Younger party leaders are livid with the Murli Manohar Joshi-headed manifesto drafting committee for not taking their suggestions, reports Archis Mohan.
It emphasised that agricultural infrastructure needs considerable investments and hence Section 80IA benefits must be extended to all such investments like IT infrastructure, computers, VSAT, solar panels, water harvesting facilities, storage etc.
'Those who have seen the functioning of the Modi government in Gujarat know that the issues related to Hindutva and issues of economy and growth function simultaneously.' 'Modi's politics are based on the understanding of the middle-class consumer society which is in pursuit of material aspirations.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reveals the Modi government's economic and political plans for the year ahead.
'In the final analysis, all Budgets everywhere are like the schemes hatched by A A Milne's lovable Winnie-the-Pooh.' 'They may be well-intended, but often go awry.' 'Although Pooh and his friends agree that he 'has very little brain', he is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense.' 'This Budget at a first glance does not appear to belong to that latter category,' says economist Shreekant Sambrani.
Following is the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day.
Ten trade unions to go on strike to protest against changes in labour laws
It, however, lags other states on crucial parameters such as health care and rural poverty.
The Modi government's array of economic policy has been impressive.
Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar speaks to Prasanna Zore/Rediff.com.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget.
Indian economy about to take-off
The State must stand as a solid tower of confidence to provide a guarantee of safety to its citizens and instill fear in the hearts of offenders. But where is that State, asks Tarun Vijay
Decorated with a Vir Chakra for leading an attack that destroyed four tanks, Risaldar Ayub Khan shared a name with the Pakistani president who ordered the invasion of India in 1965. India's Ayub came from a family of soldiers and made his country proud.
For more than 23 years, Bhanwari Devi, who was gang-raped for speaking out against the marriage of two babies, has been fighting a lonely battle for justice. Rashme Sehgal traveled to Dausa in Rajasthan to meet the courageous woman, a winner of the Neerja Bhanot Award for bravery, a symbol of Indian women's struggle.
The government should now focus on governance and monitoring the supply side to manage inflation, says M V Subramanian.
'They are acquiring agricultural land almost free of cost promising an illusory rise which is worse than a chit fund scheme.' 'When I went there on a fact-finding mission, we found that one third of the land they plan to acquire is the best agricultural land in the country.'
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who envisioned Make In India last September was at his eloquent best as he made a fervent plea to global businesses to come Make In India.
Nitin Gadkari has seven portfolios, but does not seem weighed down at all by the many things on his plate. The minister is brimming with ideas...
Once these banks start showing losses, they will not be able to pay dividends to the government nor pay taxes, which will further aggravate the situation for the government as its return on investment as an investor would be very negligible for the next few years, says M V Subramanian.
Muzzling NGOs is unbecoming of a democracy. Self-confident democracies encourage, indeed applaud, the involvement of citizens' associations, including NGOs, in social and political decision-making and development planning. Instead, our paranoid government bullies and terrorises them, says Praful Bidwai.
Misa Bharati is fighting to win back Patliputra, the seat her father lost in 2009, in a contest that is a do-or-die battle for Lalu Yadav and the RJD.
Transcript of the political resolution adopted by the Bharatiya Janata Party in its national executive meeting in Panaji, Goa on Sunday.
'Corruption is rampant in every office in the state from the villages right up to Gandhinagar. I have witnessed all these issues first hand... Before Narendra Modi became chief minister Gujarat had a debt of Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore. Today it is Rs 180,000 crore. There has been six-fold jump in public debt in Gujarat in the last ten years... Every child born in Gujarat owes a debt of Rs 30,000 today. How can you call this development? Look at how high taxes are in Gujarat. Look at the condition of our public health system. There are not enough doctors or nursing staff in government hospitals; not enough teachers in schools and colleges.' Three-time BJP MLA Dr Kanubhai Kalsaria rips apart Narendra Modi's policies.
With facts and figures, the CAG report has highlighted how Gujarat was far from a role model for states across India, and that the progress made in this province in western India in improving agriculture, education, healthcare and empowerment of women and children, was not exactly creditable, says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
We present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's full speech as he addressed the country on the occasion of 66th Independence Day, from Red Fort, Delhi.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday addressed the first joint sitting of Parliament as mandatorily required under the Constitution after the general elections. The address is the political, economic and foreign policy road map of the Narendra Modi government and covers virtually all crucial areas.