The BJP leadership knows it can't boast of governance in the state as the Bommai government has little to show. So, the game plan is to project Modi, who will reiterate how important it is for a state to have the same party ruling in power at the Centre, observes Ramesh Menon.
The party has also expanded its list of spokesperson to 23, with MP Anil Baluni being elevated as the chief spokesperson and remaining its media head.
'As long as we have such partners, Russia cannot be isolated.'
The BJP and the AIADMK are unable to sort out ideological differences, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The retail industry's business is on the brink of full recovery as it achieved 93 per cent of the pre-COVID sales in February, according to a report. Segments such as consumer durables and quick service restaurants (QSR) have shown positive growth of 15 per cent and 18 per cent respectively in February 2021, the report from the Retailers Association of India (RAI) said. "The quantum of de-growth in retail sales has reduced as most segments in retail have started to show significant improvement," it said. Categories like footwear, beauty, wellness and personal care, sports goods and food and grocery are showing steady month-on-month recovery.
The organisation established its electoral presence post-Independence in states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Assam, with West Bengal being its main stronghold, but eight decades down the line, the party, now limited to just some pockets of the country, has no MP or MLA in its kitty.
In terms of microeconomic parameters such as return on capital, development of domestic entrepreneurship and corporate governance, India is ahead of China, which is more essential for long term growth.
The total vehicle registrations in India fell by 29.85 per cent to 1,52,71,519 units in financial year 2020-21, the lowest in the last eight years, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Monday. Total vehicle registrations were at 2,17,68,502 units in fiscal year 2019-20. All categories of vehicles, except tractors were in red in FY21 with two-wheeler (2W), three-wheeler (3W), commercial vehicles (CV) and passenger vehicles (PV) falling by 31.51 per cent, 64.12 per cent, 49.05 per cent and 13.96 per cent respectively -- the lowest in last eight years and way below the FY13 levels, FADA said in a statement.
With some variations, all regional political formations, whether in power presently or out of it, share some common features: Tight family control of the political apparatus, key members in elected or appointed positions, obvious wealth but not quite known sources of income, and family factionalism, sometimes open and bitter, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the violence during the Popular Front of India (PFI)-sponsored hartal in his state was 'pre-meditated' and assured strict action against the culprits while his Assam counterpart Hemanta Biswas Sarma batted for banning the Islamist outfit, whom the National Investigation Agency (NIA) accused of encouraging youth to join terrorist groups including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
Retail tomato prices are ruling at Rs 80 per kg in most cities across India but the rates have shot up to as high as Rs 120 per kg in few southern states because of widespread rains, according to government data. In Chennai, retail price of tomato was at Rs 100 per kg, Puducherry Rs 90 per kg, Bengalure Rs 88 per kg and Hyderabad Rs 65 per kg. In Kerala, retail prices of tomato are ruling at Rs 120 per kg in Kottayam, Rs 110 per kg in Ernakulam, Rs 103 per kg in Tiruvananthapuram, Rs 100 per kg in Palakkad, Rs 97 per kg in Trissure, and Rs 90 per kg in Wayanad and Kozikode.
We knew from the moment the pandemic took hold that this would be a long haul -- at least 12 to 18 months. Nothing should have changed that assessment, says Mihir S Sharma.
'Because of global warming, the chances of heatwaves like this are much higher.'
The IMD chief also allayed fears of occurrence of an El-Nino.
Following a dismal season, Whatmore had parted ways with Kerala after spending three years with the southern side.
The death of six Indians working on a United States Agency for International Development-funded road project between Khost and Paktia provinces in southern Afghanistan last week and confirmation from Pakistan that it is concerned over India's "over-ingress" in Afghanistan is setting the stage for a new round of regional diplomacy, when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton comes visiting later this month.
At 235,000 tonnes per annum, Pakistan is the third largest importer of tea in the world as it can't grow tea because of adverse climate conditions. India supplies just about a tenth of tea imported the neighbouring country
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the NIA's application and ordered social activist Gautam Navlakha to be put under house arrest within 24-hours after shifting him from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.
Nagaland's scorecard resembled a telephone number, 0, 7, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 7, 10, 0 and 0 not out as they crashed for 25 against Uttarakhand.
With temperatures remaining above normal since November, this winter could well be the warmest ever recorded not only in North India, but across the country.
'I do not want to get into the number game. This time, the BJP will get unprecedented seats and vote percentage in Gujarat.'
Output, consumption estimates further revised downwards; debt restructuring for mills possible.
It is necessary to have a dramatic increase in the number of rapid tests for COVID-19 conducted on a large number of people and that should become the basis for estimating the morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19, not relying only on hospital reports, says Professor K Srinivasan.
JNPT, the country's largest container port, would soon move into congestion if cargo does not get lifted by importers in the next few days.
Bengaluru and Delhi airports had the fastest growth in passenger traffic in 2016 among global peers.
Sweden has conferred the Royal Order of the Pole Star on Ravi Uppal, vice-chairman and managing director of ABB India, in recognition of his contribution to promoting Indo-Swedish relations over many years.
Chacko, who quit the Congress over his differences with the party leaders in Kerala, said NCP is a partner of the CPIM-led Left Democratic Front in the southern state and he would work for the victory of the Left candidates in the April 6 Assembly polls.
'The undiminished threat, therefore, has the potency of sustaining itself in multiple ways in the near and medium term.' 'The state agencies need to utilize innovative methods in countering radicalization and violent extremism to address this growing threat'.
If the vaccine is recommended for use as a booster against Omicron, it may significantly boost the demand for Covishield in India.
Some of the Congress's new-found enthusiasm for hitting the streets will show its result in the Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka elections. That is when we will know if the Congress will go to the regional parties or the parties will come to the Congress.
In another forecast for August, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said monsoon is also likely to be normal in the month.
The former India captain was speaking at a felicitation function organised for CSK for winning the 2021 edition of IPL.
From output surge to lack of cold storage, not much attention has been given to the potato farmers. The export market, too, is bleak, due to unsuitable domestic varieties and an underdeveloped food processing value chain.
The 136-year-old baby, argues Shyam G Menon, is taking a tiny step to tackling the biggest dread of old age: Change.
The ultimate consequences of Rahul Gandhi's yatra may be known only in 2024, points out Dr Sudhir Bisht.
An Indian was among 21 trekkers killed while 85 others remained missing after being hit by one of the worst snowstorms in western Nepal on Wednesday.
In a major blow to Nirav Modi, a bankruptcy court in the US has rejected a petition of the fugitive diamond merchant and two of his associates, seeking dismissal of fraud allegations against them by the trustee of three companies they previously owned indirectly.
The morcha claimed that the response to the bandh call was 'more widespread than before' and nearly all opposition political parties extended an unconditional support to it.
However, truckers have spared other vegetables, fruits, fuel and milk from the strike.
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