The airline now has a total of 1,120 pilots of whom 88 are foreign pilots.
'From the very start, PM Modi was insistent that visiting foreign leaders should be exposed to an India beyond its capital.' 'Through these experiences, he felt that the full Indian narrative would be much better understood across the world,' explains External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. A riveting excerpt from Bluekraft Digital Foundation's Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery.
It is difficult to recall an Indian minister in modern times pushing back at the US publicly, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'From where prime ministers sit, it makes no difference at all who occupies the governor's post.' 'Literally anyone with a decent education or work experience can be appointed to the job, which is basically a managerial one with little room for manoeuvre,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'His assignment as the Ambassador to the UAE was particularly appreciated by the Emiratis and Indians alike. He retires in a trail of glory,' says Ambassadpr T P Sreenivasan.
Though dubbed as the 'war hero', the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
It was during his tenure that Air India made its first operating profit of Rs 105 crore in FY17 since the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India in 2007.
Breaking his silence, the ousted CBI chief said that he was transferred on the basis of allegations made by only one person, who was inimical to him.
Three TMC leaders Amit Mitra, Bratya Basu and Rathin Ghosh were sworn-in virtually. Mitra is unwell and both Basu and Ghosh are recuperating from COVID-19.
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
'In the process of re-setting the equation between the bureaucracy and the political executive, the features that traditionally defined the bureaucracy will undergo a gradual metamorphosis in the next five years and may acquire a distinctly different character.
ISI chief Faiz Hameed coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government guaranteed to preserve Pakistan's control over the levers of power in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In an Independence Day Special series, Rediff.com celebrates India through the lives of her people. Today: Dr Ruveda Salam, the first IPS officer from the Kashmir Valley.
The DGCA official who wrongly assigned the code of Antonov AN-32 -- an aircraft used by the IAF -- to the SpiceJet aircraft has been suspended, report Arindam Majumder and Aneesh Phadnis.
Many senior officers believe the chief should have taken a stronger stand against using army resources to help what one officer calls "a government-friendly godman".
'Khadi is my passion. The only idea behind this start up is to promote and popularise khadi.'
V Thulasidas, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service of Tripura cadre, on Monday, took over as the chairman and managing director of Air-India.
British PM David Cameron on Monday unveiled tough new measures, allowing parents of teens at risk of "poisonous" radicalisation to have their passports blocked.
We have our own problems for sure and they are not trivial, but for now, our economy is in not too bad a shape, our politics is as personality-driven and authoritarian as that of most countries in the world. We must make the best of what we have and not be excessively unhappy looking at the grass on the other side of the septic tank which may not be greener after all!, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
New Delhi bureaucrats, accustomed to leisurely lunches, golf in the afternoon and long weekends, have been shaken out of their somnolence, say authors. Fear and suspicion hang heavy over the red-sands.
St John's church was set ablaze on Sunday night as protesters demanded justice for the killing of Floyd, a 46-year-old man who was pinned to the ground in Minneapolis last week by a white police officer who kneeled on his neck as he gasped for breath.
Ajit Doval is now India's all-powerful security boss. This concentration of power disrupts our layered security system. Will it not weaken whatever remains of the power and authority of the home, defence and finance ministers? asks Shekhar Gupta.
In a video message posted on social media, the British prime minister said that he will continue to lead the United Kingdom government's response to the deadly virus, which has claimed 578 lives.
The pipeline for well-qualified and experienced policy economists at senior levels of government has broken, leading to a growing dearth of suitable candidates for top economist positions.
Defending its decision to raise the number of seats under the India-United Arab Emirates (UAE) air services pact, the Civil Aviation Ministry, in a note to the Cabinet Secretariat and key ministries, has said no additional points of call have been allowed to the Gulf country.
The squads of both teams took part in the pre-game show of support for civil rights activists denouncing last Sunday's shooting death of Stephon Clark and the killing of numerous other African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement in recent years.
Many argue that the airline could achieve its full potential if Nusli Wadia were to run it the way he does Britannia.
Entry of a higher number of technocrats, an appraisal system for civil servants and the benefits of changing the financial year may feature in the PM's fourth speech.
Jayapal and her groups have planned 'a massive round of protests' across the country on Saturday.
'Overlying his idealism was a hatred of war and of all things military. He gave no deep thought to politico-military matters and this prevented him from making sound security decisions.'
As of now, just about 10 lakh people, out of the total 40 lakh, who were excluded in the draft of the NRC have submitted applications for inclusion of their names in the list of Assam's citizens.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) supporters stayed put on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on Friday as the crowd swelled there, notwithstanding the Ghaziabad administration's ultimatum to vacate the UP Gate protest site where security force in large numbers was re-deployed.
'If Khan Market today -- a neon-drenched spectacle of blingy shops and pricey eateries -- is what it is, it's not due to the dramatic shift in political dispensations, but because free-market India is another country,' notes Sunil Sethi.
Sujatha Singh stands for the right values and quite simply, she's a "good person" who understands complex economic issues thoroughly, say her friends.
Besides, less than 200 applications have been received by the authorities challenging the inclusion of the names of suspected illegal immigrants in the NRC, a list of Assam's residents, two months after a window was opened for claims and objections.
Stalin has given due respect to seniority in the pecking order, but has also taken into consideration the demands of individual ministries and the suitability of individuals, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
A total of 2,765 posts of the civilian cadre of the Sashastra Seema Bal will be shifted to the IB command over the next year. Of these posts, 2,039 are operational.
Govt gave 36,000 seats per week more than inter-ministerial group's recommendations.
The military will now demand further pay and promotion parity with civilians
'Why can't we make it mandatory for all IAS and IPS officers to serve in the armed forces for a year before joining service? What stops us from making it compulsory for every Member of Parliament to spend three months, immediately after taking oath, in military barracks/maybe a few nights in the bunkers on the borders, to learn and understand the life of a fauji?' wonders Tarun Vijay, MP.
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