Sri Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday unveiled his cabinet that included members from a cross-section of parties and announced fresh parliamentary polls in 100 days, two years ahead of schedule.
President Maithripala Sirisena's new Cabinet was also sworn in and Rajapaksa was named the new minister of finance and economic affairs.
'Chinese pressure on Taiwan is unlikely to ease till Beijing feels that stability is being restored in the Sino-US relationship,' says former RAW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
Congress MLAs and scores of party workers on Monday gheraoed Delhi Chief Secretary S K Srivastava at his office, demanding immediate improvement in supply of power and water in the national capital.
R Rajagopalan predicts that Tamil Nadu won't have single party rule for the first time in its history.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday was spotted riding on his bicycle while heading to the AIR office in New Delhi.
'The title of 'core' of the leadership gives Xi Jinping greater political authority at a time when China is beset by various problems as well as a slowdown in economic growth,' points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
'While the fears in Assam and other north eastern states are natural given their experience since 1947 when successive governments and even political leaders in Delhi have repeatedly let them down, the intent and provisions under the Citizenship Amendement Bill -- when examined closely -- should remove those apprehensions,' says Nitin A Gokhale, the well-known commentator who lived in and reported from the north east between 1983 and 2006.
'He (Modi) thinks as if he is a tiger, and the only one who is right,' Mamata said.
Neeta Kolhatkar remembers the housewife who took on mighty Maharashtra politicians over her husband's murder.
Stating that many people have not yet got the card and were being harassed by government agencies, Mamata Banerjee said that the Centre should make a single identity card which would be common for all purposes.
The SIT was created by Supreme Court and notified by the government last year to curb black money.
The Chinese Communist Party's all important 19th Party Congress is just months away, and President Xi Jinping finds himself confronting unlikely challenges to his pre-eminent position, says former RA&W officer and China watcher Jayadeva Ranade.
Mahendra Raj is a towering figure of 20th century Indian architecture.
'You have been surrounded from all directions, if you want the safety of your troops and your personal safety, we will give you eight hours to make up your mind to surrender.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation has clarified to the law ministry that it wants to question two governors -- M K Narayanan and B V Wanchoo of West Bengal and Goa respectively as 'witnesses' in connection with its probe in the VVIP helicopter deal.
Kamakshi Paatti, a sprightly nonagenarian, has the Chennai civic corporation on its toes.
Among the 21 MLAs who have been appointed parliamentary secretaries for the "smooth functioning of the government" are Adarsh Shastri, Jarnail Singh and Alka Lamba.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday filed civil defamation suit in the Delhi high court against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party leaders, amid a raging row over irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association and allegations of corruption against him by the Delhi government.
Taking serious note of the rampant corruption in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Uttar Pradesh, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Friday ordered a Central Bureau of Investogation probe into the alleged large scale financial bungling brought to its notice through a public interest litigation, moved by local journalist Sachchidanand Gupta .
Sasikala may be set to take over the reins of Tamil Nadu, yet she faces a period of immense turbulence.
'The first time that China alleged the Dalai Lama was 'anti-national' and 'unpatriotic' was after he affirmed that Arunachal Pradesh and Tawang are part of India,' points out former RA&W official Jayadeva Ranade.
From banking to teaching, the list covers all.
The NITI Aayog is likely to continue to both formulate plans and engage with the states.
There are 13 new faces, including two women, in the cabinet. Five ministers had held positions in previous LDF ministries.
The central government has made Intelligence Bureau's clearance mandatory for appointment of a private person as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to a minister.
A former laboratory assistant of a Delhi University college, who had set herself on fire seven days ago after alleging sexual harassment by a college principal, succumbed to her injuries on Monday.
'A President who is a living embodiment of high principles can tone up the entire national fabric,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Shutters of at least 22 reservoirs in the state have been opened to drain out excess water.
'If development, investment, employment, implementation, credibility and commitment are ensured, security will automatically improve and subversive and militant elements will lose ground and be neutralised by the people themselves,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
E-waste accounts for 70 per cent of Indian landfills.
'Speaking this year from the ramparts of the Red Fort, he excelled himself in content, diction and delivery -- all extemporaneously flowing, replete with felicitous expressions and captivating word play. 'The only other Indian prime minister with whom he stands comparison is Jawaharlal Nehru who too shunned prepared speeches and established instant rapport with his audiences,' says B S Raghavan.
Siddaramaiah's dramatic gesture came when the House reassembled after two adjournments with the BJP and the JDS persisting with their demand for a discussion on the issue.
Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Yadav of the rebel Janata Dal-United, D Raja of the Communist Party of India, Hardik Patel (Gujarat's Patidar leader), Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress) and Sushilkumar Shinde (Congress) attended the meeting and joined the march.
'The meeting marks the first tentative step in the effort to understand whether the two largest Asian nations can co-exist peacefully while realising their aspirations.' 'Caution and watchful wariness will dominate the effort of both sides,' says Jayadeva Ranade, former RA&W officer and China expert.
Resisting growing clamour, the state government decided to stick to its decision not to refer the case to the CBI.
From Swachh Bharat to spearheading the Make in India campaign, the PMO seems to be at the centre of all policies, writes Nivedita Mookerji.
In private, AIADMK spokespersons say that the raid on Chief Secretary P Ramamohana Rao might be aimed at weakening the AIADMK, and demotivating the party from selecting/electing Jayalalithaa's confidante, Sasikala Natarajan, as her successor -- first as party head then possibly in the government, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A court in New Delhi on Tuesday remanded to 14 days in judicial custody a sacked head constable of Delhi Police, who had allegedly hit a woman with a brick after she refused to give him a bribe.
He has left no one in any doubt about his ability to take bold, even out-of-the-box, decisions, to gauge the feelings and aspirations of the common people at the grassroots and to ensure that polices and schemes do not remain on paper, but are implemented, says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
