Factors such as industrial backwardness, crime, poor infrastructure, erratic power supply and poor educational infrastructure will take a backseat to identity
This is the fifth time that Nitish will be the chief minister of Bihar and this will be his third consecutive term.
'They are afraid that if they approach a police station for filing a complaint they might themselves get arrested under some random charges.'
'How are students supposed to learn a new language within a semester?'
The appointment of new expenditure secretary comes a month-and-a-half ahead of the Budget for 2020-21 to be presented on February 1.
Nobody bothered to articulate the upsides; instead, the four-year tour of duty and denial of life-long pensions got played up.
Job-seekers for government and related opportunities found that their future was at risk, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
The new cabinet, predictably, has a sizeable number of Yadavs and Muslims, though members of other sections of the society also find a place.
The dinner Jill Biden and her husband US President Joe Biden hosted for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, June 22, at the White House brought together, Indians and Americans from so many firmaments.
Several states and union territories, including Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi, have announced closure of schools or suspended classes briefly till the COVID-19 situation is further reviewed in the wake of rising cases across the country.
Although the Disaster Management Act for Covid containment measures, considered a hindrance in conducting the census, was withdrawn in March this year the Centre has not taken any further action on conducting the much-delayed population enumeration.
It looks like Hindi, which faces political opposition at the front door, is entering Tamil Nadu through the kitchen, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Singh was widely regarded as an expert in the rural and agricultural landscape of the country and is credited with the conceptualisation and implementation of the NREGA (National Rural Guarantee Employment) Act.
The CM said the alleged sex abuse of girls at the shelter home "has left us with a sense of shame and guilt".
Each state has its own weak areas that need attention. Some states have already identified the gaps and sought the Centre's help. Vinay Umarji, Ishita Ayan Dutt, Samreen Ahmad and Sohini Das report.
In Bihar, where a bandh had been called, a railway station and a police vehicle were torched, an ambulance attacked and security personnel injured in stone-pelting incidents on the fourth consecutive day of the agitation, while protesters vandalised Ludhiana railway station in Punjab and blocked roads and rail tracks in West Bengal, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
Vardhan said the 15-member central team of doctors and para-medics will be replaced by a team with similar strength for further 10 days, ensuring continuity of care of admitted cases.
Rediff reader Kiran Mestry, 49 from Mumbai tells us how her first salary changed her life.
In a significant directive, the home ministry said that state governments shall not impose any local lockdown outside the containment zones without prior consultation with the central government.
DMK working president M K Stalin has appealed to cadres to remain calm and to follow discipline in 'this hour of grief'.
Migrant workers. Poor students. School dropouts. Impoverished women. Daniel Ponraj and his Shubh Sandesh Foundation are helping them all.
The appointments committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared Bhalla's appointment as OSD in the ministry with immediate effect.
Known for weighing his options carefully before making any move, Kumar, upon a closer look, comes across as a risk taker who has not shied away from going against the tide.
Known for weighing his options carefully before making any move, Kumar, upon a closer look, comes across as a risk taker who has not shied away from going against the tide.
11,292 km. 20 million (Nitish Kumar says 30 million) Biharis. 45 minutes.
With his name or without, Jim Corbett continues to live on in his home in Uttarakahand's Kaladunghi and in the jungles he loved.
In the wake of 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India so far, the Union health ministry has made functional 52 laboratories for testing samples while 57 labs have been designated for helping in sample collection for Covid-19 to enhance capacity for diagnosis and detection of the disease. "Following the increase in load of screening samples from suspected cases with symptoms and travel history to the affected countries, the department of health research/ICMR has commissioned 52 laboratories for COVID-19 testing in India," an official said.
'Tej Pratap doesn't have votes on his own. But should he want, he can always rock the RJD's boat because of his antics.'
State after state has imposed an alcohol ban, and has had to retreat, unable to address the financial and administrative fallout. Are we set for more of this cycle, asks Aditi Phadnis.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, a hike in GST rates would have hampered consumption amid the economic slowdown. The revenue augmentation panel in the Council meeting recently recommended revisiting and restructuring the GST rate slabs, besides correcting the inverted duty structure. The panel listed 24 items, including mobile phones, footwear, fabrics, LED light, medical equipment, utensils, agri machinery, pharma, and renewable components, which have an inverted duty structure, resulting in refunds of close to Rs 20,000 crore annually.
The Union Health ministry put the number of positive cases at 82, eight more since Thursday night, which includes the woman and a 76-year-old man from Karnataka who became the country's first coronavirus fatality besides 17 foreign nationals, Health Ministry officials said.
'Both the BJP and SP have workers and cadres across the state, and now it will boil down to which party manages booths smartly and gets its voters to come out.'
Many state governments are ready with policies to promote entrepreneurs, backed by funding plans
'At 23, he has experienced what very few of his age have: Poverty at home, a stint in jail for his student activism.' 'His experience told him that if you want your rights, you have to fight for them.'
Bihar's progress in the last 10 years under Nitish Kumar has been acknowledged by Biharis -- but whom will the astute Bihari choose this time, A Bihari Abroad asks as the first round of polls in the state begins on Monday.
Rashtriya Janata Dal's Manoj Jha saw the move as an attempt to have a 'committed bureaucracy'.
'At this point of time, West Bengal is doing better than other states in tackling the crisis. We have a chief minister who herself has hit the streets to do what is to be done, and at the same time ensuring a proper lockdown. She is also trying day and night to set up the requisite infrastructure.'
'With more and more young people relocating outside their home states for work, an all-India MLDA of 21 would be a good way to ensure that more Indians can go with the flow,' recommends Kanika Datta.
According to Muzaffarpur District Registration Officer Sanjay Kumar, the orders to freeze the bank accounts and ban the sale or purchase of any movable or immovable assets of the Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti were passed by District Magistrate Mohammad Sohail on August 7 and 8.
The joint secretary also said a high-level task force to work on frontiers of science related to vaccines and drug testing was formed on Sunday.
