Vacancies to the top seven security and investigative agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, National Investigation Agency, Sashastra Seema Bal are waiting to be filled up.
The biggest challenge before Chidambaram, who will be presenting his eighth budget, would be to keep every constituent happy, arrest decelerating economic growth and bring down fiscal deficit to committed level of 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product.
The United Progressive Alliance government's decision to go ahead with an ordinance allowing convicted MPs and MLAs to continue in office and contest elections is a clear move to help out beleaguered Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday expressed grave disappointment over the railway budget with its chief Sharad Pawar telling a meeting of the United Progressive Alliance coordination committee that Mumbai has been neglected, which is "not acceptable".
India Against Corruption on Wednesday brought Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani in its line of fire alleging that the United Progressive Alliance and the previous National Democratic Alliance governments had favoured his company by giving contract on gas exploration in KG Basin and concessions at a huge cost to the exchequer.
The manner in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demoted Jaipal Reddy and promoted Salman Khurshid has done little to salvage the reputation of an already tarnished United Progressive Alliance government, writes Renu Mittal
Accusing the United Progressive Alliance government of being soft on Pakistan-sponsored terror, Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday suggested that the diplomatic relations with the neighbouring country be scaled down "for the time being".
Broader markets end flat too after a volatile trading session.
Launching his campaign for the Presidential election in which he appears set for a cakewalk, United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday appealed to all political parties to back his candidature, apparently eyeing Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. Mukherjee met UPA's key partner Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's president M Karunanidhi at his residence in Chennai, formally kick-starting the campaign.
The retail inflation, which is a better gauge of price rise and measured by Consumer price index, ruled in double digit for most months of the year with the latest November figures coming in at 11.24 per cent.
United Progressive Alliance Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee is expected to file four sets of nomination papers signed by top UPA leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.
Calling the United Progressive Alliance a "minority government" and ruling out the possibility of a Third Front government, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday claimed that the National Democratic Alliance would come to power after the 2014 elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday mounted pressure on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government to seek a thorough probe in the VVIP chopper deal. The party also alleged that a corruption of such magnitude cannot happen without political patronage.
Doubting the United Progressive Alliance government's intentions in conducting an impartial probe into the VVIP chopper deal, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday demanded that a special investigation team be set up to investigate the matter under a monitoring mechanism.
The National Food Security Bill, 2011, considered to be the world's largest experiment in ensuring food security to poor, has been a key project of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
In the wake of charges of delay in conducting a probe in the VVIP chopper deal, the government on Thursday said an independent probe by the Enforcement Directorate was underway and investigations should be allowed to run their due course.
Persistent deficits, galloping inflation, stalled infrastructure showed up a non-functioning government.
The United Progressive Alliance will decide its strategy on Monday on the ambitious food security bill amid talk of a special session of Parliament.
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik sharing a dais with Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief and Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan Monday created a flutter in this country and led to a demand for cancelling his Indian passport.
The Congress is a dismal third in 17 of the 19 constituencies where the party's general secretary (east) campaigned in Uttar Pradesh.
Social activist Aruna Roy has decided not to continue in the United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council after her term expires on Friday.
'The hanging has made Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's position very vulnerable. The government has created an issue in Kashmir when there was none.'
A Human Rights Watch report has lambasted the United Progressive Alliance government for falling short, both in protecting children from sexual abuse and treating victims.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she had suggested to the Congress that an advisory council comprising prominent personalities from civil society be set up to give a direction to the opposition, but rued that the plan did not materialise.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was the cynosure of all eyes at the United Progressive Alliance anniversary function last year, was conspicuous by his absence Wednesday night.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday sought to paint a dismal picture of United Progressive Alliance-II holding it responsible for the economic gloom and failure to give the country leadership while accusing it of diminishing the role of the prime minister.
The real assessment of the actual diplomatic gains out of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's three-day India visit can be made only after promised actions are initiated, but surely it has yielded some political dividend for the beleaguered United Progressive Alliance government, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Accusing the government of going back on its assurances to give a strong Lokpal Bill, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare on Friday threatened to start another country-wide agitation to achieve his demand of a pro-people Jan Lokpal. Slamming the government Lokpal draft, Hazare took on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and accused them of not fulfilling the promises made to him.
After nine years in power, the United Progressive Alliance faces the question of credibility, says Aditi Phadnis
The Bharatiya Janata Party charged the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government on Friday of shielding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his alleged role in the coal allocation scam by forcing former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar to quit his post.
Will the former army chief pledge his allegiance to the BJP in the 2014 election?
Former Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari, who was given a rousing reception on his arrival in Nagpur on Thursday, described the charges against him as a conspiracy by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, and threatened to sort out the income tax officials involved in conducting raids on his firms.
With an eye on the general election, the government on Monday unveiled a series of audio-visual clips, as a part of its multi media campaign to highlight its achievements and showcase the impact of the United Progressive Alliance's policies in the last nine years. Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari, in whose presence the presentation was made, said the multimedia initiative was different from the 'India Shining' campaign of the NDA.
His provocative comments are the first political steps taken by the Congress to handle the coal scam and its fall-out, says Sheela Bhatt
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday apparently took a dig at Rahul Gandhi's elevation in the Congress, saying the party had appointed a vice president whenever it faced serious problems.
In a 45-minute Twitter conference today, Sam Pitroda, advisor to the prime minister on public information infrastructure (PII) and innovations, stuck to elaborating publicly-known details on PII and the National Knowledge Network (NKN).
It also demanded increasing the number of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders per family to 12, instead of nine as decided by the government on Thursday.
The six Congress ministers in the West Bengal government met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Writers' Building in Kolkata on Saturday and handed their resignation letters.
Dubbing Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam as an "evil force", All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday accused it of 'conniving' with ally Congress and the United Progressive Alliance government to create hurdles in Tamil Nadu's progress.
