Is it just the glamour?
From India's fight against COVID-19 to China face-off, Kovind spoke on several issues during the televised address.
'His prowess in Aikido -- a Japanese martial art that focuses on harmony with the opponent to peacefully resolve conflicts -- gives Rahul Gandhi an advantage that fanatical adversaries lack,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'Once you resume economic activities, life will be normal.' 'The younger people will tolerate the virus very well. So, life will become normal very soon.'
When Rajni Kothari pointed towards a new democratic alignment in India.
China has demonstrated that it has the power to not be isolated, and it is likely to become more powerful over time.
Donald Trump is believed to be the first US President or President-elect to have spoken to a Taiwanese leader since 1979, when the US severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan after its recognition of the People's Republic of China, points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
20 Indian CEOs and 350 companies are participating in the Hannover Fair.
India's growth, he said, remains resilient with low inflation, fiscal prudence and low current account deficit, talking about robust structural reform measures.
While China is bigger and feels mightier at the moment, Beijing's rulers would be well advised not to be tempted to provoke India, for that would only trigger a chain reaction around the world that would not serve anyone's interests, says Sanjaya Baru.
Farm loan waivers should not be regarded as expenditure but as incentive and investment, argues B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Apart from taking stock of the political situation in the country, the CWC discussed the upcoming presidential and vice presidential elections.
Practising Indira Gandhi's brand of socialism today will not just be anachronistic but also economically harmful.
With its gaze steadily fixed on the well-being of its people, the government is going about taking all the imperative measures that need to be taken to beat back the pandemic, observes B S Raghavan.
'The top-most functionaries and destiny-makers of the nation have thrown away the pretensions of statesmanship.' 'They seem to have made a categorical announcement that the next general election will be fought on the solo plank of Hindutva, rather than on good governance, economic development, and employment to youth', says Mohammad Sajjad.
Ajit Balakrishnan offers a thinking man's guide to the angst of the professions.
'If India and China come together, 40 per cent of the world's people are going to be prosperous'
How China's all powerful Communist party bungled the response to the coronavirus crisis.
'India cannot expect to be insulated from the crisis. Europe is India's biggest trading partner with two-way trade of E72.5 billion or Rs 530,000 crore last year,' says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
The prime minister and the Chinese president walked along the banks of East Lake and also took a boat ride together as they decided to step up their personal rapport.
'You want a steady, confident, self-assured and highly skilful hand at the till. 'It is a pity that the BJP has decided to deprive itself of such a hand at this politically sensitive time.' 'It is like sacking your surgeon in the middle of your brain surgery,' says S Muralidharan.
'You cannot fight a disease as complex as COVID-19 without a carefully calibrated, localised response.'
'India will come increasingly in the US crosshairs if it insists on maintaining its strategic autonomy, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
If purists are surprised as to why and how people are not demanding prohibition or not talking about past promises, both in the election manifestos five years back and even those made to the courts, the answer lies in how the state has been evolving and changing these past few years, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'An era of fiscal pessimism is setting in, which, if not countered intellectually, is going to have the same effect as export pessimism has had,' notes T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
'Its internal economic rot and corrupt political elite have made the resurgent supremacy of the military establishment more invincible,' says Sunil Sethi.
The perfunctory management of external affairs has left India's foreign policy establishment largely unprepared to manage the consequences of dramatic international developments, says Nitin Pai.
'A three generation US-Pakistan relationship is not likely to be snapped any time soon. All this presents an irritant to an India that wishes to concentrate on economic development,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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.
The data-generation ability of technology can not only provide real-time feedback on its return on investment but also evaluate education programmes.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hints at a world class tax regime.
Fitch said the full implications of Patel's resignation will only become clearer once there is some indication of the RBI's policy approach under his replacement, Shaktikanta Das
'There are so many dimensions to history that we need to attend to: We need more space for local and regional histories; we need to delve into the histories of particular communities; we need to emphasise gender history and environmental history.' 'We need to think about India's history beyond India's current borders.'
After his decision to return back to academia, there have been voices suggesting that his candid public speeches were one of the aspects which made the government uncomfortable about reappointing Rajan for another term
Rajan, who has also served as chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said he had no idea what statistics are pointing at currently and "a revamp" was needed "to really figure out what India's true growth rate is".
Noting the "widespread cynicism and disillusionment" with governance and functioning of institutions, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said elections next year is an opportunity to elect a stable government that will ensure security and economic development.
A single party will need at least 137 of the directly elected seats to be able to form the government on its own.
'Rajan's exit will have a great impact on the economy.'
The global ratings agency keeps India's sovereign rating unchanged at 'BBB-' with stable outlook
May be the strong United States growth will lead the world back to a period of growth and help us all put this painful recrimination behind us.
