"I'm taking a minute to respond... I do respect Raghuram Rajan as a great scholar who chose to be in the central bank in India at a time when the Indian economy was all buoyant," Sitharaman said during the lecture organised by the Deepak and Neera Raj Centre on Indian Economic Policies of the Columbia University.
"If implemented 'honestly and sincerely', the programme would increase the rural income and 'certainly we will be able to soften very considerably the harsh edges of extreme poverty," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
The meeting, which will take place almost a month after incumbent CIC Wajahat Habibullah resigned, is being looked forward to by RTI activists who have been demanding transparency in the selection process and pressing for the appointment of a non-bureaucrat to the post.
With Team Anna stepping up the heat on the corruption issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the government was open to reasoned debate on the Lokpal Bill but made it clear that there was no single solution to tackle the problem.
Affirming that there was a "lot of scope for give and take" on the Lokpal Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the government was open to "discussion and dialogue" on the issue.
Nikhil Lakshman reports from the United Nations General Assembly, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed on Saturday.
Chastened by the Kargil conflict, Pervez Musharraf will be remembered for gradually lowering the profile of terrorism and seeking a realistically negotiated settlement to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's high commissioner to Pakistan when Musharraf seized power in a coup in October 1999.
As a follow-up to the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, India has decided in principle to resume bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan. Government sources said the time of the visit, the venues of the matches and other logistical issues would be decided by the cricket boards of the two countries.
"I am deeply honoured and humbled. I am absolutely delighted to be in the company of people with extraordinary achievements," Zakaria told PTI after the Indian government nominated him for the prestigious Padma Bhushan awards. Zakaria said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves enormous credit for having moved India towards the path of greater degree of comfort and strategic insight.
The developing world including India had opposed the Doha Agriculture text as the developed countries had not matched the major concessions announced by the developing nations in the earlier rounds of WTO negotiations. In the Doha round, it was accepted that developed nations would need to make some contribution by reducing agricultural subsidies and providing greater market access.
The global success of people of Indian origin gave hope and showed the way to a new India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh departed for an official visit to the United States on Wednesday morning in what could be a last opportunity to recover his crumbling legacy. A host of issues are tied to what could be accomplished on this trip; that the stakes are high is evident from how carefully the government is downplaying whether or not anything can be accomplished.
When he said that India was not afraid of the K word, in response to a question on Kashmir being the flashpoint between India and Pakistan, it led to a smirk on the faces of Foreign Ministers SM Krishna and Foreign Secretary SS Menon, who were seated in front of the dais.
A hassle-free electronic remittances gateway, enabling non-resident Indians to send money back home, will be launched during the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas opening in Hyderabad on January 7.
Glowing tributes were today paid to Captain Lakshmi Sehgal with President Pratibha Patil describing her as a great patriot and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying the country had lost an icon of selfless service in her death.
Burhanuddin Rabbani, chairman of the High Peace Council and former President of Afghanistan who met Prime minister Manmohan Singh over lunch in New Delhi on Thursday and later had delegation level talks, has expressed desire to perform Friday prayers at the historic Jama Masjid.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the Indian economy has the resilience to sustain a growth momentum in the range of nine per cent in the medium-term though the short-term outlook looks "cloudy" due to the impact of global economic crisis.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for China on Tuesday on the second leg of his two-nation tour after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow during which the two leaders pledged to "resolve all outstanding issues" related to the Kudankulam nuclear project.
If the nuclear deal happens, 'we would be taking a suicidal step,' says nuclear scientist Dr A N Prasad.
In a few minutes from now, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterparty Yousaf Raza Gilani will hold a one-on-one meeting in the neutral venue of Bhutan House in Thimphu. A lot of excitement is generated whenever the governments of India and Pakistan hold talks, a as a result of pre-summit exchanges of expectations, spins and charges.However, since the Parliament session is on in India and Pakistan is in the middle of far-reaching changes.
Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington in November, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan discussed with his US counterpart General James Jones the preparations for the Indian leader's trip and other issues of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on Thursday accorded a red carpet welcome on his arrival in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian capital for talks with the country's top leadership to upgrade bilateral ties.
Police officers, criticising the recommendations of the sixth Pay Commission have told the government that the commission has overlooked the fact that the threats to internal security are perhaps more recurrent and damaging today than actual threats of aggression from external enemies. IPS officers have also criticised the commission for not only maintaining, but increase the edge that is given to IAS officers over them.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Parliament on Friday that the "cowardly act" on February 26 in Kabul "will not bend our determination to help Afghanistan".
The first conclave of Indian envoys, held in the backdrop of Mumbai attacks, ended in New Delhi on Wednesday with the top political leadership asking the envoys to present New Delhi's case effectively amid the new chill in relations with Pakistan.The three-day conclave of over 120 Indian Ambassadors and High Commissioners, addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and several other Cabinet ministers, deliberated on ways to build pressure on Pakistan.
Leader of opposition and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani raised the issue of the joint statement between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Gilani, during his five minute meeting with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at his residence on Monday.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday morning about preparations and priorities for the Toronto G20 Summit to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Center on June 26-27.
The ceasefire agreement between the Naga faction and Myanmar was signed without India being informed. It is likely to have long-term implications not only for the ethnic politics of the Naga-inhabited regions, but also for India's northeast and Myanmar, says Rahul Mishra.
Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair met Dr Singh in Delhi on Friday afternoon and briefed him on the lunar mission launched on October 22.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said on Thursday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to know about the problems plaguing the country as well as the solutions but he is unable to take action due to the United Progressive Alliance model of governance where the elected leader does not have the final say.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said on Thursday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to know about the problems plaguing the country as well as the solutions but he is unable to take action due to the United Progressive Alliance model of governance where the elected leader does not have the final say.
India must create firm ties among the energy exporting states of central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and, if possible, Turkmenistan, says Harsh V Pant.
Colonel Anil A Athale outlines the contours of the coming Sino-Indian conflict in East Asia. The first of a two-part series.
His five-year rule saw the Babri Masjid demolition, the rise of the saffron forces and also the country being placed firmly on a new economic path, away from the Nehru years of public sector socialism.
There is, between Rao's tenure as PM and the current Modi regime, a powerful resonance of how transition can be managed. Rao's tenure saw many scams -- one where he was supposedly approached by Harshad Mehta with a bribe for making the securities scam go away. The Opposition insisted on a JPC. Despite knowing a JPC report would undermine him politically, Rao agreed to one, saying he had 'nothing to hide'.
In 2017, a retired R&AW officer conveyed that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was keen to get monarchy restored in Nepal and suggested that I support these efforts.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said a GDP growth of 8 per cent was sustainable, and the target of 10 per cent growth per year was realistic.
Allaying apprehensions expressed by political parties in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday assured that the Centre will not provide Sri Lanka with "lethal offensive military hardware".
IT units in West Bengal have been promised protection during strikes.
United States President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr Jill Biden on Monday hosted a Diwali reception at the White House in what they called the largest since the People's House started celebrating the festival during the George Bush administration.