The first six months of the financial year (Siemens follows an Oct-Sept calender) has not been encouraging.
'His speech at the bhoomi puja will stand out for a long time in the memory of those who listened to it for touching the pinnacle of excellence and brilliance in both style and content,' declares B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Italy's top-flight Serie A soccer league launched a new anti-racism campaign on Monday by presenting artwork featuring three side-by-side paintings of apes but the move has been described by campaign group Fare as a sick joke. News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
'His popularity is still high; respect for his intellect and integrity is still discernible; but his long night may just be beginning,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.
An ambitious long-term vision to ensure economic connectivity between India and the rest of Southern Asia is critical to India's trade policy objectives.
'Post the pandemic, when India is turning a new leaf in its economic policy with an eye on foreign capital and global supply chains that are likely to leave China, heightened tensions on the India-China border creates an atmosphere of uncertainty,' observes Virendra Kapoor.
Since the 1984 national elections, no party has won a clear majority in the lower house of Parliament, a US intelligence report has observed. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
'It is strange that a country like India, which had gone through crisis after crisis resulting from militancy, insurgency and terrorist attacks, should still be practising ad hocism in managing its security imperatives,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant and former member of the Joint Intelligence Council.
Transparency is more than welcome, but govt should not look vindictive.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that developing close relations with India's neighbours is a key priority of his government, ahead of his planned visit to Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon to attend the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Summit.
As the pandemic unfolded, the India-China relationship has come under severe stress. To restore normalcy, agreements between the two countries must be respected scrupulously in their entirety. Where the Line of Actual Control is concerned, any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo is unacceptable, declares External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
The Budget emphasises on capacity building and empowerment of marginalised sections of society including farmers.
Be it roads, railways, ports, civil aviation, energy or electricity, the Narendra Modi govt has invigorated all these sectors since it took over, says Arvind Panagariya.
Even if the GST rate is 18-20 per cent, there would be no average impact on inflation.
'It disappoints and saddens me no end that Mahua has allowed herself to be carried away by the Goebbelsian onslaught mounted on the BJP and Narendra Modi by certain vested interests which find themselves exposed and thrown out of the gravy train,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
The lowest bid earlier had come for Madhya Pradesh at Rs 5.05/unit.
The joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama's first-ever summit is high on intent and ambition. Notably missing from the statement is India's refusal to be America's partner in its war against ISIS.
'We should expect a cold-blooded, transactional relation that requires a lot of engagement and mutual trust to sustain,' says Constantino Xavier, Fellow, foreign policy, Brookings India.
The RBI governor-designate may be economical with spoken words, but is known for his sharp and critical writings
The problem is to integrate the technology with a system of household level segregation so that waste does not end up in landfills, but is processed and reused.
Has the Modi government ensured that the MEA keeps abreast of the times, asks Ambassador Vivek Katju.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
'India appears to have stood its ground on strategic autonomy by resisting US pressure on Russia, China and Iran, but succumbed to the temptation to walk into a tighter embrace in defence cooperation, a high priority of the Trump administration,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Greenpeace has been brutal in targeting both India and the Manmohan Singh government. The push to go after Indian coal is driven by its long-term agenda. What is surprising is that China has not been meted out the same treatment, despite the fact that the rise of China as an economic power has been built around generating power from coal. 'Being richer and more affluent, yet far less democratic, there is less room for an NGO such as Greenpeace to drive home a complicated global agenda, so there is more of a tendency to go along with anything the Chinese offer despite China being the biggest by far with regard to coal use. But for India, it reserves tougher prescriptions, notably for its middle class, says Srinivas Bharadwaj.
The Summit comes at a time when China is flexing its muscle to tighten its grip over the disputed South China Sea.
In remarks titled 'Implement Consensus and Handle Differences Properly to Bring China-India Relations Back on the Right Track' posted on the Chinese embassy website, Sun spoke of disruptions in the bilateral relationship and outlined five steps to clarify 'some fundamental points'.
Prime Minster Narendra Modi's op-ed in the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeines talks about development, New Age India and his 'Make in India' campaign. Here's the complete text of the column.
Using available government data, the team is targeting $30-40 billion worth of iron and steel products that are imported into India.
'The India-France relationship has been that of the elites of two countries, who appreciate each other's philosophical traditions -- whether it is ancient Indian civilisation and Sanskrit texts or the French tradition of Rene Descartes, Albert Camus, (Jean-Paul) Sartre... This is a drawback. It doesn't create the buzz, the excitement necessary for a relationship. We need more people-to-people contact, especially among students,' says former Ambassador to Paris, Rakesh Sood.
India must formulate a new growth path to become a top Asian economy.
'Progress demands regular senior-level attention from American leaders.' 'A leaders' summit is great, but we need sustained engagement to continue to forge new agreements and find new areas of cooperation.'
'She dwarfs every known politician of recent times with her imperious aura, iron will, tremendous drive, dauntless pursuit of goals she set before herself, ability to capture the people's imagination and unshakeable grip over her party and government,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'This is the first time that the Americans have agreed to refer to "cross-border terrorist attacks" in a joint statement.' 'No wonder Pakistan has called the joint statement "singularly unhelpful" and has blasted it, and its all-weather friend China has applauded Pakistan's frontline role in combating terrorism,' points out former foreign secretary Ambassador Kanwal Sibal.
The Planning Commission has not been central to the policy making process since the mid-1960s, says Nitin Desai.
Compliance requirements, valuation, input tax credit transfers are likely to lead to tax litigation, says Sayan Ghosal.
President Pranab Mukherjee addressed a joint session of Parliament ahead of the budget session which began on Tuesday. Here are the highlights of President Pranab Mukherjee's speech:
'Decisions on nuclear power have so far been taken by a small select group, primarily interested in profiteering from their actions, stating 'secrecy' as necessary from the national security point.' 'This argument is false, because we are dealing with the 'civilian' nuclear power sector, which is open even to the IAEA,' says Dr A Gopalakrishnan, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
He designed some of India's most iconic buildings.
Both Obama and Modi have taken bold steps towards laying the groundwork to give a big push to Indo-US trade, and now it's time to execute, says Bikash Mohapatra.
'Everybody says 5G and communication is important.' 'Everybody says automation, robotics, human computing interfaces -- people and machines working together -- is the future.' 'Everybody agrees that cybersecurity is something that is here to stay.' 'Everybody agrees that synthetic biology is important.' 'Instead of outlining thinking about industries for tomorrow and the future, let the evolutionary pathway be built in a way that it promotes robust, creative, thinking.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances