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India's fear of small states derives from memories of Partition and the paranoid view that it will break up under 'too many' states. It's time to shed such fears and bite the 'states' reorganisation' bullet. India won't crumble under a few more Telanganas, Vidarbhas or Gorkhalands, says Praful Bidwai.
Faced with a dilemma over handing tickets to leaders facing allegations of corruption, Congress on Wednesday gave indications that while former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal could be re-nominated from Chandigarh, Pune MP Suresh Kalmadi may not be fielded in the upcoming polls.
Prime Minister Modi ruled out any review of the Constitution and reached out to the Opposition by saying that the ruling side does not believe in forcing decisions.
Diversification and asset allocation can reduce uncertainty
After a week-long washout, Lok Sabha transacted some business on Monday as two bills were introduced and another taken up for consideration even as Congress and some other parties continued their vociferous protests, along with display of placards.
'Who is the right Mekhail? Mekhail I or Mekhail II?'
Urban Indians are developing a taste for freshly brewed and bottled craft beer.
It is definitely the heaviest in its class, which is likely to make in-city commutes a tad troublesome
Border Security Force on Monday said repeated ceasefire violations across the border in Jammu and Kashmir are being done at the behest of Pakistan to facilitate infiltration of "undesirable" elements into Indian territory.
Opportunity for India to take leadership in economic diplomacy.
RBI is unlikely to stem the slide against the dollar as the greenback is rising rapidly against all currencies in the world.
The bench had made it clear that it would examine whether the practice of triple talaq among Muslims is fundamental to their religion.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, on Friday, said that he should not be made a villain for bowling one of the two no-balls which proved to be a crucial factor in India's World Twenty20 semi-final loss to the West Indies.
'I want to leave behind the bank stronger and better than when I took over.'
'Forming cults around Lalus, Nitishes, Mulayams, Mayawatis and Mamatas will do as much harm to the Republic as the bhakti of the Hindus for Modi will do,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
A basic problem is that the cost of spectrum and licences relative to earnings is too high.
'As India and Pakistan observe the 50th anniversary of the 1965 war, the one lesson that ought to have been learned by Pakistan is how vulnerable its heartland is to a sudden attack. The only alternative to this inherent geographic weakness is to have a policy of peace with India. In an extreme scenario, India can destroy Pakistani strategic targets by just artillery shelling, crossing of the border is not even necessary,' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd)
On International Women's Day, Bollywood's women give us their take on the status of women in the industry, and in India.
One thing Beijing must understand is that India is not obsessed with being a threat to China but only wants a rightful place for itself in the world, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
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He started a fund with Rs 800 crore and made several investments.
Yesteryear's heart-throb Shashi Kapoor will get the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award for his contribution to Indian cinema. On this occasion, we reproduce Dinesh Raheja's nostalgia piece on the actor here:
'The Indian and Israeli rabbis were singing a small departure song for brave little Moshe, who had spent many, likely, heartbreaking but bittersweet hours at this home of his babyhood, looking at the drawings his mother had made for him, that were still up in his room.'
Govt keen to revive business sentiment in india.
It seems China is ready to cooperate with India in the central Asian region through the SCO framework, the reasons for which are manifold, says Sana Hashmi.
It is high time to manoeuvre the rupee more effectively and predictably, even as it has to be recognised that such tweaking of the rupee needs to be accompanied by reforms to the real sector and factor markets.
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The disparity between the outlook of the rich and poor was greater in India than in any other emerging economy. Indians might want to be worried about this because this suggests that the rich are really out of touch with the poor, Bruce Stoke, Director of Pew Research Center, tells Faisal Kidwai in an interview.
'For short-term gain, the BJP makes extraordinary promises, they take extraordinary decisions, but in the long term it is going to impact both them and the country.'
Putting Indian markets on fire, the foreign investors have pumped in over Rs 1-lakh crore of so-called 'hot money' into stocks during 2014 -- taking their cumulative net investments here beyond Rs 10 lakh crore.
'Modi is likely to make more announcements to win or retain popularity, and put himself at the centre of things even more than now,' says T N Ninan.
Since two weeks now, A K Antony has been meeting Congress leaders across India to pinpoint reasons behind the party's abysmal performance in Lok Sabha elections.
Hackers have begun to emerge from the shadows of suspicion.
Among the greatest mistakes women make in their career is losing track of their career goals, not taking additional responsibilities and learning new skills and technology.
Take a bow, Shah Rukh Khan, raves Raja Sen.
In July, IRS officers in Mumbai held an incendiary meeting where they criticised the alleged interference in 'operational matters' by the department of revenue.
'15, 17 years back we were not even in existence in the US. Today nearly 1/3 of prescriptions written comes from India.' 'India is showing that in a very competitive environment -- like the US and Europe -- our industry is doing very well.'
The Swiss National Bank, the country's central banking authority, has estimated the funds currently held by Indians in Swiss banks at a mere $1.98 billion. Fear of disclosure due to greater scrutiny of this illicit wealth has played the main role in the flight of capital.
'Let me talk about young Indian startups with their hearts in the right place and how they are proving that innovations that represent 'affordable excellence' -- breaking the myth that 'affordability' and 'excellence' cannot go together -- is indeed possible!' says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, in this fascinating feature.
The attacks on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is merely one in a long list of attacks on the media by extremist groups that would like to mandate what and how of free press. So, for the uninitiated, we take a stroll down recent times to see how the media and media persons have seen fearful responses to perceived transgressions.
Unlike Al Qaeda, ISIS recruiters are proactive and internet savvy. They know there is angst among Muslims about their helplessness even in a vibrant democracy like India, leave alone other parts of the world where Muslims live. So ISIS feeds them a regular diet of the golden age of the Ummah, creating for these youngsters a live yet make-believe world which is completely disconnected from the reality around them, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'We don't have to be the world's policeman. We don't have to impose our values. But we need to lead and when we pull back as we've done, you begin to see exactly what happens -- the voids are filled by threats of terror that countries have to suffer with, including India.'
