Having cut off the "umbilical cord" that tied him to the Board, the former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) spoke to PTI on a range of issues from "giving a free hand" to the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri duo, Anil Kumble's exit as national coach, his frosty relationship with colleague Diana Edulji, sexual harassment allegations against BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and difficulties in implementing the Supreme Court-mandated Lodha recommendations.
From an obscure corporator to becoming the youngest Mayor of Nagpur, to the first Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis' climb up the political ladder has been steady.
With over 135 news channels, about a third owned by politicians and real estate guys, the news TV market is a nightmare, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers' impressive defence of modest totals continued as the visitors pulled off a 11-run win over Rajasthan Royals on a tricky pitch to claim the top spot
As results prove every week, nothing can be taken for granted in soccer and despite long odds, FIFA could next year have its first French president since Jules Rimet with Jerome Champagne planning to succeed Sepp Blatter.
English FA president Prince William called on FIFA to reform and show that "it can represent the interests of fair play" in a speech at the FA Cup final on Saturday.
FIFA denied on Tuesday that the top lieutenant of its President, Sepp Blatter, or any other member its senior management made $10 million in bank transactions.
'Kejriwal has shown that not only can Modi-Shah be stopped, they can in fact be routed... Today, as the Delhi votes are counted, it shows not only the AAP's victory or BJP's defeat. But also the Congress's final irrelevance.'
There is a need to have a 'CEO for Mumbai' in order to realise the ambition of making it a global financial centre.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'The Ulema have come out as villains against Indian secularism, impeding the secular united resistance against violent Hindutva that is backed by ministers in the government,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Sepp Blatter, Luis Figo, Michael van Praag and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein have bid to stand for FIFA president.
The two were convicted on July 6 in the Avenfield properties case linked to the Sharif family's ownership of four luxury flats in London.
Luis Figo's decision to enter FIFA's presidential election has received a positive reaction in his native Portugal even though he faces a seemingly impossible task to unseat incumbent Sepp Blatter in May.
Shaken by Justice RM Lodha committee's recommended reforms of its governance structure, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to call a Special General Meeting (SGM) within the next two weeks to discuss the implications of the report.
The Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by former CJI RM Lodha, who has been assigned to make administrative reforms in BCCI, has sent out a questionnaire containing more than 80 queries under seven sub-heads to office-bearers of the cricket body.
England, who have won both the one-day and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, play a two-day practice match in Colombo before heading to Galle which hosts the first of the three Test matches from November 6.
Newly-elected BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur says there could be a rethink only if there's a change in technology.
'While they were respectful of the PM, it was clear that as ministers, they owed their positions as much, if not more, to Mrs Gandhi.' 'When attacks were mounted on the PM, there was very little coordinated effort by the Congress, UPA ministers or other politicians to speak up in his favour and strongly defend him.' B K Chaturvedi, Cabinet Secretary during the early years of UPA1, reveals how the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi equation worked. A riveting excerpt from Chaturvedi's memoir, Challenges Of Governance: An Insider's View
M C Mary Kom managed to surpass even herself, obliterating everyone and everything else along the way in a tumultuous year for the sport.
AIADMK's Jayalalithaa won three assembly by-elections from her hospital bed. However, the DMK heir's decision to disempower second-line satraps, who were running personal fiefdoms in their districts, and his fresh approach, could prove beneficial in the next polls, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'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
Ajai Shukla presents an action plan for Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to fix the systemic weaknesses in defence.
The Congress scion will step into his mother Sonia Gandhi's shoes as the party president next week.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'Part A of the Budget was like it was written by somebody from the 21st century and Part B was written by somebody from the 19th century.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
'Why has cows eating plastic become so important only before the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh elections?'
Asian Games medal winner Fouaad Mirza called for financial help in popularising equestrian in India, saying the government can take a cue from European nations such as the United Kingdom and Germany.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
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In a major embarrassment for BCCI, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi is set to reclaim the post of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) President when he takes on Rampal Sharma in the state body polls on Thursday under the watchful eyes of Supreme Court-appointed observer Justice N M Kasliwal.
It's not as easy to know how the funds were deployed and gauge the impact.
'Sachin Pilot once calculated that with a million Indians flooding the labour market every month, only an additional 12 million jobs annually could keep unemployment at the same level.' 'That's chickenfeed for the functionaries who cram my e-mail inbox every day with such a constant flow of job offers that trying to empty it is like trying to drink dry the horn connected to the ocean in Norse mythology,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
As oil minister, he has overseen India's petroleum and natural gas needs. But now he also runs the environment ministry, where he has issued permits for 100 stalled projects in a month-long spree that has delighted industry but shocked green activists.
'They have no other agenda, but to perpetuate hate.' 'They have destroyed the economy and polity and they survive only on hate.' 'They think through hatred, they can mobilise the large chunk of Hindu votes.'
'Hindu voters in coastal Karnataka lean more towards Hindutva than Hinduism which explains why the Siddaramaiah government's perception as anti-Hindu worked wonders for the BJP in coastal Karnataka.'
While some of the veterans like Niranjan Shah are happy even though it won't make much of a difference for them, the likes of Dilip Vengsarkar welcomed the move as it gives him an opportunity to be in the BCCI once he is through with his cooling off period.
'The new generation of teenagers which has taken the forefront is largely an amorphous, leaderless mass.' 'It is extremely difficult to find a representative with whom to negotiate now, unless one turns to a militant leader.'
Hailing clear majority for Narendra Modi-led BJP in the polls, real estate experts on Friday said a stable government at the Centre will help revive the property market.
