India would confront a more entrenched China, a less dependable United States, and a regional order increasingly shaped by great-power bargaining over which it exercises limited influence, notes Amberish K Diwanji.
With less than a month to go, football fans have all fingers -- and toes -- crossed, notes Kanika Datta.
200+ scores are IPL's sugar rush. Great for TRPs, dangerous as a full diet. BCCI -- don't kill the golden goose, cautions Sandeep Goyal.
Here's your picture puzzle -- a fun way to test your memory!
Chinese leaders, including its generals, will have to weigh whether they can win a war if they ever attack Taiwan and if at all, can they sustain the subsequent devastation, notes Rup Narayan Das.
India emerged reasonably well from 2025. But now, the oil shock and war-related supply disruptions have again driven funds out of India and significantly weakened the rupee, points out Ajay Chhibber.
The only thing that might make the BJP stop trying to isolate Muslims completely will be if substantial numbers of the community vote for the party that flaunts its animosity towards it, notes Jyoti Punwani.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has vowed strict action against law violators to curb the drug menace in the state, citing a recent drug bust involving a TDP MP and a former BRS MLA. He emphasised that the government will not spare anyone, regardless of their status, and highlighted the establishment of the EAGLE FORCE to combat drug-related crimes.
Hopefully, the BJP will realise that it's the right time for parivartan (change) in its polarising poll strategies after achieving the impossible-looking goal of winning West Bengal, argues Sheela Bhatt.
The BJP, especially in its current edition under the prime minister, is clear that it seeks total exclusion of India's largest minority against whom it holds historical resentment, points out Aakar Patel.
India is the only significant power that all parties trust, or at least do not distrust, notes former defence secretary Ajay Kumar.
Frankly, was it really necessary in the middle of a fratricidal war for External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to travel to Abu Dhabi for a one-on-one with the sheikh on April 12?Or, for National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to follow up on April 26? Or, for PM Narendra Modi to follow through today? There are no easy answers, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
It seems odd to criticise a country for delivering growth rates in standards of living and consumption that have been perhaps the fastest, longest, and most broad-based (affecting hundreds of millions of people) in history, points out Arvind Subramanian.
For India, China's Indian Ocean power projection, maritime domain awareness, dual-use ports, underwater surveillance, antisubmarinewarfare, naval exercises with Pakistan, pose considerable pressure, depleted India's strategic depth and marginalises Indian role, points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
Markets face risk of a prolonged bear phase as oil shocks and geopolitical tensions test inflation, growth and investor confidence globally, points out Debashis Basu.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2026 after Game 38.
The central bank is yet to consider actions such as a rate hike or mobilising dollar inflows from non-resident Indians to boost forex reserves as it cannot afford to continue with them for long when the rupee's internationalisation tops its agenda, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
A prolonged supply shock can transmit to lower incomes, and dampen confidence and sentiment, warns Aditi Nayar, chief economist, head-research and outreach, ICRA.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted some 20 per cent of the global flows but even if it opens, damages to production facilities in the region will take time to repair, points out Sunita Narain.
Rapid growth in personal gold loans has raised concerns over borrower leverage, large-ticket exposure and volatility in gold prices, points out Swaminathan J, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
Already, within the week of the election results it became apparent that the Congress' DNA has not changed from its traditional approach to politics as but a game of thrones, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In the IPL, losing your wicket is forgivable; but losing your integrity isn't, asserts K R Nayar.
This is the time for India to plan forward fully, with the goal of Atmanirbharata, and energy security. The Persian Gulf is no longer a reliable source, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
We, Indians, forgot that for Pakistan, Kashmir dispute and blood feud with India is the raison detre for its existence. It is also the excuse with which the Pak army keeps its grip over the state. Peace in Kashmir and between India and Pakistan is against the interests of the Pak army, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
Occasionally, the silence of the night shift would be shattered by an ear-splitting alarm: 'ALERT, ALERT... This is a security warning.' We were drilled to move away from the windows and avoid the lifts, recalls Krishna Kumar NP, a veteran Dubai-based journalist.
The electorate did not vote for the BJP as much as they voted against the TMC. This is an important distinction that the new government will ignore at its own peril, points out Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Courts cannot be the only hope for those fighting hate speech. Countering its effects on the ground takes more effort. With our political parties unwilling to put in that amount of effort, it's left to citizens to do so, points out Jyoti Punwani.
By asking Vijay to produce letters of majority support before inviting him to form the government, the governor risks overstepping established Constitutional principles, notes Harishchandra.
Before you watch Spirit on the big screen, unscramble this puzzle.
America's population and its media and its democratic structures seem fine with this, which is why Trump continues as he does, asserts Aakar Patel.
The extent of doubts over the fairness of this election can be assessed by juxtaposing two figures: Total votes polled by the two principal parties and the number of people who were disallowed from voting this time, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The BJP must respect Bengal's pluralistic ethos and with this historic mandate give the state the constructive change it truly deserves, expects Kolkata native Payal Singh Mohanka.
The Battle of Laungewala fought in the Thar desert saw 120 soldiers heroically defend the Longewala post against a formidable Pakistani tank attack till first light brought IAF fighter jets. The air attack turned the desert into a graveyard of Pakistani tanks.
Kanwal Rekhi is a peaceful techie who ardently believes in competitive market economics and democracy, despite the trauma his family suffered during Partition and his narrow escape from violent mobs in 1984.
A major fire near the main unit of the newly built Rajasthan refinery of HPCL has postponed the inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The fire, which broke out near the crude distillation unit, was doused in about two hours with no reported casualties.
Unlike films that end with the underdog becoming winner and being sworn in at a public ceremony, Vijay's trial by fire is only about to begin, predicts Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Peddi, starring Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor, is a Telugu-language sports action drama, written and directed by Buchi Babu Sana.
India's first trillion-dollar company will be built on technology it owns, not just operates, predicts Ajay Kumar.
'If planets are, as many of your own geophysicists argue, bodies shaped by their own gravity and expressing internal processes, then by that measure, I am not an exception.'
India should not stay on the margins of this initiative. There should be a serious debate about what would be in India's best interests asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
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