Just a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh celebrated two years of the UPA-II rule, the Bhartiya Janata Party slapped a Rs 85,000-crore (Rs 850 billion) coal scam on him, claiming his direct culpability in the 'loot' as he held the portfolio between 2006 and 2009 since after coal minister Shibu Soren had resigned.
Senior Supreme Court advocate Ranjit Kumar, considered an expert on constitutional laws, was appointed as the solicitor general on Saturday. The law ministry issued a notification appointing Kumar, who has defended Gujarat in a number of cases, as the next solicitor general of India.
If the Budget is status quo, the market will not fall much and the rewards for going long would be high.
If the Budget is status quo, the market will not fall much and the rewards for going long would be high.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday described the first year of the second term of the United Progressive Alliance as one of 'reasonable achievement', but said his government could have done more.
Did you find his answers satisfactory? Or could he have been more forthcoming? On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 is worst and 10 is excellent), how do you rate his answers?
The comments come amid strong political protests against land acquisition by global steel majors Posco and ArcelorMittal, whose much-touted multi billion dollar projects are still awaiting ground-breaking.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said that although there is a huge gap in the prices of spectrum for 2G and 3G services, the whole issue needs to be seen in proper perspective.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday condoled the loss of lives in the Air India Express flight crash in Mangalore and announced a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed.
On a visit to New Delhi a year after UPA-II assumed office, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Sunday backed Telecom Minister A Raja and virtually ruled out the demand of the Opposition for his resignation over the 2G spectrum controversy.
Divestment of public sector companies gathered steam in the first year of UPA-II that saw two PSUs-- Oil India and NHPC-- raising around Rs 8,600 crore (Rs 86 billion) from IPOs and the way was cleared for divestment in three more state-run power companies in the new year.
The move, if it goes through, will be warmly welcomed by foreign media houses which have been looking to enter India, one of the world's fastest growing economies. The domestic media barons, however, are likely to oppose the move.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Bharat Jodo Yatra successfully resurrected the Rahul Gandhi brand.' 'There's a critical mass that has built up for the Congress and Mr Modi is feeling the heat on the Adani issue, the raids on the BBC offices, the Opposition getting together.'
Senior Congress leader Hans Raj Bhardwaj on Thursday made a direct attack on party president Sonia Gandhi alleging that she "shared no responsibility" and was in the "grip of sycophants and corrupt people".
"What the legislature cannot do is to say that we think the judgment is wrong and therefore we overrule the judgment. The judgment of a court cannot be directly overruled by the legislature," the CJI said.
Contests in 13 seats would attract most attention during the Chhattisgarh assembly elections as they feature prominent leaders of the Congress and BJP.
At present, a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder in the national capital costs Rs 1,103. It will cost Rs 903 when the Centre's decision is implemented from Wednesday.
'If businesses are focused on de-leveraging, they can hardly be investing. This is the price extracted by investment mistakes during UPA rule, and should have been foreseen. 'But Modi-I must share the blame, for muted reform of the financial sector, partisan policy in telecom, the harm done to exports by an over-priced rupee, and so on,' says T N Ninan.
The inflows came higher in March than in February of 2019-20 despite the lockdown for a week, reports Indivjal Dhasmana.
Manmohan Singh, reveals the former President, was keen that either P Chidambaram or Montek Singh Ahluwalia be the finance minister.
Fernandes was hospitalised in July after suffering a fall while doing yoga at his house.
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu, which boasted of as many as nine ministers in the UPA-II government in 2009, did not get any representation in Modi 2.0 government.
Several Opposition leaders have rallied behind Gandhi and hit out at the government and accused the BJP of targeting political opponents.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati will boycott the United Progressive Alliance-II anniversary celebrations and the subsequent dinner in New Delhi on Saturday.
According to DMK, the voters are already consolidated on ideological lines, hence the impact of anti-incumbency, whether against the BJP Centre or the DMK state may not be too much, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
Smarting under its recent electoral debacle, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will make a token representation at the second anniversary celebrations of the United Progressive Alliance II in New Delhi on Sunday evening. None of its six Union ministers will be present at the event
Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday met President Pranab Mukherjee in the backdrop of the UPA pitching for Leader of Opposition status for her party in Lok Sabha.
Just weeks ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Singh quit the Congress party on Tuesday and joined the BJP, in a setback for the grand old party.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has justified the Narendra Modi government's move to raise the rail fare by 14.2 per cent, saying it was a result of the policies undertaken by the previous United Progressive Alliance government. In an exclusive interview to CNN IBN, Prasad blamed the UPA II government for leaving Indian Railways in shambles, adding that his government never knew that the railways was bleeding, thanks to the Congress-led regime.
A bench of Justices R Banumathi and A S Bopanna said it would hear the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate on Chidambaram's two petitions, including the challenge to remand orders, on Wednesday.
My aim will be to get the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, recently cleared by the cabinet, tabled and passed in Parliament, says Girija Vyas.
Sources said Sircar, who was appointed on the post in 2012 by the UPA-II government, has written a letter to I&B Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in this regard.
In a major jolt to India's solar energy programme, the Rajasthan government might cancel the 4,000-Mw solar UMPP (ultra mega power project), which was expected to come up near Sambhar Lake.
Denied of any relief from the UPA-II government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday pinned her hopes on the new BJP government at the Centre for a positive response on the state's huge debt repayment problem.
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday made a veiled attack on Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, telling them "neither populism nor individualism" is an alternative way of governance and expressed confidence that people will entrust responsibility to a "hand" that works for equity.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances