On December 4 last year, the stock of the world's largest drugmaker, Pfizer, fell 10.6 per cent, wiping out more than $21 billion in market value in a single day.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Gulam Nabi Azad approached leader of the house Arun Jaitley, saying that he is accompanying Sonia Gandhi to Varanasi on Tuesday.
Even though V K Sasikala's relatives may be calling the shots within the AIADMK and the Tamil Nadu government now, the 'Mannargudi clan' doesn't have a future in state politics, reports R Rajagopalan.
Rajinikanth's comments on the Cauvery issue have often made him the target of pro-Kannada outfits who threatened to disrupt his film's release in Karnataka. However, this time there has so far been a lack of fanfare even in Tamil Nadu. R Rajagopalan explains why.
"A roadmap is being prepared. If something happens to top athletes it will be a setback and so we are careful and that's why there are no positive coronavirus cases for our athletes till now. Players are pride of our country and so we can't risk anything," Sports Minister Kiran Rijiju said.
Utter confusion prevails in the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu.
Thus it was that for the first time in the history of the republic a constitutional amendment was announced and passed by Parliament within 72 hours, reports R Rajagopalan.
A new political crisis is brewing in the VK Sasikala camp in Tamil Nadu -- differences between Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and party general secretary Sasikala.
The political stability that Tamil Nadu saw under Chief Minister Jayalalithaa may be a thing of the past, as the new administration struggles to find its feel, says R Rajagopalan.
The BJP's faces for 2019 will be Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, Yogi Adityanath and Devendra Fadnavis, says R Rajagopalan.
The panel has decided to commence proceedings in the DPC fiasco probe from March 31.
With the presidential elections over, the time has come for Prime Minister Modi to show Tamil Nadu that the state's interests are safe under him, says R Rajagopalan.
From handling the party organisation, finalising candidates, shooting the breeze with the media to pow-wows with diplomats and liaising with the PMO -- Arun Jaitley is the BJP's chief backroom manager in this election, reports R Rajagopalan.
The 18-year-old won the boys' singles and doubles titles at the ITF Grade 2 Hong Kong Open Junior championships.
Prime Minister Modi has entrusted Amit Shah with the task of coordinating all the agencies with their power to monitor movement and phone calls, says R Rajagopalan.
Rumours are rife that Parade Grounds are being handed over to the Telangana government in order to acquire TRS's support for the presidential polls.
'Jaitley was one of the earliest politicians to sense the changing political scenario in Delhi. He had closely watched the rise of the BJP and declining fortunes of the Congress party during the L K Advani era. But it was between 2009 and 2014 as the Leader of the Opposition that he began to read the tea leaves. 'And thus it was that he introduced Modi-Amit Shah duo to Lutyens Delhi,' says senior journalist R Rajagopalan who had known Jaitley since 1975.
In his petition, Karti contended that the July 18 circular had been issued arbitrarily and without jurisdiction by the Foreigner Regional Registration Officer and The Bureau of Immigration under the Union home ministry at the behest of different agencies to prevent him from travelling abroad.
\n\nThe third seeded Taipei player beat Tushar Liberhan to join Karan Rastogi, Somdev Verman and Arun Prakash in the semis in the Asian Junior tennis championships.
Once ISRO masters the technology to send humans into space, the next step will be experimenting with technologies allowing humans to live in space.
BJP President Amit Shah has authorised Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu to liaise with M Thambidurai and TTV Dinakaran from the Sasikala camp, just in case it turns against the BJP after the income tax raids on its health minister C Vijayabaskar.
The Modi juggernaut is all set to paint the five south Indian states in saffron colours, writes R Rajagopalan.
Modi and Shah have finalised names for the Rashtrapati's post, which the BJP boss has discussed with the RSS chief.
India's MRP and Packaged Commodities Acts are dated and not in line with the modern world's digital price mechanisms and comparisons.
'Naidu understands electoral calculus, that the regional parties are yet to gain confidence in Rahul as a vote-catcher,' points out R Rajagopalan.
Even though the company's revenue figures are not public, it has so far raised $93 million in four rounds of funding.
Security has been put on high alert across the nation as the Supreme Court of India is all set to deliver its verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, Sabarimala case and a host of other legal wrangles.
The DMK parliamentary party appears to be a house divided, reports R Rajagopalan.
The lingering boundary issue will also feature in his talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other leaders, says R Rajagopalan, who will travel to Beijing with the President.
Political Pundit R Rajagopalan lists his big takeaways from the election results.
We have to wait and see whether Jaitley's Budget speech translates into actions and desired outcomes, says T N C Rajagopalan.
Tata Group's CLiQ is the latest to join the e-commerce club, to compete with the likes of Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal.
Since the present law threatens to unleash an avalanche of litigation over a period of time, it makes sense to replace it with a simpler law and build complexities as more experience is gained, says T N C Rajagopalan.
Given Modi's penchant for springing a surprise, the BJP nominee for next President could be anyone. The only thing certain is that it will be an RSS person, reports R Rajagopalan.
The threat to Sasikala won't come from the Tamil Nadu chief minister or New Delhi, but from her 20-plus kin, reports R Rajagopalan.
Keeping its promise of honouring 'unsung heroes', the government this year honoured with Padma awards several personalities who served the poor, set up free schools and popularised tribal arts globally.
'KCR's plan for the future is three-pronged. He wants to see a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre in 2019 so that he can become the Union minister for home or defence,' says R Rajagopalan.
T N C Rajagopalan on the new year and new worries.
The changes made in the revised GST draft throw up fresh issues but, overall, most of these look sensible, says T N C Rajagopalan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started holding interactive sessions with his party MPs at which he wants them to open up. R Rajagopalan/Rediff.com reports on an unusual political exercise.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances