Veteran Communist leader and former Chief Minister of Kerala, V S Achuthanandan turned 98 on Wednesday.
'English must be taught extremely well to all children in all schools, and especially so in those schools where the medium of instruction until Grade 5/8 is in the mother tongue/local language/regional language.'
'He will go to any extent, and he will have the full support of the Union government as they may not like a Left government to continue here.'
Wednesday's expansion shows that Modi still has a keen eye on Bengal. The BJP is gearing up for the panchayat elections in Bengal next May and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
His likable boy-next-door face and casual approach to public speaking have a unique appeal for the younger generation, but it stops there, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Activist and journalist Madhu Kishwar on Smriti Irani and the controversy over the four-year course offered by the Delhi University.
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 non-oil, non-finance sector of the economy is under severe stress.
Lauding the farm sector for demonstrating resilience during the pandemic, the Economic Survey on Friday suggested the government to see farm sector as a "modern business enterprise" for which "urgent reforms" are required to enable sustainable and consistent growth. India's agricultural sector has shown its resilience amid the adversities of COVID-19 induced lockdowns, the Survey noted. The agriculture and allied activities were the sole bright spot amid the slide in GDP performance of other sectors, clocking a growth rate of 3.4 per cent at constant prices during 2020-21, it added. According to the Survey, the farm sector has got "renewed thrust" due to various measures on credit, market reforms and food processing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat announcements.
India has already termed as untenable the 'artificial enlargement' of the territorial claims by Nepal after its Parliament unanimously approved the new political map of the country featuring Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas which India maintains belongs to it.
The most immediate challenge for growth is the disruption of the global economy brought about by the Ukraine war and related sanctions, the Covid shutdowns in China and the rising tide of inflation, points out Nitin Desai.
Inflation targeting has worked well and the government must stay with it, and the framework is going to work well in the period ahead also, former RBI Governor D Subbarao said on Thursday. He also said low inflation contributes to sustainable growth. Addressing the 'Times Network India Economic Conclave' virtually, Subbarao said the government's proposal to privatise some public sector units is not akin to selling family silver but it is a route for putting India on a sustainable growth path.
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.
Magsaysay Award winner Sonam Wangchuk speaks to Claude Arpi about his journey, his fights, his hopes and how he became an inspiration for the Bollywood blockbuster.
Sixteen per cent of the candidates contesting in the first phase of Assam assembly elections have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Giving priority to one's ideology over national interest has harmed the democratic system of the country a lot, Modi said in his address to students after unveiling the statue through video conferencing.
'The Kerala saga also requires a reappraisal of Nehru himself. 'The real Nehru is to be found somewhere between the syrupy panegyrics on him and the demonisation of him that is currently happening,' says Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar.
India has much to be proud of and celebrate. But there is also much that is wrong, much that looks dangerous. Employment, current account deficit, rural distress, agricultural productivity are all in deep crisis, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The chief minister, who had on Wednesday expanded his new cabinet by inducting 29 ministers, had played it safe by and large retaining old faces, as 23 of them were Ministers in the previous Yediyurappa cabinet, while six were new.
Tamil-speaking ministers assured that the draft will be reviewed before implementation.
The main elements of the programme are bilateral meetings with the US leadership, participation in the Quad Leaders' Summit, address at the UN General Assembly and business interactions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his engagements in the US on Thursday by meeting with leading American CEOs from five different key sectors and highlighted the economic opportunities in India.
As many as 1,500, or 19 per cent, of all candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls, face criminal cases, according to an analysis by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Air India Chairman Rajiv Bansal has been appointed as the new aviation secretary as part of a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Wednesday. K Rajaraman, additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been appointed as secretary, department of telecommunications, a personnel ministry order said.
The chapters were dropped by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) for the 2020-21 session, as part of the 30 per cent reduction of the syllabus, keeping in mind the loss of academic schedule that the students had to face because of the pandemic.
Analysts have their doubts how much independence she has as finance minister. As Amit Mitra advises the chief minister, day-to-day work is done by the finance secretary and the chief secretary.
The Army believes the children, after returning from their multi-city tour, will narrate their experiences to other young Kashmiris, encouraging them to join the next group.
"Governance, governance, governance," was what Nitish Kumar said were his three priorities when he took the helm of Bihar in 2005.
'Breaking down silos and ensuring a more integrated governance process is just as important to performance.' 'It has been a major priority in the last six years, especially in national security,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out when delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
943 candidates are contesting 71 seats spread across 9 states.
We must work in the direction of an innovation and technology driven economy which could boost up creation of jobs and open advanced and newer avenues of employment within the country.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
Hemant Shivsaran lists the number of projects the Modi government has announced since August to woo Gujarat voters.
Abhishek packs a punch and Nimrat is deliciously wicked but Dasvi falls short of being the razor-sharp satire it deeply aspires to be, feels Sukanya Verma.
In an affidavit filed in the top court, the health ministry told the apex court that the family welfare programme in the country is voluntary in nature, which enables couples to decide the size of their family and adopt family planning methods best suited to them, according to their choice and without any compulsion.
A week after expanding his cabinet, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday allocated portfolios to the seven new inductees and also effected a reshuffle of the departments of some ministers.
With economic growth slowing to a six-year low, IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath says the government should undertake structural reforms such as bank clean-up and labour reforms to address the slowdown in domestic demand. She rooted for government policies focusing on managing a slowdown in domestic demand, and on boosting productivity growth and supporting employment creation in the medium term.
According to eyewitnesses, the police arrived in the village before the incident took place, but the mob seized the victim from the SHO's custody and tied him to a tree, after which he was lynched to death.
Ahead of her arrival, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tweeted to welcome her. "@FLOTUS will attend happiness class in our school today. Great day for our teachers, students and Delhiites. For centuries, India has taught spirituality to the world. Am happy that she will take back the msg of happiness from our school," Kejriwal said.
In his four-page letter in Hindi, the PM said that better infrastructure and rule of law are imperative for social and economic prosperity and only the NDA can provide that in Bihar.
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