Biju Janata Dal members had staged a walk-out while NDA ally Shiv Sena did not participate in the voting.
The murders of journalists in 2015 underscore the rising power of regional language media, especially local-language newspapers, says Nilanjana S Roy
'You can ascribe any ideology to him, and it will be equally right - or equally wrong.' 'Even though the comrades on the Left will never admit it, he seems as much Stalinist as capitalist.'
Every year Fortune honours 10 innovators, groundbreakers and game changers as 'Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs'.
Irom Sharmila's decision to end her 16-year-old fast against the AFSPA continues to be hotly debated and contested in Imphal.
Opposition party is unlikely to block Bills for GST, insurance and e-auction of coal mines.
B S Prakash takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what India's neighbours think about the proposal of a SAARC satellite.
'One big problem for the RSS is, while they spread their ideology of hard, Hindu-ised Indian nationalism, the absence of their own pantheon of modern nationalist giants. They missed out on the freedom movement quite comprehensively, in some ways comparable to the Muslim League and latter-day Communists. They have to find heroes elsewhere.' 'They borrow who they can from the Congress, like Madan Mohan Malviya and Sardar Patel, and then steal the entire lot of revolutionaries, from Bhagat Singh to Netaji, never mind that many of them were extreme leftists.'
'It will take many years to clean the Ganga. It will not happen in five years like the prime minister wants. If you want it to be sustainable, temporary measures won't work.' Twinkle Tom, an environmental engineer by training (from Stanford no less!), now designs wedding gowns because India, sadly, does not want her expertise and skill.
No Indian auto brand (including Tata or Mahindra) is well-known globally.
"A Meryl Streep or Jimmy Kimmel can speak their mind, and stay assured that they won't be harmed. That does not happen in India," say Manavi Kapur & Ranjita Ganesan.
On the occasion of the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 125th birth anniversary, Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com visits his residence of 16 years, and comes away marvelling at his enduring legacy.
The history of the Cauvery and Mullaperiyar cases has shown how helpless the constitutional processes and judicial verdicts have been in enforcing the law of the land in inter-state and state-Centre disputes, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Indian Army rejected DRDO's INSAS assault rifle in 2010 due to its all-round inefficiency. Now the army is being forced to accept DRDO's Excalibur rifle, which is basically an ungraded variant of the INSAS, to make up for a severe shortage of small arms.
'Chinese leaders rarely receive their foreign guests in cities other than Beijing. Such respect for India!' 'Does it mean that Modi could replicate "the warmth and unconventional way" by sending Indian troops into Tibet, as Xi did in Chumur (Ladakh) when he arrived in India? Of course, Indians are far too polite to do so,' says Claude Arpi.
'All that Maharashtra can give someone whose husband has died is a piece of cloth. That was extremely tragic for me.' 'If you go back historically there is no reference to Maharashtra whereas there is complete reference to Vidarbha.'
'Corruption is rampant in every office in the state from the villages right up to Gandhinagar. I have witnessed all these issues first hand... Before Narendra Modi became chief minister Gujarat had a debt of Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore. Today it is Rs 180,000 crore. There has been six-fold jump in public debt in Gujarat in the last ten years... Every child born in Gujarat owes a debt of Rs 30,000 today. How can you call this development? Look at how high taxes are in Gujarat. Look at the condition of our public health system. There are not enough doctors or nursing staff in government hospitals; not enough teachers in schools and colleges.' Three-time BJP MLA Dr Kanubhai Kalsaria rips apart Narendra Modi's policies.
As Chinese army incursions continue to recur, India has cautioned China that any disturbance of peace and tranquility in the border areas can vitiate the overall atmosphere of bilateral ties.
'We are passing through a very historical moment. The UP election next year and the Lok Sabha election of 2019 will decide the course of India.' 'Maybe the unlettered will save India again because they have inherited a different India and a different idea of India,' says eminent social scientist Achyut Yagnik.
India has made a remarkable journey from a top-down system of economic decision-making to one that unleashed our entrepreneurial spirits but the next big jump lies in enhancing the quality of our tale.
Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on how his Rang De Basanti has become a catalyst for India's youth.
In villages in Palghar district -- in Mumbai's backyard -- more than 254 children have died from malnutrition.
Now that Tamil Nadu's tallest politician is no more, it remains to be seen how new political re-alignments could shape up, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the United States Congress.
Amma will wait for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'honeymoon' with the voter to fade away before deciding on the issues that are of real concern to the state and others that may need a considered and balanced solution, say N Sathiya Moorthy and M Kasinathan
