Lok Sabha elections would be conducted on the basis of pictorial voter lists for the first time in the country, except in three states. These lists will contain stamp-sized pictures of the voters along with other details like names and addresses. This will be a step to curb false voting further.
Both the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opponents in five out of six states going to polls in this round, are depending on the internet and other wireless technologies to campaign. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Delhi, was quick to launch his website, with help from his daughter and grand-daughter, to open a new route of communication with voters.
Could coteries in the Congress they have put Alva up to attacking Digvijay Singh by destroying his reputation? In other words, in the byzantine politics of the Congress, is Alva merely a lamb being led to slaughter by those who want to use her to get at other leaders including Digvijay Singh?
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