'Here is a woman who has got widespread appreciation for her work.' 'Social media was full of posts wanting her as the chief ministerial candidate.' 'This kind of popularity did not go well within the party.' 'See, today the party is Pinarayi Vijayan!'
For the past five months, ever since he was appointed the Ayushman CEO, Indu Bhushan, a former bureaucrat, has made Nirman Bhawan his second home, working nine to nine with his "dedicated team" on the Modi government's biggest initiative after the Goods and Services Tax, says Nivedita Mookerji.
'We all expected Modi with the majority to tame the bureaucracy, but it is the bureaucracy that tamed him.'
Anil Swarup, who conceived the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana -- a scheme the United Nations Development Programme and the International Labour Organisation recognised as among the finest -- speaks to Anjuli Bhargava.
He will be remembered not only as a writer but as one of the great chroniclers and interrogators of the history of our times, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'You have sufficient protection if you take the second dose of the Covishield vaccine at 12 weeks, because this vaccine works in a way where it provides protection in the first dose.'
'It's a performance that puts the Bachchan hysteria to shame,' observes Sreehari Nair.
History shows us that even effective vaccines could have unknown side effects that could develop over time, warns former Cabinet Secetary K M Chandrasekhar.
The notes argue that it will widen the talent base available to govt to deliver increasingly complex services to a demanding population.
'At a time when the economy is depressed, a pandemic is raging, and the Chinese are making noises on the border, the NRC could be resuscitated.'
Inter-ministerial programmes have run into obstacles as rules written by bureaucrats hamper rather than promote investments.
Tragic as it is, the submarine accident is more tactical in nature and it is the deeper strategic malaise across the board -- political, economic, security, judiciary, bureaucracy and even the media -- that has led to this dark mood of gloom and despondency, says Commodore (retd) C Uday Bhaskar.
Faesal, who recently returned from a foreign training and was awaiting posting, said he had decided to resign from Indian Administrative Service, "to protest against the unabated killings in Kashmir, and lack of any sincere reach out from the Union government".
'Have discreet, separate corona and non-corona hospitals for treating these two categories of patients.' 'Concentrate on your non-corona patients as well.' 'Because then your diabetics, your hypertensives, the ones on dialysis, the asthmatics, who, if and when they get corona, are the ones who are going to require more intensive care and are going to be more at risk of death.'
The non-oil, non-finance sector of the economy is under severe stress.
There is also a lobby within the bureaucracy that wants to see Rajan's influence curtailed
Indian officialdom enjoys well over a week of Sundays every month
Sujatha Singh is the third senior official to have been dismissed by NDA.
Former RA&W chief A S Dulat, who served as Atalji's adviser on Kashmir, gives us an insider's glimpse of a prime minister he has hailed as the 'greatest after Nehru'.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will visit India on his maiden foreign trip next month even as he ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in custody in Colombo as a goodwill gesture on the first day in office.
Mukkabaaz, a film in which its lead actor shines, unfortunately tries to pack in a punch too many.
Unlike the regimes of Jayalalitha, Palaniswami and Karunanidhi, ministers are actually getting to make decisions on their own, with the unmentioned rider that they would be held responsible and accountable, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
India and the United States must use energy and persistence to overcome the "obstacles" towards achieving the shared objectives agreed during the "transformative" visit of American President Barack Obama to New Delhi, US Ambassador Richard Verma said in New Delhi on Thursday.
Meet the civil servant who will take Prime Minister Modi's plans for education to another level.
He noted that it would take a long time for turn around the current situation in India
'What will this supposedly more business-friendly government do if it gets a second term?' 'Important labour law and land reforms remain off the table.' 'Witness the arm-twisting of foreign players in e-commerce and all but one player in telecom -- and it is very hard to justify this perception that the BJP is business friendly.' 'There will also remain the real risk of ideas seemingly gleaned from the pages of Amar Chitra Katha, overlaid with PowerPoint presentations,' predicts Rahul Jacob.
Mr T V R Shenoy, who contributed columns to Rediff.com from its birth, passed into the ages on Tuesday evening. As we grieve and mourning his passing, Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar bids adieu to an unusual human being, a sage for our times.
KPS Menon (Jr) had a quiet humility and playfulness, and was not motivated by money or power, recalls Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Here comes the moment of truth. Modi prides himself on offering an "incorruptible" government. Will he dilute the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill to coax the administration's fealty and compromise his self-image?
'Everything will be decided by the Centre.' 'Universities will have no autonomy to start a new course or introduce a new syllabus.'
Unlike the Germans, Britons began to face the hard truths about their colonial empire only recently.
'Our drains are not filled with bodies, our hospitals not run out of beds.' 'That good news, or absence of expected bad news, is the truth that so many in the international community, and also within India, seem unable to handle,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Referring to COVID-19, she said her husband's administration will not stop fighting until there is an effective treatment and vaccine available to everyone.
Currently, an IAS and IFS officer are accorded a pay advantage or financial edge.
Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister only till the time the BJP wishes, points out Ramesh Menon.
Modi is the first Indian premier to visit the Silicon Valley and meet its top CEOs
'With 1.3 billion consumers, India's market has great potential.'
The expectation that Mr Modi would be a major reformer, capable of reinvigorating the Indian economy, were based on a complete misreading of both his actions and his performance as Gujarat chief minister, says Mihir S Sharma.
'There exists a 'brotherhood' of sorts for a very long time and corrupt dealers and corrupt OMC officials are in it together,' Ashwani Attrish, founder, Empowering Petroleum Dealers Foundation, tells Sudhir Bisht, a veteran of the petroleum industry.
The new law would boost home buyer confidence as well as investment in the realty sector.
