This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
'If I am angry, then I do not have the right to be in the Cabinet. Whatever I have done, I have ensured that farmers' interests are protected,' Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh, who 'abstained' from a meeting with the President on the ordinance, tells Rashme Sehgal.
Beleaguered Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who is under attack from the Communist Party of India - Marxist-led Left Democratic Front opposition ever since the solar scam broke out in June, has got a breather after the Front called off its two-day secretariat siege on Tuesday.
'His politics is pure power politics. It's defined by the struggle that he has gone through.' 'Like Indira Gandhi, he is always suspicious about the people who surround him, he is lonely as he does not trust anyone. And he will not allow anyone to challenge his superiority, be it individual or institutions,' says Ashutosh.
'Unlike Trump, who has an isolationist approach, Bolton would like to roam around the world, trampling upon any sign of dissent,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
A message from KCR on Thursday evening persuaded the Congress to take its MLAs to Hyderabad.
This theory of 'Hindus vs the rest' sees the two communities as two separate blocs. Isn't that the two-nation theory? What of the deep bonds that the communities have on the ground? asks Jyoti Punwani.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, who is not contesting Lok Sabha polls as he is ailing, has been made acting in-charge of the AICC Communication department along with party spokesman Randeep Surjewala.
Senior Indian Police Service officer Archana Ramasundram was today appointed Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal, the first woman to head a paramilitary force.
Gandhi also took a potshot at the RSS, saying it was bent on changing the country's Constitution.
Union Rural Development Secretary L C Goyal is tipped to take over the post
A case has been registered against temple authorities as permission for firecrackers was denied.
The Modi juggernaut is all set to paint the five south Indian states in saffron colours, writes R Rajagopalan.
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
Fifty-six months on, the government's record in implementing these schemes and projects has been mixed, report Arup Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana.
The Congress's revival plan says it needs to bring back into its fold Hindus repelled by the Sangh Parivar, take its message to youth and women and sections upset at curbs on their personal freedoms.
'His record will be clouded by the same negative factors as of Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, namely, their politics and therefore social policies,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'Why is the entire Cabinet running around in Bangalore?' 'Why are they making arrangements for horse-trading?' 'Is this not the BJP's greed for power?' 'They have won the entire country. Why are they so desperate for Karnataka?'
His approach to issues once prompted jurist Fali S Nariman to declare, 'When Krishna Iyer speaks, the nation listens.'
Coming out clear on its intent to go it alone in Puducherry, the AIADMK released its candidates list for all the 30 constituencies for the May 16 assembly polls.
All international passengers will henceforth be screened at airports, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said at a press conference. Earlier, travellers from only 12 countries were screened at airports for the disease that has claimed over 3,000 lives and infected more than 90,000 worldwide.
Narendra Modi's victory does not represent a victory of 'the Indian nation', but only an elite-driven polarising phenomenon. The sooner we -- and the BJP -- recognise this, the better, says Praful Bidwai.
In the third reshuffle since coming to power, Prime Minister Modi raised the strength of his Council of Ministers from 73 to 76.
GVK Group that runs the swanky MIAL (Mumbai international airport) pipped rival GMR Group to bag the contract for the proposed facility in Navi Mumbai which will ease the severe congestion at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
The 2G judgment suggests many bureaucrats have poor application, inadequate interest and are unwilling to be active participants in the policy process, says Babu Jacob.
'Modi swept the 2014 elections for two main reasons: First, the disgust with the Congress government with a non-functional prime minister, and second, more importantly, his promise of performance and hope.' 'He cannot expect to win 2019 on these planks again. His own success in finishing the Congress will take away one plank, and with five years of reign on his CV, he will need to flaunt performance more than promise.'
A possible, easier and less-complicated way for the Centre would have been to approach the SC with the same queries much earlier, before a ground-swell of popular sentiments and consequent political tensions had built up in Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Does Pranab Mukherjee want to be 'PM' by office, not just by initials? The very prospect, with memories of the Narasimha Rao years scarred into their memories, scares the Nehru-Gandhis, says T V R Shenoy.
Though the list of superstitious beliefs is long, often dissolving distinctions of class, caste, religion and education, Karnataka's anti-superstition bill is seen as a big step ahead.
Considering the huge stakes, the Modi government is not averse to make more diplomatic efforts to see whatever it can salvage.
Need for consent of affected families and social-impact assessment could go.
Even as India gears up for election results on May 16, a group of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have taken up an informal initiative to see how a 'Modi ministry' will look like, in case the party forms the government at the Centre.
For the government to meet its GST roll-out deadline of April 1, 2017, the states will have to ratify the Bill before Parliament's winter session, starting November.
'The government is in no hurry to talk to the separatists and would like to approach the Kashmiri people directly through various other organisations.' 'Officials in charge of J&K affairs at the Centre are clear that there would be no let up in the operations against terrorists,' reveals BharatShakti.in founder Nitin A Gokhale.
With the Apollo Hospitals chairman saying that she has recovered, the party can go back to business as usual.
The Border Security Force, which has one of the biggest contingents of women personnel in its combat ranks, has decided to train them in special commando skills which are used to render difficult tasks.
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin does not face any threat to his full-fledged succession as DMK chief, just now. If he were to face any threat, it would only be against 'non-performance' as the party boss, N Sathiya Moorthy.
Swachh Bharat Mission could focus on using technological innovation to eradicate the problem of open defecation, says R Gopalakrishnan.
'After Modi, Yogi is the most popular face of Hindutva, but it's too early to say that he is someone who could succeed Modi.'
'Kofi Annan will be remembered more for his Nobel Prize and related glory rather than Rwanda and Volcker,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan with whom he worked in the UN.
