All eyes will be on what the prime minister says as his August 15 addresses have often been marked by big announcements, his government's achievements and bringing to people's attention what he believes to be the major challenges facing the country.
In a Twitter post last Friday, the 39-year-old son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy is seen holding a bag of Yorkshire Tea along with the message: 'Quick Budget prep break making tea for the team. Nothing like a good Yorkshire brew.' It attracted a host of trolls and negative reactions, largely directed against the ruling Conservative Party but also targeted at Yorkshire Tea -- one of the UK's oldest tea brands.
It will be interesting to see whether India-China border tensions figure during the deliberations of PLA deputies to the NPC and CPPCC, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RA&W officer.
If suitable action is not taken in corruption cases, it becomes normalised in society, the prime minister said. When a generation sees that a corrupt person in the family is let off without or very little punishment, their courage to indulge in corrupt activities grows manifolds, he said.
'The Left is dying, but its economic ideology rules, unchallenged.' 'Modi is its newest standard-bearer.' 'Even in today's bitterly polarised politics, if there is one thing on which not just the BJP and Congress, but all other parties agree, it is that socialist economics is the only way to survive,' says Shekhar Gupta.
At some stage this fall in the quality of life will begin to hurt anybody's popularity, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'This prime minister thinks he knows everything.' 'He has to consult, he has to talk and he has to mobilise the best people, but having seen him function, I have no expectations from him.'
'Good economics isn't necessarily bad politics, or vice versa,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'India need to look beyond the economic prism.' 'China had no qualms in taking the Kashmir issue to the UN Security Council last year -- not once, but thrice -- thus violating Indian sensitivities,' observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
'The government has realised that the finances of the government are in a precarious state.' 'We are borrowing to fund the ever-burgeoning revenue deficit.' 'Then you are paying interest on the fresh borrowing.' 'For the first time, the government has realised that this cannot go on.'
China's presence in the international dog house is just the kind of opportunity that his opponents must be waiting for, predicts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Pence accused the Chinese government of orchestrating an aggressive military, economic and political campaign to expand its influence inside the US and across the world.
China is in no hurry to disengage at the border and the region and international community is moving on. The spectre of a long haul in Ladakh haunts India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The government has given up its focus on economic growth because it it not something Modi has been able to fully understand.' 'This explains the extraordinary focus on divisive politics by the BJP even at a time when the world's most important man in visiting India,' notes Aakar Patel.
With the nomination, 55-year-old Harris, who has many firsts to a trailblazing career starting with an attorney from California, would break another glass ceiling in US politics.
Trump was in contact with multiple lawmakers who have since gone into self-imposed quarantine.
Blockchain's promise: Dramatically speeding up transactions, explains Ajit Balakrishnan.
The speed at which political statements of doubtful veracity acquire the aura of gospel truth is astonishing. One such "truth" is: coalition compulsions impede economic reforms. Even Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu believes in it. He recently said, "Thanks to coalitional democracy, there is some slowdown in economic reforms and decision-making."
Dance like in the '70s is the theme for Aneeth Arora's Pero which launched Lakme's Fall Winter 2020 collection, D I S C O 2020.
India has too many small companies and this is inefficient. It should instead have only a handful of very large players running its economy and these giants can then compete with the world, observes Aakar Patel.
Indian-Americans are taking over the country, United States President Joe Biden said on Thursday, referring to the high number of people from the community getting a place in his administration.
Both parties claimed they wanted to extend Diwali greetings to the governor and denied that any political discussion took place during the meeting.
Pentagon has sought direct dialogue between India and China 'free of any coercive aspects'.
Panagariya, who heads the government's main economic advisory body NITI Aayog, is also India's Group of 20 summit negotiator
The future can only get better if we continue to break silos and work as integrated teams focussed on promoting national interests, recommends Sanjeev Nayyar.
The Modi government's defeat on farm laws underlines the perils of governing an entire continent-sized, diverse and federal nation like the chief minister of a state, observes Shekhar Gupta.
For the current woes of the state to end, in city after city, town after town, village after village, unauthorised constructions have to be removed, no questions asked, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sure we understand that isolating affected communities is part of the pandemic protocol, but we don't wish our life and freedom to be tossed aside at the slightest excuse, states Shyam G Menon.
'When the Indian Army carries out anti-infiltration ops, the Pakistan army willy-nilly will get involved in some way. So, it is imperative for the Pakistan army to act against militant groups.'
Dr Mitra called the Pandara Road crowd a 'cheerful collective of young dreamers,' united in its 'love and pride for the newly Independent India,' despite 'sharp disparities in background, temperament and attitude.' Dr Shreekant Sambrani recalls his encounters with the legendary economist who passed into the ages.
The highly-anticipated summit, which began early Tuesday, is the third engagement between Xi, 68, and Biden, 78, since February.
India's Muslims need to assert their educational and economic upliftment and political empowerment rather than be provoked by communal remarks, says Mohammad Sajjad, reflecting on the Malda riot.
The budget-making exercise offers golden opportunities despite challenges, observes Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
In an address at a leading think-tank in Paris, Shringla mentioned two recent terrorist incidents in France, one of which he said had its origins in Pakistan, noting that the civilised world needs to act with firmness to address the threat of terrorism.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Wednesday described the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as an "all consuming" challenge posed by a virulent strain of coronavirus and welcomed the enormous goodwill from countries around the world as a sense of solidarity in diplomacy.
'This is a good time to restructure your portfolio because the sectors and stocks that performed in the last bull market may not perform as much now.'
Paswan was a minister under six different prime ministers, hardly out of government since he was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977, observes Virendra Kapoor.
'There is a cost to war.' 'The West knows that and so does Putin.' 'The point is, how much of the cost are both sides willing to pay?'
This is another blow to Modi's ambitious economic reform agenda that has been stalled by a logjam in parliament
India is going into the longest lockdown in the world, with the least amount of notice given to its people and the least preparation by its government.
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