In this exclusive conversation with Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma, exiled opposition leader Ahmed Naseem explains why the world should care about democracy in Maldives.
The EC announced on Friday evening that out of eight parties only Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and the CPI-M accepted the dare. Friday was the last date to enlist for the challenge.
Within hours of the government announcing a new body to replace Planning Commission, the Yojana Bhawan staff began hectic preparations to welcome new Vice-Chairman of Niti Aayog and other members who are likely to be appointed shortly.
If India Inc sincerely feels the separation of posts is not a good governance measure, it must spell out its doubts clearly to Sebi and give cogent arguments rather than mundane ones like India is different, argues J N Gupta, member, Kotak committee on corporate governance reforms.
'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.
Hours after the multi-lateral conference began in Moscow, India made it clear that its participation was in sync with its Afghan policy and asserted that attending the meeting was not talking to the Taliban at all.
'If the institutions of democracy are under pressure, it is time for serious thinking by the people and their parties. The correctives must come from within.'
BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday revamped the party's national executive. Of the 178 members, only eight are women.
'Shaheen Bagh is no longer a mere ghetto of lower middle class Muslims.' 'Now, it is a metaphor for resistance, secularism and struggle,' notes Md. Zeeshan Ahmad.
What manufacturing was for China, super intelligence will be for India: Ambani
Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtraparti Bhavan.
Advance booking and track record peg the film's opening collection at Rs 35 to 40 crore.
Bigg Boss 12 doesn't boast of a remarkable line-up but there are a few eye-catching inclusions that should keep the show in the news for the next few months, feels Sukanya Verma.
The BJP had not filed till May the expenses statement for the Karnataka Assembly elections held last year in July.
Only on Wednesday, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi said he wants to resolve the Kashmir issue through Vajpayee's doctrine of "Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat" - a testimony to the former PM's lasting legacy.
'India appears to have stood its ground on strategic autonomy by resisting US pressure on Russia, China and Iran, but succumbed to the temptation to walk into a tighter embrace in defence cooperation, a high priority of the Trump administration,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Genuine mistakes can and must be forgiven,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
Bomb blasts on Thursday rocked Assam and Manipur during Independence Day functions injuring one person even as chief ministers asked extremists to abjure violence and return to the mainstream.
Actor-director Shashank Udapurkar's biopic Anna, a linear sketch of the man, who once brought the Delhi Establishment on its knees, fails to inspire, feels Prasanna D Zore.
Most of the parties supported 'one nation one election', says defence minister Rajnath Singh.
A total of 3,30,27,661 people had applied to be included in the NRC. Of them, 3,11,21,004 have been included in the document and 19,06,657 excluded.
Justice Sen said he does not belong to any political party and does not dream of getting a political berth after retirement. He said he had written the judgment based on truth, history and ground reality "to save the citizens of India, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or language".
As the party moves forward into the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it not only needs to strengthen the state units and reach out to the grassroots level, but also forge alliances with like-minded parties.
India's gross domestic product product (GDP) growth rate between 2011-12 and 2016-17 should be about 4.5 per cent instead of the official estimate of close to 7 per cent, he said in a research paper published at Harvard University. "The Indian policy automobile has been navigated with a faulty, possibly broken, speedometer," he says in the paper.
The appointment of Yogi Adityanath as UP CM, the revival of the Ram Temple movement, the elevation of a ban on cow slaughter as a national priority, and the targeting of any social behaviour deemed contrary to a set of narrowly prescribed Indian values point to a social regression that contradicts the inclusive and forward-looking impulse that underlies Modi's vision of a modern India.
'It is not clear how the NDA government -- including Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, backed by senior IAF officials -- claimed that the 36 Rafale contract with Dassault in 2016 cost the IAF 20% less than Dassault's 126 Rafale offer,' notes Ajai Shukla in the first of a three-part series.
'While many Chinese policy makers dismiss the political, economic and technological component of US-India relations, they express caution on the defence-related ties which also happens to be a major driver in US-India relations,' explains China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
The prime minister was received at the airport by India's Ambassador to the US, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, and his American counterpart Ken Juster.
'If there is one certainty in this visit, it is that Trump does not follow a script. He is unpredictable,' highlights Ambassador B S Prakash.
Five months into office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will expand and reshuffle his Council of Ministers on Sunday, bringing in new faces and is likely to drop a few.
"India will be home to a fifth of humanity, its economy 16 times bigger than today, and one of the world's largest consumer markets. India will be a world better in many areas"
Some also demanded empowering of local bodies.
It hopes to attract billions of dollars in investment by this move, and may ease some restrictions on foreign inflows.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi on Thursday chose a global NRI meet to hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had said that "we are set for better times".
The PM spoke about financial inclusion.
The Congress had won over 400 seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha election after which Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister.
Mission Mangal has its heart in place, feels Sukanya Verma.
'Rather than 'consolidate' the Hindu majority votes, as the BJP-RSS combine has been known and wont to try, this time round PM Modi has himself taken the party to the next step, by seeking to create a new divide within the majority community, a la V P Singh in his time.'
Muslims need to get out of their Isolation Syndrome, argues Mohammad Sajjad.
