With a decelerating economy that weakens India's hands on geopolitical issues, it will be interesting to know which way this trip will go.
Street art has emerged from its rebellious underground existence to a growing art genre in its own right. Ritika Bhatia maps the Indian leg of the movement.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series, rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City claimed the win required to finally end Liverpool's relentless attempt to dethrone them as Premier League champions as they hit back from a goal down to crush Brighton and Hove Albion on the south coast on Sunday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Swansea City came from behind to end Manchester United's unbeaten start to the Premier League season with an impressive 2-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players have even figured in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
Chelsea found no chink in Everton's defensive armour as the Premier League champions were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Indians all over the US are going beyond being human and are learning to be humanitarian and expand their philanthropy activities finds Ajailiu Niumai.
Rifleman Aurangzeb, who belonged to the 44 Rashtriya Rifles, was on way back home on June 14 to celebrate Eid when terrorists abducted him.
CONCACAF's congress witnessed an outburst of support for incumbent Sepp Blatter.
Dhoni praised every aspect of Ashwin's performance.
When Sepp Blatter is not comparing FIFA to a boat in calm or choppy waters he often uses football analogies to illustrate his point so it might amuse him to think he faces a tricky 45 minutes at this month's Congress.
World champions Germany drew 1-1 with Spain in a high tempo friendly on Friday as they launched their preparations for a title defence in Russia while their opponents had striker Diego Costa making his long-awaited comeback as a substitute.
Switzerland struck twice in quick succession to stun Euro 2016 champions Portugal 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday and hand them a first competitive defeat in two years under coach Fernando Santos.
It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
After four centuries on the trot with a strike rate of nearly 120, Sri Lanka's run machine Kumar Sangakkara (MVPI: 686) has raced to the top of the most valuable player standing at the ICC World Cup.
With mind and body both more willing now, the only way for the World No 3 is up, says Dhruv Munjal.
As we write this we still await the crucial India-Australia knock-out in Mohali. But India's individual performances in the T20 World Cup so far haven't been truly impressive. A look at the most valuable player index (MVPI) table reveals that there's no Indian player in the top 20. MVPI merges a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'. The formula to compute the MVP is devised to reward batsmen who score runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take wickets at low economy rate and fielders who field the best (take a lot of catches and participate in run-outs). Since this is a relatively low scoring tournament we have assumed a team's par score to be 150, and each wicket to be worth 15 'runs'. It isn't a surprise that players from New Zealand dominate the rankings so far, although Joe Root tops the table after his 83 in 44 balls against South Africa.
Round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played in different parts of the country
De Boer, who lasted only 77 days as Crystal Palace manager after losing his first four league games in charge with no goals scored, said in an interview on BT Sport that it was "a pity" Mourinho was Rashford's manager because he was not getting enough chances.
The West Indian has blasted his way to the top of Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup with the South African skipper close on his heels.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
Israel is no longer the valiant and beleaguered underdog, but increasingly seen as an increasingly arrogant oppressor seeking to crush another old nation under its jackboots, says Mohan Guruswamy.
Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
A B de Villiers may have made some big mistakes in the semi-final: Choosing to bat first in spite of the rain threat, batting too low at No 5, not hogging the strike after David Miller departed, fielding badly, asking Dale Steyn to bowl the last over ... but he is still best placed to be adjudged the most valuable player of the 2015 World Cup.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji are back with Rediff.com's World Cup Most Valuable Players ratings.
Roberto Firmino's goal gave Brazil a 1-0 victory over Chile in a feisty friendly at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday, their eighth successive win since last year's disappointing World Cup campaign.
Rediff.com lists the footballers who died while playing, in the last decade.
A nation that aspires to be a superpower and wants to join the ranks of global leaders in knowledge, science and technology should declare an all out war on ills like superstition and black magic at all levels, says Dinesh C Sharma.
On the occasion of Chinese New Year, we bring you a look at what 2015, the Year of the Sheep has in store for you!
'It was only relatively recently that Subhash Kapoor was able to secure the sources in India, Afghanistan and Cambodia, that allowed him to get the really highest level objects, and that helped propel him in recent years up the ranks.'
