News for 'Centre for Social and Economic Progress'

Right to Privacy and the Bhagavad Gita

Right to Privacy and the Bhagavad Gita

Rediff.com28 Sep 2017

The verdict in the right to privacy case is historic and of global significance because it establishes dharma, righteousness and destroys adharma.

'US may help India in war against terror'

'US may help India in war against terror'

Rediff.com9 Jan 2018

'If the US-Pakistan relationship continues to suffer, Pakistan may feel it has less to lose and decide that it need not keep a leash on LeT in order to appease America.' 'A tougher US policy toward Pakistan could lead to an emboldened and strengthened LeT and JeM, resulting in more terrorist attacks in India.'

'What we did for the environment has been undone by the new govt'

'What we did for the environment has been undone by the new govt'

Rediff.com19 Feb 2015

'This is not a Sanjay Baru or Natwar Singh type of book. It's not a memoir. It's not a book to reveal conversations, real or imaginary. This is not a book to position myself at the centre of the world.' Jairam Ramesh on his stint as environment minister.

What has Nitish Kumar done to stop communal violence?

What has Nitish Kumar done to stop communal violence?

Rediff.com31 Mar 2018

'Nitish is now a helpless junior ally of Hindutva.' 'He just cannot think of reining in the hoodlums raging, marauding and killing in the mohallas,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.

Changes the World will see soon

Changes the World will see soon

Rediff.com22 Mar 2016

'If a student can't get to school, the school will get to you. Even people with low reading abilities can be taught via videos.' 'Companies and students will be linked to their universities from the beginning and not towards the end of their course.' 'Digitalisation in education will be of enormous impact. Higher education must be closely linked to the demands on the future workforce.'

Changes the World will see soon

Changes the World will see soon

Rediff.com21 Mar 2016

'If a student can't get to school, the school will get to you. Even people with low reading abilities can be taught via videos.' 'Companies and students will be linked to their universities from the beginning and not towards the end of their course.' 'Digitalisation in education will be of enormous impact. Higher education must be closely linked to the demands on the future workforce.'

Why it is time to scrap NREGA

Why it is time to scrap NREGA

Rediff.com17 Oct 2014

'How many people have been skilled up and thus able to escape from needing to be in NREGA? The true success of NREGA would lie in its irrelevance -- that is, people no longer need it as a crutch.' 'NREGA should enable them to climb out of poverty and stand on their feet.' 'But this is expressly forbidden by NREGA rules. Skill development, which is what India needs more than anything else, appears to be outside the purview of NREGA,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.

'Modi is a clean, determined man, ambitious of his place in history'

'Modi is a clean, determined man, ambitious of his place in history'

Rediff.com16 May 2014

'A change of government will bring about a lot of changes because everything is frozen for the last two years. So, the frozen energies of India will be released.' Swadeshi Jagran Manch convenor Swaminathan Gurumurthy discusses the Modi phenomenon with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com

So what's keeping Modi's junior ministers busy?

So what's keeping Modi's junior ministers busy?

Rediff.com11 Feb 2015

Empowered in the Modi government, junior ministers have enough on their plate.

Ahmedabad: Two steps forward, one step back

Ahmedabad: Two steps forward, one step back

Rediff.com11 Jun 2015

Since many of Modi's urban policies were initiated in Ahmedabad, the city may act as a template to examine what can be expected in a country that is witnessing the biggest migration from rural to urban areas in the world

Modi Sarkar has a 'strong pro-West tilt'

Modi Sarkar has a 'strong pro-West tilt'

Rediff.com14 Jul 2015

'If you look at the relationship with Pakistan, or the relationship with China, both are today, more uncertain than they were when this government came into power.'

Is a strong Team Modi in the making?

Is a strong Team Modi in the making?

Rediff.com9 Oct 2014

The success of the government will depend substantially on the quality of its team of key ministers, officials and advisors

Exclusive! Medha Patkar: Land acquisition ordinance will destroy poor

Exclusive! Medha Patkar: Land acquisition ordinance will destroy poor

Rediff.com14 Jan 2015

The new ordinance on land acquisition will allow land grabbers to deprive millions, destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves to extract minerals as well as ground water, without replenishment at a pace that will not leave anything for the next generation, warns activist Medha Patkar.

