The Budget has given signals that India is sensitive to the US needs and willing to walk the extra mile, but if need be, we should respond in equal measure as a sovereign nation, notes Ajay Srivastava.
As Swades turns 20, Aseem Chhabra looks back at the film that spoke to him.
Ranveer Allahbadia found an easy way of asking questions which made sense to him and his team. No counter-questions or finding out the 'Why?' from the celebrity he was speaking to. The 'Why?' was buried and forgotten in Ranveer's shows, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
Trump spoke approvingly of his recent telephone conversation with Xi Jinping. This could indicate the possibility of America and China reaching some level of tactical accommodation, which would not be good news for India, points out Ambassador Shyam Saran, a former foreign secretary.
'As the global economy undergoes significant transformations in 2025, India's ability to navigate the complexities of trade wars, financial realignments, and emerging blocs will be pivotal,' explain Harsh V Pant and Soumya Bhowmik.
While advancements in biotechnology hold immense promise for health and innovation, they also come with significant risks if misused.
The China threat continues to resonate in the strategic partnership between India and the USA, points out Rup Narayan Das.
The stage may be set for a recalibrated US-Iran relationship, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
While the capital spending is being maintained at 3.1 per cent of the GDP, a little more would have boosted economic growth even further, suggests Rajiv Memani.
The Delhi assembly results have underscored that a section of Arvind Kejriwal's committed supporters abandoned him because they were let down by his refusal to take a stand on crucial issues that impinge on the security and Constitutionally enshrined rights of the people, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Sometimes I run past a house where the owner has died. The children are abroad. The doors and windows are closed. That is the case with thousands of homes across Kerala.
Through history, the Mela has held different meanings for ascetics, the colonised, colonisers, and tourists, but all have been moved by its grandeur points out Atanu Biswas.
Many were so disillusioned with AAP that they left it in droves. A 10% drop in AAP's vote share is a pointer to that. To assume that if AAP had teamed up with the Congress, the Congress' 6.3% vote share would have helped AAP retain control of Delhi is erroneous, argues Sudhir Bisht.
The warmth and respect for India were evident wherever I went and noticed how most Latin Americans have Indian gurus either directly or online and yoga was very much in vogue, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
If the humiliation of India being able to declare their second innings on 487/6 reflected poorly on the bowling unit, it was the Australian batting line-up dismissed for 104 in their first innings that bore the brunt of the blame.
Yashasvi Jaiswal looks well-placed to carry forward the glorious legacy of batting excellence established by the likes of Sachin Tendukar and Virat Kohli, said former India coach Greg Chappell.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Sections of our media and elites take Western reports/judgements at face value and are ready to condemn the targets without understanding the deeper power linkages behind such actions, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
DeepSeek is a case in point on how economic interdependence between nations are utilised for geopolitical ambitions and global domination efforts, observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
'Netanyahu lured Trump into a trap by enticing him with a seductive scenario of massive lucrative business in Gaza's reconstruction.' 'Trump's imagination is running riot, completely disconnected from ground realities,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Simplifying investment policies at the micro level and introducing a time-bound framework will be critical for India's growth targets, notes Krishna Ella.
We no longer have the ambition to rival China save through words. We are happy to be fighting ourselves and digging up disputes from centuries ago as a substitute for real development, argues Aakar Patel.
The most striking features of this Budget was its focus on simplification and improving the ease of doing business in India, asserts Kaku Nakhate.
Facebook turns 21 today, February 4. Most early Facebookers have migrated to other social media platforms, but A Ganesh Nadar continues to live on Facebook as he notes 'Real life friends are really not welcome on Facebook as they know that last summer when you said you were in Belgium you were actually in Belgaum'.
'The finance minister missed yet another opportunity to simplify the income tax structure in the Budget.' 'This was an opportune moment to get rid of the old tax system entirely and move fully to the new system,' asserts M Govinda Rao, member of the 14th Finance Commission.
'If it doesn't, it will continue with measures to infuse liquidity, signalling a new cycle,' predicts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Our visa operations in Bangladesh constitute the largest visa operations India conducts worldwide. This has taken a hit after Sheikh Hasina's government was overthrown and India reduced its diplomatic presence in Bangladesh, notes Aakar Patel.
'If the BJP detoxifies the nuclear liability law, it will bring economic, environmental and, most of all, strategic benefits.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this Budget promise is met soon -- ideally, before Mr Modi heads to his first meeting with Trump 2.0,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
What does this mean for you? Ramalingam Kalirajan explains.
'... that it once again shies away from renewing its commitment to strategic divestment,' points out A K Bhattacharya.
'Had these leaders known that Jinnah was dying...'
'Suddenly we had a new comprehension of affairs, which reminded that the luxury of politics floated atop a foundation by economics.' 'Along with this, finance ministers became crucial in molding the perception and reputation of Union Cabinets.' 'Governments couldn't afford a wrong person in that portfolio,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
While this will incur a revenue loss amounting to 0.2 per cent of GDP, it will provide a strong boost to consumer sentiment and spending, points out Rajani Sinha.
The finance minister, in her Budget speech, should focus more on what she is directly responsible for, rather than on programmes where her role is largely supportive, notes Nitin Desai.
'What would it be like if one had the power to transcend the universe like the characters in the Marvel comics and movies do?' 'Could I rewind my life and go back in time to do things differently?' asks Aarti David.
If growth reverts to the pre-Covid level, a lot of people may have to temper their rosy optimism, points out Debashis Basu.
A state government that came to power after swearing to protect all people without discrimination refused to help a non-Christian organisation till the high court rapped it on its knuckles, observes former BJP MP Tarun Vijay, former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
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