If the Modi government is going to set new benchmarks of performance, don't expect the majority of his dozen-odd ministers-who-matter with economic portfolios to be making the difference, says T N Ninan.
'Two have already sacrificed their lives.' 'How many more shall need to sacrifice before the government listens?' 'Four, five or six? They are ready, waiting.' After Ganga campaigner G D Agrawal's death, a Haridwar ashram's sadhus are on a relay fast unto death.
Although the Malabar is a routine exercise which has been carried out for several years now, security experts attach a lot of traction to it in view of China's assertive behaviour in the South China Sea, observes Rup Narayan Das.
Few people know Ratan Tata as well as R K Krishna Kumar does. Widely perceived to be among the managers closest to Tata, Krishna Kumar assesses Ratan Tata, the man and business leader, in this exclusive interview to Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
80-85 per cent of about 700 major infrastructure projects within the Centre's domain have been delayed.
'The Ganga must be kept above all divisive politics,' says Uma Bharti.
Building relations in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi has gifted naval vessels to Mauritius, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, even as China eyes the same locales.
After the Ladakh fiasco where Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics, he has to save face before his colleagues in the Communist party.' To bring the threat of a mega-dam to the northern Indian border is a clever move, observes Claude Arpi.
A US RC-135S reconnaissance aircraft on Wednesday flew near the ongoing Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) drills in the South China Sea, a day after another US spy plane, a U-2, trespassed into another PLA exercise restricted zone, state-run Global Times reported.
The situation in the state was 'extremely grave', said Vijayan, who spoke to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Home minister, Rajnath Singh, this morning seeking more central assistance for relief operations.
'It is a ticking time bomb if the authorities don't come forward to help these hapless people.'
Lakshmanan contracted polio when he was only three months old. 'I didn't want to go for the swayamvar, but my uncle convinced me to attend.' He sat close to the door at the swayamvar. And then, Rohini walked in. Both her legs, too, were afflicted with polio.
Like China, India too should connect the dots and move ahead with a long-term perspective in Afghanistan, advises Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Noted environmentalist and 'Chipko movement' leader Sunderlal Bahuguna has brought the 'Save Himalaya, Save Water, Save Life' movement to the North East Indian states located in the lesser Himalayan region.
Every river is a living person, argues Gopal Krishna on the basis of the recent Uttarakhand HC verdict.
Alleging "loot" of natural resources and corruption in implementation of central schemes in Uttarakhand, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday asked people in the hill state to recognise the "fraud" being played with them and oust the BJP government from the state.
The former Union minister had suffered a stroke in 2008 and was hospitalised since then.
'I've always wanted to be a pilot; setting records is the icing on the cake.'
Pakistan Meteorological Department's earthquake centre said the 5.8-magnitude earthquake was located near the mountainous city of Jehlum in Punjab province.
'Your strike rate is very important when it comes to seat-sharing.'
Promising that the Centre will go "all out" to support Bihar in a "big way", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Tuesday said the government is likely to announce projects and schemes in a few weeks time to assist the resource-rich state.
If the Ganga manages a rebirth, so will the country.Roy
Kerala has seen one of the worst floods in its history during this monsoon. From August 8 to 20, nearly 223 people have lost their lives, 33 are missing and around 1.2 million individuals from 3,02,441 families are in 3,941 relief camps. Initial losses are estimated to be around Rs 200 billion (Rs 20,000 crore). With the rescue measures in its last leg, the Kerala government is looking at raising funds to rebuild the state. In an interaction with Gireesh Babu and T E Narasimhan, Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac says he has a three-pronged strategy to raise funds. Edited Excerpts.
The worst affected districts are Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Bongaigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri, Darrang, Morigaon and Sonitpur
A provision of Rs 15,000 crore has been made in the budgetary estimate of 2016-17 towards interest subvention.
It is rare for Cabinet ministers to tick off state-owned companies publicly, yet that was what then petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan did for ONGC. Speaking at an event on June 29, Pradhan said he has asked India's premier exploration company to find fresh oil acreages fast. "Do it yourself through some joint venture (or) through a new business model. But the government cannot permit you to hold resources for an indefinite time." The reason for this stricture is India's rising dependence on imported oil and gas. Or, to put it another way, falling domestic production (see chart: "Crude truth"), especially from ONGC, which faces a simple problem.
There was no announcement from the government on guaranteeing a minimum basic income, which is the need of the hour. The announcements on portability of ration cards and affordable rental housing to workers are for the long and medium terms. Migrant workers need immediate relief.
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
'The available workforce is getting depleted.' 'We need to appoint doctors and frontline health workers immediately.'
As far as possible, investment in the agriculture sector must be from the government, and not the private sector, states Santushti Raj Thapar.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has proposed cash incentives for farmers adopting eco-friendly practices.In its annual publication, The State of Food and Agriculture 2007, FAO noted that agriculture employs more people and uses more land and water than any other human activity.
Bharat PetroResources, a wholly owned subsidiary of BPCL and Videocon Industries, holds 40 per cent of the block. Brazil's Petrobras holds the remaining 60 per cent.
The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Close aides say Rawat does not give in easily and uses all political tools to marginalise his adversaries.
Her project aims to clean waste water by flowing through different layers of corn cobs which is a cost-effective and simple technique of cleaning water.
The PM asserted that 'we know how to take challenges head-on'.
Here's the full text of President's Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on the first of Budget Session 2022.
Rs 28,117.23 crore has been made available so far by the Centre for 30 schemes out of special package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore for the state announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Although the crop devours water, it remains important for India, reports Surinder Sud.
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