The death toll in the collapse of an allegedly unauthorised building at Virar in Maharashtra's Palghar district has risen to 17. Police have arrested the builder of the four-storey structure after a complaint was lodged.
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the 15th Vice President of India, succeeding Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Over the past four years, India has given around $281 million worth of credit, which have been used to import wheat, petroleum products and buses.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said the 'wholesale attack on the democratic system' currently underway in India is the single biggest risk the country is facing, and asserted that allowing different traditions to thrive is very important as 'we cannot do what China does, which is to run an authoritarian system'. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: / Rediff.com Speaking at a seminar titled 'The Future is Today' at the EIA University in Medellin, Colombia, Gandhi also alleged that there are 'huge amounts of corruption at a centralised level' in India now. "In India, we have huge amounts of corruption now at a very centralised level. So, three or four businesses taking over the whole economy, having a direct relationship with the prime minister, is rampant in India," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said. "But I believe decentralising power, making things more transparent, bringing people into conversations, and bringing people into processes is the best way forward," Gandhi said while addressing the seminar on Wednesday. Hitting back at the Congress leader for his remarks, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused Gandhi of insulting and degrading India on foreign soil. Posting a video clip of Gandhi's speech on X, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, 'Rahul Gandhi does it again, degrades India on foreign soil. From defaming our democracy in London, to mocking our institutions in the US, now in Colombia he spares no chance to insult Bharat globally.' 'This isn't dissent. It's disgrace to the fake Gandhi. Criticising BJP may be your right but dare you malign Mother India for your cheap and petty politics,' Bhatia said. Speaking at the seminar, Gandhi said India has a much more complex system as compared to China and its strengths are very different from that of the neighbouring country. India also has a very old spiritual tradition and a thought system with profound ideas that are useful in today's world, he said, adding that there is a lot that the country can offer in terms of tradition and way of thinking. "I am very optimistic about India, but at the same time, there are fault lines within the Indian structure. There are risks that India has to overcome. The single-biggest risk is the attack on democracy that is taking place in India," the Leader of Opposition said. "India has multiple religions, traditions and languages. India is actually a conversation between all its people. Different ideas, religions and traditions require space. The best method for creating that space is the democratic system," he said. "Currently, there is a wholesale attack on the democratic system in India, so that is a risk. The other big risk is different conceptions -- some 16-17 different languages, different religions... So, allowing these different traditions to thrive, and giving them space to express themselves is very important for a country like India.
"The Chinese premier underlined that whatever anybody might say, India and China are friendly neighbours and have a common view of how the world should be looked at," Naraynan said.
Hours after an Indian court convicted Ajmal Kasab for involvement in the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh had told him that he trusted Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the carnage to justice.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would have his tete-a-tete with Obama in Bali in a surreal setting, says MK Bhadrakumar, and draws comparisons to the US-China encounter in Honolulu
United States President Barack Obama has utmost respect and admiration for the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the two leaders continue to have frequent exchanges in making sure that the two countries continue the momentum that has been generated, a top US official has said.
The Hurriyat Conference and other major separatist groups will boycott the conference.
The Indian government has announced it will allocate space for a memorial to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, following a request from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The announcement comes after the Congress party criticized the government for not finding a location for Singh's cremation and memorial, calling it a deliberate insult. Singh, who served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014, passed away on Thursday at the age of 92.
Activist Swami Agnivesh on Friday launched an attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of being silent about crucial issues and not listening to the voices of the people. Addressing protestors as Anna Hazare launched his fast at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, he said, "Mr Manmohan Singh, the country wants you to end your silence and open your mouth. You have been silent for the past three years".
Steven S Reinemund, Chairman and CEO, Pepsi, said though there were bottlenecks, India had the best managerial talent and was comparable with any other developed country.
'The US reciprocal tariff has added another element of uncertainty and the central bank may prefer to wait and get further clarity.'
Debroy, in an interview with India TV news anchor Karan Thapar, said there would be no shortage of currency notes and the demonetisation exercise was justified -- it would be a deterrent for future generations.
The world, the United States in particular, is lucky to have Manmohan Singh as the Indian Prime Minister who has taken personal risk to avoid confrontation along the western border despite provocations, former US National Security Advisor Gen (retd) James Jones said.
Dr Ramakant Panda performed bypass heart surgery on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009, shortly before the general election. As the Asian Heart Institute, which Dr Panda built from scratch in Mumbai, completes 200,000 heart treatments, Dr Panda tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore about the prime minister's current state of health.
Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso has called on his Indian counterpart to personally look into an attack on a Pakistani prisoner in a jail in Jammu and ensure a thorough investigation.Sanaullah Ranjay, a Pakistani national serving a life sentence was attacked in the prison in Jammu, a day after Indian national Sarabjit Singh succumbed to injuries sustained in a brutal assault within a jail in Lahore.
Justice Sameer Jain cancelled the exam 2021 which was the bone of contention for both Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress governments in the state and gave a detailed verdict.
United States President Barack Obama hosted the first state dinner of his presidency for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House on Tuesday night.
American President Barack Obama gets along well with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United States ambassador Timothy J Roemer said on Thursday, adding that their expected five to six minute telephonic chat sometimes turns into a conversation twice as long. "During the hour-long meeting with President Obama before I came to India, the President touched his heart and said he finds that he gets along well with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," he said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves 'full marks' for his 'sincere' efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue and have peace with Pakistan, but is held back from taking a bold step over fears of domestic political backlash, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said.
He won two terms in office, which was a stunning feat for a leader who used his silence as the most vocal weapon to change the economy and the lives of a billion people, asserts Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP and former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
'A man who brought about the greatest set of economic reforms in the country, who changed the course of Indian history, cannot be considered weak.' 'A man who fought for nuclear reforms even though his majority in Parliament was threatened, he cannot be considered weak.'
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley claimed on Thursday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has to be directly blamed for the huge loss to the exchequer in allotment of coal mines. Swaraj said the PM can't be shielded behind ministers like A Raja or P Chidambaram as he did in the 2G spectrum scam.
Whichever way the presidential polls go it will be seen as a loss of face for the Congress, writes senior analyst B Raman
Special Ops 2 captures the spirit of the modern-day spy thriller and runs with it, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Five Honourable MPs must be brought from their jail cells to Parliament, television cameras recording every move. It shall be an unsavoury beginning to the new alliance.
'Personalities are temporary, policies provide for stability.' 'With the former, when personalities change so does the nature of the relationship.' 'Policies and structures, on the other hand, are idiot-proof, as well as maverick-resistant,' explains Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
In his first exclusive interview since he took charge as the Mumbai police commissioner, Dr Satyapal Singh fields a volley of uncomfortable questions from S Hussain Zaidi
Police in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, have booked a school teacher after a video surfaced online of him singing a song that references the Kanwar Yatra. The teacher is accused of making statements containing false information and alarming news.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Irrespective of all the criticism that he is facing in America, Ahmadinejad's meeting with Dr Singh looks almost certain, sources have revealed.
The White House has ruled out any bilateral talks between United States President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week in New York where they will attend the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly. "We don't have any bilateral meetings planned at this point," US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters while briefing them on Obama's agenda in New York.
The UPA should realise that it cannot improve its own image, or that of the individual constituents of the alliance, including the Congress party, if it allows the prime minister's authority and image to weaken.
Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz on met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the two are understood to have talked about bilateral relations.
A prominent face of the party that leads the ruling coalition in New Delhi and an equally high-profile politician belonging to the country's principal opposition party -- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi respectively -- will be sharing the same dais on the occasion of the forty-sixth convocation of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
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