'The digital age has forced diplomats to be less formal and more accessible, reaching out to ordinary people both within and outside their countries, combining statecraft with streetcraft,' says former foreign secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran.
Delhi, which has gained infamy as one of the world's most polluted cities, has for some years now witnessed a sustained campaign from various quarters seeking a ban on firecrackers. While the Centre launched the newly approved, eco-friendly firecrackers earlier this month as a "safer and cheaper" alternative, the mood in the market is tepid, says Ritwik Sharma.
The Budget chose to stick to an ambitious disinvestment programme for 2016-17.
The government has proposed that political parties cannot be designated public authorities as defined in the RTI Act. Anita Katyal reports
'India and Indian Americans cannot rely on wishful thinking about the checks and balances in the US system to magically take care of the many dangerous things that Trump could do,' says Chicago-based writer Ram Kelkar.
The average land given to the rural landless is small and falling, from 0.95 acres in 2002 to 0.88 acres in 2015 - a 7.4 per cent drop over 13 years-and a slowdown is evident in the process of taking land away from rich landlords, the RTI data reveal.
A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said the issues raised in the plea need 'examination' and issued notice to the Centre, RBI, Central Board of Direct Taxes, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, PwC and the audit firms sharing its brand name.
'Let's walk on two legs: Facilitate better resolution under the present system and set up PARA as well by transferring loans amounting to, say, Rs 1 lakh crore.'
Most top industrialists rate PM's first 100 days in office as 'good', primarily due to his intentions, not concrete policy measures.
The top court rejected the Centre's vehement contention that there was no general or fundamental right to privacy under the Constitution.
Columnist A K Bhattacharya wonders why is it that the value of investment proposals in 2015 declined by 23 per cent, but the number of jobs to be created through such investments actually went up by 12 per cent.
'The Reserve Bank's independence has remained a work in progress, an enduring challenge that the nation has been grappling with on an ongoing basis,' says RBI Deputy Governor Dr Viral Acharya.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should not drop the ball on continuing the battle against black money and move towards digital transactions to reduce the preponderance of cash in the economy, says A K Bhattacharya.
The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission has initiated a probe into last week's raids by the Malwani police at hotels and a beach in Mumbai taking suo motu cognisance of the matter.
Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton will hand over her private email server, she used while serving as secretary of state, to the United States justice department to cooperate with the government's security inquiry.
In a letter sent to Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reforms, 54 lawmakers wrote, "We cannot ignore the multitude of women who have come forward with accusations against Mr Trump. With that said, the President should be allowed to present evidence in his own defence."
'If anyone crimps on the media, it automatically begins to impact the freedom of the citizen.'
'Pay-for-delay' settlements between drug patent-holders and generics manufacturers to delay the launch of cheaper generic medicine are increasingly being scrutinised by antitrust regulators
In the first of a three-part series Paranjoy Guha Thakurta details the salient features of the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Act, 2015.
'The BJP has latched on to the idea of nationalism, but the nationalism they advocate is not nationalism as we have understood it since the time of the freedom movement.' 'This is not secular nationalism, it is Hindu nationalism.' 'It is a form of nationalism that is exclusionary and it tends to conflate national interest with the government.' 'So, if you disagree with the government, for example, on surgical strikes or demonetisation, you are anti-national or holder of black money.'
For more than half of all Indian households, the very personal act of defecation is an open affair, says Joel Rai
British police have detained the live-in partner of a Guardian journalist responsible for leaking reports on US surveillance programme for nine hours under terror laws, prompting Indian-origin lawmaker Keith Vaz to seek an explanation from Scotland Yard on the issue.
The new national income numbers produced by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have elicited two kinds of reaction.
Just because one can (so far) criticise the policies of the government, or expose a corruption scandal, or question bureaucrats, does not mean we have freedom of speech, says Sherna Gandhy.
Abu Dhabi national carrier had bought 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways for $379 million in April.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "blatant U-turn" on the issue of transparency.
In the history of Indian railway budgets, Suresh Prabhu will perhaps be the first railway minister not to have announced either a single new train or a new railway line
'The government's proposal to store citizens' data including Aadhaar data under its Digital India initiative on cloud is violative of the citizens' human rights because the cloud is admittedly beyond India's jurisdiction.'
Pakistan's prime minister is trying to use the unrest in Kashmir to save his government, says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, a former high commissioner to Islamabad.
Experts share their views on the steps that will help businesses become GST-ready.
Senior journalist Darryl D'Monte reports exclusively for Rediff.com from Paris.
A K Bhattacharya deciphers Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first cabinet reshuffle.
If any foreign account holder violates Indian laws, tax authorities can enforce repatriation of funds.
'In the final analysis, all Budgets everywhere are like the schemes hatched by A A Milne's lovable Winnie-the-Pooh.' 'They may be well-intended, but often go awry.' 'Although Pooh and his friends agree that he 'has very little brain', he is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense.' 'This Budget at a first glance does not appear to belong to that latter category,' says economist Shreekant Sambrani.
The apex court said it was only safeguarding the interest of innocents from being arrested.
While India has to curtail its side, those who do business in India have to be more conscious that they should be less part of the problems and more part of the solution, the business magnate said.
The Union government decided to extend the e-TV facility to travellers in 150 countries.
The farming community expects much more substance from the government, Ajay Vir Jakhar.
There are a couple of proposals, however, whose goals are not easily achievable.
Indian soldiers in Kashmir are not on a joy ride scouting for people to kill, says Vivek Gumate.
