Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initial weeks in office and the composition of his national security team give a sense of his government's foreign policy and national security priorities, says Harsh V Pant
'In this season of inspired mean-spirited campaigning, it still seemed remarkable that we are more likely to learn civics lessons from school children than our leaders,' says Rahul Jacob.
As the pandemic unfolded, the India-China relationship has come under severe stress. To restore normalcy, agreements between the two countries must be respected scrupulously in their entirety. Where the Line of Actual Control is concerned, any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo is unacceptable, declares External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Your promise to protect bankers for their commercial decisions is a huge confidence booster, but how does one define a commercial decision? Are our investigative agencies well equipped to dissect lending decisions of bankers?
Had Finance Minister Sitharaman thought a little more about the middle class, disadvantaged sections, and the poor who are struggling, it would have been an inclusive Budget that would have made history, notes Ramesh Menon.
Investors are keenly focused on new govt's first full-year Budget.
'India should pledge that it will only target those provinces of Pakistan where nuclear weapons are located,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"If there is proper debate in parliament, followed by a vote, then even without the Congress' support, we have a chance to pass it," says Union Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha.
Similarities between NDA and UPA on some key policy issues are now becoming too stark to be ignored, says A K Bhattacharya.
The Budget will indicate where the Modi government stands on reforms, growth and development.
The failure to reform has meant that there is no buzz about job opportunities, or about urban opportunities enticing young people off the farms. And it is this failure that has contributed to the widespread disappointment that threatens to make the next general elections closer than expected, says Mihir S Sharma.
British India Corporation employs about 1,800 people
Governments find themselves expanding the entitlements of the least productive - farmers and bureaucrats - and abridging those of the more productive parts of the workforce.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday promised to "stand together" with Pakistan in the war against terrorism and nudged his counterpart Nawaz Sharif to help clinch a peace deal with Afghanistan before NATO's withdrawal from the war-torn nation next year.
Good intentions and elaborate roadmaps apart, there is an urgent need for the Tamil Nadu chief minister to come up with branded schemes like MGR's meal scheme, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'It is almost certainly wrong in assuming that the Modi government will use its strong mandate to undertake some serious reform measures.' 'For it is fairly clear that the government's priorities lie elsewhere, in the powerful home minister's domain,' notes T N Ninan.
Fiscal discipline has been maintained but toxic assets worth Rs 7 crore are a massive headache
For the remaining projects, it is difficult to arrive at an estimate.
Accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of having "reaped benefits" of communal polarisation in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on Wednesday said the government should now focus on good governance and deliver on promises.
'At a time when the economy is depressed, a pandemic is raging, and the Chinese are making noises on the border, the NRC could be resuscitated.'
The BSE Sensex was among the world's best performers in 2014, rising almost 30 per cent after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office on promises of reforms to boost growth
The transition to a single, nationwide tax on goods and services will streamline business and boost the economy by tearing down barriers between 31 states and union territories.
The sad truth is that the debt-to-GDP ratio will shoot up close to 90 per cent in the coming year, and the fiscal deficit glide path does not promise to reduce it substantially any time soon, predicts Mihir S Sharma.
He said countries should work for promoting open and inclusive cooperation for win-win outcomes.
BMS, a union affiliated to RSS, plans rally at Delhi's Ramlila Ground on Nov 17; SJM to protest on Oct 29.
Participating in an online session, a panel of Hindu-American women, from different walks of life, expressed their strong views in favour of President Trump.
In January, overseas investors had pumped in Rs 33,688.19 crore (Rs 336.88 billion) in Indian debt and equities.
A few companies continue to pay taxes at 15-20%.
There will very little direct impact from the US Fed's rate hike this time, as we are well prepared both to handle liquidity, outflow of FII funds and managing our currency. But that doesn't mean India will be out of the woods anytime soon, says M V Subramanian.
Hailing India for keeping "neutral stand" over the South China Sea issue despite pressure from the US and Japan, state-run Chinese media on Wednesday said there are some contradictions and frictions between the two nations but the overall bilateral relations have been developing smoothly.
Why India is an attractive investment destination
The railway minister has steered clear of populist traps and refrained from making grandiose announcements in terms of new trains and new rail routes. He should now emulate China, and rope in Japan in boosting the rail network, says Rajeev Sharma.
'By holding forth on Swadeshi economics, Bhagwat is showing his intent to fight back,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'One provision in the Act -- immediate arrest (of those accused under the Act), made this act different from all other sections of the IPC.' 'With that provision snatched, the Dalit Act has become toothless because caste criminals feared this provision of immediate arrest the most.'
A homoeopathic state of mind pervades our thinking in governance and infrastructure-building. Do it in small, harmless doses, but nothing bitter, sharp, or bloody, says Shekhar Gupta.
India on Monday got the backing of Switzerland in its bid to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
'Outside investors don't want to get tangled up in a religious war.'
Global investor and author Jim Rogers, who recently sold his India investments, talks about his disappointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic reforms, why he is betting big on the US dollar and the Chinese Renminbi and what will bring him back to India some day.
'It has also underestimated the striking force of the Opposition. It has been complacent and paralysed. That may be due to the compulsions of coalition politics and the arrogance of a party which looked at itself as entitled to rule,' says political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.
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