From the standoff with China to the government's response to the farmers' protest, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds a freewheeling talk.
'Common sense says if one can afford, servicing the loans during this period is a better bet than postponing it by three months,' says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'And Sir, you are at fault if they don't like you. 'You don't boast of your government's efforts to be the first one to bring in thousands of Indians back home without thinking for a second about their race, religion, language, orientation, or even citizenship,' says Sarang, a reader of Rediff.com.
'Learning to learn should be given more importance than what is actually being learnt,' recommends Zaki Ansari.
Key economies like India and China are rapidly becoming the biggest trading partners of the Gulf countries as compared to other regions, a new study has said.
'James Crabtree ignores the emergence of a nexus between business and politics going back to the 1920s and talks of it as a new child of 21st century India,' says Shivanand Kanavi.
With the frontline Indian benchmark indices trading near all-time highs ahead of the general elections that begin later this week, Marc Faber, Editor and Publisher of "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report" tells Puneet Wadhwa that the Indian stock market is relatively expensive, especially the index (large-cap) stocks.
The CBI on Wednesday registered a case against social activist Teesta Setalvad and her organisation for alleged violation of FCRA in recieving funds from abroad without taking prior permission from the home ministry.
'Much of the Socialism that we attribute to him actually came during Indira Gandhi's time,' says M J Akbar who believes that Nehru's convictions helped shape modern India.
'The Supreme Court has laid out some very important principles.' 'Let us see if the government will try to circumvent it and subvert the very essence of these principles or if it will comply with the order in the right spirit.'
India is in the midst of its biggest crisis since Independence. It is a national emergency and begs to be dealt with. Politics can wait. Lives need to be saved. We need to vaccinate India at a pace faster than any country in the world, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'Which path should Muslims take politically as they have been completely marginalised?'
When BJP leaders, including Mr Modi's number two, Amit Shah, use the pandemic to launch an assault on state governments run by opposition parties, or to topple them, they are exploiting a grave crisis in cynical political self-interest, notes Shekhar Gupta.
At 89th, India is the lowest-ranked among the BRICS.
Shambhavi, who was invited by President A P J Abdul Kalam to Rashtrapati Bhavan as a 13 year old, remembers the meeting with awe and pays tribute to the man who inspired her.
Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister only till the time the BJP wishes, points out Ramesh Menon.
In an online chat with readers overseas consultant NNS Chandra offered advice.
'Wasn't it the PM's duty to reach out to the daily wagers of whom he claims to have been a part?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
As Afghans head to the polling booths to elect a new president, a contested and fraud-marred elections could potentially throw Afghanistan into a renewed cycle of violence and instability, says Dr Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
'Put the assets of PMC Bank and the personal assets of the HDIL promoters and head of PMC Bank in an escrow account and ring-fence it from the ad hoc action of the revenue departments and creditors,' recommends Debashis Basu.
'We are a young nation. But I wanted to explore the conflict between the young and the old.' 'The cynicism of people who have lived it versus the optimism and naivete of the young.'
Ajit Balakrishnan reflects on pariahs, small businesses, and blockchains.
The Budget will indicate where the Modi government stands on reforms, growth and development.
We should have anticipated it on August 5 last year, when we made the big changes in J&K. Amit Shah left nothing to chance when he told Parliament that 'we will bring back Aksai Chin even at the cost of our lives'. 'Then, there were the new maps, objections to the CPEC going through Indian territory, the weather reports.' A broad territorial status quo had existed in Ladakh-Aksai Chin since 1962. India made its intention to change this public, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Fix India's real estate sector. Fix India's public sector banks, advises Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tennis star Sania Mirza and actor Priyanka Chopra are among the probable contenders named by the Time magazine for its annual list of the most influential people in the world.
'Clearly, the depositors of cooperative banks need the maximum protection.'
She lamented that Africa despite being the largest continent in terms of number of the countries and India, which has has one-sixth of the world's population, still don't have permanent membership of the UNSC.
No new ideas, please, we are Indian. Seventeen years into the 21st century, we are still fixated by the ideas of the 20th century.
A promising young actor suffering from depression has had his life laid bare for the grubby public to paw through. An ordinary family has been pitched into the middle of a nightmare of an investigation and arrested for no reason discernible at present. And a young actress has had her reputation, and probably career, destroyed so that TRP ratings can soar, notes Sherna Gandhy.
'India is still hierarchical, but not as much as Japan and people appreciate a flat working culture,' Charles Frump, managing director, Volvo Cars India, tells Pavan Lall.
Dying To Survive, on its way to becoming China's biggest box office hit, may compel the Xi Jinping government to change its policy towards Indian pharmaceutical companies, says Tarun Vijay.
'Why does Mr Modi only attack Nehru from the Dynasty?' 'At one level, it is pure politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
For its development, India needs a movement akin to the freedom movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.
'It is mind-boggling that a party can be in rigor mortis even after numerous electoral defeats,' observes Ramesh Menon.
'We can't have the best of both worlds -- large, efficient, world class government-owned banks, doing social banking and making profits. 'Why not set them free from the shackles of such obligations and run them as business units?' says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
In a bid to further deepen ties with India, Australia is looking forward to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he is expected to attend the G20 Summit in Brisbane.
My sense is that we are in a situation similar to 2011-13, notes Debashis Basu.
These are initiatives not commonly seen in economic administration.
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