The pride and prejudices behind the Nobel Prize

The pride and prejudices behind the Nobel Prize

Rediff.com13 Oct 2014

'Today, when Kailash Satyarthi is being honoured with the most prestigious global award, reports appear to the effect that many millions of Indian children are in 'slavery'. This is hardly the reputation that India should have when we are basking in the glory of 'Mangalyan',' says T P Sreenivasan.

'It's a balanced Budget that protects the interests of different groups'

'It's a balanced Budget that protects the interests of different groups'

Rediff.com2 Mar 2015

Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian's interview.

The real culprits behind India's Partition

The real culprits behind India's Partition

Rediff.com24 May 2018

AMU has once again been pulled into a crossfire of crass political opportunism. In these post-truth times, that the university also had political stirrings not subscribing to the Muslim League is chosen to be forgotten, says Mohammad Sajjad.

How India's young innovators do well by doing good

How India's young innovators do well by doing good

Rediff.com25 May 2018

'Let me talk about young Indian startups with their hearts in the right place and how they are proving that innovations that represent 'affordable excellence' -- breaking the myth that 'affordability' and 'excellence' cannot go together -- is indeed possible!' says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, in this fascinating feature.

Heavyweight Ananth Kumar can't knock out newbie Nilekani easily

Heavyweight Ananth Kumar can't knock out newbie Nilekani easily

Rediff.com7 Apr 2014

One of the many contrasts that Kumar versus Nilekani highlights is that of a traditional career politician as against a highly successful professional entering politics for the first time. Rupa Subramanya reports

'Nice mosquito bite' in Paris

'Nice mosquito bite' in Paris

Rediff.com10 Dec 2015

At the Paris climate change summit, there is talk of restricting temperature rise to 1.5?C instead of 2?C, which has been negotiated so far. This would give India less space to grow by limiting carbon emissions further, reports Darryl D'Monte, reporting exclusively for Rediff.com from the French capital.

It's time for Raje to deliver on promises

It's time for Raje to deliver on promises

Rediff.com21 Dec 2015

She needs to find innovative ways to at least match the growth during Gehlot's rule.

Full text: What Modi, Obama agreed on

Full text: What Modi, Obama agreed on

Rediff.com25 Jan 2015

This is the joint statement issued by the ministry of external affairs on the visit of US President Barack Obama to India.

Jaitley unlikely to re-impose Inheritance tax

Jaitley unlikely to re-impose Inheritance tax

Rediff.com7 Jul 2014

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is unlikely to heed economists' suggestion that an inheritance tax be introduced in Budget 201415 as an additional revenue stream.

Jaitley unlikely to re-impose Inheritance tax

Jaitley unlikely to re-impose Inheritance tax

Rediff.com5 Jul 2014

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is unlikely to heed economists' suggestion that an inheritance tax be introduced in Budget 201415 as an additional revenue stream.

'Britain created Pakistan'

'Britain created Pakistan'

Rediff.com2 Nov 2017

'The creation of Pakistan was integral to Britain's grand strategy.' 'If they were to ever leave India, Britain's military planners had made it clear that they needed to retain a foothold in the NWFP and Baluchistan because that would provide the means to retain control of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.'

India needs to quell the communal demon

India needs to quell the communal demon

Rediff.com16 Dec 2017

'Indian nationhood is indeed at the cusp of alarming redefinition -- hate-filled, and exclusionary.' 'Nations are not built this way, instead these are the ways of liquidating nations.' 'We must pre-empt it.' 'Can we?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.

Is the Modi government scared of this man?

Is the Modi government scared of this man?

Rediff.com10 May 2016

'Defaulters like Mallya can't be offloaded, but activists like me are. And that too for raising questions.' 'Today, what is the meaning of development?' 'Take over land, water and forest from the Adivasis and hand it over to corporates.' 'I am surprised how a minister who is supposed to protect the forests and the environment is happy reaching out to investors for more and more clearances.'

FULL TEXT of PM Modi's I-Day address

FULL TEXT of PM Modi's I-Day address

Rediff.com15 Aug 2019

Following is the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day.

