Kerala has seen one of the worst floods in its history during this monsoon. From August 8 to 20, nearly 223 people have lost their lives, 33 are missing and around 1.2 million individuals from 3,02,441 families are in 3,941 relief camps. Initial losses are estimated to be around Rs 200 billion (Rs 20,000 crore). With the rescue measures in its last leg, the Kerala government is looking at raising funds to rebuild the state. In an interaction with Gireesh Babu and T E Narasimhan, Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac says he has a three-pronged strategy to raise funds. Edited Excerpts.
Two tremors struck Nepal on Monday, keeping people on edge as the country struggled to rehabilitate millions.
22-year-old Prisiliya Madan pedalled her way through 1,800 km journeying from people's homes to the southernmost tip of the country.
'Loss of faith in the fairness of the system and the perception that one cannot expect justice are the first few steps to the slippery slope of anarchy,' warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Above 2,000 metres the gradient of the Himalayas is very steep and if you build any infrastructure (roads, dams, hydro power projects) in these regions, it will not be able to sustain these events (the onslaught of debris that comes down with great speeds).'
More than two weeks after a wall collapsed in suburban Mumbai, killing 30 people and injuring more than 100, Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore and Hitesh Harisinghani visit the area to know how the survivors devastated by the deluge are coping with their lives.
Who would want to study in a classroom when you have such a gorgeous campus around you?
Have a look at these photos taken from the incredible world we live in. These are the winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition 2020.
Geetanjali Krishna approached her trip to Greece -- the cradle of democracy where the notions of equality, free speech and civic liberty first took shape -- as much as pilgrimage as a holiday.
Not many have seen the Kerala in which coconut trees are sparse but waterfalls, lush valleys, and deep forests are abundant.
o attitudes or interpretations of the law on free speech change, depending on which religion is involved?
'It was only to be expected that she would grace the national awards function in her distinctive style.' 'For her admirers, the flouting of norms was in character because she has made her mark in highly competitive Bollywood on her own terms,' says Amulya Ganguli.
A close-up of a leopard, little owlets hiding inside a pipe and a gorilla mother mourning the loss of her baby are just a few of animals featured in the photos that have won this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, providing a global platform that showcases the natural world's most astonishing sights.
Rediff.com takes a look at spacecraft that have successfully made it to Mars.
Time to pack your bags and pamper the wanderlust in you.
On the title page of the Top Secret Report, Henderson-Brooks quotes the Chinese tactician Sun Tzu: 'Know yourself, know your enemy: A hundred battles, a hundred victories', says Claude Arpi, highlighting where the Indian Army and government failed to counter the Chinese attack in 1962.
Mark Tully on the India he loves.
Mar Remegiose Inchananiyil, the Bishop of the Thamarassery diocese in Kozhikode, Kerala, told a public meeting that there would be another 'Jallianwala Bagh' in the foothills of the Western Ghats if the K Kasturirangan committee report is implemented. He spoke to Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about the plight of the farmers and why he has taken up the issue.
Of the five towns planned, work is progressing in two, Dasve and Mogao.
The decision to introduce vastu shastra as a part of the architecture curriculum at IIT-Kharagpur has polarised architects in the country. Nikita Puri reports.
North Korean pair given warm welcome on Pyeongchang debut
Tea and coffee estates, the smell of eucalyptus in the crisp mountain air, cool nights huddled in shawls, sylvan lake rides and mountain treks... Peace and tranquility is at hand!
Here are some of the best photos from around the world in the month gone by...
Damu Nagar -- a shanty colony built around a hillock in Mumbai's northern suburb of Kandivali, abutting the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, was engulfed in an inferno Monday, December 7, that left more than 2,000 homes gutted and thousands homeless. Residents displayed exemplary courage, camaraderie and chutzpah as they grappled with ways and means to overcome their personal catastrophes when Rediff.com visited them.
'India is likely to do better than other emerging markets.'
Top 21 images of all the events of the week that was.
Categorising the original settlements of gaothans and koliwadas as slums, the authorities in Mumbai are keen to develop them into commercial complexes. The residents are unwilling to cede their rights. Ranjita Ganesan reports
Retracing the journey that brought coffee from Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh to an upscale caf in the aristocratic district of Le Marais in Paris.
Satyarup Siddhanta has just one mountain to go before he completes the Seven Summits, the tallest mountains in each of the seven continents.
The prime minister, says Ram Kelkar, could do a lot to advance his stature as a national leader by speaking in strong and unequivocal terms on the subject of opposing intolerance and emphasizing the rule of law, thereby setting the tone for the nation and the party.
In his last column for Rediff.com, Praful Bidwai joins issues with those lauding India's covert operation against Naga rebels based in Myanmarese territory.
Conde Nast Traveller sorted through the wish lists of wildlife enthusiasts from around the world to collate this definitive guide. How many will you cross off?
'The unique achievements have been made by engineers from small towns who have had a non elite upbringing and who have grown with the programme,' says R Aravamudan, one of the pioneers of the Indian space programme.
'Kejriwal has taken a leaf out of Modi's campaign of 2014 and improved upon it.' 'That suit will haunt Modi till he exits politics.' 'Of all the factors that favoured Kejriwal, the biggest was the arrogance and over-confidence of the Modi-Shah led BJP.' 'What the Congress could not do in the last two decades in Gujarat, Kejriwal did it in no time in Delhi.' 'The BJP has behaved exactly like the Congress in decoding Kejriwal's politics.'
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