News for 'lutyens'

Is only Delhi's air polluted?

Is only Delhi's air polluted?

Rediff.com22 Nov 2017

'The answer is no, the entire country's is.' 'So why such obsession with Delhi?' 'But the most powerful people in India live here: The prime minister, civil servants, Supreme Court judges, MPs, diplomats, dadas of the media...' 'If they can't deal with their own problem, what chance does the rest of the country have, with its foul air, dying rivers, frothing lakes, and crumbling mountains?' says Shekhar Gupta.

'Aam Aadmi' Kejriwal will live in a 5-bedroom house

'Aam Aadmi' Kejriwal will live in a 5-bedroom house

Rediff.com3 Jan 2014

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will soon shift to a five-bedroom duplex flat in central Delhi from his current residence in the Kausambi locality of Ghaziabad.

Why renaming Aurangzeb Road is right

Why renaming Aurangzeb Road is right

Rediff.com4 Sep 2015

'I am happy that Aurangzeb will no longer dance before my eyes as I jog down A P J Abdul Kalam Road. Instead, the serene, saintly, smile of the late beloved President will bless me when I take an evening stroll there.'

Why some Indian cities won't get smart!

Why some Indian cities won't get smart!

Rediff.com31 Aug 2015

The Centre will grant Rs 500 crore for each of the smart cities.

Why babas think they are above the law

Why babas think they are above the law

Rediff.com6 Sep 2017

The babas' vote banks and the politicians' greed for en bloc votes, is the curse of Punjab and Haryana.

MPs find odd-even 'insulting', seek exemption

MPs find odd-even 'insulting', seek exemption

Rediff.com25 Apr 2016

Congress leader Anand Sharma said the scheme was coming in the way of MPs discharging their duties and not being able to attend the meetings of Parliamentary Committees due to it.

PM Modi inaugurates museum at Rashtrapati Bhavan

PM Modi inaugurates museum at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Rediff.com26 Jul 2016

PM Modi inaugurates the second phase of Rashtrapati Bhavan museum.

Amit Shah favours strong law to stop forcible conversions

Amit Shah favours strong law to stop forcible conversions

Rediff.com12 Dec 2014

In the midst of a raging row over the conversions in Agra by Hindutva outfits, the Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah on Friday favoured a strong law to stop forcible conversions.

Textile exports: Even Bangladesh is better than India!

Textile exports: Even Bangladesh is better than India!

Rediff.com3 Mar 2016

The primary problem is that India's garment factories are too small and they typically have 150 people and about 80 machines.

Forget smart cities, India must first make existing ones livable

Forget smart cities, India must first make existing ones livable

Rediff.com23 Apr 2015

The current government must first improve condition in existing citis then take a plunge into making newer cities smart.

Opposition uproar on Rahul 'snooping' rocks Parliament

Opposition uproar on Rahul 'snooping' rocks Parliament

Rediff.com16 Mar 2015

Opposition parties in Parliament on Monday vociferously protested the "snooping" on Rahul Gandhi, with the government dismissing their contention saying they were making a "mountain out of what is not even a molehill", leading the Congress to walk out of Rajya Sabha.

'Achche Din has become an albatross around Modi's neck'

'Achche Din has become an albatross around Modi's neck'

Rediff.com7 Feb 2018

'The middle class stood by the BJP, especially after demonetisation, and they expected something in return.' 'Some section of the BJP believes the middle class is condemned to vote for the BJP as they have no other choice.' 'They think they can treat them any way, still the middle class will run to vote for it.' 'That's what the Budget seems to convey.'

'India has to catch a train that left 25 years ago'

'India has to catch a train that left 25 years ago'

Rediff.com2 May 2017

'In contrast to the generally buoyant tone of the Economic Survey in January, he sounds uncharacteristically pessimistic, saying that forces in the world economy -- slowing global trade, protectionism, robots -- will limit India's manufacturing to levels well below what propelled East Asia's economies decades ago.'