The govt is sitting on more land than it requires: Jairam Ramesh

The govt is sitting on more land than it requires: Jairam Ramesh

Rediff.com19 Jan 2015

Former rural development minister Jairam Ramesh tells Sanjeeb Mukherjee that the Ordinance to amend the land acquisition Act (2013) opens the door for forcible acquisition and undermines the spirit and the substance of the legislation.

'Over time, Rahul seems to have changed'

'Over time, Rahul seems to have changed'

Rediff.com6 May 2019

'It is the regional parties and their leaders who are the ones we have to watch.'

The crude dramatics of Arvind Kejriwal

The crude dramatics of Arvind Kejriwal

Rediff.com5 Feb 2014

'Arvind Kejriwal displayed crass male chauvinism and gender illiteracy in saying that "rape tendencies arise out of sex, prostitution and drug rackets." This shows a failure to grasp that rape has little to with sex, and even less with drugs. Such remarks are far worse than the deplorable comments of policemen and politicians who attribute rapes to women's "provocative" attire or their outdoor presence at night!' says Praful Bidwai.

'For better growth figures, we need healthier banks'

'For better growth figures, we need healthier banks'

Rediff.com16 May 2016

Arun Jaitley interview.

'We know India can run -- judging by cricket -- but can it fly?'

'We know India can run -- judging by cricket -- but can it fly?'

Rediff.com18 Mar 2015

The elements are all aligned to make India a global powerhouse, says IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

1986 moment: Will the seculars play it right this time?

1986 moment: Will the seculars play it right this time?

Rediff.com15 Mar 2018

'In the name of pluralism-secularism, the kind of politics that was pursued revealed to many that it was basically a favour to Muslim conservatism and communalism -- a politics of minority-ism, rather than of secularism.' 'This is how significant sections of Hindus have been made to loathe the very idea of Indian secularism by now,' says Mohammad Sajjad.

FULL TEXT: 'Much of India that we dream of still lies ahead of us'

FULL TEXT: 'Much of India that we dream of still lies ahead of us'

Rediff.com13 Nov 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday address Members of the British Parliament in London where he promised to open more doors of cooperation between the two countries and delved on issues like terrorism and United Nations reforms.

Get ready for Maharashtra's first 'aam-aadmi' Budget

Get ready for Maharashtra's first 'aam-aadmi' Budget

Rediff.com9 Mar 2015

Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar speaks to Prasanna Zore/Rediff.com.

Jaitley, Dwivedi change the rules of political engagement

Jaitley, Dwivedi change the rules of political engagement

Rediff.com12 Feb 2014

Arun Jaitley and Janardan Dwivedi have rewritten the rules of politics in the Age of the Internet and its young and restless user base, reports Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

IAS topper: 'I want to fight corruption'

IAS topper: 'I want to fight corruption'

Rediff.com20 May 2016

Meet Jasmeet Singh Sandhu who ranked third in the Union Public Service Commission exam this year.

How will Chandy fight the solar scam's eclipse on Kerala?

How will Chandy fight the solar scam's eclipse on Kerala?

Rediff.com20 Jul 2013

While even the Opposition doesn't believe that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is personally involved in the solar scam, the Congress leaders reputation has been tainted. And while he tells Indulekha Aravind that it is only a conspiracy, it may have a bearing on the coming general elections

EXCLUSIVE: No country for the Rohingyas

EXCLUSIVE: No country for the Rohingyas

Rediff.com2 Mar 2017

Imagine being a part of a country, but being discriminated against by the majority community and atrocities being committed against you by the state. This is the deplorable conditions that the Rohingyas of Myanmar live in where they are cut off from their livelihoods and sources of income, unable to access markets, hospitals and schools, and have little or no access to relief aid. In order to understand the situation and the genesis of the tragedy unfolding, Rediff.com's Archana Masih speaks to Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, the United Nations' Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff), who had served a long stint with the UN in New York on the issue.

Visionary Budget but devil lies in the implementation

Visionary Budget but devil lies in the implementation

Rediff.com2 Mar 2015

The government has provided a long-term vision.