Around 5 to 6 Union Ministers may accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 2-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi from November 7.
To believe that the key job of his senior ministers is to ensure that his image be kept intact whatever be the outcome of his policies is to expect too much even of someone as ambitious as Narendra Modi, asserts Rashme Sehgal.
Some analysts believe that it suits Prime Minister Narendra Modi at this stage to debunk the image of Sonia Gandhi as a woman who declined the prime ministership of the country with great personal sacrifice, just as it would suit him to portray Rahul as a coward who was afraid his mother would be killed -- claims made by former Union minister Natwar Singh in his yet-to-be-released book. Rediff.com contributor Renu Mital reports.
The letter by Singh, who is camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida along with his faction members since December 2, came as protestors marked the birth anniversary of former prime minister and farmers' leader Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Karunanidhi, 94, died at the Kauvery hospital on Tuesday following prolonged illness.
The bus was carrying 40-45 people and most of those killed were students of elementary classes, aged below ten.
With no agenda announced for the meeting, the leaders from Jammu and Kashmir said they have come with an open mind.
The Modi government's array of economic policy has been impressive.
Mr Modi can create a small temporary team in the PMO whose only job would be to listen to businessmen's mann ki baat referring to global best practices.
Modi placed a $12.6 billion bet in this year's budget on road building
PM Modi's pinstriped suit monogrammed is the star attraction at an auction.
Experts, however, have raised concern over the decision, saying the move is akin to treating symptoms instead of the underlying causes.
P Chidambaram rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's veiled charge that Sonia Gandhi was an "unconstitutional authority."
There is considerable discomfort within the defence ministry about the Rafale deal.
"PM is deeply concerned about the incidents in Hisar, Haryana and Nadia, West Bengal," the PMO tweeted.
India to exploit to the maximum the capacity of Pak-controlled rivers -- Indus, Chenab, Jhelum as per the Indus Treat, source said.
The levy of retrospective tax on the UK's Cairn Energy Plc is a tale of bizarre twists and turns that saw its attached shares being sold in May 2018 amid the passing of the baton from a full-time finance minister to interim one and the talks at the highest level to resolve the dispute, to claims that levy of back taxes was a result of an investigation into Panama Papers leak. The government late last month refunded about Rs 7,900 crore it had collected from selling residual shares of the British firm in its erstwhile India unit, seizing dividend and withholding tax refunds, to settle an eight-year-old dispute that had tarred the country's reputation as an investment destination. But, this did not come about easily. For seven years, the establishment vehemently justified in courts and outside seeking of Rs 10,247 crore in back taxes plus interest and penalty from a firm that gave India its biggest onshore oil discovery.
The success of the government will depend substantially on the quality of its team of key ministers, officials and advisors
The Budget will indicate where the Modi government stands on reforms, growth and development.
In the final part of his interview with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai says the Congress lost the election in 2011, the year of Anna Hazare.
Rajan said it is hard to offer an objective self-assessment but the RBI should probably have raised more flags about the quality of lending in the early days of banking exuberance.
Travelling abroad will be tougher for civil servants, with the Narendra Modi government further tightening the rules for foreign travel.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'Make in India' campaign, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Rs 10 lakh suit he wore during US President Barack Obama's visit was "Make in UK".
The finance ministry is working on a second relief package for the Indian economy hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and the 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the contagion, sources said. Last month, the government announced a Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package in the form of foodgrains and cash transfers for the poor and vulnerable section of the society to help them deal with the hardships caused by the lockdown. Now, the government is working on a stimulus to be given to hard-hit sectors of the economy after the lockdown is lifted, sources said, adding that an announcement is expected in the next few days depending on the severity of the pandemic.
Narendra Modi had stressed need for shifting focus from port development to 'port-led development' model to maximise gains
The explosion occurred when some chemicals were being mixed to produce fireworks at the unit in Acchankulam village, they said, adding the injured had been hospitalised.
With Donald Trump unable to make it, Modi settles for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Government on Sunday announced Rs 6 lakh compensation for kin of those killed in the country due to the earthquake as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of rescue and relief operations at home and in Nepal and directed that they be speeded up through close coordination among agencies.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, charged the government with not delivering on its various promises, including generating two crore jobs per year.
The files were handed over by the PMO to the National Archives of India for 'further processing, preservation and digitisation'.
Bureaucrats are finding it difficult to keep pace with Modi's working style -- from long work hours to faster clearance of files -- it is a telling tale in the corridors of power. Vrishti Beniwal finds out
Sushma Swaraj does not follow anybody, Gadkari is happy to track only two, while Parrikar has only 117 tweets.
'Why wouldn't so strategically-minded an adversary, such as China, not militarily exploit to the maximum Indian timidity, stupidity, and cupidity all along the LAC and legitimate, as it has done so often in the past, the fait accompli of incremental territorial grabs which, by the way, is its strategy and policy as implemented on the ground?'
"The Central Public Works Department has asked Tata Projects Ltd to start the construction work of the new parliament building on January 15 as it is considered auspicious to commence such a project on the day of first dawn after 'Makar Sankranti'," the official sources said.
A day after the state government's intervention, the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday said that 'Metro man' E Sreedharan has been included in the list of dignitaries who will share the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Kochi Metro inauguration on June 17.
Contrary to the bragging that marked its two-year anniversary, the government's timidity on reform is simply astounding.
'We have to rise over our divisions.' 'Divisions within us allow unscrupulous politicians to divert attention from issues like corruption and governance.'
Nearly two years after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two UTs and revocation of its special status, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with top political leaders from the erstwhile state, and said the Centre's priority is to strengthen grassroots democracy there for which delimitation has to happen quickly so that polls can be held.
Do Modi's foreign visits actually serve India or they nothing more than expensive tools for domestic positioning and image-building, asks Shehzad Poonawalla.
Notwithstanding his confrontation with the Lt Governor over a number of contentious issues, Kejriwal said Jung's removal will not help as the "real solution" lies in the Prime Minister's Office stopping "interference" in Delhi's affairs.
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