Why the World Culture Festival matters

Why the World Culture Festival matters

Rediff.com8 Mar 2016

There will remain those, though, who will remain in opposition to this massive endeavour for world peace with an aim not to improve, but to scuttle the project. But for the rest of us, a cultural and spiritual event of this significance and scale is a feast for the mind and soul, say Sankrant Sanu.

Keep up the demonisation, and you'll get the government you deserve

Keep up the demonisation, and you'll get the government you deserve

Rediff.com4 Nov 2015

'What if Modi becomes the fascist the leftists paints him as? What if he does suspend the Constitution and declares himself the ruler, with support from the army? What exactly will you do, Mr Leftie?' asks Rajeev Srinivasan.

Remembering Kalam: 'When a problem arises, become the captain of the problem and defeat it!'

Remembering Kalam: 'When a problem arises, become the captain of the problem and defeat it!'

Rediff.com27 Jul 2016

'We have 200 million families. Parents have the responsibility to make their children righteous -- where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character.' 'Only three people can give a good citizen before s/he turns 17. Father, mother, the spiritual environment and the primary school teacher.' President A P J Kalam on India becoming a developed country by 2020-2022, the heroes he admired; how 90 per cent of India's space programme is intended for the people and the individual's potential to become unique.

President confers Bharat Ratna on former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

President confers Bharat Ratna on former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Rediff.com27 Mar 2015

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was on Friday conferred with the Bharat Ratna.

The ghost of colonial loot is coming back to haunt Britain

The ghost of colonial loot is coming back to haunt Britain

Rediff.com2 Dec 2017

'It is clear that Britain is a country with a limited future,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.

12 Indian hotels that will take your breath away

12 Indian hotels that will take your breath away

Rediff.com28 Aug 2014

They are also feature among the top 500 in the world.

Stormy start to Budget session likely amid issues like JNU row

Stormy start to Budget session likely amid issues like JNU row

Rediff.com22 Feb 2016

Indications of a stormy start to the Budget session emerged at an all-party meeting with opposition accusing the government of "setting the agenda for disruption".

'I want to give media back to India'

'I want to give media back to India'

Rediff.com13 Apr 2017

Times Now, the English news channel Arnab Goswami headed until recently, had an average daily reach of 1.7 million people. That may be a fraction of the 48 million Aaj Tak reached every day in 2016, but Goswami had no trouble getting investors for his new venture.

Why do Modi and Sonia avoid the press?

Why do Modi and Sonia avoid the press?

Rediff.com14 Aug 2015

'Since Modi is walking a tightrope between two worlds -- one of the saffron brotherhood and the other of the proposed smart cities and bullet trains -- it is understandable why he is averse to scrutiny lest he loses his balance by tilting too heavily on one side or the other. But, why has Sonia Gandhi acquired the reputation of a sphinx,' asks Amulya Ganguli.

BJP vs civil society: Who won the battle?

BJP vs civil society: Who won the battle?

Rediff.com26 May 2016

When it came to dealing with the media and academia, it has been a roller coaster ride for the National Democratic Alliance, observes Nitin Sethi.

Why the BJP lost: 5 reasons from 'expat' Biharis

Why the BJP lost: 5 reasons from 'expat' Biharis

Rediff.com9 Nov 2015

'The greatness of Indian democracy is that it never lets any political pundit master the pulse of the electorate. Sometimes people vote for change and sometimes they vote for the status quo.'

10 economic commandments for Modi

10 economic commandments for Modi

Rediff.com29 Sep 2017

Instead of a consumption stimulus the government must address the NPA issue with a war footing and invest in infrastructure, affordable housing and exports, says Sanjeev Nayyar.

When retirement beckons

When retirement beckons

Rediff.com6 Jul 2015

Retirement blues can sometimes result in actions that are dysfunctional, notes Ajit Balakrishnan.

'Why zip it?' 'Aunty National' Smriti gets back at trolls

'Why zip it?' 'Aunty National' Smriti gets back at trolls

Rediff.com16 Jun 2016

Following her spat, 'Aunty National' Irani took to Facebook to speak out against her detractors. Here's the Facebook post in response to her critics which Rediff.com represents verbatim:

Modi's Gujarat has a robust biz model, New Delhi what say?

