UPSC toppers -- Ira Singhal, Nidhi Gupta, Vandana Rao and Suharsha Bhagat -- tell Rediff.com how they cracked the tough national exam.
'The BJP should avoid escalating every local issue and minor provocation into a national crisis and claiming a 'holier than thou' monopoly on patriotism.' 'And the Opposition should avoid paying the government back in the same coin by crying wolf about intolerance at the slightest provocation.'
In his first media interaction after taking over as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Anurag Thakur on Sunday made it clear that the BCCI is not running away from implementing the recommendations suggested by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee, however, he clarified that it is not possible to implement all the changes. He gave reference to the one particular recommendation which says that no advertisements should be shown between overs during a live match on television, which he believes will affect the revenues of the BCCI and in turn affect everyone connected to the Board including the former, current and future players. "If you look at the reports, IPL is the fastest growing league in the world, which in itself is a great achievement for the BCCI. They have worked well, the franchises have contributed. If you look at the other side of it, where do you get the major revenues from? It is from the home series. And your revenue comes from where? It is from the advertisements," Thakur said.
Rani Mukerji, unusually candid.
'Modi's brilliance seems to be in combining Indira Gandhi's 'feel' for the Indian pulse and Narasimha Rao's cynicism.' 'By the time the Opposition leaders caught up with Modi over the 'surgical strikes', he had already moved on,' says M K Bhadrakumar.
'In UP/Bihar there is no industry. There are no other jobs, you either herd cows, teach or join the IAS. The brightest go to the IITs. The rest go to arts college and they become IAS officers and it is this crowd that is now agitating.' 'English is the business language of the world, we have to accept that. If I had done my IIT in Hindi, I would be stuck in the cow belt without work.' IIT graduate, entrepreneur and politician R K Misra on the row over English in the UPSC prelims.
'More so, if it is their daughters wanting to marry someone of their own choosing.' 'Children are seen as property. That's why the problem is so messy.' For young Indians wanting to marry outside their religion, expressing their right to love and live as they choose is becoming increasingly hazardous.
Appraising Rediff.com about the meeting, a source close to Dr Singh said Modi sought Dr Singh's advice on the economy and foreign policy. Dr Singh told Modi that he concurs with the Reserve Bank of India's concerns about the Indian economy.
Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) lists why India must not do away with AFSPA, but ensure enough transparency to avoid confrontation with human rights.
Why, centuries after the French Revolution promised an end to feudalism, do political dynasties persist -- even in democracies, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Enormous debt isn't the only thing afflicting Air India. Its work culture is an equal culprit in its downfall.
'Public dissent is the highest public duty and I will continue to speak out,' says Harsh Mander.
The government's new initiative appears to be timely for health and hygiene players, battling low awareness and the lack of use of branded products.
Already ranked ninth in Forbes' list of top tennis earners, Japan's Kei Nishikori is due for a bigger share of the off-court largesse despite losing Monday's final at the US Open, US marketing experts say.
'Nawaz Sharif knows a coup in 2016-2017 will not only complete Pakistan's isolation, but even a whiff of instability will frighten the world into imagining another Islamic State-zone, and this in a fully nuclearised subcontinent,' says Shekhar Gupta.
AAP is arguing quietly that indifference, alienation have to go. These are symptoms of disempowerment. For AAP, the battle to empower people demands new engagements with the marginals and corporations, says Shiv Visvanathan.
Sensex is under pressure due to concerns in the global market.
What explains Vijay Shekhar Sharma's optimism when other players have started to tread cautiously is Paytm's huge customer base: It has 120 million users and counting, says Nivedita Mookerji.
For the past, blame the Congress. For the present, blame the Congress. For everything, blame the Congress. But for your future, vote BJP.
'What I want is not for the elected to tell me what they did in the 1990s or for the past 5 years,' says A Bihari Abroad. 'I would rather know what they plan to do in the next 6 months and give the people a report on the progress of these initiatives. Perhaps, a presentation on their performance and their future plans, to the electoral public, who they represent and are actually answerable to.'
India has been opposing the pact as ITA will only benefit the country when its domestic manufacturing is robust.
Israeli jets on Tuesday hit over 100 targets in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, killing at least 17 people, as the army mobilised 40,000 reservists to prepare for a "strong" ground offensive and warned the Palestinian group to be ready to pay a heavy price for its rocket attacks.
The ripping off the lid, that Mekhail did, on the chain of episodes that lead up to his sister's murder, while condemning Indrani for her actions, for the first time, paradoxically, allowed a more human -- if flawed and complicated -- picture to emerge of Indrani, allegedly The Woman Who Killed Her Own Daughter and shocked a nation.
Shekhar Chakravarty has developed and patented Curvo -- world's first non-linear ropeway system.
'She was once asked what the secret to political leadership was and she said it was the ability to like all kinds of people.' 'I don't think Rahul fundamentally likes people -- that's probably why he can't deal with them and it shows.' 'Sonia is a more talented political mobiliser than her son, but I think the decline of the Congress set in in 1969...'
'My parents have taught me that there is nothing more valuable than humanity.' 'I have seen poor and deserving people striving to get ahead in life and how reservation helps them.' 'At the same time I have seen rich kids with well to do parents still taking advantage of reservation.' 'I cannot be an opportunist. I cannot be a hypocrite.' 'I cannot say I believe in humanity and equality and do exactly the opposite.'
The book Effective People by Dr TV Rao features inspiring examples of success icons from across the world.
Sectors throw up a wishlist for the Finance Minister.
India is being fed on false homilies by those who have been either elected or appointed to be guardians of the Constitution and public faith. The shameful ordinance episode should be reviewed objectively in Parliament and outside by the intelligentsia -- and appropriate correctives applied, says C Uday Bhaskar.
The Unnao gold hunt is an exercise in softening Hindu sentiments in the bigger dig for votes in Uttar Pradesh in 2014
.jpg)
The eight-year-old online messaging service gave potential investors their first glance at its financials on Thursday when it publicly filed its IPO documents, setting the stage for one of the most-anticipated debuts in over a year.
More than Guru Dronacharya, the cult of his wife, Kripi, runs stronger in Gurgaon.
When most nonagenarians are content to pass their time in their neighbourhood's gardens, Raj Kumar Vaishya, 96, has enrolled himself in the Patna-based Nalanda Open University to pursue his lifelong dream of earning a masters in economics, reports MI Khan.
There have been significant changes in Gujarat, says Uttam Ghosh, as he captures the state in his camera.
Nobody is claiming that Indian democracy is perfect. Yet, all of us need to go out there and participate in the incredible event called Indian elections. Sheela Bhatt explains why.
Investors can take heart from the first Cabinet meeting in the second innings.
Did you know the world's youngest director is an Indian?
'President Kalam pitched his dreams high. He will be best remembered for that feat.'
'To re-establish the writ of the State and resume governance, frayed tempers in the streets and in the media need to be calmed.'
Creative and confident, these emerging fashion designers are the future of Indian fashion.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances