India's share in world tourist inflows was only 0.64 per cent in 2012. It could only attract 6.97 million foreign tourists during 2013.
Noting that oil prices had gone down after the BJP-led government came to power in May 2014, before they went up, Prasad said it is a problem whose solution is not in its hands.
If the fight against black money seems half hearted, the same is not the case with gau raksha, says Subir Roy.
The definition of affected family includes farm labourers, tenants, sharecroppers and workers in the area for three years prior to acquisition.
'The stimulus packages, sector reliefs, loans etc are coming to industry, but state governments have not got any money from GST, no money from excise, no money from any income source.'
'Modi as the PM of the country has to take everybody on board and deliver on good governance. That is his responsibility. In that talking alone won't help, he's working.' Commerce Minister Dr Nirmala Sitharaman tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com how the Modi government plans to change India.
Hailing the Congress manifesto as a visionary document promising to shape a better future for Punjab, Dr Singh said the Parkash Singh Badal-led government mismanaged the state and failed to harness its full potential.
'When you forgive a farmer's loans there is this ideological economists lobby which says: 'That's socialism. And that's bad'.' 'But to forgive the loans of big people, so that they will be interested to invest further is capitalism and is good.'
Finance minister attempts a clean-up job, keeps projected expenditure growth low.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of cooperative federalism is expected to be on display in the 2015-16 Budget.
When KV Thomas took over as minister of state for food and consumer affairs (independent charge) on January 19, 2011, he was tasked with taking forward one single, important objective: expedite the implementation of the National Food Security Bill.
There were heightened expectations from Budget 2017 after the impact of note ban on different sections but most remain unfulfilled.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the Nyay plan is a game changer and that the scheme is "fiscally perfectly doable" and will not be implemented rashly.
The PM blamed the UPA regime for the problems in the banking sector.
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During April-February, the index of industrial production, a measure of factory activity, declined 0.1 per cent compared with a 0.9 per cent growth in the corresponding period of 2012-13.
Thousands of hands went up in the air to greet the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi as he landed in the semi urban constituency of Aurangabad in Bihar after making the crowd to wait for two hours in the open on a hot sunny afternoon.
The fiscal deficit of the Centre remains a worry, running at over 6.5 per cent of GDP in April-September 2014, mainly because of revenue shortfalls from exaggerated projections in the government's July Budget and despite the relief on subsidies from lower oil prices.
Lalgarh, once a nerve centre of Naxal insurgency in West Bengal, now represents a different place.
'The corporate sector says by 2022 they will create 300 million jobs.' 'In the last 70 years we didn't do it, how will we do it in 5 years?' 'Only agriculture can bail out the economy. Unfortunately, it is not being looked into.'
'While they were respectful of the PM, it was clear that as ministers, they owed their positions as much, if not more, to Mrs Gandhi.' 'When attacks were mounted on the PM, there was very little coordinated effort by the Congress, UPA ministers or other politicians to speak up in his favour and strongly defend him.' B K Chaturvedi, Cabinet Secretary during the early years of UPA1, reveals how the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi equation worked. A riveting excerpt from Chaturvedi's memoir, Challenges Of Governance: An Insider's View
India must do away with policy paralysis to ensure growth in agriculture.
'The Indian State needs to focus on healthcare, education, infrastructure and law and order, and get out of all these regulatory cholesterols.' 'Then, India will fly.'
This is the full text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to media persons ahead of his interaction with them in New Delhi on Friday
It is worth reconsidering if this fascination with either having a single party majority or Modi's leadership or, indeed, both, is such a great idea for India, says Udit Misra.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
Asserting that inclusive growth will remain as central plank of the United Progressive Alliance, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said it was in tune with this concept that the government had launched a series of welfare programmes and legislative initiatives, especially for the weaker sections.
Universal basic income or social security? Economist Nitin Desai feels we need a blueprint for universal health care and pensions to help the vulnerable section.
In the not too distant future, you could see 5G technology being used for functions such as remotely-performed robotic surgeries, mine equipment operated remotely or cars driven by someone sitting hundreds of miles away. While these ideas will certainly find application globally, the urgent need for them in India could spur swifter adoption here than elsewhere.
'If Modi sincerely thinks that Dalits are also Hindus then spread this message to the entire nation through programmes like Mann Ki Baat.' 'We would love to listen to the PM tell the nation to look upon us as fellow Indians and human beings.'
'I have tried to make it easier for the small scale entrepreneur to do business and cut through the red tape.'
If Narendra Modi could tame his obsession with the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family, Arvind Kejriwal resist polishing his halo and Rahul Gandhi find his voice, we could begin a debate about the future of this country that actually addressed the seriousness of its problems, says Rahul Jacob.
Softening the demonetisation blow, the Budget for 2017-18 on Wednesday halved the tax to 5 per cent on incomes up to Rs 500,000 but proposed a new surcharge of 10 per cent on incomes between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore and raised duties on cigarettes and pan masala while stepping up allocations for infrastructure, rural, agriculture and social sectors.
"The RSS is trying to change the nature of India. Other parties haven't tried to capture India's institutions," he said.
'Probably only Sonia-ji knows the extent of what he is doing.'
The awarding of in-principle licences for 10 small finance banks is likely to be a game changer in a way which may not be adequately realised right now.
In villages in Palghar district -- in Mumbai's backyard -- more than 254 children have died from malnutrition.
The governments at the Centre and in the state were unprepared to handle the massive response to the large numbers of people, as they were not aware of the groundswell of public admonition that was against the Establishment, says N Sathiyamoorthy.
Mihir Bhat, fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Director of the All India Disaster Management Institute tells rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the youth of the country will swing into action to see what gets done on the ground.
Three businessmen disclose their success mantras: One belongs to an old Marwari family, another is a second generation industrialist whose father scripted an amazing rags-to-riches story and the third was a professional till one day he succumbed to the charms of entrepreneurship.
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