'An opportunity is at hand to think big and recast the India-China relationship on a new template, which would help the pursuit of our country's dream of major power status,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The government has identified three circuits -- Ramayana Circuit, Krishna Circuit and Buddhist Circuit - to boost religious tourism. The Ram museum will be a part of the Ramayana Circuit for which the Centre has sanctioned Rs 225 crore, with Rs 151 crore exclusively for Ayodhya, which is the hub of the circuit.
China moved to 100th place, down from 80th last year, while Pakistan and Nepal were at 126th position. Bangladesh was 145th and Bhutan 30th in the ranking.
Hits street with demonstrations across 75 UP districts
In this series, Rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
China, at 28, remains by far the most competitive of this group.
'The Modi government will be wasting its time talking to Nawaz Sharif.' 'It would be better if it were to open a direct channel with the Pakistan army,' says Rajeev Sharma.
'On October 18, 1972, MGR announced the formation of a new political party -- the ADMK.' 'MGR now become more deeply involved in politics and with that came a parting of ways between Jayalalithaa and him.' 'For Jayalalithaa this was, in a way, liberation.' An exclusive excerpt from Vaasanthi's Amma: Jayalalithaa's Journey From Movie Star To Political Queen.
Participants at the Indian Wheelchair Tennis Tour held in Chennai did not let adversity affect their outlook on life. A Ganesh Nadar presents some of their stories.
Of the 170 million rural households in the country, a government website claims to have connected 82 per cent of them. The metered households are 50 per cent of the total. As on February, 2018, of the 780,000 villages to be intensively electrified or provide connection to all in households, 493,000 have been covered. However, the amount and quality of the power supply cannot be ascertained from this data. No clause in any of the rural electrification programmes promises 24 hours' power supply.
Raising the Kashmir issue at the SAARC meeting, Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday alleged that the violence being committed in Kashmir is "open terrorism".
Under fierce attack for his DNA jibe against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which has been turned into a major electoral weapon against him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought to make amends, calling Biharis the "most intelligent" people.
Critics say that there's no 'Modi wave' in four Muslim-dominated parliamentary constituencies in Bihar's Seemanchal belt, but Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are hopeful to retain three out of the four seats here. In 2009 general elections, the BJP won in Purnea, Katihar and Araria but lost in Kishanganj.
He said RSS men were planted in each ministry.
Policy of continuity won't help India earn business or respect, says Pramod Kumar Buravalli.
Gurung is worth his weight in gold to the BJP which is trying hard to make inroads in West Bengal
With economic activity buoyed by expectations from the new elected government of "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is benefiting from a 'Modi dividend'," the Bank said in its twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus report on Monday.
Pakistan has got the message that the Modi regime in New Delhi has brought in a new language of dialogue with Islamabad, sources well informed about the preparation for the Kathmandu meeting tell Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has positioned himself as a credible partner for Bangladesh. He has scored by getting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to travel with him to Dhaka, says Srinath Raghavan
'Most likely scenario is Modi comes back with either a much smaller majority and no majority at all and a coalition.' 'Very hard to imagine him doing better than he did last time.' 'He will then be a weaker prime minister,' the author of The Billionaire Raj tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month will be undertaking one of the longest ever abroad visits by an Indian head of government in recent times. He is scheduled to be on a nine-day, three-nation visit to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji from November 11 to 19. Later in the month, he will be in Nepal to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit on November 26-27.
'Like it or not, the Congress is still the only party with the potential to challenge the BJP at a pan-Indian level,' says T V R Shenoy.
'We must compartmentalise issues, ensuring that one disagreement does not sour everything,' advises Ambassador Kishan S Rana.
'China's growing nexus with Pakistan and the two countries' unresolved territorial disputes with India continue to pose a formidable national security threat to India,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
In the other match of the day, Dan Lawrence and Jack Burnham hit centuries as title contender England crushed Fiji by a massive margin of 299 runs.
Sharing the stage with foe-turned-friend Ram Vilas Paswan, Narendra Modi on Monday attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying Bihar has become a safe haven for terrorists as he has failed to act tough in his bid to win over Muslim votes.
After Brexit, ethnic minorities in Britain worry about their future.
The perception that 'winnability' is based on gender is very strong, even though, if you break up the electoral success rate by sexes, the women who do win elections are proportionally far more successful than the men who win, given the huge number of men they have to beat.
There is nothing the young Purvanchali wants more desperately than to escape to a place with less hopelessness, and some opportunity, discovers Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, giving his first global speech to an audience of nearly 200 world leaders and foreign ministers at the annual gathering of the world body's policymaking organ.
West Indies cricket president James Cameron and Pakistan board chairman Najam Sethi have been awarded seats on the International Cricket Council's new executive committee, but South Africa has been snubbed from the game's new world order.
'The clearest interpretation of the November 8 mandate is that the backwards, Dalits and minorities, and a huge proportion of women cutting across caste and class, displayed massive consolidation to the extent that despite chipping of votes by the Left Front, by the Third Front and by the BSP, Mahagathbandhan candidates won, and in many cases by huge margins,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'There is no holistic picture of our own goals and objectives.' 'For some inexplicable reason, the decision makers find it best to listen to their inner souls in dealing with these issues rather devising a carefully thought-out, structured plan,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Modi's visit to some developed countries such as the US, Japan, China and Australia were sprinkled with humongous investment figures. But do we have the wherewithal to absorb such big investments?
'The path to a resolution of the ethnic conflict is likely to be complicated and controversial with the majority Sinhalese community, and will become less likely if delayed.' 'It will certainly give Rajapaksa fresh political oxygen with which to revive himself and rally the opposition.'
'Modi's victory is his own victory. Now what he has done thereafter, it seems to me, leads us to believe that he was a bit too prolific with his promises.' 'One achievement of Modi's I will praise is that he has put the fear of God among his ministers and officials.' 'Indira Gandhi's sentiment of controlling everything, centralising power in to her hands is the quality that persists in Modi' Veteran journalist Inder Malhotra casts his experienced gaze on one year of the Modi Sarkar.
West Indies registered a controversial two-run victory against Zimbabwe to enter the quarter-finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Chittagong, on Tuesday.
It noted that 68-year-old Ghandy was in custody for almost six years and six months during the pendency of case.
Several states that imposed prohibition in the past lifted it once revenue loss began to pinch
'There are retaliatory incursions, ambushes, captures and killings by Indian forces along the 700 km border; alleged spies are caught on both sides, then mutually traded as pawns; envoys are summoned in both capitals to be routinely given dressing downs.' 'And there is always a handy courier pigeon, like Sajjan Jindal, sent over to test the troubled waters,' says Sunil Sethi.
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