Ahead of the assembly elections next year, the BJP has been wallowing in a welter of ideas that has resurrected the debate on populism versus pragmatism, as it has to pander to two important but incompatible constituencies, of the freebie consuming masses and Bengaluru's heavy hitters craving for even roads, pristine lakes and unbroken power supply, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
'The Modi government must create conditions to integrate millions into the rural economy as many migrants are certainly not going to return to live an undignified life,' notes Ramesh Menon.
And learn what not to do from the so far jinxed Navi Mumbai International Airport.
A closer look at the data reveals that a lot of the items are not part of this calculation. The notable ones include buffalo meat, marine exports, raw cotton, and plantation crops such as tea, coffee, rubber, etc.
Ambee, an Ambulance-hailing app, is set for commercial rollout. Sharath Chowdary profiles the Uber-backed firm that aims to bring online 50% of ambulances across 60 Indian cities over 5 years.
As many as 20 new faces are expected to be inducted into the Union Council of Ministers on Sunday in the first revamp exercise which is likely to bring in BJP leaders Manohar Parrikar, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Bandaru Datttatreya while elevating a few.
The UPA Government is trying to push through the second wave of airport privatisation before the elections and the controversial elements of this process threaten to harm the sector.
JSPL is under CBI lens for giving wrong information about its land, water supply and previous allocations to get coal block in Jan 2008.
The first priority for the new Tibetan administration in Dharamsala should be to look at Tibetan recruitment in the PLA, suggests Claude Arpi.
Move is aimed at bringing private operators to run airports.
Attempting damage control, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday described the last year's riots in Muzzafarnagar as "unfortunate" and said his government took immediate steps to check them and there was no delay in calling the army.
Critics say Modi scores high on oratory but has delivered on few of his election campaign promises.
The first-ever district development council (DDC) elections will be held in eight phases to elect 280 members in 20 districts from November 28 to December 22.
The Chief Election Commissioner said a legal framework was required to implement the idea of holding simultaneous polls.
Retired soccer star David Beckham and Major League Soccer (MLS) took a step toward fielding a new Miami team as local officials on Tuesday unanimously approved on-going efforts to find a suitable stadium location.
Finalises blueprint to become pan-Indian dairy player; to set up plants in 6 states.
It will allow states to detain students in class 5 and class 8 if they fail in the year-end exam.
'No prime minister of India is averse to normalise relations with Pakistan, if it is possible to do so without altering our fundamental position on Jammu and Kashmir,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'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.'
For now, the BJP's strategy for Khushbu seems to be one of denial -- denying the rival Congress in the state and also at the national-level a Muslim voice acceptable to Hindu audiences and TV news-watchers. This is much less than the induction of DMK veterans like Duraiswamy and Selvam, who still have a greater chances of winning assembly seats,, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The board is prepared to conduct the exams for class 10 and 12 for crucial 29 subjects, while the Human Resource Development Ministry has directed states to start the evaluation process for the exams already conducted and facilitate the CBSE in evaluation of answer sheets.
'If the TRS, with 75% seats in the Telangana assembly, can be coerced into a sense of resignation by a tiny party that has just 10% of seats, then questions have to be asked about KCR's mettle as leader,' says Sudhir Bisht.
Agri experts are meeting FinMin ministry officials on Monday to give their inputs on the Budget.
'My belief that I could protect the Himalayas was shattered.'
Osama bin Laden got inspiration for the deadly 9/11 attacks from a 1999 plane crash in which an Egyptian airline pilot deliberately downed his plane in the Atlantic Ocean, the Al Qaeda has claimed.
How could India@75 improve law and order, courts, social, physical and soft infrastructure, efficient cities, e-governance, ease of doing business and other essential state functions by 2022, asks Shailesh Pathak.
Why is the Indian cricket team still using the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) logo which resembles 'Star of India' honour given by the British to their favourite princes in colonial times?
'How many people have been skilled up and thus able to escape from needing to be in NREGA? The true success of NREGA would lie in its irrelevance -- that is, people no longer need it as a crutch.' 'NREGA should enable them to climb out of poverty and stand on their feet.' 'But this is expressly forbidden by NREGA rules. Skill development, which is what India needs more than anything else, appears to be outside the purview of NREGA,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Centre meets target of 18,000 villages but household metering remains a challenge
India is in the midst of its biggest crisis since Independence. It is a national emergency and begs to be dealt with. Politics can wait. Lives need to be saved. We need to vaccinate India at a pace faster than any country in the world, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Athletes arriving in Tokyo for next year's Olympic Games, postponed from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be exempt from the 14-day isolation period Japan has imposed on anyone arriving from overseas to help stop the virus spreading.
BWith a distracted president brooding in the White House, Pompeo seems to think his day has come. He seems to be pushing a personal agenda before a target audience in America, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The judiciary has started going beyond the technicalities of the agreements and awarding compensation to buyers.
The G20 summit has failed to heal the rift over US plans for military action against the embattled Syrian regime, as American President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could not reach consensus on Friday during "candid and constructive" talks.
The development comes in the wake of a high-level panel formed to address issues impeding mega projects in the steel sector, reviewing the stalled projects this month.
There are some 20-odd schemes with this default provision, or something close to it.
The government has formed a four-member panel of secretaries to suggest a new gas pricing mechanism.
All elections in India should happen in a free, fair and synchronised manner to ensure minimum "campaign mode" disruption to governance, the government think tank said in its report released recently.
Excluding the pension outgo, the allocation in the Union Budget for the armed forces stands at Rs 3.62 lakh crore.
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