The MPs voted in favour of the Queen's Speech by 323 votes to 309 with a majority of 14.
Given that India will get a huge part of its oil supplies from Iran through its government-owned oil PSUs, any unwelcome shocks in global crude rates could be absorbed well enough.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra may not be a regular in India's limited overs set-up but he is relishing the role of a senior spinner in the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand, in the absence of the rested Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. After not getting a game in the Test series, Mishra has made it count in the one-dayers by picking up three wickets in both Dharamsala and Delhi. "The experience (of helping youngsters) has been good so far. Whenever they ask me, I give them tips. Even in the game, they ask me during meetings and I try to help them as much as I can. I am really enjoying this role and I feel it is my duty to support the youngsters," said Mishra on the eve of the third ODI against New Zealand in Mohali on Sunday.
The next general election is more than three years away. Yet, the Centre appears to be reluctant to take any bold move that might annoy influential sections of the electorate.
The opposition Congress could muster only 16 votes against the government with one of its legislators absenting from the crucial floor test.
Index heavyweight RIL surged 3% to end above Rs 1,000 mark while IT majors were also the top gainers.
'Any 'de-escalation' that brings down tensions will deprive the BJP of a plank with seamless possibilities to project PM Modi as the 'Iron prime minister' and hype up jingoism in the upcoming election campaign,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India is no longer shying away from playing a role on the regional and international stages and is willing to don a bigger role in regional politics. It is showing traits of a responsible stakeholder in the regional security dynamics, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
The prime minister said there was a need to demonstrate strong and collective will to defeat terror networks that cause bloodshed and spread fear.
How will China deal with Taiwan's first woman president? Srikanth Kondapalli explains the significance of a historic election.
The HMO said it will amend the rules to increase the time limit of filing of appeals in foreigners tribunals from 60 to 120 days for those who would be excluded from the final NRC.
The White House said that the US-India partnership has come a long way in the past eight years, but the best is yet to come.
While the government has the option of ensuring the passage of these Bills as money Bills, there are voices within the government advising discretion on the GST roll-out by April 1.
Prime Minister Modi felt there were too many silos with no arrangement to take a comprehensive view on national security. The PM has entrusted NSA Ajit Doval to evolve a comprehensive roadmap and get it implemented, reveals Nitin Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Strategic News International.
President Xi said that the Chinese side is ready to work with the Indian side to carry forward the fresh impetus of bilateral relations.
Putin said India will become a full-fledged member of the SCO in a week.
'The BRICS anthem has to necessarily be an anthem of Vedic times -- Walk together, Dream together, Achieve together.' 'And who knows it better than Modi?' says Tarun Vijay.
Ginni Rometty, who is on Donald Trump's advisory committee, discusses the importance of an open workforce, work visas, and why India is a microcosm of all of IBM.
The 350-member national council of the Aam Aadmi Party will meet on March 28 and it may potentially lead to the formalisation of deep factions within the two-year-old party.
When Obama signs the NDAA 2017 into law this week, the US-India partnership will be enshrined in US legislation, binding every succeeding administration, whatever its inclinations, to treat India as a 'major defence partner,' says Ajai Shukla.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh departed for an official visit to the United States on Wednesday morning in what could be a last opportunity to recover his crumbling legacy. A host of issues are tied to what could be accomplished on this trip; that the stakes are high is evident from how carefully the government is downplaying whether or not anything can be accomplished.
The PM said, 'Regrettably, one of the countries of its origin and spread is in India's neighbourhood.'
China is spending billions of dollars to improve infrastructure in Tibet and other parts of its border with India. Claude Arpi explains why New Delhi can't afford to ignore Beijing's plans.
'Despite the current tension at Doklam and the risk of escalation on the Himalayan land frontier, it is the Indian Ocean we need to worry about more,' says Nitin Pai.
The Indian desire to deepen its ties with Vietnam, especially in the oil sector, besides defence and trade, was conveyed to the top leadership in Hanoi by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The Congress, notwithstanding its depleted bench strength, failed to corner the government on a range of crucial issues during the just-concluded Parliament session, says Kavita Chowdhury
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his trips to Russia and China, notes that Moscow and New Delhi work together professionally and via a shared common approach on crucial issues.
PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said that they have the required numbers to form government.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
This is the joint statement issued by the ministry of external affairs on the visit of US President Barack Obama to India.
As West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry prepare for new administrations, one is reminded of the disparity that runs through the veins of the Indian states, notes Mihir S Sharma.
'Both Modi and Xi know that if all that there is to show for Modi's visit -- barely eight months after Xi's India trip -- is a repeat of the same old declarations, there will be a terrible sense of letdown in the public mood resulting in future summits losing credibility. Only the possibility of new ground being broken can justify Modi's trip at this time,' says B S Raghavan.
'An opportunity is at hand to think big and recast the India-China relationship on a new template, which would help the pursuit of our country's dream of major power status,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
With the United States delivering an increasing share of India's arms imports, New Delhi must work with it to retain control of our regional waters
The United Kingdom has voted by 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent to leave the European Union after 43 years in an historic referendum.
The US intends to break up India's strategic partnership with Russia and to continue to interfere in Indian-Iranian relations, apart from inserting itself into the Sino-Indian bilateral discourse, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, analysing the US defence secretary's visit to India.
Real estate veteran Saket Mohta gives the the most comprehensive 11-point checklist
Bombay Velvet spends too much time on period details and loses focus, notes Aseem Chhabra.
Creating many more half-decent jobs for the 10 million plus new entrants to the labour force each year must surely constitute the primary development challenge for India today.
