'Villages are much better prepared than towns as far as COVID-19 is concerned.'
Sports Awards could to be delayed: Ministry official
'It needed political courage on the part of the prime minister to make such an intervention at the present juncture when the hawkish opinion rules the roost in the Indian foreign-policy discourses in our media, and, unfortunately, the sane voices have largely fallen silent,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Accusing the Congress party of "failing to keep national interests over its political agenda", Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said the chief opposition party stood "isolated" in disrupting the Parliament at a time when MPs of other parties condemned the Gurdaspur terror attack and stood in solidarity.
The last 25 years of Indian democracy have shown that anti-incumbency in state elections is on the decline. This is a positive trend because continuous terms will allow political parties to look beyond single-term policies and focus on long-term development, says Richard M Rossow.
Will the AIADMK acknowledge the role of CAA and the anti-CAA protests, both inside the state and outside, as among the causes for the current electoral reversal, as many in the party now want? It is unlikely to be so, but then the pressure will increase on the leadership to reassess the BJP alliance at one level and the 'blind support' for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's controversial policies on the other, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel has again postponed his 'reverse Dandi March', scheduled for Sunday, to September 15, claiming that he has been invited by a Cabinet minister for a meeting with the state chief minister on the issue.
With prices unlikely to run up sharply, genuine buyers can start readying deals before the festival season starts.
'If the US-Pakistan relationship continues to suffer, Pakistan may feel it has less to lose and decide that it need not keep a leash on LeT in order to appease America.' 'A tougher US policy toward Pakistan could lead to an emboldened and strengthened LeT and JeM, resulting in more terrorist attacks in India.'
India's imports from Iran rose to 250,200 barrels per day
Being a pragmatist Modi is not likely to give preference to China over Japan. Both security and economic aspects are likely to shape Modi's decision in terms of engaging the two biggest economies of Asia, says Sana Hashmi.
Qureshi said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sent a letter on Sunday to congratulate Prime Minister Imran Khan and mentioned about talks to resolve issues.
'If we cannot handle an epidemic of that strata, (causing that kind) of excessive calamity, then we really have to prevent it.' 'If we become complacent in even preventing it, then we are in for a disaster.'
The move also invalidates, albeit temporarily, Mallya's repeated assurances to the court and the public of a revival plan for the carrier.
Banks in India must have a modern approach, suggests a panel comprising of banking bigwigs.
Pak seeks US help to ease tensions with India.
'India, which climbed the escalation ladder first, has climbed down.'
'It remains unclear what Indian objectives have been realised in precipitating the crisis in the first instance last Tuesday,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Farmer suicides have nearly doubled in the drought-hit Marathwada region of Maharashtra.
The government on Monday faced flak for the Uri terror attack with both the Opposition and the Bharatiya Janata Party's ally in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Nearly 31 million Indians are unemployed and looking for jobs. While economic growth has been humming along, the pace of job creation has been poor. A revealing excerpt from Dev Kar's India: Still A Shackled Giant.
Nitin A Gokhale, Co-founder, BharatShakti.in and long-time Rediff.com contributor, remembers a most unusual politician.
Ram Rahim did not talk with anyone and was seen roaming in the cell.
Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday played down reports of a rift in the party over the issue of cabinet berths and said party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny was not upset over his non-inclusion.
'The stereotype of an actress is that she's dumb, somebody who will sit on your lap, giggle on stupid jokes, come to the van when she's being called, receive a call at 3am and come over to your house. So when a girl comes along and challenges this, people get uncomfortable.'
Nationalist Congress Party leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar tells Sanjay Jog the allegation of corruption against his party is a political conspiracy. Edited excerpts:
Chinese brokers had been looking to use some of the cash they raised this year to expand their global reach
What Saisuresh Sivaswamy learnt about the election from television and the newspapers. A must read column, folks!
Siddaramaiah said he was not unhappy about the Congress-JD(S) coalition as was being projected, and there was no doubt about the stability of the government.
The winter session of Parliament beginning on Thursday is expected to be a stormy affair, with the opposition set to raise the 'intolerance' issue.
'We have not taught children their rights and responsibilities, nor life skills,' says Mitali Saran.
Madhu Kinnar, newly-elected mayor of Raigarh in Chhattisgarh, speaks to Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com.
"Any attempt to endanger national sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government and the authority of the Basic Law of the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administration Region) or use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration and sabotage activities against the mainland is an act that crosses the red line, and is absolutely impermissible," Xi said.
''There is the perennial worry in the Indian mind regarding the US 'hyphenating' India and Pakistan. Frankly, this is a completely nonsensical hypothesis. The US has always 'hyphenated' India and Pakistan and it couldn't have been otherwise,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Both sides will discuss the ongoing incidents of ceasefire violations at the border, the resolution of which will be given topmost priority
'What matters is that India's perspective on global issues -- climate change, intellectual property, free trade, trade routes being kept free, digital technology -- are listened to with respect,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.
The government last month introduced the GST Bill in Parliament.
'A couple of Pulwamas will bring the two nations to war and it will be limited to J&K itself.'
'It is not possible for New Delhi to take sides between Beijing and Washington.'
Resolution to the bad loans problem has to be incremental, and the RBI has to ensure NPAs are not swept under the carpet, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh tells Joydeep Ghosh.
On the eve of the budget session of Parliament, the government on Sunday reached out to the opposition
