As 32 states and Union Territories imposed complete lockdown till March 31, the Centre asked them to clamp curfew wherever necessary in the wake of people defying lockdown orders.
When the matter came up for hearing before the top court on Tuesday, the bench said that it has received a report from the Juvenile Justice Committee of the high court, in which the averments regarding alleged detention of minors have been denied.
Is it sustainable?' 'Or is it like an overdose of a medicine that saves your life in the short run but kills you through long-lasting side-effects?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'You can't make the poor rich overnight.' 'Nor can you fly millions in planes.' 'But remember that word: Empathy.' 'Who in the BJP is speaking in that language to these millions?' 'Someone putting an arm of understanding, warmth, comfort around them?', asks Shekhar Gupta.
Delhi was just one riot. Add Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and you can count a few scores dead. It could, regrettably, be just the beginning of a very long, dark phase for India, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The young woman's death has led to an outrage on illegal hoardings being put by political parties despite them causing inconvenience and posing a threat to people's safety.
The Chinese have just one commander for all the forces confronting India. Commanders of all these forces answer to one man, and one headquarter. India, on the other hand, offers a diversity of options that is a military embarrassment in the 21st century. In Arunachal and Sikkim-Bhutan, the Eastern Army Commander is in charge. In the Uttarakhand (central) sector, it will be the Central Army Commander. The Himachal-Tibet border is the domain of the Western Army Commander. And all of Kashmir and Ladakh further on, the Northern Army's. Effectively, an array of at least eight 'three-star' commanders will be arrayed against one Chinese, says Shekhar Gupta.
In the mid-1980s, India and the US struggled to arrive at sufficient confidence for Washington to even sell a supercomputer to India for monsoon prospecting. Now, the most sensitive military technologies, data, and intelligence resources are being shared. This would not have happened without that one, big deal that changed the fundamentals of India-US relations, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Four decades of federal evolution made India more secure, but coronavirus is reversing that. Modi's central government has tasted power again and is unlikely to give it up, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Ambassador T P Sreenivasan salutes India Abroad, the leading Indian-American newspaper for half a century, which ceased publication on March 30.
'Our drains are not filled with bodies, our hospitals not run out of beds.' 'That good news, or absence of expected bad news, is the truth that so many in the international community, and also within India, seem unable to handle,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
In his second national broadcast in a week on the pandemic raging across much of the world with the number of infections rising in India, Modi made a fervent appeal to the countrymen not to cross the 'lakshman rekha' of their homes in the next three weeks.
'He has a gift none of his eight predecessors, from Manmohan Singh to Rajiv Gandhi, had: Being able to speak directly and convincingly to a large enough section of Indians who will take his word for gospel,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'If Rahul wants to pick up the sacred thread where his 'daadi' left it, especially when the BJP, which reduced his party to 44 in 2014, claims monopoly over Hinduism, it's smart politics.' 'Why cede your Gods to your rival?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'A very vast majority of us will catch it at some point, about 8 out of 10 won't feel much worse than a common cold's nuisance, if at all, but some will die.' 'A very, very vast majority, at least about 98 per cent of those infected, if not more, under any circumstances, will live through it,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
The announcement came hours after Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said in Delhi that Mufti had told him there was no ban on publication of newspapers in the Valley.
'What do you think the Congress is today?' 'Is it a political party heading for a life-and-death battle?' 'Or an NGO, just doing its thing and hoping it will improve the state of the world?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'The prime minister did not think that COVID-19 was a serious challenge as late as March 20.'
The move has surprised the print media industry which is reeling under recession with most newspaper publishers having put their expansion plans on hold.
James Wilson explains why Indians are destined to silently suffer the cash shortage for half a dozen more months.
Amit Shah now enters an unfamiliar and interesting phase of his political career. His success or failure will henceforth be assessed based on his performance as a key minister, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'I personally consider Indian cinema as one of the most creative and powerful forms of cinematic expression in the world.' 'An average Indian film is 10 times better than a costly American production because of the creativity involved.'
While Jay Shah has warned the media against violating his fundamental right to privacy, Tushar Mehta -- his lawyer in the defamation case -- had opposed right to privacy in the Supreme Court, says Dr Gopal Krishna.
The stunning celeb called for an end to horse-drawn carriage rides.
STAR India, a wholly owned subsidiary of STAR Hong Kong, is exploring the possibilities of getting into the print media business in India. Last week, top STAR executives including STAR Hong Kong CEO Paul Aiello, STAR India CEO Uday Shankar and COO Jagdish Kumar were in Bangalore for meetings with possible joint venture partners for the print foray. The company is said to be in talks with Vijay Mallya's UB Group.
The newlywed Bollywood star closed the show for Babita Malkani.
Monsoon Mangoes is pretentious and looks tacky as most of frames are jaded, warns Paresh C Palicha.
The showstopper looked stunning in her Boho avtar walking for designer Tarun Tahiliani.
More people are using the search engine on their mobiles leading to a fall in its average cost-per-click.
It is bound to fail like the earlier ones, again causing Pakistan enormously more damage than to India, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The winds of nationalism laden with religion will now yield to those of concern over the stalled economy, unemployment, and a general malaise and unhappiness, predicts Shekhar Gupta.
The BJP knows the CAA, combined with a fresh nationwide NRC process, is an idea that's dead on arrival. Where it lives on is as a divisive, polarising instrument as its rivals have to take a position against it and thereby be exposed to the charge of 'Muslim appeasement' again, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Till now the PRB Act of 1867 had been covering only the hard copy editions of printed newspapers and books. Online news portals and web editions of newspapers did not fall within its jurisdiction. The ministry is now keen on changing and redefining the definition of many operative terms, such as "print", "newspaper" or the "magistrate".
The 140-year-old Press and Registration of Books Act, enacted during the British period, may undergo extensive overhaul to bring into its ambit the online news portals and web editions of newspapers.
On a daily basis, an average cash logistics company transports Rs 5,000-8,000 crore worth of cash nationwide.
LCD displays could be produced in India in the near future.
Bill Clinton's address had lessons for both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, says T N Ninan
Prithviraj plays the role J C Daniel who made the first Malayalam film.
'The Kashmir issue has become internationalised after nearly half a century.' 'India, not Pakistan, has done so pro-actively,' says Shekhar Gupta.
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