'With our focus and strategy we can solve at least 20 per cent per cent of India's education problems.'
His likable boy-next-door face and casual approach to public speaking have a unique appeal for the younger generation, but it stops there, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
For 80 years, news and views aired on BBC Hindi reached audiences in the remotest parts of the country. For millions of its followers, the signature line -'yeh BBC hai (this is BBC)' -- has been like a morning alarm, and the bulletins a vital link between India and the world. That link, which began when there was no mobile phone or internet, is about to break as the radio service will fall silent after January 31. And for many living in smaller towns and in rural areas, life won't be the same again, writes Nivedita Mookerji.
The finance minister asked lenders to identify eligible borrowers and reach out to them and urged for quick implementation of a sustained resolution plan for the revival of every viable business.
In what is amongst the first focused fund in the space, India Media Entertainment Fund (IMEF) is raising Rs 500 crore, which will provide both equity as well as instruments like non-convertible debentures (NCD) to companies in the content, distribution platform and services areas. The private equity fund has appointed a high-profile advisory body which includes ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, managing director of Red Chillies Entertainment and cricket team KKR Sports, actress and entrepreneur Raadhika Sarathkumar, who has starred in Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films and runs Radaan Mediaworks. It also includes Ramnath Pradeep, former chairman and managing director of Corporation Bank, and Rajesh Gupta, senior partner of law firm SNG Partners.
The face of the new Rs 20 coin shall bear the 'Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar' with 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed the government over the rising price of domestic cooking gas, diesel and petrol, and alleged that an amount of Rs 23 lakh crore has been earned by increasing prices of these commodities in the last seven years.
After years of living with his family in a poky 110 sq. ft. 'house', textile worker Sambhaji Surve dreams of moving into a home four times the size once the Maharashtra government starts its ambitious redevelopment of the 39-acre Kamathipura shanty town in south-central Mumbai. Sharing his dream are about 8,000 other families hoping for a better life when the redevelopment project, part of the government's effort to redevelop old settlements and make life more livable for some residents, gets underway. The Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party aims to redevelop BDD Chawl and Dharavi but for Surve all the matters is Kamathipura where he arrived in the 1970s from Nasik to work in a textile mill. Kamathipura was originally built 150 years ago following construction of a causeway to connect the seven islands of Mumbai. From the British Raj to post-independence, it became infamous for slums and brothels.
Gandhi said that the BJP government has clearly mishandled the economy that was built by the United Progressive Alliance government, and is now resorting to selling the country's assets as a "last resort" to generate some money.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday assured farmer leaders led by Rakesh Tikait and Yudhvir Singh of support to their agitation against the new agriculture laws.
Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly Indira Hridayesh passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in New Delhi on Sunday.
The BJP's manifesto speaks about the Prime Minister's vision of making 'Atmanirbhar Bihar'.
'Mahabharata of coronavirus pandemic is on, but the Modi government is missing'
Gokhale, in his tweets on June 13 and 26 made reference to certain property purchased by former Assistant Secretary-General at the United Nations Lakshmi Puri in Switzerland and also referred to her husband Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
From Rs 191 billion in 2019, the world's largest film producing industry now stands at Rs 72 billion thanks to the pandemic.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has rebutted Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Randeep Singh Surjewala's allegations regarding "wilful defaulters, bad loans and write-offs", and stated that they have "attempted to mislead people in a brazen manner".
The going is not going to be easy for the DMK and its allies in Elections 2024. Despite the seats sweepstake in the 2021 assembly polls, the vote-share difference of 5.6% (DMK's 45.38% versus AIADMK-BJP's 39.72%) is not insurmountable on a bad day, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'As his close associate Som Pal told me, "Mandal was never V P Singh's brainchild. It was a Janata Party commitment he inherited".' 'He would have done it anyway at some point, but the specific timing of his decision was dictated entirely by political exigency -- his government was threatened.' 'It also turned out to be a game changer in Indian politics.'
