When Nitin Gadkari was president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the party had announced it would set up a separate ministry for handlooms and handicraft. Instead of doing that, the BJP government has abolished the only institution that took into account the voice of the weavers.
While those who attended 'Livelihoods in Lockdown' learnt a lot, was anyone from the government listening?
Government contemplates tax incentives for housing projects.
Silverline seems symptomatic of how Kerala -- its claimed education, awareness and all -- overlooks its real problems, notes Shyam G Menon.
Year after year, floods cause mayhem in Bihar but the government is not paying adequate attention to water management.
'With just 2.4 per cent of global landmass, India houses six to eight per cent of planetary biodiversity and hence is a prime target of wildlife criminals.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday gave a clarion call for a "global people's movement" to bring about a behavioral change to deal with climate change as he made a path-breaking pledge to more than double India's non-fossil fuel target to 400 gigawatts.
China's parliament on Thursday adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan, the mega blueprint containing billions of dollars worth of projects, including the controversial hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet close to the Arunachal Pradesh border over which India has raised concerns.
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the government has no business to be in business and his administration is committed to privatising all PSUs barring the bare minimum in four strategic sectors. "It is government's duty to support enterprises and businesses. But it is not essential that it should own and run enterprises," he said. Modi also said the Centre's policy is to either monetise or modernise public sector enterprises, with the intent that the government has "no business to be in business".
'Misplaced national priorities have brought the economy to a cul-de-sac,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Tuesday once again adopted the anti-NEET Bill, returned days ago to the government by Governor RN Ravi, with the ruling Dravida Munentra Kazhagam and principal opposition All India Anna DK reaffirming their opposition to the test.
Water and Sanitation Management Organization of Gujarat has been conferred the 2009 Public Service Award by the United Nations for 'fostering participation in policy-making decisions through innovative mechanisms' in the field of 'institutionalisation of community management' and users' level participation in the drinking water supply.
Will it trigger a social and management revolution as well, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
At a time when China is trying to make its foray into South Asia, India should use its shared history to strengthen its ties in the region, says Dr Rup Narayan Das.
'No prime minister of India is averse to normalise relations with Pakistan, if it is possible to do so without altering our fundamental position on Jammu and Kashmir,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Floods have ravaged 12 of the 37 districts in the state -- the worst-affected being Patna, Vaishali, Bhojpur, Khagaria and Samastipur districts.
To believe that the key job of his senior ministers is to ensure that his image be kept intact whatever be the outcome of his policies is to expect too much even of someone as ambitious as Narendra Modi, asserts Rashme Sehgal.
Probably in August. We can argue whether RBI is dovishly neutral or neutrally dovish but the telltale signs of at least one more rate cut are strewn all over the policy statement, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'Whoever owns the best chip industry will be the Saudi Arabia of the era of data,' predicts Rajeev Srinivasan.
Maybe Modi could ask a patriarch of the stature of the late G D Birla to flesh out the details of a new company to manage government land privatisation.
Beside manufacturing, deceleration was also witnessed in sectors like agriculture, construction and electricity, gas and water supply.
At any time, there is a need to operationally deploy two aircraft carriers in the vast Indian Ocean, asserts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Specially designated global terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani, who carries a reward of $10 million US bounty on his head, is the acting interior minister while his uncle -- Khalil Haqqani -- has been named as acting minister for refugees.
Creating many more half-decent jobs for the 10 million plus new entrants to the labour force each year must surely constitute the primary development challenge for India today.
He said COVID-19 can be a catalyst towards the adoption of digital technologies in health and education and drive change in a way that even venture capital funds have not achieved despite pouring billions in investments.
An interplay of Modi government's outreach in Bihar and the sequence of events in Chirag Paswan's life could make Bihar a game of musical chairs when the results are out.
Many leaders from non-Hindi states, especially Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, had opposed the policy.
Since 2000, India has had three serious droughts.
The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
She also addressed the Indian Community at a reception held in her honour in Jakarta.
The pacts signed after Modi-Hasina talks provided for deeper cooperation between the two countries in areas of water resources, youth affairs, culture, education and coastal surveillance.
Stalin's personal intervention in the Adheenam row may have contained the avoidable political damage and social tensions at least for now, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Twenty-two proposals comprising 16 states and Union Territories and six ministries and departments have been shortlisted for participation in the parade after a series of five meetings.
'The Modi government's pusillanimity vis-a-vis Pakistan makes almost certain that India will, in the coming weeks and months, be confronted with cross border terrorist actions of increasing intensity,' warns Satish Chandra, former deputy national security adviser.
Buy comprehensive motor insurance policy to guard against natural calamities.
The supplementary nutrition programme and the Poshan Abhiyaan under the Women and Child Development Ministry has been merged to launch Mission Poshan 2.0 to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcome, according to the Union Budget announced on Monday.
'It is a national shame that the only country that enacted a food security act is now better known as the land of farmer suicides. Indian farming can change only if national irrigation policy is implemented in totality,' Dr M S Swaminathan tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
'The government must covertly eliminate the leaders of terrorist organisations abroad so as to eliminate the problem at its roots,' recommends Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The projects that the government started to bring within Goa were totally anti-Goa and anti-people.' 'Can anyone describe a project as development when it is going to cause wanton destruction of people's houses, their surroundings and livelihoods and destruction of forests?'
