India is only the fourth country to acquire such a specialised and modern capability after the United States, Russia and China.
This gains importance in the backdrop of speculation on a second term for Raghuram Rajan.
Notwithstanding the rhetoric against New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind kejriwal and his anarchist ways of protesting, it seems that United Progressive Alliance government is taking his demand seriously.
It was a many splendoured political career, which ended at the presidential palace. But the prime minister's post eluded him, even though it was a position he openly aspired for.
In the wake of widespread violence and protests by anti-bifurcation agitators in Andhra Pradesh, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Monday sought to assuage the feelings of Seemandhra people, saying their genuine concerns on security, education, employment in Hyderabad would be taken care of.
Many argue there's a mismatch between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus on international exposure and his government's diktat to officials on limiting travel.
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met President Pranab Mukherjee and leaders of political parties in an attempt to find an amicable solution to the problem of division in New Delhi Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana state.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna is on his way out, according to Congress sources, and Union Minister Harish Rawat and state minister Pritam Singh are emerging as the frontrunners for the top job in the hill state.
Taking the supporters of Telangana supporters by surprise the Union government has given its nod to the ambitious Information Technology Investment Region proposal for Hyderabad which envisions an investment of Rs 2.19 lakh crore in and around the city over the next 25 years.
'The Badals have made the Akali Dal a family enterprise and undermined the Sikh faith. They have no right to call themselves Akalis. We have approached the Election Commission to register ourselves as the Akali Dal with a different nomenclature. We will impress on people's minds that we are the real Akali Dal' Sai Manish reports on the fight for supremacy over the Akali Dal.
Maken also raised questions over the 'silence' of the government on Pakistan's role in the attack.
Congress stalwart Murli Deora passed away on Monday morning after battling a prolonged illness. He was a politician who shared rapport across the political and corporate spectrum.
Security of tenure is important for a bureaucrat to work efficiently. There has to be some rationale behind posting a bureaucrat to a particular department, says former cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian
President Pranab Mukherjee talked though on the ordinance to protect convicted lawmakers as he questioned three Union ministers -- Law Minister Kapil Sibal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. He sought minutes of the Cabinet and all party meetings after which the United Progressive Alliance withdrew the decree.
Members of Parliament (MPs) across the political spectrum have written to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), seeking a probe into a stake sale deal between Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Gulf-based carrier Etihad Airways.
'The BJP has proved that it is a threat to all its allies'
The Bharatiya Janata Party had initially taken a conciliatory stand on the issue with a minister even going as far as to tell rediff.com that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not indulge in petty politics on this issue. The party had left the final decision to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports
An inter-ministerial committee has been set up by the government to look at the possibility of declassification of all files related to death or disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
'I think the AAP is still in transition from being a movement to a political party so there is a mix of people who form the party. So there is somewhat of a overlapping and commonality of purpose.' 'Look at the way the government and party is functioning, not a single woman minister in the cabinet, or no woman member in the political affairs committee, it is all very tactical now.' 'After the 'sting' I decided to step back. I realised that my moral basis has been questioned by Kejriwal, it is truly despicable. He is around 15 years younger to me, I was aghast by his words.' AAP 'rebel' Prof Anand Kumar speaks of what went wrong with the party in the last few days in this interview with Upasna Pandey.
S Jaishankar took charge as foreign secretary, replacing Sujatha Singh, on Thursday.
What goes behind the scenes for an American President's visit?
The Indian government has simplified FDI policy inorder to attract global retail chains.
Sonia Gandhi's iftar was meant to be a powerful show of unity of Opposition parties to take on the Modi Sarkar, but that was not to be...
'According to me, her finest hour was in 1983-1984 when she neutralised a combined US-Pakistan-British conspiracy to Balkanise India by creating an independent Sikh State of Khalistan,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). A special assessment of Indira Gandhi on her centenary.
The president-elect has vast public, social, and political experience which will help him better to discharge his duty as the First Citizen of India.
Sujatha Singh is the third senior official to have been dismissed by NDA.
If push comes to shove, Trump is probably planning to order the US army to clear his path for a second term. What if the armed forces refuse to obey their commander-in-chief?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"K C Venugopal is a buffoon, I feel sorry for him, I feel sorry for my leader Sri Rahul Gandhi ji," Baig told reporters.
The controversy was triggered by a reply from the ministry of home affairs to an RTI filed by a Kolkata resident.
Sibling rivalry in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam came to the fore for yet another time on Saturday, with the party high command dissolving a Madurai unit and replacing it with a temporary body dominated by supporters of its Treasurer M K Stalin.
When Prime Minister Modi travelled to the US last year Home Minister Rajnath Singh was officially put in charge of the government. But the BJP's national executive in Bengaluru made it clear who now matters in the party and in what order. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports
The going is not going to be easy for the DMK and its allies in Elections 2024. Despite the seats sweepstake in the 2021 assembly polls, the vote-share difference of 5.6% (DMK's 45.38% versus AIADMK-BJP's 39.72%) is not insurmountable on a bad day, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
20 years ago this day, May 11, 1998, India conducted its second nuclear test at Pokharan in Rajasthan. In a fascinating interview on Rediff.com, K Subrahmanyam revealed how Indian PMs reacted to nuclear ambitions.
There are unprecedented political implications of identification based on 'biological attributes of an individual', such as employed by Aadhaar, warns Gopal Krishna.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh is coming under increasing fire from his own party colleagues for quite a few reasons, says Anita Katyal
'The CBI should be bifurcated and the CBI's charter should be restricted to anti-corruption cases.'
'The investigation of major criminal cases having national and international implications, and national crimes spread over more than one state may be entrusted to a new national crime bureau,' recommends Dr Madhav Godbole, the former home secretary.
Has the Modi government ensured that the MEA keeps abreast of the times, asks Ambassador Vivek Katju.
The telephonic talk between Modi and Xi came a day after Modi congratulated Xi on Chinese social media.
'I would personally like to see Rahul Gandhi continue as party president.' 'I genuinely believe he has far more to offer to the party still, particularly in leading us in these challenging times that we find ourselves in.'
'When it comes to national politics, the Modi-Shah BJP has successfully redefined secularism.' 'If a party like the Congress has to have a future, it has to move closer to the secular centre from the far Left where its Left infatuation during the UPA years dragged it,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
