It took a lockdown for us in India to even recognise that the plight of migrants needs to be addressed. They were faceless and unrecognised. They were unappreciated and even hounded. They were poorly paid and exploited, notes Ramesh Menon.
India's death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 6,642 with a record increase of 294 deaths in the 24 hours till Saturday 8 am.
The investigation agency said during the custody, Suresh had disclosed that she had kept proceeds of the crime at the bank lockers and invested as deposits in various banks.
'As people have moved from cities to small towns and villages, they have carried the infection into new territories.' 'Poor healthcare infrastructure in these places should be a big worry in the days to come.'
'In India, a really popular and well-entrenched leader is not defeated by a rival.' 'Such a leader has to defeat himself,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Why are the poor turning Right instead of turning toward far-Left parties, ponders Pranab Bardhan.
Senior IPS officer N C Asthana of CRPF was on Tuesday at the centre of a controversy over his remarks that there was a "strong under-current against India" in Kashmir, prompting the home ministry to take action, if required.
The chief minister said the Delhi government was implementing from November 19 its decision to reserve 80 per cent of ICU beds in private hospitals for COVID-19 patients.
The Southern Naval command on Wednesday called off its 14-day long rescue operations in flood-hit Kerala, saying there were no more requests for evacuation as waters receding in affected areas.
Bhutan's recognition of Bangladesh without waiting for Indian advice was a clever move, but if it did it even before India did, it was a calculated gamble to assert its independence, says T P Sreenivasan.
'Modi and Obama both had agendas that went beyond the nuclear deal. The threat from the chilly Himalayas had to be tackled in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.'
'The entire Ufa fiasco was predictable and predicted. The Ufa venue had created international interest in the initiative and its failure may have implications for both Pakistan and India. What remains for Modi to do is to produce a prettier rabbit out of his hat next time to deal with the Pakistan imbroglio,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'If Rao had, in fact, given a word to President Clinton in 1994 that India would not test, he would not have encouraged Vajpayee to test. The note, said to have been handed over to Vajpayee by Rao with the words, 'Now is the time to accomplish my unfinished task' may not have been a reference to nuclear tests at all,' says T P Sreenivasan.
Many states like Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were opposed to opening up of their airports in view of rising cases of the coronavirus infection.
The number of recoveries also surged with 2,48,189 patients cured so far, while there were 1,78,014 active cases, according to the updated official figures at 8 am.
'Presidents may come and go, but America will go on forever,' an American business leader tells Ambassador T P Sreenivasan in New York.
Pawar and his Manch can deliberate to their hearts' content, but so long as the Congress does not play ball the BJP has little to worry, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
'A P Venkateswaran left an indelible impression on Indian diplomacy and made an incredible number of friends, who kept remembering him, more than other Indian diplomats, who served at those posts.' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan salutes a legend of the Indian Foreign Service who passed into the ages.
On Sunday, India airlifted a second batch of 323 stranded Indians and seven Maldivian citizens from coronavirus-hit Wuhan city, taking the total number of people evacuated to 654.
'Antonio Guterres takes over as the UN secretary-general with tremendous goodwill as the process of his election was without the usual horse trading and compromises.' 'We have every reason to believe that he will be sensitive to Indian positions,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Almost all the big mall developers/investors - such as Raheja-owned Inorbit Malls, Xander-APG joint venture Virtuous Retail South Asia (VRSA), property developer Prestige Estates Projects, and Blackstone-owned Nexus Malls - are looking to double their space in a year or two.
Post elections, the company has been making frequent visits to various ministries, including the IT ministry, commerce ministry, as well as different agencies to get the hang of things in the administration.
The major coalition formations in the country were trying to weaken the Left movement, which had always put forward an alternative to the Centre's neo-liberal and anti-imperialist policies in the states governed by them, Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechury said on Monday.
The accident occurred at 7:45 pm while the pilot was attempting to land the B737 Air India Express from Dubai at the tabletop runway of the Karipur International Airport.
Beset by troubles on multiple fronts within, the Congress faces the danger of imploding with party veterans Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal on Wednesday sharply questioning the decision-making process, saying there are 'no monopolies', and demanded convening an urgent meeting of the Congress Working Committee for a 'dialogue'.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to make its stand clear on disputes arising out of the issue of invoking anti-piracy law against two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012.
Bharat Airways Private Limited (BAPL), a Bangalore-based aviation company, has started the first heli-taxi service in Kerala, connecting Kochi international airport with Sabarimala, a famous pilgrim centre.
'Till today, we don't know what PM Modi discussed with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, but we have been told that the relations have been reset.' 'We have no evidence from China to show that anything has changed, even though India had made several gestures in preparation for Wuhan,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Infectious disease is a given of humankind. There will always be another around the corner.'
To imagine that no one contributed to global peace to deserve the prize in 2017 is to be extremely cynical about peacemakers around the globe.
Issuing a travel advisory, the health ministry also called for passengers with travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany to undergo self-imposed quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival, and their employers to facilitate work-from-home for such employees during this period.
'President Kalam pitched his dreams high. He will be best remembered for that feat.'
Justice Kurian Joseph, who will turn 65 on November 30, was part of the five- judge bench which by a majority of 3:2 had ruled the practice of divorce through triple talaq among Muslims as "void", "illegal" and "unconstitutional".
'Imran cannot escape responsibility for providing a mask to the Pakistan army to engage in unlawful activities and to wage aggression after India retaliated to the terrorist attack,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Given Narendra Modi's trust in him, Praful Khoda Patel is unlikely to back down in Lakshadweep.
'There is nothing that Pakistan has done which deserves a resumption of dialogue. The assurances made in Ufa contain no commitment except a whole range of talks, which could take place without the paraphernalia associated with a joint statement of prime ministers.'
'Islamabad is only as big as a Delhi suburb.' 'How can a city with just two five star hotels and only one departure gate at their international airport be compared to Delhi with its sprawling airport?' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan finds the pulse of Pakistan after visiting Islamabad for the first time.
'Kofi Annan will be remembered more for his Nobel Prize and related glory rather than Rwanda and Volcker,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan with whom he worked in the UN.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Thursday its verdicts on a batch of petitions seeking re-examination of its decision to allow entry of women of all age group in Kerala's Sabarimala Temple and a review of its judgment giving a clean chit to the Modi government in the Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation.
It looks as if competing political parties in Tamil Nadu have not grasped the full impact and import of a sizable section of voters possibly staying away from voting -- voters, supposedly with a predictable polling pattern -- owing to the Covid second wave and more so, how it could affect the outcome in individual constituencies and even booths, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
