Sharat Pradhan And Sheela Bhatt

Exclusive! 'The Modi government refuses to give anything for free'

'The Modi government believes the industrialist, the capitalist, has to pay for the assets of the government which belong to the people of India.'

E-auction of coal mines: Will cartels trump the consumers?

The Modi government's e-auction policy for coal, meant to shield the consumer against hike in electricity charges, has already led to serious allegations of cartelisation among the bidding corporates. Matters came to such a pass that the government at one point last week was considering inviting the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the matter, reports Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.

UP police goes hi-tech; deploys drones for crime fighting

In his bid to transform Uttar Pradesh's 'poor law and order' image, Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday sought to showcase how the tech-savvy chief minister in him was out to use technology to control the unabated crime in Lucknow.

On tri-nation visit, Modi to address community in Vancouver, Toronto, Paris

Remnants of the Khalistan movement in Vancouver may stage a protest against Prime Minister Modi

Who is No. 2 in government? Answer expected this week

When Prime Minister Modi travelled to the US last year Home Minister Rajnath Singh was officially put in charge of the government. But the BJP's national executive in Bengaluru made it clear who now matters in the party and in what order. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports

UP govt denies farmers' suicides; admits crop loss of 1,100 crores

Even as the Uttar Pradesh government has flatly denied suicides by farmers in any part of the state, state chief secretary Alok Ranjan on Tuesday admitted that the untimely rain, thunder and hailstorm in large parts of the state had caused tremendous loss to the standing wheat crop to the tune of over Rs 1,100 crores.

'There is nothing unconstitutional or illegal about ordinances'

'The Constitution says the government, the council of ministers, shall be responsible to the House of the People which is the Lok Sabha, not to the Rajya Sabha.' 'Let us hope they will be able to show better floor and political management through a process of, if necessary, give and take.'

4 trusted Gujarat babus to join Team Modi

All the Gujarat cadre officers have one thing in common. They do not need Modi's 'informal interactions' and advice because they are from the so-called 'Modi school of governance.' They know Modi well enough to perform their assigned roles.

MP Governor's son's death: Suicide or silenced?

Mystery shrouds the death of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav's son Shailesh Yadav.

Sahara employee jumps to death in Lucknow

'If Modi lives up to his promises, his ideological past does not matter'

'When you see Modi standing there at the G20, or in New York or at the United Nations, amongst all the leaders, he stands out in the crowd.' 'He looks different, he sounds different, and he has something about his quality of presentation, his oratorical skills, which clearly set him apart from the crowd.' 'The relationship between Modi and the rest of the world and India and the rest of the world has been reset as a result of the election in 2014.'

'Modi is never ever prepared to consider failure as an option'

'He is an extraordinarily focused, determined, full-time politician, who from the moment he wakes up to the moment that he goes to sleep is looking at the job in hand.'

Oppn outmanoeuvred by govt as mines, coal bills cleared in Rajya Sabha

'The central learning of the day was that if the BJP leadership can cajole, coax and convince regional parties to vote for bills, it would not be a stretch to see the same votes cast in favour of the land bill,' a senior Congress leader from a northern state told Rediff.com

34 killed, 150 injured as train derails near Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli

Thirty one people were killed and 45 injured in a train accident on Friday morning at Uttar Pradesh's Bachhrawan railway station, barely 40 km from Rae Bareli, the parliamentary constituency of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Karnataka agrees to CBI probe into Ravi's death

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been persuaded to agree to a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into IAS officer D K Ravi's death.

'India cannot survive without coal'

In the second and final part of this interview, energy and coal industry expert Sunjoy Joshi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com that we need to take a comprehensive view of the entire energy sector and how piecemeal reform won't take us very far.

'Our whole concept of coal mine allocations is wrong'

Coal industry expert Sunjoy Joshi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com that the NDA's e-auction of coal blocks will not solve the fundamental problems that dog the industry.

UP govt to launch first train for Hindu pilgrims

The Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh will launch the first train carrying Hindus on an officially sponsored free pilgrimage to Haridwar and Rishilesh on March 14.

Mamata finally meets PM on his ground, on her terms

In January Amit Shah launched the 'Bhag Mamata Bhag' programme in West Bengal. On Monday Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the red carpet for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. What changed in two months?

EXCLUSIVE! The man who interviewed the rapist

'I think that has alarmed them because they probably think that it is their voice in there! The idea is to go into the mind of the rapist.' Dibang, co-producer of India's Daughter, defends the documentary in this exclusive interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com