Responding to questions, the World Bank president insisted that this slowdown is temporary.
'If the Kasturirangan Committee report is implemented, the mining and quarrying lobbies will flourish... It will be disastrous for the environment... There will be water shortage, there will be pollution. Finally, farmers will have to quit the area.' Dr V S Vijayan, a member of the Gadgil Committee, points out how the Kasturirangan Committee report will hit both people living in the Western Ghats as well as the plains.
Official panel points to bid deficiencies in rural job guarantee, pensions, housing and other programmes.
Modi will reach Bangladesh capital of Dhaka on Saturday morning.
The new ordinance on land acquisition will allow land grabbers to deprive millions, destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves to extract minerals as well as ground water, without replenishment at a pace that will not leave anything for the next generation, warns activist Medha Patkar.
'The wheel does not need to be reinvented.' 'The question is whether we are prepared to put our shoulder to it to make it turn.'
'Jihadi outfits backed by the ISI are now prepared to attack targets not just in J&K, but also in Punjab. This signals an escalation in the range and scope of cross-border terrorism, which cannot be ignored,' says Ambassador G Parthasarthy, former high commissioner to Pakistan.
'Greenpeace has been brutal in targeting both India and the Manmohan Singh government. The push to go after Indian coal is driven by its long-term agenda. What is surprising is that China has not been meted out the same treatment, despite the fact that the rise of China as an economic power has been built around generating power from coal. 'Being richer and more affluent, yet far less democratic, there is less room for an NGO such as Greenpeace to drive home a complicated global agenda, so there is more of a tendency to go along with anything the Chinese offer despite China being the biggest by far with regard to coal use. But for India, it reserves tougher prescriptions, notably for its middle class, says Srinivas Bharadwaj.
The Opposition has alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh runs the Narendra Modi government.
By refusing permission for the proposed ship-breaking facility, India can send a categorical message to the foreign ship owning countries that they should keep their own waste and recycle
'The Naxalite strategy is to periodically attack police forces to provoke a reaction.' 'Once the security forces over-react and cause suffering to innocents by high-handed actions, the people will be alienated and support the revolution.' 'This appears to be the Naxalites' strategy and hence, their recent brutal killings of policemen,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The two countries also asked all nations to stop cross-border movement of terrorists and asserted that a decisive collective response from the international community without 'double standards and selectivity' was required to combat the threat of terrorism.
Sujatha Gidla's scathing observations about Mahatma Gandhi and other highlights from Jaipur Literature Festival 2018.
Air that people breathe in Indian cities is among the worst in the world.
'My wife has done everything... She has had to give up a lot,' HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar tells Sahil Makkar.
The jobless armies of youthful India are getting angrier and desperate, warns Shekhar Gupta.
'The Army must always be balanced in response.' 'Rabble rousers will demand that it be given a free hand against anti-national elements in the streets. That is exactly what the adversaries want.' 'Burning the Kashmir Valley through the summer is their desire; the Army will never contribute to enhancing their aim,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), who served as the General Officer Commanding 15 Corps in Kashmir.
The notes argue that it will widen the talent base available to govt to deliver increasingly complex services to a demanding population.
An industrial house bred in old-school manufacturing values, Godrej & Boyce has displayed unusual agility to become a trusted builder of advanced weaponry, discovers Ajai Shukla.
A day after being sworn-in, the new ministers took charge of their portfolios. Here's a look at the various new ministers on their first day at work.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday addressed the first joint sitting of Parliament as mandatorily required under the Constitution after the general elections. The address is the political, economic and foreign policy road map of the Narendra Modi government and covers virtually all crucial areas.
'Modi has missed the bus in Kashmir.'
The Delhi high court on Thursday set aside the look out circular issued against Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai, who was offloaded from a flight to London two months back, saying her fundamental right to travel cannot be curtailed.
'If every city had the strongest tools that are currently available only to a few, the world's climate prospects would glow far more brightly.'
Govt keen to revive business sentiment in india.
'Inept handling by the National Security Advisor transformed what should have been a short counter-terrorist operation in Pathankot into an apparent debacle.'
'He is anything but astute or charismatic. He believes the Congress can win elections without alliances in the Hindi heartland.'
Nearly two million people die from mosquito-borne diseases every year. What are we doing about it?
How could India@75 improve law and order, courts, social, physical and soft infrastructure, efficient cities, e-governance, ease of doing business and other essential state functions by 2022, asks Shailesh Pathak.
The Centre has accorded top priority for cost-effective, pollution-free transportation modes, such as waterways, which reduce logistic costs and increase road safety. Union minister of roads, highways, ports and shipping Nitin Gadkari speaks to Sanjay Jog about the government's strategy.
'He selects certain portfolios that he has personal interest in, and he does not give them to a senior leader. The responsibility is given to a junior minister who then directly reports to Modi or to the small team of bureaucrats working with Modi.' 'I noticed this first in Gujarat where Modi worked mainly with two ministers, Saurabh Patel and Amit Shah,' says Aakar Patel.
All Indian prime ministers must know that the route to their Nobel Peace Prize doesn't go through Pakistan, says Rajeev Sharma.
'This is the first time a majority ruling government is nominating a Dalit for President.' 'So, the moral credibility definitely will go with the BJP, particularly Narendra Modi.'
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
MUST READ: The speech Nayantara Sahgal was not allowed to give.
'Today we can't confirm whether Chau is dead or not.' 'What is the guarantee that the Sentinelese killed him?'
Only national service can save the nation, and not politics: Modi
The Goa Foundation started filing writ petitions before the Bombay High Court from 1992 onwards against several mining companies.
Tarun Vijay, MP, salutes the General whom he adored as a great friend.
'These people are not concerned about Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian -- they are only concerned about being in power,' Akhilesh Yadav tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in his first interview after the election results.
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