'In UP/Bihar there is no industry. There are no other jobs, you either herd cows, teach or join the IAS. The brightest go to the IITs. The rest go to arts college and they become IAS officers and it is this crowd that is now agitating.' 'English is the business language of the world, we have to accept that. If I had done my IIT in Hindi, I would be stuck in the cow belt without work.' IIT graduate, entrepreneur and politician R K Misra on the row over English in the UPSC prelims.
'This is a public institution, run on public money and our fees,' the students say. 'Yet, decisions that affect us crucially are being taken without consulting us.'
There has been a welcome focus on fundamental reforms, time-bound programmes that fix accountability and the use of technology. The upcoming Budget could build on these initiatives, says Abhas Jha.
'Experience of administration may make a member of civil service a good administrator but not necessarily an able and impartial adjudicator,' observes the Supreme Court.
Jaitley's team presents a quintessential mix of foreign-educated, intellectual technocrats and seasoned bureaucrats
New body to replace Plan panel might retain 40% of existing staff
"Anyone can go any day and anytime to any border outpost of the BSF and ask for food"
The perspective planning division might get a new lease of life.
The Indian Army and more recently the Indian Navy have already set up dedicated intelligence branches. It is surprising indeed that the IAF, where real time and timely intelligence is most vital for effective and safe prosecution of the air war, has still not done so itself, says Group Capt (retd) P I Muralidharan.
She had got 849th rank in the 2014 civil services exam and was allotted the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise).
Given the rising levels of pollution, air purifiers have now become a necessity. Manavi Kapur and Veer Arjun Singh check out some of the options in the market.
'If the RSS should be saluted for choosing such a scholarly statesman to address its highly trained cadre, one must also praise Pranab Da's sagacity for having gracefully accepting the invitation, thus disapproving any ideological apartheid,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
'Our political leadership needs to grasp that there is a difference between a soldier, policeman, trained private security guard and a chowkidar, though all of them provide security.' 'The cross border raids by the army could not be taken by the Central Reserve Police Force, for sure!'
'As a child, I believed that my world record would be a national pride. But I feel cheated now.'
Ahead of the assembly elections next year, the BJP has been wallowing in a welter of ideas that has resurrected the debate on populism versus pragmatism, as it has to pander to two important but incompatible constituencies, of the freebie consuming masses and Bengaluru's heavy hitters craving for even roads, pristine lakes and unbroken power supply, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi claimed that "20-25 per cent" voters from the minority community had voted for him in the assembly polls and asked the party cadre to reach out to all sections, including Muslims, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Under U K Sinha, Sebi became a pan-India organisation with local offices in 16 cities
'What does Bhagwat think his militia will do once it is at the border?' 'What does Bhagwat imagine his Sangh followers will do that will protect Mother India?' asks Aakar Patel.
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa explains why destroying mobile towers just before a political rally is a big headache for security agencies.
Growing foreign travel is one sign of the radical change in rising India's vacation dynamic.
The deadlock over finalising alliances has had a deleterious effect on the candidates of every party. The delay in alliance conclusion has also sent out confusing signals to the grass-roots who are unsure who will be their party candidate, or which party within an alliance will be allotted a particular constituency, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) had recommended to the ministry that RIL be asked to give up 86% of its KG-D6 gas block area
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said his ministry is contemplating a plan to have people from industry on-board to facilitate on issues relating to economic diplomacy.
Digitally driven businesses have cut short the time to market significantly.
The CPEC poses a clear and imminent danger to Indian security interests, says Kulbir Krishan.
The second-longest serving chairman introduced quite a few measures for the primary market and implemented a new corporate governance framework.
The government is looking at building by-laws and floor area ratio so that you can build up instead of out, thus requiring less land.
Rohini Bhajibhakare won't waste a moment on this statistic because she has far more important things to do.
Who are the men the prime minister relies on to execute his impressive agenda?
Nirmala Sitharaman has a God given opportunity to orchestrate a transformation in India's defence capabilities. One hopes she has her own counsel and does not overly let the PMO run her ship, says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
Tripura's popular chief minister shows up the failures of the elitist central leadership of India's Left, says Devesh Kapur
After weeks of bargaining and protesting, the BJP and the TDP came to a seat sharing arrangement for the May 7 polls in Andhra Pradesh. But will this alliance help the saffron party make inroads in the Telangana region? Vicky Nanjappa finds out
Women candidates have bagged the three top slots in the prestigious Civil Services examination to select Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers among others.
On the first anniversary of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, Sangh Parivar affiliates say they are annoyed with the ruling dispensation but can't live without it either
'Make in India' will be central to Mr Modi's visit to Europe and Canada. It is difficult to predict what will happen with the Rafale deal, but if it goes through, it will undoubtedly become the 'Mother' of all 'Make in India' projects,' says Claude Arpi.
Reforms do happen and one example is Odisha which has taken steps to create a dedicated municipal cadre.
Indrani exclaimed excitedly, her face lighting up like a little girl's: "I know him soo0o well." Sanjeev Khanna, Accused No 2, jokingly suggested to Badami: "Influencing the witness!" Badami retorted good humouredly: "She can't influence witnesses. She can only influence you and Peter."
Milind Deora, minister of state for communication and information technology and shipping, is one of the Congress' young guns under Rahul Gandhi. He tells Kavita Chowdhury that the core problem for the United Progressive Alliance in its second term has been its inability to communicate effectively. Edited excerpts:
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently extended a Rs 8,000-crore (Rs 80 billion) central support for building roads in Jammu & Kashmir, Union Cabinet's approval for the big-ticket announcement came in barely 48 hours.
The RSS realises that with a majority BJP government at the Centre and in several states, now was the best time to undermine and perhaps outdo the Congress-Left 'stranglehold' over campuses and young minds.
