'They take each and every election with seriousness.' 'No other political party has that kind of cadre who is strongly aligned with the reason, motto and ideology of their party.'
'India is so poor that political parties will not be able to wipe out poverty from our country in another 100 years. I am of the opinion that development can come only through corporates.' 'Tomorrow, if Tata or Birla or Reliance takes up another 500 panchayats, it will boost the Indian economy also.' Sabu M Jacob, managing director of the Kitex group whose NGO Twenty20 has just won a panchayat election in Kerala, speaks to Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
The Supreme Court and its committees, the two states and the central government must become objective and take the present and not just the past in mind.
Around 52.46 per cent of the patients have recovered, the health ministry said. The number of active cases stood at 1,53,178 while 1,80,012 patients have recovered, it said in the daily COVID-19 update.
Till date, 107 elections to states and three parliamentary polls have been smoothly conducted using the EVMs.
Intelligence agencies draw a list of terror outfits that pose the gravest threat to India. Vicky Nanjappa reports
'We started analysing young patients and realised that they had causes like undetected diabetes, which suddenly flares up during COVID-19.' 'Secondly, hypothyroidism was one of the factors.' 'And obesity.'
Kerala Catholic Bishop Conference president Archbishop Soosa Paikam said the verdict was "painful" and would have disastrous consequences.
President Pranab Mukherjee presented five Padma Vibhushan, eight Padma Bhushan and forty-three Padma Shri awards at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
The 'AIADMK symbol issue' may be a fit case for the courts and the legislature to provide for a new law for application in similar fluid, dynamic political situations, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
"We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe," the airlines said in statement.
A new political crisis is brewing in the VK Sasikala camp in Tamil Nadu -- differences between Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and party general secretary Sasikala.
The All India Football Federation believes that the FIFA U-17 World Cup, beginning October 6, can be a catalyst for the sport.
How the Tamil Nadu police bungled the brutal gangrape of a differently-abled teenager and the family's fight for justice.
Nitish Kumar and his officials maintain that Bihar has one of the lowest crime rates in India. Bihar police crime data indicates otherwise.
Short trips can be made to interesting places at 15-20 per cent lower prices.
A monsoon holiday can be cheaper because of discounts.
From lining up allies to having them accept him as the Opposition's prime ministerial candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's real challenge has just begun, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Despite the BJP's displeasure over Sasikala's elevation as AIADMK general secretary, the Dravidian party has sent a message to the Modi government that it will not be cowed down, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Both the AIADMK and DMK are promising prohibition, but where is the road map? Jayalalithaa is not giving a blueprint for her phased prohibition and Karunanidhi is not talking about a draft bill for the same. This is nothing but empty election rhetoric.'
'Modi is given a longer leash by his fans than any other leader of our time.' 'Will he be able to continue putting himself above the fray if other scandals continue to emerge in his term? No, the erosion will inevitably come, given the awful state of this country. But for now, he has managed to shine through a period that would have tarnished any other leader but him.'
One of the most charismatic figures of Tamil Nadu politics and the most enduring mascot of the Dravidian movement breathed his last at 6.10 pm.
Amitabh Kant tells Rahul Jacob how India could be made an easier place to do business in and why India's software smarts will give it an edge.
As India gears up to honour its pravasis on January 9 to mark their contribution in the nation's development, rediff.com presents perspectives from eminent writers on the Diaspora. Kicking off the series is Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who points out that the change of the Diaspora policy put in place by Rajiv Gandhi following the military coup in Fiji and his decision to stand by them, was the one defining moment in India's dealings with its overseas family.
Can we make high speed 4G Internet available at 10 cents per GB, and make all voice calls free of cost -- that too in a large and diverse country like India? Can we make high-quality but simple breast cancer screening available to every woman, that too at the extremely affordable cost of $1 per scan? Can we make a portable, high-tech ECG machine which can provide reports immediately and that too at the cost of 8 cents a test? Can we make an eye imaging device that is portable, non-invasive and costs 3 times less that conventional devices? Can we make a robust test for mosquito-borne dengue, which can detect the disease on day 1, and that too at the cost of $2 per test? Amazingly, says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, all this has been achieved in India, not only by using technological innovation but also non-technological innovation.
It seems the Congress just does not have the energy and vitality to break through even in the states where it has a ground presence and the wind of anti-incumbency on its back, says Aakar Patel.
'When the virus, in a way, tires itself out, because it is not finding any more people to attack or keep itself viable, that is when the peak actually has been reached and you are on the downward limb (of the curve).'
To elect, or re-elect a chief minister, the AIADMK needs to call only the MLAs for a meeting. But to elect a new general secretary, it would have to conduct direct elections with all registered cadres participating and voting. And that is just the beginning of its problems, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Kozhikode international airport at nearby Karipur in Mallapuram district of Kerala, which had been temporarily shutdown after violence erupted on Wednesday night following the death of a Central Industrial Security Force jawan, began operations on Thursday morning with arrival of two flights.
'It is only for a particular kind of Indian. The thing is: Even some of those types of Indians do not like it,' says Aakar Patel.
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin does not face any threat to his full-fledged succession as DMK chief, just now. If he were to face any threat, it would only be against 'non-performance' as the party boss, N Sathiya Moorthy.
All international passengers will henceforth be screened at airports, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said at a press conference. Earlier, travellers from only 12 countries were screened at airports for the disease that has claimed over 3,000 lives and infected more than 90,000 worldwide.
The overall pass percentage was 83.01 per cent as against last year's 82.02 per cent.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday carried out a major reshuffle in the party set-up
Patients from any part of the country will soon need to travel no more than three hours for treatment of the kind available in large metros.
The Centre would need the concurrence of 20 states out of 29 to impose a GST on petroleum
Kerala, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are facing a severe drought this year, affecting livelihoods as well as lives.
A possible, easier and less-complicated way for the Centre would have been to approach the SC with the same queries much earlier, before a ground-swell of popular sentiments and consequent political tensions had built up in Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
