The Bihar government, led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, has renamed the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park as 'Patna Zoo' and the Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Dairy Technology as 'Bihar State Institute of Dairy Technology'. The cabinet also approved significant allocations for electricity subsidies, college establishments, and infrastructure projects.
'All of Indira Gandhi's bad economic ideas are being strengthened, from nationalised banks to anti-poverty, handout yojanas,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The Rajasthan government's decision to discontinue four school textbooks has ignited a political controversy, with the Education Minister defending the move and the Congress party accusing the government of attempting to erase history.
With growing opportunities in the coaching, sports science, training and wellness industries, a career in sports provides a dynamic and fulfilling career path.
'It has even been suggested that Modi and Amit Shah, however grudgingly, harbour admiration for her controlling streak and steely resilience,' says Sunil Sethi.
'If Indira Gandhi's Emergency proved anything at all, it established that India would be governed, to the extent it can be governed, democratically or not at all,' says Inder Malhotra.
Where was the Board when a predictable regulatory change brought the country's largest airline to its knees? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
On reports of the BJP opposing the NCP merger, Fadnavis asserted that his party hasn't opposed anyone.
''Women are coming into public spaces in larger numbers than ever before. They are educated, capable, opinionated, and determined.' 'But the more women push for access to public space, the harder they are pushed back -- through attacks like this, through discrimination, through the glass ceiling, through the deliberate denial of recognition.'
Almost a decade after India shifted to a formal inflation-targeting regime under the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), a high-level panel of economists said that the flexible inflation targeting has largely worked in keeping it under control and no major revamp is required.
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 best way for India to prepare is by preserving and strengthening the RBI's hard-won credibility, point out Rajeswari Sengupta and Vaishali Garga.
A consumer forum in Lucknow, India, has halted the construction of actress Sunny Leone's restaurant-cum-bar, citing concerns about "unauthorised activity" and potential security threats to the neighboring high court premises and the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. The commission deemed the allotment of the society's community center to a commercial establishment as inappropriate and raised concerns about the Lucknow Development Authority's approval of the project. The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 19.
India has upgraded its technical mission in Kabul to an embassy, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar acknowledging the Taliban's consideration of India's security concerns. The announcement was made during talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, marking a significant step in advancing ties between the two nations.
The Congress's performance in the Lok Sabha elections showed that it may be down but not out, and Modi is determined to ensure that in the next round in 2029, it is consigned to irrelevance, points out Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Indira Gandhi Institute of Developement Research invites applications for admission to its External PhD Programme (Development Studies)
In a significant move, the United States on Wednesday removed restrictions on three Indian nuclear entities, over a week after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that Washington was finalising steps to 'remove' hurdles for civil nuclear partnership between Indian and American firms.
A Canadian man has been arrested for allegedly carrying a crocodile skull in his bag at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi, the customs department said on Thursday.
The collective West has always opposed strong leaders and economic development in India, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'And because she was very close to Indira Gandhi, she was close to me.' 'Sonia is a wonderful person'
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
'The quality of justice is directly linked to the quality of judges -- if that suffers, justice delivery suffers.'
Dr Nagesh Kumar, one of the three new MPC members, wanted the MPC to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%.
There is a reason this 11 year phenomenon is a rule as much as it is an observation. It speaks to the nature of man and what humans are like, explains Aakar Patel.
The three day MPC meeting began on Monday and the decision will be announced on Wednesday by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
'The real repo rate is very high in terms of core inflation.'
'We face the risk of remaining a low-income country for a very long time unless something changes in the next few years.' 'Instead of constantly talking about becoming a developed economy, we need to start fixing the problems of the economy one by one.' 'There is so much potential, and we are squandering away the opportunity.'
'Sonia did not visit this place once since she won. Who's to say they won't lose this one, too?'
Literate and rich sections of the society do not cooperate enough with surveyors collecting economic data.
'Some of his decisions were not so good, but his intentions were always guided by a deep national interest.'
As a consequence of prominence given to the brutality during those few days, a very important aspect of that episode got almost glossed over. This was the intervention by a very significant section of people who restored faith in humanity, and conveyed the message that only a small section of Indians, that too politically backed, were consumed by anti-Sikh majoritarianism. The overlooked facet of the events of 1984 was the story of significant sections of the city's populace, public figures and nondescript ones, stepping out hand-in-hand, to first stand with little but bravery in hands, in the way of attackers, and thereafter to provide immediate relief to those who lives were uprooted and who lost family members in the violence, recalls Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Y V Reddy on Thursday said the central bank is keeping a "close watch" on inflation, which is expected to be well below 5.0-5.5 per cent at the end of the current fiscal.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates India's largest airport, dismissed the expert committee report as "inaccurate", claiming it relied on "probabilities, hypothesis, and conjectures" rather than empirical data or complete documentation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday took the Congress to the cleaners over making the 2024 general elections about the protection of the Constitution, saying Indians voted on the plank only once when they threw out the Indira Gandhi government in 1977 after the Emergency.
If something stands out in the one year since Jayalalithaa's passing, it would be her famed leadership qualities and her ability to reach out to the party and the people above the second line, and also the state administration, to the exclusion of all the rest. Only Indira Gandhi had achieved it all in her time, and no other leader, possibly excepting Prime Modi Modi, could hold a candle to that, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Allegations of strains on democratic and constitutional institutions across the board, security threats from outside, a greedy Opposition inside, were all a part of the package then as now, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Modi is trying avenues to convince people why they should vote for the BJP.'