'When I realised that I was to take the pictures of Pandit Nehru, I was very nervous and scared.'
Unfortunately, in India, infrastructure projects are lost in a miasma of political and personal vanity, observes Shyam G Menon.
It's not everyday that Bollywood gets to party with Hollywood biggies Anthony and Joe Russo.
With elections elsewhere in India showing that multi-pronged contests usually work to the BJP's favour, the party can gain if it hangs on stubbornly. In the meantime, any additional support helps. That is why the archbishop's comment attracted political traction in Kerala, observes Shyam G Menon.
The country's largest listed footwear brand by market capitalisation, Metro Brands, posted better than expected December quarter results for the 2022-23 financial year (FY23), riding on store expansion and strong same store sales (SSS) growth. Profitability too remained robust, even as net profit growth was marginally lower. The company, which retails across the Metro, Mochi, Walkway, Crocs and Fitflop formats, posted a 24 per cent growth in revenues over Q3FY22.
Friday will be a landmark day for domestic markets, with all the listed stocks entering the professed T+1 (trading plus one day) settlement cycle. About 200 stocks, which account for more than 80 per cent of India's market capitalisation, will be settled on a next-day basis, with effect from January 27. This will evidently complete the transition to the T+1 cycle that started in February 2022 with the bottom 500 stocks in terms of market value.
In Gujarat, the Congress must have felt like the Swiss in Doha. Suffering at the hands of both the BJP and the AAP, they seemed to lack a goalkeeper. In Himachal, although a victory for the Congress, the tenor was more akin to Spain versus Morocco. The underdog triumphed, points out Shyam G Menon.
Ananya gives love...Mrunal takes care of her hair... Twinkle tells us what love is...
Poor governance and mediocre short-sighted politics are destroying the paradise that Goa was as its environment, water table, culture and way of life is drastically threatened by tourism and migration, points out Ramesh Menon.
Will G20 showcase an India that is inclusive, culturally rich, diverse and tolerant, asks Ramesh Menon.
As the Omicron strain spreads across the globe and questions on vaccine inequity dominate discussions, scientists are still scrambling to learn more about emerging variants of the deadly virus that has claimed millions of lives and crippled economies.
'If we are unable to move out of catering to people's tantrums or their unreasonable demands or people treating other people badly or being okay with differential treatment, it will affect the storytelling and the creativity.'
'The magic of Roja can never be replicated because how can you recapture the carefree innocence of childhood?'
The collapse of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in the US might create temporary liquidity issues but will not have any significant impact on the Indian crypto market in the long run, officials from several exchanges told Business Standard. All three banks are considered crypto-friendly. SVB offered services such as cryptocurrency custody and lending.
It is clear to any observer that the BJP risks its demolition drive boomeranging on itself. Except for one unpredictable factor in the works -- Rahul Gandhi himself, observes Shyam G Menon.
Let the existing collegium system which is functioning not get derailed, the SC observed.
The status of the current submarine force level is alarming and we need to address the threat perceptions expeditiously. Critical decisions pertaining to national security cannot be delayed any further due to the rapidly changing maritime threat perceptions and growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean region, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
There is nothing of the level of Yes Minister, House Of Cards, Madam Secretary or Veep but there are at least 10 Hindi series and an OTT-released film or two, to whet the viewer's appetite for power-mongering, corruption and intrigue.
A prayer meet was conducted in Mumbai in remembrance of comedian Raju Srivastav, who passed away in Delhi.
More than the story of any other footballer or athlete, Pele's life helped democratise his sport; made it the stuff of a widely shared dream. Shyam G Menon salutes the memory of the greatest footballer ever.
The Congress on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "taking credit for the commissioning of" India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and accused him of "hypocrisy" for not recognising the contributions made by earlier governments.
Time travel, monsters, dinosaurs, Korean cops, what will you watch on OTT this week? Sukanya Verma offers her picks.
In Kerala, the use of black ranges from such convenience to strictures by community and religion to fashion and personal choice. One would have to be really insecure or too fond of the well settled life to see black solely as a badge of protest, points out Shyam G Menon.
Punjab Kings failed to live up to expectations under Anil Kumble, finishing in the lower half of the points table in the two seasons of IPL under him.
As the second season of The Night Manager hits the OTT screen, Deepa Gahlot looks back at the top spy thrillers on streaming platforms.
Lieutenant General P G K Menon on Tuesday took over command of Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps of the Indian Army, a Defence spokesperson said in Srinagar.
Nirmala Sitharaman's messaging was clear when she presented a well-balanced Budget with an eye on state elections in nine states followed by a general election next year, observes Ramesh Menon.
Nowadays, our politics is habituated to sitting on a high pedestal, hobnobbing with world leaders, generating impressions of a superpower and returning to earth for the purpose of winning elections. In contrast, the yatra never left earth, observes Shyam G Menon.
If Kerala wants to sustain its room for independent thinking and talk back to Delhi when needed, it should put its finances in order. Or - if one takes the North East example - Kerala's political posturing may end up commensurate with its financial dependence on others, suggests Shyam G Menon.
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India witnessed a 21 per cent annual growth in August, riding on improved supplies of semiconductors and festive demand, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. As per the latest data released by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches to dealers stood at 281,210 units last month, against 232,224 units in August 2021. Passenger car wholesales were up 23 per cent at 133,477 units last month, as against 108,508 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said.
Sippai is directed by Saravanan of Silambattam fame.
'Having taken much time off, and come back and worked again, and then gone back... I'm really blessed to have the kind of work that I'm still doing.'
The country's leading automobile show, the Auto Expo, which was scheduled to take place in February next year at Greater Noida, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 situation and apprehensions of a possible third wave, industry body SIAM said on Monday. The last edition of the biennial automobile show took place in February 2020. "The magnitude of the risk of spread of infection is extremely high in a business-to-consumer (B2C) show like the Auto Expo which is visited by large crowds and maintaining social distancing would be difficult.
The assurance comes as India's Covid graph dips -- on Friday 1,109 new coronavirus infections were reported -- and also one case of a new Covid strain in Mumbai.
In the first such collaboration for India, the country's flagship payments platform, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and Singapore's PayNow payment system have launched a real-time cross-border payment linkage system. The linkage, which was launched by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday, was kicked off by a live cross-border transaction between Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon, using mobile phones.
Uddhav Thackeray and his followers have the option to stop riding a tiger and commence work around a more meaningful and enduring political ideology. It is an option Eknath Shinde's side may not have, supported as they were by the BJP, to maintain continuity of the old Sena, argues Shyam G Menon.
Why weren't the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra and Telangana -- all of which have borders with Karnataka -- not invited to Saturday's swearing-in ceremony, asks Shyam G Menon.
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India declined nearly 4 per cent to 279,501 units last month, auto industry body SIAM said on Wednesday. Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches from factories to dealerships in March 2021 stood at 290,939 units. As per the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales also fell 21 per cent to 11,84,210 units as compared with 14,96,806 vehicles in March 2021.
Deepa Gahlot picks a list of 10 essential RGV movies though there are 84 to wade through.