This election will be remembered for being the first election where the Election Commission failed to take action on gross violations involving the ruling party that repeatedly used religion, communal slurs, lies and undocumented allegations, observes Ramesh Menon.
The ex-CM said he had the honesty to face the protesters. He said the government should hold a dialogue with locals before coming up with any project.
Sixty-eight Rajya Sabha members, including nine Union ministers, are completing their tenure this year, triggering a race of sorts among leaders across political parties to eye a six-year term in the Upper House of Parliament.
'Every hospital now tracks length of stay closely.' 'More efficiency is brought into the system now.'
The Supreme Court verdict on the Ram temple showed India's secular character to the world, Shah said.
'Interim Budget has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit.'
'If we want real democracy, the economy itself will need to be democratised.'
'Kejriwal could have easily deputed someone to step in as chief minister, but being the authoritative and self-centered personality that he is, he chose not to do it.' 'If the AAP loses Delhi, where it has a huge majority, the only one to blame would be Kejriwal,' asserts Ramesh Menon.
'Rather than taking a very short-term view on the markets, equity investing should be premised on longer term growth opportunities.'
The combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies hit an all-time high of Rs 343.48 lakh crore on Monday, amid a rally in equities after the BJP registered victory in assembly polls in three Hindi heartland states. Following the sharp uptick in the market, investors became richer by over Rs 5.81 lakh crore on Monday. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,383.93 points, or 2.05 per cent, to close at a lifetime high of 68,865.12.
"International law doesn't recognise India's unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019. The judicial endorsement by the Indian Supreme Court has no legal value. Kashmiris have an inalienable right to self determination in accordance with the relevant UN SC resolutions," Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said in a post on X.
Right to apprenticeship, legal guarantee for MSP, passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, a nation-wide caste census and scrapping of Agnipath scheme are among the promises made by the Congress in its Lok Sabha polls manifesto released on Friday.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice G S Kulkarni said while it was not going to order a ban on bursting of firecrackers, a balance needs to be struck considering the deteriorating air quality index (AQI) in the metropolis.
If Modi wants to leave a real legacy, breaking India's strategic triangulation would be the real gift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Some more files pertaining to the controversial Mumbai's Adarsh Housing Society have gone missing, this time from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in New Delhi, a senior Central Bureau of Investigation official said on Saturday.
As many as 417 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of more than Rs 4.77 lakh crore in September this year, an official report said. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above, out of 1,763 projects, 417 reported cost overruns and as many as 842 projects were delayed. "Total original cost of implementation of the 1,763 projects was Rs 24,86,402.70 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 29,64,345.13 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 4,77,942.43 crore (19.22 per cent of original cost)," the ministry's latest report for September 2023 said.
Growing and harvesting trees for productive and economic uses are once again dead in the water, says Sunita Narain.
'India's emergence as a top crypto market comes despite a regulatory and tax environment that can be challenging for the industry to navigate.'
Prakash Javadekar said the forest cover in the national capital has increased since then and public transport system has also improved.
Subramaniam has no reason to believe that the man would hang up his boots anytime soon.
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
Forty MLAs from violence-hit Manipur have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the state requires complete disarmament to foster an environment of peace and security.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday showed his green side as he celebrated World Environment Day by planting a sapling at his official 7, Race Course Road residence.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Monday meet chief ministers and state finance ministers to discuss measures to attract private investments to help boost the economy. Finance secretary T V Somanathan said the meeting comes in the backdrop of strong economic recovery post the two COVID waves, and the central government has made a big push in Capex. The focus of this interaction will be on state-level issues, opportunities and challenges, which will enable us to go to a higher trajectory of investment and growth, he said.
Ahead of the upcoming elections, political parties have started announcing incentives to benefit women, but what do women truly seek for genuine gender parity, asks Nivedita Mookerji.
While the responses of the candidates were predictable, depending on which side they belonged to, an interesting point slipped through when Rahul Shewale cited the Dharavi Redevelopment Project as a scheme that would add to Mumbai's importance. No big infrastructural project in Mumbai, he said, could be successful without the Centre's nod.
Many ethical, competent corporate leaders aspire to join public life today. However, the transition to politics is far from easy, observes Indrajit Gupta.
Stating that Adarsh Housing Society had brazenly violated the law, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on Monday ruled out the possibility of regularizing the 31-storey building, at a hearing before the Bombay High Court.
'The people of Tamil Nadu in particular Chennai know about the double standards of the BJP. Nothing will work for them here.'
'We want to make sustainability affordable.' 'We tell everyone, don't just recycle, Craste it!'
If you have an appetite for crowds and the visual spectacle of many focused on one task or activity, a pooram will engage you, notes Shyam G Menon.
IAF's four fighter pilots undergoing rigorous training for the landmark Gaganyaan mission, and who earned the 'astronaut wings' on Tuesday, have a stellar resume. They have a flying experience in the range of nearly 2,000-3,000 hours and two of them are recipients of the prestigious 'Sword of Honour'.
'Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism.'
The Centre has disallowed installation of mobile towers in core or critical tiger habitats in the country, according to new guidelines by the environment ministry.
Certain changes in the past two or three years could have a long-term structural impact on the IT services market.
Global trends, trading activity of foreign investors, outcome of state elections and RBI's interest rate decision are the major factors that will drive the movement in the domestic equity markets this week, analysts said. "Global markets are currently in a fabulous mood. The US 10-year bond yield and the dollar index are also cooling off, which gives strength to the market. These factors will be closely monitored, as they have the potential to influence market sentiment," said Pravesh Gour, senior technical analyst, Swastika Investmart Ltd. On the political front, the results of assembly elections in five states are eagerly anticipated, Gour said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday held wide ranging discussions with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran and their discussion focused on the long term framework for India's involvement with the strategically vital Chabahar port and the North-South connectivity project.
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala have been ranked as the top five states in innovation in Niti Aayog's second Innovation Index released on Wednesday. The index, released by Niti Aayog's vice chairman Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant, has been developed on the lines of the Global Innovation Index. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar have been ranked at the bottom of the index. Karnataka topped the index for the second year in a row.
Among the Sensex firms, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India were the major gainers. In contrast, Tata Motors, Maruti, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, NTPC, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finserv were the major laggards.
rediffGURU Kanchan Rai urges you to talk about your problems so you can seek solutions and also transform your life.