One solution to India's challenges of education, employment, employability lies in state governments adopting apprenticeships on a large scale.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has shown it is possible to form an electoral base with pro-women policies that matter, so why don't other political parties replicate it, asks Devanik Saha.
Critics say that there's no 'Modi wave' in four Muslim-dominated parliamentary constituencies in Bihar's Seemanchal belt, but Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are hopeful to retain three out of the four seats here. In 2009 general elections, the BJP won in Purnea, Katihar and Araria but lost in Kishanganj.
Medhavi Kirti, the granddaughter of late veteran Congress leader Babu Jagjiwan Ram, has been campaigning against her aunt Meira Kumar, Lok Sabha Speaker and Congress candidate from Sasaram Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority will soon notify prices of as many as 150 packs of essential medicines in line with the new pharma pricing policy, according to official sources.
Across the board, demand would appear to be slacker than it should be if we are headed for a healthy recovery.
"He's a true prince," says Peter Sarnak, a senior professor at Princeton University, describing Dr Manjul Bhargava, recipient of Fields Medal, math's top global honour.
Their reopening followed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' reluctant acceptance of a tough package of bailout demands from European partners
A second vote will be held on Wednesday, on measures including justice and banking reforms, when a similar outcome is expected.
The Congress chief gave 'F' to the Modi government for agriculture, foreign policy and job creation, and 'A+' to the prime minister for slogan creation and self promotion.
The government will decide in August whether to sell a 5 percent stake in ONGC, a senior oil ministry official said, in a deal that would be worth $2.9 billion at current market prices.
BJP leaders said the party will take corrective measures, while its long-time ally Shiv Sena appeared taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Facing stiff challenge to see Janata Dal-United candidates through in the coming bypoll for two Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar, Nitish Kumar on Saturday appealed to arch rival Lalu Prasad, Congress and Communist Party of India to make common cause to "foil the game plan of BJP to destabilise the government".
'We teach our kids the 3 R's -- reading, writing, and arithmetic -- so that they can be successful. It's time the fourth R joined that list: Programming. My vision is to expose every student to computer science and show them that coding IS fun and applicable to their daily lives.' Just 15, Swetha Prabakaran, founder and CEO of Everybody Code Now!, a non-profit working to empower the next generation of youth to become engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs, is already a White House Champion of Change for teaching hundreds of students how to code.
The sabre-rattling between parties on rival sides of the political divide over demonetisation showed no signs of softening on Saturday with the government accusing Congress of engaging in "fear mongering" and the latter hitting back calling the exercise a "not well thought out move" whose after-effects will last long.
Behind the BJP's astounding electoral success is a small army of dedicated lieutenants marshalled by Amit Shah.
The PDP is the front-runner in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. The ruling National Conference and the Congress will be lucky to reach double figures.
Slowdown and liquidity squeeze by RBI have put India's top 10 indebted firms in a tight spot. But they have a few options.
Narendra Modi's candidature from Varanasi will help the Bharatiya Janata Party gain more seats in eastern Uttar Pradesh as well as neighbouring Bihar and lay the foundation for a National Democratic Alliance government, his close aide Amit Shah said on Monday.
The NCP has seen the largest flow from its ranks to the other parties, more towards the BJP before the elections, even up to the last minute. The Sena and BJP together could, in power, become even bigger magnets. Disillusionment with the NCP leadership has been growing, which may have forced its hand, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Stepping up the agitation on 'One Rank One Pension', a fast-unto-death was launched by two of the protesting ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar
How will DMDK's decision to join the People's Democratic Front affect the political scenario in TN.
With Vijayakanth rebuffing both the DMK and the BJP Tamil Nadu will witness a six-cornered fight, which can only benefit Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, says R Ramasubramanian.
As for structural reform, there are signs if one looks hard enough.
Jaitley has managed the difficult feat of sticking to the fiscal correction.
'The people of the state can be won over by love, and not by swords.'
A case that J Jayalalitha 'does not want' is back and in the Supreme Court. N Sathiya Moorthy reports on the possible repercussions of the disproportionate assets case on Tamil Nadu politics.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's forward march has slowed down. Can Arvind Kejriwal eclipse Narendra Modi in the upcoming general election? Modi, feels Praful Bidwai, may have peaked too soon and Arvind Kajriwal's politics may find new takers.
'There are a lot of positive things these reforms are bringing about and it is only a matter of some quarters before the growth rate picks up momentum.' 'Until then we need to be a little bit patient.'
However, the budget arithmetic is slightly optimistic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday warned of "tough decisions" over the next couple of years to improve the country's financial health, which he said may not go down well with some sections, and attacked the way the previous UPA government had handled the economy.
Politically, it will not be easy for Modi to take hard decisions such as raising fuel prices in the first budget, given the risk of higher inflation.
The consolidation of the Muslim vote behind Lalu Yadav in Bihar and Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh may have forced Modi to spin Priyanka Gandhi's neech rajniti statement as a insult to his OBC status, says Dharmendra Singh.
Dharmendra Kumar Singh explains the importance of getting 28 percent of the vote in Uttar Pradesh, which is witnessing a five-cornered contest.
'The foundation of the 2014 triumph was Narendra Modi's appeal to voters in the Hindi belt. The Bihar Vidhan Sabha polls will demonstrate if he continues to appeal to them,' says T V R Shenoy.
'Modi swept the 2014 elections for two main reasons: First, the disgust with the Congress government with a non-functional prime minister, and second, more importantly, his promise of performance and hope.' 'He cannot expect to win 2019 on these planks again. His own success in finishing the Congress will take away one plank, and with five years of reign on his CV, he will need to flaunt performance more than promise.'
'In essence, while I appreciate your earnest care for the nation's welfare, your eagerness in returning the awards seems not be driven by data. The data is at worst favouring the present disposition or it provides an inconclusive result. It seems to be directed at Narendra Damordas Modi and nothing else,' says Sriram Balasubramanian in an open letter.
'The greatness of Indian democracy is that it never lets any political pundit master the pulse of the electorate. Sometimes people vote for change and sometimes they vote for the status quo.'
This is the Centre's highest-ever budgeted capital outlay.
RBI's surprise rate cut has revived sentiments of India Inc.