If Sebi and RBI remain quiet about this brazenly illegal activity, will someone in the finance ministry or the NITI Aayog take a closer look, asks Debashis Basu.
The DMK feels its genuine gestures have had no bearing on the governor's politico-administrative conduct, which is 'more political and politicised than administrative and Constitutional', observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
From referencing "josh" of Bollywood flick 'Uri', to chants of "Modi, Modi" from the Bharatiya Janata Party, there were varied reactions in Lok Sabha as Finance Minister Piyush Goyal gave his interim budget speech on Friday.
She recited a Kashmiri verse, which was part of a poem by Sahitya Akademi award winner Pandit Dinanath Koul. She rendered the verse in both Kashmiri and Hindi. Besides, the minister quoted woman Tamil poet Avvaiyar, Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar, a verse from Raghuvamsa by Kalidasa, as well as late finance minister Arun Jaitley while talking about the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Capping a visit that attracted controversy and opposition ire, EU parliamentarians visiting Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday termed Article 370 an internal issue of India and said they stand by the country in its fight against terrorism.
'It was one of the greatest learnings in my life to see someone like the great Amitabh Bachchan go through such a tough phase.' 'He had been there, done it all and really didn't need to prove himself.' 'Yet, he channelised it all and came out with one of his best performances,' Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra tells Savera R Someshwar/Rediff.com in a fascinating conversation about the films he has made and the actors he has worked with.
Punjab faces many mortal threats. For most of these the people of Punjab are themselves responsible. And unless they take a brutal hard look within, their future generations have to be resigned to continue living with this constant slide, warns Shekhar Gupta.
Payal Kumari, daughter of a migrant worker from Bihar, battled the odds including financial woes, to top the BA archaeology course at Kerala's Mahatma Gandhi University.
A well-know journalist, Kumar, 44, a senior executive editor with NDTV India, is among five winners of the Asia's prestigious award.
In televised remarks after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget, Modi said it has many provisions for the agriculture sector, including for making loans easier for farmers.
"If the direction of satellites to Mars and Moon can be controlled from the earth, then why can't EVM be hacked," Udit Raj said in a tweet in Hindi. "If elections were held in America with EVMs, could Trump have lost," he asked.
Directorate of Distance Education of Pondicherry University invites applications for Admission to the following programmes.
'We need more universal films like Dangal, Sultan or Padmavat that work across single screens and multiplexes.'
Three stockmarket experts give their best picks for the New Year.
He also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to create a Delhi-like situation in Puducherry and take power away from an elected government.
Singh, a former Army officer, had been ill after a fall at his home in August 2014 and was admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital. He had been in and out of the hospital and was admitted again in June this year.
On Shashi Kapoor's 83rd birth anniversary, Subhash K Jha looks at his top five productions.
The new online store, which will be launched on September 23, will provide customers with the same premium experience found in Apple Store locations around the world, delivered by online team members who are ready to offer their expertise, Apple said in a statement.
'I think we can agree she was the lucky one there?'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the BJP, saying one has to refer to the state-wise election schedule to know when one will have access to the vaccine. The BJP, however, said health is a state subject and its manifesto is for Bihar, not for the entire country, where it has promised that the state will buy the vaccine for its people.
'Mr Vajapyee felt that you could pray to any god or not pray at all, but the country comes first.'
According to the RTI reply, absconding diamantaire Choksi's company Gitanjali Gems tops the list of the defaulters with a whopping amount of Rs 5,492 crore. This is followed by REI Agro with Rs 4,314 crore and Winsome Diamonds with Rs 4,076 crore. Rotomac Global Private Limited has funded advances of Rs 2,850 crore which have been technically written off and Kudos Chemie Ltd with Rs 2,326 crore, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, now owned by Ramdev's Patanjali, with Rs 2,212 crore and Zoom Developers Pvt Ltd with Rs 2,012 crore being the other companies to default on the payment. Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines figures in the list at number 9, with outstanding of Rs 1943 crore which have been technically written off by the banks.