The Union Health ministry put the number of positive cases at 82, eight more since Thursday night, which includes the woman and a 76-year-old man from Karnataka who became the country's first coronavirus fatality besides 17 foreign nationals, Health Ministry officials said.
Huge television screens, flags, flashy lights and a 10,000-bike cavalcade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's homecoming was nothing short of being spectacular.
From lining up allies to having them accept him as the Opposition's prime ministerial candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's real challenge has just begun, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Showing keenness on a general consensus on the issue of stopping forceful religious conversion, BJP President Amit Shah said a bill can be brought in parliament for the purpose if "so called" secular parties extend support.
The BJP and its allies now rule over 70 per cent of the country's population, marking an unprecedented saffron footprint.
The passage of the bill will pave the way for setting up of a GST council that will decide the tax rate, cess and surcharges.
One would not think that a Facebook status or a tweet could land you in jail, at least not in India -- the world's largest democracy. However, the reality is a lot more brutal in India, which has a shameful history of locking up its citizens for dissenting viewpoints. According to Mint, at least 50 people have been arrested through 2017 and 2018 for posts on social media. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents some of the most prominent cases.
Singling out the Congress as the only opponent to the GST, the government hopes to pass the bill after the altered numbers in the Upper House, reports Archis Mohan.
'Anything other than a complete, 2014-style victory will be far more devastating for him then it would be for anyone else.' 'Disciplining restive party members, and taming recalcitrant allies will then be far more difficult for him,' says Mihir S Sharma.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi held a closed-door meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat and General Secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi, his first interaction with the top Sangh leadership after his elevation in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The results will be declared on July 20 in New Delhi.
From hobnobbing with the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy and Mick Jagger, the reclusive author-turned-politician has come a long way, says Anita Katiyal
Cross-voting by Left and Congress MLAs on Friday helped Trinamool Congress gain an extra seat in West Bengal while a similar action by Congress MLAs in Andhra Pradesh saw the Telangana Rashtra Samithi making its debut in Rajya Sabha as high drama marked the polls to the upper House in the two states.
The biggest winner was Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who ran her ship with self-confidence and aplomb.
Mihir Bhat, fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Director of the All India Disaster Management Institute tells rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the youth of the country will swing into action to see what gets done on the ground.
The poll holding exercise has witnessed a whopping jump by 80 times to Rs 846 crore since 1952 when it was mere Rs 10 crore.
Gandhi said that he had already told the chief ministers of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh that these states should take the lead in ushering in the second Green Revolution.
Despite major setbacks, the Maoists' ability to inflict damage on the State and maintain its position as the saviour of the tribals will keep them relevant, says Bibhu Prasad Routray.
The Light Combat Helicopter will enable the army to provide fire support to soldiers at altitudes of 15,000 to 20,000 feet, where the oxygen-depleted air prevents them from carrying weaponry heavier than their personal rifles and light machine guns.
Irom Sharmila, the woman who was on a hunger strike for 16 years, leads a quiet life, and recently became a mother of twin girls.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing a fourth straight term in the tribal-dominated state as the opposition Congress seeks to return to power after 15 years.
As the Odisha CM prepares to face the BJP onslaught, the BJP hopes to rope in some BJD heavyweights.
In a nearly 25-minute televised address to the nation, Modi said implementation of the lockdown will be strictly ensured in its second phase and detailed guidelines will be brought out on Wednesday to ensure that outbreak does not spread to new areas.
A PTI tally of figures announced by different states and union territories, as of 9.25 pm, showed a higher number of 1,76,792 confirmed cases and at least 5,100 deaths. It also showed nearly 86,000 recoveries and close to 85,700 active cases.
A total of 126 votes, including four of Congress and one of CPI, were cast in favour of the confidence motion while 24, including 22 of Lalu Prasad led RJD, voted against the motion as BJP members staged a walkout before the vote.
'In all likelihood, the Congress will fall short in Gujarat.' 'The Modi-Amit A Shah duo will hold on to the state for the BJP,' predicts Sudhir Bisht.
Despite the flood of BJP victories, it is difficult to see how regional parties will disappear. These parties not only have the same development goals as the national parties but also promise good governance
Four new governors -- three of whom are Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including Tathagata Roy for Tripura and Draupadi Murmu for Jharkhand - have been appointed by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the biggest tax reform since Independence.
'I would say it is not going to be days and weeks. It is going to be months and years, over which we would make an assessment on the decisions taken by the Parliament at this point of time. 'We are in for a long haul is what I would say.' It was a very diverse India, which was coming together, politically, in a very cohesive, democratically-resilient way." Professor Navnita Behera examines the wisdom of the exit of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Known as an astute strategist whose non-political interests range from playing chess and watching cricket to stage performances and listening to classical music, 54-year-old Shah is often hailed as the BJP's most successful president for crafting its way to power states after states.
The stage is now set for the first substantial round of polling in the Lok Sabha elections on Thursday, involving nearly 11 crore voters in 92 seats spread across 11 states, including Delhi and the national capital region and the riot-hit Muzaffarnagar.
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The party was retaliating to farmers' suicide comment by BJP national treasurer Piyush Goyal.
As many as 22 states and Union Territories have supported a Law Commission recommendation to bring a bill to prevent 'honour killings', but government has refused to fix a timeline to put in place a legal framework, saying a decision will be taken after due consultations.
Probodh Panda and Atul Kumar Anjaan are among 39 candidates declared by the Communist Party of India for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as the party said that it would fight on 60 seats in 24 states.
Besides the various political parties, the election commission is also getting into poll mode.
'KCR's plan for the future is three-pronged. He wants to see a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre in 2019 so that he can become the Union minister for home or defence,' says R Rajagopalan.
Assam minister Dr Himanta Bishwa Sarma who on Monday quit from the Tarun Gogoi cabinet said that he had been forced to take the step after the Congress leadership had repeatedly ignored the representations made by the rebel MLAs about the 'inefficient' handling of affairs by the chief minister.
Many state governments are ready with policies to promote entrepreneurs, backed by funding plans
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