'Over the last two decades, the India-French relationship has grown steadily, no major political difference having darkened the sky between Paris and Delhi,' says Claude Arpi.
'Some cases do not get a single hearing for 6 to 8 months, while some have been pending for as long as 8 years.'
'India placed the order, primarily due to the IAF's 'critical operational necessity'.' 'The complexity of the IAF's requirements delayed the process for months.' 'It is these requirements which cannot be made public.' 'Can you image Indian politicians publicly discussing the pros and the cons of such military equipment?' 'It would provide India's enemies with indications about the IAF's tactical plans in case of a conflict.' 'It is crucial that they should remain secret to protect India's defence preparedness,' explains Claude Arpi.
Manjul Bhargava, who was recently awarded Fields Medal, Math's biggest global honour, tells P Rajendran that society's attitude towards the subject is changing slowly
I still believe that it is a good thing that think tanks are mushrooming in Delhi. They provide a platform for discussion, even if they shed more heat than light. With Parliament almost incapable of serious debate, informed discussion and civilised discourse, where does this nation get its intellectual churn, asks Mohan Guruswamy.
Perhaps, the most misunderstood aspect is the role of the state.
With its gaze steadily fixed on the well-being of its people, the government is going about taking all the imperative measures that need to be taken to beat back the pandemic, observes B S Raghavan.
After helping the government in policymaking since October 2014, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian is returning to academics and will be teaching at Harvard Kennedy School on a visiting position. In an interview to Dilasha Seth and Somesh Jha, he says the ease of doing business agenda needs to move forward and India must try to integrate with the global value chains. Edited excerpts.
Indians want change and progress. They should be willing to accept tough decisions, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Double tax exemption on wages paid to women can encourage companies to hire, retain and compensate women better, argues Nitin Pai.
'My biggest contribution is the creation of the first 'modern Indian law firm',' Cyril Shroff tells Sudipto Dey.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
Sarvesh Agrawal tells Shobha Warrier about how he built a start-up "of the interns, by the interns and for the interns."
'A President who is a living embodiment of high principles can tone up the entire national fabric,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Two entrepreneurs launched iTiffin with an aim to provide low calorie, healthy tiffin service to corporates and individuals.
With a medal, a commemoration letter and a pat of encouragement on their shoulders, President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday handed the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement to 20 talented and brave children on the occasion of Children's Day.
John Elliott, the author of Implosion: India's Tryst with Reality, on his Riding the Elephant blog, says the sacking of Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata and Sons was in line with Ratan Tata's personal style of dealing with executives
It is not that platforms and products are something that Infosys has not tried earlier.
Seeing the potential of shale gas, Reliance Industries moved early to secure a foothold in the Marcellus shale reserves in the US.
'A veiled secret of India's defence and strategic culture is the lack of a serious interest in them by the political class. The Indian National Defence University would fill this void,' feels Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
Equity-linked savings scheme, PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana are recommended instruments.
'Every educational institution should have incubating centres so that students will get exposed to entrepreneurship early.'
'China's excessive military aid to Pakistan is the real elephant in the room as far as Sino-Indian relations are concerned. India should be confident enough to accept a degree of closeness between China and Pakistan, since China may wish to use this link for its foray into the Muslim world.' 'But the Chinese must be realistic enough to know that as time passes, the tactic of using Pakistan as a proxy to check India will yield diminishing returns. The US tried it for 60 years but failed, so will China,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Those who were first at the site of Gauri Lankesh's murder scene noticed that the place was still open for people to casually walk in and out.' 'No forensic evidence of value can remain in such places,' points out Aakar Patel.
In an online chat with readers, Prof Ujjwal Chowdhary from Edutainment offered tips on pursuing a career in media, design and communication.
One Raj Shah has been the top Indian American in the Obama administration; the other Raj Shah is poised to play a key role in the Trump administration.
By removing Avinash Chander last week, the government has chosen to sacrifice the organisation's most potent symbol of success
The prime minister also said that country nurtures a mindset that loudly proclaims that terrorism is justified for political gains.
Hein Kiessling has the kind of access in Pakistan that journalists (and spies) would die for, says Kanika Datta.
Son of a Madurai farmer, Dr Vijayaragavan Vishwanathan has built a unique device for agriculture that can save water as well as electricity. Ironically, Vijay got support for his project from different international bodies but is still looking to get support from Indian government organisations when the product was specifically made for India.
'What should worry India and which needs to be expressed is Russia's simultaneous proximity to both China and Pakistan from a strategic angle. That hasn't happened ever before,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'...Unless we muck up our policies.' 'We have to become a modernised economy.' 'Our institutions should be stronger. And that is most important.' 'The rule of law should prevail and contracts should be enforced.' 'Above all, we have to recognise the importance of globalisation.' 'It is in our favour at this stage. We should grow and become globally competitive.'
Why Dalit leaders cross over to the BJP
"India has become the fastest growing major economy in the world. Despite the global slowdown, we have registered excellent growth. Today, India is a bright spot in the global economy. We are seen as the engine of global growth," he said.
Choose a career that motivates you and one that you are good at, says Prof RSS Mani, education consultant and vice president-institutional development, ITM Group of Institutions.
Narendra Modi's success at the BRICS summit is the best Diwali gift for India's diplomacy and marks her ascendancy to global leadership, says Tarun Vijay.
A mix of industrialists and businessmen, who have inherited riches or rose from humble backgrounds and even endured boom and bust cycles, the top five MPs are illustrative of how the political stock of the wealthy is increasing rapidly.
'Gloom is nowhere in sight, with healthy foreign exchange reserves, a strong rupee, healthy tax collections, corruption and crony capitalism under check,' argues Gopal Krishna Agrawal.
Don't believe us? Then listen to the expert. Harish Rao dispels myths about Ola and Uber's dynamic pricing model and explains why government interference in it finally hurt us, the rider.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the United States Congress.
