Good pay hikes, positive macroeconomic factors and the taming of inflation have had a positive effect on purchases
Ranbir's daku aspirations, Alia's magical transformation, Aishwarya's mommy love and more in Sukanya Verma's Super Filmi Week.
Andhra Pradesh has been demanding a Special Category State status from the Centre ever since the state's economic powerhouse Hyderabad, which housed several IT and pharmaceutical companies as well as PSUs, went to Telengana in the bifurcation
'The Modi government's greatest blunder is to exploit sensitive external relations in its domestic politics,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Here are highlights of the 68th Republic Day parade.
Magsaysay Award winner Sonam Wangchuk speaks to Claude Arpi about his journey, his fights, his hopes and how he became an inspiration for the Bollywood blockbuster.
'All governments try owning the message, but the Modi-Shah BJP has developed it into a fine art.'
BCCI's North Zone curator Sunil Chauhan overwatered the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch and then, breaching protocol, left the venue before the start of Delhi-Madhya Pradesh Ranji Trophy match on Saturday, his indiscretion leading to a delay of two and half hours.
'If the US intention was to use the FATF platform to isolate Pakistan and impose sanctions against it, that is not going to work when influential countries such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia will not lend support to the US campaign,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Islamabad on Monday on his first visit to Pakistan where he is expected to sign a deal for an economic corridor worth $46 billion and other agreement.
'Attempts at long-term rapprochement have been rather feeble from both sides. The primary cause of the lack of progress is that these efforts do not appear to have the support of the Pakistan army,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
BharatShakti.in Founder Nitin A Gokhale pays homage to Mr E N Rammohan and Colonel M B Ravindranath, two genuine Indian heroes who sadly passed into the ages on Sunday
Let us see the problem for what it actually is: Illegal Immigration plain and simple, confined to the northeast with a definite communal slant that poses a national security risk and one that needs to be dealt with firmly and promptly by stringent identification (and deportation), says Vivek Gumaste.
Extensive anthropogenic interference, as part of developmental activities, is a significant factor that increases this hazard manifold. As a result, the landscape in the Himalayan, north-eastern regions and many other regions of India are highly susceptible to reoccurrence of landslides, says Dr Nitish Priyadarshi.
Here's a look at Aamir's unique avatars, where he's not playing the usual cop or college-goer, no matter how well (or how often) he's performed. And also where what he plays is as attention grabbing as how he plays it, no matter how lousy the film.
'The answer is no, the entire country's is.' 'So why such obsession with Delhi?' 'But the most powerful people in India live here: The prime minister, civil servants, Supreme Court judges, MPs, diplomats, dadas of the media...' 'If they can't deal with their own problem, what chance does the rest of the country have, with its foul air, dying rivers, frothing lakes, and crumbling mountains?' says Shekhar Gupta.
On the second day of his trip to Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked up a spade and took part in a Swachh Bharat drive at Assi Ghat on the banks of river Ganga.
'Kargil was Pakistan's strategic blunder. India must remain on guard against such sinister operations being launched in future by Pakistan's vengeful and devious military leadership that continues to have a hate-India mindset and the mentality of primitive warlords,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'Whichever option India chooses, it should be clear to the government that the China-Pakistan nexus poses a clear and present danger to national security,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Water scarcity is often a factor in conflicts, but is India ready to cope with limited water resources?
The Centre will grant Rs 500 crore for each of the smart cities.
The prevailing communal situation in the country does not indicate existence of alleged intolerance in the country, the government said on Tuesday.
Right from conducting nuclear deterrence patrols in 2015 to its destructive space programme, from its back-tracking on economic commitments to its hardened positions on Sino-India border deal -- its approach with India spells Adversarial with a capital A, says Shehzad Poonawalla
Kabir Khan tells Patcy N/ Rediff.com what Bajrangi Bhaijaan is all about.
The biggest winner was Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who ran her ship with self-confidence and aplomb.
'Pakistan is full of 'religious entrepreneurs' like Hafeez Saeed who poison the minds of the young so that they can be motivated to become terrorists. They work in concert with the rulers of Pakistan. It is a private-public partnership.'
India and China on Friday agreed to set up a dedicated communication channel to boost security cooperation as Home Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with China's security czar on issues like cross border terrorism from Pakistan and the Afghan situation.
Brushing aside India's concerns, China on Monday cemented its "all-weather ties" with Pakistan by agreeing to build a strategic $46 billion (Rs 2.9 lakh crore) economic corridor through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as part of 51 deals signed, expanding the communist giant's influence in the region.
A fleet of eight JF-17 Thunder fighter jets -- jointly made by the two countries -- will escort the Chinese president once his plane enters the Pakistani airspace.
'The same charm that draws men to the armed forces, also draws women. It is love for the nation and honour and pride in donning the uniform,' says Lieutenant Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the first woman to lead the Indian Army in a 18-nation military exercise.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra takes stock of his Bollywood career and explains why he thought of foraying into Hollywood.
'One can be sure that General Rawat will have all-round support and that the Indian Army will have a strong chief,' says Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande (retd).
'The focus on countering terrorism brings to the issue Beijing's non-serious approach in this regard. India's permanent representative at the UN has raised in vain the issue of funding and the release of 26/11 suspect Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi. But China has blocked these objections since December 2014 at the UN even after 'highest levels' in India intervened,' notes Srikanth Kondapalli, reviewing the India-China military exercises in Kunming.
'Ensuring through diplomatic means and in conjunction with strategic partners that India will not be required to fight a simultaneous two-front war with China and Pakistan.' Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) lists what India must have in its national security strategy.
'The government must make clear once and for all that promotions in the Indian Army are not the right of individuals, but a privilege given in accordance with role and function.'
'The foundation of the 2014 triumph was Narendra Modi's appeal to voters in the Hindi belt. The Bihar Vidhan Sabha polls will demonstrate if he continues to appeal to them,' says T V R Shenoy.
Shoojit Sircar takes Rediff.com's Ronjita Kulkarni behind the sets of October, and right inside his beautiful mind.
A round-up of Ranji matches played across India on Saturday
'It was a lifetime opportunity for an actor to get such a vast platform and play the sexiest and most powerful God.' Mohit Raina's life admittedly changed when the titular role in Devon Ke Dev... Mahadev came his way.
Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and conveyed the new Indian government's interest in furthering bilateral ties, even as he flagged off India's concerns over border related issues during his parleys with the top leadership in Beijing.