He also lashed out at the Congress for its opposition to the GST and for dubbing it as 'Gabbar Singh Tax'.
'What has taken the wind out of its sails is the government's own expectation management and its inability to strategise on delivery,' says Vikram Johri.
The government has made its initial moves, good and not-so-good, while the roll-out in some cases has been slow.
'Unfortunately, prostitution is looked down upon.' 'It should be legalised.' 'Imagine the sexual frustration in the country if it didn't exist!' Chunky Pandey tells Rediff.com's Ronjita Kulkarni how he bagged Begum Jaan and more.
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Modi government has taken some interesting policy decisions in the 100 days since the time he met President Pranab Mukherjee to present his claim as Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy, says Tanmaya Nanda.
It is urgent that we break the silence around the 'M' word, one ward and gram panchayat at a time, so that women and girls -- irrespective of their financial capacity -- can demand the information and materials they need, says Archana Patkar.
Modi and Shah's next focus will be South India, and the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. Shah is unlikely to abdicate control over the party even after he joins the government. Modi and Shah both know only too well that the party makes the government, and not the other way round.
'What does our conservatism seek to conserve?' 'Of course its values, which are akin to religion and accepted unquestioningly.' 'Such things as respect for elders, studying 'hard', career choices being determined or influenced by parents, the idea of arranged marriage, the marking of ritual and ceremony,' explains Aakar Patel.
I do not understand Narendra Modi's mantra of 'development'. Specifically, I do not see many of his models as indicators of development that are relevant to me, says Gautam Rakshit.
Muthayya Fernandes, a fisherman from Rameswaram, was imprisoned in Sri Lanka for crossing the International Boundary in search of fish.
This theory of 'Hindus vs the rest' sees the two communities as two separate blocs. Isn't that the two-nation theory? What of the deep bonds that the communities have on the ground? asks Jyoti Punwani.
'I say Modi was India's last chance.' 'Because the kind of work this government has done -- I'm talking about physical delivery -- is fantastic, like no time in our history.'
'We say we are proud to be Indian. Can we be proud of such an India where its people are hungry and on the streets?'
Fugly is a trainwreck, says Raja Sen.
Rajeev Srinivasan on how Indians are satisfied with illusions, not reality.
Oscar Pistorius returns to court on Friday after being cleared of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but the South African Olympic and Paralympic sprinter could still be convicted of culpable homicide for the "negligent" shooting of the model.
Following is the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day.
A Ganesh Nadar meets a community of Rohingya refugees on the outskirts of Chennai who are happy to have found a place where their lives are not in danger.
'You can't force people to change. You can only give them the option. Freedom is about options, whether you choose to be who you want to be,' says Kalki Koechlin.
The processes that create a seven per cent-plus GDP growth rate without a similar growth in jobs are far from fully understood, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
The release of Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was a baby, is in line with South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars. The athlete, nicknamed 'Blade Runner' because of the carbon-fibre prosthetics he used during his stellar career on the track, will likely be allowed to leave the house to work, carry out community service or to attend important family events. Pistorius's time in house arrest could be short-lived if state prosecutors succeed in overturning the verdict.
Are Indian citizens mindful of their responsibility?
Sherna Gandhy hopes Malala Yousafzai can convince the powers-that-be in New Delhi that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that our children get a decent education.
Following her spat, 'Aunty National' Irani took to Facebook to speak out against her detractors. Here's the Facebook post in response to her critics which Rediff.com represents verbatim:
The city is waging a war against garbage, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Dettol came to India in 1932.
'Through a translator, I was able to speak with several of the detainees from India who are seeking asylum.' 'I was saddened to hear the detainees tell us that they are being confined in their cells for up to 22 to 23 hours a day.' 52 Indian are among the 121 asylum-seekers held in an Oregon prison. Rediff.com Senior Contributor Pottayil Rajendran reports from New York on the case that is making headlines in America, India, indeed around the world.
'Some people petitioned the adhikari (government official) and a electricity pole was unloaded here, but because we were not here at that time, some people from a neighbouring village took it to their village instead.' As Bihar goes to the polls, Rediff.com looks at the state through the stories of its people.
Business consultant by profession and an endurance runner by passion, Sumedha Mahajan, author of just-released book Miles to Run Before I Sleep, created history when she ran as the only woman in a team of five from Delhi to Mumbai in 2012. In a conversation with Rediff.com, Sumedha truns the spotlight on the big takeaway from the event that changed her life.
India's still male-dominated corporate environment wittingly and unwittingly contrives to put women employees on the back foot.
At Sabarmati Ashram that very hot summer evening, some had come to see and feel the place where Bapu lived. Some had come to be alone on the lawns after a disappointing Class 12 result...
That it has been threatening to review this rule for a while is old hat anyway.
Their families are poor and do not know what IIT is but their sons dream of IIT and working for ISRO and NASA one day. One man is helping them towards their dream. As Bihar goes to the polls, Archana Masih salutes its greatest success story.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the BJP has emerged as the "third force" in Kerala that will replace the two fronts in the next year's assembly elections.
Sunil Sethi raises five questions to avoid the pitfalls that ended his ignominious earlier tenure as chief minister exactly a year ago
There are many firsts in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha speech which constitute the cardinal elements of a strategy which has all the potential to serve as the mainspring of the polity for the rest of the century, says B S Raghavan.
'The speech shone a spotlight on both the promise and the challenges of the Narendra Modi era,' says Ram Kelkar. 'The single-minded focus which Mr Modi displayed on issues of good governance and empowering the private sector and individual enterprise.'
'I had to convince myself that I was steely enough to operate on a cold-blooded killer.' 'For all my medical experience, this was something I had never done!' 'If something happened to Charles, I knew my fate was sealed for me.' 'I would be called Doctor Death until I breathed my last.' 'Success was my only hope of escaping that fate.' A fascinating excerpt from heart surgeon Dr Raamesh Koirala's Charles Sobhraj, Inside The Heart Of The Bikini Killer.
In Budget 2015, the finance minister has opted to take the slow road and has doubled the cess on coal to "balance the need to tax pollution and the price of power" in his words.
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