We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
'Laluji is like my father and I am like his son.'
During a hearing on a suo motu case on the coronavirus crisis in Pakistan, a five-member bench of the apex court observed that PM Khan's Cabinet has become ineffective in the fight against the pandemic. The bench questioned the integrity of Dr Mirza in tackling the COVID-19 crisis and the transparency of his work done.
Once an auto-rickshaw driver in Thane city adjoining Mumbai, Shinde (58) quickly emerged as a key Sena leader in the Thane-Palghar region after joining politics and is known for aggressive approach towards issues of public interest.
'The question is really can we prevent half a million deaths.' 'We are fast approaching that number.'
The Biden team updated its website to showcase four policy areas the incoming administration will prioritise: COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change.
'Whatever else may or may not happen, China and its people are likely to pay a very heavy price for the lack of transparency of its Communist regime,' predicts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'What the northern Indian states lack is responsive politics based on the principles of development, social justice and equality.' 'A cut-and-paste job cannot make up for such lethal deficiency,' observes says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Shah apprised the leaders of four major political parties of Delhi on the steps taken to check the coronavirus pandemic and sought their views on the issue, a home ministry official said. Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have attended the meeting.
'It is the moment where compassion and empathy must supersede our identity, politics, or our ambitions.'
The leadership needs to put all other government business aside, control the pandemic and save human lives. Searchlights are going to be held by the world community in the weeks and months ahead as the fatality rates start shooting up and Indians die like flies, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'There are reports of political dissent mounting on Xi Jinping's handling of the Wuhan fallout.'
Johnson's longstanding policy chief Munira Mirza, chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, and communications director Jack Doyle all left their posts within hours of each other on Thursday, days after a damning investigation revealed that multiple parties took place at Downing Street while the rest of the United Kingdom was living under strict COVID-19 lockdown rules.
False and acrimonious debates such as Modi versus Manmohan might allow for victories that are political and partisan. But the real loser is the nation, India and Bharat, notes Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic advisor to the Modi government in its first term.
The United States is the worst affected country in the world from the coronavirus infection. There are 1.3 million coronavirus cases in the country and the death toll stands at 78,000.
'This pandemic has given him a new platform to perform,' says a member of the government. 'He should feel lucky that he has got an opportunity now to demonstrate to the world his original talent.' 'He needs a visionary script to perform.' Sheela Bhatt reports on the politics of the pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday underlined the need for not promoting any restrictions on the supply of energy and called for ensuring stability while once again emphasising on resolving the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy.
Modi called for a new global index based on talent, technology, transparency and trusteeship towards the planet in the post-corona world.
SpiceJet will induct more Boeing 737 Max aircraft over the next few months and it hopes to start broadband internet service on its planes soon, its chairman and managing director (CMD) Ajay Singh said on Monday. The airline has a fleet of 91 aircraft, out of which 13 are Max planes and 46 are older versions of Boeing 737 aircraft, according to its website. In his email to employees on the 17th anniversary of the airline, Singh said the carrier continues to fly with the highest loads month after month and expects to soar even higher in the coming months.
Asked whether it will be possible to hold the session if there are strict social- distancing norms still in place in June-July, Birla said a way out could be found when that situation comes.
'There is a sense within the government and Modi that things are not as good as they were in 2019.'
'Das is friendly, but he finally does what he does. The quality of engagement is very good.'
As the virus ravaged rural areas, the state BJP figured out it was impossible to underplay or escape its impact on its political plans.
Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 674 points on Friday, weighed by losses in banking stocks as an unabated spike in new coronavirus cases fuelled uncertainty over the economic impact of the pandemic. After hitting a low of 27,500.79 during the day, the 30-share BSE barometer ended 674.36 points or 2.39 per cent lower at 27,590.95. The NSE Nifty shed 170 points, or 2.06 per cent, to finish at 8,083.80.
The brief drive through Rockville Pike in Bethesda, a Maryland suburb of Washington DC, that separates the National Institute of Health and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, brought cheers to his supporters who have been praying for the 74-year-old president's health ahead of the presidential election next month.
Remember the trees that bend during the storm will survive; the ones that try to defy and stand straight tend to get damaged and uprooted, points out management guru Virender Kapoor.
"I also apologize if I have hurt anyone unintentionally," the official quoting Thackeray as saying.
The party leaders and ministers also credited the victory in Bihar to the Modi government's success in navigating the country during the COVID-19 crisis.
Amidst the heightened social media campaign to induct K K Shailaja into the new cabinet, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Wednesday said the dropping of the popular health minister was a 'political and organisational' decision of the party and there would not be any re-look into it.
In an accompanying vision statement, the former finance minister highlighted his track record of serving in the Cabinet, helping to steer the economy through the toughest of times with the COVID pandemic.
Despite taking a hit on profitability amid the pandemic, companies with strong balance sheets are gaining market share because of consolidation in their respective sectors.
While P Muralidhar Rao, BJP general secretary, says, 'Digital electioneering is here to stay until the elections in 2021,' the BJP's rallies in Bihar will not be confined to cyberspace. Its strategists have devised other ways of getting around the hygiene protocol that Covid-19 has entailed.
Gita Gopinath, the IMF's Indian-American chief economist has been promoted as its First Deputy Managing Director recognising her exceptional intellectual leadership in helping the global economy and the Fund to navigate the "twists and turns" of the "worst economic crisis of our lives". Gopinath would replace Geoffrey Okamoto who plans to leave the International Monetary Fund early next year, Kristalina Georgieva, IMF's managing director announced on Thursday. Gopinath, who was scheduled to return to her academic position at Harvard University in January 2022, has decided to stay, she said. Gopinath, 49, has served as the first female chief economist of the Washington-based global lender for three years.
The vaccination drive was only one important part of India's globally recognised pandemic management and response strategy, observes Dr Vinod K Paul.
Dutt, along with about 200 'black cats' commandos, had boarded an IL-76 aircraft of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC) to fly the first batch of the counter-terrorist strike force to Mumbai soon after the western metropolis reported multiple shootouts and public killings in the night of November 26, 2008.
Khan accused the Indian government of deliberately targeting the Muslim community against the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis.
Pelosi said that she is in Taiwan to listen and learn from Taiwanese people as to how can they come together.
Cities are setting the rules that now carry life and death implications for their residents, and most of these rules are sought to be set by the municipal authorities who have never wielded such power, reports Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
'Villages are much better prepared than towns as far as COVID-19 is concerned.'
"Have just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your cooperation, a consensus has been reached on New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration," Modi said while addressing the second session of the Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
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