'There are different ways in which some are lucky through their lives. My great boon has been serendipity,' says Subir Roy.
'Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way the BJP now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'Even though he knew full well that the manipulation went against the facts as he knew them, Pillai nonchalantly contented himself with stating that since the file came from the minister himself, he just passed it on as it was,' says B S Raghavan.
'In macroeconomic policy, timing is all, and by leaving things too late, Mr Modi may have made around 50 seats in the Lok Sabha highly vulnerable,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
'It is certain Jayalalithaa will be in no position to attend to official business.' 'Indeed, doctors would have forbidden anything that would aggravate her condition and lead to complications,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant, advising how a Constitutional vacuum can be averted in Tamil Nadu.
'There is no Buddha or Gandhi among countries, existing for the service of others; they all exist for the good of themselves.' 'For each country, its own interests should be paramount, and it is futile and churlish to expect China to be an exception to this rule,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant and long-time China-watcher.
Many important RSS people believe the 2014 result was the consequence of Hindutva and not just Modi's outstanding oratory, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'The BJP and Congress are like those Bollywood lovers who are kept apart by their families where it is a generational problem of different values: The older ones think differently from the younger ones,' argues T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'Modi and Xi can solve the India-China border problem in a single sitting by keeping the big picture before them, by sweeping away the cobwebs of the past, and by mustering a statesman-like spirit and a long range vision,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'Let us hope that with Nandan, like Cincinnatus back on his farm, taking over the reins, Infosys will not only regain its vigour and momentum, but vastly improve upon its achievements as a global player,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Infosys co-founders N R Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani along with their family members on Monday sold shares worth Rs 6,484 crore in the country's second largest software services firm.
The Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday after 19 sittings that saw the passage of 14 legislation while Rajya Sabha came to an end after passing nine bills.
Mohammad Basheer Abdul Khadar, from Kerala has won a million dollars in lottery, just six days after miraculously surviving the accident.
All those years of contributions not adding up to a big reward definitely makes the scheme unappealing.
'It is entirely possible that Sonia Gandhi wants her son to be prime minister.' 'If so, it is game, set and match to the BJP,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
While political observers are unable to make head or tail of the US President, those moving in high business and industry circles tell B S Raghavan that Trump's style is exactly that of an aggressive and successful businessman.
Sore points: Sikka's salary, high severance pay to executives, poor disclosures.
'If on the back of the resentment against the Modi government, on the very outside chance that the Congress emerges as the single largest party in May 2019, will Rahul Gandhi become prime minister?' 'Or will he do a Sonia and appoint someone else?' asks T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Is it time to take a relook at our economic theories? asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Hima Das shattered the 400m national record for a second time in two days for a silver while Dutee Chand grabbed the second place in 100m dash on another good day for India's track and field athletes at the Asian Games.
Other countries need not be worried by Trump putting America first, says B S Raghavan. 'That is what the imperative duty is of everyone heading his country's government: To put his own country first, and make it great.' 'That is what Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Theresa May, Angela Merkel, Shinzo Abe and all the democratically elected heads of governments, with the interest of their people at heart, are doing.'
Rajinikanth gave a realistic portrayal in his 2016 release Kabali.
'Mr Modi, unless he changes his approach, may further legitimise the idea that it is perfectly all right for Hindus to dictate terms to the minorities.' 'Indira Gandhi's political expediency did permanent economic damage. Mr Modi's may end up causing permanent social damage,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The dry spell at the box office continues.
Rahul Gandhi has the potential to grow into a good, effective, leader of the Opposition provided he puts his heart and soul into it, with a willingness to learn, says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant who worked closely with India's first three prime ministers.
'If you keep inflation low, everything else like messing up after after demonetisation will be forgiven,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
By castigating the reforms themselves because of the remediable and reversible defaults here and there in carrying them out, Yashwant Sinha is throwing out the baby along with the bath water, says B S Raghavan.
Barely a week after Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan broke the deadlock and decided to re-engage, the two countries were back to a blame game over ceasefire violations with both sides lodging protest with each other.
'China any day would prefer to team up with India and dump Pakistan once the resolution of the border dispute becomes an accomplished fact.'
A Chennai-based school faced angry protests from parents over its alleged dual fee policy and for discriminating between students.
'A gig economy is more suited for superior economic outcomes.' 'You try to create an environment where people can earn more.' 'This is what should happen in India. Indeed it is already happening,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'His record will be clouded by the same negative factors as of Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, namely, their politics and therefore social policies,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'He can do wonders if only he dons the mantle of the leader, mentor and path-setter of the nation and for all its people, instead of remaining content with being a mere PM belonging to one of the many political parties,' says B S Raghavan.
As cricketing ability goes, there is no comparison between Sanjay Manjrekar and Sachin Tendulkar. But while the former has produced a wonderful autobiography, the latter's book is deadly dull. In batting, they were the exact opposite: Manjrekar was a bore and Sachin an absolute marvel, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'It will take the Opposition by surprise and catch it in total disarray.' 'By waiting for a year Mr Modi will only give it time to unite,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'Today the real issue facing the Modi government is not about investment, credit and money supply and all those things economists like to talk about.' 'It is whether your average citizen has confidence in the government not to do something utterly whacky,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Foreign institutional investors pulled out Rs 86.66 crore (Rs 866.6 million) from local stocks on Monday, as per provisional BSE data.
A writer reveals the trick to writing a successful book.
'Though coalitions, which ruled India for 25 years after 1989, are regarded as a terrible thing politically, they delivered the best economic results,' points out T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
