FM says government policies aim to contain inflation, spur growth.
Empowered in the Modi government, junior ministers have enough on their plate.
The top two in the government and in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah, respectively, spent the day trying to hard sell not just the contentious land Bill but also how the Modi government stood for the welfare of farmers.
The minister also cautioned the social media giant and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg of repercussions under the IT Act in case of any data breach came to light.
The raging row over nationalism was at the centre of Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah's inaugural address at the party's national executive meeting on Saturday as he asserted that it will not tolerate criticism against the country and that freedom of expression cannot be a plea for shouting anti-national slogans.
Businessman P C Mustafa wants Indian Americans to return home, Cognizant CEO Francisco D'Souza outlines how Indian tech companies could grow, Gaurav Dalmia has some investment recommendations while Subramanian Swamy warns that India is flirting with a debt trap.
At a rally on the occasion of the BJP's 38th Foundation Day, the BJP president expressed confidence that his party would win the 2019 polls, "not by giving hollow assurances but on the basis of work done by the Modi government".
There are indications that India may be shedding its Stockholm Syndrome vis-a-vis the Modi government, says Bharat Bhushan.
While inaugurating the projects, Modi said highways construction has reached 27-km a day from mere 12-km a day during the Congress regime.
Gandhi attacked Modi and the BJP while latching on to the bribery allegation made by Narendra Patel, an activist of the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti.
Sparks flew in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as the raging Jawaharlal Nehru University row and suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula was taken up for discussion, with opposition accusing the government of muzzling the voice of the youth and "mercilessly crushing" the principles of democracy.
'In his 2014 election campaign, Mr Modi had boasted that he would apply the Gujarat model to the rest of India. We just have to ensure he doesn't start with Parliament,' says Shashi Tharoor in this fascinating excerpt from his new book, The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India.
Has the Modi government been more at odds with institutions than other governments? There is no doubt that there have been more run-ins. While the RBI and CBI cases have drawn attention, there have been others, less publicised, Subhomoy Bhattacharjee points out.
Modi also pitched for a social movement to ensure the safety of women and girls.
'Those who are upset by the current government's hard position against agitating Kashmiris should know it is exactly as hard as the position of previous governments.' 'Congress also killed as many, and actually more, but it spoke softly.' 'The BJP uses harsher words, but that is the only real difference,' says Aakar Patel.
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took his fight against the contentious land acquisition bill to Punjab as he travelled by train today to visit the National Democratic Alliance-ruled state and see the condition of farmers with his own eyes.
Prime Minister Singh has assigned a senior Congress leader to placate the President, who is upset with Finance Minister P Chidambaram, reports Anita Katyal.
'High denomination cash notes which was 1.4 lakh crores of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2004 became Rs 15.5 lakh crores in 2016.' 'If it had been allowed, by 2022, it would have been Rs 34 lakh crores, and that would have been the end of the Indian economy.' 'Demonetisation was a huge hit on the head of the economy, but without the hit, you could not U-turn the economy.'
An insecure political class, with little knowledge of the military, has unquestioningly internalised the fear that a powerful tri-service chief would threaten democracy, says Ajai Shukla.
Anand Sharma said the PM 'does not have humility' and has not indicated that he will reflect and correct the course by either withdrawing his words 'insulting' Indira Gandhi based upon a 'fabricated report'.
'The home ministry has made a serious allegation to the media without providing a scrap of evidence to back it up. We think this shows how worried the ministry has become.'
The current state of the American economy is not in decline, Obama said.
Rahul exuded confidence that his party will emerge victorious in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly polls and defeat the BJP in the 2019 general polls.
It has been said that by 2025, India could become among the top five economies in the world. If India does become a $5 trillion economy but gets all its rivers polluted, food chain poisoned and genetic pool depleted and biometric database of Indians sold or stolen at the behest of commercial czars, will it not be a pyrrhic economic victory, asks Gopal Krishna.
'The central learning of the day was that if the BJP leadership can cajole, coax and convince regional parties to vote for bills, it would not be a stretch to see the same votes cast in favour of the land bill,' a senior Congress leader from a northern state told Rediff.com
Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced that the 2.3 million strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest, will be trimmed by three lakh.
The world seems to have caught severe pneumonia, or worse, as China had flu.
Her great grandfather began sugar co-operatives in Maharashtra. Her grandfather was an eight time MP. Her uncle is currently leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. Her cousin joined the BJP on Tuesday, March 12. Nila Vikhe Patil, who could one day become prime minister of Sweden, unravels her India connections in an e-mail interaction with Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Tamil Nadu has time and again proved that it needs a decisive leader even if corrupt, rather than an indecisive leader, however good-hearted, good-natured and honest he may be, writes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Only national service can save the nation, and not politics: Modi
Attacking the note ban move, Yechury said the PM's assertion that it will impact terror funding has not yielded any result.
Calling on the world to embrace Yoga as a discipline in everyday life, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of the International Yoga Day today, asserted that the ancient Indian art was the most selfless of its kind, as it did not discriminate, did not ask for much, but simply functioned for the betterment of mankind and brought every society together.
It is time to reset expectations as government will move with alacrity on social policy, not on economic reforms.
'This may seem like a lyrical lamenting of a writer, but it is the sad reality in and outside the industry. In films, nine out of 10 times the writer's name is not mentioned in posters, publicity or even reviews.' Screenwriter Anjum Rajabali and actress-writer Preeti Mamgain hope to make way for Bollywood's writers.
Salman Khan of Khan Academy explains how he is pioneering the cause of free online education.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's spin doctors are on an overdrive these days to project him as a "tough talking" leader following a spate of critical media reports about his sudden silence on key issues, says rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
All the three issues raised by China at the Modi-Xi meeting are either intractable or peripheral to the bilateral relations and suggest conventional methods to placate the other side without yielding much, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
In his penultimate State of the Union address, Barack Obama said that the economy is improving.
Two US lawmakers write to the House Speaker asking to extend an invitation