'There is no difference between the earlier government and the present government.' 'They are all following the economic policy based on the Chicago School of thought.' 'This school of thought says the government should have very little role in governing the country and the majority of the work should be handed over to the private sector.' 'This has not succeeded in the US.' 'Yet, it is being tried here by people like Arvind Subramaniam, Arvind Panagariya, Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan.'
Licence winners are expected to be announced by the first quarter of 2014.
Three or four stars are disproportionately powerful in the industry. All the others in Bollywood, no matter how talented, must be aligned to one of these stars or be reconciled to doing small movies with the others, says Aakar Patel.
Levy in India one of the highest in the world; finance minister urges banks to tell customers not to invest in the metal.
Nehru decided to build The Ashok in New Delhi to host a UNESCO conference. For a prime minister focussed on India building with projects like the Bhakra-Nangal Dam, IITs and factories, "the hotel spoke of the gumption of the country at that time." Manavi Kapur traces the eventful journey of the hotel, which has now completed 60 years.
The terrorists were armed with AK-47s, grenades, pistols, knives, many rounds of ammunition. Sepoy Jagdish Chand's weapons were his bare hands and enormous courage. He died, but not before he felled one of them. Archana Masih/Rediff.com speaks to the family of Sepoy Jagdish Chand, one of the 7 soldiers martyred in the terrorist attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station.
'Islamic State has declared that the liberation of Islamic Xinjiang from China is an objective. Beijing may well find that Pakistan is unable to assist in any meaningful way,' says China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
As for his interest in space, Amazon founded Blue Origin, a privately funded aerospace company.
Government's financial inclusion mission is well intentioned, but it may be putting a severe strain on the banking sector.
'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.'
Even after filing your income tax return online, your job won't still be over! Here is a six-point checklist for taxpayers to be observed after e-filing of ITR.
ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar talks of what's on and what lies ahead for the Indian space agency.
'As you take in the moment, soak it in, freeze it in your consciousness, realise the power of simple, stark nature that stands before and above you in all its majesty, and wonder how to savour the moment, your reverie is broken by a voice next to you.' "Excuse me please, can you please take my photograph?"
Violence broke out in several parts of Tamil Nadu today after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was convicted in a graft case with angry All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supporters indulging in stone pelting and arson and forcing closure of shops.
The patience, discipline, and resolve displayed by 125 crore Indians, will play a critical role in shaping the future of the nation for years to come, the PM said.
Life of air passengers was different in the 1970s.
The Supreme Court on Thursday finally set the ball rolling for one of the biggest shake-ups in Indian cricket by barring president-in-exile Narayanswami Srinivasan from contesting the next elections of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, citing his conflict of interest.
'Do not panic; have a good rapport with the HR and negotiate if they can map you to some other requirement with lesser compensation. Take sometime off -- 10 to 15 days; relax; be with your parents or friends then come back and prepare a good resume and learn new skills.' A chemical engineer and IT professional share their layoff lessons.
'Alas, in this scheme there is nothing to stop the black money flows of the future.' 'On the contrary Modi has sown the seeds of more, through the issue of Rs 2,000 notes.' 'But have you heard one politician decrying this aspect of the scheme?' 'They must be secretly rejoicing that while Modi is taking away their past, he has not shut the door on their future,' says banker S Muralidharan.
'You may show at the end of December how much money has come into the system, but none would be the wiser because most of see only what we want to see and believe.' 'Some of us will see through it and you will make your proxies call us enemies of the State.' 'I was somewhat with you till here. But we diverge from here on until you can do something which will veer through my cynicism brought about by your policy,' says Harsh N Gokhale.
While Sahara maintains it has already repaid more than 93 per cent of the outstanding dues directly to the concerned bondholders and the remaining amount was just about Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion), it deposited Rs 5,120 crore (Rs 51.2 billion) to Sebi in December 2012 towards the investor refunds as per Supreme Court orders.
50 years after a cyclone wiped it out, Dhanushkodi is slowly finding its feet. A tourist attraction precisely for its desolateness, road connectivity could soon transform it. Saisuresh Sivaswamy, who spent a few hours there, comes back enchanted.
The government of India has brought a property to house an Indian Cultural Centre in downtown Washington, DC for a whopping $5.7 million.
Two key depts in ministry cold to rationale for one; postal dept says it's more eligible than IDFC or Bandhan, feels 'strong lobby' scuttling its plans.
If you are not already lost in the zeros this wealth stands at Rs 257 lakh crore or Rs 257 trillion, according to a report unveiled by Karvy Private Wealth for the year 2014.
'On June 15, 1965, Major A K Afridi of the Pakistan army was captured by Papa's 1 Mahar unit near Vigokot, when he accidently walked into Indian territory.' 'While he was being airlifted to Delhi from Kutch, Major Afridi made a request: He wanted to watch Sangam>, the movie starring Raj Kapoor and Vyjayantimala. It was a request that the Indian Army fulfilled.' 'Major Afridi was sent with armed escorts to watch the movie in Ahmedabad and then sent to Delhi for further interrogation.'
A stumbling economy, a falling currency and high inflation, plus weak consumer demand, mean more and more become excess baggage.
'The impression I get is bread and butter matters more than freedom and choice. And China is providing bread and butter in plenty.' Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com takes the road less travelled -- to Tibet.
What does one do when one day, out of the blue, one is told to go on a road trip to the Everest Base Camp?
What is Change really like in Bihar? Once seen as India's basket-case, what is its turnaround story like?
'We have won our political freedom, we have liberalised our economy and now it's time to liberate our minds also. That is why this film.' Director Ketan Mehta lists his reasons for making Rang Rasiya.
The eternal question remains unanswered, what price security and what cost liberty, says Vikram Sood.
Rediff.com reproduces the 1997 feature about Laxman, his passion for crows, and of course, his genius.
What is Change really like in Bihar? Once seen as India's basket-case, what is its turnaround story like? Archana Masih reports from India's other most talked about state.
Read the full transcript of President Obama's State of the Union address on Wednesday at the US Capitol in Washington.