Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cleanliness drive should be about Indians keeping themselves and their surroundings clean. It cannot be a day-long or time-bound campaign, Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak tells Upasna Pandey.
The Budget has unveiled measures that should now pave the way for India to progress from Make in India to 'Innovate in India'.
The budgetary allocation for the sector is Rs 60,908.22 crore, with Rs 6,400 crore earmarked for the centre's flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY).
'This country today is demonstrating to the world the true meaning of federalism, the true meaning of working in partnership between the central government and the state governments.'
Appropriate policies will increase connectivity much more than spectrum auctions, says Shyam Ponappa.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley explains the future of the Land Acquisition Law in India
There have been significant changes in Gujarat, says Uttam Ghosh, as he captures the state in his camera.
The Lok Sabha will start a discussion on the Budget on Wednesday.
It was the rejection of the Congress' welfarist economics by voters that led to the party's drubbing, says Andy Mukherjee.
'Sakshi's medal will do to women's wrestling what Sushil's 2008 Olympic medal did to wrestling in general.' 'It will make more and more families put their daughters into wrestling.' 'More and more young girls will fall in love with the sport and demand that they be taken to akhadas.'
What is Change really like in Bihar? Once seen as India's basket-case, what is its turnaround story like?
Tamil Nadu has the most efficient and effective cadaver transplant programme in India.
In his book Restart, Mihir Sharma minces no words in pointing out that faulty policies, the lackadaisical attitude of bureaucrats and a few wrong decisions of past governments have hampered India's growth.
Panagariya has advocated a more liberalised spending, arguing that greater capital expenditure could relax some of the infrastructure bottlenecks facing the country.
The more one thinks about it, the more difficult it is to see how India will be able to reap the benefits of a demographic dividend, says Aakar Patel.
The death toll also saw a record single-day increase of over 350 fatalities to move closer to the 8,500-mark, more than one-third of which have been recorded in 11 days since June 1 -- the day that marked the beginning of a phased exit from most restrictions imposed under a nationwide lockdown with effect from March 25.
The industry's reactions to the Budget have been mixed.
'Unless we change and we see a change in the direction we are taking, times can only get worse.'
'Rahul Gandhi accuses the Modi government of being in thrall to corporate fat cats at the expense of farmers and other common folk. But the facts do not bear out this argument, as Indian farmers are relatively better off compared to the really wretched of the earth, the unfortunate landless, often itinerant, labourer. And since Rahul's ancestors are the ones who failed them, it is a little disingenuous of him to ignore them in his rhetorical flourishes,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Silicon Valley techies and investors who were at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India dinner analyse the parlay for Ritu Jha.
No country has achieved a faster, deeper modern transformation than China, says former ambassador Kishan S Rana.
Universities must be the bastions of free speech and expression. It must be the arena where diverse and conflicting schools of thought contend. There should be no room for intolerance, prejudice and hatred within the spaces of this institution. Further, it must act as flag-bearer for the coexistence of multiple views, thoughts and philosophies, says Pranab Mukherjee.
'Most of the agitations are staged by the Opposition to disturb the peace of the state.'
Denmark topped the list of the 144 nations.
'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.
"Our government does not delay decisions. We neither nurse problems nor keep them pending," Modi said.
The BJP government is no better than the Congress -- as wretched and anti-people. In addition, it is explicitly and aggressively communal, says Venkatesh B Athreya, in a hard-hitting interview to Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com.
Non-resident individuals (NRIs) have also been allowed to apply for the niche banking licence, provided they plan to return to India.
'While they were respectful of the PM, it was clear that as ministers, they owed their positions as much, if not more, to Mrs Gandhi.' 'When attacks were mounted on the PM, there was very little coordinated effort by the Congress, UPA ministers or other politicians to speak up in his favour and strongly defend him.' B K Chaturvedi, Cabinet Secretary during the early years of UPA1, reveals how the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi equation worked. A riveting excerpt from Chaturvedi's memoir, Challenges Of Governance: An Insider's View
The fiscal deficit of the Centre remains a worry, running at over 6.5 per cent of GDP in April-September 2014, mainly because of revenue shortfalls from exaggerated projections in the government's July Budget and despite the relief on subsidies from lower oil prices.
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.
EduBridge is emerging as a strong player in training unemployed youth.
M Muneer recommends segmenting the population on the basis of their propensity to embrace new technologies is the key to driving digitisation.
'This novel format of diplomacy -- the informal summit -- will not only facilitate bilateral communication and reduce miscalculations at the very top level of the two governments, but possibly open the space for China and India to speak in one voice on various issues of mutual concern,' note Feng Renjie and Ding Kun Lei
The new ordinance on land acquisition will allow land grabbers to deprive millions, destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves to extract minerals as well as ground water, without replenishment at a pace that will not leave anything for the next generation, warns activist Medha Patkar.
Wondering if mutual fund investments can earn you enough money for your retirement and child's marriage? Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Narendra Modi's positive engagement with Barack Obama has well and truly washed away the doubts and slights of the past.
Zee Group is India's second-largest media and entertainment firm.
Railway Budget is the first indicator of possibly better days
