'India serves itself poorly with its latter-day discovery of Pakistan as an instrument in domestic politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Prasanna Zore/ Rediff.com talk to members of the Patel community to find out why they are dissatisfied with the state of affairs.
In our series on Super30 achievers, we find out how Aquibur Rahman has fared since he cleared his IIT-Joint Entrance Exam.
The government is by far the largest employer; job security is guaranteed for government employees, and their wages are set through once-in-10-year Pay Commission.
The Congress chief hit out at the BJP's ideological mentor, the RSS, alleging that it was a "male chauvinist organisation" and did not have women in it, thus cannot do what the Congress can for women.
Investors should look at actively managed funds, says Devangshu Datta.
Successor Anandiben Patel isn't having an easy time, with a protest movement by her own community and new challenges in keeping the mandate
'You are beginning your professional life in a time of global turmoil, when economic systems and the earth's eco-systems are in deep crisis.' 'Societies across the world are struggling with the complexity of technological and social change happening at a speed that our species has never experienced before.' 'May you be more excited than frightened by the times we live in.' 'Precisely because the crises are so deep, there are also unprecedented opportunities for pioneering and brave work that can transform society, culture and economy to create a much better world for your children.'
'If we play our cards right, we may even benefit from the competition between the US and China as seen from increased investment from each of these countries into India.' 'The size of our market gives us an important lever of power which we shall have to play adroitly and intelligently,' points out Ambassador Gautam Bambawale -- who served as India's envoy to China -- in the Professor V M Dandekar Memorial Lecture 2019, delivered on March 8, 2019 in Pune.
'We are passing through a very historical moment. The UP election next year and the Lok Sabha election of 2019 will decide the course of India.' 'Maybe the unlettered will save India again because they have inherited a different India and a different idea of India,' says eminent social scientist Achyut Yagnik.
A culture of science and innovation must be embedded in society wherein people not only use new technology but understand it as well. Without this, obscurantism and blind faith can sit side by side with digital technology and, in fact, use the same technology to reinforce their hold on people, says Shram Saran.
'Like Nehru, too, Modi has found dealing with Beijing more and more difficult and has adopted an increasingly assertive approach towards managing India's northern neighbour.'
The President talked about demonetisation, electoral reforms and disruptions in Parliament.
This is the story of Kirthi Jayakumar.
The Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle explains their side of the story which saw the IIT-Madras student body being de-recognized for violation of code of conduct and misuse of privileges.
The prospects for strong, sustained economic reforms do not appear to be promising in India.
Mark Zuckerberg's Taj Mahal post had received over 450,000 likes, 11,000 comments and 7,700 shares.
'It might get worse. We don't really know what is it that is resulting in the high value of R now.'
Touching upon a range of issues, the President also said women were entitled to a life of their choice and security to fulfil their potential, amid concerns over their privacy and safety.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday accused it of destabilising institutions, polarising society and mistaking its parliamentary majority for a licence to impose its narrow ideology on people
'In Rajiv Gandhi's time, out of every Re 1 spent by the government only 15 paisa reached the public.' 'At this moment, I cannot say that the entire Re 1 reaches the common man's pocket, but yes, two-thirds of that money definitely reaches the common man.' 'And the rest of the money will also reach soon.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Australia will not be at the periphery of India's vision but at the centre of its thought, as he called for closer bilateral security cooperation and a comprehensive global strategy to tackle the menace of terrorism.
'The finance minister and the government have met the immediate challenge. The wine this time is new and also in a new bottle, which, though not full, is less than half empty.'
'So far the youth were Modi's strength.' 'It now seems under pressure, and for good reason: Crisis in education, jobs, slowdown in manufacturing, and thereby trading,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
'When the youth population is so large, in a globalised world, they look for opportunities. Are there enough opportunities for the youth in India?' 'The idea of affirmative action has to be creating capability. All individuals have potential. Unfortunately, there is capability deprivation because of the State's inaction.' 'Nation building has been a disaster in India mainly because we lacked the work ethic compared to the US and European countries.'
We need to question ourselves if we are to be implicated as well in the institutional murder of Rohith and many other Rohiths, if not bodily but in spirit, because of our complicity in naturalising this elitist, exclusionary, discriminatory-to-the-core conception of education, says Kishalaya Mukhopadhyay.
'India alone cannot walk the path of peace. It also has to be Pakistan's journey to make,' says Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the government's geo-political flagship initiative "Raisina Dialogue-II".
Can we make high speed 4G Internet available at 10 cents per GB, and make all voice calls free of cost -- that too in a large and diverse country like India? Can we make high-quality but simple breast cancer screening available to every woman, that too at the extremely affordable cost of $1 per scan? Can we make a portable, high-tech ECG machine which can provide reports immediately and that too at the cost of 8 cents a test? Can we make an eye imaging device that is portable, non-invasive and costs 3 times less that conventional devices? Can we make a robust test for mosquito-borne dengue, which can detect the disease on day 1, and that too at the cost of $2 per test? Amazingly, says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, all this has been achieved in India, not only by using technological innovation but also non-technological innovation.
Reason must triumph over blind faith, says Praful Bidwai in this tribute to murdered rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
'Definitely, they are going to attempt this, not only in Kashmir but elsewhere, maybe in the Jammu area and beyond.' 'They would want to expand the battle space and the conflict area.'
The new government has to make conscious efforts to rebuild social equality and bring the people together.
'The UPA was the gang that couldn't shoot straight. The NDA is the gang that can't stop shooting. They (the Modi government) are shooting at anybody, everybody, all directions, shooting themselves in the foot.'
Without bringing sound governance and technical capabilities into the RBI's work, injecting new money sets the stage for a next wave of bad behaviour by banks, warns Ajay Shah.
'While the farmers are reeling under a huge debt burden, crop loss due to locust attacks and erratic rainfall, the state is also facing a COVID-19 challenge.' 'In this situation, you have Congress and BJP MLAs trying to outwit each other in a game of thrones'
Various twists and turns by govt post-demonetisation prove that it has been tall order for the PM
The Forbes 30 Under 30 list is harder to get into than Stanford or Harvard University. Meet the desis who made the cut this year.
Taking away free healthcare facilities, as recommended by the Aayog, would place a huge burden on the people, especially in rural areas, says Devanik Saha.
Swaraj emphasised that the UN must accept it needs fundamental reform.
'These are challenging times and we get energised by that.' 'I don't feel that 'I am tired now and I should relax', because even if someone calls us at 12 o'clock I have to answer his call.'
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