'I wasn't comfortable with the intimate scenes. There were 40 men behind the camera. It's mechanical and doesn't mean a thing but there are so many eyes watching you! I got panicky and asked Vikram (Bhatt, director) sir to help me out.' Patralekha gets bold and beautiful in Love Games.
India annually spends Rs 4.5 lakh crore on importing petroleum products, and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari feels methane is a cost-effective import substitution. But is it? Pallava Bagla examines the pros and cons.
At 89th, India is the lowest-ranked among the BRICS.
Sreehari Nair is *not* impressed by this lot of films at all.
A chemical engineer, Anirudh gave up his high-paying job to work for welfare of farmers in Tamil Nadu.
'Lakhs of engineers graduate every year in India and the IT industry used to be the primary recruiter. That is going to end.'
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday addressed the first joint sitting of Parliament as mandatorily required under the Constitution after the general elections. The address is the political, economic and foreign policy road map of the Narendra Modi government and covers virtually all crucial areas.
'The recent US jobs report has eased fears of a hike in the Fed meeting.'
Bollywood has realised the value of portraying the complexity, necessity and changeability of modern-day marital unions.
'Asked which Dilip Kumar films were among her favourites, she said she had seen not a single movie of his until that time. This became a sensational issue. She did not mean to offend Dilip Kumar. There was not a bone of diplomacy in her and she never acquired that calculating attitude even at the cost of some of the roles that she would eventually lose.'
'... For the India-US relationship to continue its positive trajectory, it will require India to adapt to a different approach.' Nisha Desai Biswal -- who as the Obama administration's point person for South Asia was in the inner circle of all the Obama-Modi Summits -- tells Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar why she is hopeful that India and the US are on an irreversible forward course.
Official websites of some states haven't been updated for years
'One of the biggest issues the Indian economy faces right now is of job creation...' 'The nexus between growth and employment has to be closed...' 'In the absence of a manufacturing expansion, the alternative is to have the service sector as the driver of both GDP as well as employment growth.'
'Renu Raj has exploded many civil services myths.' 'The popular belief is that unless they come from English speaking, sophisticated and affluent families, prepare at a young age, get educated in a first rate college, go to a coaching class in one of the metro cities, take the examination several times, the aspirants cannot make it to the civil services list, particularly its very top.' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan -- who serves in an honorary capacity at the NSS Academy where Renu coached for the IAS -- on how she surprised even herself by topping the UPSC exam.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Union ministers, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and various other top leaders have condoled Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's demise and paid glowing tributes to her.
Vicky Nanjappa in a conversation with Air Deccan founder Captain Gopinath regarding the AAP
Street art has emerged from its rebellious underground existence to a growing art genre in its own right. Ritika Bhatia maps the Indian leg of the movement.
Link between oil exploration and markets can be used by India to great advantage.
It is time to take a few macroeconomic risks to kick start the growth.
Describing India as an "emerging democratic superpower", Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday kicked off his two-day India visit during which the two countries are likely to clinch an elusive civil nuclear deal.
When Rajni Kothari pointed towards a new democratic alignment in India.
Internet-based systemic wisdom connects machines and people, and will drive next-gen enterprises, said Huawei's Yatish Nagavalli.
The upcoming Budget gives Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a chance to let states boost spending.
South Mumbai's Bhendi Bazaar is all set for a much-needed transformation.
'Let me talk about young Indian startups with their hearts in the right place and how they are proving that innovations that represent 'affordable excellence' -- breaking the myth that 'affordability' and 'excellence' cannot go together -- is indeed possible!' says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, in this fascinating feature.
'I sat down and asked them what they would want in their new school. One student said a football field, another one asked for computers. One little girl came and sat next to me and said, "A separate toilet for the girls." I think these small things make a huge difference in the future of education in India,' Nita Ambani tells Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
Vani Kola left behind a stellar career as an entrepreneur in the US.
On Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 91st birth anniversary on September 30, we bring back a Rediff Special done on the brilliant filmmaker in December 2002.
Narendra Modi is no reformist, but here's how he could yet change the path India's economy.
We need transformative policies and incentives with purpose, especially in solar power and digital infrastructure.
Even as plans to redevelop Dharavi continue to gather dust in government files, its young residents have chalked their own course and chosen to fly high. Hepzi Anthony recounts a few inspiring tales.
'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.
Following is the full text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech at the Central Party School in Beijing on Thursday:
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, announced its winners for 2016 and we guarantee you that these images will blow your mind.
Real estate veteran Saket Mohta gives the the most comprehensive 11-point checklist
Who was Mohammad Azharuddin? More crucially, *what* was he? Those are precisely the questions that, as the end credits roll after 132 minutes of run-time, remain unanswered, feels Prem Panicker.
Xi Jinping has accumulated great power, but he faces trials that are just as great, says Claude Smadja.
Money is being released and the government knows it will have to front-run private investment.
'If 99.99 per cent of these micro borrowers are good at repaying their loans, why can't we look at the SMEs and MSMEs and replicate the same model for them with our stringent risk management system,' Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, chairman and managing director of India's newest private sector bank, tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com.
'The only positive I see are the youth of India who were earlier just after money. The young now want to do something for society.'
