'How can you explain the necessity of selling an institution that has been delivering regular returns to the government, that has never asked for any capital from the government, that has invested Rs 38 lakh crores in the Indian economy and that owns 4 per cent of the market capitalisation in India?'
Jaishankar also made it clear that it is in nobody's interest to see a country get into severe economic difficulties, and that too a neighbour.
Times have changed, situations have changed, but the basic nature of superpower geo-politics remains the same and so also India's diplomacy -- call it non-alignment, strategic autonomy or neutrality; it all depends on the time scale, notes Rup Narayan Das.
'In India those who want change cannot bring about change, and those who can bring about change do not want change.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India's economic growth is a 'natural by-product' of his nine-year-old government's political stability, as he expressed optimism that it will be a developed nation by 2047 with 'corruption, casteism and communalism' having no place in our national life.
'Dynastic politics has become a tool of convenience for political parties. The BJP does not hesitate to accept it when it comes to its own alliance or party candidates. The same goes for the others.'
Apart from the human body, human food will bear direct repercussions. From staples such as wheat, to coffee, dairy, and even the great Hilsa face the threat of reduced supply due to the extreme heat.
'This is going to generate a new debate on reservation because the quota for Economically Weaker Sections is 10%, and that is for nearly 16% of the population.' 'For 16% you are giving 10%. This is set to raise eyebrows among the OBCs after the caste survey.'
Economist Deepak Nayyar says economic openness, while necessary, is not sufficient, and is conducive to development only when combined with industrial policy.
'The Opposition parties will continue to woo Chandrababu Naidu even though he has said he will support the BJP.'
A remarkable story which helped in transforming a bureaucratic organization, to a customer centric organization. This experience may inspire several government / private organizations to modify or adopt digitisation to transform their business, notes Professor N Ravichandran (retd).
In the case of double-income couples, not more than 40 per cent of the net income of one partner should be the EMI for the property.
Crucial reforms in Muslim personal law, especially laws related to inheritance and adoption, need to be initiated forthwith; historically speaking, without the State's backing, hardly has any reform taken place or allowed to prevail, asserts Mohammad Sajjad.
Ahead of the upcoming elections, political parties have started announcing incentives to benefit women, but what do women truly seek for genuine gender parity, asks Nivedita Mookerji.
'All of Indira Gandhi's bad economic ideas are being strengthened, from nationalised banks to anti-poverty, handout yojanas,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'The assessment of most people is that there is a stable economic and political environment in India and that is attractive to investors.'
'I found it unbelievable that L&T said 45,000 jobs were waiting to be filled because of unavailability of suitable skillsets.' 'So, when the Opposition sweepingly says there are no jobs, I'm sorry... I'm not saying it's raining jobs, but there are jobs. The (skill) gap has to be bridged.'
India must be prepared to deal with climate disasters, geopolitical confrontations, and social strife linked to global events, asserts Jayant Sinha, chairman of Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance.
Any move of the present government to appease the Marathas may boomerang. Eknath Shinde is a worried man with the agitation not having an easy solution, notes Ramesh Menon.
The departing directors had criticised the club's handling of a social media scandal and expressed doubts about the board's ability to handle the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a 70% players' pay cut.
Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar feels that the economy today is bankrupt due to big spending towards social welfare programmes such as NREGA.
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday said banking sector will see major changes in the coming years.
'It has a natural inclination to foster as much competition among civilian politicians as possible.'
Uday Kotak has resigned as the managing director and chief executive officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank, the bank said in a stock exchange filing on Saturday.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
It is evident that the younger generation is increasingly choosing to postpone or completely forego the idea of getting married, observes Sybil Shiddell, country manager India, Gleeden, a discreet extra marital dating Web site.
'There is no scope for any doubt. This was a scheme designed to enrich the ruling party.'
An astrologer told Ramesh Menon that he was increasingly having worried parents asking him about the future of their children who were showing serious behavioural changes like lack of tolerance towards others, shunning social interaction, and even violent behaviour. They were worried because they had never ever seen such traits in their children before the pandemic.
She alleged that today, the regime in power is misusing and subverting the institutions of the Constitution, and weakening its foundations of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice.
'The BJP is trying to change this mantra.'
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
Indian economy, dubbed the fastest growing major economy in the world, is faced with the single most important pressure point of job creation, says former RBI Governor Raghuram G Ranjan as he makes a strong case for improvement of human capital through skill development. Talking about the book 'Breaking the mould: Reimagining India's economic future', written jointly by him and Rohit Lamba, assistant professor of economics at Pennsylvania State University, Rajan said one of the greatest strength of India is its human capital of 1.4 billion and the question is "how do you make it strong?" The nation needs to create jobs at every level going along the path of development, said Rajan, presently Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth, USA.
One hopes in his next term, Narendra Modi will take up the mission of inculcating respect for following rules in Indians as a mission. Therein lies the chance for India to become a developed country, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Brand India's societal divisions and distortions have remained as much relevant in 'liberal' America and Europe as it still is in the structurally stratified Indian society of the 21st century, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
This does not mean isolating parochialism but of new way of thinking about economic systems, says Rajni Bakshi.
A Chinese government newspaper accuses the Modi government of manipulating economic data to project the 'myth' that India has caught up with the US and surpassed China.
'People understand Hitlershahi, tanashahi and now Modishahi.'
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Reminiscent of the past two years, the market has made positive strides ahead of the Union Budget 2023-24 (FY24). The benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty has gained 1.8 per cent in the last month. Typically, markets tend to gain ahead of the Budget as investors build in optimism.
'Does anyone understand India?' 'Does anyone have a larger perspective for India as a whole?' 'Today we have rulers who do not understand the ruled.'
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