Caste census politics took centre stage on Thursday with the Congress terming the government's decision as a 'diversionary tactic' and a move for headlines management and the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it has exposed the difference between the Centre's 'true intentions' and the 'empty sloganeering' of the opposition party.
'There were deep discussions within the Sangh Parivar before this decision was made.' 'They were convinced, and only then did the Modi government proceed with the caste census.'
"Nations need to recognise higher education as the engine of economic growth and prosperity," says Dr Susan Aldridge, president, University of Maryland University College, US, Aziz Haniffa reports
'The country is a good test bed for enterprise adoption, but to scale rapidly, companies will need to look outside the country for customers.'
'He didn't implement good policies for good politics.' 'He never worked on comprehensive policy-making.' 'In Kejriwal's own constituency youths are jobless.'
Pananjay Tiwari, founder and director of Impel Overseas Education, explains how the new changes can impact Indian students who are applying to US universities and those who are already studying in the US.
The Delhi battlefield may not be a cakewalk for the Rhodes Scholar.
While India has become the largest data generating nation, and hosts more than 152 data centres, it is fed by only 18 undersea cables.
'The southern states will have no voice.' 'Political parties in future need to focus only on one region, the northern region, to win the general election.'
Ranjani Srinivasan, a citizen and national of India, entered the United States on a F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Friday. It added that Srinivasan was "involved in activities supporting" Hamas, a terrorist organisation.
Universities and immigration authorities take student conduct seriously. Behaviour that is deemed unacceptable or dangerous can lead to legal consequences, including deportation, warns Dr Pananjay Tiwari, founder and director, Impel Overseas Education.
'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.'
'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.
Rao suggested changes should also be brought in the evaluation methods and pitched for introduction of an open-book examination system for competitive examinations designed to test the candidates' "competence, aptitude, attitude and Intelligence Quotient".
Maharashtra Finance Minister Ajit Pawar presented the state budget, announcing the construction of numerous memorials dedicated to historical figures like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and others. These memorials aim to preserve and celebrate the legacy of these prominent figures, contributing to the state's cultural and historical landscape.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
'The finance minister missed yet another opportunity to simplify the income tax structure in the Budget.' 'This was an opportune moment to get rid of the old tax system entirely and move fully to the new system,' asserts M Govinda Rao, member of the 14th Finance Commission.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
'We will be very, very proactive in providing whatever liquidity requirements are needed.'
Sitharaman said the government will bring in a new national education policy to transform India's higher education system into one of the best in the world.
The free education policy should be amended so that boys also get free education besides girls, and all Marathas should get free education "from KG to PG" (kindergarten to post-graduation) until the entire community gets reservation, he said.
In the letter which was posted on Twitter by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy said, 'It is very dangerous for the country if the prime minister is less educated.'
Market downturns or regulatory shifts can reduce liquidity, making it harder to buy or sell assets when needed.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the executive and the legislature would decide whether persons, who had availed quota benefits and were in a position to compete with others, were to be excluded from reservation.
Indian students are looking at destinations that offer quality education coupled with unique cultural and career experiences, often at more affordable costs, says Gaurav Batra, CEO, Infinite Group.
It will be interesting to see what shifts have been recorded in the last decade-and-a-half -- from the effects of demonetisation and Covid's second wave to the drop in fertility and increase in farm workers -- but we will only know this if and when the Census is conducted, points out Aakar Patel.
In his first meeting with Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged concerns over the attacks on minorities, including Hindus and conveyed that any rhetoric that vitiated the environment was best avoided.
Krish Lal Isserdasani is an engineering student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
We must bring a laser focus on our own interests, and define our friends and foes more clearly instead of trying to live by somebody else's rules. We must grow up, think for ourselves, think India First, asserts R Jagannathan.
Modi alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka gave reservations in tenders based on religion, "snatching the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs." But Ambedkar had said there would not be reservation based on religion and there is a bar on giving reservation on the basis of religion in the Constitution, he stressed.
The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Ahead of Trump's inauguration here on January 20, the debate on foreign guest workers visas for highly skilled professionals, the H-1B, has intensified which has literally created divisions in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.
According to a 2021 Redseer report, India's overseas education market is estimated to more than double to $80 billion by 2024.
Real estate developers are hoping that the slew of tax concessions announced in Union Budget 2025, set to take effect this financial year, will spur demand for affordable and mid-segment housing, even as the broader housing market shows signs of fatigue.
Kejriwal described the BJP's election manifesto as "dangerous for the country".
'But this Budget alone will not fix what ails the Indian economy.'
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has asserted that alliances are formed only at the time of elections and declined to categorically say if his party would align with the BJP for the 2026 Assembly polls. Palaniswami met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday and brought to his attention several issues faced by Tamil Nadu, including the need for funds release, the implementation of the Godavari-Cauvery river linking plan, and a probe into the "TASMAC scam." He said that while the party would decide on an alliance at the time of the election, he did not rule out a tie-up with the BJP.
'Patients under the scheme may ultimately have to go to private hospitals.'
The underrepresentation of women in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a significant risk of perpetuating the prevailing societal biases into future technologies, according to a top Microsoft executive. Himani Agrawal, chief partner officer, Microsoft India and South Asia, believes that inclusion is a shared responsibility and if AI continues to be shaped without diverse perspectives, the biases of today risk becoming hardwired into the technology of tomorrow.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced the formation of a panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to study the relationship between the Union and state governments and ensure state autonomy. The panel, which will submit its interim report in January 2026 and its final report in two years, will examine the transfer of subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List, citing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as an example of a subject outside state purview.
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