The wave of enthusiasm for digital technology had faded as we'd grown more and more worried about what smartphones and social media were doing to society and to us as individuals. Now that switchback ride between hopes for the technology and fear of it seemed to have taken us on another upward path, as the virus made us fall back in love with it. Read on for an intriguing excerpt from Rory Cellan-Jones's Always On: Hope And Fear In The Social Smartphone Era.
'Never lose your optimism. Never lose your aspiration and never -- even if India becomes a prosperous consumer society -- never ever lose that shining light in your eyes,' advises Dr Peter McLaughlin, headmaster of the Doon School.
The Taliban have been known for using violence to force the people to accept their agenda and views, he added.
'Indian universities are giving out PhDs without adequate evaluation,' charges Dr Satya Narain Jatiya, MP.
'You can have a bath in just one bucket of water.' 'When you are brushing your teeth, remember to turn off the tap.' 'You don't have to wash your car every day.'
From India's fight against COVID-19 to China face-off, Kovind spoke on several issues during the televised address.
General Pande said the northern border region has been peaceful and steps have been taken to maintain peace through established protocol and existing mechanism.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to a joint session of the United States Congress, delivered on Thursday.
'Culture is our asset. Culture is our identity.' 'Wherever you go in India, every millimetre can be measured with culture.' 'There is so much to see that even one life is not enough.'
Kovind said the UP legislature has a glorious history of dignified amicability between the ruling party and the Opposition.
'The uneducated think of their rights as a gift. This is deeply troubling.' 'If they were educated they could claim what is rightfully theirs.'
Poor quality of education is one of the most important reasons for high unemployment in India, says Kavita Nigam.
No country has grown without educating its people. India's shameful lag in primary and secondary education has persisted for several decades, and the crisis in higher education is now threatening a social and political calamity, says Ashoka Mody.
How many of these have you appeared for?
"The biggest challenge before us is that the 21st century belongs to Asia. But do we have this sentiment, I think that is the biggest challenge," he said.
A culture of science and innovation must be embedded in society wherein people not only use new technology but understand it as well. Without this, obscurantism and blind faith can sit side by side with digital technology and, in fact, use the same technology to reinforce their hold on people, says Shram Saran.
Kasam Shaikh is the fifth person in India and first from Maharashtra to receive the award for Microsoft Most Valuable Professional title in Artificial Intelligence.
'The problem here is not that one community's deity has suddenly become another community's meal.' 'Hindus and Muslims have been peacefully coexisting with their cows for centuries now.' 'The problem here is that a section of Indians has been suddenly made to realise that it makes great political sense to degrade each one of the 170 million Muslims to a potential cow-killer, lynch a few of them to keep the heat on, polarise and win elections.'
A coalition of over 150 US-based academicians back Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Silicon Valley next week and counter refute 130 US-based South Asian academics who oppose the Modi visit and his Digital India initiative.
'If the RSS should be saluted for choosing such a scholarly statesman to address its highly trained cadre, one must also praise Pranab Da's sagacity for having gracefully accepting the invitation, thus disapproving any ideological apartheid,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
Asserting that there is "no substitute" for teachers, Indian mathematician and founder Anand Kumar has said that there is a need to create an atmosphere in which teachers get respect and recognition to draw the best to this profession.
The General Assembly hall, where world leaders come together every year for the high-level UN session, was packed with UN diplomats, officials, yoga gurus and practitioners, children and people from various backgrounds as India's Permanent Mission to the UN organised the commemoration of the 5th International Day of Yoga Thursday.
'How can I pursue my dream forgoing my identity? I want to fly as a trans man.'
How Raipur's District Collector Om Prakash Choudhary ensures that poor children study at good schools.
After snapping his political alliance with the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, N Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, speaks to B Dasarath Reddy on what he now has in mind.
A group of high-powered individuals led by Anand Mahindra have come together to set up Krea university. The campus is expected to be ready by 2019 and the first batch of 100 to 125 students will commence classes in August next year.
'Dr Rajan is often preachy with commandments aimed at nobody in particular,' complains M S Sriram.
Johnson also reiterated his plan to visit India ahead of the G7 summit, after a scheduled visit for Republic Day this month was called off due to the coronavirus crisis.
Ajit Balakrishnan on how Indian society and the polity need to be carried along.
A fascinating glimpse from Somak Ghoshal's 10 Indian Heroes Who Help People Live With Dignity.
'When the youth population is so large, in a globalised world, they look for opportunities. Are there enough opportunities for the youth in India?' 'The idea of affirmative action has to be creating capability. All individuals have potential. Unfortunately, there is capability deprivation because of the State's inaction.' 'Nation building has been a disaster in India mainly because we lacked the work ethic compared to the US and European countries.'
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 72nd Republic Day.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
The first dimension of this vision will be to build physical as well as social infrastructure for a $10-trillion economy and to provide ease of living: Goyal.
Former President A P J Abdul Kalam kindly answered rediff.com's questions for an exclusive interview.
Bharat Biotech is in the middle of conducting a phase 3 trial with 22,000 subjects.
We have our own problems for sure and they are not trivial, but for now, our economy is in not too bad a shape, our politics is as personality-driven and authoritarian as that of most countries in the world. We must make the best of what we have and not be excessively unhappy looking at the grass on the other side of the septic tank which may not be greener after all!, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
'Even after vaccines are given, precautions like using a mask and maintaining social distancing have to be taken.'
Mumbai-based start-up Purple Squirrel Eduventures is helping students decide on their careers through industrial visits
Chief Justice of India Justice T S Thakur today said that "corresponding upgradation" of judiciary was a must to face the challenges of emerging social and economic scenario and observed that "unpolluted and speedy justice still remains a distant dream".
