There is a reason this 11 year phenomenon is a rule as much as it is an observation. It speaks to the nature of man and what humans are like, explains Aakar Patel.
Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 is more than just the largest gathering of humanity. It is a testament to faith and devotion.
'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
It was a protest which held a mirror to the government of a state taking pride in its commitment to democracy, gender equality and social indices.One person, who in his employed days had known governments and political parties at close quarters, told me that public perception of how the Kerala government handled the ASHA workers' strike had been terrible, reports Shyam G Menon.
'Justice may or may not happen, but who are those people who did this to her?' 'If the hospital authorities had helped us that day, or the police, then the real culprits would have been caught.' 'Getting justice for my daughter is my goal now and I want the CM to remember that.'
The ashes of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were immersed in the Yamuna river near the Majnu ka Tila Gurdwara in New Delhi. The immersion ceremony was conducted by Singh's family members following Sikh rituals. The ashes were collected from the Nigambodh Ghat on Sunday morning and taken to the 'Asth Ghat' on the Yamuna river bank near the gurdwara. Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur, their three daughters -- Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh -- along with other relatives were present at the immersion site.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'There will be no change of seats for Delhi, Assam and Maharashtra.' 'Andhra, J&K, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana will lose seats while there will be an increase for MP, UP, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.' 'It is a big mistake if you make it a north-south issue.'
A small-scale businessman was found dead at his house in Kottayam in Kerala, following which the family members raised grave charges against a Karnataka-based private bank on Tuesday.
'Does 99 percent guarantee character and capacity for an independent awareness of life or does it make you -- barring exceptions -- a compliant careerist beholden to governments and corporations?' 'What kind of political and social choices would such minds make?' asks Shyam G Menon.
'The increase in the limit for TDS on interest to Rs 1 lakh will ensure greater cash flow in the hands of senior citizens.'
The Congress party on Monday defended its decision not to accompany the family of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the immersion of his ashes in the Yamuna, stating it was to ensure their privacy. Congress leader Pawan Khera said senior leaders did not accompany the family to gather and immerse the ashes of Dr Singh "out of our deference to the privacy of the family."
Seven of the 13 people who died in a train accident in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district were from Nepal. The accident occurred when passengers on the Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express got off the train after an alarm chain-pulling incident and were run over by the Karnataka Express on the adjacent tracks. A fire rumour spread in the train, prompting passengers to jump off. The incident highlighted the dangers of chain-pulling and the need for better safety measures on Indian Railways.
The most striking features of this Budget was its focus on simplification and improving the ease of doing business in India, asserts Kaku Nakhate.
Rohit, a young man from Punjab, India, was deported from the United States after a perilous journey that cost him his life savings and left his family in financial ruin. He had been promised legal entry to the U.S. by a travel agent in Amritsar, but his hopes were dashed when he was apprehended for illegally crossing the border. The ordeal highlights the risks associated with illegal migration and the exploitation faced by vulnerable individuals seeking a better life.
By June 2025, financial freedom will be just an ATM away. Pleasantly surprised? But there's more, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
Four members of a gang have been arrested for kidnapping actor Mushtaq Mohammad Khan from the Delhi airport and holding him hostage in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. The gang was also plotting to abduct veteran actor Shakti Kapoor on the pretext of inviting him to an event. The gang members were involved in abducting film stars by sending advance payments and air tickets under the guise of event invitations. Police recovered Rs 1.04 lakh from their possession and are investigating whether the gang was involved in the kidnapping of other film stars. In a related development, Arjun, one of the kidnappers involved in comedian Sunil Pal's abduction, was shot and injured during an encounter with police in Meerut. Arjun, who was arrested on Saturday, attempted to escape while being escorted for a medical checkup by snatching the pistol of a sub-inspector. The police team retaliated, and Arjun was shot and injured in the exchange of fire.
Prayagraj is transforming into a massive temporary city to host the Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, expected to draw over 40 crore pilgrims. The preparations include extensive infrastructure development, including 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets, and a 1,250-km pipeline network. The event, starting on January 13, will culminate on February 26, bringing together millions of devotees for the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
'Till the BJP does not understand Kejriwal they cannot win Delhi.'
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
Students from de-notified tribes, nomadic tribes and semi-nomadic tribes will receive coaching fees of up to 1,20,000 and additional benefits for preparing for entrance examinations such as JEE, NEET, CLAT and the NDA.
He drew the roadmap of India's economic reform, unshackled it from the licence raj and pulled it back from the brink when even its gold reserve was pledged.
Mumbai's young batting star Musheer Khan has been ruled out of the upcoming Irani Cup match after suffering a fracture in the neck, in a road accident on the Yamuna Expressway, on Friday.
State Bank of India (SBI), in a report on Friday, claimed a significant decline in the headline poverty ratio in rural areas on account of enhanced physical infrastructure, higher consumption growth in the bottom fractile and direct benefit transfers (DBTs).
President Mohamed Muizzu, known for his pro-China stance, has thanked India for enabling the resumption of medical evacuation services with civilian aviation personnel from India.
Squadron Leader Kanwal Deep Mehra's daredevilry during the 1971 War brought down a Pakistani F-86 Sabre. But he had to bail out of his plane, was badly injured. Then a fierce band of armed guerillas evacuated him to safety at great risk to their lives.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
The eighth Budget of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman continued to focus on 'GYAN' (Garib, Youth, Annadata, Nari) to maintain a consistent and coherent strategy initiated over the years in pursuing the government's vision for Viksit Bharat. The approach, characterised by incremental yet impactful steps, aims to create a compounding effect over time.
More than 51,000 diyas were lighted on Friday on Dev Deepawali at a Varanasi ghat to form 'Batoge to Katoge' -- a slogan given recently by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a call apparently to Hindus to stay united.
'We have worked day and night for this moment because seeing the medical condition, there are a lot of things that are going on and regular training and exercises are a very big challenge with our medical condition.'
A special court in Mumbai denied bail to businessman Sujit Patkar, an aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, in the alleged COVID treatment centres scam. The court found that Patkar played with the "life of people" by under-deployment of doctors and staff to generate proceeds of crime. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that Patkar's firm, Lifeline Hospital Management, fraudulently obtained a contract for supplying medical staff at Dahisar and Worli Jumbo Covid facilities during the pandemic, resulting in the generation of proceeds of crime (PoC) amounting to Rs 32.44 crore. The court noted that there are ample statements of the witnesses to show that a list of more staff members was prepared than being deployed on the instructions of Patkar.
Prayagraj is a must-visit place in 2025, but in January and February you can't miss the Maha Kumbh, a spectacular event like no other.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
'In India, managers and the leadership almost glorify overworking.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has identified 144 candidates who had allegedly paid to get National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) leaked and solved papers hours before they were to take the examination for admissions in medical colleges, officials said on Monday.
"We don't deny the deaths, which were all related to heat conditions as the people remained under the hot sun from 11 am till 1 pm. Let me make it clear, we made arrangements anticipating 15 lakh people for the IAF's 92nd Day celebrations and even provided more than what the IAF had sought," the minister told reporters in Chennai.
'The Indian private sector knows how to build and run educational organisations, what is needed is a large dose of removal of restrictions.' 'Government restrictions hold back universities in India from launching medical schools,' argue Ajay Shah and Vijay Kelkar.
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