'Mr Vajapyee felt that you could pray to any god or not pray at all, but the country comes first.'
'We aren't so unreasonable as to demand that he should have fully reversed Indira Gandhi's worst economic legacy, bank nationalisation.' 'But he could have made a beginning by selling off the two most stressed small public sector banks, and then announced that each year for the next 10, one government bank with the most messed-up balance sheet will be sold.' 'It would have electrified the markets, shocked his other banks into better behaviour, and marked his name among the great reformers,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
As the strike by the Film and Television Institute of India students entered the fifth day, the Information and Broadcasting ministry on Tuesday offered to discuss "all relevant issues" after they stuck to their demand for revoking the appointment of actor and Bharatiya Janata Party member Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of its governing council.
CBI Jt. Director, A K Sharma, weakened Mallya's "Look Out" notice, says Rahul.
If oil prices stay at their new level of $72 or drop further, India will be in the happy position next year of enjoying a surplus on the trade account.
In spite of Budget's rural focus, the government has consistently stumbled in agriculture, says Shreekant Sambrani.
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi is well aware that it is a near-impossible task for him to beat Sneh Bansal in the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association's presidential elections on December 30, but he is not ready to go down without a fight against the "shameful activities" of the current regime.
Why do I want to bring corporate tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent? I have to attract investment in this country -- not just international but domestic.
In a Q&A with Doordarshan, Jaitley discusses how he chose the areas on which he would spend more.
Indian indices fell more than those of most other emerging markets.
'The macro-economic stresses -- high interest rates, rupee depreciation and capital flows -- have receded now.' 'Interest rates have come down, inflation is down and the rupee has bounced back.' 'If oil prices continue at this level, there will be no vulnerability.' 'Growth is a different story.'
The BCCI will reschedule Wednesday's IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals as CSK players have been forced into hard quarantine after Bowling Coach Lakshmipathy Balaji tested positive for COVID-19.
'We will have a big say in Delhi in 2018 or 2019 (whenever the elections are) in the Lok Sabha.'
BJP leader Arun Jaitley assesses Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's first ever television interview
'Three security challenges could emerge shortly. The possibility (almost bordering on certainty) is as certain as the fact that night follows day: A terrorist attack by a Pakistan-based group. Chinese intrusion on the border.Communal tension/riots.' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) explains what the Modi Sarkar needs to be prepared for.
Rattled by the spot-fixing scandal that has shaken Indian cricket, IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla and BCCI vice-President Arun Jaitley met Law Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday, demanding a strong anti-fixing legislation be 'enacted as soon as possible'.
'The clubbing of policy announcements in the Budget speech creates policy surprises.' 'Economic actors dislike policy surprises because they throw their plans off track,' points out Alok Tiwari.
Stepped up public expenditure must be accompanied by focused policies, advises Vinayak Chatterjee.
If India has more billionaires than before, it is because the Indian economy began to look more attractive to FIIs, notes T N Ninan.
Even Subramanian Swamy, who says he is an ardent supporter of the prime minister, has been taking proxy pot shots at him.' 'At the ground level too, there is resentment from workers and local leaders who have perhaps not got whatever they may have wanted,' notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'The estimates of tax forgone on this item run into hundreds of billions.' 'And there is neither fairness nor rationality to support continuing with this tax holiday for just one class of investors, those who put their money in shares,' says T N Ninan.
The bitter war between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Rafale deal on Tuesday saw more name-calling with the opposition party dubbing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a "babble blogger" and dismissing his "clown prince out-clowning himself" barb at Rahul Gandhi as "hollow rants of a court jester".
T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan recalls a tussle between the government and RBI when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister and how it was resolved.
Will request Bedi to withdraw his demand of removing his name from a stand: DDCA Prez
Desperate times need desperate actions, and the BJP's only option is to enforce legislation to build a Ram mandir, says Sunil Sethi.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com speaks to common folk in Tamil Nadu about whether they will invest in Arun Jaitley's gold monetisation scheme. Their reactions will not make the Union finance minister happy.
After many false starts, India may well be at the inflexion point that Deng Xiaoping took China to post-1978. The window of opportunity is wide open right now, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'From his persistent fuelling of pan-Hindu nationalism to pandering to narrow Gujarati chauvinism, Rambo rides again, using fair means and foul -- and often foul -- to gain the battleground,' says Sunil Sethi.
The forthcoming budget is an excellent opportunity for the Government to fulfill its promise of high economic growth.
There was a leadership crisis in the Board of Control for Cricket in India following the passing away of former chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, forcing the wise men in control of the all-powerful sports body to get into a huddle and recall Shashank Manohar to helm the Board yet again, four years after he had finished off his first term.
'India Inc has been afraid to criticise the government of the day for many years now, and it is perhaps unfair to blame the current one alone,' says Shyamal Majumdar.
The Congress on Wednesday disrupted the functioning of the Rajya Sabha over the naming of the Hyderabad domestic airport, contending that Rajiv Gandhi's name has been removed and should be restored, a demand rejected by the government.
'Where is the analysis that we need to spend at least Rs 4 trillion to keep India safe?'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended Mr Rajan, but it would be debated why he took so long to dub criticisms like those against the RBI governor as improper.
'Till the time the MSM and Modi don't trust one another, expect more Nirmala Sitharamans springing out from nowhere,' says Sudhir Bisht.
The Sikhs love a good fight, and that's what the Modi government has given them.
Businessmen love low import duties on their inputs and high duties on their outputs. And the Bharatiya Janata Party has a keen ear for business sentiment.
This was the one Budget that required radical departures on all these fronts, when it had none, asserts, Shreekant Sambrani.
Jaitley also dubbed Gandhi's attack on Modi as an attempt to shift the focus due to people's 'revulsion' towards the Congress party.
"I don't think this administrative subject should be an issue of interest to the media," Modi said.
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