The call from T N Seshan, the then cabinet secretary to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, relayed the pressure by the United States and NATO to delay the launch.
With the termination of multi-fibre agreement set for January 1 2005, India is poised to double its share in the global textiles and garment market to eight per cent and become a $50 billion sector by 2010, says a PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
'If it is true that we are in a moment in time when the few economic advantages we hold are being lost, our focus must be on that rather than on finger-pointing,' says Aakar Patel.
Zaheer Khan discusses India's chances in the upcoming World T20 in March-April. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
One of the finest fast bowlers in current times, Mohammed Amir would be pitted against the talismanic Virat Kohli in what could turn out to be a battle primarily between India's vaunted batting line-up and against Pakistan's potent bowling attack.
Ankita Raina and top seeds men's doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan assured India of at least a couple of bronze medals in the tennis competition by progressing to the semifinals at the Asian Games, in Palembang, on Wednesday.
India's Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali feels that although world No 1 Novak Djokovic's participation will tilt the balance in Serbia's favour in the upcoming Davis Cup World Group play-off tie, it would be a tie worth remembering for the spectators.
Former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja believes Indian bowlers should take a cue from Wahab Riaz's hostile spell.
India is on track to register its entire 1.25 billion population using its Aadhaar digital ID.
The body of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who died in Shillong on Monday evening, was carried to Delhi early Tuesday morning by a special aircraft from Guwahati.
'A couple of hours before the H-Hour, the Kupwara division opened small arms and mortar fire on posts opposite its area of operation.' 'This was a diversionary tactic.' 'As Pakistani forces began to react to the firing, special forces teams began to slowly cross the LoC into PoK.' Nitin Gokhale reveals how planning for the surgical strikes began hours after the Uri attack.
What India should not do is take the path China took at one stage to become the world's foremost cheap factory, says Subir Roy.
Former India players Maninder Singh and Chetan Chauhan have thrown their weight behind an "aggressive and impressive" Virat Kohli, saying the skipper was correct in going for victory rather than trying to save the first Test against Australia in Adelaide on Saturday.
Indian boxer L Sarita Devi's refusal to accept her bronze medal on the podium went against the values of sportsmanship, Asian Games organisers said on Thursday, adding they were reviewing the incident and could take action against her.
India should enhance its economic, cultural and defence ties with Mongolia. It is high time Modi should focus on gaining clout in smaller Asian countries such as Mongolia. It is in this context, India's engagement with Mongolia would give much-needed impetus to India's foreign policy, says Sana Hashmi.
'Modi's victory is his own victory. Now what he has done thereafter, it seems to me, leads us to believe that he was a bit too prolific with his promises.' 'One achievement of Modi's I will praise is that he has put the fear of God among his ministers and officials.' 'Indira Gandhi's sentiment of controlling everything, centralising power in to her hands is the quality that persists in Modi' Veteran journalist Inder Malhotra casts his experienced gaze on one year of the Modi Sarkar.
The Intelligence Bureau has said that out of the billions of information that has been collected from India by the National Security Agency, a meagre 20 per cent is connected to terror activities. Vick Nanjappa reports
On paper as well as on current form, West Indies are no match for defending champions India, who have registered convincing victories against Pakistan, South Africa and UAE in their first three matches of the ICC World Cup.
'What we are trying for is to make space travel easier like air travel.' 'We have already established ourselves... the fact that other countries are coming to seek our help shows our technology is mature.'
Srijan Pal Singh, advisor to President A P J Abdul Kalam, recalls his final journey to IIM-Shillong.
'I was a very late child of my father. I was suddenly a little toy, who appeared from nowhere. Everybody experimented.' 'I don't know why I took up dancing. I think I wanted to find one more excuse to drop out from school.' Kamal Haasan gives us beautiful nuggets from his life.
'It was China's rise that caused the New Cold War in Asia as it prompted the United States to rebalance its forces in Asia to experiment with engagement and containment at the same time,' says T P Sreenivasan.
As India gets set to play its 500th Test, Rajneesh Gupta presents India's memorable Test victories at home.