Angus Deaton's Nobel Prize should spark off more research on the measurement and usefulness of poverty percentages.
Chelsea's title ambitions suffered a major blow with a shock 2-1 home defeat by bottom side Sunderland on Saturday, handing the initiative to English Premier League leaders Liverpool who visit lowly Norwich City on Sunday.
'We used to say two things are found everywhere: A potato and a Sikh. I think you can substitute Gujarati for the Sikh because Gujaratis are everywhere.'
'I sometimes fight with God and tell him, "Bahut ho gaya yaar, I should go now, call me".'
Kaun Banega Crorepati 7 can only get better after a promising first episode, says Sukanya Verma.
'Today the Chinese think they can slap India, and there will be no consequences.' 'They must be made to feel the consequences through any and all means,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Salman has changed a lot in the past few years. He was totally different when I shot with him for Jai Ho. He has mellowed down, but I don't like him like this.'
An A-Z of Bachchanalia, the letters expanding into unforgettable bits of his filmography.
'Acting is a very crazy profession to be in. Mentally and emotionally we have to go into a particular zone and come out of it and keep on doing it. I am sure acting takes a toll on everyone and maybe that's why logon ko actors pagal lagte hai.' In the second part of a fun conversation, Tabu shares some beautiful nuggets with Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar and Sonil Dedhia.
'We were firing at Patton tanks that were moving towards India.' 'Fighter aircraft are the biggest menace for tanks because they come at great speed, attack from a height and their rockets are lethal.' 'The Hunter travels at 400, 420 knots. One knot is 1.6 times a km, so it was at a speed of 700, 800 km/hr.' 'You come at great speed and when you see the tanks, you pull up because attacks are always done in a dive.' 'You go up to 3,000 to 4,000 feet and then dive on to the target and let off your rockets...'
'India today has to fight many a battle, all of which cry out for innovation. This is where the experience of the Diaspora could be the most productive well-spring.'
When 27-year-old Karthik Kamalakannan founded Skcript with his friend Swathi Kakarla in December 2013, little did he realise that it would become the Pied Piper of India one day.
Mumbai-based CA Prince Tiwari is educating and empowering the underprivileged since 2011. This is his heart-warming story.
After many false starts, India may well be at the inflexion point that Deng Xiaoping took China to post-1978. The window of opportunity is wide open right now, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'The Congress is unsure of emerging as the single largest party or group on May 16. In such a scenario, they do not wish to accord a loser tag to the young Gandhi... The Congress feels Rahul's projection as a prime ministerial nominee in 2014 would come in the way of the formation of an alternative, non-BJP government...' Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt explains how the transition of power within the Congress is making the party vulnerable.
'Smita had it all planned out. She was pregnant then and planning to leave Raj Babbar after the baby was born. In an enthralling new book Smita Patil, A Brief Incandescence (HarperCollins), Maithili Rao reveals the many fascinating facets of the incomparable actress whom we lost too young.
'China's excessive military aid to Pakistan is the real elephant in the room as far as Sino-Indian relations are concerned. India should be confident enough to accept a degree of closeness between China and Pakistan, since China may wish to use this link for its foray into the Muslim world.' 'But the Chinese must be realistic enough to know that as time passes, the tactic of using Pakistan as a proxy to check India will yield diminishing returns. The US tried it for 60 years but failed, so will China,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Never lose your optimism. Never lose your aspiration and never -- even if India becomes a prosperous consumer society -- never ever lose that shining light in your eyes,' advises Dr Peter McLaughlin, headmaster of the Doon School.
Sheela Bhatt meets Bharti Patel, a truly exceptional mother of our times whose son Dr Vikram Patel was recently ranked among Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2015, to find out her recipe for a remarkable upbringing.
U R Ananthamurthy on the importance of keeping alive our regional languages.