Modi's Gujarat has a robust biz model, New Delhi what say?

Rediff.com11 Jun 2015

Gujarat is a flourshing state but its business model is not so well accepted at national level.

Protecting POTUS

Protecting POTUS

Rediff.com25 Jan 2015

40,000 security personnel guard every nook and corner of New Delhi as US President Barack Obama arrives.

Warriors of the fake news era

Warriors of the fake news era

Rediff.com28 Jun 2017

'It all runs on sugar-coated lies. If I like something, I will want to believe it.'

Why bhakts are thrilled about this book

Why bhakts are thrilled about this book

Rediff.com10 May 2016

Her book is less of a Hindutva-loving diatribe against the Dynasty than its detractors suggest, but it is still hard to agree with much of what she writes, says Vir Sanghvi on Tavleen Singh's latest book.

The Aadhaar tragedy

The Aadhaar tragedy

Rediff.com26 Jun 2014

The BJP would seem just the sort of party that would embrace Aadhaar. Every other page of its manifesto makes some reference to changing governance in this country. So why is there no discernible difference in the positions of the BJP-led government towards Aadhaar and the dysfunctional approach of Chidambaram under the United Progressive Alliance, asks Rahul Jacob.

Living in nuclear la-la land

Living in nuclear la-la land

Rediff.com27 Oct 2015

Indian policymakers must incorporate in their nuclear doctrine a realistic response to tactical nuclear warheads, says Ajai Shukla.

Exposed! Indian corporates' sloppy spy network

Exposed! Indian corporates' sloppy spy network

Rediff.com21 Feb 2015

Reliance knows everything!

What are the RSS/BJP after? Global change made Nehru, Indira irrelevant

What are the RSS/BJP after? Global change made Nehru, Indira irrelevant

Rediff.com21 Sep 2015

'One big problem for the RSS is, while they spread their ideology of hard, Hindu-ised Indian nationalism, the absence of their own pantheon of modern nationalist giants. They missed out on the freedom movement quite comprehensively, in some ways comparable to the Muslim League and latter-day Communists. They have to find heroes elsewhere.' 'They borrow who they can from the Congress, like Madan Mohan Malviya and Sardar Patel, and then steal the entire lot of revolutionaries, from Bhagat Singh to Netaji, never mind that many of them were extreme leftists.'

The MP who gave the best speech on the JNU row

The MP who gave the best speech on the JNU row

Rediff.com5 Mar 2016

'It is extremely important to take back the domain of both religion from the religious bigots and nationalism from the chauvinists, who are spreading hatred.' Sugata Bose, the Harvard historian-turned-MP, who is Netaji's great-nephew, tells Anjali Puri why it is imperative to speak up for India's students.

Why corruption is even worse than communalism

Why corruption is even worse than communalism

Rediff.com17 Apr 2014

While corruption destroys the moral fibre of a nation, its society and people, secularism as espoused in this country is cynical secularism, a sham perpetrated during election time and communalism is a spectre, a bogey raised by these great champions of Indian secularism to secure and perpetuate their vote bank, says Maneck Davar.

India doesn't yet deserve an Angkor Wat temple

India doesn't yet deserve an Angkor Wat temple

Rediff.com4 Oct 2013

There is something deeply disturbing about wanting to build such a large temple in what is arguably India's poorest state, a state that like many other states of India, particularly in north India, is crying for more schools, more hospitals and primary health centres, and, dare I say it, more toilets for everyone, says Amberish K Diwanji

So much empty rhetoric

So much empty rhetoric

Rediff.com20 Feb 2014

If Narendra Modi could tame his obsession with the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family, Arvind Kejriwal resist polishing his halo and Rahul Gandhi find his voice, we could begin a debate about the future of this country that actually addressed the seriousness of its problems, says Rahul Jacob.

5 things Modi needs to do ASAP

5 things Modi needs to do ASAP

Rediff.com8 Nov 2015

'The prime ministership needs a statesman, not a politician, and 18 months into the job Modi is yet to learn the difference between the two,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.